Chapter 15｜Negotiations Are a Pretense, the Killing Game Is Real

The note contained only three words.

“Meet me outside.”

The handwriting was steady, as if deliberately meant to reassure.

Li Xing glanced at it and knew—

This wasn't about negotiating terms, but setting a time.

The rendezvous

was at an old quarry outside town.

Abandoned by day, desolate by night, with natural elevation changes all around.

For the black market, it was the perfect spot—

suitable for negotiation, or for killing.

“I'll go alone,” Li Xing declared.

Zhao Yun shook his head immediately: “They don't want you. They want to shoot you dead.”

Li Yu had already begun inspecting the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle: “I'll take the high ground.”

The final decision was simple:

Go, but not by their script.

The Setup

Nine o'clock at night.

Li Yu took position early, occupying the northern slope of the quarry.

The Type 56 rifle was lowered, its field of fire covering the entire site.

Zhao Yun circled around to the western rubble pile.

The Desert Eagle was cocked, the Tang sword tucked against his leg.

Li Xing walked into the quarry from the front.

Lights flashed.

Three vehicle headlights simultaneously illuminated the scene from different directions.

The “Negotiations” Begin

Four figures emerged from the black market side.

Their positions were scattered yet coordinated.

A middle-aged man stepped forward, smiling politely.

“You're clever.”

“Breaking through the blockade like this—no small feat.”

Li Xing remained silent.

The man continued, “Your father was just as stubborn back in the day.”

That sentence

was the signal to fire.

The killing began.

Bang!

It wasn't Li Xing who fired.

It was a sniper lying in wait on high ground.

The bullet whizzed past Li Xing's shoulder, shattering the rock behind him.

The next second, action erupted from all four directions simultaneously.

—This wasn't negotiation.

This was execution.

The system interface flashed crimson:

“Lethal ambush confirmed.”

“Recommendation: Counterattack.”

Li Yu, first move

On the high ridge, Li Yu hesitated not a moment.

The Type 56 semi-automatic rifle roared.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

First shot: struck the stone ledge of the enemy sniper's position.

Second shot: forced retreat.

Third shot: crushed the angle.

The sniper was forced to roll, losing sight.

Zhao Yun Breaks the Formation

From behind the western rubble pile, a figure burst forth.

Zhao Yun didn't dodge.

He charged straight into the fire.

The Desert Eagle roared.

Bang! Bang!

Close-range suppression forced the two black-market gunmen into a hasty retreat.

The Tang sword flashed from its scabbard.

Blood splattered on the rubble.

Li Xing's Choice

The middle-aged man's expression finally shifted.

“You want to take things to the extreme?”

Li Xing raised his rifle.

The hunting rifle's sights locked steady on the man's chest.

“You brought up my father first.”

Bang.

No hesitation.

The moment the man fell, chaos erupted across the quarry.

The black market crew scattered.

No desperate fight.

They'd come to finish the job in one go;

now, realizing failure, they retreated faster than anyone.

Zhao Yun wanted to pursue, but Li Xing raised a hand to stop him.

“Enough.”

This was another rule left by his father:

Once the killing game is broken, don't be greedy.

After the battle

The quarry fell silent once more.

Li Yu descended from the high slope, pale-faced but standing firm.

“They'll send replacements.”

Li Xing nodded.

“But not in this manner.”

The system's final prompt appeared:

“Countermeasure to killing scheme completed.”

“Core unit of black market lost.”

“Conflict phase escalated.”

End of Chapter

Night wind swept through the quarry.

Father never bowed his head back then, dying in the mountains.

And now—

Li Xing murmured:

“This time, it's their turn to remember the rules.”