Chapter 273: Silence Them?

Wu Haibo returned home from the hospital follow-up, three hours after parting ways with Luo Fei.

After opening the door and stepping inside, Wu Haibo sensed something was off. He was an elderly man living alone with mild OCD, which worsened after his wife’s death—this was why he noticed the anomaly.

He lightly brushed the dust off his clothes, hung his coat on the hallway rack, slipped on slippers, and neatly placed his leather shoes toe-inward in the shoe cabinet. As he set down the shoes, he casually grabbed a rubber-handled plum-blossom screwdriver from the cabinet’s corner.

He flipped the screwdriver upside down in his left palm, his forearm perfectly concealing its 20-centimeter blade, then walked toward the bathroom without changing expression.

His house was old in design but spacious; the bathroom had a large dry-wet separation. He quietly pushed open the plastic door to the outer washroom—it was empty. Beyond lay the shower area.

His pupils suddenly contracted. His left hand, gripping the screwdriver! He only pulled back the shower curtain when bathing; otherwise, it was always drawn shut—but now, the curtain was wide open!

Someone was truly in his house! When he first entered, he’d noticed the sofa cushion was out of place—he’d already suspected someone had been there, but he hadn’t expected them to still be inside!

What did they want? He owned no valuables—was it theft? Probably not…

He was less than a meter from the shower room. Though he couldn’t see the person inside, he felt the killing intent radiating from within.

He hesitated—should he turn and flee the house, or push open the glass door ahead?

After a moment—barely ten seconds—he decided to leave. Just as he turned, a loud “plop” echoed from the shower room—a sound of something falling.

His body froze. A rush of wind struck his face! The shower room’s glass door burst open, and the curtain whipped aside with a “swish!”

A dark shadow shot out like lightning! Wu Haibo had been tensely alert—the instant the disturbance occurred, his right hand snatched the screwdriver from his left and swung it across his chest to block any unknown attack!

The man hiding in the shower had thrown something—he couldn’t make it out, so he swung the screwdriver blindly. A sharp “clack” rang out as the screwdriver knocked the object down. Only when it hit the floor did he recognize it: a bottle of shampoo.

“This man has no weapon?” Wu Haibo realized instantly. His courage surged. He roared: “What are you doing? Who sent you?”

The man snorted, ignoring him, his gaze fixed on the door—he stepped forward to rush out.

Perhaps he assumed Wu Haibo’s age made him harmless—he didn’t realize Wu Haibo, though retired, was ex-military and still exercised regularly. As the man lunged for the exit, Wu Haibo anticipated his move and kicked hard at his shin!

The shin has little flesh—this strike would hurt badly. Even if it didn’t injure him, it would slow him down enough to escape.

The man, startled by Wu Haibo’s speed, dropped his arrogance. He sidestepped the kick, spun his body, and swung his right fist straight at Wu Haibo’s face!

Wu Haibo blocked it with the inverted screwdriver—the punch was crushing, like a sledgehammer striking his arm. He knew he couldn’t win—he only hoped to use his weapon to force the man back and escape.

In an instant, both men’s intentions shifted drastically. Wu Haibo feared the man was sent by that person—if so, his life was in danger.

The mysterious man, seeing Wu Haibo posed no real threat, was determined to subdue him and complete his mission.

These mental shifts occurred in a flash. Wu Haibo stepped forward with his right leg, twisted his waist and hips, and swung his right arm—his screwdriver slicing swiftly toward the man!

The man smiled faintly, crouched slightly, and advanced—not retreating, but lunging into Wu Haibo’s chest, nearly pressing face-to-face. Wu Haibo’s screwdriver missed—but he felt a sharp pain under his right armpit. Before he could react, his entire right arm went numb, powerless.

Only when he saw the man’s motion did he realize: his right shoulder joint had been dislocated. The man sneered, then delivered a lightning-fast punch to Wu Haibo’s stomach. His gut churned violently—he curled up and collapsed onto the floor.

The man grabbed Wu Haibo’s collar and dragged him into the living room. “I didn’t want to touch you,” he said. “But you forced my hand. Now hand over what you’ve got—I won’t harm you.”

“Y-you’re talking nonsense! I don’t understand!” Wu Haibo gritted his teeth against the agony.

“Hmm. Still clinging to false hope,” the man said coolly, lifting his foot and pressing down hard on Wu Haibo’s right shoulder.

“Aaah!” Wu Haibo screamed, sweat pouring from his forehead in beads. “What do you want? I really don’t know anything!”

“Heh! You secretly met that cop—do you think we didn’t know?” The man cut straight to the point: he knew Wu Haibo had met Luo Fei.

Wu Haibo’s heart sank. So they’d never lost sight of him. All these years—and that man’s power remained just as terrifying.

In that moment, he regretted it. He’d only wanted to escape lifelong guilt, so when the police came, he’d decided to reveal a little of what happened back then—he hadn’t named the mastermind behind it. Yet they already knew his actions. Clearly, that man had never let him go.

His body was frail—he could die any day. But what about his children? If they targeted them…

The thought made him go limp, his heart sinking like a stone into the dark ocean floor.

“I—I didn’t reveal anything about the boss! Truly! I said nothing!” Wu Haibo trembled.

“Hand over what you kept from back then. The boss says—he’ll spare your life.”

Wu Haibo’s mind raced. No one knew about the pharmacy video. He’d erased every trace from the surveillance system. And this assassin hadn’t mentioned USB drives or video files—did they not know what he’d kept? Did they only send him because they feared Wu Haibo might talk to the police?

In their eyes, he was a ticking bomb. All these years, they’d left him alone, believing he had no reason to speak. But now, after just a few contacts with Luo Fei, they rushed to silence him—had something happened to that man?