Chapter 274: From Hell to Heaven and Back to Hell?

Shattered glass exploded and rained onto the floor, startling Wang Nan into freezing on the spot.

He jerked his head up and saw two constables in blue-and-white uniforms crash down onto the ground.

"Wang Nan, drop your weapon immediately and surrender."

The moment Li Shang's foot touched the ground, before he could even steady himself, he let out a furious roar, his feet moving rapidly as he lunged at Wang Nan to kill.

At the same time, Chang Erbing rolled on the spot, drew his gun, aimed, and fired — the whole motion seamless, as if rehearsed countless times.

Hou Wendong's scream cut off abruptly; his eyes bulged round, every pore trembling, and in that instant hope and longing to live surged back into him.

A bullet struck Wang Nan in the abdomen; fresh blood spurted like a fountain. He howled in pain, the sound full of despair, yet it also thoroughly ignited the savagery in his blood.

He roared madly, heedless of everything, yanking the wrench with all his might.

A large chunk of flesh and skin was torn from Hou Wendong's abdomen; he too let out a scream of utter terror, sharp and heart-rending.

One was terrified to the extreme, one was crazed to the extreme, while Li Shang was the embodiment of justice; his roar reverberated through the warehouse, the three sounds weaving together into a chaotic, breathtaking symphony.

Li Shang roared and charged forward, locking his arms around Wang Nan's waist; the veins on his forearms bulged as he exerted force in an instant, the power so great Wang Nan's belly was squeezed nearly concave while his chest swelled.

Wang Nan's mouth corners twisted in agony; his mouth gaped open and scalding blood mixed with fragments of viscera sprayed out like a fountain, splattering Hou Wendong's face.

Hou Wendong's entire face twitched violently, his lips wet and slick.

Wang Nan crashed heavily to the ground, like a pile of mud that had lost all support, utterly motionless.

His gaze toward Hou Wendong began to scatter and blur; he was looking at Hou Wendong, yet the trance in his eyes reflected another person's shadow.

His mouth opened with a "wu wu" sound, as if wanting to speak but unable to utter a single word; only gurgles of fresh blood kept surging from his mouth, swiftly carrying away the lingering warmth of life and the secrets in his memories.

About two weeks ago, or perhaps three — Wang Nan couldn't quite recall.

He vaguely remembered that day, clutching that cold medical record in a daze as he walked out of the hospital lobby, as if the whole world were spinning.

When he stumbled home reeking of alcohol, like an empty shell that had lost its soul, he found a strange man waiting quietly at his door, as if he had been waiting a long time.

To this day he still didn't know that man's name; he only remembered with absolute clarity the first words the man spoke to him:

"You are Wang Nan. Do you know your ex-wife Li Xiuwan is about to remarry? Are you willing to offer her the most sincere wedding blessing?"

Wang Nan was not entirely unaware of his ex-wife's situation; he knew Li Xiuwan had been getting very close to a man named Hou Wendong these past two years.

He had originally had some thoughts, but the medical record hidden in his bosom felt like a boulder crushing all his notions; his mood was chaotic to the extreme, and he could only roar a single "Scram" at the stranger before him.

Then, roughly a week ago, that man led him to this abandoned warehouse, where he saw Hou Wendong tied to a chair, hooded, unconscious.

The memories after that were somewhat blurred; he only remembered that when he snapped back from his shock, his hand was already tightly gripping a cold wrench.

And that man, right by his ear, gave him encouragement and courage:

"This illness won't let you live much longer. After you die, your ex-wife will forget you completely and live happily with this man. Don't you really want to send them a wedding blessing, so they'll remember you for the rest of their lives?"

"But you must absolutely not accidentally beat him to death; otherwise your ex-wife loses a husband, and your child loses a stepfather..."

Afterward Wang Nan remembered meeting that man two more times; he had actually realized he was probably caught up in some conspiracy.

But what did it matter? As a dying man, to deliver a final blessing to his ex-wife before death, and to teach his child's future stepfather a lesson in advance — why not?

And so,

at the critical moment the wrench barely veered away from Hou Wendong's head, ultimately smashing hard onto his shoulder with a crisp bone-crack.

Hou Wendong's shoulder caved in; under the agony he wept uncontrollably, yet from his mouth came hysterical laughter.

The next second, the laughter jammed in his throat.

Hou Wendong stared in terrified stupor as the constable who had just saved him suddenly reached out and clamped his throat, five fingers gradually tightening, force growing stronger.

Hou Wendong's face rapidly turned livid; he desperately gaped his mouth, eyes bulging almost out of their sockets.

Chang Erbing quickly stepped forward, glanced down at Wang Nan convulsing on the ground, about to breathe his last at any moment, then turned to Li Shang, brows knitted, asking with slight unease:

"Captain Li, do we really have to listen to that person?"

Hearing this, a flicker of hesitation flashed in Li Shang's eyes; his palm relaxed its grip slightly, allowing Hou Wendong to gasp for breath.

Hou Wendong didn't understand what was happening; he had already been resigned to death, begging only for a quick end, yet never expected to be saved by the constable before him — but in a blink that same constable now looked ready to kill him.

Hou Wendong's heart was a tangled mess, his mind seemingly crashed; his mood right now was simply like a roller coaster, stimulating to death.

But he didn't want to die at all now; just moments ago he had wanted to die that much, now he wanted to live that much more — the previous death wish had transformed into a doubled, even infinitely stronger will to survive.

Like leaping from the abyss of hell straight into heaven, only to plummet back into hell in the next instant — Hou Wendong's longing for life at this moment had already surpassed 99.99% of all beings throughout history.

That longing surged like a black tide, occupying his entire soul.

Right here, right now, if someone could save him again, he would pay everything as the price — even if the savior were the devil and the price his soul, he would not hesitate in the slightest.

Li Shang glanced at Chang Erbing, then back at Hou Wendong, and only then sighed:

"Secretary Hou, don't blame us. We both truly want to save you, but we can't help that there's a bad person beside you — he doesn't want you to be rescued alive."

Hou Wendong stared blankly, voice hoarse and weak: "Who... who wants me dead?"

(End of Chapter)