Chapter 32: At the Critical Moment

"Will these... be enough to nail Baishi to the cross?" Yang Rui's voice was raspy.

"These alone aren't enough to directly indict Baishi himself, but they are more than enough to nail the Hengtai Foundation and that so-called 'construction subcontractor' to the pillar of shame for illegal construction, endangering public safety, and document forgery! This is ironclad evidence!" Su Jin’s eyes shone with startling intensity. "I’ve already encrypted all the data and the preliminary analysis report and sent them to Captain Zhao. As long as the police follow these leads and dig deep, Baishi will absolutely not be able to clear his name! That business empire of his will soon..."

Before she could finish her sentence!

"Bang!"

A dull thud, as if something heavy had hit the ground, suddenly echoed from the direction of the tightly shut roller shutter of the fabric shop downstairs!

The sound was not loud, but in the silence of the night, it felt jarringly abrupt!

Yang Rui and Su Jin both stiffened simultaneously! Yang Rui’s pupils contracted sharply; a powerful sense of impending crisis washed over him like icy water, instantly dispelling his exhaustion. He lunged up from the sofa, the movement straining his wounds and forcing a muffled groan of pain, yet his eyes remained sharp as blades, locked onto the stairwell! A faint, rapid, and chilling pulsation emanated from the Star-Fixing Compass against his chest, like a warning!

Su Jin slammed her laptop shut, her heart hammering against her ribs. Downstairs? Was it Leopard? Or had Baishi sent a new assassin?

"Shh!" Yang Rui signaled for Su Jin to stay silent. Enduring the pain, he slid off the sofa with extreme, noiseless caution. Pressed against the cold floor, he moved toward the shadows leading to the stairwell like a stalking leopard. He snatched up a heavy solid-wood rolling pin from beside the sofa—a keepsake left behind by his mother.

Time seemed to freeze. The night breeze drifted in through the gaps in the window, carrying the dampness and dust characteristic of the old district. There was no more sound from downstairs, as if that noise had been a mere illusion.

But Yang Rui’s taut nerves did not relax for a second. That cold, tangible killing intent was seeping up from below like the flickering tongue of a viper! It was far more intense than the savage brutality of a thug like Leopard; this was a pure chill that existed solely for the sake of slaughter!

It was here! Baishi’s final trump card! The true viper!

"Click..."

An extremely faint, nearly inaudible sound of metal scraping came from the lock cylinder of the security door downstairs!

The sound was as light as a falling feather, but to Yang Rui and Su Jin’s frayed nerves, it rang out like a thunderclap!

The intruder was picking the lock! And the technique was highly sophisticated and professional! This was definitely not the clumsy work of a brute like Leopard!

Yang Rui’s heart sank to the bottom. His back was wounded, the power of the Star-Fixing Compass had not yet recovered, and Su Jin was completely defenseless! Against a professional assassin of this caliber, a direct confrontation offered no hope of victory!

What to do?!

His gaze swept across the cramped living room like lightning, instantly locking onto the kitchen! There was an old iron door there leading to a narrow fire escape! It was their only path to survival!

"Su Jin!" Yang Rui hissed in a breathy whisper, gesturing toward the kitchen. "Fire escape! Go! Call the police!"

Su Jin understood his intention instantly. Her face turned deathly pale, but she did not hesitate. She clutched the laptop on the table—the crucial evidence!—and, like a frightened rabbit, rushed toward the kitchen with the fastest speed and lightest footsteps possible!

The very moment Su Jin’s figure vanished into the kitchen doorway!

"Snap!"

The lock cylinder of the security door downstairs gave a crisp click! The door had been silently opened!

A breath of air, mingled with the freezing night wind and intense murderous intent, flooded into the stairwell like a tide!

Yang Rui leaned his back against the cold wall, gripping the solid-wood rolling pin tightly. The wound on his back throbbed with tension, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his shirt. He held his breath, pressing his body deep into the shadows like a coiled viper, waiting for the deadly assassin to appear.

Extremely faint footsteps echoed on the stairs. Like the soft pads of a feline treading on dust, they were almost non-existent. Yet, every step landed with a sense of precision, coldness, and the crushing pressure of someone measuring the distance to death!

They were here!

The footsteps were ghostly, carrying an inhuman precision and chill, landing in the gaps between heartbeats as they measured the distance to death. The cold killing intent spread up the narrow stairs like an invisible tide, instantly drowning the entire third floor.

Yang Rui leaned against the wall, his heart pounding wildly. The searing pain from his back was suppressed by this overwhelming sense of crisis, leaving only a bone-deep coldness. He gripped the heavy rolling pin so hard his knuckles turned white. The Star-Fixing Compass pulsed with a faint, rapid chill against his chest.

It was here! The one that only existed in rumors, Baishi’s final trump card—the true "Cleaner"!

The footsteps stopped at the turn of the stairs. Absolute silence.

Yang Rui held his breath, his muscles coiled to the limit. He could feel that the opponent was right there on the landing, just a wall away, like a top-tier predator lurking in the shadows.

Suddenly!

Without warning! A black shadow seemed to tear through space, accompanied by a foul, metallic stench, and shot out from the stairwell turn! The speed exceeded the limits of human perception! The target was the shadow where Yang Rui was hiding! A cold, sharp force aimed directly at his throat!

Yang Rui’s pupils shrank! In the face of life and death, his instinct was faster than his thought! He jerked his body backward, and at the same time, he swung the rolling pin with every ounce of his strength and desperate ferocity, sweeping it horizontally toward the incoming shadow without regard for his own safety!

"Whoosh!"

"Clang!"

The tip of the rolling pin struck something, sending a massive shockwave of recoil through his arm! Simultaneously, a cold, sharp blade grazed the skin of his throat, leaving a thin line of blood!

Yang Rui broke into a cold sweat! Staggering backward, he finally saw the attacker.

The figure wore a matte black bodysuit and a pale, featureless silicone mask with only hollow black eye holes—chilling and grotesque. In its hand was a strangely shaped, matte-black short blade, curved like a snake, its edge glowing with an eerie blue light—it was poisoned!

Having missed the first strike, the masked assassin did not pause for a second. Its body contorted like a boneless snake, launching itself again from a bizarre angle! The poisoned blade carved a lethal, ghostly blue arc, thrusting directly at Yang Rui’s heart! Faster! More lethal!

Yang Rui had nowhere to dodge! A flash of desperate ferocity crossed his eyes as he raised the rolling pin to block! But he knew he couldn't stop this strike! The agony in his back and his physical exhaustion had slowed him down by a fraction! The cold glint of the poisoned blade was already at his chest!

In this split second, when Yang Rui felt certain he was going to die!

"Fuck you, asshole! Who the hell are you?!"

A thunderous roar erupted like a clap of thunder, exploding from the entrance where the security door had just been kicked open! Following the roar, a burly figure charged up the stairs like a cannonball!