Chapter 299

Chapter 299: The Yellow Sparrow After, Still the Yellow Sparrow

Zhuang Mian muttered and cursed under her breath, seemingly unfazed by the intense gunfight around her.

“Senior, even at a time like this…”

Tang Qing’s face, hidden behind his gas mask, betrayed a hint of exasperation—after all, if they were going to raid someone’s home, they needed to survive long enough to escape, didn’t they?

“You’re right.”

Zhuang Mian responded curtly, then, using the smoke as cover, she began to retaliate against the potential enemies lurking ahead in the corridor.

Their gunfire was noticeably sparser than before, and the sporadic shots that reached El’s ears brought a warm smile to his face.

“It’s time. Charge!”

Li Rui’s expression hardened at the command. Gripping a submachine gun that had been officially marked as unusable in the records, he leaped out of the corridor.

The rapid “da da da” of gunfire echoed, and dozens of new bullet holes appeared in the concrete tunnel above.

Beside him, El swiftly changed into a different set of clothes.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the smoke, Zhuang Mian’s sharp eyes caught a faint shadow moving in the distance.

After a quick mental comparison with the planned target, she confirmed it was the mark El had assigned her.

As the reigning top shooter, Zhuang Mian no longer held back her skills.

Without wasting time on precise aim, she fired a few shots, and soon the sound of something heavy splashing into the water echoed from the other side of the sewer.

The target was unmistakably dead.

The situation shouldn’t have been this complicated, but with Tang Qing, the Observer, by her side, Zhuang Mian knew she couldn’t afford to slack off. In any case, the next steps were straightforward—Heart Snatcher had been eliminated, and the necessary evidence was already prepared in the nearby sewer.

As the smoke gradually cleared, Tang Qing and Zhuang Mian cautiously emerged from their cover to confirm that the body lying a dozen meters away was motionless.

“Let’s go take a look.”

Zhuang Mian noticed Tang Qing’s poorly concealed nervousness but chose to ignore it, walking ahead with an air of nonchalance.

The two quickly approached the body, and Zhuang Mian crouched down to conduct a brief search.

The corpse belonged to a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard and dried discharge in the corners of his eyes—clearly someone who hadn’t paid much attention to personal hygiene.

His build was relatively average, and he bore three still-bleeding gunshot wounds: one in his right shoulder, another in his left chest, and a third in his left abdomen.

The bleeding had slowed to a trickle, confirming that he was well and truly dead.

“His clothes match the description of a batch of missing supplies. It must be him. Let’s search the area and see if there’s anything else… Wait, what?!”

Zhuang Mian’s head snapped to the side, her gaze sharp and intimidating.

Tang Qing followed her line of sight.

“Don’t—don’t shoot!”

A youthful voice called out from around the corner of the corridor.

“Don’t shoot; I’ll do anything!”

“Raise your hands and come out!”

At Tang Qing’s command, a gray-haired boy cautiously peeked out from the corner.

“Who are you all?”

The silver-haired boy was dressed in clothes that differed from those of the corpse on the ground. Despite being marred by various stains, he still exuded the demeanor of a typical inner-city youth.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

“I, my name is El. After school today, he… kidnapped me and brought me here.”

The boy pointed timidly at the body half-submerged in the filthy water.

“Oh?”

Tang Qing’s gaze shifted between the body and the boy:

“Did he say anything to you?”

The boy nodded eagerly:

“He said I’m worth two hundred thousand information coins, and that he would send a message to my family tomorrow…”

“I see. Don’t worry, we’ll protect you.”

In just a few seconds, Tang Qing had pieced together the entire situation.

It was a kidnapping, no wonder the Heart Snatcher always had plenty of funds. This guy probably wasn’t doing this for the first time.

For the wealthy in the inner city, two hundred thousand information coins were nothing, and they certainly wouldn’t easily involve the security bureau or the superpowered individuals.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but marvel at his own luck.

Life truly was like a rollercoaster, full of ups and downs. Just moments ago, he had been worried about being shot to death, and now he was stepping over the enemy’s corpse to claim victory. Even better, there was an unexpected bonus—

Two hundred thousand information coins meant little to him or his family, but the favor of certain important figures was another matter entirely.

However, to share such a significant achievement with someone else…

Was that good? No, it wasn’t.

“Turn around, kid. Don’t look at the body.”

Tang Qing’s tone softened slightly as he gestured for the silver-haired boy to turn away.

The boy obediently faced the wall, only to feel the butt of a gun strike his shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

Zhuang Mian, caught off guard by this turn of events, couldn’t help but ask.

Watching the boy collapse slowly, Tang Qing tilted his head and said:

“Senior, the kid might have nightmares if he sees us searching the body… He doesn’t seem to come from an ordinary family. This is for his own good.”

“That’s true.”

Zhuang Mian crouched down again to search for valuables, simultaneously activating her communicator:

“All teams, be alert. Those who have completed the sweep should converge on Area Three. Stay vigilant on the way…”

It felt as if a bird had flown swiftly past her ear. Zhuang Mian instinctively reached for her now-empty ear and looked at Tang Qing, who was crushing the communicator… and the gun barrel now aimed at her forehead.

“Thank you, Senior, for bringing me here.”

The gentle junior wore a smile that was hard to decipher:

“If I can use this opportunity to improve myself, I certainly won’t forget you in the future.”

Zhuang Mian’s expression turned icy.

At this point, words were meaningless.

Some things were better left unsaid for everyone’s sake, but once spoken, there was no turning back.

Even if Tang Qing were to lower the gun and tell Zhuang Mian it was just a joke, their relationship would already be beyond repair.

Both understood this, so Tang Qing simply uttered a few words before preparing to leave, while Zhuang Mian’s face paled, showing no intention of pleading for her life.

Tang Qing tossed the crushed communicator to the ground, stepped on it with his right foot, and began grinding it into the floor. Lightly, he said:

“Zhuang Mian, graduate of the Security Academy, Class of 50. Farewell.”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Suddenly, a thunderous cough echoed through the sewer, deep and resonant, carrying far down the long corridor.

Tang Qing looked down in shock. The middle-aged man, who had been shot three times, was now convulsing, blood trickling from the corners of his mouth, and the bullet wounds on his body were slowly beginning to heal.

“Cough, cough~ You all, quite lively.”

The middle-aged man propped himself up, looking upward as he commented in a tone reminiscent of a comedy critic:

“Just a pity I couldn’t hold out a bit longer… But it was certainly worth the price!”