Chapter 184: All 13 Cards, Wiped Out!

The entrance door of the villa slowly swung open. What met Xiao Yu’s eyes wasn’t the luxury he had imagined. Aside from the spacious living room, the decor and furnishings were fairly simple.

An elderly man, holding a child in his arms, sat in the living room watching a large 60-70 inch TV. He was short, with graying short hair, and his face bore the marks of time, though his eyes were still sharp and lively.

The old man turned his head to glance at him, his expression dimming slightly, as if he were disappointed. 

Gently patting the sleeping child in his arms, the man spoke in a hoarse voice, “It’s not that I look down on the local police, but they don’t have anyone with skills like yours. You don’t have the aura of a soldier, nor are you one of those national security agents. I’m curious, aren’t you afraid of dying?”

“Why should I be afraid of death?” Xiao Yu walked over to the sofa opposite the old man and sat down, locking eyes with him. “So, you’re admitting it?”

“Now that you’ve come this far, what’s the point in denying it?” The old man remained calm, looking directly into Xiao Yu’s eyes. “Such pure eyes.”

“Yeah, my sister used to say the same thing—about how my eyes were so clean,” Xiao Yu nodded. “They say eyes are the windows to the soul. Clean eyes mean a clean heart—”

Before he could finish his sentence, his arm suddenly shot backward.

*Smack!*

Xiao Yu caught the dagger aimed at the back of his head with ease. Then, he casually swung it toward the hand extending from beneath the sofa, gripping another knife.

But…

That arm quickly retracted back under the sofa. A shadowy figure scrambled out from underneath, retreating swiftly.

At the same time, another figure approached from not too far away.

Xiao Yu slowly turned his head. He looked at the two figures behind him—two young men, around twenty-four or twenty-five.

Twins?

The two youths had identical physiques and appearances, right down to the fact that neither of them had a nose. All they had were two gaping holes where their nostrils should have been. The same twisted, gory holes—identical in every way.

It wasn’t that their noses had been cut off later in life—they had been born that way.

“Did you know? These two brothers were born without noses, and later they were taken in by the orphanage,” the old man said with a chuckle.

“The most interesting part?” he continued, “Their own parents were the ones who brought them to the orphanage and paid for it out of pocket.”

Xiao Yu frowned but remained silent.

“Some parents,” the old man said, sounding reflective, “the moment they see their child born with a deformity, they just don’t want them anymore.”

The old man seemed lost in his thoughts for a moment. 

“That’s why, every year, around 13% of the children admitted to the orphanage are sent there by their own parents, fully paid for.”

Xiao Yu still didn’t respond.

“You can only imagine the resentment and bitterness these children must feel,” the old man said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at Xiao Yu. “Tell me, is a world like this even worth saving?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Xiao Yu replied, his eyes still as clear and pure as ever. “Where there’s light, there’s always bound to be shadows. Just like where there are dark people, there will always be people who shine. As long as my heart stays clean, no matter what I see or hear, my heart won’t get dirty.”

“Heh!” The old man’s smile faded. “People like you are ridiculous. Living in your own little world?”

“No,” Xiao Yu shook his head. “I just don’t want to live in someone else’s world, or through someone else’s eyes. If there’s purity in your heart, then everywhere you go is pure.”

The old man fell silent, but his eyes sharpened, filling with an intense killing intent. A cold, oppressive aura suddenly radiated from his body, making him seem larger and more intimidating.

The twin youths moved.

As Xiao Yu and the old man were talking, the twins lunged at him.

They moved so fast.

One knife aimed for Xiao Yu’s neck, the other for the back of his head—silent and deadly.

Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out.

The twins’ bodies shuddered before they collapsed to the floor.

Without even turning his head, Xiao Yu stared straight ahead at the old man, lowered his arm and gun, and flashed a grin. 

“I told you, it’s pointless.”

Suddenly, Xiao Yu’s expression froze as his eyes shifted to the child in the old man’s arms.

No, that wasn’t a child!

As the “child” turned its head, its hand moved too.

In that tiny hand, it held a lipstick tube—one with a sinister black gleam.

Bang!

A bullet shot out from the lipstick.

But Xiao Yu was already on his feet. The bullet whizzed past him, barely grazing his side.

Before the “child” could make another move, Xiao Yu was already standing next to the old man, in front of the “child.” His gun pressed firmly against the “child’s” head.

Bang!

Both Xiao Yu and the old man remained calm, their eyes locked on each other.

11 cards down.

“You’ve got two left, huh?”

Xiao Yu wiped the blood splatter from his face and holstered his gun, looking at the old man. 

“Aren’t you going to call them out?”

Almost as if answering his question—

Boom!

The front door of the villa was kicked open, and two armed SWAT officers rushed in.

Huh?

Xiao Yu paused, caught off guard.

He had brought a team of SWAT and national security officers for this operation, but was this Wang Dong’s doing?

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.

In that split second Xiao Yu froze. The two SWAT officers opened fire. But they weren’t shooting at the old man. They shot at Xiao Yu.

As flames burst from their guns, Xiao Yu forced himself to control every muscle in his body and leaped back.

But…

His eyes caught sight of the old man tossing the child’s corpse aside, like a piece of trash. Underneath the body was a crossbow, just slightly bigger than the size of a hand.

What could such a small crossbow do?

It might not kill an elephant, but it was more than enough to kill a person.

At that moment, while Xiao Yu was still mid-retreat and unable to change direction, how could he dodge the arrow?

But… why dodge?

With the precision of his Eagle’s Eye and the agility from Civet Cat’s Reflexes, Xiao Yu raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

The bullet collided with the crossbow bolt in mid-air. Sparks flew.

Blood spurted from the old man’s arm.

“No!”

The two SWAT officers roared in fury, ready to unload more bullets into Xiao Yu. But Xiao Yu’s gun was already aimed at them.

Bang! Bang!

Two blood splatters bloomed across the officers’ faces.

As he lowered his gun, Xiao Yu’s expression was complicated. He hadn’t expected that two killers would manage to infiltrate the police force. 

It made sense. Orphans are people too. They could become police officers just like anyone else. Raised and trained from childhood, their physical abilities were far superior to normal recruits.

With talent like that, graduating from the police academy and blending into the force for a couple of years? Not a problem at all.

But they had almost taken Xiao Yu’s life.

13 cards—completely wiped out.