My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Perhaps it was Lei Liqiu's misperception, it seemed like she could hear a hint of concern and panic in Xu Binchen's voice. The scene in front of her turned into a slow motion. The swaying ship, unstable ground, flickering lightbulb, Si Yusheng's twisted face and the blood drenching his leg…

Lei Liqiu bit her tongue and rolled down on the ground, causing Si Yusheng to miss only by a hair's breadth. She gave a breathless smirk and delivered a kick right on Si Yusheng's injured leg, the momentum propelled herself backward as she slid across the ground. "Take that, you son of a bitch!"

Si Yusheng groaned in pain and hugged his leg, wheezing. 

Xu Binchen glided toward her and held her up. "Are you okay?!" 

Lei Liqiu grimaced by the force in his fingers as well as the bruise forming on her shoulder. "I...am okay."

Xu Binchen heaved a long sigh and pointed his gun toward Si Yusheng. "You can't escape anymore, Si Yusheng. Tell your man to retreat right now or else, I will shoot your hand next." He gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Do you think I will let you die so easily?"

Si Yusheng transfixed his gaze onto Xu Binchen for a moment. Another urgent report came through his earpiece. "Manager Si, not good! There's a diver team under the sea! They pierced a hole through the yacht! We are preparing lifeboats right as I speak. Please give us instructions!"

Si Yusheng tremblingly reached for his earpiece and whispered as steady as he could. "I am having a very important talk right now. Evacuate everyone and confirm their safety. I will leave it to you."

The people banging on the door instantly retreated and silence reigned inside the cramped space. Xu Binchen still didn't lower his guard with the gun muzzle still pointing at Si Yusheng. "Talk."

Once again, Si Yusheng chose to stay mum, only directing a ridiculing gaze toward Xu Binchen.

The man wasn't offended, instead he added. "You can't escape anymore. The ship is already surrounded and we have every single person here in our hands. With their statement and the evidence here, your crime will be clear. Why are you still protecting that person?"

Si Yusheng coughed and struggled to sit up. He slumped onto the wall, out of breath. "I am not protecting them. As I said, even if I told you, you won't be able to catch them."

Xu Binchen was instantly reminded by the riddle Lei Liqiu said earlier. The farmer tried to kill the poisonous plant but found that it was already as strong as him, almost undefeatable. Who was the farmer and who was the poisonous plant?

Could it be...the farmer was Si Yusheng and the owner was the plant?

No, it couldn't be. Si Yusheng was only a manager. He didn't have enough authority and power as the 'farmer' who planted the plant from a seed into an exotic flower. "Why?" He asked. "They are that powerful? Enough to rival me?"

Si Yusheng sized him up and pondered. "You have only money and no power. Can you stand against the powerhouse that pillared the country?"

That sentence alone already contained plenty of information. Xu Binchen's expression sank. He lowered his gun and said with barely no hesitation. "My real name is Ash Xander, Chinese name Xu Binchen. I am here on behalf of the police as a part of the Special Crime Investigation Squad. We have received a tip who told us that your bar has something to do with the serial killer we have been chasing." Under Lei Liqiu's shocked eyes, he continued calmly. "Now, can you tell me?"

Si Yusheng was stunned. "Dreamscape Bar...is related to the serial murder case?"

Xu Binchen frowned, perplexed. The first thing Si Yusheng cared for wasn't Xu Binchen's police identity or his infiltration mission, but the fact that the bar was linked with the serial murder? A foreboding arose in his heart and he stride forward to yank Si Yusheng's collar up. "What do you know?" He hissed threateningly.

Si Yusheng lowered his quivering eyelashes but Xu Binchen had seen it. The fury, betrayal and hatred bursting forth his eyes. "Who tipped you?" He asked quietly. "Let me guess. Is it Director Fen Huiguan of the Police HQ?"

Xu Binchen's blood chilled, one that crept from the soles of his feet up to his head, blanking his mind entirely. His hold on Si Yusheng's collar loosened and the man slumped back down, laughing. "I guessed right, didn't I?"

Lei Liqiu didn't understand what they were talking about nor did she expect that Xu Binchen was an undercover policeman working on such an important mission.

Amidst Si Yusheng's mocking yet woeful laughter, Xu Binchen's feet staggered. Lei Liqiu gasped and hastily supported him, her hands got into contact with his skin and she was surprised to find how cold it was. "M—Mr. Xu, are you okay…?"

Xu Binchen's ears buzzed and numerous scenes flashed in his mind. Director Fen Huiguan of the Police HQ...he was Captain Jin's direct superior as well as a respected figure within the police. He couldn't believe his ears but… "How do you know?" His voice sounded so foreign in his ears, dry and hoarse. "Tell me!"

"Do I still need to spill it out for you?" Si Yusheng laughed mockingly. "You have been duped. We have all been fooled!"

He gnashed his teeth hatefully, his voice too low for Xu Binchen to hear. "So that's your final choice, huh…"

"What did you say?"

Xu Binchen hadn't gotten any answer yet when another force struck the yacht once again. The ground trembled and tilted in axis. Lei Liqiu screamed as the wooden boxes grazed across the ground and pummeled straight onto her. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain. 

But all of a sudden, a powerful force yanked her arm and hugged her into a tight embrace. The excruciating thud of something heavy hitting the flesh and bones breaking echoed in her ears. Lei Liqiu snapped her eyes open in shock to find Xu Binchen's face right in front of hers, bleeding. The man's pale lips were pressed tight and his brows twisted in pain. "M—Mr. Xu…" Tears welled up her eyes as she reached out, fingertips trembling.

"We have to get out of here!" Xu Binchen shouted amidst the chaos and screams. He grabbed Lei Liqiu's hand in one hand and clutching Si Yusheng's arm in the other hand, dragging them out of the storage and staggered through the overturning space. 

"The yacht is capsizing soon!"

***

"Yes, Sir. They are currently infiltrating the gathering." Fen Huiguan said into the phone. The moonlight shone through the window, encasing his silhouette inside the dark and empty office. "As you wish, Si Yusheng will be eliminated."

"Yes, I will make sure that no one will track it back to you." He took off his myopic glasses and massaged his brows as he listened to the other's voice. "Right, not even his family will be able to escape. Si Yusheng will definitely get death penalty for his crimes."

The other side of the call paused for a while. "...Thank you for your hard work, Director Fen. The matter I promised you, I will definitely do it."

The corner of Fen Huiguan's lips curled into a wry smile. "I hope so." His eyes fell onto the photo frame on his desk. On it, a young man in his twenties was smiling brightly in a garden full of sunflowers. Light and hope shone through his eyes. Fen Huiguan shut his eyes in pain. "I am willing to do anything to avenge my son."

No matter what it took, no matter how thorny the path was, he would definitely make all of them pay. And the only method he could do was to sell his soul to the devil.

"How about the serial killer?" Fen Huiguan asked. "You said that you have important leads on him. How long do I need to wait for that?"

"Not long." The other side chuckled. "Everything will end soon."

"Then...I must say thank you in advance, CEO Nan." That was all Fen Huiguan said before hanging up.

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A/N: A major plot twist! So...has SCI squad been fooled by Fen Huiguan?! Remember that he's the one who tipped Jin Renguang and started the whole infiltration mission in Dreamscape Bar.

And in case you don't get it, CEO Nan = Nan Cheng = Nan Xukun's father. What does he mean by everything is going to end soon? Hehehehe, let's see....