Chapter One: Night in London

  September 13, 2007 at 10:30 PM

  On London Bridge, pedestrians are sparse, with only a few cars slowly passing by. The water flowing under the bridge appears pitch black, reflecting a few points of light from the buildings along the riverbank, and the faint flashes of light make the river water look even deeper and darker.

  Just like London's nickname 'Fog City', a thick fog enveloped the entire city of London, and there was also a pungent smell of car exhaust in the air. The years of shouting about improving the environment seemed to have had no effect on London. Visibility was extremely low, probably only able to see five or six meters away, ordinary citizens naturally stayed at home enjoying family time, and those who came out for a stroll at this moment were only creatures living in the dark world.

  A luxurious black Japanese Honda minivan slowly drove over London Bridge, its headlights unable to penetrate the thick fog. The people inside could only curse London's bad weather while listlessly listening to a heavy metal band's wild screams.

  A man dressed in all black watched as a car drove by, letting out a few low, ominous hums, and discarded the Cuban cigar he was holding, watching as a spark of fire quickly fell into the river water. With light steps, he followed closely behind the van, his speed not much slower. From a distance of over ten meters, a pair of sharp eyes stared intently at the red taillights on the back of the car.

  The car passed by the entrance of a bar, and the man in black hesitated for a moment before quickly walking past the entrance. From the dim red light at the entrance, one could vaguely make out his features: long black hair scattered on his shoulders, yellow skin, straight nose bridge, firm mouth, and then a pair of eyes that shone with a cold glow. He was about 185 cm tall, slightly thin, tightly wrapped in a black leather jacket, with the collar standing up, making it impossible to identify him clearly.

  His name is Yi Chen.

  The van being tracked slowly moved forward, gradually deepening into a dark street in the old city of London, and then stopped at a corner. Several big men got out of the car, cursing, holding M11 micro-assault rifles in their hands, without any concern that someone might notice them. A tight tramp on the edge of the street wisely wrapped himself in his tattered blanket, tightly closing his eyes.

  A big man slowly walked towards him, inserted the submachine gun in his hand into the pocket of his pants behind his butt, took out his own little brother, and started urinating happily beside the vagrant. After shaking a few times, he loudly said to the vagrant: "Bastard, today is really a bad weather, isn't it? Does my urine smell good? Damn, you're really a bastard." Several big men not far away burst out laughing, this man rummaged through his pocket and threw a few banknotes on the vagrant's body, saying loudly: "I'm in a good mood today, I'll give you some money, next time get out of here, don't hang around nearby. Get out, now!"

  The vagrant quickly picked up the banknote and carried all his belongings along the eaves and slipped away.

  Yi Chen slowly retreated into a dark corner by the side of the road, a faint cold smile spreading from the corners of his mouth as he quietly watched the several big men twenty meters away. The fog had no effect on Yi Chen's line of sight.

  Including the driver, there were seven big men in black suits with weapons in their hands. They took out two large metal boxes from the van and closed the door, preparing to turn into a small alley. From here, about 200 meters ahead, was the back door of their boss's headquarters.

  Just walked out less than two meters, a drunkard with a strong smell of alcohol and a half-naked woman staggered over from the other side of the street, suddenly pointing at one of the big men and burst into laughter: "Hey, what do you guys do? Are you smuggling drugs for the underworld? Ah... Is this prostitute also under your management?"

  Seven submachine guns simultaneously opened their safeties, and the leader, a burly man, coldly pointed at the drunkard and said: "I don't know this woman you're messing with. If I did, she'd really be our boss's person... You son of a bitch, get out of here."

  The drunkard gave the woman a hard push forward, pushing her to the feet of the big men, who let out a cry of surprise. Then, he slowly swaggered over to the leader of the big men, sneering and saying: "What? If I don't leave, you'll shoot me dead? Dare to try shooting!"

  The leader of the group was shocked to discover that the drunkard's eyes were so clear, filled with thick murderous aura. He opened his mouth to shout, but it was too late. The drunkard's right hand swung out fiercely, and what was originally a rough human hand had quickly grown dense black fur and sharp claws in mid-air, neatly tearing off the leader's neck. His left hand heavily struck the leader's body, sending him flying out.

  In an instant, the drunkard transformed into a standing werewolf, his blood-red eyes radiating frenzied killing intent. His two hands swiftly dug out the hearts of the two big men behind him.

  The remaining four raised their guns, but they forgot the woman on the ground. The woman twisted a few times like a snake, her body as soft as boneless, bringing up several residual shadows. Her fingers, containing deadly poison, lightly scratched the carotid arteries of the four men, and then hissed softly, licking a thread of fresh blood from her fingertips.

  The werewolf pounced on the seven corpses, venting its madness on them. In the midst of flying blood and flesh, human internal organs, skeletons, and muscles splattered across an area of five meters in diameter, until the corpses were all reduced to a pulp, at which point the werewolf finally stopped.

  The woman whose body was already covered in scales like a snake's spoke up in a dissatisfied low voice: "Ov, that's enough. They're dead now. Let's prepare for the next time."

  Ouf nodded, fiercely spat at the remains of the corpse and cursed: "May God cast your souls into hell, you damned bastards."

  Just as the two were about to turn and leave, a clear and beautiful voice intervened: "God will forgive their sins, but will never pardon your kind." A milky white, holy light-emitting cross-shaped sword aura slammed into the werewolf's body. The young werewolf let out a mournful howl, his back covered in blood and flesh, his fur splattered everywhere as he was knocked flying over ten meters away.

  The snake woman suddenly turned around, carefully made her own defense, and didn't dare to look at the situation of her companion. She tensely whispered: "Damn it, are you a priest of the Church? Who wants you to interfere?"

  Two figures slowly emerged from the fog, one was a slender girl in white robes with golden short hair shining mysteriously in the night, and the other was a tall young man in black robes with a cold face revealing a hint of cruelty.

  The snake woman slowly backed away, shaking her head and saying: "I can handle one god official, but with a religious court executioner added in, I'm out of luck. Hey, that stupid werewolf is yours to deal with, let me leave, how about it? I was also ordered to assist him, I don't want to die for his sake."

  The young man said indifferently: "No way, you must take responsibility for the death of these seven people."

  Glancing at the 'corpse' that was completely indistinguishable from a human, the snake woman asked somewhat hesitantly: "You've been here for a long time? Chirp, chirp, why didn't you save your own kind?"

  The girl let out a cold snort: "A stray lamb must accept the punishment given by God, but you must also accept the trial of justice." Her face was filled with an expression of sacred inviolability.

  The snake woman spat: "Damn it, God's judgment? Judgment of justice? Spit..." She suddenly turned around and ran, a string of afterimages showing her incredible speed, instantly disappearing into the thick fog.

  Two young Vatican men were stunned, they never thought that the snake woman would really abandon her companions and escape like this. The girl said angrily: "Did she really escape like this?"

  The young man sneered coldly, staring tightly at the young werewolf who had just struggled to get up, and said with satisfaction: "It doesn't matter, there's still one person we can take back. At least we've found the main culprit of the two consecutive attacks on humans recently, haven't we?" The girl thought for a moment, then revealed a bright smile.

  The young werewolf let out a furious howl: "I'd rather die than be taken away by you!" With an astonishing speed, he burst forth with great strength and continuously clawed at the two young men thirty times.

  At that moment, two men who were supposed to be companions of the seven big men walked out of the alley, still muttering complaints about why they hadn't arrived yet. They happened to appear right next to the two young men from the temple. The two young men were slightly disturbed by them and almost got hurt under the wolf's claws, and quickly flashed out.

  Two burly men looked on in terror as the continuous claw winds tore long gashes into the ground, and the messy flesh and blood on the ground. They were about to shout loudly when a ten-character holy light and a pitch-black light struck the chests of the two men respectively. The two young men from the church were heavily knocked flying by three people wearing strange black robes who suddenly appeared in the thick fog.

  Three people wearing long robes similar to those of medieval European wizards quickly approached the werewolf, grabbed him and ran away, not forgetting to step heavily on a big man's chest before leaving.

  Two Vatican agents sprang up, looking annoyed as the four black shadows disappeared into the thick fog, and didn't even bother with the two big men on the ground. The young man said coldly, "Anyway, they were hit by my 'Holy Light Cross Sword' and that person's magic attack, it's impossible for them to survive, no need to clean up the scene of the crime, after all, this is the old city district of London, there are very few people at night." The girl thought it was reasonable, and the two of them quickly walked away.

  Yi Chen smiled slightly after watching a good show, quickly and lightly walked out of the hiding place, picked up two metal boxes that had fallen to the ground with satisfaction, nodded, and turned around to leave.

  A big man lying at the entrance of the alley suddenly let out a faint cry for help: "Friend, save me, please save me, I will thank you, I swear to God, I will definitely thank you. For the sake of God..."

  Yi Chen quickly walked up to him, slowly crouching down to examine his face. The big man took advantage of the weak light on the side of the road to see Yi Chen's face clearly and exclaimed in surprise: "Oh my god, it's Chinese Yi, great! Save me, go tell our boss quickly."

  Yi Chen flashed a sarcastic smile, slowly speaking in fluent London-accented English: "Firstly, I don't believe in God. Secondly, why do you want to know me?" He heavily slapped the big man's chest, instantly destroying all the tissues inside his body with his powerful true yuan force. With a swift motion, he slapped another big man's chest and observed the surroundings before grabbing two metal boxes and quickly walking down the street.

  Outside a block, in a dark corner, a stretched white Rolls-Royce was quietly parked by the roadside. A tall black man, over two meters tall, stood at attention by the car door, wearing a well-pressed tailcoat, with snow-white silk gloves on his hands and a short silver-white crew cut on his head. Seeing Yidun approach, he quickly opened the car door, respectfully took the metal box from Yidun's hand, helped Yidun into the car, threw the two metal boxes into the trunk, got in himself, and closed the door.

  At the driver's seat was a black man who looked exactly like him in appearance and attire, quickly started the car and sped away.

  Inside the spacious Rolls-Royce, apart from Yidun and the black man who opened the door, there was a young man with disheveled blood-red short hair, wearing a pitch-black denim jacket on top and a faded denim pants with holes at the bottom, his feet clad in Adidas sneakers, intently watching an adult video playing on the small TV inside the car. The speakers were turned up loud, and the moans and gasps of the female star were enough to drive ordinary people crazy.

  As soon as Yi Chen walked in, the young man lazily turned off the TV and turned his head to ask: "Boss, is everything okay? Why bother with this? Whoever makes a move, can't we just take these things by force?" On his face, there was a huge scar from the left corner of his eye to the right side of his chin, adding a few strands of cold charm to his handsome face. His light blue eyes represented his European heritage.

  Yi Chen effortlessly took the cup of cocktail from the black man, took a sip and sincerely praised: "Gore, you are the best bartender in the world." Ignoring the subtle pride revealed by the black man, Yi Chen lightly clicked his tongue at the young man and said: "Jester, I just want to experience the wonderful feeling of wandering through London in the night. And besides, why bother taking action myself when I can save some energy?"

  Jester smiled indifferently and was about to turn on the TV. Yichun hastily said: "This time it's very lively, the big bear lost nine good hands, the beastman was seriously injured... Hmm..." After some thought, Yichun continued: "The Vatican sent a young man from the Religious Tribunal, not very old."

  Jester almost jumped up, a faint red glow surged through his body, and he sat down heavily, saying slowly: "Is that so... boss, don't worry, I won't look for trouble with them... not now."

  Yi Chen smiled: "This is good, we make money by being harmonious, what's the point of fighting and killing? Money is the most important thing." She pressed the intercom button on the small table in front of her and said lightly: "Phil, stop at the entrance, I'll go inside to take a look. You guys go back first and clean up those messy things, they make me uncomfortable."

  Phil, who was driving, gave a knowing smile and nodded silently.

  A white car stopped on a relatively quiet street in London's new city district, and Yichen slowly got out of the car and stood in front of a nightclub called "China Town". The car went straight to the underground garage behind.

  Yi Chen walked through the gate, and a dozen or so black men with furrowed brows and glaring eyes welcomed him in with big smiles on their faces, saying obsequiously: "Boss, everything is fine today, no problems at all."

  Yi Chen nodded: "Where's Tiaozi?"

  The black man who seemed to be the leader hastily said: "The police are also very normal, this month's tax has been given to them, and they haven't come to make trouble. It's all about the boss's face, they don't dare to come recklessly." Yi Chen nodded in satisfaction, and had already entered the smoky nightclub.

  It's called the 'China Town' nightclub, but there is not a hint of China's classical elegance inside. A heavy metal band on stage was wildly twisting and making noise, while more than a dozen blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauties were wildly shaking around them, completely naked and showing off their young and beautiful bodies.

  In the middle of the venue, countless young people were tightly packed and swaying, with occasional puffs of marijuana smoke coming out of their mouths. On the edge of the venue, two girls who looked no older than 14 had probably taken too many ecstasy pills, their bodies leaning against the railing, their heads wildly shaking back and forth, their jeans pulled down, while two black men were enthusiastically **ing, with several disheveled young people laughing and preparing to take turns behind them.

  In the semi-enclosed private rooms around, snow-white bodies were entwined and twisting, occasionally there were a few cries for help, but they were immediately covered by something. Several gay men laughed and walked towards Yidun with a handsome face, but were quickly punched away by the black giant beside Yidun. More than a dozen vendors selling marijuana and other drugs smiled at Yidun, quickly delivering goods and collecting money, greeting and doing business without error.

  Yi Chen walked into the most luxurious private room, where a surprisingly fat white middle-aged man was having a wild party surrounded by bodyguards and several men who appeared to be of Italian descent. His pants were nowhere to be found, and two relatively innocent-looking girls were servicing him with their mouths, while several other men were also entwined with the women beside them.

  Seeing Yi Chen come in, the fat white man hastily greeted him warmly: "Chinese Yi, let me introduce you to a few friends. These are good friends from Italy and I'm discussing a business deal with them. It's safe here, so they came over. You don't mind, do you?"

  Yi Chen smiled: "Big Teddy Bear, when discussing business, playing with women, aren't you afraid those chicks will sell you out?"

  The big dog bear's face changed, and he heavily slapped the two women next to him several times, driving them out. He put on his pants with a humiliated expression and said: "No way, I just like playing with women... Ah, damn it, China Yi, your place is really doing well, I'm jealous. My place gets raided by police every other day, and I've paid taxes too."

  He sat down, patted the buttocks of a woman next to him and shooed her away, chuckling: "Your business is too big, they can't help but notice you, learn from me, just a little bit of poison, no problem at all."

  The big dog bear grumbled a few words, nothing more than complaints like "Damn it, you little brat doing small business?" At this time, the mobile phone of one of his bodyguards rang.

  The big dog bear took the phone, just listened to a few words, and his face changed greatly. He hastily said sorry and quickly left with a group of subordinates and several Italians. Yi Chen calmly threw out a sentence from behind: "I'll keep track of the wine you drank." The big dog bear perfunctorily agreed, and Yi Chen smiled gloomily as he wrote down at least twenty times the price on the bill, muttering to himself: "Big money or small money, all must be earned. Gold Mountain is also accumulated grain by grain."

  After a quick scan of the area, he indeed didn't find anything out of the ordinary. He kicked open two girls who were embracing and kissing each other passionately, and Yi Chen hastily walked into a small door behind the bar.

  Here, guarding the entrance, were not black giants like those at the gate, but rather robust men with pale blue eyes, golden hair and resolute faces, typical of Germanic stock. About ten meters down a narrow corridor was a small room where several sofas and two billiard tables were scattered about, with over a dozen Germans intently playing billiards; when they saw Yichun enter, they hastily stood at attention and saluted him.

  Yi Chen nodded, his hand touched a corner of the small room, and he flashed into a hidden door. After walking a few more steps, it was a spacious secret chamber with luxurious decorations that had a Middle Eastern royal palace feel to it.

  A giant of a man, almost as tall and sturdy as Ge Er, was sitting on the corner sofa fiddling with a handgun. When he saw Yi Chen enter, he merely nodded coldly before refocusing his attention on the weapon in his hand.

  "Have you guys decided on a number?" asked Yi Chen directly to Gao Er and Fei brothers, each holding a glass of red wine in their hands.

  "Phil nodded: 'The cash is 100 million, and there are diamonds worth 50 million. Big Bear will be heartbroken.'"

  Jester twisted his body weakly on the sofa: "Two boxes have been destroyed, and I guarantee that there is no residue left. There are no marks on the banknotes, and the diamonds are also cut in an internationally universal way, with no flaws."

  A woman in a snow-white bodysuit, with silver hair that cascaded down to her hips in waves, wrapped herself around Yichun's body. Her eyes were an eerie emerald green. She licked the tip of his ear and whispered, "Boss, do you want me to keep you company?"

  Yi Chen shook his head: "Not today, tomorrow... Feili, behave yourself and don't mess around. When you have time, contact those agents to see if there are any new tasks. Don't take on anything that's too easy. How's Chekhov's progress?"

  Fei Li clung to Yi Chen's body, mumbling: "He... just hacked into the main system of a bank in Switzerland and is now watching a live performance of human reproduction, feeling the thrill with his own hands... God, boss, get rid of that guy, the whole computer room reeks of his semen, it's unbearable."

  Jester burst out laughing: "Fairy baby, I can burn that guy's thing, and guarantee there won't be any more trouble in the future... Hahaha, why didn't you smell like that when you were clinging to the boss?"

  A dozen ice pillars suddenly appeared on Fili's right hand, and then shot towards Jester with a whoosh. Jester's face changed, and a bright red fire shield quickly appeared in front of him. The ice and fire touched lightly, and immediately exploded. Fili's thick palm slammed heavily onto the floor, and a thick air boundary appeared around the exploding energy, weakening the destruction to the surrounding environment, but it had already turned several blackwood-inlaid-gold sofas into ashes.

  Yi Chen irritably slapped his forehead: "Heavens, stop causing trouble. This month's furniture replacement has already cost 3.7 million US dollars. When you have time, teach Cain's subordinates well and don't waste your abilities." The German giant sitting in the corner politely gestured to everyone, then began playing with a handgun in his hand.

  Yi Chen let out a sigh, forcibly pulling down the jade body that Feili had stuck to his own, and moved around his somewhat sore and stiff limbs. "Today is my day for practicing my skills, I'm about to break through from the 12th Yuan Zhen to the 28th Xiu," he said. "Don't disturb me, pay close attention to any small rumors on the streets, see if there's anything unusual going on."

  Everyone understood that it was not time for joking, and they stood solemnly, nodding in agreement one by one.

  Yi Chen thought for a moment, and said somewhat irresponsibly: "You guys outside, pay attention. From now on, don't let those young girls in, they can just take some soft drugs, it's not like we're running a crazy ** place or something. If someone were to die inside our establishment, it would be a big hassle... Also, have those small vendors increase the protection fees by 50% from now on, because the number of young people taking drugs in our establishment has increased dramatically, and we can't let them get away with it cheaply."

  The handover was complete, and Yi Chen was about to head towards the elevator in one corner of the room when a scrawny young Russian suddenly burst out of a hidden door from another corner. His upper body was clad in wrinkled clothes, while his lower half wore a pair of pants stained with dirt and with an unzipped fly. Upon seeing Yi Chen, he exclaimed excitedly as he rushed over: "Dear boss, do you know? I've successfully hacked into the account system of the Swiss bank known for being the most secure in the world! Oh, this is the greatest achievement ever! You should give me a reward of one million dollars."

  He kicked him out with one foot and stepped on his head, saying coldly: "First, you broke into the system of a Swiss bank, not the Swiss Bank's system; second, change your clothes before talking to me again, otherwise I'll consider giving you 1 million yen instead of the $1 million prize. Kane, take Chikov to wash up properly, there's a high-pressure car washer in the garage, use that on him." Then he walked into the elevator.

  Cain sprang up quickly and walked slowly to Chekhov's side, revealing a faint smile. Chekhov smiled wryly: "Dear Mr. Cain, I can take care of myself, no need for high-pressure water jets."

  Cain said seriously: "No, the boss's order is to use a high-pressure water column... orders must be obeyed." A thick 10.11mm caliber Browning pistol was aimed at Chikov's head, and Chikov trembled, following obediently. Ten minutes later, a shrill scream and a string of Russian curses echoed through the night sky.

  What a wonderfully beautiful London night...