Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

At 11 p.m., Tetsuki dragged his tired steps away from the Shinigami headquarters and returned to his home in the East.

His home is located on the top floor of a high-rise apartment building on the edge of the harbor area. He bought it when he made his first fortune. However, since his parents had passed away long ago, and his wife and daughter had moved there early on because he was doing business on Hong Kong Island, he could only stay in this house a few times a year.

Although he hires a cleaning company to clean the house every now and then, so the house doesn't get dusty, the desolate feeling of "lack of human presence" can't be erased.

Even every time Zhemu returned to this room, he felt like he was staying in a hotel.

"Ding!"

The elevator stopped on the twentieth floor. Zhemu took out his key, opened the door, casually draped his coat over the yakuza, sighed wearily, and sat down on the shoe rack, feeling somewhat exhausted, to start untying his shoelaces.

The day was incredibly long—first, he flew back to East Asia from Hong Kong Island overnight, then encountered rush hour traffic jams, and finally arrived at headquarters only to be subjected to a torrent of abuse from Taras. He felt like his bones were about to fall apart.

What's worse, the unease that had been plaguing him since the afternoon still hadn't dissipated.

Taras made it sound so easy to say "This is Japan," but Zhemu, having spent so many years in Hong Kong, knew all too well the Lu family's methods. Those people could eradicate terrorist organizations in Europe overnight; would they really care about a mere mediation agreement?

Zhemu became increasingly agitated as he thought about it, so he simply stopped thinking about it altogether.

"Forget it, I'll take a hot bath first, get a good night's sleep, and deal with tomorrow's problems tomorrow."

With that thought in mind, he shuffled towards the bathroom in his slippers, but—

"Mr. Tetsuki."

A voice came from the sofa.

"Is the Grim Reaper squad working such intense overtime? Why are you getting home so late?"

Zhemu froze.

The next second, without the slightest hesitation, his hand flashed towards his waist—

However, before he could even touch the gun, two flashes of light suddenly appeared in the darkness.

Pfft. Pfft.

Two muffled thuds almost overlapped. Zhemu felt a sharp pain in both hands. Looking down, he saw a bloody hole in each palm. Blood dripped from his fingertips onto the floor, quickly forming a small puddle.

The pistol also flew out of my hand with a "clang," crashing heavily to the floor and rolling a long way.

"Don't waste your time."

The table lamp is on.

Xiao Zhuang sat elegantly on the sofa, legs crossed, holding a pistol with a long silencer attached to the muzzle.

He looked at Zhemu coldly, as if he were looking at a piece of merchandise that had already been disposed of.

"Your men have already been taken away for tea by my brothers," Xiao Zhuang pointed his gun at the person opposite him. "Now, sit down obediently, and we'll have a good chat."

Zhemu's face was deathly pale, his hands hanging limply at his sides. He gritted his teeth and walked step by step to the sofa opposite him, sat down, stared at Xiao Zhuang, and sneered: "You are from the Lu family, aren't you? You have some nerve to chase me all the way to Japan."

"You'd better leave now before things escalate. Otherwise—I guarantee that not one of you will leave Japan alive!"

Xiao Zhuang did not respond.

He simply smiled, raised his hand, and fired two more shots.

Pfft. Pfft.

This time it's Zhemu's two knees.

"ah--!"

Zhemu finally couldn't hold back and let out a scream, sliding off the sofa and kneeling on the floor. Blood quickly soaked through his trousers, spreading a dark red stain on the floor.

"Mr. Zhemu, you seem to have misunderstood something," Xiao Zhuang said calmly. "Who said you're our only target?"

"You, and the entire Grim Reaper group behind you—we don't intend to let any of them go."

Upon hearing this, Tetsuki forced himself to lift his head, his voice trembling: "Don't dream... We, the Grim Reaper Group—"

However, before he could finish speaking, the still-warm silencer was already pressed against his forehead.

He looked up, met Xiao Zhuang's eyes, and for the first time, a look of terror appeared on his face.

"Don't worry," Xiao Zhuang said softly, "your boss Taras will be here to keep you company soon."

"Remember this in your next life—don't take on just any business, and don't mess with the wrong people."

puff!

A soft sound.

Zhemu stared wide-eyed in disbelief, but his body slumped onto the floor like a lump of mud.

Xiao Zhuang expressionlessly holstered his gun and stood up, saying to his subordinates from Takamagahara who had been standing quietly behind him, "Thank you all for your hard work. Clean this place up."

"Hi, Lord Gin!"

Several of his men bowed respectfully and watched Xiao Zhuang walk out the door.

Then, they skillfully dragged Zhemu's body into the bedroom and began to pour gasoline all over every corner of the room, from the doorway to the corridor.

……

Downstairs, a black Porsche was parked on the side of the road.

Xiao Zhuang leaned against the side door and lit a cigarette.

Not long after, a muffled thud came from above, and then the light in Zhemu's window came on.

The orange-red light flickered in the night, quickly spreading into a sea of ​​fire. Many residents who were still awake at night peeked out, then let out terrified screams.

Soon after, the urgent and piercing fire alarm shattered the night sky, plunging the entire high-rise apartment building into chaos.

Xiao Zhuang took a drag of his cigarette, watching the flames grow stronger in the night, then took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Madam," Xiao Zhuang said, "Zhemu's situation has been taken care of."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a clear, cold female voice: "Very good. Was the scene cleaned up properly?"

"Don't worry," Xiao Zhuang said, looking at the flames atop the building, "there won't even be any ashes left."

"You've worked hard," the female voice said. "Then let's head back to headquarters soon; we need to move on to the next phase of our plan."

"clear."

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Zhuang took one last look at the ball of fire, opened the car door, and got in.

The Porsche emitted a deep roar, and then its taillights quickly disappeared into the eastern night.

……

Takamagahara Headquarters, Top Floor Office.

It was already very late at night.

Ruan Wen stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the sea of ​​lights in Dongjing. She wore a dark cheongsam, her long hair was tied up, and her slender figure resembled a delicately painted ancient painting.

After a while, she picked up another phone on the table and dialed.

"Mr. Eguchi, your chance for revenge has arrived."