Taoist priest goes to America

The people outside finally broke down the door.

With a bang, the door slammed open, splinters flew everywhere, and the two heavy wooden doors detached from their frames and crashed onto the marble floor.

Seven or eight bodyguards in black suits stood outside the door, each holding an MP5 submachine gun. Their faces were clearly visible in the dim light at the entrance, and earpiece wires hung down from their collars.

The leader saw the scene in the hall: under the dim red light, corpses lay scattered all over the floor, blood seeping out from under the bodies and forming a thin film on the dark gray marble floor, reflecting the dim red light.

His eyes widened instantly, and his finger landed on the trigger.

Ang Lee stood at the other end of the hall, about fifteen meters from the door, his right hand already taking a grenade from Doyle's body.

Doyle was wearing the tactical belt that Ang Lee had given him, with a dozen or so black, oval-shaped grenades hanging from it, and small iron rings hanging from the safety pins, swaying back and forth under the light.

Ang Lee grabbed the metal ring and yanked it. The safety pin popped out, he released the safety lever, and the grenade's fuse began to hiss. Then he turned sideways, swung his hand, and flung the grenade away.

The grenade traced a black parabola in the air, flying from one end of the hall towards the entrance.

The grenade flew over the corpses of the powerful and wealthy lying on the ground, spun twice in the air, and landed precisely in the middle of the group of bodyguards at the door.

The bodyguards had just rushed in and were still catching their breath when they saw a dark object fly over and into their ranks.

Out of professional ethics, they quickly rolled on the spot and went in all directions.

The grenade exploded, emitting a blinding flash for a moment, and the bodyguards couldn't see anything.

The sound came after the flash, a deafening explosion, followed by a shockwave. The air blast rushed in from the doorway, crushing the two doors that had already fallen to the ground into dust.

Shrapnel bounced and flew in the narrow doorway. Metal fragments dented the marble floor and sent up tiny pebbles.

The bullets that struck the man first tore through the suit fabric, cut the skin, and shattered the muscles. A piece of shrapnel pierced the leader's face, entering through his left eyebrow and passing through his skull.

"Throw it away," Li An said.

Doyle took a grenade from his belt, bit off the safety pin with his teeth, and threw it toward the door.

He threw it too hard; the grenade flew too far, over the heads of the group of people at the door, and landed in the corridor.

Isya also took a grenade from his belt, bit off the safety pin, and threw it toward the door. He threw it even closer, and the grenade landed just outside the threshold, rolling to the feet of a bodyguard who hadn't yet fallen.

Two explosions rang out almost simultaneously. The first one came from the depths of the corridor, and a flash of light rushed in from the doorway, momentarily dimming the dim red light in the hall.

The second sound came from outside the threshold; shrapnel struck the door frame and the ground, sending sparks flying.

A bodyguard's right hand was severed by shrapnel, and blood spurted from the cut, spraying onto the door frame.

Ang Lee's gaze swept across the hall. He saw some people still moving in the corner; a group of people were slumped behind an overturned sofa, their bodies trembling violently, their shoulders exposed, conspicuous in the dim red light.

Ang Lee gestured with his chin in that direction. "Doyle. Isya. That corner. Throw it over there."

Doyle took another grenade from his belt. He bit off the safety pin, aimed at a corner, and threw it.

The grenade flew in a low arc, not far enough, and landed several meters from its target. It rolled twice and came to rest next to an overturned coffee table.

"Too close," Li An exclaimed.

Before he could finish speaking, the grenade exploded. Shrapnel flew in all directions, and a triangular piece of metal flew out from the center of the explosion, grazing Isya's left shoulder.

The piece of flesh on Isya's shoulder flew off like a piece of bread being sliced ​​off with a knife.

Isya's body swayed, but it didn't fall; its eyes didn't even look at its own shoulder. It was no longer alive; blood was just liquid to it, and losing a muscle only meant losing a little strength.

Ang Lee glanced at Doyle. "Watch where you throw it."

Doyle turned its eyes to look at Li An. It took another grenade from its belt, bit off the safety pin, and threw it.

The grenade flew in a high arc, landing precisely behind the overturned sofa in the corner, near the people.

The man behind the sofa saw the grenade land next to him, his body jerked violently, and he tried to get up by bracing himself on the ground with his hands, but after he took two steps, the grenade exploded.

Shrapnel flew out from behind the sofa, leaving a bloody mark on the wall. The bodies of those people were pushed out from behind the sofa by the shockwave, rolled twice on the ground, and were already burned to a crisp.

Ang Lee turned and walked towards the stairwell. Doyle and Isya followed behind him.

Ang Lee walked up to him, paused, and turned his head to look at the entrance where bodyguards were gathering.

"You guys go down first, I'll catch up later," Li An said.

Doyle walked into the stairwell, his footsteps echoing on the steps. Isya followed behind him, drops of blood from his shoulder falling onto the steps and leaving dark red dots on the carpet.

Ang Lee took a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, loosened it, and rolled the grenade down the floor into the hall. The grenade rolled over the threshold and into the pool of blood that was still flowing out of the doorway.

He took another grenade from Isya's belt, removed the safety pin, and threw it into a corner on the other side of the hall. The two grenades rolled on the floor, the hissing of the fuses clearly audible in the empty hall.

He closed the stairwell door, turned around, and walked down the steps.

The first explosion came from behind. A flash of white light peeked through the crack in the door, the door shook, and dust fell down in a flurry.

Then came the second sound, louder than the first, and the door was pushed open a little by the blast wave.

Ang Lee didn't turn around. He walked down the steps, his footsteps mingling with those of Doyle and Isya.

Ang Lee walked at the back, taking grenades from Doyle and Isya as he went, a total of twelve.

They walked down the corridor. The rabbit masks on both sides were still there, some of them warped by the explosion and tilted in the glass cases.

Ang Lee glanced at it, then took two grenades out of his pocket, attached the trigger wires, and put them behind the glass case, concealing the grenades with his mask.

The safety lever was still pressed down, not loosened. Ang Lee tied the trigger wire to the safety lever, pulled out the other end of the wire, taut it, and tied it to the socket of a wall lamp on the opposite wall in the corridor.

The line was taut, lying across the middle of the corridor at about knee height, almost invisible in the dim light.

They went down to the basement, which was exactly as it had been when they left. The air was thick with the smell of blood, and the floor was littered with the bodies of strippers that Ang Lee had shot to death.

Ang Lee didn't look at them. After the two bodies and one person went into the basement, they took six more grenades. He placed four of these grenades at the basement entrance and secured the safety catch with wire.

Then place the remaining four stones one by one in the basement where they appear to be load-bearing walls.

He made sure every thread was taut just right, not too tight and not too loose. He stood up and dusted off his hands.

"Walk."

Ang Lee walked in front and pushed open the small door on the back wall of the basement. In Isya's memory, it was from here that Ishes escaped.

Ang Lee pushed open the door at the end of the corridor. Behind the door was a very narrow passage, just wide enough for one person to pass through. The walls of the passage were made of cement and were not plastered. Every few meters, there was an emergency light emitting a ghastly green glow.

The air was damp and cold, with a musty smell. Li An went in first, followed by Doyle, with Isya bringing up the rear.

He took another grenade from Isya, pulled the pin, and placed it on the ground behind the door, against the threshold.

They walked for a long time. The passage was long and went deeper and deeper.

At the end of the passage was an iron door, rusted and worn, with an iron ring as the handle. Doyle reached out, grabbed the ring, and pulled the door open.

Outside the door was a small concrete room, like an inspection well. There was an iron ladder on the wall of the room, which led from the ground to a circular exit overhead.

Li Anxian climbed up first. His steps on the iron ladder made a creaking sound with each step.

Moonlight streamed in through the circular opening, illuminating his face, and he squinted.

He climbed out of the exit and stood in a grove of trees. Behind him was a concrete slab covered with moss and weeds, making it impossible to tell there was an exit unless you looked closely.

Before me lay a dark forest, its branches swaying gently in the night breeze, the leaves rustling softly. At the edge of the forest stretched an asphalt road, empty of cars and people.

Doyle and Isya crawled out one by one.

Li An straightened up and dusted off his Taoist robe. He turned and walked out of the woods.

The moonlight shone on Li An, turning the color of his Taoist robe a pale white. He walked ahead, with Doyle and Isya following behind. Their shadows stretched long in the moonlight.

Not long after we left, a loud bang came from behind us.