Deadly Trap

Chapter 101. Extremes and Extremes

This chapter can be listened to with Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight".

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In the long stairwell, faint footsteps echoed in a hazy murmur as Gu Mufei climbed the steps.

The bloodstains at his feet were mottled, the dots forming patches; gradually, the bloodstains became increasingly blurred, swaying from side to side and becoming unrecognizable. Like the flapping of a mayfly's wings, from somewhere, came the rhythmic, panting sound of its breath, stirring up the dust.

Gu Mufeng knew they were not far away. Without hesitation, he lightened his pace considerably.

"...Good son. Is this patricide?"

His voice was like the sea, unfathomable, still deep and serene, falling heavily from a great height.

“I have no father.” Gu Mufeng did not stop. “I have never met him since I was a child.”

“Fangran…” paused, then chuckled softly, “She’s very cunning. Everyone thinks she’s a pure and noble lotus, virtuous and innocent. Ha.”

"She wanted her child, not her husband; she wanted herself, not her family. Everyone misunderstood her. Only I understood her. The ruthless White Queen on the chessboard..."

Immediately afterwards, like willow catkins tangled together, came rapid coughing and labored breathing from the stairs.

"Queen White?" Gu Mufeng continued his ascent. "She's nothing more than a pawn in your control of the Gu family. Your mother entrusted her son to you on her deathbed, never even thinking of seeing you again. She saw right through you."

"Entrusting your child to someone? Ah. You and your sister, Mu Fan, isn't that right?"

"You have no right to mention that name."

"The last time I saw her, she was just a tiny little thing. So cute."

“…Shut up.”

"You hate me. But Dilong will take action, what am I supposed to do?"

“What can be done?” Gu Mufeng gritted his teeth.

Can you really shirk all responsibility with just four words?
"...She died because of you, and you could have saved her! It was you who thought we were worthless, not worth your time. You chose to turn a blind eye!"
"Having come this far, I've certainly tasted the power firsthand; it's simply a matter of making choices. Are you still going to pretend you have no choice in front of me and try to play the family card?!"

Unable to suppress his rage, Gu Mufeng trembled all over. Looking up, he saw rows upon rows of reinforced concrete steps, dark and seemingly endless.

There were no windows, no light, no shadows. Echoing within was his heartfelt cry, suppressed for eleven years and never revealed to anyone:

"Xiao Fan, she's only twelve years old! Twelve years old! Just because of her and me, we have a father whose name we don't even know! This father is selfish and arrogant. Seeing that we were ignored by the Gu family and turned into two useless pieces, he readily abandoned us. I have no objection; we can live on our own."

"But, at least, you can save her!"

"She was tortured and murdered by Butcher because of you. I was there. And you, how could you not know?"

"Even after all that's happened, you still take Butcher in. Because he's a valuable asset, he's useful to you, he's Minzhou's top assassin. You don't want him on the other side. You want him to be loyal to you to the death."

"At that time, Butcher was simple-minded and thought that as the eldest son, I was an adult and might have colluded with you in secret, so I knew your whereabouts better."

"Yes. In this vast world, what father would completely abandon his children? Even Butcher, the murderer and psychopath, doesn't agree with or think that way."

"So, in front of me... he deliberately tormented Xiaofan in every way, forcing me into all sorts of situations. How could I possibly know? How could I tell him? What could I possibly do to—"

"If it weren't for my friend's rescue, fate would have been kind to me! A huge fire eventually reduced my body to ashes! When I went to identify the body..."

The paths he had walked in the past flashed before his eyes, frame after frame, urging him forward. He never stopped. Step by step, he climbed the stairs, one after another.

At this point, Gu Mufeng could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

Tears dripped at his feet, as if piercing through the sea of ​​fire in his memory. A small, blackened mass of charred bones—that was the home he had lived with day and night, flesh and blood pressed together, the only place he could cling to in this cold, indifferent world!
Gu Mufei hurriedly raised his hand and wiped away his tears again:
"Answer me, Xiao Fan, what did she do wrong? Answer me, what did I do wrong? Answer me, what are the innocent lives of others, Su Li and Yi Heng, to you? Tools? Pawns? Props to be discarded, crushed, and destroyed at will on the road to power?"
"One answer—who am I supposed to ask for it from!"

With a swift motion, Gu Mufeng swiftly struck down Tang Quan's hand, which was gripping the trigger in the shadows.

On the last half of the stairs, Gu Mufeng swiftly ascended, his katana thrusting straight forward without hesitation, plunging it into Tang Quan's left abdomen and pinning the latter to the wall.

With one kick, he sent Tang Quan's gun flying down the stairs.

His shoulder was a bloody mess. Tang Quan leaned against the wall, his body hanging on the knife, and didn't speak, seemingly completely at Gu Mufeng's mercy.

Two pairs of eyes, only their expressions were similar, now faced each other directly.

For eleven years, capital, power, emotions, and even his own self have spurred him on day and night, relentlessly pursuing his goals. Gu Mufeng has waited far too long. He has already pushed himself to his absolute limit.

Without a trace, like a light breeze brushing past his neck. Gu Mufeng's right hand gripped the hilt of the knife tightly. In an instant, he turned his body to the side and turned his head, only to be met with Butcher's face.

He would never forget that face, even as he was engulfed in flames.

Always meticulous, Gu Mufeng was not unaware that the Xinglong Society's operation today was missing Butcher. He assumed that his plan to sow discord, using the recording of Su Yan's murder to get Butcher to confess that Tang Quan was the mastermind, had succeeded.

Tang Quan was an extremely cunning and ruthless man, always determined to go to extremes, and there was absolutely no way he would tolerate Butcher's mistakes or betrayal. In his understanding of human nature, Gu Mufeng was too confident this time, and had too many reasons to be so eager for quick success. Perhaps, persistence truly can blind one: to his surprise, Tang Quan still allowed Butcher to remain by his side.

However, it is reserved as the last, most concealed, and only-used trump card.

Immediately, Gu Mufeng drew his gun with his left hand.

This notorious headhunter, a master of human anatomy, who had struck fear into the hearts of countless people for over a decade and whose reputation was so terrifying that he was the object of countless people's midnight resentment and desire for his annihilation, hadn't even had time to chuckle again when two bullets pierced his heart through his chest.

In just a moment.

Pinned firmly to the wall by Gu Mufeng, the blade piercing through him, Tang Quan silently watched everything, panting heavily.

At this moment, amidst the deafening revelation, Tang Quan suddenly burst into loud laughter:
"Hahahaha! Well done! Now, let me give you the answer: Good son, this is what you call blood for blood! Life? What do you think it is? You killed him with your own hands, isn't that just like destroying a tool?"
"Once you've killed someone, you can never go back."

His starry eyes, initially cold and sharp, narrowed instantly. Tang Quan then glared at him, his eyes wide with anger:

"Don't be naive! You and I are no different!"

Gu Mufeng paid no attention to Gu Mufeng's profound remarks: Perhaps it was still a bit too late.

He felt no pain whatsoever. But blood was already seeping out, seeping little by little, soaking and staining his collar. Right on the side of his neck, right on the old scar.

This time, however, Butcher was not torturing him. As a professional assassin, he was eager to prove his loyalty to the chairman, and the thin dagger was only intended to sever his carotid artery with a single blow.

Perhaps driven by instinct, Gu Mufeng instantly dodged to the side, temporarily saving him, even though the wound was still long and deep.

Gu Mufeng knew that he wouldn't have much time left.

He turned the gun towards Tang Quan.

"...Good boy. Why don't you come with me? I've said it before, we'll share the throne as father and son."

"I truly never imagined that by borrowing the blood of the Gu family's decadent conglomerate, I could give birth to such a spirited and worthy son, just like me. If you let go now, you won't die."

"Think of your mother! Think of Fangran! You are her only remaining bloodline. She would want you—"

Seeing that Gu Mufeng remained completely unmoved, Tang Quan's voice immediately changed, and he shouted sharply:
"And what's more! Do you think killing me will end everything? This city, this decadent city! The tycoons! The municipal government! The underworld!"

“The Xinglong Society has already merged, do you think they will let you go? Those political lackeys, hypocritical and sanctimonious, the law and the police, do you think they will let you go?”
"If people don't look out for themselves, how can they possibly overcome fate?"

Twenty-nine years ago. New York. Christmas Eve.

He used all his life savings to commission a small ruby ​​ring for Fangran, who loved it dearly. Cloaked in snow, anxious and worried, he rushed to Fangran's side as his delayed international flight was about to land.

He knelt down and brushed aside Fangran's sweat-drenched hair. She nestled close to her new mother's soft embrace... a tiny new life.

Right now, Gu Mufeng simply pulled the knife out of Tang Quan's abdomen, and a stream of blood gushed out.

He discarded the knife, stepping on the blade; freeing his right hand, he pressed it against the wound on his neck. Blood, like time, once gone, never returns.

Calmly, he gripped the gun in his left hand and pressed it against Tang Quan's forehead.

Faced with this strangely similar face, Gu Mufeng felt nothing but disgust: for the first time since birth, he loathed his own existence.

Nineteen years have passed since my mother passed away. The man before me is not only the instigator, but also the one who takes and takes from me.

Tang Quan never felt remorse, nor did he ever make amends; he only cared about the world for himself. He trampled on life and slaughtered happiness; for power, he manipulated others as if they were nothing; for himself, he personally abandoned and destroyed his own children.

What is Gu Fangran? What is Gu Mufan? In his eyes, what does a person's life truly mean?
Humans are not chess pieces; and this world should not be like a chessboard, where no one is a player.

Filled with anticipation, Su Li hoped that through architectural design, she too could gradually change the world. Wasn't this a path to triumph over fate?
However, Tang Quan could not understand her genuine gratitude for every day of her life, regardless of the highs or lows.

Gu Mufeng never wanted to hear Tang Quan's name again, never wanted to see that face again, and never wanted anyone to continue to be threatened by him, living a life of humiliation in the shadows.

"I've never been like you."

Gu Mufeng pulled the trigger.

No light, no shadow, the blood flowed silently. Tang Quan's body, half his face blown off, lay quietly alongside his pistol and cleaver.

Sixty-two years have come to an end, and Gu Mufeng breathed softly.

Without looking back, he walked away.

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Next Chapter: Undeterred and Unstoppable
[Author's Note | Chapter 101]

at last.

What do you, dear readers, think about Tang Quan's death?
On Christmas Eve that year, no one knew their fate. If Su Yan hadn't schemed against Gu Fangran back then, how different would everything be today?
What are your thoughts on the past romantic entanglement between the young lady and the loyal yakuza dog?
Can Gu Mufeng ever go back?
Let me know what you think in the comments!
Babies, please be sure to vote and read this! This is the last chance to make it onto the list! The author loves you all!