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Chapter 44
Chapter 44: Adequate Retribution Qi Mo placed her back in her seat. She crouched at the edge of her seat, leaning to the side and breathing heavily, her face pale. Her body ached all over. Qi Mo watched her discomfort indifferently and said, “I can spare you from death, but I can’t forgive you entirely. You nearly ruined my plans for the sake of one woman. I don’t allow such mistakes from my people.” His voice was rough, but the hand that smoothed itself over her wound was soft. Li Xin knew that his stern tone arose from the fact that she had nearly dragged him under the bus; her actions had unintentionally affected the execution of his plans, which was not what she wanted. It was only that she had acted independently out of instinct. Qi Mo had also made his move twenty some seconds slower than she’d antic.i.p.ated, causing this nearly disastrous outcome. She didn’t entirely understand the mechanics behind his scheme, but without his ire, she would not have realized how much danger she had put his people in — they could have died because of her disobedience. This was the error that Qi Mo referred to, the way in which she had dragged him down, regardless of what she had actually done. If she had known this, she wouldn’t have revealed all the other unnecessary details to him. She frowned; she was too ignorant in the ways of underworld crime, which caused her and Qi Mo to perpetually be on different wavelengths. She would have to pay attention in the future.
She leaned against his chest with her gaze fixated on his still eyes and opened her shaking hands, revealing the explosive devices she had taken. “I found these too,” she said quietly, raising the objects before him. “It wasn’t all because of the woman.” She hoped her discovery would make up for her mistake. He furrowed his brows at her offering and reached out to grab the devices, the coldness in his eyes diluted with inquisitiveness. “How did you come about these?” Nearby, Red Falcon and the rest of the men eyed the objects in surprise. They’d never seen the small rings before, but the b.u.t.ton-like devices resembled the ones they had witnessed turning the sea of poppies into ash. It was virtually undetectable by machine or human. The amount that Li Xin had carried out was definitely lethal. Li Xin noted that the anger in Qi Mo’s face had been completely replaced by an ominous look of apprehension. She took a breath, then said, “I was recording something useful for you from the surveillance centre and came upon its location, so I brought it all with me. I really was trying to help you, you know. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have been late.” Well, that was 80 percent true and 20 percent false, but she was sure Qi Mo couldn’t tell. Besides, it really was because of these devices that she had wasted an extra twenty seconds. “I never asked you for any help,” Qi Mo shot back. “If I weren’t sure of myself, I wouldn’t have acted.” While speaking, he handed the objects to Red Falcon and returned his arm around her waist, gentle ma.s.saging where she was hurt. Although his words were abrasive, the level of his anger noticeably decreased, and Li Xin felt the hair on the back of her neck settle down in relief. He was still irked, but it was at a stage that she felt was manageable. “If you don’t want it, then whatever,” she tossed out candidly. She knew that he had gone prepared, otherwise he wouldn’t have made a move. She had only helped him because it had been along her way. “Give it here.” Qi Mo looked down to see Li Xin rubbing her wrist. Illuminated by the dim car light, her skin seemed to glow with blue and purple bruises. He frowned. She huffed and tossed him the disc that contained the footage she’d copied in the surveillance center. “I took it from the surveillance room. We can forget my punishment now, correct?” Qi Mo calming down saw the prompt return of her arrogant att.i.tude. She was an excellent reader of body language. Qi Mo gave the disc to Li Hu, who inserted it into the car’s video player. The scene that played on the screen made everyone raised their brows — Li Xin had given them something valuable. Yellow Falcon slapped the back of his seat and laughed. “This gives us even more leverage. The Blue Clan is going to pay for this.” “Good work,” Red Falcon agreed, his taut face relaxing for once as he side-eyed Li Xin. Their reaction confirmed Li Xin’s a.s.sumption that their greatest desire was to take revenge on the Blue Clan. But she was more concerned about Qi Mo’s reaction, for she was already covered in wounds and had no desire to gain any more. The overlord saw her staring fixedly at him and his eyes lit up jovially for once. He threw his arm around her body and s.h.i.+fted so that she leaned against his shoulder. “I’ll let things go this time,” he said quietly. “You’ve done us a great service. However, don’t let this ever happen again. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.” Things in the world of crime s.h.i.+fted dramatically from one second to the next. It was never easy to predict when the events of a single moment resulted in a completely different outcome. He was an arms dealer and possessed items that could obliterate an entire skysc.r.a.per in a few seconds. If Li Xin continued to rebel in the way she did, doing things her own way, it would be dangerous. She was, by habit, someone who danced to her own tune, but she did not fully understand the consequences of doing so. Li Xin alone was unaware of how many lives had been sacrificed for the extra twenty seconds she had made them wait. Everyone else knew, and it would weigh in their minds as they thought about whether one life was more important or the lives of multiple. This was the difference between a thief and a robber. The good thing was that they had gained the explosive devices she had stolen, so those men’s lives had not been lost for nothing; they would be able to prevent a lot more lives from being lost now, and Qi Mo could properly face his own people. Li Xin let out a breath. Whatever would come would come. For now, she had gotten through this round. But she was still dissatisfied at the fact that she had sacrificed so much to earn so little. “But I already got punished. Shouldn’t I get some reward in return?” She shoved her bruised wrist out for Qi Mo to see. His face turned stormy again. “Fine, fine, never mind,” she replied hastily. Silence fell upon the occupants of the car. Li Hu, who had been watching the footage on the screen the entire time, suddenly spoke up, breaking the short-lived and stifling quiet that had enveloped the car. “You saw?” He was referring to the people Qi Mo had sent to stealthily invade the Wind Clan building; all of it had been recorded on the monitors. Red Falcon raised his head to see what Li Hu meant, and Qi Mo swept a glance at Li Xin, who kept her head down. She threw Li Hu a disdainful look and pursed her lips. “If you guys were going to choose someone to hack the system, you should’ve chosen someone good,” she said. “I repelled them so easily. You should be embarra.s.sed.” Silence descended upon them once again. After a long moment, Red Falcon threw a casual glance at Li Hu, who looked upset. “Looks like your skills need improving.” Yellow Falcon coughed. “Quite the expert,” he commented to Li Xin, looking at her brightly. She noticed the the two Falcons looking at her thoughtfully; even Li Hu was eyeing her from the driver’s seat through the rearview mirror. The contemplation that pa.s.sed through their eyes caused a s.h.i.+ver of fear to run through her. She turned and let her head fall into Qi Mo’s chest. “That’s all I know,” she said miserably. “Don’t get any ideas.”
Chapter 44: Adequate Retribution Qi Mo placed her back in her seat. She crouched at the edge of her seat, leaning to the side and breathing heavily, her face pale. Her body ached all over. Qi Mo watched her discomfort indifferently and said, “I can spare you from death, but I can’t forgive you entirely. You nearly ruined my plans for the sake of one woman. I don’t allow such mistakes from my people.” His voice was rough, but the hand that smoothed itself over her wound was soft. Li Xin knew that his stern tone arose from the fact that she had nearly dragged him under the bus; her actions had unintentionally affected the execution of his plans, which was not what she wanted. It was only that she had acted independently out of instinct. Qi Mo had also made his move twenty some seconds slower than she’d antic.i.p.ated, causing this nearly disastrous outcome. She didn’t entirely understand the mechanics behind his scheme, but without his ire, she would not have realized how much danger she had put his people in — they could have died because of her disobedience. This was the error that Qi Mo referred to, the way in which she had dragged him down, regardless of what she had actually done. If she had known this, she wouldn’t have revealed all the other unnecessary details to him. She frowned; she was too ignorant in the ways of underworld crime, which caused her and Qi Mo to perpetually be on different wavelengths. She would have to pay attention in the future.
She leaned against his chest with her gaze fixated on his still eyes and opened her shaking hands, revealing the explosive devices she had taken. “I found these too,” she said quietly, raising the objects before him. “It wasn’t all because of the woman.” She hoped her discovery would make up for her mistake. He furrowed his brows at her offering and reached out to grab the devices, the coldness in his eyes diluted with inquisitiveness. “How did you come about these?” Nearby, Red Falcon and the rest of the men eyed the objects in surprise. They’d never seen the small rings before, but the b.u.t.ton-like devices resembled the ones they had witnessed turning the sea of poppies into ash. It was virtually undetectable by machine or human. The amount that Li Xin had carried out was definitely lethal. Li Xin noted that the anger in Qi Mo’s face had been completely replaced by an ominous look of apprehension. She took a breath, then said, “I was recording something useful for you from the surveillance centre and came upon its location, so I brought it all with me. I really was trying to help you, you know. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have been late.” Well, that was 80 percent true and 20 percent false, but she was sure Qi Mo couldn’t tell. Besides, it really was because of these devices that she had wasted an extra twenty seconds. “I never asked you for any help,” Qi Mo shot back. “If I weren’t sure of myself, I wouldn’t have acted.” While speaking, he handed the objects to Red Falcon and returned his arm around her waist, gentle ma.s.saging where she was hurt. Although his words were abrasive, the level of his anger noticeably decreased, and Li Xin felt the hair on the back of her neck settle down in relief. He was still irked, but it was at a stage that she felt was manageable. “If you don’t want it, then whatever,” she tossed out candidly. She knew that he had gone prepared, otherwise he wouldn’t have made a move. She had only helped him because it had been along her way. “Give it here.” Qi Mo looked down to see Li Xin rubbing her wrist. Illuminated by the dim car light, her skin seemed to glow with blue and purple bruises. He frowned. She huffed and tossed him the disc that contained the footage she’d copied in the surveillance center. “I took it from the surveillance room. We can forget my punishment now, correct?” Qi Mo calming down saw the prompt return of her arrogant att.i.tude. She was an excellent reader of body language. Qi Mo gave the disc to Li Hu, who inserted it into the car’s video player. The scene that played on the screen made everyone raised their brows — Li Xin had given them something valuable. Yellow Falcon slapped the back of his seat and laughed. “This gives us even more leverage. The Blue Clan is going to pay for this.” “Good work,” Red Falcon agreed, his taut face relaxing for once as he side-eyed Li Xin. Their reaction confirmed Li Xin’s a.s.sumption that their greatest desire was to take revenge on the Blue Clan. But she was more concerned about Qi Mo’s reaction, for she was already covered in wounds and had no desire to gain any more. The overlord saw her staring fixedly at him and his eyes lit up jovially for once. He threw his arm around her body and s.h.i.+fted so that she leaned against his shoulder. “I’ll let things go this time,” he said quietly. “You’ve done us a great service. However, don’t let this ever happen again. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.” Things in the world of crime s.h.i.+fted dramatically from one second to the next. It was never easy to predict when the events of a single moment resulted in a completely different outcome. He was an arms dealer and possessed items that could obliterate an entire skysc.r.a.per in a few seconds. If Li Xin continued to rebel in the way she did, doing things her own way, it would be dangerous. She was, by habit, someone who danced to her own tune, but she did not fully understand the consequences of doing so. Li Xin alone was unaware of how many lives had been sacrificed for the extra twenty seconds she had made them wait. Everyone else knew, and it would weigh in their minds as they thought about whether one life was more important or the lives of multiple. This was the difference between a thief and a robber. The good thing was that they had gained the explosive devices she had stolen, so those men’s lives had not been lost for nothing; they would be able to prevent a lot more lives from being lost now, and Qi Mo could properly face his own people. Li Xin let out a breath. Whatever would come would come. For now, she had gotten through this round. But she was still dissatisfied at the fact that she had sacrificed so much to earn so little. “But I already got punished. Shouldn’t I get some reward in return?” She shoved her bruised wrist out for Qi Mo to see. His face turned stormy again. “Fine, fine, never mind,” she replied hastily. Silence fell upon the occupants of the car. Li Hu, who had been watching the footage on the screen the entire time, suddenly spoke up, breaking the short-lived and stifling quiet that had enveloped the car. “You saw?” He was referring to the people Qi Mo had sent to stealthily invade the Wind Clan building; all of it had been recorded on the monitors. Red Falcon raised his head to see what Li Hu meant, and Qi Mo swept a glance at Li Xin, who kept her head down. She threw Li Hu a disdainful look and pursed her lips. “If you guys were going to choose someone to hack the system, you should’ve chosen someone good,” she said. “I repelled them so easily. You should be embarra.s.sed.” Silence descended upon them once again. After a long moment, Red Falcon threw a casual glance at Li Hu, who looked upset. “Looks like your skills need improving.” Yellow Falcon coughed. “Quite the expert,” he commented to Li Xin, looking at her brightly. She noticed the the two Falcons looking at her thoughtfully; even Li Hu was eyeing her from the driver’s seat through the rearview mirror. The contemplation that pa.s.sed through their eyes caused a s.h.i.+ver of fear to run through her. She turned and let her head fall into Qi Mo’s chest. “That’s all I know,” she said miserably. “Don’t get any ideas.”
