Killing two birds with one stone.

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“Mr. Hasegawa, watch out!”

Zhou Hongyi first shifted half a step aside. The moment the Central Unification Bureau gunman pulled the trigger, he shouted again and shoved the round-headed purchasing minister to the ground.

The bullet screamed past and struck a Special Higher Police Section bodyguard nearby, splattering three blossoms of blood.

At the same time, the other Japanese spy bodyguards returned fire toward the source of the gunshots. They missed their intended target, but hit several guests who were fleeing in panic, clutching their heads.

Seeing that his first shot had missed, the Central Unification Bureau gunman raised his hand and fired twice more, shattering the chandelier above the dance floor. He then vanished into the chaotic crowd and fled outside.

Zhou Hongyi had already locked onto the gunman’s entry in the crowd. He rose to his feet and shouted in Japanese to the Special Higher Police Section bodyguards beside him, “Protect Mr. Hasegawa. Hold the main entrance. No one is to leave. The rest of you, follow me!”

He spoke as naturally as though he were commanding his own men. The Japanese agents of the Special Higher Police Section froze for a moment, then followed his orders. Three of them rushed to the exit and guarded the doors, refusing to let anyone leave. Two stayed behind to protect Shimazu and Hasegawa, while another two followed Zhou Hongyi toward the staff changing rooms along the side of the Paramount Ballroom.

Zhou Hongyi knew perfectly well that a competent gunman would have planned his escape route before taking action. The main entrance was usually never part of such a plan.

Raising his pistol, Zhou Hongyi swept aside a red curtain and charged into the passage beyond. His sudden appearance sent several scantily dressed dancers inside shrieking in fright.

After pursuing the gunman for a short distance, Zhou Hongyi pointed toward a fork in the passage. “You two, go that way!”

With that, he turned and rushed toward the other branch.

During the pursuit, he grabbed a dancer who had been scared stiff and shouted, “Where is Manyu? Where is Manyu’s dressing room?”

The woman trembled as she pointed in a direction. Zhou Hongyi released her and strode inside.

He shoved open the dressing-room door with one hand. His eyes were like those of a wolf or an eagle as he swiftly surveyed the room.

Manyu was halfway through changing clothes, clutching her skirt tightly against her chest. Her face was tense, and she stared at Zhou Hongyi with wide eyes without saying a word.

The two exchanged a silent conversation with their eyes. Zhou Hongyi noticed that Manyu kept glancing toward the corner of the room.

He walked over and looked her up and down a few times. “Miss Manyu, are you all right? A gunman infiltrated the dance floor and just tried to assassinate Mr. Hasegawa and Mr. Shimazu. I saw him flee in this direction, and you were the first person who came to mind. It seems you’re not in any danger.”

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As he spoke, Zhou Hongyi gestured for Manyu not to be nervous, while his footsteps slowly carried him toward the corner.

“Young Master Zhou, I never imagined that even in the face of such danger, you could still be thinking of me. I...” Manyu was extremely clever. She immediately cooperated with Zhou Hongyi, speaking meaningless words in an attempt to keep the gunman hiding in the corner from losing his nerve.

But before she could say anything more, Zhou Hongyi reached out and covered her lips, signaling for her to remain silent. He pressed himself against the wall of the private room, while the long-awaited prompt from the system finally sounded in his mind.

Ding! Successful check-in at Manyu’s dressing room. Skill activated: “Close-Combat Domain.”

Close-Combat Domain: Increases strength, agility, and predictive ability. The Close-Combat Domain may be activated once every twenty-four hours. This ability allows the user to skillfully employ various close-combat techniques for ten minutes.

With the successful check-in, unfamiliar images and knowledge poured into Zhou Hongyi’s mind, leaving him dazed for a brief moment. At the same time, the clothing rack crowded with garments began to sway faintly, and a figure flashed past from the side.

Zhou Hongyi put one arm around Manyu and shielded her behind him. In a low voice, he asked, “Is there another exit?”

Manyu felt certain that her cheeks had turned as red as ripe apples. The distinctly masculine scent radiating from Zhou Hongyi seeped into her nostrils and rushed straight to her head, leaving her mind muddled and her thoughts in disarray. She could barely think clearly.

“Miss Manyu, is there another exit?” Zhou Hongyi repeated.

“What? Oh... yes. There is one. My dressing room has a hidden door leading outside.”

Manyu pointed toward the other side, her voice squeezing through her lips as softly as a mosquito’s hum.

Fortunately, Zhou Hongyi was close enough to hear her. “Miss Manyu, find somewhere to hide. Do not come out until you’re certain it’s safe.”

“All right... all right...” Manyu answered shyly.

Zhou Hongyi rushed toward the direction she had indicated. The hidden door there had already been opened by the gunman.

Moving with incredible speed, Zhou Hongyi darted through the gap in the door. He dove forward, landing on his arm first, then used the momentum to roll aside and evade the wooden club whistling down over his head.

Crack!

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The club smashed into the wall and broke in two. Zhou Hongyi rolled to his feet. Instead of drawing his pistol, he immediately kicked the gunman in the knee. Then, with both hands crossed and thrusting upward, he knocked the pistol in the gunman’s hand toward the sky.

Bang!

The bullet flew upward, aimed at the clouds.

Pinned against the wall by Zhou Hongyi, the Central Unification Bureau gunman snarled, “Who the hell are you? Why are you helping those devils?”

By then, Zhou Hongyi had activated the Close-Combat Domain he had just acquired. His eyes flashed like lightning, and his hands were as powerful as pincers.

“I can’t let you disrupt my plans. Besides, your hands are stained with the blood of countless underground members of the Red Party. This time, do me a favor and become the stepping stone that allows me to infiltrate the enemy’s ranks.”

More entries appeared above the gunman’s head. Before joining the Central Unification Bureau, he had persecuted numerous underground workers of the Red Party. Around ten of them had ultimately died in prison because of him.

With that, Zhou Hongyi felt no psychological burden whatsoever. He could avenge his comrades while earning Hasegawa’s trust. It was the perfect opportunity, as though Heaven itself had delivered it to him.

“What? You... you’re one of the Red Party’s people?!”

The gunman was startled by Zhou Hongyi’s words. His eyes bulged with fury as he struggled with all his strength to resist.

But Zhou Hongyi suddenly drove his knee into the man’s abdomen. As the gunman doubled over, Zhou Hongyi’s hands moved with lightning speed, twisting sharply in opposite directions.

A crisp snap came from the gunman’s neck. His eyes instantly went blank, and his body slid limply down the wall and collapsed onto the ground.

Zhou Hongyi had snapped the man’s neck with a single twist. The sharpness of the movement and the decisiveness of the strike startled even him.

Looking at the gunman’s lifeless body, he decided to add a little more weight to the day’s events. He took the dead man’s hand, tightened its grip around the pistol, pressed it against his own arm, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

The gunshot rang out. The bullet passed straight through the muscle of Zhou Hongyi’s arm, minimizing the damage. From the outside, however, the wound appeared quite serious.

He groaned and sank to the ground, clutching the wound tightly as he shouted, “Someone, help! The assassin is here!”

The two Japanese agents from the Special Higher Police Section whom Zhou Hongyi had sent away heard the gunshot and his cry for help. They hurriedly turned back and rushed over.

When they reached the alley behind the hidden door, they saw Zhou Hongyi sitting against the wall, clutching his arm. Blood had already soaked half of his sleeve. Nearby, the assassin’s eyes were wide open, his head bent backward at an unnatural angle. It was obvious that he was dead.

Before long, news of the shooting at the Paramount Ballroom had spread throughout the surrounding area. The police officer on duty at the Second Precinct, which was responsible for the district, telephoned the home of Director Feng.

When he learned that the assassination victim was Colonel Shimazu of the Special Higher Police Section, while the wounded man was Zhou Hongyi, he hurried out of bed, threw on his clothes, and personally led a group of men to the scene.

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