Chapter 400: 400
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2:30 a.m., Supaku Lane ;
Rong Xinghe grabbed a seat on the empty bed as soon as the thin woman left her at the door of the room. The girl then fixed her gaze at the bathroom inside the dimly-lit room, from where the sound of the shower could be heard, loud and clear. Shortly after, wrapped in a Maroon towel, a woman walked out, as her protruding belly confirmed Madame Sato's words.
"You called.", Rong Xinghe crossed her arms, still maintaining her masculine tone.
Taken aback, the woman lifted her head up and recognized the man in front of her at the first glance. The next second, Ruby, as the people around there addressed her, strode around the room hurriedly, and shut the door close.
"God, Xinghe! You could've at least given me a heads-up.", the woman flicked the girl's head, furious.
"Ouch! That was totally uncalled for.", Rong Xinghe rubbed her head, "What lead do you have this time, Andrea?"
"Are you kidding me?! At least, have the courtesy to congratulate me for this little human.", the woman almost yelled, pointing a finger at her baby bump, as she squinted her eyes at Lu Xi.
"Yeah. Right. Congratulations. Toutes nos félicitations!", Rong Xinghe smiled genuinely, "But before I enquire about the father, let's talk business."
"Yeah. Okay.", the woman took a deep breath, "Look the other side. I need to change."
"Sure. Spill the beans while you are at it.", the girl turned to the other side, facing the green-colored window, as she patiently waited for Andrea to drop the bomb.
Of course, Andrea or 'Ruby' had no issues with the girl's terms, "Okay. So a few weeks ago, before I realized that I was expecting, a shady man visited this place. He had the tattoo of a spade ace all over his left arm. Judging by his accent and looks, he seemed South Asian. Unfortunately, I couldn't get his name, as he'd already demanded anonymity from Mrs. Sato.
"Throughout the night, his phone rang for about thirty to forty times. Weirdly, from one person. Lucas Wilson. I mean, obviously, the number was saved with his pen name 'Rogue'. But I am more than sure that it was him, Xinghe. I have listened to Lucas Wilson before, and I heard the man on the phone that night. They were the same."
"Lucas Wilson... as in the man who's been working with Ahmed Ali Fadhil all these years?", the girl was intrigued, "Well, what were they talking about?"
"I am not sure but they were speaking in code. Mostly, it was just alphabets. Apparently, those were the pillars obstructing their business as well as their 'pious missions' across Asia. With those codes, he was talking dates too.
"That tattoo-man even scribbled those initials on my notepad here. Before leaving, he tore the paper, tucked it in his pocket, and stormed out of here, pretty much in a hurry. Xinghe, I am telling you, you should be hunting for this person. From what I've heard, he is the real deal. It seemed like he was the only one, who'd been entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out all the attacks that have been orchestrated, by whoever the Mastermind behind this whole thing is."
"Get me the notepad.", Rong Xinghe ordered, her eyes void of any emotion, "And a pencil. Sharpened."
_____________
Meanwhile, MZX Channel HQ ;
The two men hadn't even come up with a plan to handle the ordeal in front of them when two gunshots were fired, openly in the reception hall, right outside the sea of cubicles, roughly 300 meters far from where they were standing. Mo Zixuan, naturally, knew the place inside out. As he realized that they were outnumbered, judging by the number of footsteps closing in on them, and that the odds were against them, the man rushed back to the control unit and pressed the red button fixed behind one of the printing machines. In a matter of seconds, darkness spread throughout the entire building, putting them in a position of benefit, and their intruders, into that of incertitude.
"Get down.", Mo Zixuan pulled Zhi Al down beside him, onto the floors. As soon as they covered themselves behind the office chairs, the man looked at the man beside him, "Your phone. Now.", he whispered.
With a nod, the man pulled the phone out from his jeans pocket, "Here.", he said, as he handed it over to the man.
"Keep an eye on the door. Signal me at the turn of the knob.", the man mumbled as he minimized the brightness of the screen and enabled the silent mode of the phone, unlocking it only then. 'Stuck at MZX HQ. Urgent back-up required. Under attack.', he texted the four tigers and Rong Xinghe, switching the phone off.
"Now what?", Zhi Al hissed, "We die? Can't we just-"
"No. Act smart, Al.", Mo Zixuan interrupted, "They are equipped. We aren't. There is a slim difference between stupidity and bravery, alright?"
"But they should be coming here anytime now. It will be too late if we don't do anything soon.", the man protested.
"Yeah. I know.", the man's lips curled up into an evil smirk, "Get up. There is a way to get to my office, directly through this control room. I have my licensed revolver over there. That should do for now."
___________
2:45 a.m., Supaku Lane ;
With a light touch, Rong Xinghe rubbed the sharp-tipped pencil across the A-4 sized notepad sheet. As a result, the contents imprinted over it due to the intense stress against the last 'torn' page, were readable enough now.
'8-ZM, 9-WL, 10-XZ, 11-BZ, 12-RS, 13-AZ, 14-FX, 15-WX, 16-YX.', the note read, a huge cross marked below it.
Andrea leaned against the girl's shoulder as she snuck a peek at the alphabets and digits, "Okay. So what could that possibly mean? It might possibly be the serial number of the explosives they are planning to use. Or maybe the sleeper cells are serialized in such a way? I wasn't able to understand a single word they said back then too. Only you can decode this now, Xinghe."
As she received no reply from the girl, the woman sat down beside her, worried, "Hey.", she asked, "What happened? Did you get it?"
A minute later, Rong Xinghe stood up and retrieved her phone from the pocket of her jacket. As she waited for it switch back on, she clenched the piece of paper in her hand, rage surging through every vein in her body.
"Zixuan Mo, Wei Lu, XI Zhi, Bo Zhi, Rogguang Su, and Al Zhi. Those are the names of my Six brothers.
"Fang Xi, Wei Xi, and Yuan Xi. That's what those alphabets stand for. The digits, on the other hand, represent the September dates.
"And today is September 8th. I swear to God if anything happens to Bro Mo... Ahmed Ali Fadhil is dead! For good, this time."
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2:30 a.m., Supaku Lane ;
Rong Xinghe grabbed a seat on the empty bed as soon as the thin woman left her at the door of the room. The girl then fixed her gaze at the bathroom inside the dimly-lit room, from where the sound of the shower could be heard, loud and clear. Shortly after, wrapped in a Maroon towel, a woman walked out, as her protruding belly confirmed Madame Sato's words.
"You called.", Rong Xinghe crossed her arms, still maintaining her masculine tone.
Taken aback, the woman lifted her head up and recognized the man in front of her at the first glance. The next second, Ruby, as the people around there addressed her, strode around the room hurriedly, and shut the door close.
"God, Xinghe! You could've at least given me a heads-up.", the woman flicked the girl's head, furious.
"Ouch! That was totally uncalled for.", Rong Xinghe rubbed her head, "What lead do you have this time, Andrea?"
"Are you kidding me?! At least, have the courtesy to congratulate me for this little human.", the woman almost yelled, pointing a finger at her baby bump, as she squinted her eyes at Lu Xi.
"Yeah. Right. Congratulations. Toutes nos félicitations!", Rong Xinghe smiled genuinely, "But before I enquire about the father, let's talk business."
"Yeah. Okay.", the woman took a deep breath, "Look the other side. I need to change."
"Sure. Spill the beans while you are at it.", the girl turned to the other side, facing the green-colored window, as she patiently waited for Andrea to drop the bomb.
Of course, Andrea or 'Ruby' had no issues with the girl's terms, "Okay. So a few weeks ago, before I realized that I was expecting, a shady man visited this place. He had the tattoo of a spade ace all over his left arm. Judging by his accent and looks, he seemed South Asian. Unfortunately, I couldn't get his name, as he'd already demanded anonymity from Mrs. Sato.
"Throughout the night, his phone rang for about thirty to forty times. Weirdly, from one person. Lucas Wilson. I mean, obviously, the number was saved with his pen name 'Rogue'. But I am more than sure that it was him, Xinghe. I have listened to Lucas Wilson before, and I heard the man on the phone that night. They were the same."
"Lucas Wilson... as in the man who's been working with Ahmed Ali Fadhil all these years?", the girl was intrigued, "Well, what were they talking about?"
"I am not sure but they were speaking in code. Mostly, it was just alphabets. Apparently, those were the pillars obstructing their business as well as their 'pious missions' across Asia. With those codes, he was talking dates too.
"That tattoo-man even scribbled those initials on my notepad here. Before leaving, he tore the paper, tucked it in his pocket, and stormed out of here, pretty much in a hurry. Xinghe, I am telling you, you should be hunting for this person. From what I've heard, he is the real deal. It seemed like he was the only one, who'd been entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out all the attacks that have been orchestrated, by whoever the Mastermind behind this whole thing is."
"Get me the notepad.", Rong Xinghe ordered, her eyes void of any emotion, "And a pencil. Sharpened."
_____________
Meanwhile, MZX Channel HQ ;
The two men hadn't even come up with a plan to handle the ordeal in front of them when two gunshots were fired, openly in the reception hall, right outside the sea of cubicles, roughly 300 meters far from where they were standing. Mo Zixuan, naturally, knew the place inside out. As he realized that they were outnumbered, judging by the number of footsteps closing in on them, and that the odds were against them, the man rushed back to the control unit and pressed the red button fixed behind one of the printing machines. In a matter of seconds, darkness spread throughout the entire building, putting them in a position of benefit, and their intruders, into that of incertitude.
"Get down.", Mo Zixuan pulled Zhi Al down beside him, onto the floors. As soon as they covered themselves behind the office chairs, the man looked at the man beside him, "Your phone. Now.", he whispered.
With a nod, the man pulled the phone out from his jeans pocket, "Here.", he said, as he handed it over to the man.
"Keep an eye on the door. Signal me at the turn of the knob.", the man mumbled as he minimized the brightness of the screen and enabled the silent mode of the phone, unlocking it only then. 'Stuck at MZX HQ. Urgent back-up required. Under attack.', he texted the four tigers and Rong Xinghe, switching the phone off.
"Now what?", Zhi Al hissed, "We die? Can't we just-"
"No. Act smart, Al.", Mo Zixuan interrupted, "They are equipped. We aren't. There is a slim difference between stupidity and bravery, alright?"
"But they should be coming here anytime now. It will be too late if we don't do anything soon.", the man protested.
"Yeah. I know.", the man's lips curled up into an evil smirk, "Get up. There is a way to get to my office, directly through this control room. I have my licensed revolver over there. That should do for now."
___________
2:45 a.m., Supaku Lane ;
With a light touch, Rong Xinghe rubbed the sharp-tipped pencil across the A-4 sized notepad sheet. As a result, the contents imprinted over it due to the intense stress against the last 'torn' page, were readable enough now.
'8-ZM, 9-WL, 10-XZ, 11-BZ, 12-RS, 13-AZ, 14-FX, 15-WX, 16-YX.', the note read, a huge cross marked below it.
Andrea leaned against the girl's shoulder as she snuck a peek at the alphabets and digits, "Okay. So what could that possibly mean? It might possibly be the serial number of the explosives they are planning to use. Or maybe the sleeper cells are serialized in such a way? I wasn't able to understand a single word they said back then too. Only you can decode this now, Xinghe."
As she received no reply from the girl, the woman sat down beside her, worried, "Hey.", she asked, "What happened? Did you get it?"
A minute later, Rong Xinghe stood up and retrieved her phone from the pocket of her jacket. As she waited for it switch back on, she clenched the piece of paper in her hand, rage surging through every vein in her body.
"Zixuan Mo, Wei Lu, XI Zhi, Bo Zhi, Rogguang Su, and Al Zhi. Those are the names of my Six brothers.
"Fang Xi, Wei Xi, and Yuan Xi. That's what those alphabets stand for. The digits, on the other hand, represent the September dates.
"And today is September 8th. I swear to God if anything happens to Bro Mo... Ahmed Ali Fadhil is dead! For good, this time."
2:30 a.m., Supaku Lane ;Rong Xinghe grabbed a seat on the empty bed as soon as the thin woman left her at the door of the room. The girl then fixed her gaze at the bathroom inside the dimly-lit room, from where the sound of the shower could be heard, loud and clear. Shortly after, wrapped in a Maroon towel, a woman walked out, as her protruding belly confirmed Madame Sato's words."You called.", Rong Xinghe crossed her arms, still maintaining her masculine tone.Taken aback, the woman lifted her head up and recognized the man in front of her at the first glance. The next second, Ruby, as the people around there addressed her, strode around the room hurriedly, and shut the door close."God, Xinghe! You could've at least given me a heads-up.", the woman flicked the girl's head, furious."Ouch! That was totally uncalled for.", Rong Xinghe rubbed her head, "What lead do you have this time, Andrea?""Are you kidding me?! At least, have the courtesy to congratulate me for this little human.", the woman almost yelled, pointing a finger at her baby bump, as she squinted her eyes at Lu Xi."Yeah. Right. Congratulations. Toutes nos flicitations!", Rong Xinghe smiled genuinely, "But before I enquire about the father, let's talk business.""Yeah. Okay.", the woman took a deep breath, "Look the other side. I need to change.""Sure. Spill the beans while you are at it.", the girl turned to the other side, facing the green-colored window, as she patiently waited for Andrea to drop the bomb.Of course, Andrea or 'Ruby' had no issues with the girl's terms, "Okay. So a few weeks ago, before I realized that I was expecting, a shady man visited this place. He had the tattoo of a spade ace all over his left arm. Judging by his accent and looks, he seemed South Asian. Unfortunately, I couldn't get his name, as he'd already demanded anonymity from Mrs. Sato."Throughout the night, his phone rang for about thirty to forty times. Weirdly, from one person. Lucas Wilson. I mean, obviously, the number was saved with his pen name 'Rogue'. But I am more than sure that it was him, Xinghe. I have listened to Lucas Wilson before, and I heard the man on the phone that night. They were the same.""Lucas Wilson... as in the man who's been working with Ahmed Ali Fadhil all these years?", the girl was intrigued, "Well, what were they talking about?""I am not sure but they were speaking in code. Mostly, it was just alphabets. Apparently, those were the pillars obstructing their business as well as their 'pious missions' across Asia. With those codes, he was talking dates too."That tattoo-man even scribbled those initials on my notepad here. Before leaving, he tore the paper, tucked it in his pocket, and stormed out of here, pretty much in a hurry. Xinghe, I am telling you, you should be hunting for this person. From what I've heard, he is the real deal. It seemed like he was the only one, who'd been entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out all the attacks that have been orchestrated, by whoever the Mastermind behind this whole thing is.""Get me the notepad.", Rong Xinghe ordered, her eyes void of any emotion, "And a pencil. Sharpened."_____________Meanwhile, MZX Channel HQ ;The two men hadn't even come up with a plan to handle the ordeal in front of them when two gunshots were fired, openly in the reception hall, right outside the sea of cubicles, roughly 300 meters far from where they were standing. Mo Zixuan, naturally, knew the place inside out. As he realized that they were outnumbered, judging by the number of footsteps closing in on them, and that the odds were against them, the man rushed back to the control unit and pressed the red button fixed behind one of the printing machines. In a matter of seconds, darkness spread throughout the entire building, putting them in a position of benefit, and their intruders, into that of incertitude."Get down.", Mo Zixuan pulled Zhi Al down beside him, onto the floors. As soon as they covered themselves behind the office chairs, the man looked at the man beside him, "Your phone. Now.", he whispered.With a nod, the man pulled the phone out from his jeans pocket, "Here.", he said, as he handed it over to the man."Keep an eye on the door. Signal me at the turn of the knob.", the man mumbled as he minimized the brightness of the screen and enabled the silent mode of the phone, unlocking it only then. 'Stuck at MZX HQ. Urgent back-up required. Under attack.', he texted the four tigers and Rong Xinghe, switching the phone off."Now what?", Zhi Al hissed, "We die? Can't we just-""No. Act smart, Al.", Mo Zixuan interrupted, "They are equipped. We aren't. There is a slim difference between stupidity and bravery, alright?""But they should be coming here anytime now. It will be too late if we don't do anything soon.", the man protested."Yeah. I know.", the man's lips curled up into an evil smirk, "Get up. There is a way to get to my office, directly through this control room. I have my licensed revolver over there. That should do for now."___________2:45 a.m., Supaku Lane ;With a light touch, Rong Xinghe rubbed the sharp-tipped pencil across the A-4 sized notepad sheet. As a result, the contents imprinted over it due to the intense stress against the last 'torn' page, were readable enough now.'8-ZM, 9-WL, 10-XZ, 11-BZ, 12-RS, 13-AZ, 14-FX, 15-WX, 16-YX.', the note read, a huge cross marked below it.Andrea leaned against the girl's shoulder as she snuck a peek at the alphabets and digits, "Okay. So what could that possibly mean? It might possibly be the serial number of the explosives they are planning to use. Or maybe the sleeper cells are serialized in such a way? I wasn't able to understand a single word they said back then too. Only you can decode this now, Xinghe."As she received no reply from the girl, the woman sat down beside her, worried, "Hey.", she asked, "What happened? Did you get it?"A minute later, Rong Xinghe stood up and retrieved her phone from the pocket of her jacket. As she waited for it switch back on, she clenched the piece of paper in her hand, rage surging through every vein in her body."Zixuan Mo, Wei Lu, XI Zhi, Bo Zhi, Rogguang Su, and Al Zhi. Those are the names of my Six brothers."Fang Xi, Wei Xi, and Yuan Xi. That's what those alphabets stand for. The digits, on the other hand, represent the September dates."And today is September 8th. I swear to God if anything happens to Bro Mo... Ahmed Ali Fadhil is dead! For good, this time."
