Chapter 79

It was a dark and windy night, the kind where murders are said to happen... This time, it was real; the sky was truly dark. After all, it was already May 29th, and it had been a little over a week since the last full moon. At this moment, He Ping had already arrived on a certain street in Dongguan. Although Dongguan, as a residential area, developed more slowly than other regions, it wasn't entirely dilapidated. Some places were just as bright and beautiful as other areas.

Not far from the Jinnong Club on Huayuan Road, there was a street called Qingnian Road. On both sides of the street were some distinctive and high-end restaurants, interspersed with the entrances to several residential complexes. These residential complexes were very different from the common ones in Dongguan, which had no walls and were built one next to another. At first glance, it was clear that these complexes were of a much higher class, and the people living there naturally had a certain level of economic strength.

Wearing a black camouflage suit, He Ping appeared here. His destination was one of these residential complexes. If it were in the military world, this time would certainly be pitch black, a true dark and windy night for murder. But in this world, even though it was already 3 a.m., streetlights dispelled the darkness, and there were still some pedestrians and vehicles on the street. Some shops were even still open.

Zhang Dabiao and Zhang Xiaomei, the "Uncle Zhang" and "Aunt Zhang" mentioned by Ye Nan and Ye Tong, were the targets of He Ping's mission. Of course, He Ping didn't come here just to avenge the twin sisters. After some investigation, He Ping was shocked to find that both of their names appeared on the blacklist, and their crimes were even more numerous and severe than he had imagined, as was the severity of the punishment.

Previously, He Ping thought these two were just as the sisters described: gathering a group of homeless children and making them steal to make money, and at most, abusing the children. But when he saw the crimes listed on the blacklist, he immediately became enraged. He originally thought these two were just scum, but even scum were still human. After reading the descriptions on the blacklist, his only thought was—animals!

Gathering homeless children and making them steal? That was just the basics. If that was all they did, they would at least have given those children a chance to survive. But the key was that such children were only a small part of the children they controlled. Most of the children were actually brought from other places. These children originally had families and parents; they weren't homeless!

Moreover, if the children they brought were young or not agile enough to steal, they would sell them to others for a high profit. The children responsible for stealing, when they grew older, would be trained as thugs to beat and bully other children. The girls were even worse, being sold to salons and other unsavory places.

They had been in this business for over ten years, and the number of children they had brought could be in the dozens. Most of them were sold directly. The forensic technology of the time was not very advanced, making it difficult to find the original homes of the sold children. Additionally, they were very careful, so they had never been caught. Over the years, they had lived a carefree life, buying a house in a high-end complex and having a substantial bank account.

Such animals naturally didn't deserve sympathy or hesitation. He Ping's figure became blurry in the darkness where the streetlights didn't reach. The security guard at the entrance of the residential complex didn't notice that someone had walked past him. Following the information he had gathered during the day, He Ping went straight to a building in the complex and arrived at the door of Zhang Dabiao and his wife. He activated his ability and entered the house directly.

Zhang Dabiao and his wife had no children. If they had children, they might not have taken this path. Of course, one could also say that because of their wicked deeds, they were cursed and thus had no children. The 100-square-meter apartment was occupied only by the two of them. The children and the thugs they trained were not there; they were in another old residential area in Dongguan, where Zhang Dabiao and his wife had rented a house, and dozens of people were crammed inside.

In the bedroom, the two middle-aged people were sleeping soundly. The disappearance of Ye Nan and Ye Tong for over a day didn't seem to affect their mood. Such incidents happened frequently; either the children didn't steal anything and were afraid of being beaten, or they were taken to the police for criticism and education. Occasionally, some children would try to run away, but they would be found and brought back by the thugs the next day. After all, how far could such young children run?

He Ping once again confirmed the punishment method on the blacklist. The judgment for the couple was the same: breaking their limbs and taking all their money and valuables, leaving them unable to move and penniless. This was undoubtedly the best punishment for them, and they would understand how dirty their money was, so they wouldn't dare to report it to the police. They would have to swallow their pain and keep it to themselves.

He Ping wasted no time. He first tied the two to the bed with ropes, then gagged their mouths to prevent them from making any noise. He tightened the ropes, and the pressure made them wake up quickly. When they realized their situation, the last bit of sleepiness immediately disappeared, replaced by extreme fear.

Unable to move or cry out, He Ping still felt it wasn't enough. He turned on the bedroom light. He Ping was fully equipped, wearing a full set of camouflage, body armor, helmet, and night vision goggles, with a skull mask covering his face and an AK-56 assault rifle in his hands. Though he was a bit short, standing just under 1.6 meters, his build was not slender due to the equipment.

He looked like a soldier, and more specifically, one of those special forces soldiers who only occasionally appeared in news and newspapers, known for their ruthless nature. How could Zhang Dabiao and his wife not be afraid? They had guilty consciences, knowing the dirty deeds they had done. People who usually avoided the police were suddenly faced with such a person, and with their freedom restricted, their fear was indescribable.

Seeing that his goal of scaring them had been achieved, He Ping wasted no more time. He hung the AK-56 on his back and took out a hard police baton. Under the terrified gaze of the couple, He Ping raised the baton and struck their limbs with great force. With the sound of bones breaking and unbearable pain, the two immediately understood what had happened. Zhang Dabiao's eyes bulged, his head was drenched in cold sweat, and his veins were protruding. As for Zhang Xiaomei, she had already fainted from the pain.

[PS: First update of the day!]