Chapter 86: My Mission

“Dad, there’s a parent-teacher meeting next Friday afternoon. Can you make it back by then?”

I suddenly snapped out of my daze, the searing pain in my neck reminding me that I couldn’t give up now.

Though the seat was reclining at an agonizingly slow pace, it had already laid me flat.

From this angle, Zhang Huanan couldn’t exert any force and could only keep retreating backward.

Once the seat was fully reclined, my left hand groped around until I found another button.

Pressing it would make the entire seat slide backward gradually.

“You damn—” Zhang Huanan was being pushed back relentlessly, his space shrinking by the second.

Finally free from the wire’s grip, my throat throbbed with pain, but this was life or death—anything non-lethal was just a flesh wound.

I raised the gun and turned around, but my vision was pitch black, my brain still reeling from oxygen deprivation.

Relying on sound and instinct, I aimed straight ahead, ready to take Zhang Huanan down.

Then, the entire car suddenly lurched violently.

It took me seconds to realize—it was an earthquake.

Having lived in Inner Mongolia for over thirty years, I’d never experienced one before.

But this quake was unmistakable, making it even harder to steady myself as dizziness overwhelmed me.

After two missed shots, Zhang Huanan lunged forward and seized my hand.

I’d fought him before—this conman wasn’t strong, but his moves were ruthless.

One hand pinned my gun while the other grabbed my left pinky and wrenched it backward.

Caught off guard, I reflexively pulled my hand back. The next second, my vision cleared just in time to see Zhang Huanan pull out a hammer from nowhere.

Before I could react, the hammer crashed into my skull.

The world spun violently, my soul threatening to tear free from my body.

I recognized the signs—I was about to black out. The next few seconds were my last chance.

The car, jolted by the quake, slid uncontrollably. Through the window, I saw buildings collapsing, walls cracking, even fissures splitting the distant sky…

Wait—the sky was cracking?

Before I could process it, Zhang Huanan swung the hammer again. I barely dodged.

Snapping back to reality, I knew—if I didn’t kill Zhang Huanan here, he’d kill Xuanxuan. More people would fall prey to his scams. Even if I died, I had to drag him to hell.

I jabbed a finger into his eye, feeling it pierce through with a sickening wetness.

He howled and released the gun. I immediately fired into his chest.

The bullet tore through his lung, but in the same instant, his hammer struck my temple.

The next shots went wild—whether from the quake or the head trauma, I couldn’t tell. My balance was gone.

Darkness swallowed my vision. I didn’t even know where I collapsed.

The hammer kept falling.

But I felt nothing.

Cool liquid soaked my eyes as my skull echoed with dull thuds.

Everything shook. Everything shattered.

A cacophony of screams, crashes, and collapsing buildings surged like a tidal wave.

No. I couldn’t die yet.

I had to finish Zhang Huanan, get out, and save people.

I needed to call the team for backup.

People needed rescuing—now.

Every second wasted in a quake meant more lives lost.

I had a duty. I couldn’t just watch…

But… would I even survive?

…

Was I even alive now?

When I opened my eyes, nine strangers sat before me.

The room resembled an interrogation chamber, but we never used round tables.

Circles didn’t intimidate—they fostered unity and comfort. Interrogation tables were square; round ones were for banquets.

At first, I thought this was another of Zhang Huanan’s tricks… but on reflection, we should both be dead.

I touched my head—my skull was slightly dented, but there was no blood.

My neck stung when I probed it.

The injuries were still there, yet I wasn’t dead. How?

A crushed skull and a slit throat should’ve been fatal, yet here I sat—seeing, hearing, feeling my wounds.

An old-timer at the precinct once told me that dying replays your life like a lantern’s flicker.

But I didn’t recognize any of these nine faces. They glanced around just as confused as I was.

So this wasn’t a dying vision. A bizarre dream, then?

A minute later, the man in the goat mask killed someone without hesitation, and I understood my purpose.

Even if this was a nightmare, even if this was hell—

My duty wasn’t over.

This was where I’d keep atoning.

I’d purge the wicked and save every innocent soul.

No more hesitation. No more regrets.

I was a cop. Even here, I’d uphold my oath.

Of all roles, I drew the “Liar.” Now came the impossible choice.

Do I protect the innocent first… or survive to kill the masked psychopath myself?

After seconds of turmoil, I knew.

Never play by the suspect’s rules. He wanted us to turn on each other—I’d save them all.

If everyone lived, there was still hope.

But even if I won this game, I couldn’t go back.

I’d killed someone.

I could never face Xuanxuan again. Only the law awaited me.

So this was my end.

No second chances. No rewriting the past.

Pity I didn’t even have a cigarette. Xuanxuan’s gift—the lighter she bought with her allowance—wasn’t here. The days ahead would be unbearable.

If only I could smoke one last *Dongchong Xiacao*.

So let me do what I must, then fade away quietly.

My name is Li Shangwu.

And I’m about to lie.