Somewhere in Beijing, inside one of the rooms of a luxurious mansion, a man was pacing back and forth appearing to be in deep distress. He was about forty-five years old and was a little fat, but not overweight. This man was Gu Delan, patriarch of the Gu clan which was one of the major clans in the capital.
Like the Long clan, the Gu clan was only a recently promoted clan. Before, it was a mid-level clan and had been such for a long time. It had stable foundations and was considered to be quite formidable among the mid-level clans. After Gu Delan became the patriarch his efforts were able to elevate the clan to the status of a major clan.
Actually, there was no official criteria that distinguished the big clans and the small clans. What determined the position of a clan in the hierarchy was basically just wealth and power. A clan's history was also important as older clans meant that they had stronger foundations. The super clans were the oldest clans and also the most powerful.
For a clan to be elevated in the hierarchy simply meant that its resources had become plentiful enough to compete on a higher stage. There was nothing like a ranking list or something like that that listed the clans in order of hierarchy. But, practically, the stronger and weaker clans were clearly divided and everyone could understand if a clan was weak or strong just by their influence and scope of activities.
There were also distinctions between clans in the same stage of the hierarchy. Even among the major clans there were weaker ones and there were stronger ones. As a newly elevated clan, the Gu clan was among the weaker ones within the ranks of the major clans of the capital. What is of note is that the super clans had great influence in whether the lower clans were demoted or elevated. This was obvious because if a super clan opposed a weaker clan then the weaker clan would never have the chance to increase its power and influence.
Thus, from minor clans to major clans the clan position could be adjusted with time. The endeavor, however, was not easy and it did not happen often. Also, the higher the position of the clan in the hierarchy the harder it was to elevate its status further. But, such a thing did happen once in a while.
The exceptions were the super clans. Their position was steady and had been so for a very long time. Lower clans could strive to elevate themselves till they reached the position of the major clans. But, it was almost impossible for a new super clan to rise. This was because the existing super clans would never willingly allow the rise of a new super clan that would compete with them and threaten their dominance. The only exception was the Long clan which had successfully overthrown the Zhang clan.
Gu Delan could be considered to be a self-made man. At the age of eighteen, he started his own real estate company. Thirty years later the Delan Real Estate Company was the number one real estate company in the country. It had even started to expand internationally. Although he had some help from his clan the rapid development of his company was largely due to his own efforts. In fact, it was his success at growing his company that enabled him to claim the position of patriarch of the clan.
Gu Delan was actually the second son of the previous Gu clan patriarch. Normally, it was his elder brother who should have inherited the position of patriarch. But, Gu Delan's success in developing his company proved beyond doubt that he was a capable leader and he was unanimously voted as the next patriarch of the clan.
As Gu Delan was pacing nervously, the door of the room opened and a young man walked in. The young man had average looks but with a neat appearance. He looked quite capable in his dark grey suit. He bowed respectfully to Gu Delan and said, "Patriarch, it's true. My sources have just confirmed that The Dusk has been commissioned to assassinate the young miss. I have sent three of the men from the Angel Security Agency to escort her safely from the school. They should be arriving there shortly."
Gu Delan had a furious expression on his face as he heard the news. He threw the expensive looking vase near him to the ground and it broke to pieces. Blowing hot air through his nose he yelled, "Damn those Deng clan bastards. DAMN THOSE COWARDS! So, they've called in help from outside. Good! Good! Good! Dare to threaten my daughter?! This old man won't stop until either one of us is finished. Lam, send everyone, including the ones that are here to protect me."
The young man called Lam hesitated and said, "But, chairman, your safety.." Gu Delan interrupted him, "Just do it. My daughter's safety gets priority. Make sure she comes back safely."
"Yes, sir." The young man bowed respectfully and went out. Not long after, he returned to the room after he had finished arranging things. He bowed again and said, "It's done. How should we proceed now, sir?"
Gu Delan was silent for a moment. Then, he said in a somber tone, "Two can play at this game. It's time for me to call in a very powerful friend." With that he took out his phone and dialed a number.
---
Back at the First National Bank of China, the authorities had arrived and were busy dealing with the dead bodies and examining the scene. The man called One had been handcuffed and taken away not long ago.
Normally, the nearest Police Station should have responded within five minutes. But, the New World Order had orchestrated a mass attack at several places as a distraction. Suicide bombers and armed terrorists had attacked different locations in the city that day. The New World Order had been relatively inactive in China. But, lately their activities had been increasing. The recent bank robbery and hijacking were just one of many attacks that had taken place recently.
The activities of the New World Order in China had not been so violent till that day. The bank robbery and other attacks that took place that day resulted in the greatest loss of life since they started their operations in China. The body armor worn by the armed robbers was also a point of interest. It was more advanced than the ones possessed by the Police, or even the military for that matter.
The armed robbers were also more skilled than average terrorists. They were probably members of an elite force belonging to the NWO. It was obvious that whether their objective was money or something else, the higher-ups in the NWO considered the bank job to be very important-important enough to dispatch their elite members with state-of-the art equipment.
Zhao Ke was still at the scene talking with the Police and overseeing the general situation. He had just finished a call to his secretary when a man wearing casual clothes approached him. The man appeared to be in his mid-thirties. He had a square face with bright and intelligent eyes. He was well-built and had a healthy complexion. Judging from his posture and steady walk a well-trained eye would be able to see that he had a strong body. But, his muscles were obscured by his loose clothing.
Zhao Ke also took notice of the approaching man. He looked a little apprehensive as the man walked right up to him. But, before he could call out to the nearby policemen the man covertly showed him an elaborate star-shaped insignia with the words 'Hongwu' carved into it. Zhao Ke's eyes opened wide in surprise when he saw the insignia.
Only members of the country's secret intelligence agency 'Hongwu' carried such an insignia. He opened his mouth to speak. But, before he could talk the man spoke first. He said in an almost inaudible voice, "Minister, I'm Agent Grey from Hongwu. Follow me."
The man who called himself Agent Grey led Zhao Ke to a car that was parked nearby. Along the way, Zhao Ke commented, "That really surprised me. Maybe you guys should think about getting a uniform. I couldn't tell you were from Hongwu at all." Without turning back Agent Grey replied softly, "That's the idea, Minister. You're not supposed to be able to tell. If you could, it would be our failure." Zhao Ke did not respond. He understood just how top secret the existence of Hongwu was. Even within the Government, not many knew of their existence.
Once inside the car, Agent Grey spoke more loudly. As he started the car, he handed Zhao Ke an official document and said, "Minister, the Premier has decided that it was a mistake trying to hide X-15 in the bank. Apparently, the New World Order has a better intelligence network than we thought. Trying to throw them off by passing it off as a personal item is no longer a feasible option. We'll take charge of its security until the guys in the lab are ready to study it."
Zhao Ke read the document and nodded. He reached into his coat pocket and took out what looked like a big pen. He handed it over to Agent Grey and said, "I think that's what should have been done in the first place. I'm glad to be rid of that thing."
Agent Grey gave Zhao Ke an apologetic look as he said, "It seems the NWO is more efficient than we gave them credit for. If everything had gone according to plan, the NWO would have been chasing our decoy courier and fallen into our trap while we arrived in the evening to take X-15 out of your safety deposit box without anyone noticing."
Zhao Ke suddenly asked, "But, I had it all along. Those terrorists didn't seem to know that at all. They seemed to only care about the money. Was X-15 really their target?"
Agent Grey replied seriously, "You were lucky. It's obvious there's a mole in your office. They knew about our plan to first hide it in the First National Bank but they probably didn't know about whose safety deposit box we would be using. X-15 is a closely guarded secret even in the NWO. This time they dispatched an elite team but probably not even they were told what their real target was. It's highly likely that they were told to just empty all the safety deposit boxes without being informed of the existence of X-15."
After a brief silence Agent Grey continued, "It would seem that we have a lot of work ahead of us. The NWO is escalating its activities in the country. We have taken that fellow called One for questioning. So, that might help our efforts. And another thing, you reported that it was a young man who killed all those NWO terrorists? That presents us with another unknown variable. He should be a very dangerous man himself. Can you describe him?"
Zhao Ke thought for a moment and replied, "Well, he was very good-looking and very refined. From his appearance alone, he seemed like a harmless playboy. What alarmed me was that he seemed to know about X-15 and he also knew about the existence of Hongwu."
"He mentioned X-15 and Hongwu by name?"
"No, not X-15. He mentioned the 'thing' I was carrying and he said it would be better to keep it in the hands of Hongwu. He said his name was Xiwang, might be a false name. But, he made it seem like he planned to contact me again. Oh yes, he had remarkable deep purple eyes. He was.."
Agent Grey suddenly interrupted with an urgent tone, "Wait, what was that last part? Did you say the man had deep purple eyes?"
"Yes, I saw it clearly. We stood face to face and his eyes were what caught my attention the most."
Agent Grey had a horrified look on his face and remained silent for a long time. Then, he looked thoughtful and did not continue to speak. Zhao Ke finally spoke out, "Agent Grey, do you know who that young man was? Tell me, who was he? One of yours?"
After another long silence, Agent Grey finally spoke. His voice became very serious as he said, "No, he's definitely not one of our men. I'm sorry, Minister. But, his existence is an S-level secret. Not even you have a high enough clearance to know. Listen carefully, if you should ever meet him again, do not provoke him. Try to accommodate any request that he might have. This is very important, Minister. You must never ever provoke that man."
"I don't really understand. Just who is he? Why must he not be provoked?"
"Minister, I repeat. NEVER! EVER! Provoke that man. That's all you need to know. I need to hurry back and make a report. I'll drop you off at your office now. Remember. Never provoke the man with the deep purple eyes."
Not long after, Agent Grey dropped Zhao Ke off at the entrance to his office building. Then, without saying another word, he sped off leaving a very confused Minister of Public Security behind him.
---
After leaving the bank, Xiwang drove the black SUV towards Zhongnanhai. Along the way, he got a bit hungry and decided to fill his belly. He found a very upscale restaurant in the area and dined there. He just laughed lightly when the busty and seductive manager slipped him her number as he made his way out.
Back on the road, Xiwang turned the car's radio on and continued towards Zhongnanhai. As he was humming along to the song on the radio, his phone suddenly rang. Most of Xiwang's calls were screened and went through Dove first before being connected to him. There were only a few numbers that were cleared to call him directly. These were the numbers of people he was close to or had some kind of relationship with.
"Hello?"
As the call connected Xiwang scrutinized the voice on the other end. It was a male voice. The voice sounded happy yet nervous and worried at the same time. The caller seemed to have a lot of things on his mind. "Lucien, hello! This is Gu Dalen. I have a situation and I need your help."
"It's been a long time, Old Gu. What's the matter? You need me to kill someone?"
"No, no. Nothing like that. Well, I might. I'm actually calling about my daughter. She's in danger and I need your help to keep her safe. Please, old friend, could you act as her bodyguard for a few days?"
"Bodyguard? You're actually asking me to protect someone? Haha..Old Gu, you know I'm in the opposite profession, right? My specialty is taking lives not preserving them."
"My friend, I know your skills. You can do a lot more than just take lives. Please, I'm begging you. My enemies have engaged The Dusk to assassinate my precious WeiWei. I have hired the Angel Security Agency to guard her. But, I won't feel at ease unless you're personally keeping an eye on her. Old friend, I'm begging you."
"Bodyguard, eh? I guess it might be a nice change of pace. Alright, I'll act as the girl's bodyguard for a few days. What's the girl like?"
"Great! That's great! Thank you, Lucien. I knew you were a reliable friend. As for WeiWei, you'll like her. She's an angel. So, when can you get to China?"
"Actually, I'm already in the country. I was on my way to visit another old friend. But, since you called I'll change directions now."
"You were actually in the country? That's great news. I've sent the bodyguards to pick up WeiWei. My address is still the same. You can come over now. We'll be waiting for you."
"Wait, tell me the address of the girl's school. I'll head over there now, just in case."
"She goes to Star International High School. It's on Beiming Road in Dongcheng District."
"I know the place. I'll head over there now. Oh, by the way, while I'm in China I'll be using the name Xiwang. It's my Chinese name."
"Ok. I'll remember that. And thanks again, old friend."
"No problem."
After the call disconnected, Xiwang changed direction and sped off. It was kind of ironic for an assassin to be a bodyguard. But, Xiwang certainly had the requisite skill set.
He was a master of combat and his observation and detection skills were second to none. He was fast, agile and had a flexible and sharp mind. He could easily detect even the slightest hint of bloodlust. All things considered, it could not be denied that the ultimate assassin would make on bada*s bodyguard.