"Kai, slow down; you're going to get us killed if you keep going like this."

Leo urged, his voice filled with anxiety.

Leo sat rigid, his body pressed against the seat.

His hand clutched the dashboard, his knuckles just as white as Kai's, his other hand gripping the edge of the door so tightly it looked like he might tear it off.

His eyes flicked nervously between the road and Kai, the usually composed detective now visibly rattled by his partner's reckless driving.

But Kai barely listened to Leo's words.

His mind was consumed by the mission at hand, the culmination of three grueling years of dead ends, frustration, and endless nights spent hunting for a man who always seemed to be one step ahead of him.

Today was different. Today, they finally had a solid lead, a breakthrough in the case that could bring down the criminal mastermind behind one of the largest child trafficking rings the city had ever seen.

The urgency of the situation left no room for caution.

Kai pressed the accelerator harder, the engine roaring in response.

The car lurched forward, and Leo's grip tightened, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps as he struggled to maintain his composure.

"We're almost there."

Kai muttered, more to himself than to Leo.

His eyes were fixed on the road ahead, his heart pounding in his chest; he didn't want to miss the opportunity to get his hands on the bastard.

As they rounded the final corner, the target location came into view, nondescript house in a quiet, unassuming neighborhood. To any passerby, it would seem like just another home, but Kai knew better. The horrors that would be hidden behind those walls were unimaginable.

They screeched to a halt in front of the house, the tires leaving skid marks on the pavement.

Before the car had fully stopped, Kai was already out, his feet hitting the ground with purpose.

He scanned the scene quickly; several police cars were already stationed outside, their lights flashing ominously in the surroundings.

Officers moved in and out of the house with grim expressions on their faces, some carrying small, lifeless bodies covered in white sheets.

The sight of them made Kai's stomach churn, a visceral reminder of why they were here.

Ignoring Leo's calls to slow down, Kai marched toward the officer in charge, his heart pounding in his chest.

He grabbed the man by the arm, his grip fueled by desperation, and he could barely contain his fury.

"Where is he? Where is the bastard?"

Kai demanded, his voice filled with emotion.

The officer, a weary-looking man with deep lines etched into his face, shook his head, his expression grim.

"He got away."

He said simply, the words landing like a punch to Kai's gut.

"What do you mean, he got away!!"

For a moment, the world seemed to tilt, the edges of Kai's vision darkening as the realization sank in.

The man he had been hunting for years had slipped through his fingers yet again.

It felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs, leaving him gasping, struggling to comprehend how everything could have gone so wrong this quickly.

Each time they got something on him, he always seemed to be one step ahead like he knew what they were going to do.

But Kai wasn't the type to give up easily. The crushing weight of failure threatened to paralyze him, but he pushed it aside, focusing instead on what he could do—what he had to do. He couldn't let it end here.

Not like this.

Leo's voice broke through his thoughts, trying to pull him back to reality.

"Kai, we need to leave this to the team. The chief wants us back at headquarters—there's nothing more we can do here; please let us leave."

But Kai wasn't listening. He was already moving towards the house, his eyes scanning the scene, searching for something, anything that might give them a lead. The house was a chaotic mess of officers and investigators, but Kai pushed through, determined not to let this be another dead end.

He can't allow that, he has come too far to give up on the Barbarian.

His relentless search led him to the backyard, where something caught his eyes—a patch of overgrown weeds that looked out of place. Immediately he kneeled, brushing the foliage aside to reveal a trapdoor, its edges nearly invisible beneath the dirt and grime.

"Leo, over here!"

He called, his voice filled with a mixture of excitement and urgency.

Leo, who had been reluctantly following Kai, rushed over. Together, they pried open the heavy door, revealing a dark, narrow tunnel leading down into the earth.

The air that wafted up was cool and musty, and the only light came from the flashlights they now held. Without hesitation, Kai descended into the tunnel, his heart pounding with the possibility of finally catching the man he had been chasing for so long.

As they moved deeper into the tunnel, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed ahead of them. Kai's pulse quickened immediately; he knew they weren't alone down here.

Immediately they followed the sound of the running footstep, after rounding a corner; they spotted him.

The trafficker.

The man was scrambling toward an exit that led to the city's underground rail station.

Kai's instincts took over. He drew his gun and shouted.

"Freeze!"

The trafficker stopped, but instead of raising his hands, he slowly turned to face Kai, a twisted smirk playing on his lips.

"You don't know what you're doing."

He taunted, his voice calm and mockery.

Before Kai could respond, a chilling sound echoed through the tunnel. "Man down, man down! An officer is down."

It was Leo's voice, filled with urgency and panic, but something about it was off, too rehearsed, too calculated.

Kai's confusion turned to cold dread as he glanced at Leo, who had stopped dead in his tracks.

The look in Leo's eyes was one Kai had never seen before—cold, detached, and calculating.

It was then that he noticed the gun in Leo's hand, not aimed at the trafficker but at him.

"What are you doing, Leo?"

Kai's voice was barely a whisper, and in disbelief, he doesn't understand what is going on.

However, Leo didn't answer.

His finger tightened on the trigger, his expression unreadable.

"Bang!!"

The first shot hit Kai in the chest, the impact forcing the air from his lungs.

"Bang!!."

The second shot struck his shoulder, pain exploding through his body.

"Bang!!."

The third shot sent him crashing to the ground.

[Ding!]