In the fragrant open-air garden, a pool of deep emerald water gently and gloriously reflected the silver lights intertwined with tree vines.
A young man in a charcoal-gray, neatly tailored suit, holding a wine glass, stood beneath the green trees. With his handsome countenance and amiable smile, every distinguished guest who stepped into the garden would approach him with a smile and shake his hand. Reporters, meanwhile, were busy snapping pictures continuously with their cameras, eagerly capturing every courteous gesture and faint smile of the newly appointed mayor.
You Mo-nian had always been a conspicuous figure. This might be related to his powerful family background, but undeniably, even without knowing his background, one would be attracted by his noble and upright temperament upon first meeting him. Born into a political family, he had, however, spent eight years in the military. He had none of the airs or inscrutability of a politician; instead, he gave the impression of being like a deep lake, clear, pure, and resolute.
And You Mo-nian was quietly observing each guest. He knew that the most important figure had yet to appear.
Nearly twenty minutes after the cocktail party began, a man in a black suit and black shirt finally entered the courtyard, arm in arm with a delicate female companion. The entire venue immediately fell silent.
You Mo-nian also raised his eyes to look at the man who was said to have the power to turn things upside down in this city – Shang Zheng.
You Mo-nian had heard that when Shang Zheng was the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau in Liberty City on another planet, he didn't show his sharp edges. After being promoted to the director of the Public Security Bureau in Hope City, however, he completely changed his formerly conservative style.
He fought violence with violence – the once-weak military police team, under his tutelage, had been transformed into a group of ruffians, a gang of desperadoes, running amok in the city. He countered black with black – the total tax revenue in Hope City was rising in a straight line. The biggest beneficiary, naturally, was him.
Some said that in the originally chaotic Hope City, there was no law to speak of, but now there was – Shang Zheng was the law.
You Mo-nian had expected to see a crude and violent director of the Public Security Bureau, but it turned out that seeing was believing.
Shang Zheng was undoubtedly handsome, standing silent and erect like a tall and straight pine. His all-black attire added a touch of unruliness to his originally handsome and profound facial features. And when his dark eyes looked over, he seemed even more majestic and aloof than any military general You Mo-nian had ever seen.
There was not a hint of the expected arrogance and conceit, yet beneath his calm countenance, one could sense the coldness emanating from his very bones.
"Director Shang!" You Mo-nian strode forward to greet him. "Welcome!"
Shang Zheng stared at him and smiled. "Mayor You, I've heard so much about you! Welcome to Hope City."
"It's my honor to work with a talent like Director Shang."
"Not at all."
A bold reporter raised his camera to take a picture of their clasped hands. But Shang Zheng's cold gaze swept over at that moment. "What? Don't you know I don't like being photographed?"
The reporters looked at each other in dismay and put down their cameras. You Mo-nian noticed this and then turned to look at the quiet female companion beside Shang Zheng.
"Who is this?"
"Mayor You, hello." Su Mi's tone was respectful and her voice calm. "I'm Su Mi."
Shang Zheng gave a faint smile and bent down to plant a gentle kiss on Su Mi's forehead. "My new favorite."
You Mo-nian was taken aback.
He had heard that Shang Zheng had always been aloof from women. When attending cocktail parties, even if occasionally accompanied by a socialite, he was always cold and distant. But today, he had suddenly brought along a strange girl.
She was quite slender, with a delicate yet not overly striking appearance. Against her pale skin, her facial features seemed as faint and soft as a pencil sketch. She looked honest and quiet, her gaze clearly somewhat reserved and shy. Even on the way here just now, she had stumbled slightly and almost fallen. If it weren't for Shang Zheng's quick reflexes and his ability to subtly pull her into his arms, she would have been tripped by her long dress.
Even her accent wasn't quite standard.
Why would Shang Zheng keep such a girl by his side?
The cocktail party proceeded calmly and gracefully. The daughter of a certain director, the sister of a certain officer, presented a flute solo or a solo dance, creating a scene of peace and beauty, pleasing to the eye.
The night was chilly, and the Windsor and Yousha satellites ascended into the sky. Su Mi looked up at the two moons overhead and gave a bitter smile.
"What are you smiling at?" Shang Zheng, who was chatting with a certain wealthy man, suddenly turned to ask.
Last night, she had almost shamelessly offered to serve him, wanting to prove her worth, but he had pushed her away halfway. He pulled up his pants and stood up, said nothing, and left the room. Leaving her alone, sitting on the ground with her long dress wrinkled, unable to shake off the ominous premonition in her heart.
At this moment, Su Mi looked at his cold face and replied blankly, "It would be nice if there was only one satellite."
"If there was only one satellite," Shang Zheng looked at her, "the force and orbit of this planet would change. We'd all die."
Su Mi was stunned for a moment.
"You think that would be good?" Shang Zheng stared at her.
"No."
"Mayor, Secretary Liu, look this way!" Someone was humbly calling out.
The flashlights kept flashing. Su Mi looked over and saw that in front of the elegant and simple main hall, well-dressed men and women were smiling and taking group photos. And the mayor, who looked particularly resolute and upright, was standing in the middle.
But at that moment, Su Mi suddenly felt a gust of wind beside her. Before she could react, the space beside her was already empty.
"Ah!" Suddenly, a scream rang out. Su Mi looked in horror and saw that at the place where the group photo was being taken, a middle-aged man was clutching his chest and falling down. And in front of him, a tall black figure was pinning a person firmly to the ground.
At the same time, the two men looked up simultaneously. It was Shang Zheng and You Mo-nian. They both drew their guns and looked around Wary
Seeing the blood, people immediately panicked, screaming and running, and the garden was instantly in chaos.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" This time, Su Mi clearly heard the muffled sound of gunshots. Without thinking, she buried her head and rushed towards Shang Zheng!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Sounds came from different directions, and she couldn't distinguish them at all. But the gunshots near her feet were so close that they seemed to follow her everywhere, scaring her so much that she almost threw herself at Shang Zheng's feet.
The next second, a powerful hand lifted her from the ground. She looked up in panic, only to see the black sleeve vanishing in front of her eyes.
Although the surroundings were still chaotic, she felt a little more at ease.
Some men who had emerged from nowhere instantly surrounded Shang Zheng, You Mo-nian and others, taking cover behind the screen wall of the main hall and engaging in a gunfight with the assassins. In the garden, people were constantly being hit by stray bullets and falling down. And Su Mi, among a group of tall men, was undoubtedly the safest.
Obviously, at the beginning of the assassination, it was Shang Zheng who had saved You Mo-nian. And now, the two of them, each holding a gun, occupied a corner of the entrance hall and led the others to return fire at the assassins gradually gathering on the other side of the garden.
"Don't you want to live?" Shang Zheng, who was standing in front of her, suddenly asked without looking back. "You ran towards the place with more bullets!"
"I was running towards a safe place." She replied in a low voice. If she had still been standing in front of the flower trellis earlier, she would have been riddled with bullets long ago. Fortunately, her judgment was correct. These people dared to assassinate You Mo-nian, so how could they let the woman beside Shang Zheng go?
The gunfight was intense and dangerous, and people were falling down from time to time. But in the midst of such noisy gunshots and the wailing of the female relatives nearby, Su Mi strangely calmed down.
She had no power to change anything. If Shang Zheng and the others won, she would live, but eventually, she would be used as a commodity by him; if they lost, she would die with them. She was so insignificant, and she had nothing to lose, so what was there to worry about?
So she simply stopped peeking at the battle situation and instead stared blankly at the beautiful, cascading tree vines outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the hall, and the two moons on the tree vines.
You Mo-nian retreated with those few men and crouched down beside Shang Zheng, whispering, "Thank you."
"No need." Shang Zheng's voice was cold. "Your being assassinated in Hope City is my fault."
"Be careful!"
To everyone's surprise, unlike other socialites who would scream and shout, the always quiet Su Mi suddenly let out a roar.
You Mo-nian only felt a soft body suddenly slam into his back, and then he heard a weak muffled groan. He turned around Vigilant and saw that Su Mi was slowly sliding down from his shoulder to the ground.
She was covering her shoulder with her hand, and bright red blood was slowly seeping out from between her pale fingers. She was frowning tightly, looking extremely painful.
"Bang!" A guard fired a shot and knocked down an assassin lurking outside the window, then turned to You Mo-nian and said, "Sir! This lady just blocked a bullet for you!"
You Mo-nian almost immediately and carefully held Su Mi in his arms. When he first touched her body, he clearly felt her shrink slightly, as if resisting the touch of a stranger.
"How are you?" He asked in a deep voice. "Thank you, Miss Su."
"It's okay..." Su Mi replied weakly. "Mayor, don't worry about me..." She struggled a bit in his arms.
"It hurts..." She suddenly cried out, her eyes widening.
You Mo-nian pressed on her wound to relieve the pain. Perhaps because the pain was somewhat unbearable, her words and body movements no longer carried obvious defenses, and her voice had a soft crying tone: "It hurts so much... I can't faint... Sir, could you please knock me out..."
Her request made You Mo-nian want to laugh a little. He comforted her gently, "Don't be afraid. The doctor will be here soon." He handed Su Mi to a female relative beside him and turned to rejoin the battle.
Five minutes later.
The guards of the mayor's mansion and the powerful military police force finally arrived. The gunshots all ceased, and the military police and doctors were shuttling back and forth, tying up the criminals and treating the injured.
Soon, several surviving assassins were brought before Shang Zheng and You Mo-nian.
The military police had already skillfully dislocated their jaws to prevent them from swallowing poison to commit suicide. They were kneeling on the ground, each with a gloomy face, showing no fear.
"These desperadoes won't confess." You Mo-nian said. He looked at Shang Zheng, his tone slightly self-deprecating. "It doesn't matter. I've been assassinated many times. The You family has many enemies, and countless people want my life. I was negligent when I first arrived here."
"They will confess." Shang Zheng said faintly to his subordinates. "Take them away."
But at that moment, You Mo-nian suddenly reached out and grabbed Shang Zheng's arm. Shang Zheng raised his eyes and looked at him quietly.
"Director Shang." You Mo-nian said word by word. "Don't abuse private punishments! Even if they are extremely guilty. The judiciary should be strict and just, and they must accept a fair and public trial."
"How I do things..." Shang Zheng pulled his arm back expressionlessly. "You don't need to care."
"You..."
"Don't worry." Shang Zheng turned his head and didn't look at You Mo-nian, saying slowly, "My people know what's appropriate. They'll leave the assassins alive to accept your fair trial."
"..."
Just then, a stretcher passed by. It was the injured Su Mi, with a pale face, her eyes half-open, and her eyelashes trembling.
Shang Zheng put his hand in his pocket and walked over, looking down at her from above.
Su Mi, who had been given a painkiller, was drowsy. However, seeing the familiar black clothes faintly, she almost immediately put on a humble and docile smile, struggling to get up but being held down by the medical staff.
"You can't move today." Shang Zheng stared at her small, pale face. "I'll pick you up tomorrow."
"I'm sorry to trouble you, sir." She forced a smile.
But then he suddenly bent down, and his warm breath blew on her cold ear: "So selfless, saving others? So great?"
Su Mi was stunned for a moment. She grasped the edge of the stretcher slightly with both hands and then slowly let go.
To Shang Zheng's surprise, a sweet and weak smile spread across her face.
She looked up, meeting his cold and inquiring eyes. For the first time, there was a hint of standing firm in her gaze: "Sir, I just think... The savior of the mayor... Surely won't die without a reason."