0136 The Simple Truth

When Hou Rui circled the warehouse along its sheet-metal outer wall, he suddenly spotted a massive chimney. Following a brief logical deduction, he realized this must be the crematorium for the morgue. After estimating his own waistline against the girth of the short, thick chimney, Hou Rui had finally found a second route into the warehouse.

Picking his way through the piles of debris in the hospital courtyard, Hou Rui quietly climbed onto the warehouse roof and crept toward the chimney. However, when he leaned over to inspect the interior, a pungent, putrid, and greasy odor immediately assaulted his nostrils. Needless to say, this was the final path many in the Coalition would take—reduced to ashes and black smoke, rising into the sky from this very stack.

There was no time to dwell on such details. Hou Rui tore a pocket off his uniform, ripped it into two balls of fabric, and stuffed them into his nose to partially block the stench before diving headfirst into the chimney.

Crawling and squirming through the three-to-four-meter-long shaft, Hou Rui emerged covered from head to toe in soot and human grease. He had successfully entered the combustion chamber of the small crematorium. Just as he was about to reach the small door leading out, a terrifying accident occurred: someone suddenly opened the door and shoved a pair of corpse’s feet inside.

What was this? Were they planning to ignite the furnace? If they cremated the body now, wouldn’t he be burned alive along with it?

Terrified, Hou Rui finally understood the fatal flaw in his infiltration plan: he could easily become a mouse trapped in a bellows. He couldn't push forward out of the combustion chamber, and he couldn't crawl back up the chimney. Once discovered, he would surely be dead.

Tense to the breaking point, Hou Rui dared not make a sound. He gritted his teeth and scrambled forward, climbing over the corpse that had been shoved in, preparing to seize the first opportunity to bolt out regardless of the consequences.

Fortunately, the two men outside were still arguing. They stopped after pushing the body only halfway in, giving Hou Rui the chance to approach the small door and peer through the observation slot.

The two men arguing outside were General Garcia’s adjutant, whom Hou Rui had seen once at the movie theater, and a stout black man he had never seen before. The man in the tight-fitting suit was lifting the corpse to shove it further into the furnace, while the adjutant was trying to stop him. The body being wrestled between them was none other than General Garcia himself.

Seeing that their attention was not focused directly on the furnace, Hou Rui took a deep breath, extended his arms out of the chamber, gripped the edge above the door, and used his strength to pull his entire body out like a giant fish, sliding over the top of General Garcia’s corpse.

Seeing someone suddenly emerge from the crematorium, both the adjutant and the stout man were dumbfounded. They could hardly be blamed; Hou Rui’s entrance was indeed bizarre. But their momentary shock was the perfect window of opportunity for him.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Hou Rui lunged at the stout man. He landed a punch square on the man’s brow, blinding him, and then, with a low roar, grabbed the man’s body and used his momentum to slam him violently against the metal furnace.

To ensure the impact was effective, Hou Rui grabbed the hair on the back of the man’s head and smashed his face into the furnace casing repeatedly until the man’s face was a bloody mess.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

After three strikes, Hou Rui spun around. With two quick steps, he delivered a clean, high-roundhouse kick that knocked the pistol from the adjutant’s hand. He then reached out, his hands like iron pincers, and grabbed the man’s collar. Before the panicked adjutant could cry out, Hou Rui drove his knee into the man’s stomach, causing him to double over and collapse stiffly to the ground.

Having taken out both men with his bare hands, Hou Rui was exhausted. Just as he stood there gasping for air, the adjutant regained his composure and began crawling quietly toward the warehouse door. Detecting the move, Hou Rui rushed over and delivered a final, heavy kick to the man’s head, putting an end to the trouble. Now, he could finally examine General Garcia’s body.

After carefully locking the warehouse door, Hou Rui laid the General’s corpse flat on the floor in front of the crematorium. He started at the hairline, meticulously checking for signs of surgery or facial fillers.

Three minutes later, though not an expert in medical examinations, Hou Rui grew irritable. He had turned the head over several times without finding a clue. Driven by frustration, he steeled himself, took a dagger from the adjutant, and began peeling the skin from the General’s face.

Had this been two months ago, Hou Rui wouldn't even have imagined such a thing. But after witnessing the bloody, brutal rule of the Coalition, his mindset had undergone a massive shift. To him now, dissecting a human body was no longer a difficult task; to survive, he had to do things he found repulsive at his core.

Two minutes later, looking at the fillers he had extracted from the nose and chin of the corpse, Hou Rui sneered. So, this was the "mysterious magic" of General Garcia—the truth behind his supposed ability to clone himself was nothing more than refined plastic surgery.

After uncovering the truth, Hou Rui felt no relief. The most pressing problem now was: where was the real General Garcia? Had he even come to this city? If not, where should he look? And if the organization decided the sniper at the theater had completed the mission, would his failure not be utterly humiliating?

Regardless of the unanswered questions, his immediate priority was to leave the warehouse. If anyone stumbled upon the disfigured corpse, no amount of smooth talking would explain it away.

With two swift, merciless stabs of the dagger, he finished off the adjutant and the stout man. He headed to the door, but the moment he opened it, he found himself face-to-face with a masked, heavily armed figure. The encounter was so sudden that both men froze.

A quick glance at the HK416 rifle held against the intruder's chest told Hou Rui this was not a Coalition member. Between the night-vision goggles and the tactical vest, the high-end equipment suggested this person was either an elite soldier from a Western nation or another operative sent by the organization to carry out the assassination.

While Hou Rui was still suspicious, the intruder recovered from the shock of seeing an Asian Coalition officer and quickly pivoted, raising his muzzle toward Hou Rui.

*Damn it! An enemy!*

In the heat of the moment, Hou Rui instinctively swiped the barrel aside and lunged toward a stack of crates to the right of the door, throwing his dagger at the intruder’s chest in the same motion.

The masked man, standing in the doorway, nimbly dodged the blade and took a step forward.

*Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft.* The suppressed HK416, having been pushed aside only a few feet, was quickly realigned by the masked man. He opened fire on the crates where Hou Rui was hiding. The shots were nearly silent, drawing no attention from the hospital guards outside.

Unable to worry about stealth while being hunted, Hou Rui fought back. He popped out from behind the crates and fired two shots at the masked man.

*Bang! Bang!*

The gunfire shattered the night’s silence. The masked man retreated behind the warehouse door to avoid the bullets, then charged inside, pressing the attack with his rifle. If Hou Rui dared to show his face again, the masked man would surely strike first.

Though Hou Rui could hear the distant commotion, the immediate threat of the gunman took precedence. He gripped his P229 in one hand and drew his 92 automatic pistol with the other, disengaging the safety, ready to fight to the death.

As the footsteps drew within four or five meters of his cover, Hou Rui moved. He feinted to the left, but the moment his shoulder appeared, the masked man’s bullets tore through the air. Hou Rui retreated even faster, then lunged to the right. As he launched himself forward in a diving maneuver, both pistols in his hands roared toward the masked man.