Chapter 46: The Sniper

Moonlight carved Li Yang's hunched silhouette against the snowdrift as he glared at the villa's golden windows. Frostbite gnawed his fingertips where he'd clawed through trash cans for sustenance—three maggot-ridden protein bars, half a bottle of antifreeze.

"Feasting while I starve," he hissed, watching shadows move behind bulletproof glass. His cracked lips split into a grin imagining Xiao Yang's skull bursting like overripe melon under SWAT sniper fire. "Daddy's armored division will skin you alive..."

A crow cawed overhead. Li Yang hurled an ice chunk—it missed by meters, shattering against a frozen fountain.

Inside, Xiao Yang exhaled frost-blue vapor as the last crystal dissolved in his palm. Muscle fibers snapped taut like bowstrings beneath skin shimmering faintly as Damascus steel. Tang Ying's pulse quickened watching him flex—predatory grace, apex evolution made flesh.

"Your turn," he tossed her a glowing crystal. "Time to see what our police captain's hiding."

Tang Ying caught it reflexively. The shard warmed, memories flooding her—last week's shootout, bullets curving around obstacles; throwing knives nailing fleeing looters through eye sockets.

She flicked a wine cork across the room.

Thunk.

The cork buried itself in a mahogany panel twenty meters away, dead center of a carved rose.

"Precision enhancement." Xiao Yang's grin could power cities. "Human GPS-guided missile."

Mu Wanqing rolled her eyes. "Showoff."

"Better than sparking toasters." Lu You winked, arcs of purple lightning dancing between her cleaver and saucepan. The smell of ozone mingled with Sichuan peppercorns as she seared A5 wagyu.

Tang Ying's stomach growled. "You people are insane."

"Insane survives." Xiao Yang sliced truffle over scallops, blade moving faster than eyes could track. "Now eat. Tomorrow we hunt something worthy of your sights."

Li Yang's teeth chattered rhythm with the villa's grandfather clock. He'd found a fur coat in some dead socialite's closet—mink, probably. Didn't stop shivers crawling up his spine like spider legs.

Creeeak.

The balcony door above swung open. Xiao Yang leaned over the railing, steaming mug in hand.

"Evening, Officer Cockroach."

Li Yang scrambled up, frost cracking off his knees. "Fuck you! When the cavalry—"

A lobster shell bounced off his forehead.

"Careful," Xiao Yang sipped bourbon. "Predators love noisy prey."

The door slammed. Laughter trickled out—Tang Ying's voice, bright and unguarded.

Li Yang's fist bled where nails bit into palm. "Laugh while you can, bitch. I'll make you choke on—"

Snap.

A twig broke behind him.

He whirled, service pistol trembling. Floodlights revealed nothing but swaying pines.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Something massive moved in the shadows.

Upstairs, Yang Yang the K9 suddenly howled.

Xiao Yang paused mid-pour of '45 Margaux. "Heel."

The shepherd quieted, fur bristling.

Tang Ying fingered her dessert fork. "What's out there?"

"Nothing that'll last till dawn." Xiao Yang swirled burgundy, bloodstone ring casting rubescent patterns on the walls. "Eat your crème brûlée."

Outside, Li Yang's scream pierced the night—brief, gurgling, followed by wet rending sounds.

Mu Wanqing licked caramelized sugar off her spoon. "Rabid strays shouldn't play in wolf territory."

The grandfather clock chimed midnight.

No one mentioned the red smears staining the snowdrift come morning.