Prologue (Part 2)

Taking the phone pieces, Keanu headed to the bathroom dropped them into the toilet, and flushed it away. He returned to the bedroom.

There, three people were tied up - it was Conrad and his parents. Conrad was a handsome young man, aggression subtly marked in between his brows. His gaze was wild, filled with hatred as he glowered at Keanu. His father, tied up next to him, pleaded with Keanu, while Conrad snarled impatiently, "Begging? Dying isn't a big deal. I've had my share of fun and enjoyment!"

"You bastard!" Conrad's mother berated him. She viciously bit Conrad's arm, "Had you not harmed that innocent young girl, would you be in this mess? You caused harm to yourself and to others, making the entire family worry for you, and yet you still feel no remorse!"

Conrad bellowed, "What good would regret do? She was claimed, she's dead! I've served my sentence, what more do you want? Now this bastard is on a killing spree, targeting our entire family, what good will it do to beg him now? Let him kill if he wants to kill! If I dare to commit the act, I dare to face the consequences!"

"I..." His father choked on his words, the stress finally getting the better of him as he passed out.

Keanu leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, his gun resting in his grip. He watched the three of them carry on like a dysfunctional family, roaring with laughter.

"I heard you were the leader of your little trio. You indeed carry the toughness of a leader. Those two lackeys of yours cried for mercy until their last breath, not an ounce of backbone," Keanu taunted.

Conrad stiffened, "You killed Ben and Kay?"

"Castrated first, then killed... Our acts differ only by a single word," Keanu replied, an eerie smile stretching his lips.

Cold dread climbed up Conrad's spine at the sight of Keanu's sinister smile.

Was he truly not afraid to die?

He just knew that this sadistic man would not let him off, so he wanted to put on a brave front before his inevitable death. But now… hearing the news of his best friend's demise, his courage faded.

However, soon enough, the sounds of police sirens echoed from the outside, igniting a spark of hope in Conrad's family.

Excitedly, Conrad burst into laughter, "The police are coming! You are screwed! Let me go now, you might still stand a chance!"

Keanu just shook his head, "And here I thought you had a backbone. But in the end, you're just like the rest." In a swift motion, he delivered a powerful kick that knocked Conrad out cold.

Keanu hurriedly returned to the living room window, from which he could observe that the place was swarming with police officers. A bunch of armed officers had prepared for a strong attack, and they were displacing all the nearby residents. Meanwhile, one officer was warning through a loudspeaker, "To the person inside…"

"Ah…" Keanu sighed.

He took out a loudspeaker from his bag and lazily addressed those outside, "Shut up, or I'll kill one. If you want to save the hostages, send someone in to negotiate with me. Make sure it's someone important"

Seeing a loudspeaker emerge from the window, the officer was stunned. This was the first time he had dealt with a criminal so prepared.

"How should we handle this, chief?" the officer asked Bradley.

Taking a long puff from his cigarette and throwing it away, Bradley responded, "I'll go and talk to him."

"That's not right," the surrounding officers raised their objections, "If negotiations are needed, we'll go for you."

Bradley glared at them, "Are any of you more 'important' than me?"

The question shrank the officers into submissive silence, none daring to agree.

"Well then, make preparations. I am going in," Bradley commanded, muttering to himself, "I don't believe it, this fish is already in the net, what kind of a turnaround can he make now?"

"Well… at least put on a bulletproof vest," suggested an officer.

Considering the advice, Bradley agreed.

Soon, the doorbell rang, and Bradley's voice echoed outside, "I'm Detective Chief Bradley; I'm here to negotiate."

"Come in, the door's open," directed Keanu.

With that, Bradley gently pushed the door open.

He saw Keanu relaxing on the corner sofa, a gun casually resting on his thigh. It was the same police weapon that had been reported missing, and on Keanu's face was a smile as bright as sunshine.

Immediately, Bradley forced a friendly smile onto his face. In negotiations, a smile worked wonders in defusing tensions, far more effective than a barrage of empty promises.

As he gingerly approached the man, he raised his hands and softened his voice, "Don't worry, I'm unarmed. I came here in good faith."

"Wouldn't matter even if you were," Keanu retorted nonchalantly.

This response left Bradley speechless, his prepared words caught in his throat. After a moment's silence, he said, "I can understand your current situation. I hope we can talk calmly and peacefully."

"Do I look agitated to you?" Keanu posed languidly.

Struggling again to find a response, Bradley fell silent. As a 40-year-old detective chief, he had resolved countless complex cases over the past two decades, but never had he encountered a gunman as icy and composed as Keanu. There was no hint of desperation, unlike the trapped outlaws he'd previously encountered.

Since Keanu didn't require his comforting words or reassurances, Bradley took a more direct approach, "Are they still alive?"

Keanu gestured with his gun towards the bedroom, "Can't you hear the crying? They're alive and kicking. Want to take a look?"

"Heh," Bradley managed a dry chuckle, "No rush."

"Exactly." Keanu too, chuckled. He pointed with his gun towards a nearby sofa, "Have a seat."

Bradley complied and sat down. Seeing him seated, Keanu stood up causing Bradley to tense up but he only walked to a cabinet and pulled out two cups. With his back to Bradley, he said, "What would you like to drink? This family is wealthy and has some top-notch tea leaves. It's a rare opportunity to taste them. I usually prefer coffee, but I appreciate tea once in a while. How about you?"

Meanwhile, Bradley was assessing the space, contemplating whether or not he could subdue Keanu if he lunged at him now. However, he was taken aback by Keanu's words, so he responded, "Tea."

With a snap of his finger, Keanu declared, "Perfect."

He took out a box of tea leaves from underneath the cabinet, sprinkled some into the cups, and turned to Bradley, "Strong or light?"

Just as Bradley was about to push himself off the sofa to pounce on him, Keanu turned around and Bradley froze midway – as if a spell had been cast on him. He forced out an ugly smile, "Strong, it keeps me alert while working on a case."

"Great!" Keanu seemed to have ignored Bradley's awkward movement and turned back, adding a pinch more tea leaves into the cups.

Bradley, now rigid, didn't know whether to move forward or retreat; he remained where he was, frozen in inertia.

"While I know you want to apprehend me, there's no rush," Keanu addressed Bradley, his back still turned. "You had the chance to check on those people, but you didn't. If anything were to happen, it would be a burden too great for you to bear as a captain."

Somewhat taken aback, Bradley finally eased back into his seated position.

Keanu started pouring hot water into the teacups, "First, go take a look then decide whether to take action."

Bradley carefully stood back up and walked towards the adjourning bedroom; taking a glimpse inside, he was taken aback.

Looking back at Keanu, he asked, "Where did you get so much dynamite? It's not fake, is it?"

Keanu, not even bothering to raise his head, replied, "Don't sell me short. At least I graduated from a prestigious university. Although it's not in Chemistry, making nitroglycerin isn't all that hard. Even if you didn't understand, it wouldn't matter. It's quite simple; you can find the method on Google. After all, this is the age of an explosion of knowledge."

"How is it triggered?"

"Miniature heart rate monitor, produced by my company." Keanu pointed to his chest, "If the heart rate accelerates to over 150 or decreases to under 60, it will trigger. Did you know that holding your breath for a bit can speed up your heartbeat?"

"Damn it, I hate high-tech!" Bradley cursed.

It became apparent to him that Keanu had made thorough arrangements.

"Now that's unfortunate. I love playing with high-tech," Keanu added. Putting his gun behind him, he picked up the tea and walked over, "Your tea."

Almost numb, Bradley took the cup. As he watched Keanu return to his seat with the gun tucked behind his back, he had an irresistible urge to snatch it, but he didn't dare.

He thought for a moment, then said, "What I loathe most are high-intelligence criminals, especially those who are fearless."

Keanu laughed, "And I appreciate police officers with a sense of justice, especially those who risk their lives." He raised his cup to Bradley and took a gentle sip of his tea.

Bradley also took a sip of his tea.

Suddenly, he choked, spraying it out. Seeing Keanu, he pointed at his cup, somewhat embarrassed, "It's too hot."

Keanu shook his head, laughing heartily. Pointing at Bradley, he said, "You're too tense."

That left Bradley speechless.

This was the first time in his career that he had faced a trapped criminal where he hadn't taken charge of the situation.

After a moment he said, "I know why you're finding them. I've revisited the case from seven years ago. There are serious discrepancies."

At this, Keanu's face quickly darkened.