That night, in the dark alley dragged that man in the corner.
The guy begged for mercy, "Please, please, let me go! I'll do it properly this time. I won't lose!"
One of them chuckled. He had a tattoo under his left eye. He said, "Sorry pal, your time is over. We were ordered to finish you off. In the next life, please be careful and don't let your enemy notice your presence. See ya!"
After he signaled his men, one of them grabbed his arms and another one held his legs.
The tattoo guy put a handkerchief on his mouth and moved away.
The guy struggled in fear and wished to live. He cried and begged in a muffled voice. Tears poured from his eyes.
However, no one noticed in the dark. Two other members took out their knives and stabbed his chest and stomach mercilessly.
The man felt all the pains he could before dying. When he stopped moving and making sounds, those guys let him go.
One of them asked while wiping blood from his face, "Should we throw him in the river?"
The tattoo guy replied, "No need. Let the police have him. They won't get any information from him anyway. We have destroyed everything."
At that time, someone spoke in a clear voice, "Ah Luo, what are you doing?"
Five men flinched. Two of them slowly moved forward with their knives which were still covered with the blood of the dead man.
They heard the boy's voice again, "Ah Luo, why do you look like that?"
A girl stuttered, "N-nothing, just… let's get out of here. Quickly!"
They heard the footsteps leaving speedily.
Those boys tried to run after them but the tattoo guy stopped them. He calmly said, "There is no need to rush."
A man with the knife asked, "Leader, don't you think that girl witnessed what we saw?"
Another one agreed, "Yeah, there is no way she would stammer and run away quickly with her boyfriend."
"Did that boyfriend call her 'Eh Lu'? It's an unusual name," another guy remarked.
"It sounds Chinese," the tattoo guy came out of the dark alley and looked at the direction where the couple could possibly run away.
He was going to walk away when he saw a rack beside the shop and there were several magazines.
There was a weekly magazine about teenage fashion for spring. The main cover had a picture of a Chinese teenage model.
The girl was wearing an off white casual dress with flower prints and she was standing in front of the flower garden. Her childish, innocent smile could capture a man's heart.
There was a name in the corner of the cover.
Model: Han Luo
The tattoo guy smirked. "No wonder that the voice seemed familiar. I know who you are now, my little witness."
They kept an eye on Han Luo's house and one day saw her going out with her friend. They followed her.
Finally, when they found her alone, they approached her. Who would have known that she would run the moment she saw them coming toward her.
The tattoo guy instructed, "Get her immediately. We won't get a chance like this."
They ran after her and she was suddenly… gone!
She vanished into thin air.
They looked around with dumbfounded expressions.
Their leader gritted his teeth and ordered, "Spread around and search her every corner. She cannot go too far."
"Yes. leader!"
After they left, Han Luo sighed in relief.
------------
When she was running away, someone pulled her suddenly. She was so surprised that she forgot to move. That person abruptly took her to the green bushes.
When she saw who it was, she realized that it was Nana Shimizu.
She was beyond surprised after understanding that she saved her. She opened her mouth to say something but paused when she heard quick footsteps.
She heard them searching for her everywhere. She held her breath in fear thinking if she exhaled, they would hear her.
After they left, she sighed in relief and gazed at Nana Shimizu who was sitting beside her quietly.
"Thank you for saving me," Han Luo said with a smile. She realized that this girl wasn't as bad as she thought.
Nana Shimizu turned and faced her. "It's nothing. This is what I should do for my classmate. I'm curious. Why are they looking for you?"
Han Luo explained, "I witnessed a crime scene. Although it was dark and I couldn't see her murderers that night, after seeing them today, I had a feeling that it was them."
Nana Shimizu placed her hand on her head helplessly. "You always attract trouble, don't you?"
"Do I?" Han Luo gave her an awkward smile.
Nana Shimizu calmly replied, "Yes, you do. What are you going to do now? You are not safe. They will take you the moment they see you. You can ask for your friends though."
Han Luo objected, "Ah, no, I can't. I don't want to put them in danger." She didn't want Beth and James to get hurt because of her.
Nana Shimizu quietly stared at her and then commented, "…You are surprisingly kind."
"I had enough people die to save me. I don't want the list to grow longer," Han Luo stated in a low tone.
Her mother was badly injured to cover for her and she died. Her father was in a vegetated state. She didn't want any more people to get injured for her sake.
Nana Shimizu saw her face getting contorted and apologized, "I'm sorry if I triggered a painful memory."
"It's fine," Han Luo changed the subject and said, "Those guys are not here. I will go to that security officer," she pointed at the security officer who was twenty meters away from them. "You stay here. After I leave, you can go wherever you want to go."
"Okay," Nana Shimizu nodded.
They stood up and saw the tattoo guy standing in front of them. He was smirking.