Chapter 290 - A Million Says....

The Qings were all asleep on the flight back to Chengshi and when they awoke they were already touching down. A car was already waiting for them when they exited the plane.

While on the way home, Qing Lok stopped mid-yawn and he felt like he was splashed with ice cold water. He nudged Wuming with his elbow who was still trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

"What?" Wuming asked.

"The Zookeeper's dead."

Wuming got up. "What?"

"What did you say?" Feng Xuan asked too.

"He's dead," Qing Lok repeated and opened his account on the iPad. They all huddled over the screen while it loaded. The screen was dark and they saw a car moving away from a certain floor on the ground. "That's our car leaving."

Qing Lok pressed a button that made the video twice as fast. "We can see him standing up… and now he's walking…"

"What are those?" Feng Xuan pointed to the hulking forms where small circles of light suddenly appeared.

"Animals. Cheetahs, I guess?" Qing Lok answered.

"That's a leopard," Qing Chen corrected. "Cheetahs don't hunt at night."

"Is it waiting for him?" Feng Xuan asked.

"Yep," Qing Chen answered. "But they usually don't touch humans… unless they would think it's an animal."

In the video, The Zookeeper looked back, probably trying to see in the dark. Seeing as there was nothing (in his eyes) he went on limping, dragging his leg, clutching his arm and a hand covering his ear (or what was left of it at least).

"Do we have sounds?" she asked.

"Sure." Qing Lok pressed a button and the car was filled with background noise. "It's a shame we don't have a camera closer to whatever is trying to hunt him."

"What's taking so long?" Wuming asked impatiently.

"Calm down," Qing Lok answered. "They don't just kill someone. They wait for the right moment to strike a—oh wait, something's happening." Qing Lok upped the brightness of the screen. It didn't do much but they were now able to see The Zookeeper looking around again. "I think he can sense that something is there."

"Good, he's scared," Qing Chen said. "Maybe he was finally getting a taste of how the animals felt when he was the one hunting them down."

The Zookeeper was no longer moving and was standing still. The drone was positioned way above with infrared camera. The animal was still a little far from The Zookeeper, but it was making its way to him, probably checking for a closer look if he was worth eating.

"Oh no," Wuming said. "A million says he's going to run."

No one spoke. 

"What? Are we all betting that he's going to run?" Wuming asked, looking at each of them. "You're all a bore."

"Shh!" Qing Lok said. "He's about to die."

The animal must've reached a clearing and The Zookeeper saw it because he took a step back, cautiously. But even then, he dropped flat on his bottom. His arm was stretched out like it was going to help him stop the animal. 

"A million says the arm gets bitten off first," said Wuming.

"A million says its going for the head," said Qing Lok.

The two brothers shook on it.

"A million says," Qing Chen said, "it's going to strike from the back."

"What?!" Wuming exclaimed. "He's already sitting down."

"That leopard is not going to do anything to him. He's not a threat of some sort. It's not even getting provoked."

"The Zookeeper's not going to be able to get back u—"

"Oh, just look," said Qing Chen and it looked like The Zookeeper really was getting off his bottom. His form on the camera started to walk away from the animal but the animal was matching his steps, following. "I told you so."

"Damn it!" said Wuming. "He should've stayed seated."

Qing Chen was grinning. "A million says my wife's going to laugh when she sees the leopard's final product."

Feng Xuan chuckled. "There's going to be blood. I won't be able to stop it."

"Guys, quiet!" said Qing Lok. 

With The Zookeeper too badly injured to actually make some distance between him and the animal… how could he even run?

Feng Xuan felt herself smiling. He must be feeling all that hopelessness in his chest. It must be making it hard for him to breathe. He was not even that strong enough to run too far.

There would be dread in his chest, desperation, fear, anxiety… her smile got bigger. This really was so much better than just ending it with a single bullet or a single slash across the neck.

The Zookeeper picked up the pace, although he was limping, he was moving. He must be in so much pain. He must already be thinking about death. He must be so tired running.

The animal stopped for a moment. It looked like it stretched. Then it was running, covering the small distance between him and its prey in a few huge leaps.

Then it was on The Zookeeper. His form could be seen on the camera, his silhouette joining the animal's. The mic was too far but they could hear him screaming.

"Nope, I am not going to listen to that," said Qing Lok and turned the volume down. 

"I want the cheque on my desk by Monday," said Qing Chen to his brothers.

"Oh man," said Qing Lok with a light laugh. He pressed on the side of the screen and they went on fast forward again. Feng Xuan saw that the white silhouette was getting broken into parts. His arm was torn off, then later the other leg was gone. The form was no longer moving.

"He's really dead, isn't he?" asked Feng Xuan.

"Yep," answered Qing Lok.

The camera changed modes and it now showed the morning. The leopard was gone and the form that was The Zookeeper was now just a speck of blood in the middle of the safari.

Feng Xuan bit her lips, stopping the bubbling laughter inside her.

"It's okay, you can laugh," said Qing Chen with a sideways smile. 

"Don't please," she whispered. But the moment she opened her lips, the laughter came out. She was in hysterics yet again.

"For further confirmation," continued Qing Lok, he showed the screen to them. "Clown sent a new picture. They took the remains of The Zookeeper. How do you want him "double" dead?"

"Melt him in acid," said Qing Chen.

"They blew up the house already?" Wuming asked, getting back in his seat. 

"They did that last night," said Qing Chen. "After we left."

"What about our fallen men?"

"They're putting them in caskets then they're going to come back here and we're going to bury them." Qing Chen sat up and pressed on his head.

"What about their men?" Wuming asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I told them to collect all the bodies and blow them along with the house."

Wuming nodded and he looked out the window. He wondered if The Fox had made it out alive.

The corner of his lips quirked up. Maybe they would just have to see.