Chapter 83 - The Koala

It was hot and humid in the bas.e.m.e.nt that it had not been ten minutes yet that Qing Chen could feel his shirt sticking to his back. He had a huge air-cooler rolled in the room just the relieve them of discomfort. He had never liked this abandoned house. This was where their late grandfather usually did his business. And this floor he was standing on, had absorbed the amount of blood that could possibly cause a flood.

But it was also built on a secluded area in where police ate out of the palm of their hands. It was the only close place they could not be found.

"Let's see," Qing Chen began as he threw the knife in the air and caught it at the hilt. The man on the chair was looking at him with his big eyes following the blade. His body looked thinner than it really was under the loose hospital gown. "Here's how it's going to work. I'm going to ask a question and you answer. In return this knife won't slice you. Agreed?"

The man gave no reaction.

"I'm trying to be nice here," Qing Chen said and put the sharp tip on the man's hand. "If you don't answer the next time. This knife is going through your hand. Understood?"

This time, the man nodded. Fear flickered faintly in those black eyes.

"What's your name?"

The man was still nodding then he opened his mouth and laughter came out. Qing Chen felt his temper rise to a certain peak. "No name."

He rolled his shoulders in an effort to keep his emotions below his neck, but that was not really helpful. He tried again. "What's your name?"

The man grinned. "My name is Qing Chen."

Wuming gave a laugh that was echoed by the man strapped to the seat. Wuming slapped his brother's shoulder. "He's making fun of you, Chen," he goaded.

"Yeah," Qing Chen said. "I bet he thought I was joking."

Qing Chen raised the knife in an arc, the blade catching light before he swung it down hard on the back of the man's hand. Wuming even heard the wooden armrest splinter at the contact. For a few seconds the room was filled with terrible screams and then a string of curses coming from the man's mouth. Blood immediately poured out of the open wound, staining the floor as the smell of metal filled the air.

"Now," Qing Chen smiled. "Are you ready to talk?"

The man nodded vigorously and answered at the same time, "Yes, yes, PLEASE! Take it out!"

"I can't take it out," Qing Chen said. "You'll bleed faster." He took another knife from the table. He was not a fan of the rigorous process of squeezing out answers. They took a lot time and even though he probably had the patience for it, he would be bored out of his wits. It would have been easy to let someone else do it but he wanted to hear the answers from this man personally. "What's your name?"

"T-they call me The Koala."

"Koala," he repeated. "Are you a member of The Zoo?"

"Ye-yes."

"Who's your boss? What's his name?"

"I-I don't know."

Qing Chen brandished the knife in front of the man's face, pointing the tip on the other hand.

"N-no! Please! I don't know! I don't know who he is! Nobo—" his words were cut off by a scream as Qing Chen plunged the knife about an inch deep. He could feel the bones moving and the flesh tearing. "N-no-nobody knows who he is," the man panted, sweat sliding off his forehead. "T-they call him The Zookeeper."

The brothers exchanged a look.

From the top of the table, Wuming said, "I am really digging this whole zoo branding. Why didn't our great grandfather think of something as clever as that?"

Qing Chen felt a smile tugging on his lips and he let it. "Agreed." He turned back to Koala. "Why was my wife the target today?"

"He never said anything," the Koala replied.

"What are his future plans? Do you know anything about it?"

Then The Koala opened his mouth and started laughing again, low and deep from his stomach. Like he really found the situation funny. Qing Chen stopped the urge to plunge the blade inside of his mouth. He wondered if it would cut the corner of his lips in the process.

Wuming chuckled from behind. "He's a nut job. Krung-krung."

Deep inside, Qing Chen groaned. He knew they were going to be here for a while.

**

Apparently, this nut job of a Koala was hard to crack. They did not want to puncture him enough that he would bleed to death before they could have their answers. But neither did they have all the time in the world. Around an hour later of asking questions, they only had a handful of information.

1. This man was called The Koala.

2. He did not know where the The Zoo was hiding out at the moment (said that they transferred recently) but they were based in the north continent before (confirmed true by Wuming).

3. Only The Zookeeper's most trusted members could talk and reach him.

And finally:

4. He was instructed to do damage to Feng Xuan—but not to the point that she would be dead.

Qing Chen felt his stomach lurched then and wanted nothing else but to hunt down all the members and hang them one-by-one while their precious Zookeeper watches. Their suspicion had been right all along. They did not want Feng Xuan dead. Today was just a warning.

They had asked every possible question they could think of. They were answered with song lyrics, sometimes laughter. Long, guttural, annoying laughter. Qing Chen pressed the hilt of the knife beside the first knife he used. "Do they want to take her?"

"If The Zookeeper did," Koala snarled in pain. "He would've already gotten your wife!"

Qing Chen had been hearing all about this Zookeeper's reputation of being untouchable, untraceable, and that he was only playing with the Qings. He was getting tired of it already.

"Are you going to let me go?" Koala's mood shifted again. This time like he was close to tears. Knives were pinning both of his hands on the chair and two short daggers pierced each of his thigh.

"You wish," Wuming said and watched as Qing Chen slowly paced with a butterfly knife, his wrist twisting as it moved in between his fingers in a blur. Wuming was never the one to interrogate. People hired him to get a job done.

If it were up to him, this man would've been dead at the first ten minutes. He really had to hand it to Qing Chen for having so much patience. But his had already ran out.

Wuming kicked a knee and Koala groaned in pain. "Is that everything you're going to tell us?"

The Koala was chuckling under his breath. "I already told you everything I know."

"I think he was assigned to this to annoy us."

One side of Qing Chen's lips turned upwards. "You finally found a match."

"I'm not that annoying," Wuming frowned and looked at Koala and mouthed, "Am I?"

Koala grinned at him with bloodstained teeth and nodded.

Qing Chen's head was tilted upwards and everything that came out of his mouth sounded like a long tired groan. "He's at the bottom of the ladder. He's a disposable. He can't really know much about The Zoo."

"Yes, yes!" Koala said with excitement. "I am a disposable."

Wuming slid him a pitiful glance and Qing Chen frowned. "That's not something you should be proud of."

"It is," Koala's voice was more serious than ever, something like pride was puffing his chest. "The Zoo had picked me off the street and gave my life purpose. And this is me fulfilling MY purpose. I'll lay my life for The Zookeeper."

For a second, the brothers regarded his tone as he continued talking.

"I may not know him personally, may not have seen his shadow, but I know that he gets things done. All you Qings, you are all going to die." He turned to Qing Chen. "Including that pretty wife of yours."

Qing Chen's wrist flicked and in a flash, the knife was at Koala's side, making another patch of blood on the white gown he was still wearing. The Koala howled in pain before it turned into laughter.

"You're all going to die," he said in a sing-song voice in between his laughs, almost breathless.

"Yeah, but not if we kill them first," Wuming said and jumped from the weapons table.

"You don't know," Koala was shaking his head. "He's EVERYWHERE. He always knows where you are, what you're doing, and what your plans are. You are never going to beat him."

Wuming only rolled his eyes at the threats. Typical. He heard those about a thousand times already. He had enough for a lifetime. "I don't really care. Finish this up, Chen. It's already late. Feng Xuan could wake up any second now."

Qing Chen took another knife from the table. But then he remembered that Feng Xuan would be in a lot pain and discomfort in the next few weeks because of this. "Clown," he called and the man detached himself from the wall and into the light, his scarred face looked like it was straight up from a horror movie. "Hang him upside down, make more cuts if needed. Drain the remaining life in him. If he says something relevant…"

"I will let you know," Clown nodded.

Qing Chen tapped Clown's arm. "Have fun."

Qing Chen pressed on his temples the moment they stepped out in the chilly air. His brain was pulsating under his skull. His head felt like it was going to explode.

"Come on, Chen. I'll drive you back to the hospital."