Black blood splattered across the white canvas stretcher.
Bald Liu clutched his throat with both hands, his eyes bulging until the blood vessels ruptured. A sound like tearing parchment came from his chest.
Above him, the holographic audit display blinked with cold, merciless crimson numbers:
[Toxin Progression: Gastric Perforation in 45 Seconds.]
[Survival Window: 44... 43... 42...]
The twenty bribed reporters stood frozen on the sidewalk. Two cameramen let their heavy cameras slip, the lenses smacking into the concrete with dull thuds.
“Situ Hao gave him lethal mercury...” the female reporter whispered, her hands shaking so violently she dropped her notebook. “He... he was going to let this man die on camera just to frame Taichu!”
“Murderer!” a bystander in the crowd yelled, his face dark with fury. “Situ Hao is a cold-blooded murderer!”
