Inside the noisy room, the argument was still raging.
Staring at Gatsby—who had once romanced his wife, Daisy, and was now back in their lives—Tom sneered with venomous fury. "You're not high society at all! You're nothing but a nouveau-riche upstart who made his money off bootleg liquor—and a petty foot soldier for some New York Mafia boss!"
Hearing his carefully fabricated persona torn apart, Gatsby flushed with mortified rage. His origins had always been the past he could never outrun, a shame he could never shake off no matter how many masks he wore.
Daisy looked at Gatsby, the rekindled flame of love between them beginning to waver. She knew all too well how fragile such suddenly acquired fortune truly was.
Yet just as Tom Buchanan was about to pile on more scorn, an abrupt knock sounded at the door.
Startled, everyone turned toward the entrance in bewilderment. Who on earth could be calling at a time like this?
Nick stepped forward in a daze and pulled the door open. The moment he laid eyes on the young man in the sharp, impeccably tailored suit, he froze.
Gatsby also froze when he saw Liu Ren. What on earth was his boss doing here?
"Aha! It seems we've arrived at the wrong place at the wrong time! But no matter, just a trifling bit of awkwardness!"
Flashing a pleasant smile, Liu Ren greeted Nick. "Thank you for opening the door, young man!"
With that, Liu Ren strolled straight inside.
The instant Myrtle Wilson, perched on the sofa, saw her mechanic husband walk in behind him, she leaped to her feet in sheer terror.
"What are you doing here?" Tom Buchanan asked in disbelief, utterly shocked by the intrusion.
Ignoring him, Liu Ren clapped Wilson on the shoulder. "See that, my friend? Your wife has just proved one thing to you—she and this gentleman share quite the special bond!"
Turning his head toward Nick Carraway, Liu Ren said, "You're Nick, right?"
"Yes, that's me, sir!" Sensing that this man was someone of immense power, Nick answered with utmost care.
At his answer, Liu Ren snapped his fingers. "You've seen Mrs. Myrtle and Tom enjoying their little 'trysts' with your own eyes, haven't you?"
Nick stared in stunned silence, his mind buzzing. How could this man possibly know that?
Hearing the words, Tom Buchanan roared, "Fuck! You bastard, what the hell are you talking about?"
*Click!*
The revolver's hammer was pulled back, the mechanical cylinder locking into place.
Raising his revolver, A Chao aimed it squarely at Tom Buchanan, his gaze chillingly detached. "You'd better watch how you talk to him, because I will blow your head off."
A Chao's lips curled into a cruel smirk.
"Easy there, Brother Chao. We're not here to murder anyone! Although that would make things rather messy, I doubt anyone would enjoy dancing with the sharks downstream in the Hudson River!"
Liu Ren's eyes narrowed slightly as his gaze swept over everyone present.
Swallowing hard, Gatsby stammered with a trace of dread, "Boss! I..."
"Boss?" Tom Buchanan stared at Gatsby in disbelief, his mind reeling. The Mafia kingpin backing Gatsby was actually this arms magnate worth hundreds of millions? How was that possible?
"Gatsby, I told you a long time ago: humble beginnings are no disgrace. A real man knows when to yield and when to stand tall!" Liu Ren sighed with helpless resignation, patting Gatsby on the shoulder.
If you fancy a woman, go steal her away! If you can't steal her, take her by force! And if you can't take her, can't you just get rid of her husband? But a woman like Daisy wasn't worth going to such lengths for. Gatsby's true tragedy was that he had never seen through her refined, selfish heart.
"To be honest, I heard what you said while standing outside," Liu Ren said, stepping past Gatsby to confront Tom Buchanan, fixing him with an icy stare. "You called him a Mafia pawn. That's true enough, but he's *my* man! In all of New York, if I choose to protect someone, nobody touches him. Understand, Mr. Tom Buchanan?"
*Snap!*
Liu Ren clicked his fingers and turned back to Nick. "Your turn, Mr. Nick. Let's get back to our topic. You saw it, didn't you? Right on this very sofa—watching the poodle eat its dog food while listening to them 'revel'!"
Swallowing hard, Nick was too terrified to speak. When he first arrived in New York, he had seen newspaper interviews featuring Liu Ren, heralding him as an arms conglomerate president and banking titan. Faced with such an overwhelming figure, Nick didn't dare lie, yet he was equally terrified of wrecking Daisy's marriage.
"I'll count to three. If you don't answer, I'll have someone blow your head open right this second!" Liu Ren watched him with an amused smirk, knowing exactly what Nick was trying to "protect."
*Click!*
Drawing his revolver, Liu Ren pointed it straight at Nick. "Three..."
Just as Liu Ren's finger tightened on the trigger, Nick screamed in sheer terror, "Oh fuck! Didn't you say you'd count to three?"
"I did count to three! Didn't you hear me?" Liu Ren grinned savagely and burst into loud laughter.
"I saw it! I saw it! Just like you said—right outside the room!" Nick yelled hysterically, not daring to gamble on whether Liu Ren would pull the trigger. This man truly wielded the power to blot out the sky with one hand.
"Did you hear that, Mr. Wilson? Truly terrible news!" Liu Ren lowered the revolver with a face full of sympathy.
"Fuck! You bastard!" George Wilson surged forward in blind fury, stripped of all deference for social standing, and slammed a savage fist into Tom's face.
The heavy blow knocked Tom backward, sending him crashing hard onto the floor.
As the two men grappled, Myrtle shrieked, "Don't, George! Stop!"
Before she could pull her husband away, Liu Ren whipped his hand across her face.
*Smack!*
A sharp slap rang out, leaving Myrtle completely stunned. As she turned her head, unable to comprehend why this stranger had struck her, Liu Ren glared at her in faux outrage. "Sneak a bite today, and you'll be stealing takeout tomorrow! Consider this a warning, understand?"
"Fuck you, you piece of shit! If you can't take care of your wife, what's wrong with me doing it for you?" Relying on his former collegiate football build, Tom pinned Wilson beneath him and began raining heavy punches down on him.
Just as Wilson's face was battered bloody, the revolver tucked into Liu Ren's waistband "accidentally" slipped and clattered to the floor.
Snatching the gun, Wilson aimed it at Tom in a fit of rage and pulled the trigger.
*Bang!*
The bullet punched straight through the space between Tom's brows. Tom collapsed instantly, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Everyone in the room froze, watching in utter shock.
Struggling to his feet, Wilson raised the gun toward Myrtle. "You shouldn't have done this to me! You shouldn't have!"
"George, calm down, George!" Backing away in terror, Myrtle shrank into a corner.
George had completely lost his mind, caring nothing for right or wrong.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
A volley of gunshots echoed through the room. Myrtle collapsed into a pool of blood, and George, entirely despondent, shoved the barrel into his mouth and pulled the trigger.
Staring at the carnage with feigned shock, Liu Ren shook his head and muttered, "See? I told you so. Never go lusting after another man's wife. Now look what happened—someone ends up coveting yours instead!"
Chapter 44