Chapter 257: Lost? I Really Can’t Accept That…

“Q, help me kill him…”

The quiet, almost defeated tone of those words left Q in a heavy silence.

Truth be told

It wasn’t just J who saw K as a role model. Q did too.

In fact, aside from Professor and a few others, everyone had looked up to K, hoping to one day replace him.

But after all these years, no one had managed to do it.

Back then, when K chose to leave the original organization and head to the most difficult territory—Dragon Country—to build a massive drug trafficking empire, no one believed he would succeed.

After all,

The world knew how determined Dragon Country was when it came to its war on drugs. And to build an empire of high-purity drugs there? That was practically a death sentence.

Q knew, deep down, that even if she had ten times the courage, she would never dare to develop such a high-risk operation in Dragon Country.

And yet… K did it.

With nothing but his own capabilities, he built a drug trafficking organization in just a few short years that grew to an unimaginable scale.

Even more shocking, the organization was so well-hidden that the police hadn’t discovered it until now.

In many ways—

It was K’s success that inspired both Q and J to temporarily break away from the original organization and build their own criminal networks.

All this time—

Though K never mentioned returning to the original group and seemed to have cut ties with Professor, as if he had truly gone independent…

In reality—

Even the younger members, and Q herself, had received K’s help.

Back when Q’s casino was hemorrhaging money and on the verge of collapse, it wasn’t just Professor who stepped in—K had also done everything he could to help.

And the incident J caused six months ago—

It was K who personally stepped in, crafted the plan, and took control of those Westerners in record time, silencing them permanently.

That incident never saw the light of day. It didn’t spiral into chaos.

So this time—

For K to call her, Q knew K must have truly hit a wall. But it also meant K trusted her.

Because if K had called J instead, that brainless idiot would’ve agreed without a second thought, charging in recklessly without any regard for the risks.

With that thought—

Q’s expression calmed. She answered seriously.

“K.”

“I’ll help you this time. I’ll send my people immediately to Dragon Country to find an opportunity to take out Ghost.”

“But you know as well as I do… doing something like this under the nose of Dragon Country’s police is a death sentence.”

“I’ll be trading one of my men’s lives to help you eliminate this threat.”

“So, what I’m about to say—think it over carefully. Give up everything you’ve built in Dragon Country. Come back to the United States.”

“The cracks are getting wider. There’s no point trying to patch them anymore. Making the hard choice early—that was the first lesson Professor ever taught us.”

“As long as you’re still alive, no matter how much you’ve lost, there’s always a chance to rise again.”

“In my memory… King K has always had the clearest mind, the calmest judgment, and the sharpest sense for risk.”

“Leaving and letting go—might be the better option.”

“That’s all I have to say.”

“I’ll take care of that man for you. And I hope you’ll seriously consider what I just said. Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment. Never lose your grip on the bigger picture.”

“I may want the title of K, but I don’t want to take it because you got executed.”

With that—

Q hung up without hesitation.

She squinted out at the endless blue ocean, glanced up at the blazing sun through her sunglasses, then grabbed the towel beside her, threw it over her shoulders, stood up, and said with finality:

“We’re going back.”

…

At the same time—

On the top floor of the Xingsheng Building in Cangshan District, Luzhou City, Dragon Country.

K silently placed his phone back on the table. Across from him, Priest was still puffing on a cigar, seemingly oblivious to the conversation that had just taken place.

K spoke softly.

“Priest.”

“Do you think… holding on like this is still the right choice?”

Hearing this—

Priest, as always, didn’t respond immediately. He believed K would work through the question himself and find his own answer.

But this time—

Three seconds.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

…

More than ten seconds passed.

And Priest realized—K hadn’t answered. He hadn’t asked another question or said anything else.

So Priest paused, looked up, and saw something he had never seen before on K’s face in all these years.

Doubt.

For the first time, K’s face showed hesitation, uncertainty, as if the confidence and conviction he once had were being torn apart by the man leading the police.

These past few days—

Even though this location was still secure, K had smashed several laptops, made countless calls, and even had his orders disobeyed by Demon Witch.

Priest wasn’t a fool. He understood—

All of K’s previously unstoppable strategies seemed like child’s play in front of that cop named Su Ming.

No matter how well they hid the evidence or closed the loopholes, Su Ming always found a new way in. That had never happened before.

Taking a deep drag from his cigar—

Priest exhaled a thick cloud of smoke and replied in his deep, gravelly voice.

“K.”

“I don’t understand all the twists and turns. I’m only good at solving problems for you—killing people for you.”

“So whether holding on is the right choice or not, I can’t say. I don’t have any great advice for you.”

“But you can count on me—if you really decide to give it all up, I’ll take out that mutt leading the charge.”

“So that if you ever want to come back, you won’t have to worry about facing this kind of mess again. That’s… what I’m best at.”

It was rare for Priest to say so much.

K fell into deep thought. He picked up the fine red wine on the table, drained the glass in one go, then tilted his head back to gaze at the sky, murmuring to himself.

“Maybe holding on means losing everything.”

“But to give up now… I really can’t accept that…”