Number One continued to smile at them—could you really expect a guy who barely spent any time in school to understand Abe's English?
James, on the other hand, grew even angrier at Abe's disregard for him, and his blows became increasingly forceful.
Abe felt even more aggrieved. I've opened my mouth, haven't I? Why are you still smiling like that, not stopping him? Say something!
He had no clue that the one who was beating him to a pulp, whom he mistook for a vicious brute, was actually just a technician. Meanwhile, the smiling "kind old man" was actually an unapologetic criminal.
Abe couldn't be blamed for the misunderstanding—appearances are, indeed, deceiving. Now that Number One held absolute authority at the base, he could leisurely play the Erhu to cultivate his inner peace, looking every bit like a kindly old lord. But who would guess that this same guy had once unhesitatingly drawn his gun and shot even his own boss?
