Elsewhere.
Liu Yutong had also been waiting for news about Professor Xu.
“Lan Die, have you heard anything from Professor Xu’s side?”
“Our people went to Professor Xu’s residence, but no one was home. We also asked around at the university. His colleagues said they last saw him five days ago, and he hasn’t appeared since. His phone is unreachable as well. In addition, his daughter, Xu Yi, has been unable to contact him.”
“Also, our people spotted traces near BS University that appear to belong to Qi Tianhu’s men. They’re asking around about Professor Xu’s whereabouts too.”
Liu Yutong’s expression grew grave.
Qi Tianhu had moved faster than they had anticipated. He had already traced Professor Xu’s whereabouts to BS University.
“As for that reporter, Zhou Ming, we’ve been tracking him constantly. We’ve used every channel available to us, but so far, we still have no reliable information. If he’s still alive, then the only person who probably knows where he is now is Qi Tianhu himself.”
Liu Yutong fell silent for a moment, considering the various possibilities. Then she looked up at Yun Cheng.
“How many people have we assembled so far?”
“More than five hundred are already in place. At this rate, we expect the number to exceed three thousand by tomorrow evening.”
Three thousand people. That was enough!
Just as Liu Yutong was about to issue the next order, Lan Die received a new message.
“Miss!”
“We’ve just received word that someone may have spotted Professor Xu Yangen!”
“Where?”
“In the old district. According to the description, the person believed to be Professor Xu was walking in a hurry and looked panicked. He also seemed to have suffered a minor injury.”
“Yun Cheng!”
“Here!”
“Notify all our men near the old district immediately. They must find Professor Xu before Qi Tianhu’s people do! Use force if necessary!”
“Yes, Miss!”
……
At the same time.
At a private club halfway up the mountain, Qi Tianhu was meeting with a group of old comrades.
In just a few days, this Jinchuan’s underworld emperor seemed to have aged ten years. The gray in his temples had become noticeably more pronounced.
His entire aura had changed as well.
If Qi Tianhu had once been a mighty tiger ruling over the mountains and forests, he was now a wounded beast that had lost its cub.
An icy, dangerous presence radiated from him.
“Is everyone here?”
“Lord Tiger, everyone’s here.”
Standing before him were seven or eight men. They had all been old brothers who had followed him in his early days as he fought to build his empire. None of them were young anymore, and some even had gray at their temples.
Most of them had gradually stepped back from the front lines, leaving their operations and businesses to their subordinates while enjoying a semi-retired life.
Now, a single call from Qi Tianhu had brought them all back.
“I called you here today for one reason only.”
“Every one of you knows how my son, Li Cheng, died.”
“The Wanlong Association is the murderer!”
“They drove my son to his death! If I, Qi Tianhu, don’t avenge this blood debt, I’m no father!”
The expressions of everyone present grew solemn.
“My plan has three steps.”
“First, I’m going to completely destroy the Wanlong Association’s reputation in Jinchuan. I’ll make them utterly rotten, so they can never clear their name!”
“Second, I want those two businessmen from Hong Kong dead!”
The moment he said this, everyone’s faces changed.
A man seated at the front, a street boss wearing a thick gold chain, couldn’t help saying, “Lord Tiger, isn’t attacking Hong Kong businessmen too risky? You know what the relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland is like. If something happens to Hong Kong businessmen on the mainland, it will immediately alarm the higher-ups. Once this blows up, we…”
What he meant was that none of them might be able to escape.
But Qi Tianhu cut him off without the slightest concern.
“That’s exactly what I want. I want it to blow up!”
“I’ve already contacted someone and paid them three million. On the day of the groundbreaking ceremony for the Qingyan Mountain lithium mine, they’ll disguise themselves as members of the Wanlong Association and attack.”
“When that happens, every major media outlet in the country will report on it!”
“No matter how fake it looks, once public opinion catches fire, the Wanlong Association won’t be able to explain itself even with a hundred mouths.”
“I want these waters as muddy as possible! So muddy that even the people above can’t suppress it, so muddy that the Wanlong Association won’t be able to clear its name even if it jumps into the Yellow River!”
The room fell silent.
Everyone had been stunned by Qi Tianhu’s vicious scheme.
Framing someone else, killing with a borrowed knife, and then using the blade of public opinion to drive the enemy into the ground for good—
It was truly ruthless!
But taking the lives of Hong Kong businessmen and pinning the blame on the Wanlong Association would cause an enormous stir once exposed.
If the authorities investigated, every single one of them would be finished.
Some had already begun reconsidering their involvement, wondering whether they should flee to another city as soon as the meeting ended.
They had all fought alongside their boss in the past, but who would be willing to risk their lives at an age when they were nearly retired?
Of course, they could only keep such thoughts hidden. Anyone could see that Qi Tianhu was in an utterly irrational state, and no one dared provoke him now.
“Third, I want every business the Wanlong Association owns in Jinchuan brought to a complete standstill!”
“Old Sun!”
Old Sun gave a slight start and hurriedly straightened up.
“Lord Tiger, what are your orders?”
“How many men can you mobilize right now?”
“I can bring out a little over two hundred brothers. If we count the security staff at several of our establishments, gathering three hundred won’t be a problem.”
“Good.”
Qi Tianhu turned to the next man.
“What about the East District?”
Another burly man, two blue dragons tattooed on his arm, immediately replied, “Lord Tiger, I can provide one hundred and fifty men.”
“What about the South District?”
“I can bring two hundred.”
“And the North District?”
“One hundred and eighty. They can be assembled at any time.”
The seven or eight men reported their numbers one after another. In the end, they could mobilize roughly a thousand people.
That was the maximum force Jinchuan’s underworld could muster.
Qi Tianhu slowly nodded after hearing the total.
“That’s enough.”
“The Wanlong Association has, at most, a hundred men in Jinchuan. They have to spread themselves across more than a dozen businesses, so each location will have only a handful of people. Send all one thousand of our men out and have them strike simultaneously in separate groups. I want to see how those few men plan to defend more than a dozen sites!”
“Lord Tiger, when we hit the Wanlong Association’s businesses, do we attack their people directly, or…”
“No.”
Qi Tianhu waved a hand. Although he desperately wanted revenge, he understood that, at a time like this, if anyone died, the police would pursue the matter relentlessly. Then not only would he fail to get his revenge, he might even lose every possible escape route.
“Your main targets aren’t their people. They’re their businesses. In short, smash them hard! As long as you bring every one of the Wanlong Association’s businesses in Jinchuan to a halt, that’s all that matters.”
“Remember, have all the brothers wear black clothes and cover their faces with masks. There are already plenty of people saying that the Wanlong Society is a criminal organization, so let’s make that accusation a fact!”
“Understood, Lord Tiger!”
“Go. I want to see the results within three days.”
“Yes, sir!”
Seven or eight men rose from their seats and left the clubhouse.
Only one man remained behind. A centipede tattoo crawled along his arm.
His nickname was Centipede, and he was Qi Tianhu’s most trusted subordinate.
For years, he had handled all the dirty, underhanded work that could never see the light of day.
“Little Centipede, has that reporter talked yet?”
Centipede shook his head. “That bastard’s got one hell of a stubborn mouth. We’ve had him hanging in the basement for two days and two nights, and we’ve tried every method there is, but he still hasn’t said a word. I’ve broken plenty of tough nuts in my time, but I’ve never seen anyone this hard.”
Qi Tianhu’s expression darkened at once, killing intent spreading through his eyes.
“Don’t kill him yet.”
“He must have handed those hidden pieces of evidence to his classmate. We need to keep him alive so we can use him to draw that person out.”
“Yes, Lord Tiger!”
“By the way, Lord Tiger, according to reports from our men on the streets, a group of people from the Wanlong Society has made its way into the old district. They look like they’re searching for someone. I suspect they may have also discovered the whereabouts of that professor.”
“If you suspect it, then capture them! No matter the cost, we absolutely cannot let the evidence hidden by that reporter be sent out! You know what will happen if it falls into the hands of the Wanlong Society!”
“Understood! I’ll take care of it right away!”
After Centipede left as well, Qi Tianhu was the only person remaining in the clubhouse.
He stood alone before the square table, staring at the black-and-white memorial portrait of his son resting on it.
In the photograph, Qi Licheng was still very young. His hair was dyed an obnoxious shade of yellow, and he was flashing the camera an especially arrogant hand gesture.
Qi Tianhu reached out and gently brushed his finger across his son’s face in the photograph. His hand trembled faintly.
“Li Cheng, your father is sorry. I failed to discipline you properly, and that’s what led you to this point. But I promise you, every single person responsible for your death will pay. Not one of them will get away.”
“You just watch over it all from heaven.”
