The outskirts of Jinchuan City. A private club.
Qi Tianhu sat there with a dark expression as he listened to his men report.
His son, Qi Licheng, had jumped from a building and died a horrible death. The family business had suffered a devastating blow, and nearly all the coal mines, property developments, building-material factories, and other assets under his name had been sold off at rock-bottom prices. In other words, he had practically thrown away the foundation he had spent half his life building.
Although he now had more cash in hand, he had also become increasingly irritable and irrational.
His latest failed operation against the Wanlong Association had pushed his anger to the limit.
He had gathered more than a thousand street toughs and sent them to launch simultaneous attacks on all of the Wanlong Association’s businesses throughout Jinchuan. Their sole objective was to bring the association’s operations in the city to a complete standstill.
But they had all been soundly defeated. It was utterly ridiculous!
More than a thousand men!
He had sent them to wreak havoc on the Wanlong Association’s territory, yet the other side hadn’t even lost a hair. Instead, his men had been beaten so badly they were crying for their mothers.
Even if a thousand pigs had charged in and trampled around, they should at least have managed to smash a few floors, shouldn’t they?
“Lord Tiger, something’s gone wrong! The supermarket operation failed. Our men had just rushed into the sales area and were preparing to smash the shelves when more than twenty men in black suddenly charged out from the warehouse and fire exits. They took down all our brothers in a matter of moments, then called the police. Every one of our men was taken to the station. Most of them didn’t even get away.”
“Lord Tiger, the construction site operation failed too. We had scouted the place beforehand and thought there were only a few security guards on duty. Who could have known that nearly a hundred men in black were hiding behind the surrounding walls? The moment our men climbed in, they were surrounded and beaten. Quite a few were injured.”
“Lord Tiger, the same thing happened at Huangquan Internet Café. We hadn’t even entered the building when two rows of men in black were already standing outside. They outnumbered us…”
“Lord Tiger…”
Report after report of failure came in, and Qi Tianhu’s face gradually turned ashen.
“Useless!”
“Useless!”
“You’re all fucking useless!”
“Who the hell can tell me what’s going on?!”
“Tell me!”
“Even a thousand pigs could have taken down at least one location! What the hell have you been doing all this time?”
The old associates who had been urgently summoned all lowered their heads, not daring to say a word.
They hadn’t expected this result either.
Their boss had clearly told them that the Wanlong Association had, at most, a hundred or so people in Jinchuan. Those men were spread across more than a dozen business locations, with only a few assigned to each one.
According to that intelligence, more than a thousand people attacking simultaneously from different directions should have completely overwhelmed them.
But reality had turned out the exact opposite.
Wherever their men went, they were greeted by groups of men in black—more numerous than them and far more capable. They had been crushed in return. It made no sense at all.
It felt as though the Wanlong Association didn’t have a hundred men in Jinchuan, but at least a thousand—perhaps even more.
Before long, a wild thought occurred to several of the underworld bosses present.
Could the Wanlong Association have brought in reinforcements from outside the city?
The moment that thought surfaced, their expressions changed.
If that was true, then the Wanlong Association’s strength was terrifying.
To mobilize so many people from elsewhere and bring them into Jinchuan in such a short time required extraordinary organizational ability. An ordinary person could never have pulled it off.
Their guess was correct.
The Wanlong Association had not only brought in reinforcements—it had mobilized nearly four thousand men in one move, spreading them throughout every corner of Jinchuan.
No matter which direction Qi Tianhu’s men attacked from or what time they chose, they could not possibly break through a defensive force of that scale.
Besides, those random street punks were only useful for putting on a show and making up the numbers. When it came to a real fight, their combat ability was worlds apart from that of the Wanlong Association’s rigorously trained core members.
The more they thought about it, the more frightened they became. Yet none of them dared to explain anything to Qi Tianhu at a time like this.
Everyone could see that Qi Tianhu’s mental state had already become somewhat unstable.
Seeing them all sitting there with their heads lowered and refusing to speak, suspicion in Qi Tianhu’s eyes grew stronger and stronger.
Someone among them had definitely been brushing him off. There might even be a traitor.
Otherwise, there was no way the Wanlong Association could have learned of his operation in advance and mobilized its forces ahead of time.
The Wanlong Association only had around a hundred men in Jinchuan. Even if it had temporarily called in reinforcements from elsewhere, it should have been impossible to form such an overwhelming numerical advantage in such a short period.
Unless someone had leaked his plans beforehand.
Qi Tianhu’s sinister gaze swept across the old associates seated before him, trying to read something from their faces.
Under his stare, several of the underworld bosses began to feel their hearts tremble, and sweat started forming on their foreheads.
But the more nervous they looked, the more convinced Qi Tianhu became that they were hiding something. He grew increasingly certain that there was a traitor among them—someone who had revealed his plans to the Wanlong Association and given it time to gather its men and prepare.
Yes, that had to be it!
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why all the operations at more than a dozen locations had failed.
Just as Qi Tianhu was preparing to pressure them into exposing the mole, his phone suddenly rang.
He glanced at the incoming number, and his eyes immediately sharpened. Then he answered the call.
A somewhat familiar voice came from the other end. It was the Dragon Society president surnamed Yang.
“Qi Tianhu, The Young Lady asked me to pass a few words on to you.”
“Speak!”
A murderous glint appeared in Qi Tianhu’s eyes.
Although he currently wanted nothing more than to grind everyone in the Wanlong Association to dust, the other side had taken the initiative to call him, which meant there had to be a reason.
He temporarily suppressed the murderous rage surging through his heart, wanting to hear what kind of trick they were trying to play.
“First, the thing you wanted is in The Young Lady’s hands now—the original copy.”
Qi Tianhu’s heart sank when he heard that.
The thing he had feared most had happened after all.
Still, he couldn’t understand it. If the other side had obtained the evidence, why hadn’t they simply joined forces with the police and taken him down in one sweep?
Why call and warn him instead?
The answer came quickly from the other end.
“Second, The Young Lady knows you’re holding a reporter captive. She wants to make a deal with you. Tomorrow at noon, at the construction site in the northern suburbs. Bring the reporter there, and the two of you can negotiate face-to-face.”
“The Young Lady you mentioned is your boss, right? She wants to meet with me personally?”
Qi Tianhu vaguely remembered the president surnamed Yang mentioning something about The Young Lady before. Judging from his tone and attitude at the time, this Young Lady was probably the true leader of the Wanlong Association.
To this day, Qi Tianhu still had no idea who this mysterious Young Lady was, what she looked like, or how old she was.
But for a woman to rise to the position of head of an organization of this caliber, she clearly had to possess some ability.
Now, this mysterious Young Lady of the Wanlong Association actually wanted to meet with him in person. There seemed to be something suspicious about it.
“That’s right. President Qi, please bring the reporter to the meeting tomorrow at noon. If you are late, The Young Lady will hand the evidence directly to the police.”
“Beep… beep… beep…”
The call ended.
Qi Tianhu stared at his phone. Then, without warning, he began to laugh. The smile on his face was sinister.
“Heh… hehehe… hahaha!”
After searching high and low for so long, he had finally found what he was looking for!
He had been worrying that he couldn’t find an opportunity to wipe out the Wanlong Association in one fell swoop, and now The Young Lady of the Wanlong Association had actually dared to show herself. In that case, she could hardly blame him for showing no mercy!
Of course, he had also guessed that the other side might be setting a trap for him, but so what?
As long as they didn’t call the police and came at him head-on, there was no one he feared!
He was also certain that they wouldn’t dare call the police. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have made this call in the first place—unless they actually wanted that reporter dead.
Qi Tianhu laughed for a while before gradually sobering up and turning once again to the old brothers seated around him.
He no longer had the time or inclination to investigate who the mole was. For now, he still needed to rely on these men to avenge his son.
“I won’t pursue what happened earlier.”
The moment they heard this, everyone felt as though they had been pardoned, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
They had genuinely feared that Qi Tianhu would lose his temper on the spot. Given his current state of mind, no one knew what he might do.
“Thank you, Lord Tiger! Thank you, Lord Tiger! We’ll certainly atone for our mistakes by rendering meritorious service!”
“That’s right! Lord Tiger, just give the word. We brothers will go through fire and water without hesitation!”
Qi Tianhu nodded. “I want you to gather all the men under your command. Then go find more people. By noon tomorrow, bring me at least another thousand men.”
“The Eldest Miss of the Wanlong Association has arranged to meet me tomorrow at the construction site in the north of the city. I’m going to wipe them all out!”
“No one is allowed to mess this up. You must get it done. Do you hear me?”
“Yes!”
“Don’t worry. I, Qi Tianhu, have never mistreated my brothers. Once this is over, each of you will receive ten million.”
“Thank you, Lord Tiger!”
Everyone accepted their orders and left.
Watching their retreating figures, Qi Tianhu revealed a cruel smile.
By then, he wanted to see what the Eldest Miss of the Wanlong Association could possibly use to withstand the assault of a thousand men when she showed up for the meeting with barely a hundred people.
Last time, she had gotten lucky. Someone had tipped her off, allowing her to mobilize reinforcements quickly.
This time, he wanted to see how she would call in help!
At the same time, he had already made up his mind: the moment this job was done, he would flee.
Following the plan he had drawn up earlier, he would first hide in the mountains, then use a smuggler at the border to take a black-market vehicle out of the country. Once abroad, he would assume a new identity and start over.
The money he had raised by frantically selling off his assets at rock-bottom prices would be more than enough to let him live in comfort for the rest of his life.
But before he ran, he had to send the Eldest Miss of the Wanlong Association down to accompany his son in death!
