“Correct, three birds with one stone!” Zhao Mingguang smiled as he explained to Wang Mingyang, “Think about it, if the leader knows about this, it’s impossible for him not to react. Why are we afraid of him? We are afraid that he would send fanatical members out to attack ordinary citizens. If we release these minions, we would have given him due respect. He will not be able to use his previous tactics. This is one. Secondly, these people are badly injured. If we release them, their medical expenses will not be a small sum. The leader must do something about them. He can’t possibly ignore his subordinates after they get injured doing something on his orders, right? This will bankrupt him! Thirdly, when these people leave, they will definitely talk about how terrifying Hong Dali is. In order to avoid panic setting in within the organization, the leader will have to continue sending people after Hong Dali. This will put Hong Dali in the open, with the leader following behind him, and us taking the rear, closing in. That’s killing three birds with one stone, killing three birds with one stone, great!”
“It seems to make sense after listening to you!” Wang Mingyang was completely stunned. “Is Hong Dali the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang?”
Zhao Mingguang burst out laughing. “Haha, you don’t say. It might actually be possible!”
…
Inside a civilian dwelling.
The member of the Black Dragon Gang released by Hong Dali took out an encrypted phone and called his superiors.
“Hello, Master Hu, we… we failed our mission!” The minion was almost in tears. “Master Zhou is dead and all our other brothers have been arrested…”
“What?!” On the other end of the line, Master Hu was obviously shocked. “What’s going on? Wait, I’ll tell Big Brother about it and ask him to get back to you in a while.”
“Okay… okay, Master Hu…”
Soon, the phone rang again. A somber and hoarse voice said, “Tell me about it slowly, what happened?”
“It’s… it’s like this…” said the minion fearfully. “We ambushed Hong Dali today, but we did not expect his two female bodyguards to be so powerful. Two of them defeated all 16 of us. Master Zhou’s limbs were all broken on the spot…”
“Oh?” The leader was obviously a little surprised. He said grimly, “You mean, sixteen of you were defeated by two of them? Two women?”
“Yes… yes.” The minion did not dare to hide anything. He immediately recounted everything that had happened from the beginning to the end.
“It looks like Hong Dali is quite capable.” The leader muttered to himself for a while, then said, “Tell our brothers to lay low and try not to invite trouble. I have to think about what is going on. You take a rest first. As for the rest, I will get them out.” Saying that the leader hung up.
…
Imperial Capital, in a villa next to the water.
This was a very famous waterside villa area in the Imperial Capital. Anyone who could afford to live here was worth trillions at least. There was no shortage of high-ranking officials and celebrities here. This was where the nefarious leader of the Black Dragon Gang lived!
There is a saying that goes: those with most to hide, hide in the city. Who would have expected the leader of the Black Dragon Gang to stay here?
At this time, on the deck chair by the artificial lake, the leader was basking in the sun in a robe.
His appearance was actually not very menacing at all. On his right cheek was a scar about an inch long. Except for this, he was quite a handsome man. If based solely on his looks alone, no one would guess that he was the leader of the Black Dragon Gang!
“Where is Hong Dali from?” The leader muttered to himself, “His two bodyguards can take down the group of 16 people led by Zhou Mingfei with their bare hands. That’s scarily strong.”
Compared with Gu Feifei, Zhou Mingfei was nowhere near as powerful. But the leader was well aware of Zhou Mingfei’s abilities—to be a core member, he needed some real skills, not just cruelty.
Once, the underground boxing champion of the three eastern provinces fought with Zhou Mingfei. The result of that battle was not known to outsiders, but the leader was clear about what happened—Zhou Mingfei was still happily alive while the underground boxing champion had disappeared.
The fact that someone like that was helpless when faced with Hong Dali’s bodyguards was strange.
“Perhaps he finally met someone stronger this time.” The leader frowned. “I’ve been in the triads for so many years and have never heard of any family that has such powerful bodyguards. We lost this time, what about next time? This guy actually said that the people of Black Dragon Gang are not allowed into Shencheng in the future? What arrogance.”
He thought about it for a while more, then took out his smartphone and started making calls. “Tell the brothers over there to lay low, don’t make any moves.”
As the leader, it was natural that he had to take care of his subordinates. Otherwise, who would follow him?
After making arrangements regarding the men in Shencheng, the leader made a call to a senior official’s cell phone.
His tone was not so friendly this time. “Chief Zhang, have you been well recently?”
“What do you want this time?” Chief Zhang was obviously a little nervous, although not afraid. The main thing was that this leader was really quite despicable. Chief Zhang was afraid that he might once again do something vile to society. “Yes, quickly tell me what you want. I will consider if it’s not too much.”
“Hehe, it’s nothing much actually,” the leader said simply. “A few of my brothers have been caught and are locked up at your division office. Can Chief Zhang help me get my boys out?”
“Your people were caught? Haha, that’s a good thing.” Chief Zhang laughed. “Should I set off firecrackers to celebrate at night?”
“It’s up to you.” The leader did not react. “I only care about the results. Of course, you can also refuse to let them go. However, it will be hard to say what the consequences will be.”
“Humph, I’ll help you this time since you asked.” Chief Zhang said coldly, “They better be good after they get out. I can’t do you favors all the time. You won’t have it good if I get pushed into a corner.”
“Of course, haha. Chief Zhang, I’ll buy you a drink if the opportunity arises.” Saying that the leader hung up.
…
Shengcheng Criminal Police Headquarters
“Haha, the leader has taken the bait!” Chief Zhang hung up and slapped the table fiercely, laughing loudly. “He still does not know what is happening. Haha, this feels great!”
“Yeah, hehe. It’s hard to find a talent like Hong Dali. This time, the Black Dragon Gang is going to get it.” Zhao Mingguang sat on the sofa and laughed. “Chief Zhang, based on what he is saying, this matter has not ended yet. He will definitely send more people and think of more ways to create trouble for Hong Dali.”
“Of course.” Chief Zhang nodded and said, “We must be on our guard, especially if the Black Dragon Gang sends snipers. Right now, Hong Dali’s bodyguards have absolutely no problem dealing with close-range attacks. Snipers are another matter. Send people to watch all the high-rise buildings around the villa. Make sure no snipers gain access to them.”
“I understand, I will take note of that.” Zhao Mingguang immediately agreed.
“Also,” Chief Zhang thought for a while and said, “we must pay attention to what Hong Dali eats. The Black Dragon Gang is known to be vicious and cruel. And they don’t take action logically. If brute force does not work, they might resort to more underhanded means. They might poison his food or drink, or place a bomb under his car. We must be vigilant for all these. Also, don’t let Xu Qingqing leave the hospital in the near future. Tell Hong Dali’s other friends to be careful too.”
“Yes, I understand.” Zhao Mingguang agreed with Chief Zhang.
Why had they been helpless against the Black Dragon Gang thus far? It was because they were not only fearless fanatics, they did not care about other people’s lives either.
The incident when people had barged into a kindergarten and slashed children to death and torched the bus was all done by them. There had even been cases where water was poisoned. That was probably done by them too.
This was why the police had been unable to do anything. They had no choice. They had to protect the lives of the masses and keep them safe. This was their duty.
Now that the Black Dragon Gang were enemies with Hong Dali, the minor details that ordinary people might not pay attention to had become very important.
“The problem is…” Zhao Mingguang thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “If the police give Hong Dali so much protection, will the leader think that Hong Dali has already cooperated with us to some extent and take some action?”
“It’s quite tricky.” Hearing that, Chief Zhang frowned.
It was necessary to protect Hong Dali. But if they overdid it and the leader found out, it would make things difficult.
“How about this.” Chief Zhang thought for a while, then said, “Send Hong Dali the equipment to detect explosives and toxins. We will depend on him to deal with those himself while we watch secretly and give aid where possible. As for snipers, we have to be on the lookout. Regardless of whether they are targeting Hong Dali, for the safety of other citizens, we cannot have snipers running loose in the city.”
“OK, I’ll do it right away!”
…
Hospital, in the ward.
Xiaoyu had prepared porridge and eggs for Xu Qingqing. He coaxed her to finish her dinner carefully—a mother who had just given birth should not eat anything else other than nourishing food like porridge and eggs.
“Thank you.” Xu Qingqing was very grateful for this. After finishing her dinner in little bites, she looked at Xiaoyu and said softly, “Okay, I’m fine. You can go. It’s not worth doing so much for me.”
“Don’t talk about whether it’s worth it or not.” Xiaoyu shook his head decisively. “You are here alone and there’s no one to take care of you. I’m just helping you out a little. You are Dali’s classmate and I am his childhood friend. It’s the least I can do.”
Xiaoyu covered the child gently with a blanket and then frowned. His voice was slightly unhappy as he said softly, “By the way, Qingqing, I don’t know if I should say this. Aunt and uncle… why have they not come to see you?”
