NOVPUB
Chapter 99: Chapter 97 Turbulence in Jianghu, Worth Treasuring (Please Follow)
In the van.
Three men with tattooed arms, suspected gang members, were staring intently at the two figures gradually moving away.
"Are you sure it’s him?"
"I bumped into him outside the venue yesterday, he looks like a bear, how could I possibly not recognize him with my chicken eyes?"
"And the other pretty boy?"
"That... is somewhat unfamiliar..."
The two men huddled together, whispering and discussing in low voices.
"Wait, I remember what that pretty boy looks like now!"
A man with tattooed arms in the back row suddenly exclaimed, then rapidly explained:
"I came to Old Factory Street with Big Dummy and the others looking to collect a debt from a lady of the Three Wolves Gang."
"Just as we were about to teach her a lesson, we encountered a guy with strong leg techniques, who gave Big Dummy a severe beating, and warned us not to make trouble on Old Factory Street again."
The man in the driver’s seat turned around in surprise upon hearing this:
"Old Factory Street is the Three Wolves Gang’s turf, you mean to say..."
The man with the tattooed arms nodded solemnly.
"A guy with impressive leg techniques?"
The guy with cock-eye sitting in the passenger seat stroked his chin, pondering:
"So you mean, the pretty boy who struck our stronghold with Bear yesterday, was that the same person?"
The tattooed man nodded again, seriously.
Then he added another sentence:
"And the Bear you mentioned, his name is Ma Donghe, he’s a well-known ruffian leader in the Jiangbei area, and he also has a good relationship with the Three Wolves Gang."
"Then everything makes sense now!"
The other two suddenly realized and simultaneously slapped their palms.
"Should we follow them?"
One of them then sought the opinion of the others.
"Idiot, why follow them and deliver ourselves on a platter?"
Another one with chicken eyes urged:
"All we have to do is go back and report to the boss, and we’ll get credit for the intel!"
The van started up immediately, spewing black smoke, and quickly drove off the dilapidated street, merging into the flow of traffic.
.......................
Jiangbei Suburb, an abandoned factory.
The walls were painted with a big, striking "Demolish" character in red.
The rust-stained iron gate was only nominally locked with a chain.
As the gate was opened, the car slowly drove into the compound and stopped in front of the overgrown factory building.
Fang Cheng got out of the car, looked around, and couldn’t help but compliment:
"Donghe, your secret base looks really good..."
Looking around, it was all demolition areas.
Within two kilometers nearby were either farmland or a wasteland of demolished buildings.
Apart from scavengers, few people would come to this kind of place.
If one wanted to do something illegal, it would truly be unseen and unsuspected.
Ma Donghe and Chen Yingjun also got out of the car and grinned upon hearing the words, then led him inside.
A black-backed big wolf dog was kept at the entrance of the factory building; upon seeing strangers approach, it immediately started barking loudly.
Ma Donghe immediately scolded the dog.
Fang Cheng didn’t care and walked straight ahead.
The dog tucked its tail, as if sensing danger, whimpered softly while retreating backward.
"Woof woof..."
Fang Cheng tried communicating and bonding with the guard dog.
The dog suddenly froze, then slowly began to wag its tail.
Then it wagged its tail faster and faster, ears pressed against its forehead, and cautiously approached.
"Ying ying..."
In an instant, the dog became unusually affectionate, constantly sniffing around Fang Cheng’s legs.
"Ah Cheng, can you actually train dogs too? Is there anything you can’t do?"
Ma Donghe watched this miraculous scene in surprise.
Then he was somewhat indignant:
"This ingrate, I’ve been feeding it for so long and it’s never been this affectionate with me."
Fang Cheng smiled slightly, without explanation.
Animals have their own language too, just not a complete language system.
So they can only express some simple things like eating, danger, happiness, sadness, friendliness, warnings, and so on.
Fang Cheng tried out his language talent and found it indeed worked.
The three then walked into the factory building.
It was very spacious inside, with nothing but some abandoned production line racks, bricks, and rubbish.
A few burly men were already waiting, and when they saw Ma Donghe come in, they all quickly greeted him as "Brother Ma."
"How are they? Haven’t cooled off yet, have they?"
Ma Donghe casually asked.
"Not cold, still good!"
One of the men responded nonchalantly:
"Only this morning, a guy disobeyed and tried to escape, so after we caught him, we gave him a bit of a beating." 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
While talking, everyone walked towards a room marked with the factory manager’s office.
When Fang Cheng pushed the door open, he saw the two poor sods whose legs he had broken and who were caught here.
They were tied up in chairs.
The broken part of the lower leg had white bone fragments sticking out, with dried and solidified black blood clots sticking to the trousers, looking extremely miserable.
The instant they saw Fang Cheng’s face, their expressions changed drastically.
Like seeing a humanoid monster, disregarding the intense pain from their fractures, they tried to back away as much as possible.
But they were immediately held down firmly by two other men.
Fang Cheng recognized one of them.
It was the same ruffian he had seen in front of Wen Xin’s house, the suave bro.
Fang Cheng had told Ma Donghe to hold two gang leaders here, to keep a backup plan.
If the rival gang forces tried to retaliate, these two would lead the way, figure out the enemy’s details, and might as well take down their stronghold.
This matter wasn’t urgent, as the police were temporarily handling things.
But as soon as he saw the familiar face of the suave bro, Fang Cheng suddenly felt alert.
He remembered that his other two accomplices had also seen him.
If they were at the scene or watching from outside yesterday, his identity could quickly be exposed.
With the chaos at that time, Fang Cheng couldn’t guarantee there were no fish that slipped through the net.
So, figuring out the opponent’s details has become even more urgent.
"Do you still recognize me?"
Fang Cheng’s eyes were fixed on the other party as he slowly opened his mouth to ask.
The dashing brother first nodded, then quickly shook his head, looking extremely nervous.
"Are you mute? Answer when you’re asked!"
Ma Donghe immediately kicked him in the broken leg, scolding him fiercely.
"I do, I recognize you!"
The dashing brother immediately cried out in pain, his face breaking out in a cold sweat as he hurriedly nodded.
"Very good."
Fang Cheng said calmly:
"Next, answer everything I ask you honestly, or I’ll break both of your legs!"
After that, he had Ma Donghe’s underlings take the other person into the next empty room.
The intent was obvious.
They wanted to question them separately and then cross-check their stories.
If there were discrepancies, there must be someone lying.
After more than two hours of interrogation.
Fang Cheng finally had a general understanding of some specifics about this criminal gang involved in drug production and distribution.
Their boss, named Sang Biao, is cruel and completely heartless.
You could tell from the nickname.
He not only used drugs to control the girls, making them obediently earn money for him,
but he was also secretly engaged in even more bloodthirsty human organ trade.
The two loyal underlings spilled everything,
Even providing detailed information about Sang Biao’s home address, contact number, and even how many mistresses he had.
As for the drug factory, it was not Sang Biao’s property, but a business operated by "Brother Hao", Sang Biao’s big boss.
Brother Hao, whose real name is Wu Shihao, was originally a smuggling ring leader in Lingang District.
He later joined forces with the Red Tiger Gang, gradually expanding his influence, and now he is one of the biggest underworld figures in Lingang District.
However, when it comes to the Red Tiger Gang,
They, being low-level hoodlums, did not know much.
They only knew that there were many masters in the gang, the Gang Leader’s surname is Chen, who is also a fearsome character.
"Red Tiger Gang..."
Hearing this notorious gang name again from their mouths, Fang Cheng couldn’t help but feel slightly stirred.
"Not bad, since you’ve been obedient, I won’t treat you badly."
After the interrogation, Ma Donghe praised them and then gestured for his underlings to patch up their wounds a bit.
Seeing this, Fang Cheng’s eyes lit up, then he waved his hand and said:
"Let me do it. Your bandaging skills are too crude."
"Fracture treatment should start with repositioning accurately, then securing it, followed by..."
He explained the treatment plan like a doctor while skillfully treating the wounds with his hands.
The two traitors, moved to tears, could not help but silently sigh:
"What good people..."
Ma Donghe’s face showed a strange expression as he always felt that Fang Cheng treated them like guinea pigs.
.........
Lingang District.
In the chairman’s office of Wu’s Trading Company,
Several gang leaders sat together, discussing the important news their underlings had just gathered.
"Ma Donghe?"
Wu Shihao heard the name, but couldn’t quite remember.
"He is a top fighter from the Poison Snake Gang. His older brother was killed by our Red Tiger Gang; he’s definitely seeking revenge, which is why he’s recently been getting close to the Three Wolves Gang."
One leader quickly explained.
Wu Shihao nodded slightly upon hearing this, then asked:
"Is the Three Wolves Gang backed by the East City Association?"
"Yes."
Several leaders nodded in unison.
Then, they all offered their opinions.
"And that master of leg techniques, one of our boys had seen him before, recognized him, he’s from the Three Wolves Gang."
"The Three Wolves Gang actually has such top-notch masters hidden; it seems their ambitions are not smaller than our Red Tiger Gang."
"So, this matter is a bit tricky..."
Wu Shihao listened to the voices of his trusted subordinates and slightly furrowed his brow.
The power map of the underworld in East Capital was dominated by a few established organizations at the top, with countless violent groups attached beneath them.
These established organizations have deep roots and connections in politics and economics and have already made the transition.
They focus on more covert economic crimes like smuggling, money laundering, gambling, usury, and so on; after making profits, they begin to invest in stocks, real estate, entertainment, and other legitimate businesses.
Some even registered legitimate group companies, operating no differently from regular corporations, with staff wearing badges and looking no different from office workers, managing different business sectors, and holding regular board meetings.
In other words, they were already half-legitimized.
After formalizing, they streamlined the formal membership of the organization and outsourced some of the dirty and eye-catching business.
This led to the formation of numerous, small, independent peripheral gangs, fighting and killing each other over trivial gains, contending for territory.
This allowed them to control the overall distribution of benefits and eliminate hidden, restless new forces.
Of course, the newly risen Red Tiger Gang was a complete outlier,
like a wild beast that didn’t play by the rules suddenly bursting in, disrupting this stable and harmonious pattern.
By doing so, of course, they also attracted other forces to unite against them.
Wu Shihao also yearned to be like those established organizations, hoping to become one of them someday.
But the situation is out of his control...
In the office.
After a discussion, everyone’s views finally converged.
They decided to request help from the higher-ups of the Red Tiger Gang, preferably sending a top assassin to eliminate the Three Wolves Gang in one fell swoop!
......
When Fang Cheng returned to Old Factory Street, the sky had already turned completely dark.
In the chilling breeze, he walked unhurriedly, recalling the information gathered from the interrogation.
Suddenly, amidst the sparse lights ahead, he spotted a familiar figure.
Wen Huixi, carrying a bag of boxed meals, was walking into the tubular building.
Then, faintly, he heard the sound of Wen Xin’s cheers from the basement and the conversation between mother and daughter.
Fang Cheng stood at the entrance of the building, listening for a long time.
His heart couldn’t help but warm.
Although this world is full of injustice and evil, there are still many precious things worth cherishing.
