Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It was a dark, windy night, the cold draft bit into their faces, and the numbness made them realize that the ice-cold temperature had quietly arrived with nightfall…
An airplane droned as it flew by from above their heads, its beacon lights blinking, bearing away slowly and soon disappearing into the night sky.
At the abandoned jetty, Hei Lang stood staring out at sea. He was in a black windbreaker, looking pensive, expressionless. With their torches, his henchmen were signaling with lights seaward into the darkness. It wasn’t long before a fishing vessel appeared, breaking through the choppy sea. As it got closer, the noise of its diesel engine sounded like a cacophony of clanking metal parts. But here, at the edge of the sea, that sound would be drowned out by the winds and waves, and wouldn’t travel far.
“Who would have thought Zhuangniu to be the police snitch! Lord Protector, it was wise that you had taken extra precautions the last time and asked Mr. Khun Sa not to show up. Otherwise, we’d all have been arrested by the cops,” a young man said, clearly impressed with his leader’s foresight. He had hair dyed green and wore eyeliner to accentuate his eyes.
Behind them, a man of short stature, stood ill at ease, looking a little fidgety. He was, after all, the informant.
Hei Lang said nothing, but simply took out a cigarette and put one end in his mouth. The servile green-haired man hurriedly took out a lighter and lit it, with his other hand shielding the flame.
He slowly exhaled the smoke and said, “This time, all the products we’re receiving are grade-A. We must make sure that nothing goes wrong.” Hei Lang chose not to respond to the topic of the informant.
“Rest assured, Lord Protector, our men are keeping their eyes on all the routes leading to and from the jetty, and many other spots. We’ve got them all covered, and we will know immediately if anything goes wrong. The moment we get the word, we will have enough time to dispose of the stash and wipe all traces by the time the cops arrive,” The green-haired man said confidently.
Hei Lang did not say a word and remained impassive, but his eyes looked grim and cold, like a fierce predator hunting its prey.
“That d*ckhead with the surname Xiao is really too much, I would like nothing else than to strip his bones of his flesh while he is still alive…”
Hei Lang stopped him with a wave of the hand and said, “Those words can wait until this operation is over.”
That the Dragon Gang was in such an untenable position was all due to one man. He would like nothing better than to kill Xiao Luo himself, and it would be a slow, painful death as he would slice Xiao Luo’s flesh off piece by piece. But now was not the time. With the police of Jiangcheng cracking down on them, they needed the goods from Khun Sa to get through this challenging period. Too many of their businesses had been crippled, and their cashflow severely disrupted.
The fishing boat cut its engine, maneuvered slowly towards the jetty, and secured the vessel to a post with its docking line. Seven or eight men disembarked with sacks on their shoulders. They looked like rough and ready folk and had an imposing air about them.
“Mr. Hei Lang, we are delivering the products you ordered!”
The man spoke to Hei Lang in mandarin, but he was not very fluent. He had messy hair, dark skin, and scary, bulging eyes that looked like that of a dead fish.
Hei Lang looked at the fishing boat and asked, “Mr. Khun Sa isn’t here?”
“Our boss fears that the situation here is still unstable, and it will be too risky to meet at this time. Our boss would also like to know whether there is any progress with what he has asked the Dragon Gang to investigate,” the man with the fish-eyes said.
“Yes, we found out that the Red Scorpion Mercenaries ran into trouble during the kidnapping of Chu Yunxiong’s daughter at the Wild Boar Ridge. According to a cop, when they arrived, someone had already killed 17 members of the Red Scorpions. We are told that it was the work of an S-grade bodyguard Chu Yunxiong had arranged to protect his daughter.” Hei Lang promptly reported on the incident.
“A lone bodyguard?”
The man couldn’t believe his ears. A single bodyguard could kill the mercenaries personally trained by their boss? And, not to mention 17 of them all at once?
Hei Lang nodded, “Yes, he was indeed alone.”
He waved his hand, and the green-haired man handed the sheet of paper to Khun Sa’s man.
The man glanced at an image of a man in the information sheet. “This man?”
Tne picture showed the face of a neat, good looking man and did not look at all menacing. He found it hard to believe that such a man could turn out to be an S-grade bodyguard.
“It is him.”
Hei Lang assured the man, “This man’s name is Xiao Luo. He has a very close relationship with Chu Yunxiong. As for the Red Scorpions leader, we know that he survived the fight at Wild Boar Ridge and escaped by jumping off a cliff. But still, he was killed by him in the end.”
Of course, Lei Hang did not have conclusive proof that Xiao Luo was the one who wiped out the Red Scorpion Mercenaries, but there was sufficient circumstantial evidence to make that case. But, it did not matter to him, as Xiao Luo was a significant threat to the Dragon Gang. Instigating the Blackwater Company and Khun Sa to target Xiao Luo would be in the interest of the Dragon Gang.
The man was shocked when he heard that, then gritting his teeth and said, “As they say, don’t judge a book by its cover.” He carefully folded the sheet, then made a slight bow to Hei Lang with both hands clasped in front of his chest. “I will report everything to my boss. I believe my boss will be very grateful for the efforts you all have dedicated to the task.”
“Mr. Khun Sa is a great friend of the Dragon Gang. This is the least we can do to help a friend,” Hei Lang returned the gesture and said.
The green-haired man dragged a hefty chest over. He opened it to show its contents, and it was filled with stacks of red-colored bills.
One of the man’s subordinates went through the contents and then nodded to confirm the money was all there. On the other end, Hei Lang had his men check the quality of the product in the sacks, and after a short while, they signaled him with a thumbs up.
“Alright, Mr. Hei Lang, I’ll see you around!”
The man with fish-eyes clasped his hands together in front of him and gave Hei Lang a slight bow. It was a gesture of courtesy in their part of the world, as had been done since ancient times. There was no reason for him to stay any longer now that the deal had been concluded, and he made haste.
“Don’t move, you are under arrest!”
A thunderous voice suddenly reverberated through the night air and alarmed the men at the jetty.
The voice issued from a stack of containers nearby, and as everyone stared at the direction, a black figure somersaulted down, landing lightly on the ground before them.
Xiao Luo wore a loose, black hooded sweater, and in the dim light, it resembled a smock worn during medieval times in Europe. He had elegant features, good looks, fair in complexion, deep-set eyes, and perfectly-shaped lips. But yet, as he stood there, a threatening and dark aura emanated from him.
Immediately he raised his arms and pointed the two guns he held at the group of surprised men. One was aimed directly at Hei Lang.
It was none other than Xiao Luo!
“So, I’ve caught you all red-handed, what impeccable timing!” Xiao Luo couldn’t help a wisecrack as his lips curled into a cold, confident smile. But his gaze remained intense, he knew what he had to do tonight.
Khun Sa’s man narrowed his eyes and snarled, “You are a cop of this nation?”
“Yes.”
The man asked again, “It’s just you?”
“Yes.”
Xiao Luo answered matter-of-factly. He was, of course, the drug enforcement team’s vanguard and had already neutralized all the sentries posted by Hei Lang. Wang Yongjia and the rest of the task force were now making their way to the jetty.
“Hahaha… you as dumb as a pig. Are you here to seek your death?”
The man laughed loudly and pulled out his gun to shoot Xiao Luo.
But Xiao Luo was a step faster. A piercing report issued form the barrel of his gun, and the bullet penetrated the man’s palm, causing him to drop his piece.
“Don’t move, if you do, I guarantee the next bullet will hit your head!”
Xiao Luo chuckled, seeing the man’s shocked expression. Of course, had he known that the man had information on him, he would definitely have killed him with a headshot outright.
“He is Xiao Luo!” Hei Lang screamed at the man.
The man startled and looked at Xiao Luo intensely. This person in front of him was indeed the same man in the information sheet handed to him. He was now facing someone who had single-handedly annihilated a host of well-trained, Red Scorpions Mercenaries. His expression changed, and he knew he would be going up against a very dangerous adversary.