Chapter 693: The Truth from Eleven Years Ago

Zhao Weixiang hadn’t stepped outside for two days, continuously reviewing all the intelligence he’d received.

That woman’s methods were truly formidable. After Bai Jingchen’s attack, she hadn’t immediately come knocking on doors. Instead, she donated a massive sum to local police through Bai Group, quickly establishing connections with law enforcement.

“Truly impressive tactics!” Zhao Weixiang had to admit, the woman navigated these waters with practiced ease, always finding the precise angle to connect with officials.

These methods were somewhat reminiscent of his former mentor.

His mentor had been the same, adept at forging relationships, weaving webs, connecting everyone together.

“Boss! Target has arrived in Los Angeles, approximately thirty people in her entourage,” a subordinate reported.

Thirty people.

Zhao Weixiang took a deep drag of his cigar, slowly exhaling the smoke.

Thirty didn’t sound like many, but he knew the caliber of Wanlong Society’s people, how formidable they were. Especially that woman leading them. Even before meeting face-to-face, he could sense an intangible pressure from the intel reports.

Liu Yutong!

That name had once been a nightmare from his days in China.

Initially, he’d also thought she was just some little girl he could handle easily, but gradually he realized how completely wrong he’d been.

Zhao Weixiang turned around. Five men stood in the suite’s living room—a mix of foreigners and ethnic Chinese—talented individuals he’d recruited in the States, his trusted circle here.

The first to speak was a bald brute nicknamed Razor, with a scar on his left face running from eye to corner of his mouth, giving him a vicious appearance.

“Boss, everyone’s assembled. Got more than thirty brothers downstairs, all locked and loaded. This time we’ll make sure they never return.”

Zhao Weixiang nodded, then asked, “Have you heard about the Corallo Family situation in San Francisco?”

A lanky white man licked his lips and spoke up. “Heard some things. That Rossi actually fell, lost tens of millions, his ace fighter beaten to death on the spot. But the Corallo Family is just an insignificant branch of the mafia—they can’t reach us here, right?”

Razor also grinned. “I also heard that young head of the Corallo Family recognized that Chinese woman as his Great-grandmother. Got no shame left for the mafia face.”

Great-grandmother.

Zhao Weixiang almost died laughing when he heard the term.

What kind of bullshit nickname was that?!

Of course, that wasn’t the point.

“The people under Liu Yutong can all fight—the Black and White Fiends, Hell’s Titan… You should’ve heard these nicknames. Don’t underestimate them.”

Razor: “No matter how well they can fight, they’re still flesh and blood. Before the truth, even a T-Rex would have to lie down.”

Zhao Weixiang, of course, knew they had guns, and plenty of them.

Getting hardware like this in the States wasn’t difficult, but somehow, the unease in his heart only grew stronger.

Could it be Liu Yutong had also acquired guns, even heavy firepower?

Though they probably lacked experience using them, right?

He didn’t dwell on it too much. Meet force with force. Even if the other side had guns, they might not have the advantage in a firefight.

After arranging the next steps, Zhao Weixiang poured another drink and half-reclined on the sofa, his mind recalling something from over ten years ago.

Back then, he was just a small fry, following his then-boss Brother Pi, dealing in bootleg discs to get by.

That night, Brother Pi took a call, his expression turning strange, then took several trusted men to an old city district in the west side—now a high-end residential area.

He remembered it was drizzling that night, with hardly any streetlights. He’d gone to take a piss after making a delivery, and when he returned, his boss and the others were gone, off doing who knew what.

Then while waiting by the car, he suddenly heard some commotion near a small river not far away.

When he crept over through the darkness, he saw a man in a police uniform lying in a pool of blood, a knife still sticking from his abdomen.

That face, Zhao Weixiang recognized.

It was Captain Gao from the local precinct, well-respected, had solved many cases, and was courteous to civilians.

Zhao Weixiang was still street trash back then. Once after a fight, he was brought to the station, and it was Captain Gao who took his statement. Instead of barking orders like the others, Captain Gao poured him a glass of water and said things about walking the right path while young.

Zhao Weixiang had scoffed at the time. Back then, many believed the bold got rich while the timid starved, and he was no exception.

But somehow, he just remembered that face.

And soon that face was pale and drained of life, lying in a pool of blood.

His first instinct was to call the police, but the hurriedly returning Brother Pi grabbed him, warning him not to get involved.

However, not long after, Brother Pi had an accident. They called it a car crash, but Zhao Weixiang knew it wasn’t that simple.

Because that night, he hadn’t seen only Captain Gao—there’d been another figure.

When that person saw him approach, they took off with the knife. He’d only seen their back.

But later, he still recognized who that person was.

It was the later boss of Yilian Society.

After that, Pearl City’s underworld began a bloody purge. Several gang leaders disappeared or died violent deaths, and the fastest rising force was a new power called Yilian Society.

Yilian Society’s boss, Liu Lei, using ruthless methods, turned Yilian Society into Pearl City’s largest gang within a few short years.

It was strange to say, but after Yilian Society grew, Pearl City’s public security actually improved compared to before. Over ten years ago, the chaos—something Zhao Weixiang, as someone from the streets, knew intimately.

Robbery! Fights! Theft everywhere!

It wasn’t until Yilian Society appeared that many dared not be so brazen, afraid of being targeted.

Of course, that wasn’t the point. The point was that he always felt Liu Lei’s actions weren’t simply about expanding Yilian Society’s territory.

Later, Zhao Weixiang coincidentally met a fixer mentor, gradually made a name for himself, and began forming his own plans.

As one of the witnesses that night, he never believed Captain Gao’s death was as simple as being stabbed by some punk during duty.

He quietly investigated this matter, dug into Liu Lei’s background, and finally uncovered something astonishing.

The relationship between this Liu Lei and Captain Gao wasn’t that simple.

Liu Lei had repeatedly secretly found people to look after Captain Gao’s daughter, Gao Min. Initially, Zhao Weixiang thought it was just guilt, since Captain Gao’s death directly involved him.

But the more he dug, the more he felt something was off—Gao Min and Liu Lei were the real father and daughter.

Then he arrived at a hair-raising conclusion.

Liu Lei probably wasn’t simply a gang boss. His sweeping purge of other gangs wasn’t purely about seizing territory—it was more like some kind of revenge. Perhaps Liu Lei himself hadn’t expected Captain Gao would die, and afterward went completely mad, almost indiscriminately wiping out those gang leaders.

During that time, everyone on the streets lived in fear.

But Liu Lei’s big move also completely earned the trust of those behind him.

After all, killing a police captain and sweeping away so many underworld bosses—wasn’t that trustworthy enough?

But Zhao Weixiang knew Liu Lei didn’t truly want to do this. He was just consumed by hatred and simply went all-in on being criminal.

The relationship between Liu Lei and Gao Min was enough to infer just how good his relationship with Captain Gao had been.

Zhao Weixiang guessed, based on what he’d seen that night and later clues, that Captain Gao had likely told Liu Lei to leave first to avoid exposing his identity. Liu Lei chose to believe he could handle it…

Honestly, Zhao Weixiang quite admired this kind of police officer—truly selfless and dedicated…

Of course, Zhao Weixiang had never revealed this information to a second person. If it had gotten out, Liu Lei wouldn’t have had to wait years before being eliminated—he’d probably have been finished long ago.

He’d always kept this trump card hidden, thinking one day he might use it if something happened, or use it to connect with that relationship and soar to become the king of Pearl City’s underworld.

Unfortunately, just as he was building his strength—planting people in Yilian Society, Yu Group, Lin Muyang… setting up plans to make people fall into his traps—he encountered Liu Yutong.

Zhao Weixiang truly had a feeling of “why was I born in the same era as her.”

He didn’t think his methods were inferior, but every time he made a move, she always topped him, giving him the feeling that she seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

That feeling made him incredibly frustrated.

At that time, he could have played his trump card and fought Liu Yutong to the death, but ultimately, he chose to flee early, coming to the States.

The main reason was that he was indeed a bit afraid of death…

After arriving here, he still couldn’t figure out where he’d lost, especially after receiving news that Liu Yutong had flown west. He understood even less why Liu Yutong was so hell-bent on hunting him down, even chasing him to the States.

It wasn’t until he received definite news.

Liu Yutong and Gao Min were actually biological sisters.

Liu Lei, Yilian Society, Captain Gao, Gao Min, Liu Yutong…

He should have thought of it long ago.

No wonder this woman could navigate both the legitimate and criminal worlds with such ease—this was where her roots were.

Time passed bit by bit.

As the delivery time approached, his trusted aide Razor came with another report.

“Boss, Liu Yutong’s people checked into a downtown hotel. Some of them in black suits went straight into LAPD.”

“Police station?”

“Right, they were inside for about an hour before coming out.”

“We had people follow them. After they came out, those people drove around a few circles, finally entering that hotel. They must be assembling there.”

“She’s following procedure,” Zhao Weixiang suddenly said.

“Following procedure?” Razor didn’t understand.

Zhao Weixiang snorted coldly: “This is her old habit. This woman operates, always legitimate and compliant on the surface, completely lacking any gangster bottom line. Even when she’s come to the States she’s still pulling this!”

Razor: “Then… Boss, should we make the first move?”

Zhao Weixiang shook his head: “No. I don’t believe she doesn’t know we’re tailing her. She dares to appear so openly now—she’s definitely dug a pit waiting for us to jump in. If we make a move now, we might get wanted across all of America.”

He’d actually guessed right. Among Liu Yutong’s people, there were indeed undercover police, which was one reason she hadn’t concealed her movements.

Except on the neighboring country’s turf, normally if you dared to attack police, it wouldn’t end well.

Razor frowned: “Then what? Just wait for her to come knocking?”

“Wait?”

Zhao Weixiang sneered: “Of course not. If she wants to follow procedure, we’ll give her something outside procedure.”

“Is Snakehead Gang’s side ready?” he asked.

Razor nodded: “Ready. This batch has nineteen piglets, all recently scammed over. Plus some we bailed from prison through our bail bond company—if they can’t pay, they have to compensate with valuable body parts per the contract. They’re all locked in that old cannery in South District. Per original plan, we load them at midnight, transport to Vegas for resale.”

Zhao Weixiang made a sound of acknowledgement, then suddenly asked: “Snakehead Gang’s boss—is he always wanting to connect with Mr. Jiang’s line?”

“Yes, they want to get into transnational business, so they definitely want to access Mr. Jiang’s East Continent channels. But Mr. Jiang’s side hasn’t budged, thinks they’re too small-scale and crude in methods,” Razor said.

“Perfect. Tell them the plan has changed. The goods aren’t being shipped—they’re being disposed of on-site.”

Razor was stunned: “Dispose of them? Boss, that’s nineteen piglets with signed contracts, selling them would bring…”

“Is money more important, or is life more important?”

Zhao Weixiang looked at him coldly: “Since Liu Yutong came this time using Bai Jingchen’s case to investigate us, let’s give her an opportunity. If right now, Snakehead Gang’s hideout happens to be discovered, with a batch of victims awaiting rescue inside…”

Razor’s eyes lit up: “You mean, let Liu Yutong’s people go save them?”

Zhao Weixiang shook his head, correcting him: “You said it wrong. It’s not letting Liu Yutong’s people go save them—it’s letting Liu Yutong’s people walk into a trap.”

“The cannery is Snakehead Gang’s main stronghold. Leak this information, and leak the information that I’ll be there too. If Liu Yutong gets this intel, with her style, she’ll definitely bring people charging over.”

“The three streets around the cannery are abandoned industrial areas, no residents, no surveillance. We’ll have our people pre-positioned at high ground. When her people go in to ‘rescue,’ we seal the doors, then…”

He raised his hand, making a shooting gesture.

Razor sucked in a breath: “Boss, that’s over twenty civilians. If they all die inside…”

“Who said to kill them all?”

Zhao Weixiang smiled, that smile penetrating to the bone: “Leave one or two injured as witnesses. When the police arrive, what will they see? They’ll see Liu Yutong leading a group of armed personnel storming a private factory, engaging in fierce firefights with Snakehead Gang, ultimately causing massive civilian casualties.”

“Then, no matter what connections she’s made here, she won’t be able to explain it away.”

Razor suddenly saw the light: “I understand! Boss, this move is brilliant! You eliminate the opponent and shift the blame completely. But… we’ve had a long-term partnership with Snakehead Gang’s Boss Wang. Won’t setting them up like this completely alienate him?”

Who would have thought Zhao Weixiang would say indifferently: “Bai Jingchen’s case has caused such a big stir, such terrible impact—there needs to be someone of substance to take the fall, right?”

A chill ran through Razor’s heart.

Only now did he truly realize that his boss didn’t care about how long they’d cooperated or how deep their friendship ran.

Everyone, possibly including himself, was just a disposable chess piece.

“Go make the arrangements,” Zhao Weixiang waved his hand, leaning back into the sofa. “Remember, the information leaked must be absolutely genuine. Don’t fabricate anything deliberately, or the opponent won’t take the bait!”

“Understood!”