The bald man looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties, standing about 1.68 meters tall, but he was powerfully built with a scar across his forehead, giving him a fierce and menacing appearance.
"You're Yang Jian, right? I heard you took down Xiong Ge's Eight Vajras by yourself. Impressive, but you won't be so impressive today. Get on your knees for me."
The bald man looked at Yang Jian with disdain, raising his gun.
"I, Yang Jian, would rather die standing than live kneeling. If you have the guts, shoot. But think about the consequences. Before you moved the roadblock, our people already called the police. The cops will be here within five minutes. You can still put the gun away now."
"Trying to scare me? Believe it or not, I'll shoot you dead right now. And you won't see any consequences."
"Brother, is it worth it? This is the first time we've met, and we don't have any deep enmity. Why go to such lengths? You just want a piece of the timber sales, right? We can talk about this. Let's make money together. Why resort to violence? If someone gets killed, someone has to go to jail. Do you want that?"
"Haha, I thought you were tougher than this. Turns out you're a softie. Now you want to negotiate? Too late. I'm telling you now, from today onwards, this forest farm is my territory. You're an outsider, so I'll let you off the hook. Don't interfere with things here anymore."
As the bald man spoke, it was clear he didn't want to make an enemy of Yang Jian. Although he had a gun, he hesitated to fire. If someone died, with so many witnesses, it would be impossible to find someone to take the blame.
The sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance, and Yang Jian's confidence surged. "Brother, we have a contract, and our work is legal. You brought people here to cause trouble and injured our men. You've already broken the law. If we ask the police to investigate this thoroughly, not only will people be held legally responsible, but your possession of a firearm won't go unnoticed either."
The bald man seemed surprised by how quickly the police were arriving, his expression growing flustered. He shouted to the men behind him, "Quick, put away all the weapons and take them away!"
Watching the bald man hand his gun to a subordinate, Yang Jian also retracted his extendable baton and hid it in his sleeve.
"Brother, let's find a place to have a good talk with Xiao Wu Ge. Let's try to resolve this peacefully. We can pretend today's events never happened. What do you say?"
"Alright. For your sake, I agree to negotiate. Let's go to our village committee. Do you dare?"
"What's there to not dare? Let's go now, so we don't have to waste words with the cops when they arrive."
Yang Jian didn't want to deal with the police and was eager to leave the scene.
The bald man glanced at Xiao Wu, who was shrinking back in the crowd, then immediately turned and got into a car, leading his men away to the west.
"Xiao Wu Ge, let's go. Let's take this opportunity to settle this, so we don't have to fight every day."
Yang Jian expected Xiao Wu to agree with his decision.
However, he saw Xiao Wu walk forward with a grim expression. "I won't negotiate with him. As you said, I'm operating legally. He injured so many of my men and even fired a gun. I want to use this opportunity to send him to jail. Then, no one will dare to oppose me."
Yang Jian's face changed drastically upon hearing this. Wasn't this a direct betrayal? He had risked being shot to defuse the crisis, only to end up in a no-win situation.
Song Jianhao also found it hard to believe. "Wu Zong, isn't this a bit much? If we send the bald man to jail, the conflict will be completely escalated with no chance of reconciliation. Moreover, this will affect Yang Jian's reputation."
"What are you afraid of? We need to make an example. Once the bald man is dealt with, no one in the entire Xunsihe South area will dare to oppose me. It's survival of the fittest. After this incident, no one will dare to provoke Yang Jian either. It's a good thing."
Yang Jian couldn't listen any further. He couldn't accept Xiao Wu's actions. It wasn't just about his reputation or being called a backstabber; more importantly, it turned him into a sworn enemy of the bald man's gang. Xiao Wu had essentially shifted the conflict onto him.
This man was too insidious. Yang Jian felt disheartened. "Xiao Wu Ge, I overexerted myself just now, and my back injury has worsened. I need to go to the hospital. Jianmin, give me a ride."
Without waiting for a reply, Yang Jian pulled Song Jianmin into the car and sped away.
Three police cars arrived at the scene, and ten fully armed officers emerged. Xiao Wu clearly knew the leading officer and greeted him warmly. After a brief exchange, two officers remained to survey the scene, while the rest immediately got back into their vehicles and headed straight for the Sixth Brigade.
Song Jianhao observed coldly, feeling that everything that had happened today was part of a pre-arranged plan.
Around lunchtime, Song Jianhao returned with Sixi and others. They had all gone to the police station to give their statements.
Yang Jian felt it was necessary to have a chat with Song Jianhao. After lunch, he went to Song Jianhao's room alone.
"Hao Ge, what happened afterward?"
"After the police arrived, they went to the Sixth Brigade and arrested the bald man. They arrested eight people in total and found the gun. The bald man is finished; he'll likely get many years in prison. On the surface, Xiao Wu lost this battle, but he cleared the obstacle from the Sixth Brigade, allowing the logging of the forest farm to proceed smoothly. This section of the forest farm can generate over a million yuan."
"Hao Ge, I think what happened today was meticulously planned by Xiao Wu. He deliberately lured the bald man to cause trouble, then used the police to suppress him, thereby removing the obstacle for the Sixth Brigade and intimidating the forces on the Fifth Brigade side."
Song Jianhao nodded. "You guessed right. After you left, the police arrived, and they seemed very familiar with Xiao Wu, as if they had planned it beforehand. They were at the scene for less than two minutes before apprehending the bald man."
"But I can't understand why Xiao Wu would put himself in danger. If I hadn't intervened, even if the bald man didn't dare to shoot him, he could have severely injured him."
Song Jianhao pondered for a moment before replying, "That must have been his oversight. I remember after he asked you to stay, he received a phone call and seemed very anxious to leave. After I got into the car with him, he floored the accelerator, appearing extremely flustered. It's clear he knew the bald man was already heading their way."
"You mean he had people monitoring the bald man's movements beforehand, but didn't have time to retreat and ended up being cornered at the scene?"
"That's likely it. He wanted you and the bald man to fight, and then have the police arrest the bald man. Biao Biao told me that when he called the police, the dispatcher informed him that officers were already en route, indicating someone had called the police before him."
Yang Jian slammed his fist on the coffee table. "Damn it, Xiao Wu is too vicious. Not only did he use me as cannon fodder, but he even sacrificed his own subordinates."
"Tell me about it. Even I was used by him. When we came back earlier, Sixi was still complaining, saying I shouldn't have gotten involved, that I was being used as a pawn. He saw through Xiao Wu's scheme."
Song Jianhao looked regretful; his entire team had almost been wiped out today.