Chapter 224: Chapter 214: I’m Neither Your Woman nor Your Lover!
Lin Zhifang simply couldn’t bear the credit Xiao Lin gave him. The credit was too much, and it wasn’t something an ordinary person could handle. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in days, or rather, he hadn’t had more than four hours of sleep in a single day. Every day was spent in documents and probing for information from others. Upon hearing what Xiao Lin said, Lin Zhifang wanted to say, "Please don’t trouble me anymore, I have enough trouble."
But could he dare to? Could he even? Not considering Xiao Lin’s identity alone, just the amount of credit Xiao Lin handed over to him, even making him a part of the Hua family circle, meant that his rise was just around the corner. Securing a deputy ministerial position was definitely not a problem. With just this credit, even if Xiao Lin had bigger troubles, Lin Zhifang would have to help him. Moreover, trouble might not be trouble; it might be another credit. But now, the credit seemed a bit too much. Wouldn’t it be better if there were such credits after he took office?
"Mr. Xiao is joking. What trouble? What do you need me to do?" Lin Zhifang’s tone was very respectful, though his mind was terribly conflicted. He hoped it wouldn’t be another major case like the Jiangling Zhang Family’s situation. The Yanjing Bureau was already overwhelmed with the crackdown initiated by the Municipal Committee and the Zhang Family case from days before. Especially the Zhang Family case, which involves personnel and industries far beyond the Zhang Family, implicating almost half of Jiangling’s officials.
Of course, the honor is immense. Even the Ministry of Public Security was planning to send a deputy minister to oversee it. In the next year’s reshuffle, Lin Zhifang was certainly going to be the director.
"People from the Poison Dragon Gang are acting over at North Mountain. A young friend of mine is trapped among them. This is a good opportunity to give the Poison Dragon Gang a fatal blow!" Xiao Lin said calmly.
Lin Zhifang was silent for a moment over there; another major matter like this. The Poison Dragon Gang was no match for the Jiangling Zhang Family, nor for the few gang members caught a few days ago. Those caught were mostly the fringe players; the actual core members of the gang were very few, less than a tenth, including small gangs. For such a huge entity as the Poison Dragon Gang, even the Yanjing Municipal Committee and government would have to tread carefully before making such a choice.
Many people in Yanjing know that there are three major gangs in Yanjing. The first gang has already washed its hands and entered the Huaxia political arena, as one of the four great families, the Sun Family. The second largest gang is the Liger Gang, which is gradually becoming legitimate, building a large Liger City. Complete legitimacy is only a matter of time. Rumor has it that the leader of the Liger Gang, Lion, seems to be someone supported by the Hua family, though this is just a rumor. Naturally, the third largest gang is the Poison Dragon Gang, rising in just a little over a decade due to the Liger Gang’s legitimacy, controlling nearly fifty percent of Yanjing’s underground resources.
With the Liger Gang turning legitimate, businesses like gambling, drugs, and prostitution are mostly taken over by the Poison Dragon Gang. Behind it stands the Wang Family, one of the four great families, which is a well-known fact. Everyone is aware of this, including Hua Muyun, but no one exposes them. Every anti-black operation ends with only some elites of the Poison Dragon Gang being caught. The rest are mostly just peripheral members, not enough to shake its foundation.
Now that Xiao Lin speaks of the Poison Dragon Gang, Lin Zhifang wonders how far Xiao Lin’s so-called fatal blow would go. The Poison Dragon Gang is much tougher than the Jiangling Zhang Family. Yanjing’s dignitaries don’t know how extensive their dealings with the Poison Dragon Gang are, making it truly difficult to shake them. At least, in Lin Zhifang’s position, it’s impossible to uproot the Poison Dragon Gang completely unless the Yanjing Municipal Committee, city government, and Ministry of Public Security combine efforts.
Even though the Yanjing Bureau used to have initiatives against the Poison Dragon Gang, six years ago, the former director of the Yanjing Bureau even arrested the leader of the Poison Dragon Gang, but due to insufficient evidence, he was released the next day. The director, who originally had the chance to be reappointed, was transferred to an idle position in the Ministry of Public Security.
However, now that Xiao Lin actually talks about a fatal strike, Lin Zhifang is a bit troubled. Small skirmishes are fine, but to completely take down the Poison Dragon Gang, both in terms of police force and political power, is currently impossible.
"What’s the matter, Director Lin, is it not possible?" Xiao Lin, hearing no response from Lin Zhifang for a while, sounded a bit displeased.
Lin Zhifang came back to his senses and said with a slight bitterness, "Um, it’s possible. What extent is the action planning to reach?"
Xiao Lin knew it was impossible to entirely dismantle the Poison Dragon Gang at the moment. Thinking it over for a bit, the only person he was somewhat familiar with at the Yanjing Bureau was Wu Shuang, so he said, "Just send over a squad for me. As for the action extent, I only need the people present in North Mountain tonight. It would be best to send someone I’m familiar with for communication." Xiao Lin also knew that if pursued thoroughly, Liang Feng would likely face imprisonment as well, so it wasn’t suitable to use a vast police force. Even though he had the power to dispatch troops from the Yanjing military district, it was unnecessary now.
Lin Zhifang naturally had heard of the Poison Dragon Gang’s action in North Mountain, though he didn’t know how many they dispatched. But a squad is usually only thirty people; could they handle it? From this, he also understood Xiao Lin’s plan and didn’t think he could do whatever he wanted in the local city as a member of Dragon Soul.
"Alright, I’ll dispatch a squad over to you immediately. The leader will be Wu Shuang. You can communicate with her then!" Lin Zhifang also detected, besides Wu Shuang, who else was familiar with Xiao Lin?
"Alright, thanks!" Xiao Lin politely replied.
After hanging up the phone, Xiao Lin relied on his memory to head to the broken temple. When he first met Hua Qingyi, Hua Qingyi took him to see the night view in North Mountain, and although he had never been to the dilapidated temple, it had been mentioned.
Upon reaching halfway up the mountain, Xiao Lin found it as quiet as before, with hardly any signs of people. Although the road to the top had long been paved, it was rarely trodden. There might be Poison Dragon Gang members, but no action seemed to be happening.
When Xiao Lin was about three hundred meters from the summit, he entered a small mountain path. If his memory was correct, walking a bit further along this path, he could see the temple.
After entering the forest from the path, he hadn’t walked twenty meters before he saw movement about a hundred meters away. Without needing to guess, Xiao Lin realized these were likely Poison Dragon Gang members chasing Liang Feng. Naturally, Xiao Lin wouldn’t let them off easily; he swiftly advanced in their direction, using his high-level martial arts skills to move towards them like a rabbit in flight.
As he slowly approached, he could already see their figures, and the cool mountain breeze carried their conversation to him.
"I wonder what’s going on with the boss today, sending us out to catch a woman and even letting two juniors lead the team!" One gang member, seemingly having a long tenure, showed little respect for the current Poison Dragon Gang military advisor, Li Nan, and their top force, Cheng Fei.
"Exactly. I just snagged a beautiful female college student, ready to taste when the boss called and interrupted me. I had no choice but to come!" A man in his mid-thirties said with a hint of dissatisfaction mingled with pride. He felt discontent about being summoned temporarily, yet was proud of being personally called by the Poison Dragon Gang leader, something worth boasting compared to the other two here.
"You two should stop mumbling. When I came, I talked with the professor on the phone who said a woman, the newly risen leader of Fei Feng Gang, who is also a female college student, caused a big stir at headquarters tonight. Even the boss got slightly injured before she managed to escape, which made the boss furious!" Another insider shared.
Xiao Lin, following behind, only knew Liang Feng was injured but wasn’t aware of the details. He hoped to gather some information by following these three. After the other’s words, the two fell silent, quickly heading towards the temple.
Xiao Lin felt a twinge of concern, realizing these three had just arrived and seemed unaware of the situation on the mountain, but now they were rushing toward the temple. Clearly, the opposition knew Liang Feng had taken refuge in the temple, and they were gathering forces to capture her.
Xiao Lin decided not to hold back, swiftly utilizing his martial arts skills. He appeared behind the three Poison Dragon Gang members, who were alert and felt a strong wind from behind, immediately turning around. However, how could they be matches for Xiao Lin? Especially since Xiao Lin had the advantage of surprise; even someone ten times more skilled than them might not escape Xiao Lin’s stealth attack.
They only sensed a shadow flash before their eyes, a gust sweeping through, and their necks receiving a heavy blow. All three fell to the ground without a sound, unable even to emit a signal.
After easily dealing with the three, Xiao Lin didn’t linger and rushed towards the broken temple as quickly as possible. On the way, he encountered another batch of Poison Dragon Gang members heading there, and without hesitation, he dealt with them swiftly.
Approaching the broken temple, Xiao Lin noticed many Poison Dragon Gang members gathering around it. For now, he was reassured that Liang Feng and Xia Xue were unharmed. He had made it just in time.
Reaching this point, the mountain wind grew stronger, masking the sound of footsteps. Fortunately, Xiao Lin’s night vision was good enough to discern things within thirty to forty meters. Not wanting to alert them too soon, Xiao Lin found a gap to approach the temple. Just then, his phone rang conspicuously.
Feeling embarrassed, Xiao Lin realized he had forgotten the most basic rule: keeping the phone on during a mission? Before the phone rang a second time, he quickly answered it.
"Hello, Xiao Lin? It’s Wu Shuang. I’m already at the foot of North Mountain. How should I assist you?" Wu Shuang’s icy voice came through the phone with a hint of irritation, essentially saying, you’re using me too casually, aren’t you? I’m neither your lover nor your woman, what gives? (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian () to vote for recommendations or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)