In front of the barbecue stall.
Zhao Junyu put down his phone, adjusted his black-framed glasses, and said softly, "Report the current situation."
Lines of small text appeared on the lenses of his glasses:
"Two minutes ago, the First Defense Bureau dispatched two patrol teams to Wei Zun Bar on Rainbow Street to carry out the encirclement and arrest of wanted criminals."
"Wu Xiaode is on the list of those being encircled."
Zhao Junyu quickly read through the text and fell silent for a few moments.
The enemy struck swiftly.
If that underground black market was encircled, they would definitely give up Wu Xiaode's fake information.
Once the Defense Bureau's people accessed the underground market's transaction data, they would immediately know his new identity.
—Wu Xiaode would soon be exposed and then captured by all the surveillance cameras until he was surrounded and killed.
He would die right there.
His death might even make the papers the next day.
This was a deterrence!
Zhao Junyu extended his fingers, rhythmically tapping on the table.
The enemy had already made their move.
Wu Xiaode had made his choice as well.
Now it was his turn.
Zhao Junyu bowed his head, sinking into thought, and gradually stopped tapping on the table.
Time silently passed.
At a certain moment.
Zhao Junyu picked up a bottle of alcohol and poured himself another glass, slowly drinking it.
After a while, he raised his hand and made a gesture.
Upon seeing this gesture, the hidden figures immediately split into two groups and approached him.
"Get ready for tonight—"
Zhao Junyu hadn't finished speaking when his phone rang again on the table.
The screen displayed a stunningly beautiful woman with a cold expression, looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze.
Zhao Junyu sighed, picked up the phone, and answered the video call.
"Sis?"
A stern female voice came from the phone: "Saving Wu Xiaode bears significant risks; I hope you think it through before acting."
"I've thought it through," Zhao Junyu replied.
"What's your decision?" the woman asked.
"He's one of us and even saved me once. If someone like that is wiped out just like that, it's over; no one would ever dare to help me again," said Zhao Junyu.
"After laying low all these years, I thought you'd mess things up because of a woman…" the woman said, sounding surprised.
"Sis, don't worry, your little brother is stable," Zhao Junyu reassured her, adjusting his glasses.
"Stable yet confessing in public?"
"Ah, got confused, just confused for a moment," he admitted.
"Fine. I'll let this go, but I hope it doesn't backfire on you," said the woman, ending the video call abruptly.
Zhao Junyu wore a look of resignation, downed his glass of wine in one gulp, stood up, and said, "Get the men ready; we have work to do tonight."
"Yes, young master,"
Two men in black replied respectfully.
Meanwhile.
Rainbow Street.
Wei Zun Bar.
A bald man kept drinking.
With every sip, he glanced at the wall.
A massive handprint embedded several meters deep into the wall, as if left by some unknown predatory beast before a hunt, grew increasingly unnerving to look at.
Suddenly, his phone screen lit up.
"Boss."
"Speak fast!"
"The deal is done; we arranged for Fei Fei and Xiao Xiao to spend the evening with him, but he refused and has already left the building," said the voice.
"He really left?"
"Left, the surveillance cameras captured him leaving Rainbow Street."
"Got it," said the bald man, ending the call and letting out a long breath.
"Good that he left, I hope… it didn't disturb… their rest…" he murmured quietly to himself, unable to stop glancing at the wall.
This wall was ten meters thick, lined with special isolation material, and deeper inside lay a long corridor leading downward, ending in a luxurious, private room.
The most distinguished guest was resting there.
Hopefully, there was no disturbance—
Suddenly, a thin voice reached the bald man's ears:
"Did you discern the root of this handprint?"
The bald man stiffened, cold sweat immediately breaking out on his back.
"My lord, I'm just a gangster; I can't see its depth," he said, bowing his head.
The thin male voice spoke again: "Hehe, this slap woke me up, how troublesome. I was sleeping so well, and now I have to kill a few people to vent."
Suddenly, a man appeared across from the bald man.
This man, holding a black umbrella, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and dressed in a trench coat, yawned, picked up the bottle of strong liquor on the table, chugged it in one go, and then sat comfortably on the sofa, gazing at the wall.
The light illuminated his face.
His delicate features carried a hint of a chilly demeanor, and he looked so fashionable, he could grace the cover of style magazines and make countless women scream.
"Iron Wire Fist style, Shattered bone energy."
The man spoke softly, his voice gentle and pleasant.
"It's been many years since I've seen such authentic and beautiful Fist energy, truly makes one itch—"
"Then, please give me a list, I need to work for a while."
He said in a casual tone.
The bald man's face changed repeatedly, pleading, "Sir, there have been many recent homicides, the Defense Bureau is already watching us. I'm afraid—"
His voice suddenly stopped.
Because a long line of blood suddenly appeared on his cheek.
The blood silently flowed down.
"Sir, I'll go get you the underground warrant right now," the bald man said huskily.
The man began to smile warmly, "I knew the service here was excellent—make sure they're tough, otherwise, it's no fun for me to kill."
Boom—
Suddenly, the sound of an explosion came from outside.
The private room also shook.
The screen of the bald man's phone lit up.
One of his subordinates said in a panic:
"Boss, the Defense Bureau's people are here, they are breaking into our bar, they will find the secret door soon!"
The bald man said sternly, "Block them, don't let them get close to our data center, I'm coming now."
He immediately stood up, then suddenly remembered the extremely dangerous person still sitting in front of him.
"Sir—"
The bald man could only get half of his words out before he was unable to continue speaking.
Before anyone knew when,
The delicate-looking man had already disappeared from the private room.
The bald man, thinking of something, went weak in the knees and collapsed onto the sofa.
Without a word, he shook his head, picked up the strong alcohol on the table, opened it, and slowly began to drink.
The phone lit up again.
His subordinate said excitedly, "Boss, our esteemed guest has made his move, he is killing people for us!"
"Understood."
The bald man replied heavily, turned off the phone, threw back his head, and drank the entire bottle of strong alcohol.
Emboldened by the alcohol, he swept away the worries in his heart, staggered to his feet, and said menacingly:
"A bunch of fools, always stretching their hands for money, dare to raid my place?"
"Xiao Baihong of the S-class club is here, you all messed with him, you're all going to die, all of you!"
...
A storm raged.
A lightning bolt split the night sky, followed immediately by a deep rumble of thunder.
A crow flew rapidly through the night rain like a fleeting shadow.
It was a very strange experience.
Wu Xiaode had never imagined his body could become so light.
With just a spread of his wings, he could ride the flow of the wind, zooming through vast expanses of steel forests like a gusty wind.
Sometimes, he even worried about flying too fast and hitting something.
At this speed, hitting a wall or a power pole would definitely shatter his current avian form.
Suddenly.
The crow looked in one direction, its eyes showing a keen interest.
It flapped its wings and quietly descended, stopping on the balcony of a tall building.
There was already a crow squatting there.
When Wu Xiaode flew down, that crow considerately moved over, making space for Wu Xiaode to comfortably perch.
The two crows looked inside through the glass window together.
"I can sense all the birds nearby; this crow just told me that this boy is watching a movie," Ya communicated telepathically in a whisper.
"I see that, does he have any connection with Xia Huilan?" Wu Xiaode immediately asked.
"No, look at the movie he's playing—tsk, tsk, it's a new release, even I haven't watched it," Ya continued.
Wu Xiaode looked at the computer screen.
—This plot is terrible.
Not interesting at all.
"Please help me find Xia Huilan, she is our client," Wu Xiaode said.
"You're not interested? That's too bad, let's go,"
Ya said reluctantly, flapping its wings and diving down from the balcony, then soaring high up.
It continuously flew through the torrential rain.
Another seven to eight minutes passed.
The crow gently landed on the top of a power pole, overlooking a wide area of low-rise houses below.
"Are we there?" Wu Xiaode asked.
"She must have stayed around here, and maybe she hasn't left yet," Ya said.
"Which house is it?" Wu Xiaode asked.
"That garbage heap," Ya said.
"Let's go over,"
"Okay,"
The crow flapped its wings and landed on the low fence of the garbage dump, carefully peering inside.
A long-haired beauty stood on an open space.
It was Xia Huilan.
She was holding a gun in one hand and pushing a suitcase with the other, eyeing several men across from her with a wary expression.