Chapter 49: Flight II

Inside a large room at a five-star hotel.

Seven or eight people sat in a circle, blowing smoke amidst a hazy cloud.

Every single one of these individuals was a prominent figure in the underworld of Guancheng, the undisputed heads of various regional factions.

She Zhishan and Liu Zhenhu were among them, glaring at each other with such hostility that they looked ready to kill one another on the spot.

"Old She, Old Liu, isn't the situation already crystal clear? It was all meticulously plotted by that punk named Cao Yang. Why are you still holding such a grudge?"

Liu Changling, the boss of the Sichuan Faction, asked with a smile. This gathering had been initiated by him and the boss of the Guangxi Faction, with the leaders of the Jiangxi, Guizhou, and Shaanxi Factions also invited to join.

Watching the two of them go at each other, everyone present was merely a spectator enjoying the show, secretly hoping the two would batter each other into mutual destruction.

Though they thought that way, they couldn't actually let this fight continue unchecked.

They had turned the entire city upside down last night, and the authorities above were already furious. If the fighting dragged on, the iron fist of the law would inevitably come down, leading to a citywide crackdown. Not a single person present would have an easy time if that happened. Thus, they had no choice but to call them out for mediation.

"Exactly, exactly," other bosses chimed in. "It was all plotted by that punk Cao Yang. You two were just manipulated by him."

They had already briefly exchanged information. According to the Henan Faction mobster who had been slashed, Tie Xiong was already dead by the time they entered, and the Hunan Faction members had subsequently attacked them without asking any questions.

The forensic autopsy report also indicated that Tie Xiong had died from a blunt object striking his face and a massive force snapping his neck.

The Henan Faction group had brought knives and guns, but no hammers, which did not match the injuries on Tie Xiong's body.

Bar staff also confirmed that Mountain Eagle had indeed taken Cao Yang up to the third floor earlier. After the Henan Faction went up, the fight broke out, and no one saw where Cao Yang went.

Consequently, they all suspected that Cao Yang had meticulously orchestrated the entire affair, provoking a massive battle between the Hunan and Henan Factions.

They were giving Cao Yang far too much credit; Cao Yang simply didn't have the brains for it. He hadn't even known the Henan Faction was coming—it was purely a coincidence.

Although the truth was now clear and they realized they had misunderstood each other, they really had fought last night. Both of their venues had been smashed up, their brothers slashed, and a few killed, resulting in heavy losses.

Asking them to shake hands and make peace now felt thoroughly awkward, and neither side could swallow their pride.

"President She, President Liu. The boss asked me to pass along a message: he has already arranged for the police to hunt down Cao Yang with full force. Major hotels, inns, and rental housing will be thoroughly inspected, and they'll ferret him out before long."

The speaker was a young man in a white shirt and gold-rimmed glasses, whose refined demeanor contrasted sharply with the rough underworld bosses present. Everyone called him Secretary Chen, treating him with great deference.

"The boss said Guancheng is too complex with too many transient workers. Those small motels and illicit internet cafes are places you'll need to investigate yourselves."

Both She Zhishan and Liu Zhenhu nodded, indicating they would give it their all.

The boss of the Sichuan Faction spoke up, "What if he has already left Guancheng?"

Secretary Chen pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose and smiled. "He is still in Guancheng. This morning he appeared at the railway station; his ID card was confiscated by station police, though he managed to run away. We've already notified the police department in his hometown, and they will pressure his family."

With that, Secretary Chen's expression darkened as he looked at She Zhishan and Liu Zhenhu.

"The boss is extremely dissatisfied with your performance last night! He asked me to give you both a warning: if there is a next time, you can pack up and go back to your hometowns to farm—one of you can grow chili peppers, and the other can grow wheat!"

Their expressions turned grim! After all these years in the underworld, who dared speak to them like that?

Yet Secretary Chen dared! Of course, he was merely relaying a message.

"Understood." The two men nodded reluctantly, then ordered their subordinates to search for Cao Yang with all their might, promising to chop him into minced meat the moment he was found.

...

Cao Yang found a cheap motel that didn't require registering an ID card. He had no luggage, but he had money, so he didn't need to worry about food and lodging for the time being.

Lying on the stiff wooden bed, listening to the sounds of lovemaking from the next room, he stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.

He had just managed to fall asleep when he was woken up less than two hours later.

Hearing the chatter of multiple voices outside, he grew alert and cautiously cracked open the door to peer outside.

Five or six young men stood at the front desk, covered in dragon and tiger tattoos, looking thoroughly fierce and sinister.

"Boss, have you seen this guy?!" One of them handed over a photo of Cao Yang.

The receptionist pushed up his glasses, finding the face familiar, and instinctively glanced toward Cao Yang's room.

The thugs followed his gaze and noticed that Cao Yang's door was slightly ajar, with a single eye peering right at them.

"What the fuck! Scared the hell out of me!"

The leader cursed as he strode toward Cao Yang's room, kicked the door open, and stepped inside.

"You looking at your ma—" Before he could finish, he froze. Wasn't this exact person the one they were looking for?

With a loud "Bang!", before he even had time to react or cry out, he was sent flying by a kick from Cao Yang.

Cao Yang's strength was immense; the kick propelled the man straight across the hallway, smashing open the door opposite.

A naked man and woman screamed in panic, hurriedly pulling the quilt up to shield their bodies.

Seeing this, the remaining thugs swarmed in.

"Bang, bang, bang..." All six men were beaten to the ground by Cao Yang, groaning pathetically and struggling in vain to get back up.

Cao Yang gazed at them coldly, bent down, and picked up his own photo to examine it closely.

What the hell, this was his official ID photo, just blown up. How did these people get their hands on this?

His heart turned cold. It was most likely provided by the police; both the underworld and the authorities were hunting him down.

Cao Yang departed immediately, stopping on his way out to deliver an extra kick to each of them—the kind that would keep them bedridden for at least half a month.

He headed to an underground internet cafe, claimed a corner seat by the window, played a movie, and began to doze off.

Not long after, another group of thugs walked in. A few questioned the receptionist while others patrolled the cafe.

"Over here!" A gangster spotted Cao Yang and shouted to his companions.

"Bang!" The moment he finished shouting, he was sent flying!

Chaos instantly erupted in the internet cafe. Computer desks and chairs flew through the air, and several men were beaten half to death.

By the time their reinforcements arrived, there wasn't even a trace of Cao Yang left.

Similar situations kept happening. Those who failed to find Cao Yang were spared, but anyone who managed to find him ended up getting beaten up and sent to the hospital.

The underlings were gripped by panic. From initially hoping to find Cao Yang and win a major merit, they had now begun praying they wouldn't run into that freak.

Hearing the reports from below, She Zhishan and Liu Zhenhu were so furious they cursed out loud!

"A bunch of useless trash! So many people couldn't hold down a single guy!"

The two factions' performance over the past two days had indeed been somewhat humiliating, but there was no helping it; five or six people were simply no match for Cao Yang.

You couldn't deploy groups of dozens or hundreds either; doing so would be far too inefficient and might not even lead them to him.

"Hand out guns!" Both men made the decision simultaneously.

Weren't you good at fighting? Let's see if you can outfight a bullet!

Guns were something they both possessed, but they rarely used them under normal circumstances. This, however, qualified as an extraordinary circumstance.