The small truck was speeding along, only slowing down when it got close, but it didn't stop; instead, it turned on its headlights first. I honked the horn twice. Once I was sure it was there, the truck slowly pulled up and stopped in front of us.
Ciro and I had already jumped out of the truck and were standing on the side of the road. A burly man jumped out of the cab in front of the truck. I recognized him immediately; it was an old acquaintance. He was the big guy I had beaten up the day before when I "parachuted" back to Vancouver and robbed Wick and his gang.
He noticed my embarrassment, rubbed his nose, and seemed unsure what to say. I smiled and asked, "How was it? Was the road safe?"
"The sea inspections are very strict now, but we've had a relatively smooth journey." He smiled sheepishly. "Alright, your guests are all in the back of the car."
He went to the back and opened the cargo hold, immediately letting out a wisp of cool air. The cargo hold at the back of the truck was piled high with huge blocks of ice. Then, one after another, twenty men jumped out of the cargo hold!
These people jumped out of the car and came in front of me. I immediately felt a sharp aura!
A large, imposing man stood before us, his square face sharply defined. He wore a plaid, coarse cloth shirt, the fabric taut against his body. Below, he wore dirty, rusty riding breeches, and his boots were covered in ice chips. He stood ramrod straight, his eyes gleaming with a subtle air of authority. His electric gaze swept over me, then settled on me. He strode over to me, extending his hand: “I’m Gao Shan! I led these brothers here… You can call me Shi Tou. And you’re Zhen Yang?”
I nodded: "Yes, I am Zhenyang. You can also call me Xiao Wu."
When I shook hands with him, I felt that his palms were large and thick, covered with calluses, but his nails were neatly trimmed.
The men behind him, the youngest looking about my age, and the older ones probably in their thirties or forties. But they all had the same thing: a determined look in their eyes, ramrod straight posture, and most importantly, they were all very strong and muscular, with every movement exuding a clear air of disciplined training.
"You must be tired from your journey, everyone." I smiled, then patted Wick's subordinate on the shoulder: "Alright, you've finished your business. When you get back, please thank Mr. Wick for me."
The big white man muttered a couple of things, went back to his car, and drove away. I led the group of paratroopers to my van and said with a smile, "Sorry, guys, the situation here is tense lately. This van was a last-minute arrangement, so please squeeze in for now."
These people were clearly seasoned veterans; none of them showed any expression as they all opened the doors and climbed into the car. With so many people crammed into the beat-up van, Xiluo and I whistled and then drove off.
Throughout the journey, none of the people in the car spoke. I asked them a few questions, and they seemed very disciplined. All the questions were answered by the guy nicknamed "Stone," while the other men sat quietly in the back.
I certainly wouldn't take these people back to the repair shop. The police are watching me now, and the Vietnamese and those cobras might be watching me too. I certainly wouldn't expose such a secret force.
I had already made my plans, so I drove straight to the beach. I had a boat hidden there all along. It was the same boat I left on the shore last time on that lighthouse island. I abandoned the car, boarded the boat, and took all these people back to that lighthouse island.
“The situation is different now, brothers, just bear with it here for a few days.” I led them into the lighthouse, where we had left behind some makeshift beds and basic supplies from when we stayed last time: “Everyone, have some water and something to eat first. Then I’ll explain the current situation.”
Shi Tou glanced at everyone and shook his head: "No need, let's talk about the situation first. We've been sleeping at sea for a whole day, and now we just want to get some exercise as soon as possible."
I noticed that when he had a stern face, he looked quite righteous... but when he smiled, he revealed a hint of murderous intent. This peculiar expression surprised me.
Stone waved his hand, and the paratroopers immediately formed a circle and sat down together. Then Stone looked at me and said seriously, "Chen Yang, we are here on orders to assist you. From now on, all twenty of us will be under your command!" He glanced back at the men and said slowly, "This time, I've brought my elite troops. These men have all fought real battles in the jungle! We just had a fierce fight with a group of drug lords colluding with government forces in the Golden Triangle. These brothers are all capable fighters! I think even if you want to start a small riot in Vancouver, we'll be enough."
Xiluo and I exchanged a glance and laughed.
"It's not exactly a riot, but this time all the brothers here are being closely watched by the police and can't do anything, so we can only rely on your help." I said slowly, "Okay, since everyone is in a hurry, let's talk about the situation first."
I pointed to the cobra pattern drawn in blood on the wall...
When we evacuated from here, we cleaned away the bloodstains and other traces on the ground, but I deliberately left this cobra pattern.
I want to be able to see this pattern every single day while I'm staying here! To remind myself that there's still a blood debt waiting for me to collect outside!
"Does everyone see this on the wall?" I pointed to the wall and said coldly, "This is what our target left here not long ago..."
I then tried to recount the recent events as concisely as possible. I started with the conflict and hatred between us and the Vietnamese, then moved on to the assassination of Eighth Master, the murder of our drug lord, and the brutal killing of the five brothers who remained on the island. The other side even left behind a blood-written protest…
As I said this, anger flashed in the eyes of these men. Stone, a big man, muttered quietly, "Hmph! It's the Vietnamese again!"
I saw hatred flashing in his eyes.
Then I recounted a series of recent events, including some information I had received, the cobras hired by the Vietnamese, and the recent riots in Vancouver and the current chaotic situation.
After I finished speaking, I took out two packs of cigarettes and tossed them to everyone, then distributed them: "That's roughly the situation. The police are watching us almost 24/7. All my brothers here are being kept under surveillance at home. Even I had to sneak out this time, avoiding the police's watchful eyes. My brothers can't operate on a large scale anymore, so I had no choice but to ask you for help. We're all brothers here, and to outsiders we're all called Big Circle. This incident is clearly retaliation by the Vietnamese. And that Cobra killed several of our brothers with his own hands; this blood debt cannot be left unpaid... To be honest, the funeral hall for our brothers here is set up in the auto repair shop! I've sworn a solemn oath! I will bring our enemy here and sacrifice him alive in front of our dead brothers' memorial tablets! Otherwise, I will not bury them until I have avenged them!"
"..." Stone glanced at me, expertly lit a cigarette, and then lightly patted me on the shoulder: "Good! You're a good brother! Since someone has messed with us and owes us such a huge blood debt, then this time, even if it costs us our lives, we'll definitely fight you to the end!"
After saying that, he sneered: "Cobra? What's Cobra? I've never even heard of it! I've worked in the jungles of Southeast Asia and with the world's top ten mercenary organizations. I know Hellfire, Wolf Fang, and so on... Cobra? Hmph, a bunch of scum who only know how to slaughter civilians in Africa."
"Alright! Since that's the case, time waits for no one, so I won't stand on ceremony with you all! We'll treat you all properly after we finish this job! Tonight, let's make our move and take down those Vietnamese!" I pulled out my dagger and slammed it heavily onto the table with a loud clang!
Stone squinted, carefully examining my dagger, and suddenly laughed: "Hmm, this is Old Cat's stuff, right... Hey! I saw Old Cat and Old Kong last month. I heard that Old Cat taught an apprentice when he was in Canada. So it was you."
Several crates were carried out of the lighthouse's cellar. I kicked open the top of one crate, revealing the weapons inside!
Long guns, short guns, magazine grenades, bayonets, and several crossbows.
"Everything's here. They've been cracking down lately, so a lot of the big stuff can't be brought over. We'll just have to make do for now," I said with a smile.
Stone walked over first, rummaged through the box a couple of times, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face: "Very good, this is enough."
He casually picked up an MK pistol, pulled the bolt, gestured with it in his hand, then grabbed a belt, fastened it, inserted the pistol, and loaded four magazines. He then picked up an M9 military knife, weighing it in his hand. I watched as the small, sharp M9 knife flew up and down in his fingers; although it was just a few simple movements, the skill with which he handled it was very evident!
Then the next twenty men came up one by one, and picked out some guns and weapons they liked from several boxes. I saw a guy who was not tall and a little thin stuff five or six grenades into his pocket in one go, and then picked out a crossbow.
"Stone, I'm going out to see if I can find anything in the sea. This crossbow is good, but it would be even better if we put something on it." His voice was strange, as if it was a sound forced out of his throat.
I looked at him closely and noticed a shocking wound on his neck! It was clearly cut with a knife, across his throat, with the flesh on both sides of the wound slightly turned upwards, and the muscle in the wound area was quite deep, indicating that the injury was very serious at the time!
Noticing my gaze, the thin man smiled calmly and said, "Oh, I injured my neck, so my voice is a little unpleasant."
I paused, and before I could speak, Stone had already put his arm around the thin man's shoulder and laughed, "This is Scorpion, but we all call him Poisonous Scorpion. This guy is the most ruthless and vicious among our group. He doesn't like guns, but he's best with knives and crossbows, and he can concoct poisons and anesthetics. As for the wound on his neck... it's from a fight we had with an anti-government guerrilla group in the Philippines two years ago. Those guys robbed us of a shipment at sea, and when we went to get it back, we had a big fight with them. When Scorpion went to harass their sentry, he got cornered, and someone slashed his neck, almost killing him... but he's not a disgrace..." Stone glanced at the thin Scorpion as he said this.
Scorpion's tone was calm as he casually said, "Oh, I killed six of them with a dagger." He spoke so calmly and casually, but I felt a pang of admiration in my heart.
One can only imagine what a life-or-death struggle it must have been!
Normally, when approaching an enemy sentry, you can't use a gun to avoid alerting them. A gunshot would alert the enemy! This skinny guy is skilled with a knife and crossbow; he must be very capable!
Xiluo raised his eyebrows when he heard these words, and I saw that his eyes were full of hope and envy.
As for me, I felt a little excited!
I looked at Scorpion seriously and said, "Sorry, brother, I didn't think you meant anything by it! Don't take it to heart."
After a pause, I smiled and said, "You like to apply some medicine, this can help you... Aren't you going to the sea? There are two sets of diving equipment hidden in the cellar, I'll help you carry them up later."
As night fell, our group left the island and returned to the shore.
We stole two pickup trucks on the road, split into two groups, and arrived in Vancouver's West Side at midnight.
This area is quite complex, with many immigrant residential areas and some neighborhoods that are on the fringes of territories divided among several gangs. It's fair to say that whenever something happens in Vancouver's underworld, this area is always the first to be affected.
Block B is a predominantly Vietnamese immigrant area, with over 30% of its residents being of Vietnamese descent. There are also many Vietnamese restaurants along the streets.
This area is traditionally Vietnamese territory. However, recently, more and more members of other gangs have been extending their reach here.
According to my intelligence, there are two properties here that belong to Vietnamese people.
It's like the plot of land I was assigned back then, where there was a restaurant that belonged to us, which Ciro and I used as our base.
On this street, there is a construction and renovation company that is owned by the Vietnamese.
In previous years, building houses and doing real estate in Canada was very profitable, and so was home improvement. Naturally, Vietnamese people also got involved in this business.
One of the home improvement and construction companies here is owned by Vietnamese people.
Our men had been to this area before, and the Vietnamese had all left, leaving us with an empty lot. There were no Vietnamese people in any of the nightclubs or bars. This company was in an old-style building, so our men didn't choose it as their target. And after our raid failed, the police arrived quickly.
But tonight is different.
We parked our car in the alley behind the building, with the windows closed. Xiluo and I smoked, and Xiluo kept glancing at his watch, looking slightly uneasy.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine." I smiled. "These guys who came in from the air are really strong. They won't mess up this little thing." After a pause, I continued, "But I'm actually quite envious of you guys now."
I said this to the stone sitting behind me.
"Um?"
"I envy you, having such a formidable team of subordinates." I shook my head. "No wonder that over the years, many large corporations have parachuted into North America to handle matters. But when things go wrong there, they rarely ask us for help. It turns out that your individual soldiers are far more capable than ours."
Stone paused for a few seconds, then grinned: "This is different. I've been to Canada three times. Here, your daily enemies are just gangsters. They might casually grab a few pistols and a couple of AK47s and start shooting in the street, and that's what they call 'ruthless bandits.' These people are just gangsters. You don't need to be particularly skilled to fight them. But we're different. The situation in Southeast Asian countries is different from North America. If you consider this a civilized world, then where we are, it's a world of bloodshed. The Golden Triangle, India and Pakistan, Laos, Nepal with its constant coups, and those Southeast Asian island nations teeming with guerrillas and anti-government forces... Not to mention the Philippines, I've been there six times. Our opponents are all big drug lords, or government forces, or anti-government forces, guerrillas... Those people, they have everything—not just guns... planes and artillery! We fight these kinds of people all the time. Of course, that's how we've developed such tough, muscular bodies."
I remained silent.
Xiluo, young and quick-witted, shook his head and said, "Sigh, we're all from the Big Circle. You locals are so skilled, doesn't that make us look useless..." The young man looked somewhat dejected.
I laughed, and Stone chuckled too. He stretched out his large, calloused hand and patted Xiluo hard on the back, saying, "Young man! I don't know how many greenhorns like you I've seen back in the day. We're all brothers from the same lineage, there's no need to distinguish between good and bad... Speaking of which, without the help of our big brothers from other places, we wouldn't have amounted to anything by fighting and struggling in Southeast Asia. Fighting always costs money, and where does that money come from? It's earned by you brothers from the civilized world! Every year, Eighth Master from Canada sends us huge sums of US dollars, so our brothers have good weapons, and our fallen brothers have money to settle down! The land we risked our lives to build, the goods we acquired, we need you to sell them, right?"
Ciro's mood improved slightly, but he still seemed to want to say something. I patted him on the shoulder and looked out the window: "Alright! They're coming down!"
Under the cover of night, several brothers dressed in black jumped down from the platform on the second floor of the building. The last brother slid down using a rope because he was holding a huge object in his arms.
After getting down, they quickly put away the ropes and then crawled back into the car.
"How about it?"
"Done." The one who spoke was the skinny Scorpion. He took a breath and patted the thing wrapped in black cloth that he was holding in his arms.
"Quick! Let's get out of here right away." I took a breath: "We broke the surveillance cameras on both sides of the street. From reporting the problem to the police sending someone to check it, it should take at most twenty minutes, but we don't have much time now."
Upon hearing this, Xiluo immediately started the car, and we quickly left the area.
We had only driven half a street when we heard a loud bang coming from one of the floors of the building behind us!
All the glass on the outside shattered, and flames and thick smoke shot out from inside!
Because we were so close, we could even feel the strong vibration inside the car!
"Damn, how much stuff did you put in there?" Stone frowned as he looked at the flames on the building behind him.
"Not many, just twenty grenades." Scorpion sighed. "It's a pity there are no bombs on the island. Not even a detonator, and the time was too short. Otherwise, I could have made a bomb myself."
I laughed and said, "Well, now that this has happened, I think this Vietnamese company can forget about getting any more business."
Scorpion's voice was awful, but he was in high spirits and laughed, "Damn it, you guys don't know, when I was dismantling their telephone exchange, I saw a lot of phone records inside, all of them were international porn calls... Damn! So that's what the Vietnamese do in their offices all day long."
"I've finished my work, now it's Guan Dai's turn." Scorpion handed the things he was carrying to a brother sitting in the back seat of the car.
The man had small but very bright eyes. He picked up the item, unwrapped the cloth covering it, and glanced inside. He pursed his lips. "It's a regular telephone exchange. The encryption is simple; it's not hard to set up... Let's find a place with the equipment. I can get it done in ten minutes at most. Is there a telephone company nearby? They have the equipment in their server room."
Shi Tou suddenly laughed and said, "Aha, luckily we're abroad. If we were in China, it would be really difficult."
"Why?"
"The telephone communications industry abroad is public and non-monopolistic; there are many telephone companies. We can get the equipment we need from any of them. But in China, we have to break into China Telecom at night. That's not an ordinary company; it's state-owned. Breaking into China Telecom's data center is tantamount to openly opposing a state entity, and that carries a very different meaning."
With this telephone exchange in hand, our next step is to find out all the phone records inside. We're determined to locate the Vietnamese people's current hideout! After all, this company was originally the Vietnamese's stronghold! It was an important base for their business, and the phone records within the company couldn't possibly leave no clues.
Of course, the simplest way is to take a few guns and sweep through the Vietnamese immigrant communities; that should lure the Vietnamese out. After all, Vietnamese gangs are different from ours; most of the gang members have families in the area... gangsters are people too!
But we can't do that ourselves. We can only investigate.
Stealing the telephone exchange was just one option. We bombed their construction company. Even if the files and documents in the construction company weren't particularly important... the fact that a company was attacked by terrorism, especially one in the construction industry... I'd like to see who would dare do business with them in the future!
Breaking into a phone company in the middle of the night was a piece of cake for us ruthless thugs. With a master like Scorpion, who could single-handedly take out sentries when dealing with guerrillas, taking on the security guards of a phone company would be a piece of cake. He just held back and didn't kill anyone indiscriminately; he just knocked them unconscious.
In the telephone company's server room, that guy named Guan Dai really did extract all the call records from the telephone exchange in just ten minutes.
Then, in the phone company's server room, we checked the addresses of the phone numbers that had been used most frequently in the past two days using the phone company's equipment, and quickly identified two or three addresses.
One of the numbers I've called the most in the last few days belongs to a restaurant that specializes in food delivery.