I punched him, then slammed the dagger on the ground, looked at everyone, and said, "What Xiluo said is exactly what I was thinking! We're in too much danger right now. We're in the underworld, we should be operating in the shadows. But what are we doing now? Damn! So many spotlights are on us! Everyone's waiting to see what happens! We've been put on the stage! Everything we do is clearly visible to everyone! How can we possibly do anything like this? We can't do anything at all!"
Everyone looked on with sudden realization. I looked at them and smiled slightly. "Hmph, everyone thought that after I came back, I would definitely lead people out to fight! Go out to kill! Go out to fight! At that time, not only would I not be able to get revenge, but the police would probably mobilize their forces and wipe us out first! But now... I feel that Vancouver is too peaceful, too quiet... This pool of water is a bit too clear!"
Xiluo's eyes lit up, as if he had thought of something. I exchanged a glance with him and smiled, "Let's find a way to muddy the waters! Let's divert everyone's attention so we can fish in troubled waters!"
Nothing was said that night.
I'm sure most of the guys didn't sleep a wink that night. The next day, I saw everyone with red eyes. But on my orders, the repair shop opened its doors for business… Of course, I knew that after the commotion the day before, it would be a miracle if anyone dared to bring their car in for repairs anytime soon!
It doesn't matter anymore; I was just making a gesture. And this gesture was only for the police, to openly tell them: Look! We didn't do anything!
At my command, the people who had been controlling various territories outside all returned. This defensive posture puzzled many in the underworld... because in everyone's eyes, the Big Circle was the kind of group that could be crazy and deadly when they got into a fight! But this act of showing weakness was truly a first.
During the day, I reorganized the team at the repair shop and picked a few older, more experienced guys from the gym to lead the team temporarily. I can't be at the repair shop all day to keep things under control; there will be times when I'm not home, and someone will need to look after the house.
Afterwards, Xiluo, along with sixteen brothers, making a total of eighteen people, drove to the hospital to visit Eighth Master.
I deliberately made a grand entrance into the hospital. In the corridor of the intensive care unit, I spotted Officer Jeff from afar. When he saw me, he gave me a wry smile and walked over, saying, "Hey, Fifth Master, you should at least keep a low profile. Last night, dozens of your men went to the West District. When I got the news, I was on edge all night! You promised me you wouldn't cause a scene!"
I chuckled: "Didn't we not fire a single shot last night?"
I greeted the brothers who stayed behind and took a look at Eighth Master.
Eighth Master's appearance hasn't changed much; he's still unconscious. The doctor said his condition is stabilizing, but... the chances of him waking up are still very small... or rather, he simply doesn't know, so they're just leaving it to fate.
I had someone take me to see the little pig again.
The young man had been shot, but the bullet had already been removed. When I saw him, he was struggling to get out of bed, and I happened to witness it.
"What do you want?" I shouted as I entered the room.
The little pig was startled, but when it saw me, it immediately became excited: "Brother Wu! I knew you were back! I was so angry yesterday because I didn't see you! I knew that once you got back, you'd definitely lead us in a big undertaking! I'm so tired of this lousy hospital..."
"So you're planning to sneak away?" I smiled.
Then I said seriously, "Alright, I won't beat around the bush. I need you right now. I don't know anyone around Eighth Master, but you're the only one I trust the most. Now I also need someone who understands the situation... I was worried about your injury, but now it seems you're lively and energetic, so you should be fine."
The little pig was a bit pale, but his spirits were still high. He was overjoyed at the suggestion: "Great! What do you want me to do? Damn it, give me a gun, and I can take down two Vietnamese guys too!"
“You don’t need to make the call.” I said slowly, “Eighth Master is down now. The most difficult thing is that he didn’t even leave a word before he collapsed… I have basically brought the situation in the repair shop under control, but I don’t know much about other things. I need you to do two things for me. First, I know that Eighth Master definitely has an inside contact in the police force. Do you know who his inside contact is? How do you contact him?”
The little pig shook his head, looking troubled. "I don't know. But I do know that Eighth Master has a good personal relationship with several high-ranking police officers. As for who is genuinely helping him, I really don't know."
I sighed, feeling somewhat disappointed. It seemed that for the time being, I could only rely on Officer Jeff with the police.
"So, what about the others? For example, some external matters within our organization. I need several legal experts, lawyers, and people to handle these issues."
"I know that," the little pig laughed. "We do have lawyers. In the past, when our people got into legal trouble, they always had their own lawyers to handle the cases!"
“Okay!” I said immediately, “I’ll leave this to you. I don’t know any of these people. I’ll send someone with you. You… you’re not very mobile right now, so get a wheelchair first. You take that person and go find a lawyer and ask him to come back. We got into a lot of trouble the other day. The police will charge us with obstructing official business or illegal possession of firearms, etc. I don’t have the energy to deal with these kinds of trivial matters. It’s best to leave it to the lawyer to handle with the police. I’ll leave this to you.”
I glanced back at Xiluo: "Get him discharged."
Seeing the little pig's excited expression, I felt a little guilty and said in a low voice, "Little pig, you were so badly injured, I should have let you recuperate properly, but right now I'm short-handed, especially short of clever and resourceful people. You'll have to work hard for now, and I'll thank you handsomely after this is done! You also saved Eighth Master's life this time, and I won't forget such a great contribution!"
The little pig rubbed its nose and laughed, "Brother Wu, I don't need anything else, I just want one thing from you. If you agree, I'll be so happy I could die."
"Okay, go ahead!" I sighed as I looked at his pale face and the bandages on his body.
"After Eighth Master wakes up, beg him to transfer me to your side! I want to work with you." Little Pig looked at me with some excitement on his face.
"Okay." I agreed immediately, then whispered, "Actually... sigh, whether Eighth Master will wake up or not is another matter."
Afterwards, I left the hospital with my men. Of the brothers who were originally staying at the hospital, I assigned one to accompany Little Pig on some errands.
As for me, after leaving the hospital, I immediately took my people with me and, instead of returning to the repair shop, I made a phone call as soon as I got in the car.
"Hello? Wick Fisheries Company."
When the call connected, it was a very clear female voice. I was taken aback for a moment: "I'm looking for Wick."
Do you have an appointment?
...Wick, you're really quick! In just one night, the company was up and running, and you even have a secretary...
But then Wick's voice came through the phone: "Ava, stop messing around and give me the phone."
After a burst of static, I heard Wick's voice: "Hello, I'm Wick."
"Old friend, it's me."
“God…” Wick’s voice sounded like he had a bitter taste in his mouth: “It really is you… Sigh, I was praying you wouldn’t call me.”
I laughed: "Obviously, God is off duty today." After a pause, I said seriously: "Wick, I need your help right now."
Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter Twenty-Nine: Fire Breaks Out on All Sides
It was midday, the sea was calm, and the sky was clear. Our yacht slowly approached the island, and I looked into the distance through my binoculars.
Just as Wick had described, there was a tall lighthouse on the island, seemingly built during the colonial period, probably several hundred years old. The abandoned lighthouse was covered in rust and stood about ten meters tall.
As our boat navigated around the reefs and approached the shore, Wick stood beside me and sighed, "This is the only place on this island we can land, and we can only come here at high tide. After the tide goes out, the reefs block the landing spot."
I nodded silently, glanced at Xiluo and the others behind me, and said, "Take your things and come with me."
Wick hesitated for a moment, then said with a wry smile, "I won't go up with you. I'll wait on the ship."
I didn't say much, I just nodded.
Stepping onto the stone platform beneath the lighthouse, and looking at the dark entrance below, I took the lead. As soon as I stepped inside, a foul stench hit me, and the people around me couldn't help but frown. I looked at the completely dried blood at my feet, all of which had congealed into patches of dark red, almost black!
I slowly ascended the stairs, reaching the top of the lighthouse first, even though I was mentally prepared. But the first thing I saw was a table in front of me with five heads, their hair disheveled, their faces ashen. Their eyes were mostly white with little black, staring at me with such eerie silence that my scalp tingled.
As soon as I stepped onto the platform, the brothers who followed behind, including Xiluo, all gasped in surprise!
The lighthouse was well-ventilated, and the sea breeze was strong, so although the heads had been severed for over a day, they hadn't decomposed. I looked at my brothers behind me. They were all pale, some shocked, some angry, some terrified, staring at the heads on the table. I remained calm, slowly walked over, and knelt down on one knee before the table. Then I took out cigarettes from my pocket, took out three, and glanced back at Xiro: "Lights."
Xiluo managed to remain somewhat calm. He came over and lit my cigarette. I bent down, picked up a handful of dust from the ground, shaped it into a mound, and placed the three cigarettes in front of my head.
The brothers behind me, without thinking, all knelt on one knee, just like me.
“My brothers who died! Although I, Xiao Wu, am not familiar with you all, we are all from the same circle, we are all comrades! You were killed by the Vietnamese. I, Xiao Wu, will definitely seek justice for you and avenge your blood debt!” After I finished speaking, I sighed: “If you have a spirit in heaven, you can rest in peace.”
After saying all that, I don't know if it was psychological or just a coincidence, but I felt a cold wind blow past me, and all the brothers behind me changed color.
I remained calm and said loudly, "To the brothers who perished, we have come today to collect your bodies. Please forgive us for any offense we may have caused!"
After saying that, I knelt quietly on one knee until the three cigarettes on the table had burned out. Then I stood up, turned around and took the wooden boxes that Xiluo had brought from his hands. I then placed the five heads on the table into the boxes with both hands.
I then searched around a bit on the top floor of the lighthouse and found the location Wick had mentioned as the dumping site, right where the abandoned searchlight used to be.
Looking at the mangled corpse in front of me, now cut into dozens of pieces, my face turned pale. A surge of anger welled up inside me, and my fingers trembled... Suddenly, I let out a loud shout and slammed my fist into the wall.
I hit him very hard, and blood was flowing from my joints, but I seemed completely unaware of it.
The dismembered body was piled up haphazardly, the ground was covered with dark red and black bloodstains, and there was a faint stench emanating from it. I even saw mosquitoes and flies buzzing around.
I looked back at the people I had brought, then took out a pair of gloves from my pocket and put them on: "Collect the bodies of our fallen brothers!"
Everyone else put on gloves and followed me up to move the body.
The scene before them was too horrific. Five living people had been brutally dismembered, their shattered bodies piled up, congealed blood, a stench of blood, and horrific wounds...
Wow!
One of the people I brought couldn't hold it in any longer and started retching against the wall. I looked at him but didn't say anything. Another person's movements were trembling, as if they were somewhat afraid, shrinking back as if they didn't dare to make a move.
I finally snapped, walked up to him, and kicked him hard: "What are you afraid of! What's there to be afraid of?!"
Looking at the man I kicked, I was furious. Pointing at the pile of corpses, I shouted, "Look carefully! Who are they! What kind of people are they?! They are not outsiders!! They are our own brothers! They are all our comrades!!!! What are you afraid of if your own brothers die?! Do you think your own brothers will turn into vengeful ghosts and eat you?! If you died, and your brothers were afraid and dared not collect your body, wouldn't you feel heartbroken?!"
After my furious outburst, the guy I kicked didn't get angry at all. Instead, he straightened up, looked guilty, paused for a moment, slapped himself across the face, and then, without a word, bent down, picked up half of the corpse, and strode down the stairs...
The whole process lasted an hour. We carried all the bodies downstairs and put them in body bags we had brought… What particularly troubles me is… although we tried our best to piece the five bodies together… we couldn’t put their heads back together, because we couldn’t tell which head belonged to which body…
This result makes me both angry and chilled!
At this moment, I really want to kill someone!
I stood in front of that wall with the blood-written words for a long time, staring at the words left on the wall, and the last cobra drawn in blood... My eyes were practically spitting fire!
I had someone fetch seawater in buckets and rinse the lighthouse inside and out, washing away the bloodstains on the ground. Then I went aboard the ship, prepared the things I had brought, and threw them inside the lighthouse.
I found Wick: "I'll have to trouble you to take these bodies back and cremate them for me. Keep the ashes with you for now, and I'll bury all the brothers who died this time after this is over."
"Aren't you going back?" Wick asked, somewhat surprised.
I looked back at the lonely little island. "For the next few days, this will be my base! Hmph... our current hideout is under heavy surveillance; the slightest disturbance will cause immediate problems. This place is well-hidden, and... after what the Vietnamese did here, they won't expect us to be staying here anytime soon." I patted Wick on the shoulder. "So, I'll still need your help. For the next few days, we'll need you to bring us food and fresh water... I..."
I pulled him aside and lowered my voice, saying, "I'm planning to do something... but as you know, based on what you said, the on-site investigation suggests there might be a mole within our Big Circle. So, I can't let anyone else know I'm hiding here! Right now, the only people I can absolutely trust are these brothers around me; they've all been through thick and thin with me in Vietnam. As for my family, I can't tell for now. Starting today, I'll be living here. As for what happens next... Wick, just wait and see what's on the news these next couple of days."
Wick hesitated for a moment, took a step back, looked at me, and said solemnly, "My old friend, I don't want any trouble! You know I've already quit."
“I’m not asking you to take any risks. I just want you to bring me some basic fresh water and food… and keep your mouth shut and don’t tell anyone else. It’s that simple. I don’t think it’s risky, is it?” I looked at him.
Wick hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed, "I knew it. I really shouldn't have taken those two packets of dollars from you... Oh well, consider it as me repaying a favor."
"No, it's not about repaying a favor." I said seriously, "You're the one helping me, and I'll be very grateful to you."
“Alright, I’ll personally drive the boat to deliver the goods. I won’t let my men get involved; it’ll be very discreet,” Wick said. “I’ll come back tonight and tow you a small boat. Otherwise, how will you leave the island?”
"From now on, everyone hand over your phones." I said calmly, "It's not that I don't trust my brothers, but from now on, everything we do is something we're prepared to lose our heads at any moment! Even the smallest mistake could ruin everything! So everyone hand over your phones. If anything happens, you must tell me or Xiluo first! After that, no one is allowed to leave the island or contact the outside world!"
I watched as everyone handed over their phones, turned them all off, and threw them into a bag.
Then I had a few people carry up the boxes we brought this time.
The box contained firearms, ammunition... and some other "props" that I had specially prepared.
"Next, we'll start preparing to muddy the waters in Vancouver!"
The next day at noon, on the main street in front of the largest Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, which belongs to the largest Chinese community in the entire Chinatown, the "Nanyang Association," this restaurant is their property.
Around noon, a black sedan suddenly sped up from the east side of the street, like a wild horse, and crashed into the restaurant entrance. The roar of the engine and the screeching of brakes filled the air… Then, to the astonishment of the crowd, two or three masked, thin men emerged from the car, carrying buckets. Without a word, they began to pour water onto the restaurant entrance…
Wow!
A strong, pungent smell of blood immediately filled the air. Amidst the terrified screams of those around them, two men shouted in Vietnamese, "Chinese, this is just the beginning of our revenge!"
They then got into the car and sped away.
Someone called the police and noted down the car's license plate number, but after the police checked, they found that the car had been reported stolen by the owner an hour before the incident.
At 3 p.m., an attack occurred near the Indian neighborhood.