I grabbed his clothes: "What's wrong, Eighth Master?"
The man's expression was complicated as he whispered, "Eighth Master... is awake."
Without time to wash up, I quickly grabbed Ciro and a few brothers, got into the car, and sped out of the repair shop. On the way, I glanced around the streets; the police watching us were gone, unlike a few days ago when there were suspicious cars parked at intersections. Of course, they might still have lookouts, or perhaps they were in some building across the street. But that was unlikely; after all, Doug wouldn't dare offend me too much now.
Moreover, we didn't see any conspicuous vehicles following us as we drove out.
Eighth Prince has woken up!
This news was undoubtedly very surprising to me!
Moreover, deep down, I'm afraid I have some other thoughts!
In the past few days, I have basically sorted out the power in the Big Circle, and have initially suppressed the situation. I have also established my authority... It can be said that as long as Eighth Master does not wake up... or even if he wakes up later, by then the overall situation will be settled, I will be fully capable, and the momentum of taking over will be irreversible!
But now... Eighth Master has woken up!
He was the boss, and now I'm the boss too!
He is the Eighth Master, but now, some people outside have started calling me "Fifth Master"!
Can a large circle have two bosses? Can it have two "masters"? The answer to this question is obvious!
Throughout the journey, my expression was complicated. Xiluo, who was sitting next to me, seemed to vaguely sense the strangeness in my mood, so he didn't say a word and just sat next to me with his mouth closed.
Xiluo's face was cold, but he was young after all. I saw his eyebrows twitching slightly, and I wondered what he was thinking at that moment... Although his face was suppressed and appeared calm, there was a faint blush of excitement on his cheeks.
well……
Suddenly, I felt a pang of sadness.
Xiluo… this brother I consider my closest confidant, I have taken great care of him, and in times of danger, I always carefully leave him in a safe place! Because, deep down, I truly regard him as my brother!
But now... Eighth Master has woken up, and he's so excited?
For some reason, I suddenly felt a sense of unease and uncertainty.
As the car approached the hospital, I looked at the white hospital building in the distance, and suddenly it all became clear to me…
Why should I be in such a hurry?
Anyway, from the very beginning, I never had any intention of usurping the throne. Things have just unfolded step by step, pushing me forward. "Fifth Master" or "Little Fifth," it doesn't matter...
Honestly, the biggest thought that's been keeping me working so hard lately is avenging my fallen brothers. As for actually usurping the leadership, I've never really considered that.
It seems that once people have something in their hands, they find it hard to let go of it.
The car stopped in front of the hospital, and I saw many police officers coming and going inside. Going up the elevator, I saw even more police officers in the hallway… It seems the police are taking the safety of Master Ba very seriously, having deployed a large number of officers here.
As soon as I arrived, one of the brothers who stayed behind led me to the ward. At the ward door, a doctor had just come out, and I stopped him to ask about Eighth Master's condition.
“He’s still very weak.” The doctor thought for a moment, then looked at me with a complicated expression… He definitely knew who we were. “However, his condition is stabilizing, but I’m worried about some aftereffects… Because when a patient wakes up from such a deep coma, we can’t be sure what lingering problems might be in his brain. Perhaps, for a period of time, his mental state won’t be very stable, and he might experience brief periods of unconsciousness… or even other symptoms, such as memory loss. Or even… dementia.”
Seeing that my face was getting worse, the doctor quickly comforted me, saying, "Of course, what I said is just a possibility... At least the patient is still stable right now, he just needs rest. He is still a little sluggish and has some problems with the coordination of his limbs, but he will get better after a period of rehabilitation."
After seeing the doctor off, Xiluo and I went into the ward alone.
The ward was still white. On the bed, Eighth Master lay quietly. The only difference from what I had seen before was that Eighth Master had opened his eyes, but his gaze did not drift toward the door; instead, he looked at the ceiling.
"Eighth Master." I breathed a sigh of relief and called out as I walked to the bedside.
Eighth Master slowly turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on my face, and a smile gradually appeared on his pale face. His eyes were strangely quiet.
"You're awake." I suddenly found myself speechless, realizing for a moment that I had nothing to say.
I couldn't help but glance at Xiluo, who was standing right next to me. But I noticed that one of his hands was trembling slightly, and I had no idea what he was excited about.
I sighed inwardly.
How's it outside?
Eighth Master spoke slowly, his speech very deliberate, as if he were reciting each word carefully, and his voice was very soft. I had just heard from the doctor that Eighth Master's reactions were somewhat sluggish; that is, his thoughts were normal, but his control over his mouth, tongue, and limbs was somewhat slow. This was one of the aftereffects of being in a coma for so long.
"It's alright." I hesitated for a moment, then tried to give a brief overview of the situation outside.
But I had only spoken less than a third of the sentence when I saw Eighth Master raise one of his hands by the bedside, his fingers struggling to move slightly. His movement was laborious, but still quite clear.
Then I heard Eighth Master slowly say, "I'll stop here for now, send me back immediately."
"..." I frowned: "Your injury...it's best not to leave the hospital."
Eighth Master's voice was very calm. He ignored my words and slowly said, "Discharge from the hospital and go back."
At that moment, he gave me a strange look, and there seemed to be something complicated in his eyes.
He was worried! He was afraid!
I understood that gaze!
As soon as he woke up, he was eager to go back! What did he want to do?
It's very simple! After he woke up, before I arrived, the people around him must have told him about the current situation! He disregarded his own health and insisted on going back... to rush back and solidify his authority!
I thought for a moment, then glanced at Xiluo: "Go and process the discharge procedures..."
Upon hearing this, Xiluo immediately left the ward; he walked very quickly!
Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter Forty-Five: Brothers!
I wheeled the pale-faced Eighth Master out of the ward. His brain was still unable to effectively control his body, making him look like a paraplegic patient, stiffly leaning against the wheelchair.
My brothers, who had brought me with them, all wore expressions of surprise and delight when they saw Eighth Master emerge. I didn't feel much about it... after all, Eighth Master had been the leader for so many years, and he still held considerable popular support.
In contrast, Ciro seemed increasingly strange!
From the moment Xiluo entered the hospital, he was somewhat nervous... Although he disguised it well and remained calm, I, who was closest to him, could see the tension and excitement hidden beneath his calm exterior from many of his habitual actions!
His eyebrows would occasionally twitch slightly, and his lips were pursed... I suddenly remembered that from the moment we entered the ward and saw Eighth Master until we came out, Xi Luo hadn't said a single word!
The hospital initially opposed our taking Uncle Ba back, but we remained firm, signed some documents, and finally everything was settled.
"I can report back now." These were the first words Jeff said to me as he arrived at the hospital. He chuckled, "These past few days, I've been on my guard quite a bit. The people responsible for guarding this place are all my men. If anything happens to Master Fang here, I'll take the blame."
"Thank you." I patted him on the shoulder, not intending to have a long conversation with him.
"Chen Yang..." He suddenly chuckled softly. He called out to me, giving me a meaningful look: "Two tigers on one mountain... how should a gentleman handle himself?"
Hmph, I chuckled. This Chinese-American police officer is actually trying to talk back to me with his literary skills.
I pointed to my heart and left silently.
There were nine of us, divided into three cars. One car led the way, and the other escorted us from behind. Xiluo, another brother, and I were the drivers, with Eighth Master in the middle car.
Before getting in the car, I told my men to be careful.
In fact, I had already started to be on guard before I went out this time.
The Vietnamese are now treated like rats in the street. The police will crack down on them, and there's no guarantee they won't become desperate and come after us! You know, they still have a bunch of cobras at their disposal!
Starting today, we need to be extra careful when going in and out! I have to be careful!
From the hospital to the repair shop. The drive was about forty-five minutes. The car was extremely quiet the whole way; I didn't speak. Uncle Ba didn't speak, and neither did Xiluo, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.
The brother driving was one of my nine trusted men. He was a clever guy and noticed that something was off. So he kept quiet and drove the whole way.
Eighth Master sat next to me, his body still stiff, but his eyes held an unreadable expression, and he didn't even glance at me out of the corner of his eye. This strange behavior made me increasingly suspicious.
More importantly, I noticed that the muscles around Eighth Master's eyes twitched slightly from time to time.
He's nervous!
Normally, given Eighth Master's cunning and deep-seated scheming, he wouldn't easily reveal his inner emotions on his face. However, now that he's just recovered from a serious illness, the aftereffects of his brain injury prevent him from effectively controlling his facial muscles, which is why some traces of his emotions are showing.
I didn't show it on my face, but I was thinking to myself that at this moment, Eighth Master was probably thinking about how to deal with me... Heh!
Now I have won the hearts of everyone in the household, and I have established my authority. If Eighth Master goes back so rashly, he will be sidelined if he doesn't fight me; if he does fight me...
I sighed. This was something I could no longer control.
While the thought was still swirling in my mind, three cars were crossing a fifty-meter-long street. In front of us was an intersection. The first car was moving smoothly, and we were crossing when suddenly, out of nowhere, a truck came hurtling towards us from the intersection on the left!
The driver had reacted as quickly as possible! He gripped the steering wheel tightly, shifted gears with one hand, and released the accelerator with the other, making an evasive maneuver in a split second, but the truck was coming at a great speed! There was a loud bang, and I felt a sudden jolt inside the car!
The car was jolted into a sharp 90-degree turn by the impact! Then it swerved sharply sideways and slammed headfirst into a lamppost on the side of the road! Another loud bang was heard.
The front of the car was completely dented, with half of the steel plate torn off. The windshield was shattered, and the driver had hit his head on the windshield, his face and head covered in blood. He had already passed out with his neck tilted to the side!
Xiluo was also half-covered in blood, though it was unclear whether it was his own or the driver's. But he hadn't passed out yet and was already shouting, "Get out of the car!"
I bumped my head against the seat in front of me. Although I was a little dizzy from the impact, I wasn't injured. However, I accidentally chipped my teeth in the collision, and now my mouth tastes slightly salty and metallic, most likely from bleeding. Uncle Ba next to me wasn't feeling so well; he had bumped his head twice, once against the roof and once against the windshield, and his nose was bleeding.
One of the car doors was badly deformed, and most of the glass was shattered. I tried to open the other door, but it was stuck! In desperation, I kicked it open with all my might...
Bang!
I jumped out of the car, rolled to the ground, and when I regained my footing, I found that the lead car in front of us had been blocked on the other side of the street by a truck. The intersection was extremely narrow, and this truck blocking the way almost completely shut off both sides! Unless the guys in the first car flipped over from the train, our car couldn't get through! And at that very moment, I heard a cacophony of gunfire coming from behind the truck!
Meanwhile, in the car that had been following us, some of the brothers stopped when they saw what had happened. The first brother who rushed out immediately groaned and fell to the ground, shot.
In a moment of panic, I lay on the ground, waving at the car behind me and yelling, "Watch out! There's a sniper!!"
First, they blocked the road with trucks, while someone held off the men in the lead truck. A sniper was also on the sidelines. Add to that the narrow intersection, and it was practically an ideal ambush location!
At that moment, Xiluo also managed to pry open the car door and stumbled out. Hearing my shout, he didn't stand up but crawled over. Fortunately, our car crashed into a lamppost, turning slightly sideways. I quickly yelled to Xiluo, "Eighth Master! Drag Eighth Master out!"
Whoosh! Bang!
With a crisp cracking sound, a barrage of gunfire, like popping beans, erupted above my head!
Suddenly, seven or eight men jumped out from behind the truck, each carrying a gun. They charged towards us, firing as they went. Bullets struck the truck, leaving holes and sending sparks flying!
I didn't care about anything else. I grabbed Eighth Master's leg and forcibly dragged him out of the car, then shoved him into Xiluo's hands. Behind where we parked, there was a recessed passage, but it was clearly a dead end, with only a roughly two-meter-wide metal trash can blocking the entrance. I pointed at the trash can and yelled at Xiluo, "Quick! Get behind it!"
At that moment, two more brothers jumped out of the car behind, pulled out their guns, and began exchanging fire with the group of people getting out of the truck. However, the other side had a sniper hidden nearby, and less than a minute later, one of our brothers who jumped out was shot and fell to the ground because he had leaned out a little too much.
I lay prone behind the car, one hand already drawn, gun in hand. I didn't dare show my face, but just held the gun over the roof and fired wildly outside. With my other hand, I quickly pulled open the driver's side door, forcefully ripped off the driver's seatbelt, and dragged him out...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Four gunshots rang out in quick succession, almost within arm's reach! The bullets struck the car, making a chilling sound!
It's a sniper!
Then, with a loud thud, the car lurched violently; I knew one of the tires had been punctured. My heart skipped a beat!