He'd been in Beijing for nearly twenty years, fighting and bleeding, carving out a small territory in this treacherous city, and building a reputation that, while not huge, was certainly not insignificant. Now, he'd actually become enemies with two young upstarts, and been forced into a position where he had to take the initiative to negotiate peace. If word got out, wouldn't everyone in Beijing be able to ride roughshod over him?
However, the situation is dire, and fighting back is the only way to win.
Huo Zhendong felt suppressed and annoyed, but on the surface he remained calm, maintaining the composure expected of a triad boss.
He stepped into the room, but instead of carefully examining Xu Zhengyang, he glanced at the young man sitting behind the desk and then unceremoniously walked over to the sofa and sat down.
Leaning back on the sofa, Huo Zhendong waited patiently for Xu Zhengyang to speak.
However……
Xu Zhengyang only glanced at Huo Zhendong when he entered the room, then turned his head to look at the LCD screen, and then started typing on the keyboard with one finger on each hand. Xu Zhengyang typed very slowly, so he showed a slightly impatient and embarrassed expression on his face.
The speaker kept making beeping sounds; it turned out this guy was chatting on QQ.
Apart from the beeping sound, the office was quiet.
Huo Zhendong's face grew increasingly gloomy; Xu Zhengyang's face became increasingly embarrassed, as typing slowly in QQ chat could easily make the other party look down on him.
Chen Chaojiang stood beside Xu Zhengyang, coldly staring at Dapeng; Dapeng stood on the sofa to Huo Zhendong's right, looking at Chen Chaojiang with a hint of mockery and disdain. Of course, there were two other "ghosts" in the room: Su Peng and Wang Yonggan. Su Peng had been closely following Huo Zhendong, while Wang Yonggan had just been summoned back by Xu Zhengyang. Originally, Wang Yonggan had been instructed to investigate the newly recruited sales staff of Wu Juan, especially those who had jumped ship from Subida Logistics, to determine their loyalty and whether they might have been sent by Subida Logistics…
The two ghosts did not know that Xu Zhengyang was the City God. They were only ordered by the City God to help and protect Xu Zhengyang. In their minds, the City God was still in Fuhe City.
They wouldn't ask why they were helping to protect Xu Zhengyang, nor did they dare to ask.
However, it's clear that Xu Zhengyang knows the City God and has a close relationship with him. Otherwise, what gives this mortal the right to act so arrogantly in the capital? Su Peng and Wang Yonggan believe they couldn't have done that when they were ordinary people. This is also why Xu Zhengyang, when speaking to them as the City God, racked his brains and struggled to use what he considered somewhat pretentious and arrogant words.
"Brother Xu, taking a step back opens up a whole new world, yielding a little brings peace of mind..." Huo Zhendong finally couldn't hold back any longer, his tone already carrying a hint of annoyance.
Before he could finish his sentence, Xu Zhengyang turned around, revealing a sheepish grin, and interrupted him somewhat embarrassedly: "We'll talk later. I'm busy." Then he turned back to typing slowly and forcefully on the keyboard, looking up at the screen and down at the keyboard.
Huo Zhendong was furious, his face dark and uncertain, but he quickly regained his composure; he still had that much composure.
Huo Zhendong thought that if he drew his gun now, he could probably shoot this guy dead on the spot. But... he couldn't do something so stupid.
"Chen Chaojiang, you're pretty arrogant!" Dapeng, who was always considered a simple-minded fool by Huo Zhendong, finally revealed his unruly nature once again, staring at Chen Chaojiang with a provocative look.
Chen Chaojiang stared coldly at Dapeng, but ignored him.
"I've been itching for a fight lately, brother. How about we have a friendly spar?" Dapeng said mockingly and disdainfully.
If it were before, Chen Chaojiang would probably have gone berserk and pounced on Dapeng the moment he uttered those first words. But now, Chen Chaojiang didn't have that impulse, or perhaps he had restrained himself a bit? He turned to look at Xu Zhengyang, who was typing "Something came up, I'm logging off now, goodbye" into the chat window on the LCD screen.
Xu Zhengyang turned his head, smiled easily at Dapeng, and then looked at Chen Chaojiang, asking, "Can you beat him?"
"I don't know." Chen Chaojiang always spoke directly and practically.
People like them, who have reached a certain level of personal martial arts prowess—well, to use the professional terminology from martial arts novels, this is called a "realm"—can basically determine the strength of a person's martial arts skills just by looking at them. They have a general idea of what's going on. But today, when Chen Chaojiang saw Dapeng, he lost his confidence in winning and even had a vague feeling that he might not be able to defeat him.
However, given Chen Chaojiang's personality, he was never afraid of anything. Even if the other party had a rocket launcher on their shoulder, he would still dare to pounce on them after entering a frenzied state.
Xu Zhengyang stood up with a smile and said, "Let's go, don't fight in the company, let's go to the fields behind the company and have a fight!"
As he spoke, Xu Zhengyang strode outside, saying without even glancing at Huo Zhendong, "Boss Huo, let's go outside and chat, and also watch the two of them spar to see who's stronger. I love watching people fight."
Is this a show of defiance against me? Huo Zhendong was taken aback, then sneered and got up, walking out with Da Peng.
Da Peng's face and eyes were already filled with fervent excitement.
On the east and west sides of the Jinghui Logistics Company compound, there were trees as thick as a baby's arm, with slightly yellowish-green buds sprouting. To the south of the company was a large wheat field. It was late February, early spring, and the afternoon sun felt warm on people dressed in thick clothes. The wheat in the field was lush and green, growing vigorously. In the distance, the Fifth Ring Road could be seen elevated, stretching east and west, with vehicles of all sizes speeding by.
Four people walked slowly through the wheat field, stepping on the ridges, looking like a group of familiar people enjoying a spring outing.
"Hey, just a reminder, the injured are responsible for their own actions." Dapeng stopped and said arrogantly.
Chen Chaojiang nodded.
Xu Zhengyang chuckled and said, "It's just a friendly spar, nothing more. Do you really have to go all out?"
"You wouldn't dare?" Dapeng said dismissively.
Xu Zhengyang curled his lip, thinking to himself, "They really don't know what they're getting themselves into." Turning to look at Huo Zhendong standing beside him, Xu Zhengyang said, "Mr. Huo, is this how you made your way in the world back in Beijing?"
"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Brother Xu. Dapeng is a martial arts fanatic who loves to spar with people and has never found a worthy opponent," Huo Zhendong replied with a smile, seemingly unrelated to the question.
“Oh, my brother is the same.” Xu Zhengyang nodded, turned to Chen Chaojiang and waved, the meaning was clear: go ahead and fight! Then he muttered softly, “Me too.”
Huo Zhendong was taken aback.
Chen Chaojiang over there had already made his move without hesitation!
Once he made his move, Chen Chaojiang transformed completely, from a gentle and aloof iceberg into a fierce and ruthless storm. In an instant, he pounced on Dapeng, exchanging blows that appeared chaotic and disorganized, yet each strike was ruthless and aimed directly at his opponent's vitals. Dapeng, however, was no ordinary man. After his initial shock, he quickly blocked Chen Chaojiang's ferocious offensive, steadied himself, and then began to counterattack. His attacks were equally swift and precise, like lightning!
"Brother Xu's men are quite skilled. But they still seem to be no match for Da Peng," Huo Zhendong said with a smile.
“Oh, Chaojiang isn’t my subordinate, he’s my brother.” Xu Zhengyang didn’t even look at Huo Zhendong, a smirk playing on his lips as he said quite matter-of-factly, “If my brother suffers a loss, I’ll get my revenge on you… so don’t expect Dapeng to beat up my brother.”
"Huh?" Huo Zhendong turned his head and looked at Xu Zhengyang in surprise, wondering if he had misheard.
In a martial arts contest, how can you so blatantly cheat? Besides, do you, Xu Zhengyang, really think that your frail little body can beat me, Huo Zhendong? Although I don't have the skills of Dapeng, nor can I compare to that pale-faced kid Chen Chaojiang, I am still a person who has truly experienced gang warfare and killing...
Just as he thought of this, Chen Chaojiang was kicked hard in the outside of his shin by Dapeng. Chen Chaojiang staggered and took two steps back to the side. Dapeng's whip kick was already chasing after him. Chen Chaojiang managed to withstand the blow with his shoulder and was forced back several meters to the side again.
Dapeng stopped, seemingly wanting to put on airs and say a few impressive words, just like the dominant one in a duel between masters in a movie.
Unfortunately, Chen Chaojiang was not a character from the movie at all. After retreating a few meters away, he did not hesitate at all. With a cold face, he pushed off with his feet and pounced like a bloodthirsty lone wolf.
Fearless! Undeterred! Overflowing with murderous intent!
Dapeng was slightly taken aback, then dodged to the side and launched a lightning-fast counterattack.
The two will fight again!
"Chaojiang, a true warrior!" Xu Zhengyang praised softly, then suddenly turned and slapped Huo Zhendong across the face. Caught off guard, Huo Zhendong cried out and fell to the ground.
Although Xu Zhengyang hadn't used his full strength in that slap, he seemed to have underestimated the sheer force he possessed—far greater than Chen Chaojiang's! With his full power, a single slap could shatter a rock. Therefore, he was quite surprised to find that this "light" slap had actually knocked Huo Zhendong to the ground, unable to get up. His eyes were glazed, and as he struggled to sit up, his upper body swayed along with his head.
Upon noticing the sudden change, Da Peng immediately threw punches and kicks to force Chen Chaojiang, who was as fierce as a lone wolf, away, and pounced on Xu Zhengyang.
Even if he hadn't rushed over, Xu Zhengyang would have gone anyway, because he didn't want Chen Chaojiang to suffer any more losses.
In his mind, although he thought that one-on-one fights were indeed awesome and impressive, the premise was to ensure that his side did not suffer losses. Otherwise, he would rather fight ten against one, and not care who it was!
Forced to retreat a few steps, Chen Chaojiang saw Dapeng pounce on Xu Zhengyang like a tiger descending from the mountain. His eyes flashed with cold light, and he roared and charged forward. Then... Chen Chaojiang suddenly stopped, looking at the scene unfolding before him with extreme astonishment.
The fierce and valiant Dapeng was actually grabbed by Xu Zhengyang's left hand by his long, flowing black hair, forced to lower his head. Dapeng swung his arms, trying to strike Xu Zhengyang, but Xu Zhengyang kicked him in the face, sending him flying backward. Xu Zhengyang then pursued him, swinging his arms and kicking his legs in a chaotic and unpredictable barrage of punches and kicks. Dapeng, who was originally highly skilled in martial arts, with a defense as solid as a rock and an attack as swift as lightning, was completely overwhelmed by Xu Zhengyang's wild and unrestrained attacks, utterly powerless to retaliate.
"Fuck! I'm fucking idiot!"
Xu Zhengyang knocked Dapeng to the ground, waving his arms and kicking him hard while cursing...
The typical appearance of thugs fighting.
Chen Chaojiang was completely dumbfounded. Seriously? This actually works?
Chen Chaojiang had just experienced Dapeng's kung fu firsthand; it was no mere showmanship, but genuine skill. Chen Chaojiang believed that he wouldn't gain the slightest advantage in a fight against Dapeng, and would instead suffer losses. He feared that if the fight continued, he wouldn't last even five minutes before being completely defeated, or even seriously injured.
However, Xu Zhengyang beat Dapeng into this pitiful state with a flurry of punches, just like an ordinary person would in a fight...
"Stop, stop hitting me!" Dapeng groaned, crying out in pain, clutching his head, blood flowing from his eyes, nostrils, and mouth, his whole body wracked with agony.
Xu Zhengyang seemed genuinely tired from hitting him. He stopped, panting heavily, spat, and cursed, "Damn it, you dare hit my brother!" After cursing, Xu Zhengyang suddenly turned around and stared at Huo Zhendong, who was sitting in the wheat field, just coming to his senses and reaching his right hand into his clothes. Then, he strode over and slapped him across the face.
Amidst the resounding slaps, Xu Zhengyang cursed, "Trying to pull out a gun? Go ahead, damn it, go ahead and pull it out!"
Huo Zhendong was completely dumbfounded. He had indeed wanted to take out his money, but when he reached into his pocket, he suddenly froze, unable to pull out his pistol. By the time he came to his senses and was puzzled, Xu Zhengyang had already walked up to him and started slapping him across the face. But when he suddenly remembered to draw his gun again, he was stunned again, inexplicably stunned, unable to pull out his pistol. It was as if his hands and feet wouldn't obey him, or rather... his whole body wouldn't obey him at that moment.
"What are you all standing there for? Get your cars! Get the hell out of here!" Xu Zhengyang slapped Huo Zhendong across the face, leaving him stunned, and arrogantly reminded him.
Then he waved to Chen Chaojiang: "Chaojiang, let's go back!"
After saying that, Xu Zhengyang ignored Huo Zhendong and Da Peng and walked straight towards the company, stepping on the green wheat seedlings.
Chen Chaojiang hurried after him and said in a low, cold voice, "Zhengyang, you..." He paused slightly and said with a bitter smile, "I didn't expect this."
"Now you can go do other things with peace of mind, right? I'm not as weak as you think!" Xu Zhengyang blinked and smiled easily.
"Are we just going to beat them up and call it a day?" Chen Chaojiang asked.
"Forget it? Let's just let it go with them, but the police have something to talk to them about." Xu Zhengyang waved his hand and said nothing more. Then, he mentally instructed Wang Yonggan to immediately make Sha Qiang and Lao Guang confess their crimes and to bring out Huo Zhendong and Da Peng.
Wang Yonggan accepted the order and left, while Su Peng continued to stay by Huo Zhendong and Da Peng's side.
After a while, Da Peng and Huo Zhendong returned to the office, looking dejected and angry. They didn't go into the office to say anything, but instead got into the Mercedes and drove off in a flash.
Xu Zhengyang watched the Mercedes drive away through the window, sneered, and said softly, "I was originally planning to let you two stay out there for a few more days, but you two are in such a hurry..."
Volume Four, City God Chapter 167: Staggering Profits
Both killer Lao Guang and Sha Qiang were murderers wanted by the police and had been on the run for many years. After their unexpected capture, they remained silent, refusing to speak no matter how they were interrogated or tortured. Oh, Lao Guang was a drug addict, and often, when his cravings hit, he would scratch his ears and cheeks in agony.
However, just as the police were about to sentence the two men to their previous, recorded murders, one afternoon the two men suddenly shouted that they had something to confess.
What the two men revealed next shocked the police.
Of the two, Lao Guang, in particular, committed a total of 14 crimes during his 11 years on the run, killing 17 people and seriously injuring 4. Sha Qiang, though only in his thirties, began his life on the run at the age of 22 after causing death in a fight. He has been a fugitive ever since, committing nine crimes, killing eight and seriously injuring seven. Five of his victims could be linked to Lao Guang's crimes.
Through their confessions, the Beijing police learned that 80% of the cases they committed were directly or indirectly arranged and directed by Huo Zhendong, the chairman of Speedy Logistics Company, through Da Peng. During their years on the run, they had always hidden in Huo Zhendong's logistics company, because there were branches or sub-branches of their company in more than 20 surrounding cities, making it easy for them to be protected. When they needed to go out to commit crimes, they could use the logistics company's freight vehicles.
Therefore, the two have never been caught by the police over the years.
These murder cases, involving more than 20 cities in three provinces, spanned over 11 years. Now, the truth and the culprit have finally come to light.
That evening, Huo Zhendong and Da Peng were arrested by the police in their villa in the Wuhua residential area. During the arrest, Da Peng resisted arrest and was shot and wounded after the police fired warning shots, which were ineffective.
Two handguns, 21 bullets, and four controlled knives were found in Huo Zhendong's residence.
Meanwhile, the police mobilized a large force to conduct raids on various branches and sub-branches of Subida Logistics Company in Beijing and 22 cities in three surrounding provinces. Overnight, Subida Logistics Company, which had once violently monopolized major clothing and small commodity wholesale markets in Beijing, was completely dismantled by the police.
The deeper the investigation went, the more crimes of Speedy Logistics Company were uncovered, and the more criminals were involved. Hiring murderers, forced buying and selling, price gouging, kidnapping and extortion, gang fights that seriously affected social order and disrupted market order, drug trafficking, harboring murderers... one case after another completely exposed the criminal gang led by Huo Zhendong, who, under the guise of Speedy Logistics Company, had committed heinous crimes in Beijing for more than a decade.
The number of people involved in the criminal gang exceeded ninety.
The cracking of this major organized crime case implicated many grassroots police officers, as well as several large corporations, including Huang Zhicheng, chairman of Yongcheng Group.
However, Huang Zhicheng's crimes were not serious enough. More than ten years ago, when he was developing the Hongximen Clothing Wholesale Market and the Qiliqiao Xiaoshangpin Wholesale Market, he used the newly emerging Huo Zhendong gang to have some violent conflicts with another real estate development company.
If it weren't for the long passage of time, the other company from that year would have already left Beijing to operate and develop elsewhere, and during the police investigation, they would not have admitted to having such a conflict; moreover, Huang Zhicheng has been trying his best to stay away from Huo Zhendong's criminal gang over the years and has not had much contact with Huo Zhendong, so Huang Zhicheng would probably have been affected by this incident as well.
Even so, Huang Zhicheng was taken away by the police for questioning for two days.
Speedy Logistics is completely finished.
Many logistics companies with even a modicum of strength were initially caught off guard, unable to believe that a logistics company that had firmly monopolized major clothing and small commodity wholesale markets for over a decade could collapse and close down overnight. Even those logistics companies that had some prior connections with Speedy Logistics and thus were able to open branches within the wholesale markets thought it was just an exceptional circumstance and would reopen in a few days.
So after Speedy Logistics was completely raided by the police, there was a gap of more than half a month, during which no logistics company had any intention of setting up shop in the wholesale market.
When they finally saw in the news that Huo Zhendong's criminal gang had been completely eradicated and confirmed that Subida Logistics Company had no chance of making a comeback and entering major wholesale markets again, Jinghui Logistics Company had already started to take on less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation in the market, taking over the remaining market share after Subida Logistics Company's collapse.