Chapter 134

Actually, Wang Yan hadn't intended to kill Zhang Xiuji; he wanted them to suspect each other, making it impossible to tell what was true or false, and he'd sit back and wait for them to destroy each other.

But he got shot again, so he took the opportunity to kill Zhang Xiuji outright, making Ding Qing and Li Zhongjiu turn on each other and die faster.

Wang Yan sat in his wheelchair, summoned a subordinate to light a cigarette, and stared up at the starry sky, silently plotting.

The higher-ups must know about today's events by now; there should be a result tomorrow. Otherwise, they really don't consider Wang Mou a player at all…

As for the 3,500 men previously mobilized, they've all been sent in batches to Japan and Thailand, and their development has been quite good.

Zhang Guangshan and Li Quan heard he was assassinated again and yelled about returning to seek revenge; he scolded them back. They still don't use their brains—do they think revenge is their job?

But these two are actually living quite well—one in a Japanese brothel, the other at Bangkok's Red Romance, pretty good…

………

The next day.

Captain Jiang led his men to arrest Li Zhongjiu on suspicion of murder, and took Ding Qing away under the pretense of assisting the investigation.

After all, last night Ding Qing first invited them to dinner, then Li Zhongjiu kidnapped them, and they vanished after returning home—it's hard to believe they had nothing to do with either of them.

Ding Qing stared coldly at Captain Jiang sitting across from him: "I've said it before—those two disappearing has nothing to do with me. They vanished after meeting Li Zhongjiu; you should go find him. Yet you've kept me locked up, even denied me a lawyer—what the hell are you trying to do? Hmm? I have a lot of business, I'm busy making money—will you compensate me if I lose money?"

He was furious. When he learned the two were kidnapped by Li Zhongjiu yesterday, he vented but took no action. Whoever dared do it must have had full preparation. He'd planned to meet with Li Zhongjiu today, and those neutral parties too. But what happened? Police stormed in to tell him the two elders had vanished?

Vanished your ass, Li Zhongjiu's gone mad for power—no cooperation means murder?

Now even the cops are playing dirty, not letting me leave or see anyone—fuck this.

Captain Jiang waved his hand: "Don't get so agitated. I know those two's disappearance has nothing to do with you. I'm here because of business—I want to talk with you." He handed over a file folder.

Ding Qing took the folder, puzzled, and opened it.

As he read, Ding Qing frowned. The documents contained detailed information on Li Zhongjiu, his forces, and his actions from yesterday.

"You're impressive—how did you get such detailed intel?"

Captain Jiang shrugged: "So what do you plan to do?"

Ding Qing calmed his breath, grasped the key point, and said: "So you want to help me eliminate Li Zhongjiu?"

"Exactly. You've seen the files—fighting him means certain death."

"You underestimate us too much. Jinmen Group isn't some gang of thugs." Ding Qing sneered, leaning forward: "You think I'll hand over evidence to convict Li Zhongjiu? You're wrong. No matter how bad our relationship is, no matter how low I am, I'd never sink to such a dirty trick."

Captain Jiang raised an eyebrow calmly: "Is that so? Then take a look at this." He handed over another file folder.

Ding Qing took it, glanced once, then snapped his head up at Captain Jiang. Seeing the man's smug smile, Ding Qing feared he'd lose control and kill him, so he lowered his head and studied it carefully.

After a long while, Ding Qing closed the folder: "This is incredibly detailed—shit, you've got a lot of moles."

"You don't need moles to get detailed intel on you, do you?"

Ding Qing paused, then laughed: "You're not wrong. But if you already have this much intel, why do you still need me?"

"Cooperation benefits both of us, doesn't it? Besides, even doctors need family consent before surgery."

Ding Qing glared at Captain Jiang: "This isn't consent—it's a notification."

Captain Jiang didn't care: "Alright, we've said enough. You've got business to run—I won't waste your time. But I advise you to think it over carefully."

Ding Qing stood, pointed at Captain Jiang, then walked out without looking back.

After leaving the police station, Ding Qing found his most trusted Chinese lawyer. As in the original plot, he intended to root out every mole hidden in Jinmen Group and kill them one by one.

At the same time, he'd use Li Zhongjiu's arrest to win over the others. Since Captain Jiang was already framing him, no defense would work. Better to strike first than wait passively.

Captain Jiang understood Ding Qing's gesture—but would he fear Ding Qing's threats? Obviously not.

After Ding Qing left, Captain Jiang immediately filed charges against Li Zhongjiu for organized crime, involvement in multiple murders, money laundering, loan sharking, and running casinos…

It was too coincidental—Ding Qing had barely left when Li Zhongjiu was charged. To say it had nothing to do with Ding Qing was absurd.

Why else? Ding Qing believed the two elders who supported him were killed by Li Zhongjiu; today, he directly moved against Li Zhongjiu—wasn't that logical?

So Li Zhongjiu's men refused to act—but Li Zhongjiu had ordered them not to move rashly, so they held back. Otherwise, this would already be the start of civil war within Jinmen Group.

Several of Li Zhongjiu's core subordinates met up; Lin Minzhe and another subordinate took a lawyer to visit him, to find out his intentions and whether he could still get out.

In the temporary detention center, after Li Zhongjiu finished talking with the lawyer, Lin Minzhe said: "Big Brother, Ding Qing betrayed us—we can't let him off."

Li Zhongjiu frowned: "This is suspicious. You know we didn't act—how did they disappear? Could it be Ding Qing did it himself?"

Lin Minzhe nodded seriously: "Big Brother, you're right—but now isn't the time to focus on that. More urgent is Ding Qing's betrayal. He left the police station, and you were charged immediately. To say he had nothing to do with it—I don't believe it, and neither do the brothers."

Li Zhongjiu didn't mind Lin Minzhe's impudence—the situation was exactly as described. No matter what else happened, Ding Qing had broken all code of honor by betraying him. He was charged, had just spoken to his lawyer, and the situation wasn't good—he might end up in prison. Even if he knew who killed those two, what good would it do now?

Li Zhongjiu gritted his teeth: "You're right. Ding Qing is truly despicable. That son of a bitch dared betray me."

That's more like it, Lin Minzhe said: "Big Brother, what's your plan?"

Li Zhongjiu stared coldly into Lin Minzhe's eyes: "If I'm going down, he won't walk away unscathed."

"Yes, Big Brother. I'll go now—I'll come back later."

Some things need no words—Lin Minzhe fully understood Li Zhongjiu's meaning.

Besides, he served Wang Mou. No matter what Li Zhongjiu said, his real goal now was to return and spread false orders.

And this was a police detention center—full of cops, heavily guarded. Bribing officers would be too risky. If this were a prison or somewhere else, Li Zhongjiu would already be dead.

………

Meanwhile, Wang Yan received his result.

After a group of old bastards finished deliberating, they sent a minor lackey to notify him.

Nothing special—just granted Fengdan Sihai access to some other profitable industries, and issued him a legal casino license on Jeju Island. In blunt terms, they were tossing him scraps from the chaebol's table, just paying him off.

Perhaps Wang Yan's conciliatory gesture made them think he was surrendering. These bastards truly didn't consider Wang Mou a player—failing to crush them was truly irritating.

But Wang Yan didn't lash out; he smiled warmly and had his subordinate escort the messenger out. He could settle accounts with them later—yelling at a messenger was pointless.

Then Wang Yan ordered his men to arrange his discharge—the hospital was uncomfortable.

As someone with a system, his physiology was unique, his recovery strength exceptional. Normally, broken bones take a hundred days to heal—but his took barely over a month, less than two months to fully recover.

Since his old villa had been destroyed, he'd already ordered his men to buy a new one on another hillside, but it still needed time to prepare, so Wang Yan returned temporarily to his previous two-story villa.

The first thing he did when he got home was call the two operatives embedded in Jinmen Group—he already knew about this morning's events. One had gone in, the other couldn't explain anything; what was he waiting for, not to kill them?

After instructing his two subordinates, he called Zhang Dongrui and told him to intensify the offensive, push forward hard. Inside Jinmen Group, internal infighting was rampant, everyone had different agendas, and the will to fight was weak.

Wang Yan no longer had the patience to play with them slowly—he just wanted to finish it quickly, focus on development, and someday kill the old bastards on both sides.

…………

Following Wang Yan's instructions, Lin Minzhe returned and immediately reported Ding Qing, along with a mountain of incriminating evidence.

Not only did Li Zhongjiu himself have plenty of dirt on Ding Qing, but Wang Yan had been studying Jinmen Group for over a year and had gathered more than enough material.

Ding Qing had barely returned home and was still trying to figure out who the mole was when the police came and took him away again.

Even Captain Jiang hadn't expected things to go so smoothly—just a small frame-up trick that morning, and now, within a single day, Ding Qing was already in custody?

Given this situation, if they tilt just a little toward Beida Faction and suppress Zihua Faction, what could possibly block Brother Li Zicheng from taking power?

Smiling, Captain Jiang walked into the interrogation room and sat across from Ding Qing: "We meet again…"

Ding Qing had no interest in small talk. He shouted: "I want to see my lawyer."

"See a lawyer? Of course." Captain Jiang raised an eyebrow. "Is the lawyer you mean a Chinese man named Wu Liang?"

"Yes, him. I want to see him. I have the right to see him."

"Of course, you certainly have that right. But I must apologize— you'll never see Wu Liang again. Shortly after we took you away, Wu Liang was killed in Jinmen Group's underground parking lot. The killer has already turned himself in."

Ding Qing froze, frowned, and asked: "What about Li Zicheng? How is he?"

"Hmm, he's still alive. I heard he's trying to find a way to save you. Oh, to get back at Li Zhongjiu, he even sent over some materials about him." Captain Jiang continued: "But I'd advise you to give up that hope. Look here—this is all about you. From my experience, you're looking at forty to fifty years. If you're lucky, you might live long enough to walk out of prison." He handed over a file folder.

Ding Qing frowned as he flipped through the documents. After a long while, he pushed them away and sighed deeply: "Actually, staying alive isn't so bad, is it?"

"Maybe. The prosecutor's office has already opened a case. Results should come soon. Take some time to reflect on your gangster life."

With that, Captain Jiang hummed an unknown tune and walked away, smug.

He didn't know that the Li Zicheng he'd just described as doing fine was, at that very moment, about to die.

In a Beida Faction-affiliated club, Li Zicheng trembled, watching in terror as Han Yongzheng swung a bat again and again at the head of the man lying on the floor—Shi Wu.

To be honest, when Ding Qing was taken away, Li Zicheng had felt a flicker of joy—it meant their plan had succeeded half-way, and he was about to become boss of Jinmen Group. But fate didn't favor him. After Han Yongzheng summoned him and Shi Wu under the pretense of discussing matters, and then flung several folders onto his face, his joy vanished.

Shi Wu had long been dead, yet Han Yongzheng kept swinging the bat. The bat seemed aimed at Li Zicheng beside him—each swing made Li Zicheng shudder.

Only after smashing Shi Wu's skull into an unrecognizable mess did Han Yongzheng casually toss the bat to the ground, take a wet towel from a subordinate, wipe his hands, and sit down facing Li Zicheng.

"Director Li, the documents on Lawyer Wu were accurate, right?" Of course, these documents came from Wang Yan—Wu Liang couldn't have moved that fast. But since he was dead, let's credit him anyway.

Li Zicheng trembled, trying to explain, but all he could squeeze out were hollow, incoherent "ahh" sounds. His mind was blank, his body shaking uncontrollably—pure terror of death.

Han Yongzheng shook his head: "I never expected, Director Li, that after following Brother so faithfully all these years, you'd turn out to be a police mole. Forget it. Given how long you've served Brother, let's not make things harder for you. After all, Brother had such deep feelings for you—he wouldn't want to see you suffer. Let's not torment you. Send him on his way."

One subordinate stepped forward with a knife, said nothing, grabbed Li Zicheng's hair, and slashed his throat.

Blood gushed out. Li Zicheng convulsed on the floor for a moment, then went still…

Watching Li Zicheng stop twitching, Han Yongzheng carefully wiped the blood from his fingers and said casually: "Now that Brother's in custody and Director Li was a mole… what do you all think?"

That night, a massive clash erupted between Zihua Faction and Beida Faction, with multiple elder members killed. Captain Jiang and Senior Officer Gao died in a car accident.

As for Song Xinyu from the chess club, she was doing fine—Wang Yan thought she had potential…

Meanwhile, taking advantage of Jinmen Group's internal bloodshed, Zhang Dongrui seized Shou'er and Incheon, and within a single night, captured a territory and solidified his foothold.

The next day, Jinmen Group held an emergency meeting—it had to happen. If the chairman issue wasn't resolved, Jinmen Group itself would vanish.

After a day of negotiations, interests were divided, and Han Yongzheng was elected chairman, with Lin Minzhe as vice-chairman.

…………

A month later, as the judge's gavel fell, both Ding Qing and Li Zhongjiu were sentenced to forty-five years and immediately transferred to Fushan Prison.

This was Wang Yan's maneuver—Ding Qing couldn't die, but could he be spared from suffering?

In Fushan, Wang Yan was king.

He had long woven a filthy web of interests, from top to bottom—not just within Fushan Prison.

Wang Yan had already planned: once both arrived, he'd kill the arrogant Li Zhongjiu outright. As for Ding Qing, he'd send two strongmen ahead to test the waters, then take his time…

Over the past month, as Han Yongzheng reconsolidated Jinmen Group's power, World Association and Jinmen Group were now evenly matched. They fought daily, but neither side could claim victory.

As for the higher-ups, last incident had been a catalyst—they'd begun competing elsewhere.

Wang Yan now had nothing else to do except chase women and study. To that end, he opened a private laboratory and invited many experts. He wasn't after profit—just knowledge. So he told the experts: as long as he set the direction, they could research however they liked. After all, Wang Mou had deep pockets and didn't care about a few bucks.

At the same time, he had someone register a health supplements company domestically, set up another lab, and invited numerous experts in both Chinese and Western medicine, once again presenting them with the formulas from his "Grand Master" days for improvement.

He had already replaced two of the expensive herbs. Now he continued research. When he finally developed a product that was effective, low-cost, and without side effects—that would be Wang Mou's moment of glory. If he wasn't mistaken, this could take until 2019 or 2020—over a decade should yield some progress.

To be honest, Wang Yan hadn't even considered this before. It was only after being with Wei Lan, and recalling his earlier desire to engage in reality, that he remembered this idea. He'd wasted some time—after all, his two previous worlds had totaled over sixty years.

But as the saying goes, the best time to do something is now. Good thing he had plenty of time—sixty years past didn't matter. Starting now wasn't too late. As long as he was in the modern world, he'd keep researching. He refused to believe he couldn't make it happen.