Chapter 481: Survival of the Fittest

Qiu Gangao and his group had a hard time escaping back to their hideout, and their morale was extremely low.

Originally, five people had set out, but two were lost before the plan had even begun, which was a huge blow to Qiu Gangao.

Uncle Quan frowned and said, "I just asked some friends in the underworld to inquire; A Hua is in big trouble!"

"Is there a chance to get A Hua out?" Baozhu asked hurriedly.

Uncle Quan thought for a moment and said, "It's possible, but it will take a large sum of money! We have to hire a top Lawyer!"

"But right now we..." Baozhu said, somewhat speechless.

The death of Ou Wangui had already left their small team's finances stretched thin.

Now that this incident had occurred, it was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

Qiu Gangao tapped the table and said to the two of them, "Then we have no way back!"

"Boss, you mean... we continue?" Baozhu looked at Qiu Gangao with some surprise.

Qiu Gangao retorted, "Do you think we have a way back now?"

Hearing this, Baozhu and Uncle Quan fell silent.

The reason they followed Qiu Gangao was that they wanted to take revenge on those injustices after getting out.

Now that they had reached this point, it was clear they could no longer turn back.

Uncle Quan frowned and said to Qiu Gangao, "But with this incident just happening, I'm afraid Ma Jiaorong won't join forces with us anymore!"

Qiu Gangao sneered and said, "I didn't count on him anyway!"

Inside the Police Station, A Hua was being interrogated.

Among the group, only A Hua had not touched a gun.

Moreover, he had jumped out of the car voluntarily to cover Gongzi and was caught by the Police.

Strictly speaking, the Police had no sufficient evidence to prosecute him.

"Running? You jumped from a car!" The interrogating Police Constable was furious, slamming the table and shouting loudly at A Hua.

But this kind of tactic for interrogating criminals was completely ineffective against A Hua, who was also a former member of the Serious Crimes Unit.

They were originally Police, so they knew how to play by the rules and played them very well.

A Hua, wearing handcuffs, said with a flippant look, "I jump from a car if I want to; is there any law that says people can't jump from cars? Also, you guys as Police officers were driving dangerously and even hit me; I'm going to sue you!"

As a peer, A Hua was very skilled at turning the tables. He made the two Police Constables interrogating him so angry they were practically blowing their tops! "Don't try to play tricks with me!" the Police Constable roared loudly: "Gongzi is your brother; you must have been involved in this! Just confess!"

"It's all nonsense, aren't you annoyed? Is this how the Police work now?" A Hua picked his ear and sneered: "Arresting people based on interest, accusing people based on evidence! Where is the evidence?"

Just as the interrogation reached a stalemate, Zhang Chongbang walked in.

Seeing his former colleague, Zhang Chongbang's expression was complex, but wanting to find Qiu Gangao, he still played the emotional card: "A Hua, how is your family lately? I remember your daughter is already six; she should be in primary school, right?"

Facing Zhang Chongbang, a flash of hatred crossed A Hua's eyes, and he turned his head to the side.

"Spend time with your daughter properly; don't think about other things!" Zhang Chongbang continued to persuade him.

Unfortunately, A Hua didn't fall for it at all, keeping his mouth shut and saying nothing.

Facing such a tough nut to crack, Zhang Chongbang had no good solution.

Extorting a confession through torture was not his style, so he could only have A Hua detained for now.

After walking out, Great White Shark came over and said to Zhang Chongbang, "Their families have all been taken away to foreign countries!"

"Damn it!" Zhang Chongbang couldn't help but curse angrily.

At this moment, a female Police officer suddenly walked over and said to Zhang Chongbang and Great White Shark, "Officers, Li Sir asks you to go to his office; it seems there is progress in the case!"

"What? I'm going right now!" Zhang Chongbang and Great White Shark exchanged glances and immediately headed to Li Wenbin's office.

Western District, a finance company on Shuijie.

Qiu Gangao brought his men to find Ma Jiaorong.

As soon as he entered, Qiu Gangao said to Ma Jiaorong, "Brother Rong, is the matter settled?"

Ma Jiaorong chuckled and said, "It's settled! The most powerful guns and bombs you wanted are all ready! The bank vault, all the security data, it's all here! However..."

Ma Jiaorong scanned the group and then smiled sinisterly: "I didn't make an appointment with you guys!"

Qiu Gangao sneered and said, "What do you mean?"

"You still dare to talk?" Ma Jiaorong pointed at him, his fierce nature exposed: "Last time you brought the cops to my lair, I haven't settled the score with you yet! The Police are looking for you everywhere now, and I don't want to go to jail so soon!"

Baozhu immediately said angrily, "Cut the crap, there's 100 million US dollars here; would you give up so easily?"

Ma Jiaorong smiled and waved his hand, saying, "I said I didn't make an appointment with you, but I didn't say I was giving up! To tell you the truth, I've already found someone else to do it; you guys can go!"

As he spoke, Ma Jiaorong sat back down with an arrogant look.

However, Qiu Gangao and his group did not move, just looking at him coldly, as if they were looking at a dead man.

This made Ma Jiaorong very annoyed: "What are you doing? Why are you still standing here? Get out!"

The few of them smiled and slowly retreated, but the positioning of the three was very deliberate.

They quickly retreated to the side of Ma Jiaorong's bodyguards.

At this moment, Qiu Gangao struck fiercely, grabbing a pair of chopsticks from the table and stabbing them directly into a bodyguard's neck.

Subsequently, Uncle Quan and Baozhu also acted together, directly knocking the remaining two bodyguards to the ground and seizing the guns in their hands.

Then, Uncle Quan and Baozhu tacitly went to the door to snipe at Ma Jiaorong's men.

As for Ma Jiaorong, he was left for the furious Qiu Gangao to deal with.

As a famous Big Circle Boy, Ma Jiaorong's fighting skills were not weak; even without a weapon, he could trade blows with Qiu Gangao.

However, his opponent was not some martial artist, but a trained former Police officer.

This small oversight was sometimes fatal.

If he had known that Qiu Gangao's greatest strengths were assault and Dagger combat, he certainly wouldn't have engaged in hand-to-hand combat with him using a Knife.

In just a few short seconds, Qiu Gangao snatched the knife from Ma Jiaorong's hand.

With a few casual slashes, he left Ma Jiaorong covered in blood.

Seeing that the situation was dire, Ma Jiaorong turned to run, but with things having reached this point, how could Qiu Gangao let him escape so easily?

With a flip, the Knife was viciously plunged into Ma Jiaorong's thigh, causing him to collapse to his knees in pain.

Then, switching the Dagger to his other hand, he stabbed toward Ma Jiaorong's throat.

Although Ma Jiaorong resisted with all his might, he still watched as the Knife was driven deep into his throat.

Purplish-red blood flowed down along his arm.

Qiu Gangao smiled wickedly and said to Ma Jiaorong, "I didn't make an appointment with you for this job either!"

As he spoke, he pulled out the Knife and then kicked Ma Jiaorong flying.

Afterward, he casually tossed a USB Flash Drive onto Ma Jiaorong's body.

Inside the USB Flash Drive were the route maps for the Pan-Asia Bank armored cars and the deployment of security personnel, which Qiu Gangao had paid a great price to obtain.

But his target was not these armored cars; he had only gone to the trouble of getting this stuff to throw people off the scent.

Taking his men, he carried away the military hardware and explosives that Ma Jiaorong had acquired and vanished into the night.

……

On the other side, at the Police Station.

Li Wenbin also used his methods to track down the target of Ma Jiaorong and his group.

The target was indeed the Pan-Asia Bank.

However, the problem now was that they didn't know from which angle they would strike.

Li Wenbin looked at Zhang Chongbang with a headache and said, "All the evidence now points to the armored cars; why do you think it isn't them?"

Zhang Chongbang immediately said, "I was his colleague; I know this guy's way of thinking! He definitely puts revenge before robbery!"

"But you have to know, if our judgment is wrong, we might let these guys get away again!" Li Wenbin said with a serious expression. Zhang Chongbang gritted his teeth and said, "I will take responsibility for this!"

"Me too!"

"Li Sir, count me in!"

"Count me in too..."

Subsequently, Zhang Chongbang's subordinates all stepped forward to support him.

Li Wenbin was almost amused to the point of anger: "When did I say I was letting you go out to be the scapegoat? I'm asking if you have any confidence in catching them again if you let Qiu Gangao get away?"

Li Wenbin was never the type of superior to throw his subordinates out to be scapegoats; he was simply considering the possibility of such a situation.

Zhang Chongbang looked somewhat sheepish: "Sorry, sir! I am eighty percent sure they will be at the Pan-Asia Bank. If we guess wrong, we still have one more chance, and that is the former Senior Superintendent Situ Jie!"

Hearing Zhang Chongbang's words, Li Wenbin weighed the pros and cons, then nodded and said, "Fine, everyone change gear and prepare to move out!"

Hearing that Li Wenbin had agreed, the members of the Serious Crimes Unit all appeared very excited.

They immediately prepared to go out and change gear.

But at this moment, a group of people blocked the path of Li Wenbin and the others, saying with a forced smile, "Li Sir, where are you all preparing to go?"

"Internal Affairs Division?" Li Wenbin's gaze immediately turned sharp.

The leading Police Constable smiled at Li Wenbin and said, "Li Sir, we have matters that require Chief Inspector Zhang Chongbang to cooperate with our investigation. Zhang Sir has repeatedly disobeyed superior orders, acted without authorization, and violated police regulations. We need to ask Zhang Sir to return with us to assist in the investigation!"

Li Wenbin put his hands on his hips and looked coldly at the people from the Internal Affairs Division, saying, "Who sent you?"

"Li Sir, we are just following procedure, please don't make things difficult for us!" the Internal Affairs Division Police Constable continued to smile and say.

Li Wenbin took a step forward and continued to ask, "I asked you who sent you!"

Facing Li Wenbin's aggressive aura, the people from the Internal Affairs Division couldn't quite hold their ground.

Li Wenbin gave a cold snort and said, "We are currently executing a mission. Zhang Sir will report to your Internal Affairs Division after the mission is over. Now, get out of my way!"

"Li Sir!" The expressions of the people from the Internal Affairs Division immediately turned ugly.

"Did you not hear what I said? Now, move aside for me!" Li Wenbin shouted, startling quite a few Police in the Police Station! In the end, under Li Wenbin's powerful presence, the people from the Internal Affairs Division had no choice but to clear a path.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Chongbang and his subordinates couldn't help but feel fortunate to have a good superior.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to continue with this case today, and it would become a lifelong regret for Zhang Chongbang.

As for why the Internal Affairs Division came to cause trouble, Zhang Chongbang also had some faint guesses in his heart.

It was because the last time his brother Yuan Jiabao treated everyone to a meal, he offended a batch of vermin within the Police Force.

They were here to make things difficult for him, but they just didn't expect to run into the even more overbearing Li Wenbin.

After bumping the people from the Internal Affairs Division aside with his shoulder, everyone immediately changed gear and rushed toward the Pan-Asia Bank.

They knew the level of Qiu Gangao's group; if they really wanted to hold Huo Zhaotang hostage, it wouldn't take long at all.

At this moment, the Pan-Asia Bank was holding a special shareholders' meeting.

And Huo Zhaotang, as the largest private shareholder of the Pan-Asia Bank on the surface, naturally had to go on stage to speak.

"Some say that there is no merchant who isn't treacherous. Actually, doing business is just like fighting a war; how can you win a battle without a sharp mind? In this world, who is willing to be cannon fodder?"

"……"

After a speech typical of a capitalist who believes in the survival of the fittest, he won applause from the whole hall, which made Huo Zhaotang feel a little smug.

After the special shareholders' meeting ended, Huo Zhaotang chatted with a few people around him for a while, then got up to go to the restroom.

I don't know if it was because he had done too many guilty things, but this guy even brought four bodyguards with him when going to the restroom in his own bank.

And at this time, Qiu Gangao's group had already arrived inside the Pan-Asia Bank.

They had hijacked a cleaning company vehicle that was preparing to go to the Pan-Asia Bank for cleaning, and then used documents to enter the bank smoothly.

After stuffing their equipment into a small cart, the few of them went straight upstairs to the conference hall.

At this moment, they happened to see Huo Zhaotang entering the restroom.

Qiu Gangao gave Baozhu a look, and Baozhu immediately walked over to distract one of the bodyguards standing outside the restroom.

Before the other party could react, Baozhu struck fiercely, knocking the bodyguard to the ground.

Subsequently, the remaining two broke directly into the restroom and immediately neutralized the bodyguard by Huo Zhaotang's side.

At this moment, Huo Zhaotang had just pulled up his pants when a gun was pressed against his forehead, causing him to scream in terror: "Who are you people? Don't do anything reckless!"

Qiu Gangao walked over holding a Shoumiliudan and sneered at Huo Zhaotang: "Long time no see! Huo Xiansheng!"

"It's you! What do you want?" Huo Zhaotang became even more panicked.

If he hadn't refused to testify for these former Police officers back then just to avoid trouble, they wouldn't have had to go to prison.

Now this group had come to seek revenge on him! "Don't try anything funny!" Qiu Gangao said coldly, toying with the Shoumiliudan in his hand while pointing it at Huo Zhaotang.

After controlling Huo Zhaotang, the few of them headed straight for the bank's vault.

Quan Shu went to the monitoring room first to shut down all the bank's surveillance, then had Huo Zhaotang call over the bank manager.

The bank manager, thinking the people behind Huo Zhaotang were his bodyguards, said enthusiastically: "Huo Xiansheng, what you asked me to prepare is already ready!"

But just at this moment, Quan Shu, who had gone to the security room to turn off the surveillance, suddenly appeared, instantly knocked down two people, then pinned the bank manager against the wall and made him open the vault door.

Then he pushed Huo Zhaotang directly inside.

Huo Zhaotang still wanted to play dumb, saying to Qiu Gangao: "It's useless for you to make me come in! The management department here is independent!"

Who knew that Quan Shu wouldn't listen to his nonsense at all and dragged him directly in front of a panel.

After the facial recognition passed, the vault door opened instantly.

Quan Shu sneered, handed Huo Zhaotang over to Baozhu beside him, then pushed the bank manager in front of the safe and threatened: "Open the door!"

The bank manager was still hesitant, but Quan Shu shot him directly in the thigh and continued to roar: "Open the door, fast!"

The bank manager had no choice but to open the safe door.

Suddenly, a huge pile of Hong Kong Dollar and US dollars was laid out before everyone.

Seeing this money, everyone revealed a smile. Qiu Gangao said to the two: "Go pack the money!"

At this time, Huo Zhaotang was terrified; after all, now that the safe was open, they were effectively useless.

So Huo Zhaotang said with snot and tears: "It's all my fault, I've wronged you! I really thank you for saving me. Back then in court, I didn't want to finish you off, I really didn't! It was you who actually killed someone!"

Facing the dark muzzle of Qiu Gangao's gun, Huo Zhaotang cried out repeatedly: "There is so much money here, take it all! Wherever you want to go, I'll help you arrange it!"

Unfortunately, Qiu Gangao didn't listen to his nonsense at all.

The reason they had held on until now was for the purpose of avenging themselves and their brothers.

So he pulled the Trigger without the slightest hesitation.

With a loud "Bang!", a bloody hole appeared on Huo Zhaotang's forehead, and he collapsed immediately.

Seeing Huo Zhaotang killed by Qiu Gangao's own hand, the two packing the money looked back, their faces showing expressions of satisfied vengeance.

The grudge from back then could be considered partially avenged.

Once the three of them had filled six travel bags, they immediately took the money bags and prepared to leave the bank.

But before they could walk out the door, Qiu Gangao immediately stopped the two and said: "Don't move, someone is coming!"

Qiu Gangao was right; at this moment, Li Wenbin and Zhang Chongbang had already arrived at the bank with their men and were negotiating with the security guards at the bank entrance.

Just as Qiu Gangao was preparing to find another way out, Zhang Chongbang could no longer care about so much, pushed the two security guards aside, and shouted loudly toward the inside of the bank: "Qiu Gangao, I know you are inside, you can't run anymore!"

At this time, at the entrance of the Pan-Asia Bank, Li Wenbin had already sealed off all exits of the entire bank with three squads.

After pushing aside the security guards at the entrance, he strode directly inside.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Qiu Gangao's eyes; he hadn't forgotten that among those who had sent them to prison, there was also this guy, Zhang Chongbang.

So when Zhang Chongbang broke into the bank, Qiu Gangao picked up the Bujiang in his hand, walked over from the corner, and fired a burst at Zhang Chongbang.

The moment he saw Qiu Gangao, Zhang Chongbang became tense and, without a word, dropped to the ground, which saved him from being riddled with bullets.

Subsequently, he also took out his service weapon and returned fire at Qiu Gangao. (End of chapter)