Chapter 863

In Hong Kong, the issue of the Annan boat people was constantly intensifying.

Although a portion had been assimilated, the conflicts remained.

A certain rented room.

Outside the window, the night was like ink.

Inside the room, a dim yellow light.

Beer cans and cigarette butts were scattered on the floor, and the air was filled with the smell of smoke, sweat, and anxiety.

Ruan Li and five others who also had experience as Annan soldiers—A Kun, A Ming, A Hui, and others—sat around a wooden table with a missing corner.

"Everyone, I called you here today to discuss a plan."

"Hong Kong wants to repatriate us now, but are you willing?"

"That place is too poor, a land of poverty and hardship."

"If we go back without money, we'll have it even worse than here."

The group nodded one after another.

Ruan Li's words had touched their hearts.

Ruan Li slammed the table: "Repatriation is a dead end, and staying in Hong Kong is no way to live either. Since that's the case, we might as well pull off something big—rob a sum of money, then escape back to Annan. As long as we have money, what can't we do in Annan? Buy land, open shops—as long as there's money, plenty of people will naturally follow us!"

Once these words were out, the room went silent, and sparks ignited in their eyes.

"Good!"

"Agreed!"

"I agree!"

"Let's rob the bastards!"

One by one, they voiced their approval.

"Wait, let's discuss what to rob."

"Hong Kong police aren't pushovers, and there's that Five Star Group bunch; their response will be very fast..."

"What are you afraid of? What haven't we seen on the battlefield before? We've been through hails of bullets; are we afraid of this little risk?"

Ruan Li had now gone to the extreme.

"We'll rob the money and leave immediately; they won't be able to catch us."

"So, should we rob an armored truck? Or kidnap a tycoon? Or rob a gold shop?"

"Kidnapping a tycoon won't work!" A Kun immediately shook his head. "Kidnapping requires waiting for the other party to raise the money, which takes too long. If we get targeted by the Five Star Group, we won't even have a chance to run."

A Hui: "Armored trucks won't work either. The cash we rob will be Hong Kong dollars, which we can't use back in Annan unless we rob US dollars. But US dollars are much harder to get, and we don't even know if the armored trucks are carrying US dollars."

The group nodded, ruling out kidnapping and robbing armored trucks, their gazes falling on Ruan Li in unison.

Ruan Li was silent for a moment, tapping his knuckles on the table, and said slowly: "Then we'll rob a gold shop. Gold jewelry is easy to liquidate; we can just leave with the gold directly, no need to liquidate... After the robbery, we can run that same day."

"Besides, I know explosives. I'll make a few simple explosive devices to block the police pursuit. It'll be a quick strike. As long as the plan is meticulous, it will definitely succeed."

As he spoke, he stood up and dragged a worn-out box from under the bed.

After opening it, it revealed a few bags of black powder and some metal parts.

Those were materials he had secretly saved while working as a demolition expert at a film studio.

"Good!"

"Then we'll rob a gold shop!"

"We still need to buy guns..."

"We can't do it without guns..."

"And we need to scout gold shops, somewhere easy to escape from, preferably with the fastest way to get out to sea..."

"Contact a boatman for the sea..."

"I'm familiar with a boatman from the Vietnamese gang."

With everyone putting in their two cents, the plan was quickly finalized.

Just then, the television at the corner of the table suddenly played a cheerful piece of music; it was playing ATV news on the screen.

In the footage, a group of Annan refugees were holding their newly issued permanent resident ID cards, surrounding Five Star Group staff, their faces beaming with happy smiles. Some were even excitedly hugging each other: "From now on, we are Hong Kongers."

"Pah!" Everyone spat fiercely upon seeing this scene.

They hated it!!!

Ruan Li stared at the screen: "We'll go scout tomorrow, pick a gold shop, and act in three days!"

March 15th,

New York.

The midday sun spilled through the gaps between skyscrapers, casting shadows of varying lengths on the asphalt road.

"That's it, it's boring..."

"Going back tomorrow."

On the streets of New York,

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu sipped his milk tea, his right hand in his casual pants pocket, strolling slowly. He and Ding Hu's group were walking down the street like street loafers.

Not far away, two New York patrol officers were patrolling with their heads held high, their uniforms pressed crisp, their police batons, handcuffs, and other equipment swaying at their waists.

They scanned the street with sharp eyes.

At this moment, a somewhat hurried sound of Japanese came from the street corner.

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu looked toward the sound and saw two Japanese men in suits apologizing repeatedly to a white man, their waists bent almost ninety degrees, their hands gesturing constantly in front of them, their faces full of ingratiating smiles.

Ding Hu: "Tsk tsk tsk~~~~"

Not long after, a Korean couple pushing a baby stroller passed by.

The stroller accidentally brushed against a police officer. The Korean man's face instantly turned pale, and he hurriedly pulled his girlfriend to the side of the road, raising his hands to show he had no malicious intent, repeating in English with a "Smida" accent:

"Sorry, officer, we didn't mean it, it was just an accident..."

The officer glanced at them and waved for them to leave. The Korean couple breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the stroller away quickly, looking cautious and showing a hint of undisguised subservience the whole time.

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu watched this scene, a playful smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

At this time,

the two patrol officers also noticed the four street loafers, Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu and his group.

They looked them over for a few seconds.

"Are you Chinese?"

Because of the Happy Property issue, the police station had been on good terms with the Chinese community recently.

"Yes~~"

The officer nodded, didn't ask any more questions, and continued their patrol.

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu and his group continued their stroll...

Suddenly,

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu stopped in his tracks.

His gaze stopped at the entrance of a high-end suit shop.

The glass door of the suit shop was pushed open, and a man with golden hair walked out.

Well, well, if it isn't the Tax King!

What a coincidence!

It was exactly Donald!

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu's eyes lit up.

Seeing the Tax King walk out of the shop, he even turned back to glare at the clerk inside, cursing under his breath, as if he had just encountered something unpleasant in the store.

The Tax King clearly didn't recognize Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu; he straightened his suit and turned to walk toward another street.

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu curled his lips into a cold smile.

He led his men to follow.

Just as they were passing through a small alley,

there was no surveillance around... well, there were cameras installed at first, but they were quickly destroyed by the Night Elves, so the City Hall didn't bother with them anymore.

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu saw there was no surveillance and no police around.

He rushed over,

wrapped his arm around the Tax King's neck, and dragged him into the alley.

"Who are you?"

Before he could start screaming for help, his mouth was covered...

"Mmph mmph mmph~~~"

Abu stood guard at the alley entrance, vigilantly watching the street outside to prevent anyone from passing by and discovering the anomaly.

The alley was dark and damp, piled high with discarded cardboard boxes and trash.