Chapter 2363: Psychological Shadow

Chen Hui looked impatient, his brows furrowed, and he said in an unfriendly tone: "Are they paying or calling the police? Give me a straight answer, don't waste my time dawdling here!"

Bai Junmin seemed more relaxed. He leaned lazily against the car body, slowly took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a deep drag, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and then spoke unhurriedly.

"You two, look, we've already given you a discount, what else is there to hesitate about? Let me tell you, if you're thinking of using this method to bargain for a bigger discount, that's definitely not going to happen!"

Er Lu, standing to the side, was almost in tears. If it were anyone else, he would have long since grabbed a machete and started hacking away without a second thought. Damn it, it was already a blessing from their ancestors' graves that he wasn't asking *them* for eight thousand, and yet they had the nerve to turn around and demand money from him!

But these two men had left a psychological shadow on him that hadn't dissipated to this day, so he could only swallow his anger. After all, he didn't want to end up like those two guys—one beaten into high paraplegia, completely unable to care for himself, and the other seriously injured, nearly losing his life.

And eight thousand yuan in compensation was undoubtedly a huge sum for them. They usually just hung around doing errands for their boss, scraping by on food, drinks, and pocket money.

The money for the last compensation had been scraped together from borrowing here and there, and he still didn't know how he was going to pay it back. Now, having to pay another eight thousand was truly going to cost him his life.

"Fine!" Juan Mao finally spoke, his eyes drifting, a hint of an imperceptible smile appearing at the corner of his mouth: "I'll call someone to bring the money over."

Since this Duke Wang car was in the same gang as that Land Cruiser, this information was definitely very important to Third Master. As for losing the Land Cruiser, not only was it not a failure, but it was a merit, and he would definitely be able to recoup the money he'd been swindled out of last time. So, once he realized this, he wasn't worried at all; in fact, he was quite pleased.

"No problem!" A smile appeared on Chen Hui's face, and his tone became very amiable: "But be quick about it, our time is very precious."

Juan Mao didn't respond to Chen Hui. He turned and walked quickly toward the van, then got inside and started rummaging around. After a while, he found a mobile phone under the back seat. It was surprisingly undamaged, and the number could still be dialed normally; it had to be said that this thing was truly durable.

Soon, Lei Ming's lazy voice came through the receiver; he probably hadn't gotten up yet: "Hello?"

"Boss, it's Juan Mao!" Juan Mao's voice was urgent, speaking very quickly: "That Land Cruiser just appeared at the school gate and picked up that woman. Er Lu and I followed immediately, but then we got rear-ended by a Duke Wang."

Hearing Juan Mao's words, Lei Ming's heart skipped a beat, and his voice changed: "You got rear-ended by a Duke Wang?"

"Yes!" Juan Mao took a deep breath and continued: "It's the same Duke Wang that rear-ended you a while back!"

Lei Ming's breathing suddenly became heavy, and he pressed: "Who's in the car? Is it those same two guys?"

"It's those two!" Juan Mao held the phone and glanced out the window: "They're demanding eight thousand yuan in compensation. But more importantly, that Land Cruiser came to the school gate to pick up that woman two days ago.

Er Lu and I were biting at their heels, but halfway there, we were rear-ended by that Duke Wang. Because neither Er Lu nor I have driver's licenses, the traffic police ruled it as our full responsibility, and we had to pay them eight thousand yuan.

I wasn't planning on telling you at first, but I know you're very busy every day, so I didn't mention this trivial matter. I scraped together money from the brothers, borrowing over ten thousand yuan to pay the compensation and the fines, and to get the car fixed.

I wasn't going to tell you this time either, but I find it very strange. Every time we follow that Land Cruiser, we get into an accident, and every time it's the same Duke Wang that hits us.

There's no such thing as a coincidence in this world, getting hit by the same car repeatedly, and not at random times, but specifically when we're following that Land Cruiser. That's why I suspect the Land Cruiser and the Duke Wang are in the same gang, so I had to call and notify you."

Lei Ming listened to Juan Mao on the other end of the line, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter. After Juan Mao finished, he was silent for a moment, then said: "Tell him I'll have the money delivered in about an hour."

He hung up without waiting for Juan Mao to respond. Then, he dialed Wen Sanmao's number.

At this moment, Wen Sanmao was already up. He sat quietly on the sofa in the living room, a cigarette clamped between his fingers, his brows tightly furrowed, his eyes staring vaguely at the rising smoke.

Last night at the bar, everyone had been taken away by the police, including Jiadai, yet unexpectedly, he had been released. At first, he was confused, but very happy. Regardless of who had spoken up for him, the police had given him enough face—even more than they had for Jiadai.

However, when he returned home, that excitement gradually faded. Once he calmed down, he started to feel that something wasn't quite right, and a deep sense of unease took its place.

He lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, his mind constantly pondering. He couldn't figure out who the person who spoke up for him was. If he had really helped such a person, logically, he shouldn't have no memory of it. The whole affair was permeated with an unsettling strangeness; he had a feeling something big was about to happen.

"Ding-a-ling..."

A crisp ringing sound suddenly shattered the silence of the room. Wen Sanmao, who had been wandering in his thoughts, was startled, his whole body trembling. His face turned bright red, and his temper flared up, but he took a deep breath and suppressed it.

"This is Wen Liang, who is this?"

"Third Master!" Lei Ming's voice came from the other end of the line, and he explained the situation: "How should we handle this?"

Wen Sanmao's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a dangerous aura. He had used his vast network of connections to have the district traffic police brigade investigate that Land Cruiser. To his surprise, the Land Cruiser had fake plates. This came as a pleasant surprise; since they were fake plates, the police would definitely pursue them.

Then there was the Duke Wang. Two of his brothers had been hit—one dead, one in a coma, possibly a vegetable. And his two bodyguards—one paralyzed, the other with five broken ribs, nearly dying. How could he swallow this anger?

So, he had also investigated that Duke Wang, only to find that it, too, was using fake plates. This time, it wasn't a pleasant surprise, but fury. A serious car accident had occurred, someone had died, and the other party was driving a fake-plated car—didn't the traffic police know?

The response he got was that it was due to negligence by the district traffic police brigade, and that the officers on duty had been admonished and warned. As for the fake-plated car, the district traffic police brigade would investigate strictly.

This result made Wen Sanmao furious; his blood pressure shot up like a rocket, and he went straight to a certain leader at the Municipal Bureau. That leader was also furious about the serious negligence of the district traffic police brigade, issuing a circular of criticism and ordering a strict investigation into the fake-plated vehicles.

However, what made Wen Sanmao even angrier was that neither the Land Cruiser nor the Duke Wang had been found. Even with the Municipal Bureau leader personally putting pressure on those below, no substantial progress had been made. The answer was always "under investigation," which made Wen Sanmao hold a great deal of suppressed anger, but he had nowhere to vent it.

In this day and age, there were plenty of cars with fake plates. Take Wen Sanmao—he had several cars, each with several sets of fake plates. Because he had too many enemies, he not only changed cars every day but also changed the plates periodically to avoid being targeted.

"Third Master!" Lei Ming spoke again, not having received a response: "Should I find a few brothers and take some guns over there? No matter how good their skills are or how well they can fight, they can't outrun bullets."

Wen Sanmao's eyes became increasingly sinister. If this hadn't happened last night, he would have definitely taken people there himself and blown those two away. But after what happened last night, he had to be cautious.

"Wait for my call!"

After hanging up, Wen Sanmao's gaze slowly drifted upward to the quartz clock on the wall. The hour and minute hands were pointing past nine o'clock; it was getting late.

He took a drag of his cigarette, hesitated, then grabbed the phone and dialed.

The call was connected quickly, and a low voice with strong oppressive power came through the receiver: "This is the Municipal Public Security Bureau, I am Zhao Mingsheng!"

Wen Sanmao's voice became unusually polite: "Director Zhao, this is Wen Liang. Do you have any news regarding the investigation into those two cars?"

Zhao Mingsheng was silent on the other end for a moment, then said slowly: "Old San, stop pursuing those two cars."

Wen Sanmao's eyes twitched, and his face changed: "Director Zhao, what happened?"

Zhao Mingsheng was silent again: "You have to understand, the Municipal Bureau isn't something I decide alone; there's still the Chief above me. Besides, I'm not in charge of the Traffic Bureau; often, I'm powerless."

Wen Sanmao's face changed completely, and he said in disbelief: "Even if you aren't in charge of the Traffic Bureau, you're still a leader at the Municipal Bureau. Is there really nothing you can do?"

"The situation is already quite clear; those two cars must have a very powerful background. So, when I put pressure on those below, I encountered unexpected resistance, and this resistance was coming from the bottom up. This proves they aren't afraid of me making things difficult for them."

"Gulp." Wen Sanmao swallowed: "Sorry to trouble you, Director Zhao. I'll host a dinner, let's have a few drinks."

"Good!" Zhao Mingsheng laughed heartily and agreed readily: "Let's do that."

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The dial tone came from the receiver. Wen Sanmao took a deep breath, slowly put the receiver down, took one last drag of his cigarette, stared at the butt in his hand for a moment, then crushed it into the ashtray, venting his frustration.

He couldn't possibly be willing to give up on such a beautiful college student as Zhou Anqin. He wasn't willing to let his brothers go unavenged either, but after what happened last night, he had to be cautious.

After a while, Wen Sanmao regained his composure and called Lei Ming: "Lei Zi, listen to me. Prepare eight thousand yuan and send it over to them. Remember, do not get into a conflict with them. As for their identities, since they are in the same gang as that Land Cruiser, as long as we keep an eye on that Land Cruiser, they won't be able to run.

Also, add another car and arrange for two more brothers to go. That way, even if they continue to use that collision method to intercept us, our other car can continue to follow them so we don't lose them again."

Not far from the main gate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, a crowd had gathered at the scene of the accident to watch the spectacle.

Chen Hui checked the time, then looked at Juan Mao, and said impatiently: "When are they coming? We don't have time to waste with you; it's meaningless."

"They're here!" Juan Mao looked up and saw Lei Ming getting out of a car.

Chen Hui looked over, a smile appearing on his face: "Oh, it's an old acquaintance. Did you bring the money?"