Chapter 363: The Secret of the Gold Watch

He Yuzhu swept his peripheral vision over Zhao Ying—the bearded police officer's hawk-like gaze was pinned to her face, cutting off any possibility of a hint.

His thoughts raced, and he plastered a sycophantic smile on his face, leaning in toward the bearded man: "Sir, could we step aside for a word? There must be some misunderstanding between us!"

"Get lost!" the bearded Police Officer spat, his hand pressing against the bulging holster at his waist, his face full of impatience. "I'm on official business, I don't have time to listen to your private matters!"

The smile on He Yuzhu's face vanished, and he suddenly raised his voice, shouting to the sparse pedestrians on the street: "Everyone, judge for yourselves! Police Inspector Lv Le is forcing..."

"You're looking for death!" The bearded man's expression changed abruptly. Before he could finish shouting, he grabbed He Yuzhu by the collar, pulled him aside, and warned: "If you shout one more word, I'll shoot you dead right now!"

He Yuzhu grinned, leaned close to his ear, and whispered: "Do you really think your boss came here just to eat? Let me tell you, your boss is no good; he lasted less than 5 minutes... You really want me to... say it out loud?"

The bearded man's eyes were suspicious, his gaze shifting between He Yuzhu's face and the anxious Zhao Ying in the distance.

He Yuzhu took the opportunity to fish a Gold watch out of his pocket and stuff it into the bearded man's hand: "Take it, consider it hush money. Our Boss is also a person of status... Don't you dare say a single word about this later."

The bearded man weighed the heavy Gold watch, his face instantly blooming with joy. He hurriedly tucked it into his pocket and lowered his voice: "Don't worry, I definitely won't say anything!"

"That's right," He Yuzhu patted his shoulder. "If our Boss gets on good terms with your Inspector, and we go around running our mouths, none of us will have a good end..."

"Little brother, you really are a sensible person; I am ashamed to compare!" the bearded man grinned and said.

"Your boss met several acquaintances, it'll be another hour or so before he comes out, you just wait here."

Once out of the bearded man's sight, the oily smile on He Yuzhu's face instantly faded, becoming as cold as ice.

"Sister, these two cannot be left alive!"

Zhao Ying leaned against the mottled brick wall and nodded, "Be careful!"

He Yuzhu said no more. With a few running steps, he climbed a high courtyard wall and then reached the roof of the four-story tenement building opposite.

He lowered his body, took out a Mosin-Nagant rifle equipped with a Silencer, and the crosshairs of the scope steadily locked onto the bearded man who was still laughing and talking at the mouth of the alley.

"Puff!" A faint sound rang out.

The bearded man's laughter stopped abruptly, fresh blood flowed down his cheek, his massive frame swayed, and he fell straight backward.

The small thug beside him froze for a moment, his mouth opening in terror as he prepared to scream.

"Puff!"

The small man clutched his head, staggered two steps, and also collapsed softly.

He Yuzhu neatly put away the Rifle, returned along the original path, and with a few leaps and bounds, was back by Zhao Ying's side.

Zhao Ying grabbed He Yuzhu's arm as they walked, saying excitedly: "Little brother, stay in Hong Kong... I really need you by my side."

He Yuzhu smiled and said: "Sister, don't be afraid. Since I've come, I will clean up those who don't know their place. Jin Hai is a man worth dealing with, he values loyalty, and I want to give him a hand. As for your side, the sky won't fall."

"Do you think... they will track it back to me?" Zhao Ying was still somewhat uneasy.

"No." He Yuzhu's tone was certain. "If anyone asks, just say Lv Le bullied you. The British are obsessed with face; they would rather suppress such a scandal than ever let it be known."

Zhao Ying took a deep breath and nodded. Police whistles could be heard faintly from outside the alley, drawing closer.

One day later, Royal Police Force.

Chinese Chief Inspector Liu Fu stood before two corpses covered in white sheets in the morgue, his expression gloomy.

He turned to an Inspector surnamed Li beside him, his voice very low: "Lv Le hasn't returned yet, did something happen to him too?"

Inspector Li opened the notebook in his hand and said: "I questioned everyone who saw Inspector Lv... He entered the private room of General Manager Zhao Ying of the Eastern Shipping Company. He wasn't there long, and the woman left alone shortly after... Not long after that, a shooting occurred at the entrance of the restaurant. The scene was chaotic, with guests swarming out, and no one saw clearly whether Inspector Lv came out."

Liu Fu closed his eyes, rubbed his brow, and said: "He's likely dead... I said long ago that he would eventually fall because of a woman."

At this moment, an Inspector surnamed Ma nearby took a Gold watch out of an evidence bag and handed it to Liu Fu: "Chief Inspector, this was found in Zhou Fang's pocket."

Liu Fu took it and examined it against the light, "What's special about this watch?"

Inspector Ma pointed his finger at a tiny engraving on the back of the watch case: "Look here, this is standard issue for 14K leaders."

Liu Fu's eyes narrowed. He leaned in and looked carefully for a moment, discovering that "14K" was written after the serial number on every watch, followed by a number. "It really is. What do you think?"

Inspector Ma pondered: "I deduce that Zhou Fang was likely bought off by the 14K, leaking Inspector Lv's whereabouts. After the deed was done, the other party silenced him to prevent the news from leaking."

Liu Fu nodded, "Investigate as quickly as possible. Once we find evidence that the 14K did it, we will mobilize the Police to crack down hard!"

Police Officer Li asked: "Chief Inspector, should we still investigate the Eastern Shipping Company?"

"Investigate, investigate to the end!" Liu Fu said.

He Yuzhu accompanied Zhao Ying back to the company, and Zhao Ying had been feeling uneasy.

Seeing her restless, He Yuzhu mocked: "Sister, you're someone who has been in the Military Statistics Bureau, how is it that after living a peaceful life for so long, your courage has grown smaller and smaller!"

Zhao Ying stubbed out her cigarette butt fiercely in the ashtray, fire in her eyes: "He Yuzhu! Damn you! Stop talking nonsense there! I am now the Head of Household for tens of thousands of employees, with fleets drifting on the sea every day, goods piled up in wharf warehouses, and loans backed by banks! If I fall, they will all be left to drink the Northwest wind! Can I be like you, a lone wolf, who can just kill someone and walk away without a care?"

"Sister, your words make me feel ashamed. Anyone who can think for others is a hero! Sister, don't worry, I definitely won't let anything happen to you!"

Zhao Ying looked at his determined expression, her tense demeanor finally relaxing, and she let out a long breath: "You only know how to spout nonsense... Then tell me, what's the next move?"

He Yuzhu restrained his smile and said seriously: "Call Jin Hai over. We need to plan this together."

Jin Hai brought Xu Tian over and said: "I've been wanting to find you for a drink, but I couldn't find you anywhere! Did you go looking for women, you brat?"

He Yuzhu smiled and said: "You actually guessed half of it right, but I called you over today because I want to ask if you want to expand your influence?"

"Isn't that a load of crap! I dream of it, but there are warlords like the 14K in front, local gangs like the Triad in back, and the formidable Yi'an Gang—it's hard!"

"Let me ask you, you've been here for a few years now, have you planted any moles in other gangs?" He Yuzhu said.

Jin Hai chuckled and nodded.

"To tell you the truth, I captured Lv Le, and we can use him!" He Yuzhu said.

Jin Hai slapped his thigh and said excitedly: "Great! I got news that the Yi'an Gang and the 14K are going to negotiate to deal with Fuyixing together. I originally thought these two groups wouldn't be able to negotiate at all and might even start fighting on the spot, but if we have Lv Le... the situation will be very different."

He Yuzhu seemed to understand Jin Hai's meaning, but still asked humbly: "Master Jin has deep strategies, tell me about it."

Jin Hai whispered: "You like taking photos, don't you..."

After hearing this, He Yuzhu gave a thumbs up.