Chapter 534: The Scheming Boy of the Siheyuan

As soon as He Yuzhu returned to the ship, he was surrounded by a group of people, their enthusiastic cheers nearly overturning the deck.

The ship captain Cui Yong rushed over in a single stride, hugged He Yuzhu tightly, and said excitedly, "Zhuzi, if you hadn't blown up that supply ship, everyone on this boat would be finished."

The surrounding sailors nodded one after another, lingering fear still on their faces.

It was indeed so—when they saw that supply ship turn its cannons toward them, everyone had panicked.

The distance was too great; even if they continued to fire torpedoes, the enemy could have dodged them.

What made He Yuzhu feel even warmer in his heart was that not a single person asked a word about how he had gone into the sea alone and successfully fired the torpedoes without any equipment.

Jin Hai truly had ability, and the brothers under him were all reliable.

Cui Yong loosened his arms, grinned, and asked, "Zhuzi, do you think the enemy will transmit the news of encountering us back to their base?"

He Yuzhu looked toward the distant horizon and said, "Although I am not clear on their procedures, I believe that the next time we encounter a warship, they will fire cannons at us directly. Therefore, we must retreat immediately!"

"I understand! Turn around and head back!" Cui Yong nodded heavily, turned, and ran to notify the other ship.

The roar of engines accelerating soon rose on the deck, and the bow of the ship cut through the waves, heading back the way they came.

Si Jiu Cheng, Qianmen Small Courtyard.

Xu Damao, Yan Jiefang, and Liu Guangtian sat cross-legged by the kang table, on which six large pork knuckles were laid out, still steaming and smelling of meat.

Yan Jiefang reached out, grabbed one, and started gnawing, getting grease all over his mouth.

Xu Damao narrowed his eyes, squinted at him, and cursed, "Yan Jiefang, I heard you went to the train station to work, damn it?"

Only then did Yan Jiefang put down the knuckle, took a dirty handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands, and gave an awkward, sheepish grin: "Brother Damao, you told me not to use Small Yellow Fish to exchange for money. You haven't been home for a long time, and I had no money to spend."

Xu Damao slapped the table. "There's a crackdown recently, and they've caught quite a few people at the train station. If you weren't young and unnoticed, you would have been inside already! If you were caught, with your limited ability, you would definitely sell me and Liu Guangtian out. I'm warning you, if you dare do that, I'll break your legs!"

Yan Jiefang lowered his head and sighed: "Brother Damao, don't worry, even if something happens to me, I will never sell you out. Since you're back this time, hurry up and find some fat sheep!"

Liu Guangtian sneered from the side and glared at Yan Jiefang: "The Yan family is really something; his father forced him to spend money to buy a Phoenix bicycle. He's poor mostly because of that."

Xu Damao nodded and sighed, "Third Master is truly impressive, he doesn't let any advantage slip by, not even with his own son." He turned to look at Liu Guangtian: "Guangtian, how is your older brother doing lately? He hasn't taken revenge on you, has he?"

Liu Guangtian shook his head vigorously, looking puzzled: "My older brother is like a different person; not only has he not taken revenge, he's been very good to us. Especially to my younger brother—if my mom gives him an egg, he even splits half for my third brother. Now he's polite to everyone he sees, and especially respectful to the First Master."

"Something's not right! It's abnormal!" Xu Damao muttered to himself.

"My brother's awareness is also exceptionally high now; he's helping teach night school at the Street Office, and it's voluntary." Liu Guangtian was full of confusion.

Sweat instantly broke out on Xu Damao's face. He grabbed a towel and wiped his forehead vigorously, his fingers trembling slightly.

"Brother Damao, what's wrong with you?" Yan Jiefang asked vaguely while chewing meat.

"Liu Guangqi is plotting something big." Xu Damao lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

"No way!" Liu Guangtian scratched his head.

"From now on, keep an eye on your brother's affairs and tell me about them often. You caused him to fail the entrance exam for technical school; he could hate you for a lifetime. He is now aligning himself with the organization because he wants to be an official in the future. Once he gains power, he will definitely finish you off!" Xu Damao patted Liu Guangtian's shoulder heavily. "Sima Yi in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* was someone who could endure exceptionally well, outlasting three generations of monarchs and finally succeeding in usurping power. Your brother is learning from him."

Liu Guangtian curled his lip: "When I get a bit older, I'll move out and stop living in this courtyard. What can he do to me?"

Xu Damao, however, felt a sense of trepidation. He wasn't afraid of people who sought revenge openly, and he wasn't even afraid of He Yuzhu, who was currently thriving, but he was afraid of the kind of person who stood in the shadows and kept watching him. Liu Guangqi was now like such a person.

Yan Jiefang didn't care about all that; he tore the knuckle meat off, wrapped it in a pancake, rolled it tight, and chewed it in big mouthfuls, feeling blissful.

"Guangtian, you must keep a close watch on your brother. He is now a venomous snake hidden in the shadows, ready to pounce and bite you at any moment!" Xu Damao urged again.

"Got it!" Liu Guangtian stuffed a large piece of fatty and lean meat into his mouth and responded vaguely.

In the Siheyuan, it was already dusk when Liu Guangqi returned from night school.

The courtyard was quiet, and dim oil lamp light shone through the windows of every home.

Today, Liu Xiuzhen had given him two White Rabbit Creamy Candies; he couldn't bear to eat them, so he brought them back and stuffed them to Liu Guangfu.

Liu Guangfu took the candies, brought them to his nose, and sniffed hard, finding them incredibly precious.

"Lao San, why wasn't Lao Er home today?" Liu Guangqi asked as if it were a casual question.

"Him? He was called away by Yan Jiefang. I heard Yan Jiefang's money was all taken by his father, so he's broke, and they went to find someone." Liu Guangfu said while licking the candy wrapper.

"Did they go to Qianmen?"

"Don't know." Liu Guangfu shook his head.

Over these past few days, through Liu Guangfu, Liu Guangqi had gradually uncovered quite a bit of information: Xu Damao had a girlfriend who worked at a clothing store where Chen Xueru was the Manager; Xu Damao also had a small courtyard; that was exactly the place where Xu Damao, Liu Guangtian, and Yan Jiefang often gathered.

He had circled that area several times and was certain that it was the den where the three of them planned their thefts and divided the loot.

It was just that, for now, he didn't have the strength to move against Xu Damao.

Hong Kong, Liu Rusi's residence.

He Yuzhu stood by the window, looking at the traffic on the street below.

This time, because of their quick reaction and the temporary decision to turn the ship around, they hadn't encountered a pursuit by M Country warships.

In reality, not long after they turned around, the M Country fleet arrived at the sea area where those five warships had sunk.

Captain Thomas looked at the large patches of oil, floating debris, wreckage, and scattered remains on the sea surface, his face ashen.

He roared at the Deputy Captain Richard: "Investigate immediately! Find out how these ships sank!"

"Yes! I will organize the divers immediately."

Three hours later, Richard reported back dejectedly: "Captain, the warships are sunk on the seabed, and the depth here exceeds 2000 meters; we... are powerless."

Thomas slammed his fist against the cabin wall: "Bastards! Two ordinary cargo ships, how could they sink five warships?"

Richard lowered his voice: "I think the ones who sank us... are likely the same group that attacked the Ryukyu base. They seem to have unusual abilities."

"Then hold onto the Eastern Shipping Company and keep investigating!" Thomas's eyes were cold.

"Does the fleet need to continue the pursuit? I think they might have already turned around and run."

"Pursue! Pursue them to the ends of the earth!" Thomas nearly roared.

Liu Rusi hugged He Yuzhu and asked: "You've already sunk seven M Country warships during this period, so why are you still not happy?"

He Yuzhu smiled bitterly: "According to my thinking, those M Country people definitely should have sent a few warships to Hong Kong, but they didn't come, which is quite abnormal. They must be brewing something evil!"

"Our Hong Kong ships have been moved to the Mainland, what else can they do?" Liu Rusi asked.