Chapter 24: Misery Unfolds

What the people at the warehouse didn’t realize was that, if it hadn’t been for Ye Gongmin’s rabble, who fought wildly at the sight of anyone and kept pushing deeper inside, there would have already been casualties by now.

In two inconspicuous spots, two rather professional men, each with a small-caliber sniper rifle, were observing the chaos in the plaza through their scopes. Amid the shifting shadows and flying clubs, it wasn’t that the snipers couldn’t shoot—it was that other considerations held them back.

The lead sniper’s earpiece was filled with the subordinate’s repeated requests: “Boss, what are the rules of engagement? Do we have authorization to shoot?” They might not have been hardened killers, but they were certainly ex-special forces, professional mercenaries—not the kind of street thugs who could brawl for half an hour without anyone getting seriously hurt.

The lead sniper pondered for a moment and replied, “No rules of engagement, but stay calm. Don’t make trouble. No one’s broken through yet. Wait while I make a call.”

“What if they do break through?” came the voice through the earpiece again.

“Wait for my call either way. This isn’t America.”

With that, the lead sniper tapped another earpiece, connected the call, and said, “Mr. Jiang, someone’s broken into the warehouse. Are you aware of this?”

“What!” On the other end, Jiang Yaowen—nicknamed Fatty Jiang, son of the city mayor—exclaimed, “Someone really broke in? What the hell is Zhan Yunfei doing? Useless idiot!”

“I’m not asking for your commentary,” the lead sniper replied coolly, clearly not one of Jiang Yaowen’s subordinates. “I’m asking if you know what’s happening right now.”

Jiang Yaowen took a moment to compose himself. “What’s the situation on site? Will things get out of hand?”

“That’s impossible to tell! Your men are a bunch of idiots—they can’t even handle fourteen bricklayers. If they manage to break through, I can’t guarantee what’ll happen next,” the lead sniper replied.

Jiang Yaowen’s voice turned frantic. “Fourteen? Then you’d better calm down. If there are fourteen dead, not even I can put out that fire!”

“I’m not reporting to you, nor taking your orders—I’m simply notifying you of what’s about to happen,” the sniper said.

Jiang Yaowen snapped, “If things blow up, nobody will escape unscathed—not even you. Your job is to protect the warehouse and my business, not make a mess. That’s not hard to understand, is it?”

“That—”

“No buts! Put down your gun, leave your post, and tie up every one of them. Wait for me to come deal with it,” Jiang Yaowen shouted into the phone.

“That’s not possible. I won’t put down my gun or leave my post. My rules of engagement are: even if the SWAT team comes in, we fight until one side is wiped out. Unfortunately for you, I’ve fought battles like this against the FBI and National Guard in the States more than once—and I’m still alive,” the sniper replied, his voice mechanical.

“Damn it! Zhan Yunfei, that bastard, has landed me in a world of trouble!” Jiang Yaowen cursed, slamming his phone against the back of his luxury car’s seat.

“Wait—something’s happening.” The sniper’s voice returned. “I see a young man through the scope—I’ve seen him on TV. That’s Ye Gongmin, the so-called ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur’ from Haizhou.”

Jiang Yaowen paused, surprised. “Oh… is Ye Gongmin tired of living? Well, if it’s him, it’s not a big deal. Soldier, hear me out—don’t fire. I’ll come handle this myself. If Ye Gongmin doesn’t get on his knees and beg when he sees me, I’ll admit defeat!”

“Then you’d better hurry, Mr. Jiang. Otherwise, I still can’t guarantee what’ll happen next,” the sniper replied, ending the call.

“Damn! Damn!” Jiang Yaowen hurled his phone to the floor, stomped on it twice, and kicked the seat for good measure. Taking a deep breath, he said coldly, “Turn around. Go to the warehouse—now. If I don’t swallow Ye Gongmin and Zhan Yunfei’s woman, Ni Feihong, whole this time, I’ll admit defeat. I need three Kuweige—tonight, I’ll have them both at once.”

“We can’t turn around here,” the driver protested.

“Just turn around—speed up, go on the sidewalk if you have to. People are going to die, understand? If people die, don’t even bother taking me to the warehouse. Head straight for the airport, because I’ll need to run too.” Jiang Yaowen was practically fuming with rage.

Back at the abandoned factory, the fight was drawing to a close. Fortunately, things hadn’t escalated further—mainly because Ye Gongmin was basking in his victory, in no hurry to press the advantage. He had gathered the eight battered musclemen and made them kneel in the plaza. In front of Ni Feihong, Ye Gongmin strolled behind them, smacking the back of their heads one by one.

With each blow, he jabbed a finger at their noses and demanded, “Was it you? Was it you who dared commit lawless abduction?”

It was a chivalrous display, and Ni Feihong found herself seeing Ye Gongmin in a more favorable light. He might have a penchant for showing off, but at heart, he seemed decent enough.

When Ye Gongmin took a baseball bat from one of his men, Ni Feihong frowned and said, “That’s enough, Ye Gongmin. Don’t go too far—focus on getting information before things get out of hand.”

But even with this, nothing useful came out. In the confusion, no one noticed that someone was missing. Even Ni Feihong had gotten out of the car, but little Ma was still cowering inside, afraid to risk it. For whatever reason, his body just seemed inclined to keep him hiding—some instinct kept him from stepping out.

Ni Feihong, distracted by concern, hadn’t noticed Ma’s absence. Ye Gongmin did, but was secretly pleased—not having Ma around made it easier for him to take center stage.

A short while later, they spotted a rather low-profile Lexus racing along the bumpy country road in the distance. Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

Ye Gongmin, seeing it was just a beat-up car—five people at most, even if packed—laughed and said, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. If anything happens, I’ll handle it…”

“Ye Gongmin, have you grown tired of living? Does your father know how cocky you’re being? When your father sees me, he acts like my grandson—so what’s gotten into your head to make you think you can mess with me?”

It was Jiang Yaowen’s voice, coming from the Lexus as it screeched to a halt, kicking up clouds of dust.

As the dust settled, Ye Gongmin’s face changed dramatically when he saw “Fatty Jiang” step out. A chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He had never imagined this incident would involve Jiang Yaowen.

No matter how much Ye Gongmin liked to show off, he was speechless now. At best, he was a fourth-rate playboy in Haizhou—how could he possibly compete with a figure as powerful as this?

The would-be white knight, who’d been so bold with his fire extinguisher, was suddenly silent. Ni Feihong, however, refused to back down. She knew Jiang Yaowen, if only slightly, and pointed at him, shouting, “You’re out of control—”

“Shut up!” Jiang Yaowen strode over, face dark, and slapped Ni Feihong hard across the cheek.

“Fku!” Ni Feihong cursed instinctively, only to be struck again, this time drawing blood from her lips.

Ye Gongmin winced, aching with sympathy but powerless, signaling desperately for Ni Feihong to stop talking.

“Out of control…” Ni Feihong managed to say, but Jiang Yaowen’s hand shot out, gripping her throat. Suddenly, she could barely breathe.

“You want to talk about law, about justice, do you?” Jiang Yaowen’s voice was emotionless. “Fine—let’s talk law.”

After a pause, he surveyed the chaos around him and said coldly, “You’re a bunch of deranged criminals—a criminal organization! Organized assault! Trespassing! Intentional harm! Not minor offenses. I’ve got security footage as evidence. In fact, even if I didn’t, a few phone calls would be enough to pin all these charges on you—nobody would get away.”

Now even Ye Gongmin, not to mention Ni Feihong, turned pale. In the heat of the moment, they’d made a reckless move—and now they really had walked right into a trap?

As this realization set in, cold sweat broke out on both Ye Gongmin and Ni Feihong.

Jiang Yaowen went on, “Since I’m a law-abiding citizen, I must resolve this through judicial means. Given the current crackdown on organized crime, Ye Gongmin, Ni Feihong—you two masterminds are as good as dead. I’ll call the police now, and as organizers, you’ll be lucky to get off with only fifteen years each.”