Chapter 97

At the San Yuan dock, after hanging up the phone with Qiao Yun, Zheng Longqing, who usually had a bit of a cleanliness obsession, actually sat down on the sea wall, facing the sea breeze, his white clothes like snow, his hair disheveled. Beneath his dangling feet, the waves crashed incessantly.

Watching the ships come and go on the sea under the twilight, his face was filled with desolation. He knew that no matter whether he could persuade Qiao Yun this time, it would be impossible for them to end up as lovers.

If he coerced her into agreeing, Qiao Yun would hate him for the rest of her life. No matter what compensation he made, she would never love him again.

If he failed to coerce her and Qiao Yun refused to submit, then Qiao Yun would only have one path to death, and thus her beauty would fade away forever.

"Third Brother, I want to smoke. Do you have any cigarettes?" Zheng Longqing reached out his hand without turning his head to the person beside him.

When he was standing and making the phone call, the expressionless man in black was already sitting on the sea wall.

As for the name of the man in black, many people in the Green Dragon Gang did not know it, and even those who did usually called him 'Three Shots' out of habit.

Three Shots was a few years older than Zheng Longqing. Zheng Longqing knew his name but always called him Third Brother, and they had a good relationship.

The last time someone told Zheng Longqing that Lin Zixian was a master of gun and man as one, it was Three Shots.

Three Shots was an expert with guns, always carrying three: a pistol, an automatic rifle, and a sniper rifle, short, medium, and long range. No matter which one, it was said that no opponent could avoid his three shots, hence his nickname.

"Smoking too much can affect my breathing and my shooting. You know I never smoke," the expressionless Three Shots said lightly, but he still got up and walked behind the cargo container.

Luo Qili was dressed in black leather, her wavy long hair still flowing, leaning against the container, her face not looking good.

Three Shots glanced at her and asked a group of Green Dragon Gang disciples who were ready to go, "Who has cigarettes and a lighter?"

Everyone was taken aback because they all knew that Three Shots never smoked. But after a moment, they all started searching their pockets, and someone handed over the cigarettes and lighter first.

Three Shots took the items and returned to sit by the sea wall, passing the cigarettes and lighter to Zheng Longqing.

Zheng Longqing shielded the wind with his hand, held the flickering flame, lit a cigarette, and took a few deep puffs, the smoke being scattered by the wind. He looked at the cigarette in his hand, which was emitting a blue smoke, and smiled, "I never knew smoking could taste so good. I think I'll like it, maybe even become addicted."

After saying that, he took a few more puffs, but he coughed a few times, clearly not a regular smoker.

The expressionless Three Shots said, "Are you trying to prove that you've had a sad past by smoking?"

Though his words were insightful, his tone remained flat, as if he were reading from a textbook.

"Do you mean that everyone who likes smoking has had a sad past?" Zheng Longqing laughed sarcastically, but his smile froze as he thought of Lin Zixian, who often had a cigarette in his mouth. He wondered if Lin Zixian had also had a sad past.

Seeing that Three Shots was not speaking, he asked with a smile, "Third Brother, have you ever had a woman you truly liked?"

To his surprise, Three Shots replied, "If you really like her, try your best to persuade her. As long as she doesn't die, you still have a chance... When you become the leader of the Green Dragon Gang, you can return what you took from her."

"If you can't persuade her, will you show mercy?" Zheng Longqing asked, his eyes flickering.

"No!" Three Shots stood up and said calmly, "You are responsible for persuading, and I am responsible for killing. We each do our own job, and there will be no entanglements." He walked away, saying, "Let's go! It's not early, and we need to set up in advance."

Zheng Longqing threw the cigarette butt into the sea and stood up. He was about to kick the box of cigarettes into the sea but stopped halfway, bent down, picked up the cigarettes and lighter, and put them in his pocket.

It had been years since he had done such a thing, vaguely remembering that he had once put cigarettes and a lighter in his pocket as a teenager.

Walking behind the container, Zheng Longqing stopped when he saw Luo Qili, looking at her and smiling, "Is this meaningful?"

"It's meaningful for the Green Dragon Gang, but not for me!" Luo Qili stared at him without blinking, "But if I can't have it, no one else will." She left the container and got into a car, shouting to the group, "Let's go!"

The group got into the cars, and a fleet quickly left the dock.

After leaving the city, Lin Zixian's BMW sped westward. A fork in the road quickly passed by the window, and looking down the fork, a dilapidated old factory could be seen at the edge of the city, the abandoned fertilizer plant.

Qiao Yun, who had been silent, kept looking out the windows, realizing that they were not heading to Nanshan but in the opposite direction. The further they drove, the farther they would be from Nanshan. She finally couldn't help but ask, "Where are we going?"

"To see an old friend," Lin Zixian said, pausing, his eyes wandering as if remembering something. He then continued more slowly, "To see an old friend who can help."

Qiao Yun was not talkative, though she was curious about who the person was, she didn't ask again.

After about ten minutes, the car slowed down, the sky was slightly dark, and the road was lit by the lights of several car motels, with large and conspicuous signs.

Lin Zixian was looking out both windows, driving very slowly, and finally stopped by the side of the road, outside a wall.

He rolled down the window and looked at the wall for a moment. Cars passed by, stirring up dust, but his expression didn't change.

On the other side of the wall was a restaurant, the lights illuminating the wall. It was a yard surrounded by a cement brick wall, with colorful advertisements painted on it. The gate was open, and a metal sign on top read 'Gangzi Auto Repair Shop,' with smaller words below like 'Inflation, Tire Repair, Car Wash.'

The car turned into the yard, which was not small, with a three-story building. The ground floor was a row of auto repair shops filled with various parts.

Inside the repair shop, a large man in a dirty blue coverall heard the car and casually glanced back before continuing his work.

He had removed the front tire of a pickup truck and, limping slightly, rolled the tire to one side. His limp was not severe, and he walked quite fast.

Lin Zixian parked the car outside the repair shop, his eyes lingering on the large man's limp leg. A warm smile appeared on his face. This was the person he was looking for, whose real name was Yuan Gang, originally a member of the International Freelancers, known in the underground world as 'Iron Man.'

It wasn't because he was as strong as iron, but because he was an expert in mechanical repairs, and the things he made were called 'Transformers.'

However, once, he didn't listen to advice and joined a group to rob a diamond mine in Sierra Leone, stepping on a landmine and losing his right leg. After recovering, he quietly left the International Freelancers and returned to the country to open this auto repair shop.

Only Lin Zixian knew where Yuan Gang had gone after his retirement.

Qiao Yun saw the smile on Lin Zixian's face in the rearview mirror and looked at the limping man in the repair shop, her eyes slightly puzzled. Could this limping man be the person he was looking for?

Lin Zixian reached out of the car window and knocked on the door twice, shouting, "Boss, car repair!"

Hearing the call, the large man, Yuan Gang, finally put down his work and limped over, his voice loud, "What's wrong?"

He looked at the car from front to back but didn't look inside. Lin Zixian was speechless, took out two cigarettes, lit them, opened the car door, and got out. He put one in his mouth and offered the other, "Boss, you must be tired! Have a smoke first!"

Qiao Yun was confused, not understanding what these two were doing.

Yuan Gang was taken aback by the offered cigarette. He usually received cigarettes from customers, but having them lit and offered was a first. He looked up and saw Lin Zixian's face, and he froze, despite Lin Zixian having cut his long ponytail, his appearance hadn't changed.

"You blind fool, are you going to smoke or not?" Lin Zixian waved the cigarette, laughing and scolding.

"Caesar!" Yuan Gang exclaimed in English, his face full of surprise, opening his arms to hug Lin Zixian.

"Wait, wait." Lin Zixian pushed him back, putting the cigarette in his mouth and pointing at the oil stains on his coverall, "I'm wearing expensive clothes. If you get them dirty, can you afford to pay?"

Yuan Gang, ignoring his dirty hands, pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and looked at Lin Zixian up and down, laughing foolishly. But his laughter suddenly stopped, and he looked at him in disbelief, switching to Chinese, "You're not Korean, you're Chinese?"

He knew Lin Zixian spoke many languages, but his fluent Chinese, even with the subtle nuances, was suspicious.

"I'm a genuine Chinese. When did I ever say I was Korean?" Lin Zixian rolled his eyes.

"Ha! Those Koreans have been saying you're Korean and that you're their pride, but you never denied it. It's hard not to be misunderstood," Yuan Gang said, laughing foolishly again, not knowing what he was happy about.

This made no sense to Qiao Yun in the car, but she could see that the two had a deep relationship, especially remembering Yuan Gang's English call, "Caesar"! So his English name was Caesar!