Chapter 62

Chapter 60: A Mysterious Invitation

"Brother, I think we should just forget about that Liu Dong. No matter how good his kung fu is, can he really withstand a gun? If he doesn’t come, it’s fine. But if he dares to come, we’ll just take care of him and bury him in the ground. Who would know it was us?" The speaker was a young man with two blue dragons tattooed on his left arm, his muscles bulging, and a twisted scar running from his left eye to his jaw, giving him a fierce appearance.

This man was named Qi Hongbing, one of the Red Flower Twin Sticks of the Black Tiger Gang, essentially a bodyguard. However, his position as a bodyguard was very special; apart from the gang leader Wang Haitao, none of the other hall leaders could command him.

This also led to Qi Hongbing's arrogant and condescending nature. However, he did have the capital to be proud. With his impressive 'Praying Mantis Fist,' almost no one in the Black Tiger Gang could match him. It was precisely because of his existence that the Black Tiger Gang, after suffering significant losses when Liu Dong came to challenge them, managed to rise again and reassert its dominance in Quancheng.

After hearing his words, Wang Haitao was tempted for a moment but ultimately shook his head firmly. Not to mention whether a gun could kill that god-like strong man, the charge of murder by gunshot alone would bring him enormous trouble.

It was important to know that private gun ownership was illegal in China. Perhaps hiding a gun without using it might be fine in normal times, but now that China had entered a new century, with the government's crackdown on organized crime becoming increasingly severe, he might get into trouble over this relatively minor issue at any time.

Therefore, Wang Haitao was becoming increasingly cautious. The 'yellow, gambling, and drugs' that used to be the main sources of income for the gang were now less frequently involved. Moreover, he was also trying to legitimize the Black Tiger Gang.

Seeing Wang Haitao shake his head, Qi Hongbing wanted to say more, but after seeing his stern gaze, he grumbled and said nothing. In the Black Tiger Gang, he could fear no one, except for the gang leader Wang Haitao, whom he dared not disobey in the slightest.

"Old Hong, what do you think we should do?" Wang Haitao turned to look at the middle-aged man sitting to his right, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, with a scholarly and gentle appearance, looking like a university professor.

Upon hearing his words, the other leaders of the Black Tiger Gang, who were seated around, also focused their attention on this middle-aged man, even the usually arrogant Qi Hongbing included.

After hearing this, Hong Changshan raised his left hand to adjust his gold-rimmed glasses, a confident smile appearing on his lips. As the strategist of the Black Tiger Gang, although his power was not the greatest, his influence within the gang was second only to the leader. The Black Tiger Gang's development to its current scale was largely due to his planning. Therefore, both the gang leader Wang Haitao and the entire gang trusted him very much.

"Boss, although we are known as the local thugs in Quancheng, we are more adept at the dark side of society. When it comes to finding people, the police are clearly more skilled. You just need to give Chief Wang a call, and he will surely give you face for such a small matter!"

Pausing for a moment, Hong Changshan looked around at everyone and continued, "Moreover, as the Chief of Quancheng's Public Security Bureau, he hopes for the stability of the city. We are the biggest source of instability. Therefore, to make us withdraw our members quickly, he will definitely agree to help!"

After hearing his words, everyone nodded in agreement. Yang Bin immediately spoke up, "Brother, I think Mr. Hong's plan is good. Besides, we have given Chief Wang a lot of respect in the past. I believe he will be very willing to help us!"

Wang Haitao nodded, "Mm, let's do it as Mr. Hong suggested! Old Five?"

As Wang Haitao spoke, a fat man wearing a gray T-shirt, with a round face and eyes that seemed to be smiling all the time, stood up.

"Brother?"

"You have always been in charge of the gang's finances and are familiar with Chief Wang. You will make this call," Wang Haitao instructed.

"Yes, Brother!" As the leader of the Xuanwu Hall of the Black Tiger Gang, Pei Zhiming was not physically strong, but he was very good at making money. The bars, karaoke lounges, KTVs, and underground casinos under the Black Tiger Gang were mostly managed by him. The rich financial resources provided by the Xuanwu Hall under his leadership were crucial to the Black Tiger Gang's development to its current scale.

"However, even with Chief Wang's help, we cannot withdraw all our people!" Wang Haitao paused and looked at Yang Bin, "Bing, since this incident was started by your Qinglang Hall, the task of finding the person will be given to your hall!"

"Yes, Boss!" Yang Bin stood up without any complaint.

"Who is this Liu Dong? Why is everyone so afraid of him!" At this point, Qi Hongbing, who had been sitting on the side, could no longer contain his curiosity and asked, seeing the serious expressions on everyone's faces and the previous conversation.

Upon hearing his words, the senior members of the Black Tiger Gang exchanged glances. They were hesitant to speak, as this was a disgrace to the Black Tiger Gang, and the gang leader Wang Haitao had personally ordered them to keep it secret. Without his permission, no one dared to speak.

Seeing everyone's eyes turn to him, Wang Haitao knew that this matter could no longer be hidden. Fortunately, it was no longer two years ago, and he no longer harbored the anger he once had, only feelings of regret and fear. Additionally, the reason for keeping it secret back then was to prevent the other gangs they had defeated from taking advantage of their weakened state. Now that the Black Tiger Gang had firmly established itself as the top gang in Quancheng, there was no longer such a concern.

"Let me tell you, since Hongbing is not an outsider." Wang Haitao paused, a look of reminiscence appearing on his face, "Two years ago, we defeated the once-dominant Sihai Gang and took control of the Antiques Market in the center of Quancheng. Of course, the protection fees there were also taken over by us. At first, everything went smoothly. Although some merchants occasionally complained, they all paid the monthly protection fees after being beaten. However, we encountered trouble with a young man who was not even twenty!"

"Is this person Liu Dong?" Qi Hongbing couldn't help but ask.

Although being interrupted annoyed Wang Haitao, his mind was more focused on the memories of the past, so he just gave Qi Hongbing a brief glance and said nothing, "Yes, this person is Liu Dong."

"Remember, everyone else paid the protection fees, but he didn't pay a single cent. To ensure that the rules for collecting protection fees in the Antiques Market were not broken, we naturally couldn't let him off easily. So, after a disagreement, our people got into a conflict with him, and a fight broke out. However, the result was both shocking and infuriating. Shocking because over a dozen of our members were defeated by him in one move. Infuriating because someone dared to openly challenge the authority of the Black Tiger Gang in Quancheng."

"So, when we prepared to go back and settle the score the second time, we didn't expect to fail again. Even the leader of the Qinglang Hall, Fu Dabiao, was defeated by Liu Dong."

"At this point, we realized that this young man was a highly skilled martial arts expert. However, before we could come up with a new plan, he directly came to our door, unarmed."

At this point, Wang Haitao paused, a look of fear appearing on his face, though it quickly disappeared. However, Qi Hongbing, who was observant, noticed it, which made him even more curious about Liu Dong, whom he had only heard of but never seen.