Chapter 55 Memorial Service

The Hunan Gang and the Henan Gang had been losing face lately, practically becoming the laughingstock of all the other criminal syndicates.

Originally, after Liu Yilong was beaten to death and Tie Xiong was killed, the ensuing war between their two factions was already a joke. Later, when it was confirmed that the killer was a young punk named Cao Yang, both gangs launched a manhunt, even pulling strings with higher-ups to effectively lock down the city.

Everyone figured the matter was settled. There was maybe a ten percent chance that this Cao Yang could escape Dongguan, and a ninety percent chance he would be caught and hacked into pieces.

Yet after searching for days, they had cornered the punk a dozen or twenty times, only to utterly fail to capture him, while suffering numerous injuries inflicted on their own men.

Over the last two days, this kid had actually gone on the counteroffensive.

First, he took out Liu Yu of the Henan Gang, and then he started smashing up their businesses.

He went and shattered the windows of other people's chicken joints, smashed the sound systems in their karaoke bars.

He raided rival gambling dens for cash and tossed firecrackers into the dance floors of their nightclubs.

He seemed to have switched to mad-dog mode, mercilessly beating any underling he caught alone until they were crippled for life.

By the time the main reinforcements arrived, not even a single strand of his hair could be seen. Right now, he was like a rabid dog hiding in the dark shadows, coming out to take a bite whenever you weren't paying attention, and bolting the moment he drew blood.

The other syndicates mocked them endlessly, calling them useless for failing to handle a single youngster despite having a combined force of over a thousand men.

She Zhishan and Liu Zhenhu were so furious they cursed up a storm and smashed quite a few glasses.

While angry, they were also secretly alarmed; this Cao Yang was simply beyond their imagination.

They had been in the underworld for so many years, and it wasn't as if they had never encountered formidable people, but it was their first time meeting someone as capable and utterly wretched as Cao Yang.

Especially Liu Zhenhu, who hadn't taken it to heart when Cao Yang previously threatened his life, dismissing it as mere trash talk.

Yet judging by the current situation, if he were indeed to end up alone and tracked down by Cao Yang, taking his life didn't seem all that difficult.

Hearing his subordinate report that another nightclub had been firebombed by Cao Yang, Liu Zhenhu’s hand shook as he smoked his cigarette.

It wasn't because Cao Yang’s fireworks were hurting business; rather, he was terrified that next time, instead of fireworks, Cao Yang might plant a bomb or use gasoline—what then?

He resolved that he had to finish the kid off as soon as possible, or the consequences would be unthinkable.

"Brother Hu, someone wants to see you. It's about Cao Yang," a henchman stepped forward to report.

"Bring her in."

Liu Zhenhu met the person by the swimming pool. After speaking for a while, the visitor left, and upon departure, Liu Zhenhu handed her two hundred thousand in cash.

Liu Zhenhu lit a cigar. This was the only good news he had heard in days.

He pulled out his phone and called She Zhishan, telling him he had a way to lure Cao Yang, that rabid dog, to a designated location, and invited She Zhishan to join forces and finish him off.

She Zhishan agreed without a second thought. If Cao Yang didn't die, not only would they lose face, but they would also constantly face the danger of being counter-killed by him.

...

At the farewell hall of the crematorium, Liu Zhenhu held a memorial service for his younger brother Liu Yilong and Liu Yu. The Henan Gang members all turned out, a vast, sea-of-heads crowd.

When the memorial ended, the two bodies were taken away for cremation. Liu Zhenhu walked out carrying their urns, his heart heavy.

The underlings felt their boss's sorrow, and someone took the lead in shouting, "Kill Cao Yang! Kill Cao Yang!"

The others quickly chimed in, raising their hands and roaring, "Kill Cao Yang! Kill Cao Yang!"

With seven or eight hundred people shouting in unison, the momentum was so overwhelming that passersby and staff hurriedly averted their eyes and kept their distance.

Liu Zhenhu pressed his hand down, and the crowd fell silent, all looking toward him.

"What's the use of just shouting slogans? You need to take action! Find him as fast as you can, catch him, and use his head to redeem our honor!"

The gang members dispersed to continue their search for Cao Yang, though a dozen or so remained. They were Liu Yu's subordinates, and now that their boss was gone, they were waiting for new arrangements.

Liu Zhenhu glanced at them. "From now on, follow A-Wei. He will temporarily manage White Night. Cooperate with him well."

The underlings nodded one after another.

Liu Zhenhu spoke again, "My place is missing a keeper. Any of you willing to go?"

He kept two large wolfhounds at his villa, and they were fiercely aggressive.

"Me!"

"Me! Me!!"

"Me! Me! Me!!!"

A dozen people raised their hands simultaneously. While being a dog walker sounded a bit humiliating, being Boss Liu's dog walker was a different story entirely—you got to see Boss Liu every day, and once you grew close over time, getting casually assigned any decent position later on would beat your current standing.

"You, just you." Liu Zhenhu pointed at Baozai in the crowd. "You look plump and fair, and since you've managed to keep yourself in such good shape, you must be a dab hand at raising dogs."

Baozai nodded repeatedly, climbing into Liu Zhenhu's motorcade amidst the envious gazes of the other underlings.

Arriving at the grand villa, he saw two bloodthirsty wolfhounds pacing inside an iron cage.

In the past, these two dogs were fed personally by Liu Yilong himself, and rumor had it they were frequently fed human flesh.

It was whispered among the subordinates that offending Boss Liu meant getting chopped into mincemeat to feed the dogs, though nobody knew if it was true.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!" The two dogs barked furiously at the newcomer Baozai, scaring him into stepping back repeatedly.

The housekeeper gave him a few instructions on what to pay attention to, handed him the keys, and told him to take them out for walks at irregular intervals.

As soon as the housekeeper left, Baozai looked around, and finding no one in sight, he called Cao Yang, telling him he had successfully infiltrated Boss Liu's home, and sent over the address.

Looking at the address on his phone, Cao Yang felt a flicker of suspicion. Was Baozai's execution really that strong? He'd just asked him to scout an address, and the guy had gone straight into the target's house.

Could this kid have already confessed to Liu Zhenhu and be deliberately trying to trick him?

Although this possibility was low, he still had to guard against it.

That night, Cao Yang changed his clothes, put on a duck-billed cap, and quietly arrived at the location Baozai had mentioned.

It was a villa district, and Liu Zhenhu lived at number 76. Cao Yang walked through the neighborhood pretending to be an ordinary passerby, deliberately steering clear of number 76.

It wasn't until two in the morning that he began to slowly approach, observing the surroundings for any signs of an ambush.

After watching for a long time, he found nothing unusual.

He called Baozai and asked if Liu Zhenhu was home.

Baozai said he didn't know; he had been stuck near the dog kennel all day and wasn't allowed to wander around.

Speechless, Cao Yang cursed him as useless.

Without confirming whether Liu Zhenhu was home, he didn't dare to rush in blindly, and instead retreated quietly.

If you don't strike, fine; but when you do, there must be no surprises. If this bastard wasn't home, walking in only to find an empty house was one thing, but alerting the enemy would make things troublesome.

The next day, he quietly returned to the number 76 villa district. This time, Baozai told him with absolute certainty that Liu Zhenhu was home—he had just come to check on the dogs a moment ago, and should currently be whacking off by the swimming pool.

Inside the villa's surveillance room, everything Baozai did was being watched by Liu Zhenhu.

"Is everything ready?"

"All set. Just waiting to see if that punk dares to step inside!"

"Good. Tonight, we're definitely finishing him off!"

"Then what about this kid?" A henchman pointed at Baozai on the surveillance monitor.

Liu Zhenhu smiled. "Didn't I say he was brought here to feed the dogs?"