Although they had not yet formally sworn brotherhood, he, who was already closer than any sworn brother, was undoubtedly Zhou Tong’s last resort.
"He Wei..."
Zhou Tong had been in Shangjing for so many years, and he realized that a lot of effort had been put into building connections and handling matters. Yet, today, he was arrested so abruptly. If not for He Wei, no one else could have accomplished this.
A murderous intent flashed in Li Zhonglou's eyes. He detested anyone who dared to harm those close to him; this was almost his absolute taboo.
However, he did not act rashly. He Wei's identity was different from anyone he had encountered before. If this were Qin Zhou, he might have acted directly, but this was Shangjing. A core figure from the Shangjing Central Bureau could, to exaggerate a little, make the ground tremble with a mere stomp.
To deal with such a person, one could not act recklessly.
"Let's go back first and try to gauge Lin Qianqian's attitude tomorrow."
Forcing himself to calm down, Li Zhonglou returned to Yian.
Upon his return, however, he found no sign of Sanyang; his room was even left ajar.
Li Zhonglou's heart sank. Seemingly realizing something, he quickly called Li Meixia.
"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed has been switched off..."
His breathing instantly became heavy. With a certain guess in his heart, Li Zhonglou called Xian Yan again.
"Hello, Mr. Xiao? I was planning to contact you tomorrow. I apologize, but there's some bad news. The exchange meeting has been postponed. I don't know what happened yesterday, but they investigated five times in a day. I really don't have the energy for such things anymore..."
After hanging up the phone, Li Zhonglou's expression was so grim it seemed water could drip from it.
This He Wei had, within a single day, targeted almost everyone around him!
No wonder he had disappeared after that morning.
It was evident that He Wei was also a person who held grudges. When he realized Li Zhonglou was retaliating, he immediately sent an even bigger gift.
And he revealed a very direct message: To oppose me, do you have the qualifications?
Yes, this was his blatant provocation.
And it was likely not limited to these few.
He walked slowly to the window, his face now devoid of any expression as he gazed at the scenery.
"Is this Shangjing, is this your warning to me?"
Li Zhonglou suddenly smiled, but it was impossible to tell if the smile was happy or unhappy.
Before he came to Shangjing, his master had cast a hexagram for him: fate was uncertain, heavenly secrets were obscured.
This meant it could signify great misfortune or great fortune. Since arriving, Li Zhonglou had encountered minor conflicts, but overall, his progress had been very smooth.
As he left the police station that afternoon, he had already cleared the fog of Shangjing. This meant that if things continued smoothly, he would soon achieve both his objectives.
But in just half a day, everything had changed.
Li Zhonglou understood clearly that his master's hexagram neither stated great misfortune nor great fortune, implying both possibilities existed.
Therefore, this must be the great tribulation.
He remained sleepless that night, standing silently by the window, his face betraying no emotion.
It wasn't until the next morning that he received two more calls.
One was from Zhou Tong's friend, who said someone had resolved his problem and handed over his auction pass to that person.
The other was from Feng Zheng, who called at noon. While accompanying Ya Lili to find Xiao Lan, he had visited Hei Dao and found him gone from his ward. Inquiring with the nurse, he learned that Hei Dao had been taken away by the police yesterday.
The fact that even someone confined to a hospital bed was taken away made the intent very clear.
Subsequently, Li Zhonglou found news about Sanyang and Li Meixia.
One, who had been fine after yesterday's events, was now arrested as a suspect. Furthermore, the arresting officers were not from the Yian police station, which explained why Li Zhonglou was unaware when he was taken away yesterday.
The other was being interrogated and investigated by the police due to an incident from many years ago. It was likely that if Fourth Master had not intervened, she might have been arrested as well.
Thus, from night until dawn, everyone around Li Zhonglou, except for Feng Zheng and the three well-behaved rich second-generation individuals, had been dealt with.
His reaction had evolved from initial rage to gloom, and now to indifference.
As for Lin Qianqian's attitude, he no longer needed to probe.
He probably wouldn't even be able to see her if he went.
He now understood one thing: to return this grand gift, his current status was entirely insufficient. He had to climb to a higher position than his opponent to avenge this humiliation.
Indeed, this was utter humiliation, the kind where you had to thank the person after being insulted.
He could even bring up Li Meixia's past and take away someone lying in the hospital, so how could he not investigate what Li Zhonglou had done in Shangjing before?
Qiao Sen, Chi Biao - either of them would have provided a reason to arrest him.
But he didn't. Instead, he dealt with everyone around him, yet left him untouched.
Shangjing Central Bureau?
Li Zhonglou chuckled and then dialed the captain's number.
In Shangjing, could the Shangjing Central Bureau wield absolute power? That was naturally impossible. According to Li Zhonglou, there were many mysterious national organizations above them. These organizations not only operated independently of the Shangjing Central Bureau but also required the Bureau to cooperate with them.
Although the Eagle Special Forces did not have such privileges in Shangjing, the captain knew where to find them.
After finishing the call with the captain, Li Zhonglou met a young man the next day and left Shangjing with him.
Before leaving, Li Zhonglou also bid a brief farewell to Feng Zheng and others. As for Zhou Tong and the others' affairs, he gave himself a deadline of one month. In one month, he would definitely return to resolve all matters.
Sitting on the plane leaving Shangjing, Li Zhonglou gazed at the city below in silence.
At this moment, the young man sitting beside him spoke, "Although you were introduced by the captain, I still want to remind you that Iron Forest is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Even if the captain himself went, he wouldn't dare to say he had even a ten percent chance of returning alive."
Li Zhonglou did not respond to his words but instead asked, "If I can return alive after a month, I will become a member of the Sky Dragon Group, right?"
The young man immediately rolled his eyes and said, "As if you can really return alive."
"However, if you can truly return alive, let alone join the Sky Dragon Group, becoming a captain would be a sure thing."