This is the key. If there were no inside informant, how would they know so few people were here?
I didn't press them further. These people wouldn't reveal anything useful, no matter how much I asked. It was better to investigate this Wu Guodong and work from there.
I said, "I'll let you go. Tell your master that next time he wants to mess with me, he'd better think about the consequences. Don't let someone sell you out while you're still counting the money for them."
The guy immediately nodded and agreed. I asked, "Aren't you leaving? Do you want me to escort you out?"
He bowed to me again and then scrambled out the door in a hurry.
I used the walkie-talkie to notify those below and told them to let these people leave.
Lan Ya walked over and said, "Hua Zi, you're getting more ruthless."
I replied, "I used to get beaten all the time. I've learned a crucial lesson: if you strike fast and hard enough, you can break their will and prevent them from even thinking of fighting back. Letting them have their way only emboldens the enemy. I, Li Hua, will not give them another chance."
Lan Ya asked, "Is this related to the Crown Prince?"
I said, "I doubt it. He just gave me a check for thirty-two million yuan. He wouldn't be so forgetful as to come back for more trouble."
Lan Ya exclaimed in surprise, "He gave you money? That much? What, do you think he feels bad about us losing the land bid and is compensating us?"
I replied, "It's not entirely unrelated, but the connection isn't significant. He lost a truckload of raw stones today and suspects I was involved. We agreed on a wager: whoever lost would close the trading fair, and he could come find his stones. He didn't find them and tried to extort me. I decided to settle the score for what happened earlier. I told him I injured over a dozen of his men, and he should leave a dozen of his men with me, and we'd be even. He refused and offered money. So, I quoted him a price."
Lan Ya said, "You're amazing. I'm more and more impressed with you."
I replied, "Don't butter me up. What's there to be impressed about? I actually wanted to let this slide for now and deal with him after the trading fair. But he came to my doorstep, so I had to take a bite out of him.
Lan Ya asked, "If you say it wasn't him, then who was it?"
I said, "I have a slight inkling, but it's not very clear. Think about it: seven or eight people came here, forcing sales. That's not how legitimate businessmen operate; they're here to cause trouble. And if we were forced to accept, they'd definitely frame us. This mastermind must be our enemy. I've been thinking, and our current enemies are Bo Gang, Crown Prince Kang, and my own nemesis, the female demon. Bo Gang is eager for me to help him make money, and Crown Prince Kang just got a lesson from me. That leaves only Zhou Yingying. Coincidentally, she was absent when the incident happened. I suspect Zhou Yingying is the most likely culprit. She and that fellow surnamed Sun also have a history of drug involvement."
Lan Ya nodded and said, "Perhaps it was that fellow surnamed Sun who colluded with Wu Guodong to set us up. Otherwise, who would know we were understaffed? Even if it's about drug trafficking, why resort to such brute force? This is clearly a show of force to intimidate us."
A challenge? Does this fellow surnamed Sun really want to become a major drug lord? And he's using us as the first target?
After all, we have the largest share of the nightlife market in Rui City, nearly half. Our nightclubs are present in almost every district, north, south, east, and west. Taking us down would mean they control a large portion of Rui City's drug market.
The remaining establishments are not part of a chain and are much smaller in scale.
Among wolves, tigers, and leopards, the jackal is the smallest, yet it's ranked first, indicating its ferocity. But who has ever seen a jackal reveal itself? This fellow surnamed Sun is like a jackal; he's never been seen harming anyone directly, yet he almost destroyed our family. If he's involved in today's events, he's still the one pulling the strings, the one holding the remote control. We are like puppets, with all the strings in his hands, controlling everything.
Unlike Bo Gang or the Crown Prince, who act openly, he is unseen and unfelt, yet he is everywhere, sending chills down one's spine.
Lan Ya was on the phone with the female demon, asking her sternly, "Where are you? Something's happened at the store, and you need to get back here, damn it!"
She hung up the phone in anger. I knew how she felt. Zhou Yingying had followed her for many years, always obedient and never questioning. If something had gone wrong on her watch, how would she react?
Someone who is utterly obedient to you stabbing you in the back – how heartbreaking is that!
I said, "Don't ask about this for now. Let me figure things out first."
Lan Ya clenched her fist and slammed it onto the table. The dull thud echoed, likely breaking her hand. I walked over and held her wrist, preventing her from hurting herself further.
What do people fear most? Suffering hardship, enduring labor, or even physical pain, none of that is terrifying. What is terrifying is betrayal. That is more painful than salt being rubbed into a wound, more unbearable.
About ten minutes later, Zhou Yingying rushed in, looking at us cautiously. Lan Ya's eyes blazed, and she asked, "Who did you go out with and talk to?"
She glanced at me. I maintained a poker face, then looked back at Lan Ya and said, "I thought it was just a brief chat. I mentioned it to the lobby manager, but he took me home and insisted, he insisted..."
Lan Ya demanded, "Who is he?!"
Zhou Yingying replied, "Principal Sun."
Lan Ya immediately slapped her, causing blood to trickle from the corner of her mouth. Zhou Yingying lowered her head without moving, which only confirmed my suspicion. This matter truly involved the fellow surnamed Sun, and this time, Zhou Yingying was undeniably implicated.
Lan Ya yelled, "Don't you have any sense? Do you know this is a critical time? We've closed three stores for safety, and you go out having a good time! Do you know the magnitude of what happened here?"
Zhou Yingying stared at her blankly, then looked at me, asking in confusion, "What happened?"
Perhaps she was truly in the dark. The fellow surnamed Sun was merely using her and hadn't necessarily shared his plan with her.
Lan Ya ordered, "Go ask your subordinates what happened and then come back to see me!"
Zhou Yingying quickly agreed and ran out. Lan Ya exclaimed, "I really want to stab her!"
I said, "We can't, at least not yet. Let her live a few more days until we understand the full picture."
A moment later, Zhou Yingying ran back and knelt before Lan Ya. She confessed, "Boss, I was wrong. Punish me or forgive me, I accept it all, and I promise not to utter a word of complaint!"
She might not have known she was involved in this incident, but her absence from her post was dereliction of duty, and being punished was only right.
Lan Ya picked up a leather whip from beside the boss's desk. It had a wooden handle about a foot long and a three-foot lash. Lan Ya swung her right arm and struck Zhou Yingying hard.
Zhou Yingying lay half-prone on the ground. Just as she said, she remained silent.
In this regard, she was much stronger than her subordinate, Da Laizi. That brat could bully others, but when it came to himself, he caved in easily.
The "crack" of the whip was jarring. Although harsh, it sounded pleasing when it struck her. Such a slave willing to serve enemies deserved to be beaten to death.