Chapter 1 Saint Paul City, Administrative Hall

Having dealt with his son's body, Huo Dongsheng, along with Huang Peishan and a dozen or so staff members from the Chinese Labor Association, arrived at the city's administrative hall.

Many staff members were already in the administrative hall. They were used to Huo Dongsheng's arrival and continued to work with their heads down. Only one clerk quietly picked up the telephone and made a call. Huo Dongsheng and his group took the elevator to the third floor and headed for the director-general's office.

Huo Dongsheng personally brought people over to meet Director-General Gustav and discuss how to deal with the Wang family's armed forces.

The Chinese Labor Association was divided into two major sections: administration and armed forces. The armed forces had always been controlled by the Wang family, while Huo Dongsheng and his people were in charge of the administration. Although they also had a group of men under their command, they were clearly not as numerous as the Wang family's.

To take over Wang Xiao's five-thousand-man army, they had to rely on external forces, namely the official authorities of Saint Paul City. In terms of interpersonal relationships and expanding network influence, the administrative faction was definitely stronger.

Director-General Gustav held both military and political power in Saint Paul City, effectively a local warlord regime. His size far exceeded the surrounding armed regimes. But compared horizontally, he was significantly inferior to the Bernardo family in Panama City because it was relatively poor here, and the territory was relatively small. Coupled with the ongoing wars in the South American region, the development of Saint Paul City was also quite limited.

But at this moment, as long as Gustav sent troops, quickly suppressing the Wang family's armed forces would definitely not be a problem.

However, Huang Peishan had tried to see Gustav twice but failed, and calls to the director-general's office in the administrative hall had also gone unanswered.

The situation in Saint Paul City was complex, and Huo Dongsheng couldn't afford to delay, so he had to make a trip himself.

Just as they were about to reach the office, the director-general's secretary came up to them and blocked their way. "Chairman Huo, our director-general is not available. Please return for now."

Huo Dongsheng frowned slightly. He understood the old fox Gustav's calculations. So, he directly told the secretary, "Tell the director-general that I know why he's avoiding me. I'm here with sincerity. Whatever price he wants, we can discuss it."

Unexpectedly, the secretary still didn't budge and instead smiled at Huo Dongsheng. "I'm sorry, Mr. Huo, the director-general is really not available. He is receiving some distinguished guests. When he's done, he will naturally see you."

After speaking, the secretary politely bowed slightly to Huo Dongsheng and then turned and left.

Huo Dongsheng didn't leave. He stood in place with his hands behind his back, lost in thought.

Huang Peishan pondered for a moment and softly reminded him, "Could it be... that the price we offered doesn't meet Old Gu's target?"

Huo Dongsheng nodded. He already understood Gustav's intention to keep people at arm's length. As a warlord in Saint Paul City, Gustav wasn't too short of money, so the things he needed might not be something his side could provide.

Realizing this, Huo Dongsheng took out his cell phone, went to a secluded spot, and dialed Gwen's number.

"Hello?" Gwen's voice came from the phone.

"The other side is about to make a move on us," Huo Dongsheng said directly. "If we don't move, they will. Now you must find a way to get the military and political departments of Saint Paul City to support me. Let them send troops to take over Wang Xiao's five thousand men. This is the only way to stabilize the situation. This is very important to us... and to you as well."

"..." Gwen was silent on the phone for a while, then said, "I understand."

...

Outside Saint Paul City.

In the dense tropical jungle, the leaves formed a canopy, blocking out the sky.

"Rustle!"

A burst of footsteps sounded, and Wang Xiao, covered in dust, led two of his men, pushing aside the surrounding branches, struggling to walk through the forest.

Wang Xiao and his men had just narrowly escaped death. If Jiang Zhou's call hadn't come in time to remind him that Huo Dongsheng was already preparing to make a move, he might have been blocked at the airport by now.

The group abandoned their car and fled directly from the wilderness next to the airport, making their way through the dense forest to get here.

They had been walking for a long time, but the cell phone had no signal, and Wang Xiao couldn't contact the outside.

The two brothers were exhausted, but fortunately, they were already some distance from the city, and the surrounding area was all tropical rainforest. Even if the other side wanted to search, it would be difficult to find three people in the sea of trees.

After walking for a while, the subordinate beside him, holding his cell phone, suddenly shouted, "Minister Wang, there's a signal!"

Wang Xiao immediately took out his cell phone and glanced at it. Sure enough, there was a weak signal. He quickly found Jiang Zhou's number and tried to call.

"Beep... Beep..."

The call went through, and Wang Xiao held his breath.

"Hello?" Jiang Zhou answered the phone. "Where are you now?"

"I've already escaped!" Wang Xiao turned his head and glanced around, frowning as he replied, "We're in the dense forest on the south side of Saint Paul City."

"It's good that you're safe." Jiang Zhou also breathed a sigh of relief and then told Wang Xiao, "They might make a move on your armed personnel. Stop hiding. You need to return to the troops now to take charge of the overall situation."

Wang Xiao was silent for a while, then said, "It's too slow for me to walk alone."

"Then how about this," Jiang Zhou said. "You contact Su Tianyu immediately. He also has connections in Saint Paul City. He will send you back."

"Okay." Wang Xiao nodded. He hung up the phone and began to contact Su Tianyu.

...

Saint Paul City, Director-General's Office in the Administrative Hall.

The office was very spacious, with an area of about three or four hundred square meters. The furniture in the room was all made of solid wood, and the thick carpet on the floor alone was worth a fortune.

On the wall beside him hung the head specimens of wild animals. Whether it was a roe deer or a cougar, they could all be seen on the wall. On the other side of the wall hung a variety of rare hunting guns, each of which could be sold for a high price in the collector's market.

Judging from the decoration of this room, Gustav's life details and tastes were also full of warlord characteristics, completely unlike a politician.

Gustav was sitting on the sofa, wearing a pair of reading glasses and reading a book. He was probably in his sixties, with a slender figure. Sitting under the light at this time, he looked refined and gentle, seemingly out of place with the decorations on the wall.

Just then, the door was knocked open, and the secretary walked in. He bowed slightly to Gustav and then said, "Director-General, people from District One have contacted us and want to speak to you directly."

Gustav didn't even lift his head, continuing to read his book, and softly asked, "Who is it?"

"The director of the Fifth Division of the Central Bureau," the secretary replied.

Gustav didn't even lift his head. "This person is not qualified to talk to me. Well, you can directly tell him that if he wants me to send troops, I want five hundred million in military supplies."