Ma Peng, standing behind the bulletproof glass, sneered at Chen Fan, "Chen Fan, we'll meet again. I, Ma Peng, will surely repay today's events tenfold."
"Damn it, you think you can escape?" Da Xiong roared.
"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"
He then fired several more shots at other glass panes of the villa, but unfortunately, all of them were bulletproof.
Ignoring Chen Fan and Da Xiong, Ma Peng immediately turned and walked towards the basement with Cheng Hua.
"Quick, find people to block the basement exits of the villa. We can't let this dog escape!" Da Xiong ordered the people behind him.
Upon hearing this, over a dozen burly men rushed towards the basement passage.
"Brother Fan, don't worry, this Ma Peng won't escape today!"
Chen Fan nodded slightly, awaiting news of Ma Peng's capture.
After about ten minutes, a burly man ran back quickly.
"How is it? Did you catch that dog?" Da Xiong asked the burly man.
The burly man shook his head, "No, the door to their basement is made of pure copper, and we couldn't break it. We waited for over ten minutes and didn't see them come out."
"Damn it, I'd like to see how long they can stay in there!" Da Xiong cursed, assuming Ma Peng was trying to stall them.
But Da Xiong wasn't afraid of a stalemate. If Ma Peng chose to stay in the house, they would be like a turtle in a jar, and eventually, their supplies would run out, forcing them to escape.
Chen Fan heard this and, recalling Ma Peng's earlier words, suddenly realized something.
Holding his breath, Chen Fan looked towards the villa's basement. However, penetrating the concrete structures, the basement was empty. There was no sign of Ma Peng or Cheng Hua.
Furthermore, behind a cabinet, Chen Fan spotted a passage about a person's width. The passage was very long, and with Chen Fan's current eyesight, he couldn't see its end.
"Not good, they have an escape tunnel in the basement," Chen Fan suddenly realized.
"What? They have an escape tunnel?" Da Xiong was shocked.
Chen Fan didn't bother with anything else and rushed out of the villa. Using his vision, he observed the direction of the tunnel and ran towards a forest outside the villa area.
Unfortunately, when Chen Fan arrived at the forest, only an open manhole cover remained. The people who had gone down were long gone.
"Brother Fan, there really is an escape tunnel!" Da Xiong looked inside the manhole cover, his face full of shock.
"Quick, quick, search the surroundings for them! We can't let either of those dogs escape!" Da Xiong ordered his men who had followed him.
Instantly, everyone plunged into the forest, searching for the escaped Ma Peng and Cheng Hua.
Ma Peng was, after all, the leader of the South China underground forces. If he wasn't eliminated, he would be a ticking time bomb for both Chen Fan and Da Xiong.
His continued existence could even significantly impact their control over the entire South China underground forces.
"It seems this Ma Peng is indeed not simple. He had already made preparations for his retreat."
"Brother Fan, even if they escape, they can't get out of Mingzhou City. We'll definitely catch them!" Da Xiong tried to comfort him.
Chen Fan, however, shook his head, "Don't waste your energy on them. Establish a firm foothold in Mingzhou City as quickly as possible. From now on, the position of the South China underground leader will be yours."
"Yes, Brother Fan, but I'm afraid if I can't deal with Ma Peng, other forces won't listen to us." Da Xiong didn't stand on ceremony with Chen Fan but sounded somewhat worried.
"They are only after 'profit.' Even if Ma Peng can gain their support, what can a stray dog bring them?"
"Notify everyone with the status of the South China leader to convene a meeting in Mingzhou," Chen Fan instructed.
"What if they don't come?"
"South China cannot tolerate two tigers. If they don't know how to choose sides, they will only have one outcome," a cold glint flashed in Chen Fan's eyes.
"Yes! Brother Fan!" Da Xiong nodded respectfully.
In the following days, the underground forces of South China Province underwent a massive reshuffling.
The former South China leader, who had only recently returned from abroad, had his position usurped. This immediately made Ma Peng, renowned in the underground world, a laughingstock among many underground factions.
Following Chen Fan's instructions, Da Xiong became the new underground leader of South China Province. Since Chen Fan was originally the successor of the Underworld King, he had the full authority to appoint an underground leader.
Concurrently, Da Xiong sent notices to the other five underground forces, demanding their presence at the hot spring hotel in Mingzhou at ten o'clock that morning, with the consequences of non-compliance to be borne by them.
These words were clearly a threat to the six underground forces.
In the conference room of the hot spring hotel, Chen Fan sat at the head of the table. He checked the time; it was 9:50 AM. Currently, only representatives from Mingzhou, Jiangcheng, Sucheng, and Pingnan had arrived. The other five underground forces had yet to send anyone.
"Bang."
At that moment, the closed conference room door was pushed open, and a man with a tattooed arm swaggered in.
He glanced at the people in the conference room and asked mockingly, "Who is Da Xiong?"
The conference room was extremely quiet. No one spoke, and all eyes were fixed on this young man who seemed to have no idea of his place.
"Who are you?" After a moment, Da Xiong's voice slowly rang out.
The man cast a contemptuous glance at Da Xiong, "I thought you were all mute. Our Brother Zhi doesn't have time to come, so he sent me to tell you."
"Zhao Zhi of Longhua? Why didn't he come himself?" Da Xiong's expression immediately darkened.
"As I said, our Brother Zhi doesn't have time. However, our Brother Zhi also said that if you want his support, it's not impossible. You just need to meet some of our conditions, and he will definitely support you," the man said, throwing a document onto the conference table with an arrogant demeanor.
The man dared to act this way primarily because he knew that for Da Xiong to hold this position, he needed their support. Now, Da Xiong and the others were the ones seeking them, so their attitude naturally had to be superior, and it was also an opportunity to extort a hefty sum from Da Xiong.
At this moment, the conference room door was pushed open again.
Everyone's attention turned towards the entrance once more.
"You have no idea, those two twins yesterday were really something. I almost couldn't get out of bed this morning."
"With your old body, you should take it easy."
"I'm serious. Given our relationship, why don't I send them to you tonight so you can have a taste too?"
Two middle-aged men walked in, chatting and laughing lewdly, seemingly paying no attention to the others in the conference room.
They casually found seats, and one of them even propped his legs directly on the conference table, exhaling smoke rings from his cigar, appearing very relaxed.
However, they failed to notice that as they entered the conference room, Chen Fan glanced at the time again. It was exactly ten o'clock.