Actually, someone pulled out a dark, grimy pistol from their pocket. Hearing this, he quickly put it down.
The one who kicked down the door was a young man in an officer's uniform, around twenty-three or twenty-four years old.
His eyes flashed with a fierce light, like two sharp knives, piercing directly at An Caishen.
The usually arrogant An Caishen, even with all his effort to remain calm, couldn't help but tremble, his fat face shaking uncontrollably. He stared at the officer, gritting his teeth as he asked, "What...what do you want?"
The young officer said expressionlessly, "We received intelligence that there are terrorists here, so we're conducting a search. This is a serious matter, please cooperate. Anyone exhibiting unusual behavior will be killed on sight."
"What...how is that possible?" An Caishen shouted, "I've always been a law-abiding citizen, running an entertainment venue to entertain the public. How could there be terrorists? Who's making baseless accusations? Besides, what unit are you from? What evidence do you have? What search warrant do you have? I have some connections with Political Commissar Liu of the Armed Police detachment, I...I also have..."
The young officer interrupted him, coldly saying, "The team is led by Zhu Long of the 3rd Regiment, Poison Dragon Regiment, Special Operations Division of Fuhai Province. According to special regulations, we don't need evidence, search warrants, or any connections with you!"
Special Operations Division?
An Caishen instantly turned pale.
He certainly knew the power contained in those five words—how formidable they were! Indeed, they could launch an operation without evidence or search warrants.
Moreover, in the entire Fuhai Province, few could suppress the division commander known as the "Devil of the Military": Jin Ziliang!
What he couldn't understand was why this special operations division had suddenly searched this place.
Could it be that terrorists had actually infiltrated?
Under the threat of more than twenty dark gun barrels, no one dared to move, frozen in place. The young officer ordered his men to search them. They found two Type 35 pistols, several sharp daggers, and a few small packets of virus.
Over the next half hour, soldiers kept coming in to report.
"Report: No terrorists found in Area A, but five young women were found being held captive. They were clearly under duress and showed signs of beatings. They have been rescued!"
"Report: No terrorists found in Area C, but an underground casino was discovered. The initial estimated amount involved in gambling is around 35 million. All gamblers have been apprehended!"
"Report: No terrorists found in Area E, but several drug users were found. Methamphetamine, ecstasy, and some unidentified but definitely narcotic substances were found, totaling over 500 grams! All individuals have been subdued!"
"Report: Seven firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a batch of controlled knives were found in Area F!"
...
Clearly, this was a meticulously planned operation, dividing the nightclub into several areas for searching. They didn't find terrorists, but they uncovered numerous illegal and criminal activities!
An Caishen, covered in sweat, slumped in on the sofa. Even if they didn't find terrorists, so what? They discovered so many illegal activities! Even illegal imprisonment!
He knew he was finished. Even if you have a police chief as a brother, or some high-ranking officials in the city as your backers, so what? Ordinary troops might listen to the government, but special operations divisions won't!
The officer named Zhu Long sneered, "What a 'entertainment venue' for entertaining the masses! It's certainly entertaining enough!"
Soon, several policemen entered, led by none other than Zhong Qitao, the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Yunzhou City Police Department.
Old Zhong saluted Zhu Long and said, "Commander Zhu, the police received a notification from your division. I will lead a team of two hundred criminal police, special police, and armed police, who are already on site and taking over the relevant work!"
"Good!" Zhu Long nodded. "Thank you for your help. It's a pleasure working with you!" He then saluted as well.
An Caishen, standing to the side, was stunned. It was Zhong Qitao? Just a few hours ago, he had been mocking him, and now, he was teaming up with the special operations division to conduct a massive raid on his nightclub?
This was simply too ridiculous! An Caishen's heart sank. He sensed something was wrong, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.
However, he understood after a moment.
Zhu Long walked up to him, waved his hand, and several soldiers chased An Caishen's companions away. Then, Zhu Long slowly leaned down, his eyes fixed menacingly on An Caishen.
Old Comrade An panicked: "You... what else do you want?"
Zhu Long smiled slightly, then suddenly raised his hand and slapped An Caishen hard across the face.
The slap was heavy enough to make the fat on An Caishen's face tremble violently, blood flowing from his nose and mouth.
He clutched his face in agony: "You... you hit me?"
As he spoke, two more teeth fell out.
Zhu Long nodded: "Yes, it's to hit you! This is what Commander Jin ordered; this is to hit you on his behalf!"
An Caishen was terrified: "What do you mean? When did I offend... offend your Commander Jin?"
He was completely baffled. Jin Ziliang was such a powerful figure; he couldn't possibly offend him even if he wanted to!
Could it be that he offended Jin Ziliang? That's why this trouble happened?
Then, Zhu Long raised his hand again.
An Caishen shouted: "Captain Zhong, this is assault... aren't you police going to do anything about it?"
Zhong Qitao, standing to the side, turned his back leisurely and sighed: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river!"
Zhu Long's slap came down hard!
Another loud slap!
This time it was even louder.
An Caishen was almost knocked unconscious; his eyes bulged out, and his nose bled even more profusely. But he dared not resist. It's said that a scholar can't reason with a soldier, and he was in the same boat.
Besides, he had no reason to argue.
Zhu Long slowly added, "This slap, according to Commander Jin's instructions, was for his brother."
"Are you kidding me!" An Caishen was nearly going crazy. "I... what the hell did I do to deserve this?"
Zhu Long said, enunciating each word clearly, "I don't know what you did to deserve this, but I can tell you, Commander Jin's brother is named Lu Chen!"
Lu Chen?
An Caishen's eyes widened instantly, revealing a look of utter disbelief and incredulity.
How could it be him? It was actually Lu Chen!
An Caishen completely understood. The whole "search for terrorists" thing was bullshit, just an excuse!
This entire regiment of soldiers was clearly here to avenge Lu Chen, given the scale of the operation.
An Caishen never imagined that Lu Chen's brother was actually the infamous Jin Ziliang!
He suddenly turned his head and shouted at Zhong Qitao, "Captain Zhong, did you hear that! This isn't a search for terrorists; it's clearly revenge! I..."
Zhong Qitao walked over and smiled, a smile that sent chills down An Caishen's spine.
Zhong Qitao said, "An Caishen, remember what I told you four hours ago? Don't be too arrogant. If you are, you'll regret it. Of course, now you can say you don't regret it. But you're finished! Everyone, including Director Yang, will scramble to distance themselves from you. Boss An..."
He lowered his voice, "Too arrogant, courting disaster!"
Then he raised his voice, "We didn't find any terrorists, but we discovered so many illegal and criminal activities. An Caishen, you can expect to rot in jail!"
It was already midnight. At a barbecue stall near the Moon's Tooth Pastry Shop, Lu Chen and his employees, along with Jin Ziliang and Li Xiaozhi, were enjoying their grilled skewers.
Jin Ziliang's phone rang. He answered and listened to a long report.
After hanging up the phone, he said calmly, "Of the four major gangs in Yunzhou City, only three remain. The God of Wealth Gang is now wiped off the list."
These words left Zhou Defa and the others speechless.
Li Xiaozhi, however, remained calm.
Lu Chen, on the other hand, seemed quite helpless. Although An Caishen had deeply offended him, surely he shouldn't be this unlucky! This revenge was truly ruthless. The military's power was too great, especially the special operations division!
He looked at Zhou Defa and the others, and solemnly said, "Listen carefully, no one is allowed to leak this. Don't tell anyone, lest it cause trouble."
Zhou Defa and the others quickly agreed.
Zhou Defa added, "Hey! Brother Chen said he'd catch them sooner or later, and that I'd make sure everyone who hit me got their revenge! Looks like that's hopeless now, they're all in jail. Haha!"
He seemed quite pleased with himself.
Jin Ziliang smiled meaningfully.
To Lu Chen's surprise, the next day, Daozi returned with dozens of men to Moon's Fang.
He hadn't been arrested yet!
Lu Chen happened to be at Moon's Fang and was stunned to see Daozi and his men arrive. Zhou Defa tensed up: "Damn! They dare to come again? Are they going to fight to the death?"
He reached for his weapons.
Lu Chen stopped him, saying calmly, "No need, they're not here to cause trouble."
Daozi and his men were indeed not here to cause trouble; it was obvious at a glance.
Because they all looked mournful and haggard.
Daozi had come to apologize and offer compensation. He led his dozens of men to the street and said in unison to Lu Chen, "Brother Chen, we're sorry! We were wrong. Please forgive us!"
This shout stunned the passersby. Then, Daozi opened a box containing neatly stacked hundred-yuan bills, along with several documents, seemingly property deeds or something, and a key.
Daozi said in a hoarse voice, "Brother Chen, one million is compensation for your losses, please accept it. And this property deed is for the third floor upstairs. We bought an apartment there, about 300 square meters. It was originally for a casino, but now… sigh! Please accept this!"
Lu Chen was both amused and exasperated. Who had pulled this off? Jin Ziliang? Or someone else?
However, he accepted it anyway, as it wouldn't be polite to refuse.
Daozi also told Zhou Defa that he could hit back at anyone who had attacked him yesterday.
As he said this, many of the men he had brought with them straightened their backs in a tragic manner.