{Chapter: 222 Lin Yuan's intent to kill!}
"Yes, Boss Ergou!"
The members of the Qingshan Gang lowered their heads and responded in unison, their voices filled with forced respect.
Wang Ergou had clearly told them not to call him "Boss" anymore—that they were all dogs under Lin Yuan's command, equals in servitude—but none of them dared address him so casually. In their eyes, he was no longer the man he used to be. He was now the hand of Lin Yuan himself.
And no one dared disrespect the hand that could end them.
---
Meanwhile, in another corner of the city, far from the chaos and betrayal, Lin Yuan lounged comfortably on a wooden rocking chair on the second floor of a modest-looking building.
From the outside, the place looked completely unremarkable—just another aging apartment in a quiet district. But inside, this was the temporary command post from which Lin Yuan manipulated his pieces like a master tactician playing chess.
After receiving confirmation from Wang Ergou that the trap had been sprung, Lin Yuan casually pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, Uncle Zeng?" he said as he leaned back, a lazy smile curling at his lips. "Do you still remember that batch of illegal drugs and firearms I reported to you earlier? The ones where you couldn't track down the owner?"
A brief silence.
"Yeah," Lin Yuan continued, his voice calm and deliberate. "Well, the owners are about to show up."
On the other end of the line was Uncle Zeng—a senior figure in Kyushu's police force. He was no ordinary cop; he had influence, connections, and the authority to move entire task forces. A powerful ally in the shadows.
Uncle Zeng's voice came through, skeptical but curious. "Are you referring to that stash in the Jianbo Building? Who's the owner? That Gu Qingshan you've been going on about?"
"That's right," Lin Yuan replied smoothly. "It's Gu Qingshan."
But Uncle Zeng hesitated.
"You know I can't act on hearsay, Lin Yuan. I need solid evidence. There were no traces of Gu Qingshan at the scene—no fingerprints, no footage, nothing that links him to the weapons or drugs."
Lin Yuan's smile didn't falter.
"Don't worry, Uncle Zeng. The evidence will appear very soon."
"You had surveillance installed there, right? Are your people in place?" Lin Yuan asked casually, but there was a sharp edge in his tone.
"They're all ready. Cameras are up, plainclothes units are nearby. But are you absolutely sure Gu Qingshan will show up? What makes you so confident?" Uncle Zeng asked, still doubtful.
Lin Yuan chuckled under his breath. "Because I've left him no other way out."
He ended the call without saying more.
In Lin Yuan's eyes, Gu Qingshan was no longer a threat—he was a cornered animal, and the net was already tightening around him. Whether Gu Qingshan ran, fought, or begged, it wouldn't change the outcome.
He would fall.
And fall hard.
---
Elsewhere, inside a heavily reinforced Land Rover speeding through the night, Gu Qingshan sat in silence, his expression dark and stormy.
Ye Feng remained focused on the road, but he could feel the heavy weight pressing down on his brother-in-arms.
Gu Qingshan's chest rose and fell sharply, his fists clenched tightly.
The betrayal cut deep.
Now he fully understood the truth.
The Qingshan Gang's fall wasn't due to outside forces alone—it was sabotaged from the inside. The cancer had been growing all along. It was Wang Ergou who had stabbed him in the back while smiling to his face.
Someone he had trusted.
Someone who had eaten at the same table as him.
Someone who had once sworn loyalty.
The sense of betrayal twisted inside him like a blade.
Ye Feng glanced over and sighed.
"Brother Qingshan… where do we go now?" he asked quietly.
At this moment, they were like fugitives—hunted, cornered, desperate. The city that once belonged to them had turned into a hostile battlefield.
Gu Qingshan gritted his teeth, his voice low and bitter. "To the airport. We leave everything behind—the money, the power, the reputation. None of it matters now. We'll go straight to Yanjing."
Running was humiliating.
But staying would mean death.
Ye Feng nodded wordlessly and stepped on the gas.
They arrived at the airport not long after—but as the car slowed near the entrance, both men's hearts sank.
Armed men were already stationed at the gates.
Some stood casually, pretending to be passengers or staff. But their stances, their eyes, and their subtle gestures gave them away. They weren't here to fly.
They were here to kill.
Gu Qingshan's blood ran cold.
"Forget the airport," he said sharply. "They've blocked it off already."
He paused, thinking fast.
"Go to the train station."
It was a desperate gamble. But what other choice did they have?
The train station was their last hope.
But when they reached it—same result.
More people. More shadows. More traps.
Every route was closed. Every escape blocked.
Panic started to rise, but Gu Qingshan forced it down.
He suddenly remembered something.
"Fengyu Port," he said. "Go there. I still have a big fishing boat anchored. If we take it, we can head south by sea, switch cities, and from there, take a train or flight under new identities."
Hope sparked in his chest again.
Maybe they still had a chance.
But when they arrived at Fengyu Port, that hope was crushed in an instant.
The fishing boat—his last hope, his final backup plan—was engulfed in flames.
Thick, black smoke billowed into the air. Flames licked the sun sky. The boat creaked and cracked, its hull collapsing under the fire's fury.
Gu Qingshan stared at it, eyes wide with disbelief.
Then he laughed.
A bitter, broken laugh.
"Cruel…" he murmured. "Too cruel…"
"This is beyond ruthless! That Lin brat… he really wants me dead! He won't let me live… he won't even let me escape!"
He slammed his fist against the dashboard.
His voice shook with fury and helplessness.
Ye Feng looked away, unable to watch.
Gu Qingshan's face twisted with anger, grief, and despair. His voice dropped to a whisper—but the hatred in it was unmistakable.
"Lin Yuan… you're too cruel…"
It felt as though every step Gu Qingshan had taken had already been calculated in advance.
From the warehouse in the eastern suburbs all the way to the port at Fengyu, every route he could possibly retreat through had been blocked with precision and cold determination.
He had prepared a number of fallback hideouts—caves and safehouses he had carefully kept secret for years—but without exception, each one had either been sealed off, flooded, or guarded fiercely. In some places, fire raged at the entrances; in others, sharp blades had been rigged to fall, or boiling water awaited intruders. A few were even watched by official that made any approach suicidal.
In short, all his roads had been cut off.
It wasn't a coincidence—it was a declaration.
Lin Yuan didn't want to give them a chance to escape. He wanted them dead.
Gu Qingshan's fury erupted, his voice roaring in the enclosed space like thunder. "Since he's not willing to give us a way out, then we might as well face him head-on! Contact the Chen family. Tell them... tell them I've got a huge gift waiting for them."
Ye Feng nodded solemnly, sensing that Gu Qingshan had reached the limit of his tolerance. "Understood. I'll inform Chen Meng right away."
"Go to the Jianbo Building on Xiuying Road," Gu Qingshan instructed, breathing heavily but steadily. "The so-called gift is there. I've stored a lot of things inside that place—stuff from my early days when I just started getting into business. I ended up abandoning it because the risks were too high. And now, that bastard Lin Yuan has pushed me into a corner."
"What exactly did you leave behind in there, Brother Qingshan?" Ye Feng asked cautiously.
"It's nothing special... just some drugs and firearms," Gu Qingshan said, as if mentioning something as ordinary as old furniture.
Ye Feng's brow furrowed deeply. "Brother Qingshan, you know Kyushu's laws are unforgiving. Any dealings involving firearms carry the death penalty."
"That's exactly why I stopped," Gu Qingshan sighed. "It was too dangerous to keep going, so I buried it all."
"We won't hold on to the goods. We'll sell everything to the Chen family, take a few hundred million in cash, and disappear. Relax. I'm the only one alive who knows what's inside. All the others who helped store it... they're long gone. No loose ends. Lin Yuan won't be able to find out a thing."
Gu Qingshan exhaled slowly, as if trying to ease the pressure pounding in his head.
Since his mind was made up, Ye Feng didn't say more and drove them toward the Jianbo Building as instructed.
The Jianbo Building stood along the quiet stretch of Xiuying Road. It wasn't anything remarkable—just a gray, unfinished structure with no paint, no signs, and no trace of luxury. It was the kind of place most people wouldn't spare a second glance at.
The surrounding area was equally drab. This part of town had long been forgotten, built up hastily in the past as a warehousing district. The buildings nearby were primarily used for storage, and many sat half-completed or filled with piles of discarded cement, construction debris, and rusting scaffolding.
When they arrived, Gu Qingshan quickly scanned his surroundings. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary—no movement, no suspicious vehicles, no signs of surveillance.
He stepped forward with practiced familiarity and unlocked the metal door with a flick of his wrist.
Inside was a long hallway, dark and musty, leading to another set of electronically secured doors.
Gu Qingshan entered a code without hesitation. With a beep and a heavy click, the lock disengaged, and the doors swung open.
Stacked neatly within were dozens of large burlap sacks.
Each bag bore bold red Chinese characters that read: Lotus Root Starch.
"Lotus root starch..." Ye Feng murmured, puzzled.
It was a clever front.
The powder, commonly used in traditional Chinese desserts and often seen in markets and kitchens, looked harmless.
Gu Qingshan casually tore open one of the bags, allowing the fine white powder to spill into his palm. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent, then gave a satisfied nod.
"Still in perfect condition. Untouched. Top quality," he said, a faint smile appearing on his face.
Ye Feng stepped closer, lowering his voice slightly. "Brother Qingshan, I need to tell you something."
Gu Qingshan glanced at him. "Go ahead. What is it?"
"There are footprints—fresh ones. Whoever left them tried to cover them, but I can still see the traces. And another thing—did you ever install surveillance cameras here?"
Gu Qingshan's smile froze.
He didn't answer right away.
Instead, still holding a handful of lotus root starch, he calmly walked over to Ye Feng and pulled him toward the exit.
Just as they reached the threshold—
Click!
Every light inside the building suddenly flared to life.
Bright white fluorescent lights filled the space, eliminating every shadow and corner in an instant.
Gu Qingshan's eyes widened slightly.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
And now, it was too late to turn back.
****
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