Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins

"Right." Hou Lin produced pen and paper and began to sketch as he spoke: "Guo Jinbiao's Money Gang has its headquarters in the Jinye Grand Hotel in the western district of Jidun City. There are roughly three hundred permanent members inside—the main force of the Money Gang. In the other districts they have other holdings too: the Good Fortune Bar in the east, the Wild Biao Nightclub in the south, and so on. All of these are Money Gang properties, each guarded by several dozen of their underlings."

Hou Lin had been following Guo Jinbiao's affairs all these days and had thoroughly mapped out his foundations, so now he laid it all out clearly and in exhaustive detail.

"Then what are we waiting for? Three hundred men, that's all—let's hit the bastards!" Li Qiang jabbed a finger at the Jinye Building on the map. "We charge straight into their headquarters and wipe them out to the last man!"

"What do you think?" Yang Ce suddenly turned his head and asked Lu Xinyang.

"Boss, I think Captain Li has a point. After all this time in training, our men are more than a match for three hundred petty thugs. It's just—" Lu Xinyang hesitated here.

"Oh? Just what? Speak your mind, don't worry about Li Qiang's feelings." Yang Ce waved a hand. "That boy is single-minded. Left to him, there's no method but a direct fight."

"Heh." Li Qiang gave a sheepish laugh, then said, "Lu Xinyang, if you've got a good idea, out with it. What are you keeping secrets for in front of the boss?"

"Yes, boss. Here's my thinking," Lu Xinyang said. "Our men are formidable, but we're few—only thirty-nine. To clash head-on with three hundred-plus, casualties are bound to happen. And this is our first operation; there may be unexpected complications. So I propose we start with those satellite properties of the Money Gang."

"What's the use of hitting those small fry?" Li Qiang broke in, puzzled. "That won't touch their core strength at all."

"Li Qiang, quiet. Let Lu Xinyang finish," Yang Ce said, raising a hand to stop him.

Li Qiang immediately shut his mouth obediently and dared not speak again.

"That way, those satellite properties will send out distress calls, and headquarters will surely dispatch reinforcements—but they certainly won't send everyone," Lu Xinyang said. "My idea is this: our three squads strike three Money Gang properties separately, then wait for them to beg headquarters for help. Before their reinforcements arrive, our three squads withdraw quickly and drive straight for the Money Gang headquarters, seizing the chance to take the Jinye Building in one blow.

Meanwhile, those who went out as reinforcements, upon learning their headquarters has been attacked, will certainly rush back. Back and forth like that, and these men will be run ragged—and what's more, the men left at headquarters will already have been wiped out by us, so dealing with the remainder will be easy.

In this way, we can reduce our casualties to the absolute minimum."

"Not bad." Yang Xu's eyes lit up at once—Lu Xinyang's plan seemed a good one indeed. "But are you so certain these men will act exactly as you've predicted?"

"If Guo Jinbiao were still in Jidun City, there might be variables. But now that their boss is away, these men are leaderless, and they'll fear that if the satellite properties get smashed, the boss will blame them when he returns—so they will certainly send reinforcements," Lu Xinyang said with great certainty. "Still, even setting that aside, if headquarters sends no reinforcements, we lose nothing at all. Smashing up those peripheral venues poses not the slightest threat to our fighting strength.

And even if they don't come back to reinforce, at worst we do exactly what Captain Li said—go straight to their headquarters and hit the bastards."

Yang Yongjin could not help nodding, and laughed. "Haha, well said. Not bad, very sound."

"Not bad at all." Li Qiang nodded in appreciation as well. "Good plan—runs the Money Gang fellows in circles, and when we fight, we won't have to break a sweat. Wang Peng, shouldn't you promote him to deputy captain?"

Yang Ce allowed each squad captain to pick one outstanding member as deputy, which was why Li Qiang made the suggestion.

"No need." Yang Ce waved a hand. "From today on, Lu Xinyang, you are the strategist of the whole unit. From now on, every operation will be commanded by you and Li Qiang together."

"Ah?" Lu Xinyang was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly expressed his thanks. "Thank you, boss. Rest assured, boss, I'll do my best."

"No way—just like that, you're on my level?" Li Qiang was somewhat taken aback too, but he was glad for Lu Xinyang; after all, here was a post where the man could put his talents to use.

And from this moment on, a legendary unit was born. From its very first mission, this would be a team with zero deaths. Under Lu Xinyang's planning, every operation was completed smoothly, saving Yang Ce no end of trouble.

It was plain that Lu Xinyang was a man of meticulous thought and a grasp of overall coordination. He and Li Qiang soon produced a workable execution plan and route. After reviewing it and finding no problems, Yang Ce rose and left the warehouse with Hou Lin.

Yang Ce had earlier had Hou Lin buy a Golden Dragon coach bus for Li Qiang and the others to use. So after Yang Ce left, Li Qiang immediately assembled his men and boarded the bus, driving murderously toward Jidun City. Of course, certain appearances still had to be kept—after all, that fellow called Seventh Master had his standing in the underworld, and Yang Shuoxuan did not want Hou Lin and Bao Lin criticized for lacking proper manners.

Of course, rules are made by men. I give you face; if you are not satisfied, then don't blame me for being unkind. It was with exactly this thought that Yang Ce now arrived at Nightless Sky.

If that Seventh Master was smart enough to keep himself out of it, Yang Shuoxuan would not make things hard for him. But it seemed a lesson was unavoidable—this fellow was clearly cut from the same cloth as Guo Jinbiao.

"Brother Yang, shall we go out to welcome them?" If Guo Jinbiao had come alone, Hou Lin would certainly have paid him no mind, but now that Seventh Master was along, they had to put on a show of courtesy.

"Welcome them? Of course, why not? Find a junior man to watch the door and lead them to the conference room when they arrive." Yang Ce spoke with complete casualness. "Come on, Big Hou, keep me company for a sauna. Have Bao Lin come too."

"Ha!" Hou Lin understood Yang Ce's meaning at once—simply put, there was no need to take the visitors seriously at all. Made sense: Guo Jinbiao's nest was about to be taken; why fear the bastard?

As for that Seventh Master, so long as the proper courtesies were observed, that would be enough.

Yang Ce had only just stepped off that ramshackle fishing boat not long ago, and he still carried the stink of fish and shrimp on him. He had been in such a hurry to get home that he hadn't found time to wash, so now he decided to take a shower first.

Bao Lin had been ordered by Yang Mo Yi, so of course he didn't dare refuse. He undressed alongside Yan and, in a bathrobe, they entered the sauna room.

"Damn, Brother Yang, you're built like a bull," Bao Lin said enviously, eyeing the muscles on Yang Ce's body. "How did you train this?"

"Throw you in with Li Qiang for half a month, and I guarantee you'll look like me," Yang Hengye said.

"On second thought, forget it. I hear that place isn't fit for humans," Bao Lin said with a chuckle.

"When we start negotiating later, don't give Guo Jinbiao or that Seventh Master any face. Say what needs to be said," Yang Ce instructed.

"I understand. Don't worry, Brother Yang." Bao Lin had already heard from Hou Lin that Li Qiang and the others were going to raid Guo Jinbiao's headquarters, so he answered readily.

To be continued.

644. A Brush with Humiliation