Chapter 141 — Old Buffon's Origins

Yang Duoran had no idea that the neighbor the crew leader mentioned actually existed—and at that very moment was cursing him. Yang Ce had assumed it was merely an excuse the crew leader invented to squeeze out more wages.

Before making his move, young Dalsk had investigated Shu Ya's background in advance. In Hong Kong, Shu Haikuo was a man who could summon wind and rain, with ties to numerous triads; rumor had it he was even the hidden backer of one of them.

If he wanted to use Shu Ya as a breakthrough and get something out of her, coercive measures would be unavoidable. But to act in Hong Kong—that he truly didn't dare. After all, that was Shu Haikuo's turf. The last thing he wanted was to lose the rice along with the chicken, and get himself folded into the bargain.

After all, young Dalsk was no law-abiding citizen. Though he steered clear of the drug trade, he was a underworld figure on Interpol's books—whoever runs a casino is no saint.

So young Dalsk waited, biding his time for the right opportunity. When he saw in the newspaper that Shu Ya was about to hold a concert tour, he was delighted.

It had to be said, this was a fine chance to strike. As long as it wasn't in Hong Kong, not on Shu Haikuo's turf, young Dalsk was confident he could succeed. True, bodyguards would still be protecting Shu Ya during the tour, but far fewer than in Hong Kong.

He gathered his men, made all preparations, and young Dalsk and his crew boarded a flight to Donghai. No wonder he was so devoted—that was tens of billions of euros they were talking about.

To be continued.

695. Doubts

Yet young Dalsk had not wasted the trip; he had indeed uncovered some clues. Unfortunately, as the old saying goes:

Man dies for wealth, birds die for food. Had young Dalsk stayed dutifully on his own turf and entertained no further wild ambitions, he might have lived out his days happily. But he chose a road of no return.

Young Dalsk, however, did not see it that way. He believed his own abilities were more than enough to deal with a mere celebrity. Confidence is a good thing, but blind confidence is not so fortunate.

Lately Yang Ce had been truly busy—run off his feet. Fortunately, Zhang Bin was handling everything at the jewelry company. But at this critical moment came unfortunate news: Zhang Bin had been beaten up.

Hearing this, Yang Mo was somewhat taken aback. Zhang Bin was a boss now—how could he just be beaten up like that?

The call came from Zhao Sisi. Yang Ce immediately realized the matter was not simple—otherwise Zhang Bin would have called him personally.

"How is Zhang Bin? What exactly happened?" Yang Ce asked urgently.

"I don't know either. This morning, Zhang Bin and I were at the company recruiting people when a group of men rushed in with iron rods and started smashing the place without a word. Zhang Bin went to stop them and they beat him with the rods." Zhao Sisi's voice was dazed. "We're at First People's Hospital now. Are you coming over?"

"Yes, I'll be right there." Yang Wenru frowned. "How badly is Zhang Bin hurt?"

"Both his arms are broken. They're all external injuries, but he won't be able to take care of himself for quite a while," Zhao Sisi said sorrowfully.

"I understand. Wait for me. I'm on my way." Yang Yanzhou hung up as soon as he finished speaking.

Zhang Bin had been beaten, and this jewelry company—Bao Lin had already put out the word. People in the underworld should all know the company's background; no one should have dared to provoke them. Still, Yang Ce called Bao Lin.

"Baozi, this is Yang Ce," Yang Yanzhou said.

"Brother Yang, what are your orders?" In the past, Yang Mo had always called Hou Lin directly for everything; it was only recently that Yang Ce had gradually started using Bao Lin, so Bao Lin was naturally nervous and deferential.

"My Liu Yan Jewelry Company has been smashed up. Help me find out who did it," Yang Ce instructed.

"Smashed up?" Bao Lin was stunned. "How could that be? I've already told my people below—they even warned the small-time thugs nearby, strictly forbidding them to cause trouble."

"Both of Zhang Bin's arms are broken," Yang Mo said angrily. "Baozi, investigate right now and call me back."

"Yes, Brother Yang," Bao Lin answered hurriedly.

And so the entire underworld of Songjiang sprang into action. It had to be admitted that sometimes the underworld worked faster than the police. The police had procedures to follow and methods to observe, while the underworld stopped at nothing.

All the small-time thugs of the commercial street had been gathered together. Baolin himself questioned them: "When the Liu Yan Jewelry Company was smashed this morning, which of you was nearby?"

"Brother Bao, I know—I was nearby," one thug said, raising his hand excitedly. To be summoned in person by Brother Bao was no small honor.

"Speak. Give me something worthwhile, and I'll reward you generously," Baolin said without pause.

"Yes," the thug said. "A group of men in black came in a big Hyundai van. Since I'm in the business myself, I paid them some attention. At first I figured they were people from our own Songjiang underworld coming to handle something. But then I thought, no—you'd already told us all not to cause trouble for Liu Yan Jewelry, so something felt off. I watched them more carefully and saw they were all unfamiliar faces, none I'd ever seen in the trade. I don't think they're locals from Songjiang."

"Did you get the plate number?" Baolin's heart tightened. Could they be outsiders?

"I did. It's a Donghai plate—AQ7431," the thug said.

"Pass the word down—find that van right now," Baolin said to the lackey beside him. "And get someone to dig up whatever records there are on it."

At that moment Yang Ce was at Fang Tian's place, chatting idly with him. After finishing his call with Baolin, he said a word to Fang Tian and hurried out—and promptly ran straight into Dong Jun.

"Senior brother!" No matter how urgent things were, Yang Ce could not neglect his manners. He quickly halted and greeted him: "It's been a long time."

"Ha, Yang Ce, you're here too," Dong Jun said with a smile. "Perfect. Tonight the three of us—master and disciples—can get together and catch up."

Ever since Fang Tian had been released from the detention center, Dong Jun had never once been caught by the police for a botched job. It stood to reason, then, that his earlier failures had all been deliberate—his aim being simply to get inside the detention center and visit Fang Tian.

Yang Ce understood now. With Fang Tian's methods, the odds of being caught by the police were very small—so that was how it had been. Still, Dong Jun had not changed his old habits; he remained a chivalrous thief, and besides supporting a number of elderly people living alone, he also funded many children who had dropped out of school.

When the disaster area was struck by an earthquake a while back, he had donated a good deal of money as well.

"Brother Dong, I have something extremely urgent today. Another time," Yang Ce said. His mind was on Zhang Bin's safety—how could he be in the mood to drink and reminisce?

"Oh? That urgent?" Dong Jun was taken aback.

"A good friend of mine was beaten up. He's in the hospital right now, and I need to get there as fast as I can," Yang Ce said. It was no secret, so he saw no reason to hide it from Dong Jun.

"Come on, then—take my car. It's fast," Dong Jun said. "As it happens, I know people at the First Hospital."

"All right," Yang Ce said, slightly taken aback. Then: "Brother Dong, you have a car now?"

"Heh, just bought it. Picked it up from Europe—a limited-edition Ferrari," Dong Jun said. "Plenty of horsepower. Want to give it a try?"

"I'm not really used to driving sports cars. You drive," Yang Ce said, shaking his head.