The Heir to the Seven Killers in the City

Chapter 31: Each Side Makes Its Preparations

“Ever since the Second Master’s death, people’s true colors have really come to light. Some who thought our Fire Scorpion Gang was finished—or who were scared out of their wits by Qin Yu—have simply vanished; others, those treacherous scoundrels who dared to crown themselves ‘King,’ were never a threat to begin with and have already been dealt with. There really aren’t many gang members left now.” Luo Jiang reported this to Yang Yong, the leader of the Fire Scorpion Gang, who had just returned. In terms of seniority, Luo Jiang was considered a veteran of the Fire Scorpion Gang; he had been there since Yang Yong founded it. To Luo Jiang, Yang Yong was his benefactor; had it not been for Yang Yong, Luo Jiang would have long since turned to dust. That was why Luo Jiang had remained with the Fire Scorpion Gang all this time. Luo Jiang had little ambition and wasn’t particularly fond of violence, so while he commanded respect within the Fire Scorpion Gang, he held no real power, allowing newer members to rise above him. “How many brothers do we have left now?” Yang Yong asked. “Twelve or thirteen. It’s all my fault—my incompetence has led to this outcome…” Hearing that the Fire Scorpion Gang, which he had built up over so many years, now consisted of only this small number of people, Yang Yong did feel a twinge of pain in his heart. But he couldn’t blame Luo Jiang for this, and besides, he had already braced himself for such an outcome. “I had them all scatter. If this small group stayed on the island, they’d be wiped out in one fell swoop,” Luo Jiang continued to explain. “Tell the brothers they’ll have to tough it out for a while longer. Things will be back to normal before long after I return. By the way, have Lin Hao’s men already left the island?” Yang Yong asked, puzzled. “They’ve already left the island, but this time, we’ll still have to rely heavily on Old Lin’s men to deal with those traitors causing the internal strife.” Yang Yong raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Looks like that old guy isn’t planning to burn his bridges just yet. Still, you’d better keep an eye on Lin Hao’s side—I’ll explain this to you later.” Luo Jiang didn’t dare to overthink it and simply nodded. “All right, come back to the island with me first.” “Well… Big Brother, the guys are all out there right now. If I go back to the island alone, that kid Qin Yu might track me down, and I’m afraid I wouldn’t stand a chance against him,” Luo Jiang hurriedly tried to dissuade him. “What’s there to be afraid of? I’m right here, aren’t I? Do you really think I’m a pushover? I’m actually waiting for him to come.” Yang Yong waved his hand dismissively, flashing a contemptuous smile. Luo Jiang had the utmost respect for his boss’s fighting skills, but he still felt something wasn’t quite right. Not daring to say much more, he simply agreed, “Second Brother, it’s definitely time to avenge Third Brother.” Yang Yong’s smile widened. He shook his head and said, “Old Luo, you know how close we are—don’t give me that. To be honest, if you hadn’t hated this life of being in charge, none of this would have happened. Number Three? He’s just a brainless fool. Sure, he’s got some guts thanks to that death-defying nerve of his. But let’s be real—isn’t he just using that position to satisfy himself?” “As for the Second Brother, he’s got a brain, but it’s full of nothing but petty cleverness. Didn’t you see? All it took was a little perk from Lin Hao to lure him in. I’ll tell you this: with our Fire Scorpion Gang in trouble right now, I’m actually relieved they’re dead. Otherwise, those two would surely be among the ‘Sons of Chaos.’ ” Luo Jiang already knew all this, but he hadn’t expected Yang Yong to put it so bluntly today. “All right, enough said. We’ve got to take care of that kid named Qin Yu, too. Let’s head back to the island.” The warehouse door swung open, and sunlight flooded in, momentarily blinding Qin Yu. Still, he managed to make out that the person walking in was Zhang Xiaofei, who was loaded down with bags of all sizes. Zhang Xiaofei walked over to Qin Yu and began setting the bags down one by one. Qin Yu looked at him in surprise, wondering what all these things were. “What are you staring at? Give me a hand—these are all useful things,” Zhang Xiaofei said impatiently. As he spoke, he glanced at the wounds on Qin Yu’s body. He found it strange—the wounds had actually healed completely in just a single day. “Holy cow, not even a Super Saiyan is as crazy as you—you didn’t even leave a scar.” As he spoke, Zhang Xiaofei pulled a steaming hot breakfast out of a bag and continued, “Even Super Saiyans need to eat breakfast, right?” “At least you’ve got a shred of decency. I woke up in the middle of the night and was starving,” Qin Yu said as he hurriedly opened the food and began wolfing it down, not caring how he looked. After finishing breakfast, Zhang Xiaofei began showing Qin Yu the various bags and packages he’d brought. The bulkiest items were two sets of clothes, along with bandages and medical alcohol—which, come to think of it, were indeed no longer needed. “Oh, right, and there’s this little gadget.” Zhang Xiaofei pulled a Nokia phone charger out of the small bag behind him. “I saw your phone was dead yesterday, so I grabbed this. I really didn’t expect anyone still uses such an antique these days, but it’s actually pretty good for you—it’s indestructible,” he said with a laugh, a hint of mockery in his voice. “You were looking at my phone?” Unexpectedly, Qin Yu ignored Zhang Xiaofei’s joke and asked this instead. That single glance made Zhang Xiaofei want to cry. He thought to himself, “Bro, don’t look at me like that—it feels like you’re about to take me out in a heartbeat.” “No, wait—when you jumped out, your phone fell into the front row, so I just took a quick look before tossing it to the back. I swear I didn’t look at anything else, and I had no idea someone was feeding you intel or anything.” Qin Yu just smiled maliciously, probably trying to scare the living daylights out of Zhang Xiaofei with that half-smile… “But Xiaofei, you probably know this person who’s been giving me intel. It’s only when you’re in a humble abode that you come to understand the affairs of Jiangcheng.” “Uncle Xu San? That’s pretty cool.” “Some things are just hard to handle if you don’t know the right people.” “I wasn’t talking about you—I was talking about Uncle Xu.” Zhang Xiaofei said. Seeing the look of confusion on Qin Yu’s face, he continued to explain: “I’ve been on the streets for quite a while now—much longer than you, who’s a latecomer to the trade. Back when we were just starting out, we all grew up listening to the glorious deeds of our elders. Among them was Uncle Xu. In his youth, he was quite the figure—he could take down ten or so men single-handedly. But that was a different era; back then, you’d go years without even seeing a gun.” Qin Yu listened intently as Zhang Xiaofei continued, “Later, when he was in his forties, Uncle Xu was riddled with ailments, but he still held a certain status in the underworld, so there wasn’t a single thing about the underworld that he didn’t know.” “But! That was all many years ago. Technology has advanced rapidly these past two years, and the Fire Scorpion Gang isn’t the kind of group that respects the older generation. Where on earth did he get all that intelligence?” As Zhang Xiaofei spoke, Qin Yu fell deep in thought. Noticing Qin Yu’s pensive expression, Zhang Xiaofei quickly added, “Of course, this is all just my speculation. These days, surveillance and eavesdropping rely on technology—it’s possible the old man has his own connections. It’s hard to say for sure.” As Zhang Xiaofei spoke, Qin Yu had formed his own thoughts. He stood up, grabbed his clothes, and walked toward the back of the room. “What are you doing?” “Changing clothes. It’s about time I got some fresh air!”