Chapter 299: Swift Action

Wei Dongling was in high spirits. His trip to the United States wasn’t just for the six major Hollywood studios—if that were the case, he wouldn’t have needed to come in person. His main goal was to connect with wealthy people in North America. Over the past few days, he had met quite a few of them and reaped great benefits. He believed good news of a complete victory from Xiao Ran would arrive soon, after which he could return to Hong Kong.

Thinking of Hong Kong, his wife, and son, his heart warmed, and he longed to fly back immediately. But clearly, it wasn’t the right time to go back—at least not in a certain sense.

After lunch, Wei Dongling sighed at his fatigue before leaving the restaurant. Accompanied by his bodyguards, he went to the parking lot. As soon as he got into the car, he saw another vehicle approaching. Initially unconcerned, he was about to signal his bodyguards to drive away when he saw several dark, rod-like objects suddenly extend from that car…

Xiao Ran and Lin Qingxia had just fallen into deep sleep when they were awakened by a ringing phone. After comforting Lin Qingxia, Xiao Ran sat up, trying to calm himself down and clear his mind before answering the phone.

“Brother Ran, it’s bad—President Wei was shot!” A very urgent and tense voice rang in Xiao Ran’s ear. He recognized it as belonging to Wei Dongling’s bodyguard.

Realizing this, he suddenly understood: Ah Dong had been shot?! His mind exploded with shock, and his thoughts became chaotic. His face turned pale, lifeless. A dizzying sensation filled his head, and he swayed, almost falling off the bed.

That was impossible! Absolutely impossible! Xiao Ran couldn’t believe it—perhaps he didn’t want to believe it. He believed someone wanted to assassinate him, but he never thought anyone would target Wei Dongling. It made no sense. If it were for business, then no one in the world would dare to be a businessman.

So far, Xiao Ran had only experienced those few previous attempts on his life, all from the underworld. There had never been anyone trying to kill him over business, unless they wanted to exterminate him completely. Besides, killing someone wasn’t such a simple matter!

Yet the bodyguard’s voice kept echoing in his ears, making it hard for him not to believe. But then he heard another voice—one that filled him with urgency and anger. It was Wei Dongling’s voice, sounding extremely tired: “Ah Ran, I’m fine. The bulletproof car I gave you finally worked today.”

Xiao Ran jumped up, his face filled with joy and disbelief. He even woke Lin Qingxia, asking, “What happened? Why are you so happy?”

“I’ll tell you in a moment!” Xiao Ran said to Lin Qingxia before shouting into the phone, “Ah Dong, tell me quickly—are you hurt? Who did this?”

“You little rascal…” Wei Dongling wiped his face and smiled. What had just happened was extremely dangerous. “I’m fine. Two of them died, and one is still alive. Ah Chi and the others are investigating their background.”

Xiao Ran’s heart returned to its original place. As long as Wei Dongling was fine, that was enough. But the thought that someone dared to attack Wei Dongling filled him with uncontrollable rage. He said sternly, “A Dong, take care of yourself. I’ll be there right away! Have A Chi and the others get him to talk quickly. I really want to find out which bastard dared to attack you!”
“No need. Hong Kong still needs you there in person. If you come, what will happen to Hong Kong?” Wei Dongling wasn’t actually hurt at all; he was just so scared that his heart was pounding wildly.
Xiao Ran didn’t waste time arguing with Wei Dongling. Instead, he took a few deep breaths, his mind racing with countless thoughts. Since July 1st, the situation in Hong Kong had made it clear that he didn’t need to be there personally. With that in mind, he called Han Yun: “Xiao Yun, arrange everything for me right away. I need to go to the United States in half an hour!”
Then he turned to Lin Qingxia, who looked confused, and said, “Qingxia, A Dong was just tried to be assassinated. I have to go to the United States right away. You, your parents, and Xiao Han need to be careful. I’m worried someone might target you!”
“I’ll go with you!” Lin Qingxia said firmly, leaving no room for Xiao Ran to negotiate. She met his gaze and said, “We’re husband and wife. We should share everything, right?”
Xiao Ran sighed. Many things were too heavy to bear alone. He preferred to carry the burden by himself rather than let Lin Qingxia share it too. Now that she understood his intentions, they would go together!
On the plane, Xiao Ran comforted Li Jiaxin countless times before she, who had been crying like a broken doll, finally believed that Wei Dongling was really fine. They arrived in Los Angeles during the day. Upon entering the police station, they were recognized by other officers without even being questioned and led to the door of an office.
Xiao Ran took a deep breath and couldn’t help but wander into thoughts. He was afraid of seeing Wei Dongling injured, even though Wei Dongling had assured him firmly that he wasn’t hurt. Lin Qingxia held his hand, trying to calm him down.
It worked. Xiao Ran glanced at his wife before knocking on the door calmly. As soon as he opened it, he saw Wei Dongling and two bodyguards casually drinking with a seemingly strong white police officer with scars on his face.
All four turned to look at them. A smile gradually appeared on Wei Dongling’s face, and Xiao Ran couldn’t help but laugh too—whether it was a bitter laugh, a happy laugh, or a laugh of relief, he didn’t know!
Their eyes met, and they stepped forward to hug each other tightly. Then Xiao Ran punched Wei Dongling hard. The tension in his nerves finally eased. “You kid, why play such tricks? You almost scared your wife to death!”
“Do you think I wanted to?” Wei Dongling smiled bitterly. If possible, he wouldn’t even want to go through such a scare. He also punched Xiao Ran hard in return. Then he walked over to Li Jiaxin, whose belly had been swollen for several months.

Xiao Ran ignored Wei Dongling and went over to the police officer. Unexpectedly, the middle-aged officer had been staring at Yang Guang and Monkey, as if he knew them. Xiao Ran wisely chose not to ask any questions. Finally, the officer could hold back no longer and asked Yang Guang and Monkey, “Have you two saved someone before?”
Yang Guang and Monkey were stunned. Had they? They really couldn’t remember! After thinking carefully, they seemed to recall having saved someone before. They exchanged a glance—both remembered now. That person seemed very similar to the one in front of them. Could it be the same person? Unlikely!
The officer, unable to contain himself, pointed at himself and said urgently, “I think it must be you two. Have you forgotten? The person you saved that time was me!”
Xiao Ran was confused and took some time to figure it out. It turned out that once, when Yang Guang and Monkey were in the U.S., they had saved a middle-aged man, and that man was none other than the police officer in front of them. The world really wasn’t that big—things like this could happen.
After getting to know each other better, Detective Bill sighed and said, “This time, it’s fortunate that Mr. Wei was in an armored car. Otherwise, he would have been turned into a mess of bullets!”
That armored car was one that Xiao Ran had given to Wei Dongling a couple of years ago, just to be cautious. Yet, despite Xiao Ran’s precautions, it still turned out useful this time—it truly felt like fate played a role.
It was actually quite simple. As soon as Wei Dongling got into the car in the parking lot, another car suddenly drove up and started shooting at him. The density of the bullets was terrifying. If not for being in the armored car, he would have died dozens of times. Even so, he was still extremely pale with fear.
The two highly skilled bodyguards quickly reacted by hitting the other car’s fuel tank, causing it to explode. Only one of the three people in the car survived. That’s all there was to it—so simple, with no complicated backstory. It was a pity that the bodyguards hadn’t gotten any information before the police arrived.
As they left the police station, Xiao Ran suddenly felt like he had missed something. He called out to Wei Dongling and asked, “Did that police officer ask you if you had offended anyone or if someone wanted to kill you?”
Wei Dongling shook his head. He wasn’t someone like Xiao Ran, who had been to the police station many times, so he wasn’t as sensitive to such questions. Xiao Ran felt a slight stir in his heart. Since Bill hadn’t asked those questions, it meant Bill might already have an answer.
Xiao Ran nodded at Yang Guang and Monkey and returned to Bill’s office. He stared intently at the burly man and said, “Bill, I know you definitely know who did this. Tell me, I must know!”
A hint of panic flashed across Bill’s face. Yang Guang and Monkey watched him, saying only one thing, “Bill, for the sake of us saving you before, tell us!”
After hesitating for a moment, remembering that if it weren’t for Yang Guang and Monkey saving him when he was a undercover agent, he would be dead today, he gritted his teeth and said, “Actually, I’m not sure who did it either. But this kind of close-range shooting is definitely the style of the mafia!”

Mafia?! Xiao Ran’s expression remained unchanged, but his heart trembled slightly. Over the years, he had tried his best to avoid conflicts with MGM just to stay away from the mafia. Who would have thought that even before he took action against those scumbags, they would come after him first!
Avoiding the reporters who were desperately searching for them, Xiao Ran and Wei Dongling checked into the Beverly Hills Hotel. Not long after arriving, and after only a brief rest, Han Long came to see them personally and delivered some very unfortunate news: “All five major studios have rebelled, ignoring their contracts and deliberately delaying the release of our films using other methods.”
Xiao Ran’s pupils contracted slightly as he thought of the previous meeting of the six major companies. If nothing went wrong, this whole situation must have been planned by those six companies, with MGM acting as their executor. But why would they want to kill Wei Dongling? What advantage would it bring them? While he was pondering, Wei Dongling already had a plan: “Ah Long, it’s okay. The reason the five major studios are delaying things instead of breaking contracts is not to oppose us, but to test Phantom’s reaction.”
“I talked to the Jews within their organizations a few days ago. I’m sure there’s intense conflict among them. As long as Hong Kong wins, the opposition will be suppressed, and then we can take advantage of the situation to let the Jews run the studios! By then, the world will belong to us!” Wei Dongling’s wildly pounding heart had calmed down, and he calmly gave his instructions.
He now understood why Xiao Ran had been assassinated so many times—it must be extremely uncomfortable, as if life and death were slipping away from one’s control in that moment. No one liked that feeling. He suddenly became curious about how those who constantly struggled on the edge of life and death dealt with their psychological issues.
Why kill Wei Dongling? Xiao Ran closed his eyes and thought quietly, un disturbed. What advantage would killing Wei Dongling bring to the six major companies? He couldn’t come up with a definite answer.
Regaining his composure, Xiao Ran shook his head slightly, as if trying to put aside this unsolved mystery for now. He thought carefully—Hong Kong’s situation was settled, and Murdoch still needed someone to make a trip. That trip would be taken by Wei Dongling, allowing him to avoid the crises here as well.
As for Hollywood! Xiao Ran took a deep breath, suddenly opened his eyes with a fierce gaze: “No one can challenge Kuai Ying and come away unharmed. Since they dare to use violence, I’ll fight them to the end!”
Everyone listened quietly to Xiao Ran’s calm tone and his fierce gaze, feeling a sense of awe. Taking the phone from Han Yun, Xiao Ran called Guan Xin: “Master, have the security company select some people and send them to the United States as quickly as possible!”
After hanging up, Xiao Ran thought for a moment before making another call: “Xiao Fang, can you end the battle there by tomorrow? Prepare 4 billion dollars for me right away—I need it urgently!”
Then he turned to Han Long: “Ah Long, secretly contact Pierce from MGM. I want to see him! After that, arrange a meeting for me with Old Master Jin. I want to transfer the funds to the Qing Gang in a way that leaves no trace.”

After giving these instructions, Xiao Ran finally turned his gaze to Wei Dongling, revealing a faint smile that made it impossible to dare offend him: “Since they dare to declare war on us, they must bear the consequences. I’ve said it before—no one can challenge me without facing any consequences…”