Chapter 19

That day, Xie Wendong thought of going to Ghostland, so he pulled Li Shuang out of school. At first, Li Shuang was a bit unhappy, but as soon as he heard Xie Wendong talking about Ghostland, he became overjoyed. It turned out that Xie Wendong had ruled that the students in the club must attend classes during the day and could only go to Ghostland after school. Zhang Yanjiang, the leader of the Enforcement Hall, and his subordinates kept an eye on them at school all day long.

Li Shuang was so angry that he even said to Zhang Yanjiang, “Why don’t you let the old guard leave class and take over the gate?” The latter replied seriously, “Oh! How could I not think of that! I need to discuss it with Brother Dong!” Before he could finish speaking, Li Shuang fainted. How could he not be happy that Xie Wendong came to find him today? With a shout of joy, he pulled Xie Wendong away from the school under the “enthusiastic” gazes of the other brothers.

Business was booming at Ghostland that day, with many people coming. This was mainly because Sister Shui had somehow found a group of young, beautiful girls who were good at singing and dancing. Dressed in “revealing” clothes, they stood in the center of the venue, moving their bodies to the energetic music. Their black panties were barely visible beneath their ultra-short skirts, which was even more suggestive than not wearing skirts at all. Hundreds of people surrounded the venue, cheering and jumping, with shrill whistling sounds coming one after another.

That’s what Xie Wendong and Li Shuang saw when they entered. Li Shuang stared at the scene, his eyes almost popping out. Seeing his reaction, Xie Wendong shook his head and walked over. Not far away, Sanyan ran over, bent down, and said, “Brother Dong!”

Xie Wendong nodded and asked, “Did the boss here bring these people?”

Due to the noise, Sanyan didn’t hear clearly, so he pulled Xie Wendong upstairs to a private room. Soon after, Li Shuang followed in. Seeing Sanyan, he asked, “Brother Sanyan, where did you get those girls outside? They’re so pretty and attractive!”

Sanyan rolled his eyes and ignored him, then said to Xie Wendong, “Brother Dong, those girls were brought by Sister Shui to liven up the place. Business has been a bit slow since that incident with the lecher, so Sister Shui specifically brought in some beautiful girls to attract customers!” Xie Wendong was puzzled and asked, “Who is Sister Shui?”

Sanyan laughed and said, “She’s the boss here. She’s here today too. I wonder if Brother Dong wants to meet her?”

Xie Wendong nodded and said, “Since she’s the boss here, I should meet her. What kind of person is she?”

Sanyan replied, “It’s hard to describe. You’ll know once you meet her! Anyway, she’s a very capable woman.”

Xie Wendong uttered an acknowledgment, stood up, and was about to walk out with Sanyan. At that moment, the door opened, and a beautiful and sexy young woman came in from outside. She was dressed in black leather clothing—a black leather jacket without buttons, a low-cut tight white tank top underneath, a super-short black leather skirt, and black leather boots. Her fair skin contrasted sharply with the black leather outfit. She also had a delicate appearance, with her shoulder-length hair neatly combed to the back of her head.

Sanyan smiled upon seeing her enter and said to Xie Wendong, “Brother Dong, this is the boss here, Sister Shui!” Then he turned to Sister Shui and said, “This is our boss, Brother Dong!”

Sister Shui giggled sweetly, walked up to Xie Wendong, and extended her hand, saying, “I’ve long heard of Brother Dong’s fame; everyone talks about you. I didn’t expect you to be so young!”

Xie Wendong shook Sister Shui’s hand and said, “You flatter me! Your words make me feel utterly ashamed.” Sister Shui laughed and said, “Brothers, sit down. Let’s not all stand around!” The three sat down again, and Xie Wendong began chatting with Sister Shui.

Li Shuang sat nearby, drooling profusely. Ever since Sister Shui entered the room, his eyes hadn’t left her body. He thought to himself it was a shame—she was indeed beautiful, but a bit older. Still, he couldn’t help but feel some arousal. His face turned slightly red as he lowered his head and glanced around. Only when he saw no one paying attention to him did he breathe a sigh of relief.

After chatting for a while, Xie Wendong suddenly asked, “Sister Shui, you’ve been in the underworld longer than I have. Do you know where the cheapest heroin can be found?”

Sister Shui thought for a moment and said, “I know that in City J, gangs usually get their supplies from three major gangs. Now that the leader of the Axe Gang is dead, the gang is in chaos and is gradually falling apart. The Green Gang and the Brotherhood should be good sources of quality goods at fair prices.”

Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “Since all the gangs in the city get their supplies from them, the prices must be fixed. I want to find a new source, preferably not in the city proper—somewhere few people know about.”

Sister Shui nodded and said, “I understand what you mean. Let me think!” After a while, she said, “I do remember one person. There’s a guy named Ma Wu in County H who deals in heroin. He was once quite successful, and many people in City J used to get their supplies from him. But after being raided by the police several times, he seems to have become much more cautious now, and few people go to him anymore!”

Xie Wendong nodded and asked, “Then, Sister Shui, do you know how to contact Ma Wu?”

Sister Shui said, “I have his business card. I’m not sure if it’s still valid! I’ll give it to you when you leave.”

Xie Wendong said, “Thank you so much!” Sister Shui smiled gracefully and replied, “You’re welcome. We’re practically family after all! You’re much better than that lecher from before—at least you won’t try to take advantage of me! Hehe~”
Sanyan saw Xie Wendong looking a bit embarrassed and joked from the side, “Our Dongge is still young. Sister Shui, stop teasing him!”
Sister Shui laughed and said, “I was just joking! Dongge, don’t take it seriously! You guys keep chatting; I’m leaving first.”
Xie Wendong and Sanyan stood up to see Sister Shui out. After she walked away, Sanyan asked Xie Wendong, “Dongge, what do you think of Sister Shui?”
Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “She’s the type who changes sides easily—probably unreliable. But I think the Ma Wu she mentioned might actually exist. Once we have enough funds, I need to go to County H to get in touch with him.”
Sanyan frowned and said, “I’m afraid it’s true as Sister Shui said—we might not be able to find him!”
Xie Wendong chuckled and said, “There’s always a way. We’ll figure something out when the time comes!” After saying that, he turned to see Li Shuang sitting on the sofa, lost in thought. Sanyan kicked him and asked, “Fatty, what are you doing?”
Li Shuang snapped out of his daydream, his face red, and he lowered his head. Sanyan was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter. Seeing Xie Wendong looking at him suspiciously, Sanyan said, “I think this kid is daydreaming, haha!” After hearing Sanyan’s words, Li Shuang lowered his head even further, showing typical ostrich behavior.
Xie Wendong also laughed and patted Li Shuang’s shoulder before walking away. After sitting in the disco for a while, Xie Wendong couldn’t stand the loud music and screams. He told Sanyan to go find Sister Shui and get Ma Wu’s business card, then he took Li Shuang with him.
Walking on the relatively quiet streets, Xie Wendong felt much more relaxed. Glancing at Li Shuang, who was head down, he understood his thoughts and said softly, “Xiaoshuang, I think you should get a girlfriend!”
Li Shuang muttered, “The girls I like don’t like me, and those who do like me, I don’t like. Dongge, what should I do?!”
Xie Wendong, who was also an expert in love matters, couldn’t think of any advice. He chuckled and said, “Let love take its course! But remember, don’t try to pursue Sister Shui—she’s not a woman you can handle!”
Li Shuang nodded. Even he knew he shouldn’t fall for a woman ten years older than him. Seeing his reaction, Xie Wendong shook his head inwardly, thinking he should find a good girl for Li Shuang to stop daydreaming.

Two days later, Gao Qiang and the others returned. Not daring to go to school to look for Xie Wendong, they headed straight to Xinxin Billiards Hall. It had become the main gathering place for Wendong’s gang, and most matters were discussed there first. Since Sanyan had gone to Guiwei, there were also many fewer members in Xinxin. Upon arrival, Gao Qiang sent two people to search for Xie Wendong and Sanyan, while the rest moved the items they brought back to the inner room.

Half an hour later, Xie Wendong and the key members of the gang arrived. As soon as Xie Wendong saw Gao Qiang, he asked, “Qiangzi, did you get them?” Qiangzi nodded and said, “Brother Dong, let’s go to the inner room and take a look!” With that, the group entered the inner room. There were three large bags on the floor, bulging with something inside; everyone guessed they contained guns.

Gao Qiang opened one of the bags and handed a two-foot-long double-barreled shotgun to Xie Wendong, saying, “Brother Dong, what do you think of this?” Xie Wendong held the shotgun in his hands and found it not very heavy. Aside from playing with toy guns as a child, he had no knowledge of real guns at all. He thought to himself, Who knows if this gun is good or bad! Without saying anything, Xie Wendong handed the gun to Sanyan. Although Sanyan was older, he too didn’t know much about shotguns.

Gao Qiang said to Xie Wendong, “Brother Dong, shotguns are much cheaper than we thought. We could get one for less than a thousand yuan. This time I brought back thirty-seven guns. There really aren’t any more; my relatives helped me collect them from the whole village. Oh, and there are also three Type 54 pistols—only that much. We really can’t get any more!” With that, he took out three pistols from his clothes.

Xie Wendong nodded in satisfaction and asked, “How many bullets did we bring back?” Gao Qiang laughed and said, “Bullets are cheap and plentiful—just a few cents each.” Then he asked a brother who had gone with him, “Ertao, how many bullets did we buy?” The brother named Ertao laughed and said, “Actually, we didn’t buy many. Most were given to us when we bought the guns. In total, there must be tens of thousands of bullets!”

After hearing this, Xie Wendong picked up the shotgun and asked Gao Qiang, “Have you used this gun before?” Gao Qiang replied, “These past few days, we went to the mountains a few times and tested the guns. Damn, they’re incredibly powerful. A shot at a rabbit from fifty meters away leaves its whole body full of holes. It just has a strong recoil, and it’s a bit hard to get used to at first!”

Xie Wendong fiddled with the shotgun in his hand, thinking to himself: I didn’t buy this shotgun to scare people; I still need to shoot it when it comes to a crisis. I’m just worried that my brothers might not control it well on their first try and hurt their own people. With that in mind, Xie Wendong asked everyone, “Is there any place in City J where we can practice shooting?”
After some thought, they realized it would be extremely difficult to find a place to practice shooting in the city area, as it was densely populated and spread out. If gunshots were heard, someone might call the police. He Haoran looked at everyone and said to Xie Wendong, “Brother Dong! I think it’s not possible in the city, but it might work in the suburbs. Especially the western suburbs—those areas are desolate, full of large grasslands.”
Li Shuang said, “The suburbs are good, but we can’t just show up there with guns in a car. People will think we’re going to rob a bank!”
The others agreed that Li Shuang made a good point and nodded in agreement.
Xie Wendong thought for a moment before saying to Sanyan, “Brother Zhang, find a way to buy a used Da Jiefang truck. It doesn’t have to be new; as long as it runs. Then find a brother who knows how to drive and get him a driver’s license!”
Sanyan nodded. “Yeah, that’s easy. There are plenty of used cars around, and you can get one for a decent price! I’ll take care of it!”
Xie Wendong glanced at the three large bags and said, “Hide the guns well! No one is allowed to mention this to anyone else. Don’t think just because we have guns in the gang that we’re powerful and can cause trouble everywhere. If I find out anyone does that, I won’t spare them. Understand?”
Everyone replied in unison, “We understand, Brother Dong!”
Xie Wendong nodded and said to them, “Go find some tough and smart brothers from your own gangs. Once we get the car, we’ll start practicing shooting!” “Yes!”
“Alright, nothing else to discuss. You can all leave now!” Everyone dispersed.
Xie Wendong called Sanyan over and asked, “Brother Zhang, how’s Menghu helping you with the investigation?” Sanyan replied in a low voice, “We’ve identified the address. There are probably between ten and twenty people. If our brothers are accurate with their shots and launch a surprise attack, we can take them all out in no more than two rounds of firing!”
“Is the information reliable?” Sanyan grinned. “I have a friend who works as a low-ranking member in the Menghu gang. That kid wouldn’t lie to me! And I’ve even been there myself once!”
“Hmm! Still be careful. Brother Zhang, check again. We must be absolutely sure and win in one strike. Otherwise, our newly formed gang could collapse!”

Sanyan bit his lip and said, “Okay, Dongge. I’ll go check again!” Xie Wendong took his hand and said, “Be careful. It’s fine if you can’t find it, but make sure no one else discovers it! Pay attention to your safety!” Sanyan nodded gratefully and said, “Don’t worry, Dongge. I know what to do!”
A few days later, Sanyan found someone to buy a large Jiefang truck, truly following Xie Wendong’s advice. The old truck was so damaged that its original color couldn’t be seen, and it didn’t need a horn—its loud noise could be heard from twenty meters away, as if it might fall apart at any moment. It would still take a few days to get it ready.
Considering the urgency, Xie Wendong took everyone to the suburbs on the day the truck arrived, armed with shotguns. Everyone was young, and few men didn’t like guns; they were all excited at the idea of shooting. Xie Wendong and the others found an uninhabited area in the western suburbs and hung several large sheets of paper with circles on them on the trees. At his command, those with guns pulled the triggers simultaneously. After the shots, the papers were torn to pieces.
Xie Wendong chuckled and said to everyone, “Brothers, each of you find a big tree to practice on! You can’t aim accurately with these guns!” Hearing this, everyone rushed to find big trees. Xie Wendong gave Sanyan, Gao Qiang, and He Haoran each a Type 54 pistol. Li Shuang grew anxious and shouted, “Dongge, I want one too!”