Chapter 33

Liu Bo shook his head and said with a laugh, “I can’t do it, but this kid can!” Then he pointed at Jiang Sen and added, “That’s because he comes from a reconnaissance unit! Haha!”
Xie Wendong said cheerfully, “Great! Jiang Sen, from now on you’ll train the members of the secret group by yourself. Just let us know if you have any requests!”
Jiang Sen thought for a moment and said, “Besides having exceptional physical strength, a reconnaissance soldier also needs to be quick-witted. Most importantly, they must be able to endure the hardships—ordinary people can’t handle it!”
Xie Wendong replied, “Hmm, you’re in charge of selecting them. You have the right to eliminate those who don’t qualify and can choose from other factions.”
Jiang Sen was delighted by Xie Wendong’s trust in him and nodded in agreement. From then on, Xie Wendong renamed the secret group of the Wendong Society the “Secret Unit.” All its members were chosen and trained by Jiang Sen. Eventually, the Secret Unit split into two factions, with one of them, Blood Kill, becoming a formidable force that intimidated both the underworld and legitimate authorities—something Xie Wendong hadn’t anticipated.
Over the following month, the Wendong Society spread rumors in J City’s underworld that He Xueyong was secretly colluding with the Tiger Gang. News spread at an astonishing speed; within three days, most gangs in the city knew about it. The rumors grew more and more exaggerated—initially it was just said they were colluding secretly, then it was claimed the two gangs had formed an alliance, and later it was said the Tiger Gang had merged with He Xueyong’s forces… Soon, He Xueyong became a well-known figure in J City, but people would grit their teeth whenever his name came up!
Meanwhile, during this month, the Wendong Society intensified its training. Every morning, members would run five kilometers first, followed by various physical exercises. Then Liu Bo would teach them military boxing. Those under Jiang Sen’s command faced even greater hardships—they had to run five kilometers daily, practice shooting in the suburbs, learn survival skills in the wild, and master various combat techniques. By the end of the month, the members of the Wendong Society had made significant improvements in both physical fitness and combat skills, and they also developed a disciplined mindset akin to that of professional soldiers, something other gangs lacked.
During this time, in addition to training with Jiang Sen, Xie Wendong purchased twenty AK47s from the Triad and other small gangs. Together with the forty he had bought from the Triad earlier, these weapons were distributed among various factions. He also sent people to secretly observe He Xueyong’s daily routine.
At the end of January 1996, China’s traditional Spring Festival was approaching. Families decorated their homes with lights and decorations, filled with joy. From the streets, the sound of children setting off firecrackers could be heard from time to time, scaring pedestrians into dodging, but also eliciting the children’s innocent laughter.

Xie Wendong sat alone in the gloomy single room, eyes closed, leaning back on the sofa in deep thought, considering the action he was about to undertake. Unconsciously, he reflected on his experiences over the past year. From a good student in the eyes of his teachers to the formidable leader dominating the southern border now, the journey had seemed like a dream. What do I want? Xie Wendong had asked himself many times; before, there were only vague concepts in his mind. But as Wendong grew stronger day by day, one word gradually became clear in his mind: conquest! In the past few months, whenever Wendong’s gang annexed another gang in the southern border region, Xie Wendong felt a sense of pleasure—a pleasure beyond what ordinary people could experience. Thinking of this, he chuckled and cursed himself for being a born scoundrel!

After what seemed like a long time, Xie Wendong stood up from the sofa, took a deep breath, and opened the door to leave the room. The entrance was already filled with members of Wendong’s gang, including many of its key leaders. When they saw Xie Wendong come out, they all bent down and said in unison, “Brother Dong!”

Xie Wendong looked at them and said, “Now everyone go and carry out the plan! Start at eight o’clock on time!”

“Yes, Brother Dong!” Everyone had been waiting for this order from Xie Wendong. After hearing it, they led their subordinates toward He Xueyong’s territory. The only one who didn’t leave was Zhang Yanjiang, whose role in this operation was to protect Xie Wendong.

In this operation, the Tiger Gang, Leopard Gang, and Secret Group would launch a surprise attack on He Xueyong’s seven dance clubs, while Xie Wendong, the Dragon Gang, and the Law Enforcement Hall would attack He Xueyong’s actual location—the Northern Hotel. The hotel was just a facade; in reality, it was a secret casino.

Xie Wendong said to Zhang Yanjiang, “Yanjiang, announce at seven o’clock tonight that Wendong’s Gang is declaring war on He Xueyong!” “Yes, Brother Dong!” Zhang Yanjiang nodded in agreement.

Xie Wendong checked his watch—it was five in the afternoon. He turned back to the room, took out his phone, and called Gao Zhen. The two talked for about ten minutes. Standing outside, Zhang Yanjiang couldn’t hear their conversation, but from Xie Wendong’s expression, it seemed the outcome was satisfactory. After hanging up, Xie Wendong lay on the sofa pretending to sleep. Zhang Yanjiang didn’t dare disturb him and stood quietly at the door.

At seven o’clock in the evening, Wendong’s Gang issued a declaration of war against He Xueyong. At seven ten, Gao Zhen, the leader of the Qing Gang, announced against the strong opposition of two of his elders that the Qing Gang was officially declaring war on the Tiger Gang.

At seven thirty, Xie Wendong and Zhang Yanjiang led 50 members of the Law Enforcement Hall out of the gloomy place. Several vans were parked outside. Xie Wendong and his men got into the vans and headed straight for the largest underground casino in the southern part of the city—the Northern Hotel.

The casino inside was run by He Xueyong, offering a wide variety of gambling games and equipment. It was also very safe and renowned throughout the city. The casino was open 24/7, with a constant stream of guests. He Xueyong attached great importance to it and would often visit in the evenings. This was also why people like Xie Wendong came here.

Twenty minutes later, the van stopped in a dark alley not far from the Northern Hotel. The alley was already filled with people; Sanyan and his Longtang brothers had been waiting there for a long time. When they saw Xie Wendong’s car arrive, Sanyan’s eyes lit up as he rushed over.

Xie Wendong got out of the car and nodded at Sanyan, asking, “Is everything ready?”

Sanyan replied in a low voice, “The brothers are ready.” After hearing this, Xie Wendong thought for a moment and said, “Good! We can go!”

Sanyan and Zhang Yanjiang exchanged a glance without saying anything. Everyone took out black cloth from their pockets to cover their mouths. Sanyan and his men, along with Longtang and Law Enforcement Hall’s two hundred members, charged toward the Northern Hotel. Xie Wendong got back into the van and told the driver to stop at the entrance of the gambling city. Sitting inside, with a smile on his face, he took out an eight-inch dagger from his waist, fiddled with it, and said to the driver, “Call the other brothers and start the operation!”

The driver nodded and picked up his phone to dial the number…

Sanyan rushed ahead into the Northern Hotel. As soon as he entered the lobby, the guards at the entrance saw someone breaking in and rushed over, shouting, “Hey! What are you doing?” Sanyan didn’t say anything, knowing these were all He Xueyong’s men and there was no need to be polite. He rushed up to the guards, narrowed his eyes, and said, “I’m gonna kill you!” With that, he wrapped one arm around the guard’s neck and quickly pulled out his knife, stabbing it deep into the guard’s abdomen. It was still the same machete Sanyan had used before, and blood gushed out from the blade’s groove. The guard screamed in pain, grabbing at Sanyan’s clothes in disbelief.

Without stopping, Sanyan kicked the dying guard aside and kept running forward. The guard’s death cry alerted the other guards, who rushed out from the side doors of the lobby—more than a dozen disheveled young men. Before they could understand what was happening, Sanyan and his Longtang brothers had already arrived. With a growl, Sanyan turned the knife in his hand, and the blade flashed in the air, creating half-foot-long cuts in the chests of two guards. Before they could even scream, Sanyan swiftly sliced their throats. Zhang Yanjiang watched from behind and nodded in approval—Sanyan’s fighting skills, honed through years of actual combat, were now astonishing. With a low hum, Zhang Yanjiang didn’t want to fall behind and joined Sanyan in the attack.

Sanyan walked ahead, waving the machete in his hand, with people falling to the ground from time to time. Ignoring those who had fallen, Sanyan rushed into the room where guards were coming out. Inside, a tall, naked young man was moving back and forth on top of a flamboyantly dressed woman; it seemed the noise outside hadn’t affected his arousal. There were also five or six naked women nearby. Sanyan walked over with a smile on his lips.

The five or six women nearby suddenly saw someone covered in blood walk in and screamed, “Ah~~~” The young man finally sensed something was wrong, quickly got up from the woman, and pulled out a Type 54 pistol from under the pillow. But it was still too late—Sanyan reached him in two steps, driving the blade straight into his open mouth. The tip of the knife emerged from the back of the young man’s head, and blood flowed from his mouth and back of his head onto the bed. Even as he died, he didn’t understand why someone would suddenly attack—weren’t there already over a dozen brothers outside?

The women nearby had never seen such a bloody scene and panicked, screaming loudly. At that moment, a few of Longtang’s brothers heard the screams and rushed in. They were stunned at first, then asked Sanyan, “Brother Sanyan, what about these women…?”

With a cold expression, Sanyan knew he couldn’t keep these women around—he didn’t have extra men to watch over them. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Kill them!” Then he left, and the room was filled with the women’s screams before their deaths. In the hall, all over a dozen guards had been killed. Zhang Yanjiang was leading his brothers to clean up the battlefield, dragging the dozen or so reckless guards into the bathroom to clean up the bloodstains on the floor.

Sanyan said in a low voice, “Yanjiang, I leave the back door to you!” Zhang Yanjiang nodded. “Don’t worry, He Xueyong can’t get away!”

Sanyan chuckled and led the Longtang brothers upstairs. The battle in the hall was too quick—just a few screams, and then everything returned to calm. On the second floor, Sanyan led the way. Voices came from one of the rooms. “Hey! I think I heard screams on the first floor just now!”

“Damn it, stop being paranoid! Brother Chen is watching you downstairs—what are you afraid of? Just act!”

“Stop messing around. I really think I heard screams. Let’s go check with a weapon!” “This is so annoying…”

Sanyan glanced at his brothers behind him and signaled the room from which the voices came. Everyone understood and scattered to stand at both sides of the door. Soon, the door opened, and several people stepped out. As they came out, they saw people with black cloth over their mouths standing at the door and were stunned. One of them, not reacting quickly enough, asked, “What the hell…?”

Before he could finish speaking, people from both sides rushed forward, knocking several of them to the ground before storming into the room. There were over a dozen people inside, and realizing the situation was bad, they all grabbed weapons and fought against Longtang’s men. Due to the cramped space in the room, Longtang’s men couldn’t utilize their numerical advantage and had to fight one-on-one. At this point, the results of Liu Bo’s training came into play. Longtang’s men had a clear advantage in strength and skill. In less than half a minute, several of He Xueyong’s men were wounded. One of the leaders hid in a corner, frantically taking out his phone from his pocket to call He Xueyong. “Big brother, something’s wrong—someone’s trying to steal…” Before he could finish, a Longtang man rushed over, severed his hand with a slash, and then crushed the phone still clutched in his severed hand. The man screamed in pain, collapsed, and writhed on the ground. A Longtang man then stabbed him in the chest, “kindly” ending his suffering. Although the call was cut off, He Xueyong still received it. He wasn’t stupid—he immediately understood what was happening and guessed that someone must have launched a surprise attack. He quickly called his men in other locations to ask for help. But after trying for a long time, no one answered. He Xueyong had a badpremonition. Under normal circumstances, his men would have answered quickly. Now, he had called seven locations and none had picked up—unless… He Xueyong didn’t dare think further and led all his men down from the third floor. On the stairs, they encountered Longtang’s men led by Sanyan. A fierce hand-to-hand fight broke out in the stairwell. Sanyan fought against He Xueyong with a machete in his hand. He Xueyong tried several times to pull out his gun but was interrupted by Sanyan. After a brief but intense fight, He Xueyong, realizing there were too many enemies, led his men back to the third floor. Just as Sanyan’s men were about to chase after them, He Xueyong’s men, now free, grabbed their guns and fired down at them. Seven or eight of Longtang’s men collapsed instantly. The guests in the hotel, who had heard the screams earlier and dared not leave their rooms, heard the continuous gunshots and became even more terrified. They hid in their rooms, afraid to come out, and started calling the police.

Sanyan and the others retreated in a hurry, cursing loudly when they saw their comrades lying on the stairs. With the ambush exposed, there was no need to hide anymore. Sanyan and over a dozen of his men took out their guns and fired back at the third floor, leading to a brief standoff as bullets flew between the second and third floors. Sanyan’s eyes turned red with frustration, but the enemy’s firepower was too strong; charging forward would only mean certain death. He Xueyong was even more anxious—his seven locations below were in grave danger, and he was trapped on the third floor in a critical situation. He took out his phone from his pocket and quickly called the Tigers Gang. “Hello! Brother Zheng! It’s He Xueyong. I’ve been ambushed—please come and save me!” “What? You were ambushed by the Qing Gang? There are no extra men available!?” “Damn you! You always act like brothers with me, but when it counts, you turn out to be cowards!” Fuming, He Xueyong smashed the phone and shouted at his men, “Brothers, fight hard! If we survive this, I’ll give each of you 100,000!” Hearing this, his men became excited, and over thirty of them fired simultaneously downward. Seeing his men trapped in a corner under heavy fire, with even showing their heads being dangerous, Sanyan was extremely anxious. At some point, Zhang Yanjiang appeared behind Sanyan and patted his shoulder. Startled, Sanyan turned around and shouted, “How did you get up here? Weren’t you supposed to guard the back door?” Zhang Yanjiang smiled and said, “I saw the old bastard can’t escape through the back door! Here, use these!” He handed over two grenades. “These are…?” Sanyan looked at Zhang Yanjiang in surprise. He knew these grenades were part of the arms loot from last time, but Dongge had never allowed them to be used. Zhang Yanjiang glanced at the situation on the third floor and whispered, “I was afraid this might happen, so I specifically asked Dongge for two! Don’t worry, I didn’t steal them!” Sanyan’s face turned red as he mumbled, “I didn’t say you stole them!…” He took the grenades from Zhang Yanjiang. Though it was his first time using them, he had seen how they worked before. Removing the safety pins, Sanyan smiled at everyone, waved, and threw the grenades at the wall of the staircase. The grenades hit the wall and bounced back to the third floor. Screams erupted from the third floor, followed by a deafening explosion. Sanyan felt the ground shake beneath his feet as smoke filled the building. The firing on the third floor where He Xueyong was also stopped.