Chapter 267

The Yingke Hotel is definitely one of the largest hotels here, covering hundreds of square meters over three floors. Its interior is decorated mainly with flowers, plants, and trees, creating a serene and elegant atmosphere. Rows of semi-artificial and natural trees act like small fences, dividing the first-floor dining hall into several smaller areas. Each area is given an elegant name, such as the Greeting Pavilion and the Moon-Gazing Pavilion. However, the people sitting inside now are completely out of place with this refined ambiance. There are no fewer than two hundred people on the first floor, all shouting and drinking loudly, with constant calls to drink and drinking games. Among them are heavily made-up women who flutter around like butterflies, sparking bursts of hearty laughter wherever they go.

When Huang Zhen pushed open the door and entered, he saw exactly this scene—a complete picture of indulgence and revelry. How could this have anything to do with Peng Shulin? His heart sank. Just as he wanted to walk in, three burly men came towards him. The middle one was in his thirties, with a scar at the corner of his eye that turned his already slanted eyes into a triangular shape, making them appear uneven. The man glanced up and down at Huang Zhen, gave a polite shake of his head, and said, “Sorry, this is a private gathering. We don’t welcome soldiers.”

Huang Zhen paid him no attention. He was looking for Peng Shulin and Xie Wendong. Ignoring the man, he simply gave him a glance and stepped past him. The man’s expression changed. He was a mid-level leader in the Wendong Gang, which was enough to make him proud—even top figures in the underworld had to show him some respect. But now, this middle-aged man in military uniform acted as if he didn’t exist. In the underworld, face is everything, and for that sake, many people would risk their lives. Grumbling under his breath, he reached out and grabbed Huang Zhen’s military badge on his shoulder, saying coldly, “I said it—soldiers are not welcome here.” Huang Zhen frowned but didn’t move. One of the security guards rushed forward and kicked the man’s wrist with full force. These guards were specially trained special forces soldiers skilled in close-quarters combat. Their kicks carried immense power, and with the steel plates hidden in the tips of their boots, a solid hit could seriously injure the man’s wrist. Leaders in the Wendong Gang didn’t suffer losses for nothing. Though the man hadn’t been the brightest, he had plenty of practical combat experience. Seeing the shadow approaching, he realized he was in trouble and quickly pulled back, narrowly avoiding the kick. The tip of the boot left a searing pain on his wrist.

The young man looked down and saw a piece of skin scraped off the inside of his wrist, with blood seeping slowly from the gap between the flesh and skin. Though it wasn’t a serious injury, it was enough to make him blush. With a roar, he bent forward, ready to fight the security guards. At that moment, a sharp shout came from behind: “Stop!”
Fuming and with red eyes, the young man turned around. Upon seeing who had spoken, he immediately deflated. Over a dozen people stepped forward—two of them not very tall, one being Jiang Sen and the other Li Shuang. On either side of them stood more than a dozen tall, burly men in black. Though they were half a head shorter than the others, their presence was imposing enough that no one dared underestimate them. Jiang Sen laughed heartily from afar and went up to Huang Zhen warmly, saying, “I wondered who it was—turns out it’s Commander Huang. My subordinates were rude; please forgive them.” Before finding Peng Shulin, Huang Zhen didn’t want to create trouble. He couldn’t ignore Xie Wendong either, so he smiled indifferently, glanced around deliberately, and asked, “With so many of you gathered here, surely there’s a reason, right?” “A reason? What reason could there be?” Jiang Sen said with a laugh. “It’s the end of the year. After a year of hard work, it’s normal for us to come out and eat and have fun. Commander Huang, you should know that we in business aren’t any less busy than you soldiers. By the way, I wonder if this counts as an illegal gathering?!” “I can’t say whether it’s illegal or not. You’d have to ask the police,” Huang Zhen replied, inwardly cursing Jiang Sen’s cunning.
Jiang Sen smiled and said, “All guests are welcome. Please come in, Commander Huang.” Huang Zhen pointed to the military vehicle that had just arrived outside and said, “I’m not here alone. I wonder if they count as guests.” Li Shuang suddenly replied, “Brother Dong said that as long as they come, they’re our guests, and we must treat them well!”
“What?” Huang Zhen was shocked and immediately asked, “Are you saying that Mr. Xie… Mr. Xie isn’t here?”
Li Shuang blinked innocently and retorted, “Who told you Brother Dong must be here?” Huang Zhen shook his head secretly, his mind racing. After a moment, he forced a smile and said, “Not long ago, I received a tip that Director Peng was taken away from the hospital by Mr. Xie and hidden here. I wonder if that’s true?”

“Haha!” Jiang Sen laughed with his head back and said, “How is that possible? Not to mention Dong Ge and Peng Ling having that kind of relationship, even if they didn’t, we’ve always treated Director Peng with respect. Kidnapping? Heh, that’s complete nonsense.” He shook his head and murmured, “Rumors are truly terrifying!” Seeing his expression of being greatly wronged, Huang Zhen was almost furious. He hadn’t expected Xie Wendong to be so cunning, and his subordinates to be even better at acting. At the hospital, things happened suddenly, and Huang Zhen, unprepared, hadn’t thought it through. Once outside the hospital, after careful consideration, he realized that in City H, aside from Xie Wendong, who else could have the audacity to kidnap Peng Shulin? Even if it wasn’t him, he must be involved. Helplessly, he said, “Maybe it’s a rumor, but there’s no smoke without fire. Since I’ve received such information, I have no reason not to investigate it. Besides,” Huang Zhen lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously, “I’m also doing this to help you clear your names. What do you think?” Old fox! Jiang Sen cursed inwardly, shrugged, and said, “If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be suspicious if I refused to cooperate?! Commander Huang, rest assured, I’ll fully support you.” “That’s good!” Huang Zhen nodded in satisfaction and said, “It might take you a little over ten minutes.” With that, he turned to his subordinate behind him and gave a slight nod. The subordinate understood his meaning and immediately ran out of the restaurant to gather the soldiers.

In less than two minutes, the soldiers brought by the military vehicle assembled. At Huang Zhen’s command, over 200 soldiers began a thorough search of the tourist leisure area, especially the restaurant where Wen Dong’s group would gather. They searched meticulously, as if determined to dig to the bottom of things. The soldiers carried out their orders without hesitation, moving back and forth in the hall, comparing printed photos of Peng Shulin’s face with those of others. Many members of Wen Dong’s group were so drunk they were unconscious, hiding under tables, but the soldiers didn’t spare them—they grabbed them by the collar and lifted them to confirm. Soon, the soldiers’ brutality caused dissatisfaction among the people around them, with arguments arising frequently. Some even picked up beer bottles to confront the soldiers. If it weren’t for Huang Zhen and Jiang Sen holding things back, the two sides would have started fighting. The search took at least half an hour. The soldiers turned the restaurant upside down yet still found no trace of Peng Shulin. Reports kept coming in, all negative. Huang Zhen grew increasingly impatient, pacing back and forth anxiously. He began to doubt the intelligence provided by the Security Bureau. It was one thing not finding Peng Shulin, but where was Xie Wendong? Hadn’t they seen him enter here with their own eyes? Had he flown away on wings?

Xie Wendong didn’t have wings, nor could he fly. He was sitting in an obscure bar, leisurely sipping red wine. The wine wasn’t strong, slightly sweet with a hint of acidity, leaving a lasting aftertaste. He was waiting for someone—the person in Black Belt’s team stationed in City H who was in charge of contacting Wendong. Xie Wendong had never met this person; Black Belt had sent them to City H to facilitate communication since he took over the North Hongmen. Up until now, it had always been Sanyan who met with them. Sometimes, Xie Wendong couldn’t help but marvel at how Sanyan managed to keep the gang running smoothly despite handling so many tasks—truly impressive. He glanced at his watch; there was still some time left. Bored, he looked around. The bar wasn’t crowded, and it was daytime, with only a few “customers” around. Of course, Xie Wendong knew all of them—Sanyan among them, along with the members of Wendong’s group who were responsible for protecting him.

“Jingling!” A series of clear wind chime sounds came as the door opened, and five people entered—four men and one woman. The men were dressed in black suits, while the woman was tall, wearing a beige wool coat with a fur collar and high-heeled boots. A small patch of fair skin was visible between the boots and the hem of her coat. Upon entering, she took off her hat and sunglasses, her long golden hair flowing down. With her fair, flawless skin, she resembled a large-sized Barbie doll. She scanned the bar with her big blue eyes. When she saw Sanyan, she smiled sweetly and nodded in greeting. Finally, her gaze landed on Xie Wendong’s face, her eyes lighting up as she walked straight over.

She approached Xie Wendong, extended her hand, and said with a sweet smile, “You must be Mr. Xie. I’ve only seen your face in photos.” Her voice was delicate, and her Mandarin was flawless, leaving Xie Wendong with no sense of awkwardness. Xie Wendong stood up and shook her pale hand—soft and seemingly boneless. His first impression was that she had never held a gun or used a knife. Shrugging, he smiled and said, “I’m Xie Wendong.”

The girl, Shanshan, sat across from him and said, “By the way, Mr. Xie, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Lilia!” Xie Wendong nodded and smiled. “I know. Lilia means lily in Russian, right?” The girl’s eyes lit up as she asked in surprise, “How did Mr. Xie know that?” Xie Wendong smiled without answering her question instead saying, “I think this name suits you well.” It was true—he found her fair complexion even more beautiful than a lily. Hearing this, Lilia’s face turned red. In her imagination, Xie Wendong should have been a terrifyingly gloomy person, but upon meeting him today, she realized he was just an ordinary young man, quite young, with moments of innocence that showed he wasn’t well-versed in the ways of the world. It was hard to believe such a person could have founded the Wendong Group, one that even the high-ranking members of Hei Dai dared not underestimate and that had managed to drive away the Tiger Gang. She said politely with a smile, “Thank you!”
Xie Wendong looked at her with a smile and said, “I’m curious.” “Hm?” Lilia was puzzled. “Wearing skirts in the cold months—aren’t Russians really not afraid of the cold?” he asked seriously. This made Lilia laugh. “How could there be people who aren’t afraid of the cold? We’re just used to it.”
“Used to it?” Xie Wendong sighed. “It’s good to be used to something.” Then he got to the point. “I’ve come to see you because I have something to discuss.” Lilia stopped smiling and became cautious. Though she didn’t know what it was, since Xie Wendong had come to her, it couldn’t be trivial. She said seriously, “Please go ahead, Mr. Xie. If I can help, I’ll do my best. Besides, in City H, your subordinates have also given me a lot of help.” Her words were polite, but she only mentioned herself and didn’t involve Hei Dai. Xie Wendong smiled inwardly—it seemed Lilia wasn’t an ordinary person either. He said, “One of my elders is eager to go abroad, but it’s difficult to get a passport in a short time. I hope to use Hei Dai’s connections to bypass this issue.” Lilia was smart and understood right away what he meant—he wanted Hei Dai to help smuggle someone across. This was a small task for her, so her expression relaxed immediately. Then, she deliberately asked, “Mr. Xie, inspections for smuggling are particularly strict in Russia these days, especially for Chinese people. This might be quite difficult.” Xie Wendong’s eyes were sharp, capturing every detail of her expression. The slight relaxation in her expression earlier hadn’t escaped him, and he immediately realized this wasn’t difficult for Hei Dai. He smiled and countered, “So, Miss Lilia, does that mean there’s no way?”

“That’s not exactly right; it’s just very troublesome…” Lilia didn’t finish her sentence. Xie Wendong’s narrowed eyes slowly opened, and two sharp glances shot at Lilia’s face. In that instant, she swore she truly saw his eyes shining. An invisible, feminine pressure almost overwhelmed her, forcing her to swallow her words.

Xie Wendong spoke gently, “Back then, when I helped the Black Belt gang fight against the Tiger Gang, it was also troublesome, but I didn’t complain. Yet now, you come to me saying it’s troublesome.” He sneered, stood up, rested his hands on the table, leaned forward toward Lilia, his eyes blazing, and said calmly, “Now, you just need to tell me if you can help or not. I don’t want to know anything else.”

To see someone change so quickly, as if becoming a completely different person in an instant—Lilia had witnessed that today. After all, she was the person in charge sent by the Black Belt gang and had seen many things. Under Xie Wendong’s pressure, her underwear was already soaked with sweat, but she showed no signs of it. With a sweet smile and a composed expression, she said, “Mr. Xie, please rest assured. Whether for business or personal reasons, I will do my best to help.” Xie Wendong replied, “But my time is limited. After arriving in Russia, I’ll transfer to the United States. Including today, I only have three days.”

“Still need to go to the United States, only three days…” Lilia fell into thought before saying, “It’s a bit tight on time.”

“That’s exactly why I turned to you, the Black Belt gang,” Xie Wendong said calmly. “I hope you won’t disappoint your friends again.” With that, he smiled and slowly sat back down. The members of the Wendong Gang who had stood up with him also sat down one after another. Sanyan let out a long sigh. He was afraid that Xie Wendong and the Black Belt gang might fall out, as that would be devastating for the Wendong Gang. Sanyan had always valued the drug business, believing it to be the real path to wealth. Although he supported Xie Wendong’s idea of changing careers, he didn’t really agree with it in his heart.