Chapter 114: The Shooting Incident

Bang! Bang! Bang! Several gunshots echoed in the empty parking lot. Guan Xin felt a searing pain in his right chest and realized he had been shot. Habitively drawing his gun, he fired while rolling away to avoid the shots. Suddenly, he remembered that Xiao Ran was the person he was supposed to protect, and he lamented inwardly: I’m used to attacking—how am I supposed to be a bodyguard?

Of course, though he thought that way, his hands didn’t pause at all. Using his left hand to steady his right, he swiftly moved the gun barrel. A few more loud gunshots rang out, and the car crashed into a pillar like a headless fly, emitting a tremendous explosion—though not as dramatic as those seen in movies.

Xiao Ran had sensed something was wrong as soon as Guan Xin pushed him aside. He calmly opened the car door to cover himself. After a few gunshots, he felt heat on his face. Touching it, he found blood. In panic, he thought he had been shot, but upon checking, he realized he was fine.

When the car crashed into the pillar, Xiao Ran peeked out and saw everything that had happened in an instant. Cold sweat poured down his back. Seeing Guan Xin dealing with his wound, he rushed over to help. But Guan Xin shook his head and handed him the gun. “Go check if there are any survivors in the car. Stay here!”

Xiao Ran was stunned but quickly took the heavy, cold pistol. The moment he held it, he thought of Little Ma Ge and Qiu Ge from “True Hero,” and a sense of courage surged within him. Carefully, he walked toward the smoking car.

Imitating the cautious manner from “Sudden Attack,” he gently kicked open the car door and saw that three of the four people inside were dead, shot in the forehead. The only survivor had a gunshot wound to his right shoulder and was slumped motionless in the driver’s seat.

“There’s one more alive. Are you okay?” Xiao Ran angrily kicked the corpse in front of him before shouting to Guan Xin, who was not far away, “Hold on! I’ll call the police and an ambulance right away!”

Three minutes later, the police and ambulance arrived. Before Guan Xin was taken to the ambulance, he grabbed Xiao Ran’s hand and pulled him closer, saying, “A Ran, I won’t be by your side anymore. Take good care of yourself! Otherwise, I won’t be here to save you next time.”

“Don’t worry. I can take care of myself!” Xiao Ran was deeply saddened. Guan Xin, who was both like a half-master and a bodyguard, had saved him at least twice. After spending so much time together, it would be a lie to say they hadn’t developed feelings. Besides, Xiao Ran was naturally someone who valued emotions—otherwise, he wouldn’t have maintained good relationships with so many people in the industry.

The police didn’t dare neglect Xiao Ran and invited him to the station. Accompanied by the police chief, he repeated what had happened. Finally, the chief asked, “Mr. Xiao, have you had any conflicts with anyone before?”

“I’m not sure who did this, but I’ve never offended anyone…” Xiao Ran thought for a moment before continuing calmly, “That’s up to you, the police, to investigate!”

As soon as he stepped out of the police station, Xiao Ran was surrounded by a crowd of reporters. Microphones appeared in front of him like grenades. “President Xiao, could you tell us about what almost happened to you today?”

“President Xiao, could you tell us whom you suspect did this?” “President Xiao, have you offended someone from the underworld?” “President Xiao…”
Xiao Ran kept a solemn expression and said nothing, merely pushing through the crowd of reporters under the police’s escort and walking outside. On the way back in the police car, he picked up the phone to call home to let them know he was safe, then called Lin Qingxia.
Unbeknownst to him, Lin Qingxia had just seen the news on TV and was extremely worried. As soon as she answered the phone, she asked immediately, “A Ran, are you okay?”
“I’m fine!” Xiao Ran closed his eyes slightly. He suddenly felt very tired. What kind of mess was this? “Come to my place later, and we’ll talk then!”
After closing his eyes and thinking for a long time, Xiao Ran had already guessed that it might be the Fang family at the police station. But why would Fang Ruohai do such a thing? Xiao Ran didn’t understand, really didn’t understand. He knew Fang Ruohai well—he despised the underworld and would never resort to such methods to kill him. Most importantly, Fang Ruohai was a proud man who would definitely try to make amends wherever he lost.
So, although the Fang family seemed the most likely suspect on the surface, Xiao Ran also felt that the real mastermind wasn’t Fang Ruohai. However, the Fang family wasn’t just Fang Ruohai, and Xiao Ran didn’t know much about the others in the family, making it hard to say.
“President Xiao, we’ve arrived!” the police reminded him. Xiao Ran opened his eyes and forced a smile. “Thank you!”
As soon as he entered the house, he saw Lin Qingxia staring at him intently, as if afraid he might be injured somewhere. Xiao Ran tried to calm his chaotic emotions, walked over to her, and gently wrapped his arms around her. “I’m fine, really fine. My master took the bullet for me. He’s in the hospital now!”
Gently holding this stunningly beautiful woman, he noticed her beautiful eyes were red, clearly from crying. Xiao Ran’s heart trembled slightly. This electric sensation instantly overwhelmed him, making him fully aware of Lin Qingxia’s love.
Touching those eyes full of concern, Xiao Ran said nothing more, feeling extremely tired. Lin Qingxia leaned on Xiao Ran on the sofa and finally spoke her first words since seeing him: “A Ran, can we avoid such things from happening again?”
Xiao Ran was stunned. Could he promise that? Could he ensure Lin Qingxia wouldn’t have to worry every day about whether he’d return? Suddenly, he felt like he was part of the underworld—uncertain about tomorrow after today’s events. Why were there so many problems in the film industry?
“I promise you, I won’t let you worry about me anymore!” Xiao Ran didn’t dare show his gritted teeth, fearing it might scare Lin Qingxia. But countless thoughts raced through his mind.
He realized the underworld had to be controlled, otherwise they would invade the film industry in force and destroy all his efforts overnight. Moreover, he definitely didn’t want such danger to happen again. He was a filmmaker, not a gangster. The most effective way was to control the underworld.
Controlling the underworld didn’t necessarily mean Fang had to retire.

With this decision made, a cold smile appeared on Xiao Ran’s lips. It’s just the Fang family, it’s just the underworld! If they dare to attack him, then he won’t need to be polite. After soothing Lin Qingxia a bit, Xiao Ran secretly checked if there were any police watching before leaving the house.

Guǐ Wáng Dōng was currently in a boxing gym, looking completely normal with no trace of displeasure. In the front seat stood a shrine to Lord Guan—clearly a setup typical of the underworld. From time to time, Guǐ Wáng Dōng glanced at the young man kneeling below. Just as he was about to speak, one of his subordinates rushed in and whispered, “President Xiao has arrived!”

Xiao Ran? What does he want here? That was Guǐ Wáng Dōng’s first thought. Soon he figured it out—probably related to the shooting incident that afternoon. With a mysterious smile, he put aside his current tasks and left the determined-looking young man kneeling there.

As soon as Xiao Ran entered, he sensed something was off. The atmosphere here resembled that of a shrine in a gang movie, filled with smoke. Upon entering, he heard Guǐ Wáng Dōng’s loud and hearty voice, “A Ran, you’re here! Come over quickly!”

Walking past the kneeling young man, Xiao Ran was slightly shocked—the man was kneeling on nails, with blood soaking the ground. At that moment, he realized this place indeed served as a shrine and thought to himself, This isn’t the right time to come.

Guǐ Wáng Dōng casually waved for his subordinates to bring a chair for Xiao Ran. Once Xiao Ran sat down, he asked, “You’re here because of what happened this afternoon, right? I told you before that you could come to me if you had problems. Now it’s my turn to help!”

“Brother Dong, thanks for your concern,” Xiao Ran replied, his anger already well suppressed. With a faint smile, he glanced at the kneeling young man below, “But I think I’ll handle this myself.”

“What do you mean?” Guǐ Wáng Dōng was puzzled. What could Xiao Ran do on his own? He had nothing but money—how could he handle anything? “Then why did you come to me?”

Xiao Ran’s eyes suddenly lit up, and a chilling smile appeared on his lips. Instead of revealing his purpose right away, he looked at the young man below and asked, “Brother Dong, what crime has he committed? What plans do you have for him?”

“He? That bastard is unloyal—he hurt his own brother and stole public money! I plan to deal with him according to our family rules—cut off his hands and kick him out.” Guǐ Wáng Dōng explained briefly before laughing nonchalantly, “Since when are you interested in such things?”

Seeing the young man kneeling on the nails, with blood pooling on the ground and no sign of him giving in, Xiao Ran laughed heartily. “In that case, won’t he be unable to stay in the underworld? I think he’s a real man. If you weren’t planning to cut off his hands, I’d actually want to take him as my bodyguard!”

Guǐ Wáng Dōng’s eyes lit up slightly before he pretended to be indifferent and casually asked, “What happened to your previous bodyguard? Hasn’t he gotten out of danger yet?”

Xiao Ran sneered inwardly. How many good people are there in the underworld? Despite Guǐ Wáng Dōng’s seemingly generous attitude, the underworld is still the underworld—if they don’t do bad things, then they’re not really part of it. Xiao Ran noticed his sudden interest and was slightly taken aback.

Standing in Ghost King Dong’s position and thinking about what benefits he could gain from this, Xiao Ran gradually wore a bold smile. He figured that Ghost King Dong was probably trying to force his way into Shadow to launder money; that was about as good as anything those gangsters could do.

Normally, no one in the underworld dared touch Guan Xin, as everyone knew Xiao Ran’s bodyguards were extremely skilled and ruthless. But if something happened to Guan Xin, several gangs with a “strong interest” in Shadow would likely appear immediately.

“He’s fine!” Xiao Ran laughed heartily and stood up, a move that surprised everyone in the room. After saying that, he strode toward the door, inwardly sneering. He wasn’t convinced that such pretense couldn’t overwhelm those gangsters.

At the door, he turned without looking back and dropped a statement as explosive as a bomb: “Brother Dong, pass the message around the underworld—ten million. Find the mastermind and all involved, alive or dead. Ten million. I’m telling you!”

This offer was incredibly generous, causing ripples like a stone thrown into water. Ghost King Dong’s expression changed slightly; he hadn’t expected Xiao Ran to be so bold. Ten million was a temptation no one could refuse, not even Ghost King Dong.

What shocked Ghost King Dong even more was the authority Xiao Ran had displayed earlier. After hearing his words, he didn’t even consider refusing. While ten million certainly played a role, it was also Xiao Ran’s authority that made him think that offending this man might cost him a hundred million.

This was the advantage of holding a dominant position—something Xiao Ran had strived to achieve from the start. Especially that final statement, “I’m telling you!”, further strengthened his authority. Instead of revealing his purpose right away, Xiao Ran talked around the subject until he left the room in a confident stride, then declared his demands in an unambiguous tone. One reason was to intimidate them with his boldness, and the other was to leave Ghost King Dong no chance to refuse.

While everyone in the room was stunned by Xiao Ran’s audacity, the young man kneeling on the nailed board’s expression changed—becoming fervent and eager. He even couldn’t help turning to look at Xiao Ran as he strode away, engraving that figure firmly in his mind.

Ghost King Dong watched Xiao Ran leave, wanting to say something but unable to speak due to his overwhelming presence. As the figure disappeared into the distance, he fell into deep thought. Xiao Ran’s performance last time had already been remarkable, and this time it surprised him even more. He realized he might need to take Xiao Ran seriously now.

What Ghost King Dong didn’t see was that in another corner, Scar quietly watched Xiao Ran’s performance, his eyes filled with admiration. Proud and respectful, Scar thought, “This is my boss—a truly powerful man.”

But Ghost King Dong didn’t notice Scar’s expression; otherwise, he would have regretted promoting Scar to follow him.

Recommended novel: A humorous work, “The Man with a Thousand Faces” http://www.feiku.com/showbook.asp?bl_id=40743. Friendly recommendation: “Unprecedented Beauty”, http://www.feiku.com/showbook.asp?bl_id=40680