Chapter 74: The Rise of Crime Syndicates

“Brother Bone Dragon, that’s it then!” Wang Yang pretended to need his help. “Thank you for your assistance. I’ll be leaving now so as not to disturb your conversation!”
Bone Dragon was furious. If it weren’t for Wang Yang relying on his authority, he would have beaten the guy senseless long ago. What kind of person is this—running away whenever things get tough for him! Bone Dragon cursed inwardly, resenting himself for agreeing to cause trouble for Shadow.
“Bone Dragon, you already know why we’re here. Just be straightforward and tell us if this is true or not!” The leader of Thirteen K asked bluntly what he wanted to know. Meanwhile, the advisor from New Yee On looked thoughtful, staring at Wang Yang until he left.
“Absolutely not! It must be a rumor!” Although Bone Dragon had Lian Ying’s support behind him, facing both Thirteen K and New Yee On still made him feel overwhelmed. Though Thirteen K had declined after Liang Kun’s arrest, even a thin camel is still bigger than a horse. Moreover, the current leader of Thirteen K was quite skilled and gradually restored the gang’s reputation.
“That can’t be right,” the advisor said, shaking his head. He almost fanned himself, his tone calm but carrying the authority of New Yee On, Hong Kong’s largest gang. “Bone Dragon, we’re here to help you. If you admit it now, you might still have a chance. But if you deny it and it’s discovered later, well…”
The advisor’s ominous laughter made Bone Dragon’s hair stand on end. After hesitating for a moment, remembering Lian Ying’s support, he grew bolder. “Absolutely not! It must be my enemies spreading rumors!”
“If that’s the case, then we’ll take our leave!” The advisor from New Yee On seemed quite amused. Before leaving, he glared at Bone Dragon and sneered, “I hope we won’t need our leader to step in. Otherwise…”
“I won’t waste words. If you don’t show respect to Tie Kun, you’re showing no respect to us, Thirteen K!” The leader of Thirteen K also stood up, issuing a fierce threat. “You know what will happen then!”
It was Thirteen K’s current leader who had always wanted to capture Liang Kun and help him. This leader was smart enough to know that the previous leader lost reputation because of this, so he knew he had to get back on his feet from where he fell. Besides, he admired Liang Kun himself, so he basically treated him as one of his own. In fact, this approach worked—people in the underworld gradually began to view Thirteen K favorably after learning that its new leader treated Liang Kun with great respect.
However, things weren’t as simple as Bone Dragon had imagined, and they defied everyone’s expectations. That night, a fierce argument broke out at the Kowloon Police Headquarters between the Anti-Crime Unit and the Criminal Investigation Unit. In reality, their responsibilities overlapped significantly, leading to long-standing resentment between them.
The argument was simple: both units had heard rumors. The Criminal Investigation Unit believed they should handle the case and take severe action against Lian Sheng Ying. The Anti-Crime Unit, on the other hand, insisted it was within their jurisdiction and argued that they should sit back and let the two gangs fight each other, without wasting police resources on gang-related matters.

After the higher-ups stepped in to calm things down, they temporarily reached a consensus to take both parties to the police station for “assistance in the investigation.” At first, Xiao Ran was worried that reporters might expose this matter, but once the police assured him it was a secret operation and would ensure his safety by keeping it confidential, he agreed to cooperate.

Upon arriving at the police station, Xiao Ran encountered Gu Long, the brother of Lian Shengying, who had been captured by another team. Gu Long was a rather thin guy, but looking handcuffed didn’t look very good on him. However, this had nothing to do with Xiao Ran, as he was the one truly there to assist with the investigation.

Gu Long glared fiercely at Xiao Ran. Seeing Xiao Ran’s indifferent smile, he suddenly felt that everything was orchestrated by him. Xiao Ran didn’t look at Gu Long because he had no intention of saying anything to the police that day, so he couldn’t give the impression of having any connection with Gu Long. Besides, he only guessed it was Gu Long. After all, Xiao Ran was a well-known figure in the upper echelons and had come to assist with the investigation, so the police certainly wouldn’t take him to a interrogation room. As a result, the questioning started in the office of the head of the anti-crime unit.

Sure enough, as the head of the anti-crime unit, he had a dark complexion—more like someone who had tanned from the sun rather than having a healthy tan like Xiao Ran. The head of the criminal unit, on the other hand, was much fairer, probably because investigating crimes didn’t always require being outdoors.

“Mr. Xiao, I believe you know why we’ve asked you here. But let’s go through the procedure again!” After observing for a while, Xing Jiafeng, the head of the anti-crime unit, left, likely to interrogate Gu Long. The head of the criminal unit, Liu Guanglu, asked cheerfully, “It’s said that Lian Shengying extorted you and demanded protection money. Is that true?”

“Chief Liu, as you said, it’s just a rumor. Rumors are probably not reliable, right?” Xiao Ran smiled. He had also spent time in a police station in his dreams, so dealing with such situations didn’t throw him into a panic.

Liu Guanglu was stunned. He had thought Xiao Ran, lacking experience, would panic and answer hastily, but instead, Xiao Ran effortlessly found flaws in his words. With an awkward smile, he continued, “Alright, just tell us if it happened or not!”

“It didn’t happen!” Xiao Ran denied it firmly. Come on, when had Hong Kong’s gangs ever been eradicated? They had always thrived. It wasn’t until after 1997 that they were severely hit. He certainly didn’t want to incur any enmity with the underworld because of this.

Liu Guanglu was stunned again. Xiao Ran’s firm tone made him realize his planned analysis of pros and cons would be useless. With a long sigh, he said nothing more—it was pointless anyway.

Seeing Liu Guanglu’s frustrated expression, Xiao Ran felt a bit sorry for him and quickly reassured him, “Officer, if you got into a fight with your wife at home, would you come to the police station to report it? What if, after reporting it, your wife attacked you again when you got home? I’m just an ordinary citizen; there are things I can’t afford to offend! So, you understand!”

How could Liu Guanglu not understand? It was precisely for this reason that he was depressed. He was originally a tough guy who wanted to take the opportunity to strike a hard blow at the underworld, even if it was just to show them what would happen. Unfortunately, people often refused to cooperate with the police, leaving him at a loss as to how to proceed.

“Never mind, I understand you!” Liu Guanglu was frustrated and decided to talk about movies with Xiao Ran instead: “I’ve watched all nine movies you’ve written as a screenwriter, and I think they’re great. Actually, I kind of admire you!”

This time it was Xiao Ran who was taken aback for a moment before bursting into laughter: “Thank you for the compliment. I think there’s still room for improvement, and I hope to make better movies in the future. But that requires intelligence! By the way, my company will be releasing a film in July called ‘The God of Gambling.’ You might be interested!”

“The God of Gambling? Just from the name, I can tell it must be interesting. If you wrote it, my interest grows even more!” Liu Guanglu gradually forgot his earlier displeasure and started talking about movies with Xiao Ran.

After chatting for a while, Xing Jiafeng pushed the door open and shouted angrily, “That bastard refuses to say anything! Damn, he’s really stubborn!”

Xiao Ran raised his eyebrows, guessing what Xing Jiafeng meant. It seemed he was asking how to deal with that stubborn guy, but the other man still wouldn’t say anything. Seeing Xiao Ran’s expression, Liu Guanglu immediately understood what he was thinking and chuckled, “It doesn’t matter. Those methods are only for criminals and gangsters!”

“You guys…” Xing Jiafeng stared strangely at the two men who were happily drinking hot coffee and chatting. “What are you up to? Liu, what did you get out of him?”

“You didn’t get anything, and I didn’t either!” Liu Guanglu laughed. He no longer took it seriously and realized that Xiao Ran’s calmness made sense.

Xiao Ran thought Liu Guanglu and Xing Jiafeng were completely different people. The former seemed cheerful on the surface but was actually very tough. As for Xing Jiafeng, though he appeared fierce, upon closer inspection, he wasn’t as hard-hearted as he seemed and was quite straightforward.

The three of them talked about movies for a while. After Xiao Ran promised to take them to a preview, the two of them saw them off. Xing Jiafeng even whispered to him, “Aran, if anyone dares to mess with you, remember to tell me. I’ll make sure to kill them!”

“Shut up! Don’t act like I don’t exist. I’m a criminal team leader and a rising star in the police force!” Liu Guanglu pretended to be serious and praised himself before saying seriously, “This time, you need to be careful. The underworld will use any means necessary!”

“Don’t worry. I’m not as easy to deal with as you think!” Xiao Ran was grateful to the two of them and liked their personalities. After nodding, he went to greet Guan Xin, who had been waiting for a while.

After learning about the specifics of Xiao Ran’s trip, Guan Xin made a decision: “Even though you’re friends with them, surveillance will not be reduced. So, in these few days, I won’t take action unless it’s necessary!”

Xiao Ran chuckled. These words further confirmed his speculation about Guan Xin’s identity. They talked as they walked, and by the time they had discussed most of it, they had already gone quite far away from the police station.
“Someone is following us—quite a few!” Guan Xin suddenly said in a deadpan voice to Xiao Ran. “They might be here to ambush you. It’s too close to the police station, so I won’t intervene. If we run back to the police station together, it’ll be fine. Let’s turn around now and act like we haven’t noticed them! We can start running again when we get closer.”
The two immediately turned around. Xiao Ran indeed saw six or seven people on each side of the road, spreading out to follow them. His heart pounded for a moment before calming down. With relaxed steps, he gradually approached the group coming toward them.
Ten meters… five meters… Guan Xin suddenly screamed and started running. Hearing this, Xiao Ran immediately jumped over the railing and dashed onto the road. The gang members were shocked and immediately pulled out their weapons, shouting at Guan Xin and Xiao Ran, who were also running frantically, “Kill them! Don’t let them get away!”
After running a few steps, they saw gang members on the other side of the road also rushing toward them. In terror, Xiao Ran ran even faster toward the police station. But unexpectedly, one of them came head-on and swung a knife fiercely at Xiao Ran’s chest. Blood immediately soaked his white clothes.
*****
Novel name: Cen Jianxun
Real name: Cen Jianxun
Occupation: Actor
If you can’t remember this very funny actor, let me give you a hint. In the “Fortune Bringer” series, Guan Zhilin’s debut film was a collaboration with him, and Guan Zhilin even appeared in two scenes. The silly curly-haired character in the movie was none other than him. He is an outstanding comedian and producer who once teamed up with Sammo Hung to found Diamond Film Company, which was later acquired by Pan Daisong.
Films: “Fortune Bringer”, “The Chess King”, “Seven Lucky Gods”, “New Police Story”