150: 150. Golden Triangle
“Thank you, General! Thank you!”
Li Fang quickly stood up and bowed in thanks, but his heart was secretly bleeding.
His Tengfei Mining was completely finished, all its operations frozen, and it faced massive penalties for breach of contract.
But he wasn't too worried about these; international lawsuits were difficult to enforce, and at worst, he could declare bankruptcy and still live freely.
The only thing that made him uneasy was the potential cross-border accountability from the Xia Country’s official channels.
The Xia Country was simply too powerful; he had no choice but to spend this huge sum to buy a promise from the General, only then could he feel a little at ease.
He walked out of the General’s luxurious office and took a deep breath.
Recalling the earth-shattering changes that had occurred in such a short time, it seemed everything had started with the reappearance of Yu Tianxiong, that jinx!
It was he who destroyed his cash cow and forced him into this predicament!
“Yu Tianxiong…”
Li Fang cursed under his breath, but now he had no mind to bother with that fellow; the immediate priority was to deal with the mess in front of him.
He got into his luxury car and returned to his manor, preoccupied with worries.
As he walked into the villa, he saw two bodyguards dragging out a man’s corpse.
The corpse had a handsome face and a look of terror, clearly having been dead for a while.
Li Fang was used to this and casually asked, “Pulled him out of Li Wanrong’s room?”
“Yes, he angered the Young Miss,” the bodyguard replied.
Li Fang waved his hand, dismissing it, “Hmm, drag him to the poppy field in the back mountain of the manor, prepare to dig a random pit and bury him as fertilizer.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than he turned around to see his daughter, Li Wanrong, walking lazily out of her room in a silk robe, her face showing an indifferent detachment: “The last acting CEO of Tengfei Mining, seeing the company collapse, tried to abscond to Europe with the last bit of liquid funds, and I discovered him. I tricked him into coming here with an excuse and dealt with him directly.” Her tone was as flat as if she were talking about swatting a mosquito, “Father, what did the General say?”
“It’s basically fine; as long as we don’t leave any evidence ourselves, the Xia Country’s reach won’t extend…” Li Fang hadn’t finished speaking when he saw a trusted subordinate rush into the living room, a hint of excitement and tension on his face.
The subordinate bowed respectfully and reported, “Boss, Young Miss, our people monitoring the black market have sent confirmed news—Yu Tianxiong has been found! He appeared in the Golden Triangle’s black market!”
“!!! What?!” Li Fang and Li Wanrong almost simultaneously exclaimed in shock, for a moment thinking they had misheard!
It wasn’t until the subordinate confirmed multiple times and described Yu Tianxiong’s physical characteristics that the father and daughter recovered from their immense shock, immediately to be overwhelmed by ecstasy!
Yu Tianxiong actually came?! He dared to set foot in the Golden Triangle?!
Li Fang and Li Wanrong exchanged glances, both seeing an uncontrollable, almost crazed joy and ruthlessness in each other’s eyes!
“Hahahahahahaha!!”
Li Fang couldn’t help but burst into laughter, his laughter filled with malice and triumph, “Excellent! You truly chose to walk into hell when heaven’s gate was open! I originally wanted to let you enjoy yourself in the Xia Country for a few more days, but I didn’t expect you to deliver yourself to your death! Then don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
Li Wanrong’s face was also flushed with excitement, her breathing rapid: “Father! This is a heaven-sent opportunity! As long as we capture Yu Tianxiong in the Golden Triangle, not only can we avenge our deep-seated hatred and force out the core technology of the solid-state battery, but everything we lost will have a chance to be reclaimed! This is our territory! If he comes, he can forget about leaving alive!”
Li Fang nodded vigorously, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
He ordered his subordinate, “Very good! You’ve done a great service! Now, immediately send more men and keep a close watch on them! Remember, absolutely do not alert them! I want to know where they live, who they meet, detailed to every minute! Report immediately if anything happens!”
“Yes, Boss!” The subordinate accepted the order excitedly and quickly ran out.
Li Fang’s face showed a sinister, cold smile.
In the Xia Country, he might have been helpless against Yu Tianxiong, but here, in the lawless land of the Golden Triangle, the dark methods he could employ were simply too many! He picked up his phone, found a number, and dialed it without hesitation… Meanwhile, Lu Feng and his group had already ventured deep into the heart of the Golden Triangle.
This was Lu Feng’s first time setting foot in this legendary land, and also his first time leaving the country.
As soon as he got off the plane, he felt a different atmosphere, and the sights before him assaulted his senses even more.
The streets were chaotic, with various tin shacks crammed together haphazardly.
Most of the pedestrians had dark skin, their eyes either numb and vacant or filled with a beast-like vigilance and ferocity, as if conflict could erupt at any moment.
And indeed it did.
In the short journey from the airport to the city, Lu Feng had already witnessed two knife fights, and even uncleaned dark red bloodstains could be seen on the roadside.
A primitive and dangerous law of the jungle operated nakedly here.
Tian Peng drove a bulletproof modified off-road vehicle rented from the local black market, from the city center all the way to the chaotic slums.
“Haven’t been back in years, this broken place really hasn’t changed a bit, still so rotten,” Tian Peng remarked, looking at the scenery outside the window.
Xiao Dao, Shan Bao, and the other team members in the back seat, far from being scared, instead showed an excitement of returning to a familiar battlefield in their eyes, their blood seeming to subtly boil.
This was an instinctive reaction honed by long exposure to dangerous environments.
Yu Tianxiong shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of complexity: “More than a few years, I’ve been away for over a decade, and it’s still like this here. The economy and social order of this area are almost stagnant, even regressing.”
He unconsciously thought of how he himself had struggled up from a similar bottom tier, only to lose everything here, and returning to the old place, his feelings were inexpressible.
The car finally stopped at the entrance of a slum, where sewage flowed and a foul stench hung in the air.
Tian Peng pulled open the car door, scanned his surroundings vigilantly, and then allowed the others to get out.
“I have an old contact in this place who can get us what we need,” he said in a low voice.
Their arrival immediately drew the attention of various people in the slum; countless wary, even greedy, gazes were cast from dark corners.
Some shifty-eyed thieves had already targeted their bulging pockets.
However, Tian Peng, Yu Tianxiong, and the other four team members were all tall and exuded a formidable aura, clearly not to be trifled with, which temporarily made those eager individuals hold back their intentions.
Tian Peng walked directly towards a lewd drug addict leaning against a wall, taking drugs, and asked in fluent local dialect, “Where’s Old Dog?”
The lewd man was startled by Tian Peng’s imposing presence, nearly dropping his drugs, and quickly pointed in a direction: “He’s… he’s in the old spot, inside Hongxiang.”
Lu Feng followed the direction of his finger and saw a crooked pink neon sign hanging on the street corner ahead, with red lights outlining the silhouette of a seductive woman, next to which were various explicit slogans. It was clearly a place that provided special services.
Shan Bao and the others subconsciously looked at Lu Feng, the youngest in the team, with somewhat awkward expressions.
Lu Feng, however, just shrugged, his face unconcerned: “It’s fine, I just turned eighteen, theoretically I can go in.”
The others chuckled, put away their superfluous thoughts, and quickly adjusted their demeanor.
Tian Peng led the way, directly pushing open the half-closed door.
It was daytime, and there was no scene of imagined sensuality inside; instead, there were few people, only a few drunken women slumped on sofas like rag dolls.
The air was filled with the smell of alcohol and sourness, which failed to evoke any romantic notions.
A heavily made-up madam walked out from an inner room, yawning, and seeing Tian Peng and his group, she paused, then said ill-temperedly, “Who are you? It’s not business hours yet.”
Tian Peng said directly, “I’m looking for Old Dog, where is he?”
The madam heard the name “Old Dog,” and after carefully sizing up the fierce aura of Tian Peng and his group, her attitude softened a bit. She pointed to an inconspicuous iron door nearby: “He’s downstairs.”
The architecture of this place was as chaotic as a maze, with various self-built tin and wooden partitions fragmenting the space.
Lu Feng followed Tian Peng through the iron door and walked down a narrow staircase, feeling like he was entering another building.
At the end of the stairs was a place similar to an old-fashioned pawn shop in the Xia Country.
A high counter separated the space, with sturdy iron bars above the counter, leaving only a small window for transactions.
Behind the counter, a thin old man was dozing off.
Seeing this man, Tian Peng smiled and knocked hard on the counter: “Old Dog! Wake up! Business is here!”
The bald old man jolted awake, raising his head, and looked out with sleepy eyes.
When he clearly saw Tian Peng’s face, his cloudy eyes instantly lit up, revealing a surprised smile: “Well! Old Tian?! Haven’t seen you in so many years, you’re still alive?!”
His gaze then swept over the formidable-looking others behind Tian Peng, marveling, “And you brought back so many tough characters… It seems you’re planning to cause quite a stir this time around?”