17: Chapter 17 Gang Alliance, Citywide Clash

The night in Los Santos was soaked in a thick scent of gunpowder.

The neon lights of the Wings of Heaven nightclub flickered in the rain, like the pupils of the dying.

The music on the dance floor had long since stopped, bottles behind the bar lay shattered, and the air was thick with the mixture of alcohol, blood, and the dampness of the rain.

Lin Fan stood by the second-floor railing, gripping a modified handgun tightly, his eyes fixed intently on the entrance below.

Michael De Santa leaned beside him, his shoulder wound throbbing from the tension. He gritted his teeth and said in a hoarse voice, "They're here."

Franklin crouched by the stairs, clutching two grenades, his eyes full of ruthlessness. "The Snake Fang Gang has gone all out this time. They've allied with the Tiger Shark Gang from the west side and the Black Bear Gang from the north side. There are at least two hundred of them."

Ten minutes ago, Scarface Qiang had fled back to the Snake Fang Gang's stronghold with a dozen henchmen, looking crestfallen. After hearing his report, Victor was so furious that he crushed the wine glass in his hand on the spot.

A small nightclub owner actually dared to use the police to scare his men?

This was a provocation, a blatant provocation!

Victor made a decision on the spot, contacting the leaders of the other two major gangs in Los Santos. Using the promise of splitting the Red Light District territory as bait, he formed a gang coalition and marched menacingly toward the Wings of Heaven.

"Bang!"

With a loud crash, the nightclub door was kicked open.

Scarface Qiang walked in front, the scar on his face looking particularly hideous under the dim lights. Behind him was a dense crowd of people holding steel pipes, machetes, and even a few shotguns. They all looked fierce, their eyes full of greed and murderous intent.

"Lin Fan! Get the hell out here!" Scarface Qiang's roar shook the entire nightclub. "If I don't tear you to pieces today, I'm not worth my name!"

The guests on the dance floor had long since fled, leaving only Lin Fan and his two companions, looking down from above at the gang coalition below.

Lin Fan took a deep breath, suddenly raised his handgun, and fired a shot into the ceiling.

The gunshot echoed in the enclosed space, and the commotion below quieted down for a moment.

"Scarface Qiang," Lin Fan's voice transmitted through the speakers, filling the entire nightclub. "Do you think you can win just because you have more people? Let me tell you, this is my territory, and it will be your graveyard!"

"Bullshit!" Scarface Qiang roared, waving his hand. "Charge! Kill him, and the nightclub is ours!"

The dense crowd surged toward the stairs like a tide.

"Franklin, do it!" Lin Fan shouted.

Franklin stood up abruptly, pulled the pin on a grenade, and threw it into the thickest part of the crowd.

"Boom!"

Two loud explosions erupted, and fire shot into the air.

The dozen or so thugs rushing in front were instantly blown away, their screams echoing one after another.

Michael De Santa was not to be outdone. He picked up a submachine gun and fired wildly at the floor below. Bullets rained down, sending the thugs scurrying for cover, hiding behind pillars and not daring to show their heads.

But the number of people in the gang coalition was simply too high; as one group fell, another surged forward.

Scarface Qiang hid behind a thick pillar and roared into his walkie-talkie: "Listen up, everyone! Charge with everything you've got! Whoever kills Lin Fan gets a reward of one hundred thousand dollars!"

Under heavy rewards, there are always brave men. The thugs seemed to be pumped with adrenaline, charging upstairs recklessly.

Lin Fan's brow furrowed deeper. This couldn't go on; their ammunition was limited, and they would be worn down sooner or later.

"Michael De Santa, hold the stairs! Franklin, come with me!" Lin Fan shouted, turning and running toward the storage room behind the bar.

Franklin hesitated for a second, then quickly followed.

The wall of the storage room had been pried open, revealing a narrow secret passage. The passage was pitch black and filled with a damp, musty smell.

"We aren't going in there to hide!" Lin Fan saw Franklin's confusion. He pulled out his laptop and tapped the keyboard rapidly. "I'm going to hack into their communication system!"

Franklin suddenly understood and quickly guarded the entrance of the passage, watching the movement outside vigilantly.

Lin Fan's fingers flew across the keyboard, his eyes fixed on the screen. The cooldown for his primary hacking skill had long since passed; now was the time to put it to use.

"Found it!" Lin Fan growled, slamming his finger down on the Enter key.

The next second, a harsh static sound erupted from the walkie-talkies of the gang members downstairs. Immediately after, a sharp female voice rang out: "Police! The police are here! A large number of police officers are surrounding this place! Everyone drop your weapons, surrender, and you might live!"

"What? The police are here?"

"Run! The police are here!"

"Don't be stupid! This is Lin Fan's trick!"

The floor below instantly descended into chaos. The once aggressive gang coalition, like bees whose hive had been poked, began to scatter in all directions.

Scarface Qiang was so angry his face turned green. He smashed the walkie-talkie in his hand and roared, "Everyone, stay calm! This is fake! It's Lin Fan's trick!"

But the seeds of chaos had already been sown, and no one was willing to listen to him.

Just then, a deafening roar of an engine suddenly came from the back door of the nightclub.

"Vroom!"

A modified off-road vehicle smashed through the wall of the back door and surged into the lobby of the nightclub.

Franklin sat in the driver's seat, slamming his foot on the accelerator. The off-road vehicle, like an out-of-control beast, rammed through the crowd.

"Lin Fan! Get in the car!" Franklin's roar came through the car window.

Lin Fan's eyes lit up. He and Michael De Santa exchanged a glance, and without hesitation, they both rushed toward the off-road vehicle.

Seeing this, Scarface Qiang was so angry his eyes turned red. He raised his shotgun and pulled the trigger at Lin Fan's back.

"Bang!"

The moment the gunshot rang out, a dark figure flashed by like a ghost, moving too fast for anyone to see clearly.

With a "thud," the shotgun in Scarface Qiang's hand fell to the ground. He looked down at the dagger plunged into his chest, his pupils suddenly constricting, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

"Who... who are you?" Scarface Qiang's voice was filled with fear.

The dark figure slowly raised his head, revealing a face wearing a black mask—it was Ghost.

He didn't speak, but simply yanked the dagger out. Scarface Qiang's body went limp and collapsed, dying with his eyes wide open.

Ghost's gaze swept across the chaotic hall and finally landed on Lin Fan.

Their eyes met in the air; there was no hatred, no murderous intent, only an inexplicable tacit understanding.

Ghost suddenly pulled a note from his coat and tossed it in Lin Fan's direction.

Lin Fan reached out and caught it. There was only one sentence on the note: Victor is the common enemy.

Before Lin Fan could react, Ghost's figure had already vanished into the chaotic crowd.

"What are you standing there for? Let's go!" Franklin's roar pulled Lin Fan back to reality.

Lin Fan didn't hesitate anymore and jumped into the off-road vehicle with Michael De Santa.

Franklin slammed his foot on the accelerator, and the off-road vehicle smashed through the nightclub window, charging into the vast, rainy night.

Behind them, the nightclub had already turned into a sea of flames.

The members of the gang coalition were crying and screaming in the sea of flames, thrown into complete disarray.

The leaders of the Tiger Shark Gang and the Black Bear Gang looked at the tragic scene before them, so angry they nearly vomited blood. The coalition they had worked so hard to build had been completely overturned by Lin Fan and his two companions, resulting in heavy losses.

"Victor! You liar!" the leader of the Tiger Shark Gang roared. "This wasn't a piece of fat meat at all; it was a trap!"

The leader of the Black Bear Gang also gritted his teeth. "We've been duped! Victor wanted to use our hands to eliminate Lin Fan, and then sit back and reap the rewards!"

The leaders of the two major gangs looked at each other, seeing anger and unwillingness in each other's eyes.

They took their remaining men and left, cursing and swearing.

The grand siege by the gang coalition thus ended in a miserable defeat.

Back at the Snake Fang Gang headquarters, Victor sat on a leather sofa, watching the sea of flames on the surveillance screen, his face terrifyingly gloomy.

The wine glass in his hand had been crushed without him realizing it, and the bright red wine dripped down his fingers like blood.

"Ghost..." Victor whispered the name, his eyes filled with cold murderous intent. "How dare you betray me?"

He stood up abruptly and kicked over the coffee table in front of him.

"Lin Fan," Victor's voice sounded like it had crawled out of hell, "and Ghost, you both deserve to die!"

He walked to the window, watching the pouring rain outside, and a cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Since the gang coalition didn't work, I'll take action myself."

"The game in Los Santos is coming to an end."

The off-road vehicle sped through the rain. Lin Fan sat in the back seat, clutching the note tightly.

"Victor is the common enemy."

He chewed on this sentence repeatedly, his eyes growing brighter.

Ghost's defection was like a light, illuminating the path ahead.

Who exactly was this mysterious assassin? Why did he want to help him?

Lin Fan didn't know the answer, but he knew that from this moment on, the landscape of the underground world in Los Santos would change completely.

His influence was quietly rising.

And a greater storm was waiting for him ahead.