12: Battle of the docks

Li Zhan pushed open the door; A Zhen was sitting on the sofa waiting for him.

A bowl of soup sat on the table, still steaming.

He threw the kraft paper bag onto the table. "Blood money."

He picked up the soup bowl and drank it in one gulp. His Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and the bottom of the bowl was empty.

A Zhen walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face against his back without saying a word.

Li Zhan pushed open the master bedroom door. Lili and the others were sprawled across the bed, fast asleep.

He gently closed the door and, with his arm around A Zhen, returned to his own room.

"I'm going to sleep for a bit."

Li Zhan collapsed onto the bed. "Wake me at six."

A Zhen lay down beside him, snuggling into his embrace, her fingers gently combing through his hair.

Li Zhan's breathing gradually steadied, and he fell into a deep sleep.

— —

A Zhen woke Li Zhan up on time at six o'clock.

In the living room, the women had already prepared a meal, but everything was strangely quiet.

Lili was chewing on her chopsticks, Feifei's fingers were constantly twisting the corner of her shirt, and Xiao Wen was staring blankly at her rice bowl.

Li Zhan rubbed his face and grinned. "It's not like I'm not coming back."

He picked up his chopsticks and tapped the edge of his bowl. "Eat. I should be able to make it back to pick you up after you get off work tonight. If it's early, we can go for a midnight snack."

The women's eyes lit up, and the tense atmosphere immediately eased a little.

Feifei laughed first, Lili immediately put a piece of pork rib in her bowl, and Xiao Wen ran to the kitchen to fetch another bowl of soup.

As he was leaving, Lili was the first to rush over and plant a heavy kiss on his cheek.

Feifei, not to be outdone, cupped his face and kissed the other side.

Xiao Wen, blushing, gave his chin a quick peck.

A Zhen walked over last, merely kissing his forehead gently and squeezing the back of his neck with her fingers.

"I'm off." Li Zhan waved his hand without turning back.

— —

Night fell, and the South City Wharf was shrouded in dim, yellow light.

Two inconspicuous vans parked silently beside an abandoned warehouse; the view here was wide, offering a panoramic look at the entire Wharf.

Li Zhan opened the van door, and the damp sea breeze, mixed with the smell of diesel, hit his face.

At the edge of the Wharf in the distance, a cargo ship of about fifty or sixty meters was moored quietly; the three characters "Yongchang" on its mottled hull had already faded.

Beside it, two fifteen or sixteen-meter iron-hulled fishing boats rocked gently with the waves, fishing nets still hanging from the winches at their sterns.

A-Tai lowered his voice. "All three are Seventh Uncle's smuggling ships, used specifically for smuggling electronic components to Hong Kong and Macau. That Yongchang ship is Seventh Uncle's lifeline."

He pointed to the two fishing boats. "Ninth Master said that sinking these two small boats is enough. If we touch the Yongchang..."

A-Tai's Adam's apple bobbed. "Seventh Uncle will definitely go to full-scale war with us."

Li Zhan narrowed his eyes to observe.

Dock workers were scattered in twos and threes, and several bodyguards in black were patrolling the deck, their backs bulging, clearly carrying weapons.

"Something happened the day before yesterday, so they definitely know we're coming for revenge."

Li Zhan looked back into the van. "Is everything ready?"

A-Tai patted a few canvas bags at his feet, which made a soft clinking sound of glass. "Everything is done as you said."

"Later, we'll drive over. I'll be responsible for covering with the people from the other van. A-Tai, you take them to throw the stuff onto the ships."

Li Zhan looked around at everyone. "When the people from the big ship chase after us, I will intercept The Thai Guy, and you are responsible for stopping the others."

He raised his voice. "Remember, don't get bogged down in a fight; just block them. Our targets are the ships and that The Thai Guy."

The brothers looked at each other, and A-Tai grinned. "Today we listen to Brother Zhan."

The others nodded along. In a situation like this, someone who could make decisions was definitely needed.

When night had completely enveloped the Wharf, Li Zhan gave a signal.

The two vans roared to life, their tires screeching against the damp ground as they drove straight toward the Wharf.

After approaching the target, the van doors slid open with a clatter, and ten dark figures filed out.

The Wharf security guards had just blown their whistles when the dark figures immediately split into two teams.

Li Zhan, leading the people from the other van, charged toward the team of security guards like a tiger. The moment they met, the battle became one-sided.

He lunged forward, his right leg sweeping out like a steel whip, striking the lead security guard's knee.

The man screamed and fell to his knees. Before he could react, Li Zhan's left fist had already smashed into the second security guard's chin, knocking him out instantly.

At the same time, the other brothers cleanly dealt with the remaining security guards; the entire process took less than twenty seconds.

By the time the last security guard fell, clutching his stomach, Li Zhan shook his wrist, his breathing completely steady.

Seven or eight groaning security guards lay sprawled on the ground, while their own side hadn't even wrinkled their clothes.

A-Tai led three men, carrying glass bottles, and rushed toward the target ship's berth.

The cloth strips at the bottle mouths were already lit, tracing six orange-red arcs in the night.

"Bang! Bang!"

The glass bottles smashed onto the fishing boat's deck and exploded, and the alcohol instantly spread.

The flames roared, leaping more than two meters high, and in the blink of an eye, they swallowed more than half of the ship's hull.

These were the Molotov cocktails Li Zhan had asked A-Tai to prepare in advance; simple and effective.

Fill the glass bottle with alcohol, plug it with a cork, wrap the bottle neck in advance with a cloth strip soaked in alcohol, and when ready to use, just light the cloth and throw it.

"Fire!" panicked shouts came from the Yongchang.

A dozen crew members rushed down the gangway in a panic; some jumped directly into the sea, splashing up huge waves.

In the night, a dozen thugs holding steel pipes and machetes rushed down from the Yongchang, charging madly toward the vans.

The engines of the two vans roared like beasts, accelerating sharply and crashing into the crowd.

A-Tai and the others who had thrown the Molotov cocktails returned to the ranks.

Li Zhan grabbed a steel pipe and led the group, following the rear of the vans as they charged.

The moment the crowd was scattered, Li Zhan locked onto a particularly burly figure—

Chai-Cai's bare upper body glistened with oil, his fists wrapped in hemp rope, and he was shouting loudly in thai.

Three thugs sent flying by the van were still in mid-air when Li Zhan had already lunged to within two meters of Chai-Cai.

Chai-Cai reacted extremely quickly, his right leg sweeping toward Li Zhan's temple like a whip.

Li Zhan dropped his shoulder and tucked his neck, holding the steel pipe horizontally. With a "clang" and sparks flying, the steel pipe was actually kicked into a V-shape.

Chai-Cai's right leg had just retracted when his left knee slammed toward Li Zhan's chest like a cannonball.

Li Zhan abandoned the steel pipe and crossed his arms to take the blow head-on. He was knocked back three steps, his shoe soles grinding two black marks into the concrete floor.

"Chinese Kung Fu?"

Chai-Cai grinned. He tapped his fists together in front of his chest, the hemp rope making a rustling sound.

Li Zhan shook his numb arms and suddenly crouched and lunged forward.

Chai-Cai was about to lift his leg when he discovered the opponent's figure twisted, his five fingers forming a claw, aiming straight for his groin.

He hurriedly dropped his elbows to strike down, but saw Li Zhan change moves like lightning, his palms chopping toward his ears like mountain-splitting axes.

Chai-Cai lifted his knee to block hard, and his shinbone made an unbearable cracking sound.

Before the sharp pain could reach his brain, Li Zhan's knee had already slammed heavily into his right ribs.

The two men grunted simultaneously and separated. Li Zhan's right arm was trembling slightly, and Chai-Cai's chest was heaving violently.

Chai-Cai suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and foam, a fierce glint erupting in his eyes.

He lunged forward violently, his left hand gripping the back of Li Zhan's neck like an iron pincer, and his right knee slammed into Li Zhan's abdomen three times in succession.

Li Zhan hunched over to take the hits, each one making his stomach churn violently.

When the third knee strike came, Li Zhan suddenly changed tactics.

His right hand formed a claw, lightning-fast, gripping Chai-Cai's right deltoid muscle, his thumb sinking deep into the muscle gap.

Chai-Cai's expression changed drastically; his right arm suddenly lost all strength.

Li Zhan seized the opportunity to roll to the side, his right leg sweeping like a whip toward the outside of Chai-Cai's knee.

Chai-Cai staggered back but, the moment he was hit, threw a backhand elbow strike, landing squarely on Li Zhan's collarbone.

The two stumbled apart; Li Zhan clutched his sunken collarbone, and Chai-Cai dragged his unresponsive right leg.

The burning fishing boats cast flickering light and shadows on their faces, like two damaged statues of Asura.

Outside the two of them, in the firelight, sparks from clashing steel pipes and machetes flew everywhere.

A-Tai and his eight brothers had their backs to the van. Despite being outnumbered, they relied on the cover of the van and the deterrent of the Molotov cocktails to hold off the siege of a dozen or so people.

The front of the van would lunge forward from time to time, forcing back the charging thugs.

Li Zhan and Chai-Cai charged at each other again.

Chai-Cai's left leg was already unsteady, but his right fist still swung with the sound of wind.

Li Zhan tilted his head to dodge, his right hand suddenly changing from a claw to fingers, two fingers stabbing toward Chai-Cai's throat like a venomous snake.

Chai-Cai leaned back in a rush, but Li Zhan's left hand had already gripped his right wrist, and with a spin, using the power of his waist, he twisted Chai-Cai's right arm violently.

With a crisp "crack," Chai-Cai's right arm bent at an eerie angle.

Just as he was about to scream, Li Zhan's knee slammed heavily into his lumbar spine.

Chai-Cai collapsed to the ground like a broken sack, unable to get up again.

"Go!"

A-Tai looked back just in time to see this scene and let out a roar.

The van roared, charging through the crowd, and screeched to a halt beside Li Zhan.

Two brothers hoisted Li Zhan up and shoved him into the van; A-Tai tossed two more Molotov cocktails to intercept the pursuers.

Before the van door was fully closed, the van had already sped off.

Li Zhan slumped in the seat, watching the firelight growing more distant in the rear window, along with that figure writhing on the ground.

His right hand hung limply, and the excruciating pain from his collarbone made his vision go black in waves.