200: Dilemma

At this moment, the iron door of the workshop was pushed open again.

Two extremely tall and burly Black men, with dark skin and wearing only tight tank tops, walked in.

Their gazes swept across the scene, finally landing on Liu Shijie, who was covered in blood, missing teeth, and looked incredibly fragile on the mattress.

Leering, lustful smiles filled with raw desire appeared on their faces as they rubbed their hands together and approached step by step.

Liu Shijie, who had just endured torture and was in a daze, saw these two behemoths and the undisguised intent in their eyes, instantly understanding what was about to happen!

A chill, a thousand times more terrifying than when his teeth were knocked out just moments ago, instantly swept through his entire body.

He wanted to scream, but could only emit a wheezing, hoarse "hissing" sound. His body trembled violently from extreme fear, tears streamed out uncontrollably, and he desperately tried to shrink backward, but he no longer had the strength to even move his body.

Li Zhan, who had already reached the door, seemed to sense something. Without even turning his head, he casually pulled a small bar of soap from the hotel out of his pocket, flicked his arm, and accurately tossed it over the doorframe, landing it on the floor inside the workshop.

The soap slid between Liu Shijie and the two Black men.

Accompanying the slight sound of the soap landing, Li Zhan's icy voice, seemingly tinged with a hint of mockery, came from outside the door,

"Lucky you, Young Master Liu... Enjoy your 'entertainment program' well."

This sentence was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"Hiss... hiss... No!! Li Zhan!! You bastard!! You animal!! Come back!! Kill me!! Just kill me..."

Liu Shijie erupted with the last bit of strength in his life, letting out a desperate, shrill, inhuman wail, his voice filled with endless fear, humiliation, and collapse.

But the only response he got was the despairing "creak" of the iron door slowly closing, and the two massive figures whose shadows completely engulfed him...

Inside the workshop, all that remained were desperate sobs and chilling, low, sinister laughter...

Li Zhan listened expressionlessly to the screams from behind him, distorted by extreme fear and despair, without a single ripple in his heart, let alone any pity...

Flashing through his mind were the pieces of evidence his subordinates had collected regarding how this Young Master Liu had run rampant in Dongguan, forcing families to ruin;

He thought about how he had dared to reach out to A Zhen, who was far away in her hometown in Guangxi, and his vicious intentions and plans;

He thought about what kind of terrible hell A Zhen and her unborn child would have faced if he hadn't made arrangements early on.

Kindness to the enemy is cruelty to oneself and one's loved ones.

This principle had been carved into his bones from the day he, Li Zhan, crawled up from the bottom...

--

The next morning, Tiger Gate, Bai Shaqiang's private club tea room.

The tea room was filled with curling sandalwood incense, and the environment was elegant, forming a subtle contrast with Bai Shaqiang's rugged appearance.

Bai Shaqiang was wearing a loose Tang suit, his muscular contours still clearly visible. His brows were furrowed, and he was fiddling with the Zisha teapot in his hand, somewhat absent-mindedly, pouring the brewed golden tea into the cup of Prince Hui opposite him.

Prince Hui was wearing a well-fitted light gray suit and gold-rimmed glasses, looking more like an elegant businessman or scholar.

He gently picked up the teacup, sniffed the tea's aroma, and moved with composure.

"Brother Hui..." Bai Shaqiang put down the teapot and spoke in a low voice, breaking the silence, "Last night, the Liu Family sent someone to find me."

"Oh?" Prince Hui raised his eyelids, his gaze flickering behind his lenses. "Liu Tianhong's people? They're quick. What for?"

"What else could it be?" Bai Shaqiang snorted. "They want me to use my underworld connections to help investigate the kidnappers and see if there's any news. Also..." He paused, his eyes becoming somewhat complicated, "They want me to keep an eye on Chang'an, specifically Li Zhan's recent movements, to see if he's acting unusually."

Prince Hui gently blew on the hot air in his teacup, the corners of his mouth curling into a knowing arc. "It seems the rumors are true. This kid, Liu Shijie, has really fallen this time, and hard. Otherwise, Liu Tianhong wouldn't be so desperate as to come directly to people like us."

"Damn it, that kid has been used to acting lawlessly in Dongguan; this day was bound to come sooner or later." Bai Shaqiang's tone carried a hint of disdain, but then he frowned. "However, I heard some news. Li Zhan's Gambling Dens, all of them have suddenly closed in the last two days, not a single one left. Do you think... this is a step in his long-planned path to go legitimate, or... is it because of this incident that he's contracting early?"

Prince Hui pondered for a moment and slowly put down his teacup. "Li Zhan has wanted to go legitimate for more than a day or two. Closing the Gambling Dens should be a step in his established plan, which has been in progress for a long time. It might not be entirely because of this Liu Shijie affair... but the timing is quite coincidental."

He paused, his tone turning cold. "As for Liu Shijie, the rotten things he's done in Dongguan are too numerous to list. The number of people who want him dead could stretch from the city government office all the way to Chang'an. This time, he just hit a hard wall, or rather... he's been targeted by someone even more ruthless."

Bai Shaqiang leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Then this time... what should we do? The Liu Family has spoken; we can't just show nothing."

"What to do?" Prince Hui chuckled, pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes revealing shrewdness and coldness. "Of course... play it by ear. The Liu Family are officials, we are gangsters; just dealing with them on the surface and going through the motions is enough. Do you really think we should risk our lives to investigate the case for Liu Tianhong? Whoever wants to wade into these muddy waters can go ahead. I think Liu Shijie is in grave danger this time."

He picked up his teacup and added, meaningfully, "Besides, haven't you noticed? The Zhou Family... hasn't made a single move yet. This play has only just begun; what's the rush? Just sit back and watch the show."

Bai Shaqiang heard this and was silent for a moment. He took a gulp of tea and sighed irritably. "Sigh! Come to think of it, I always feel that when we didn't agree to cooperate with Li Zhan on going legitimate last time, it might... have been a wrong move."

Mentioning this, Prince Hui also fell silent for a moment, a complex look flashing across his face. He took off his gold-rimmed glasses and wiped them slowly. "A Ming and Brother Chang... their vision is too narrow. They only stare at the harvest on their own little plot of land in the town, terrified of being swallowed by Li Zhan. But Li Zhan..."

He put his glasses back on and looked at Bai Shaqiang. "His ambition and pace are indeed too big. I'm worried that cooperating with him is no different from asking a tiger for its skin; in the end, instead of waiting to go legitimate, we'll be swallowed, bones and flesh alike, by him first."

He sighed, remembering the sword hanging over the heads of all the spokespersons in Dongguan, his tone filled with helplessness and worry. "Sigh, it's a dilemma..."

The tea room fell into silence again, with only the faint sound of the sandalwood incense slowly burning. Each of them had their own thoughts, weighing the future risks and ways out...

The underground landscape of Dongguan seemed to be accelerating its tremors and restructuring with the disappearance of the Liu Family's young master...