Chapter 187 - 172: Ruthless Brother Snake

Chapter 187: Chapter 172: Ruthless Brother Snake

Kidnapping and collecting millions in illicit loans... These are things only Brother Dong’s most trusted confidants could handle. And what kind of person becomes one of Brother Dong’s confidants?

The answer was obvious.

"True enough."

Xie Shaokun nodded before speaking. "That makes sense, but Brother Dong and his people won’t just let this go. I’m not afraid for myself, but what about Ziqi?"

"We could have her stay at our unfinished building, but she isn’t part of the team. She absolutely cannot live there."

You had to admit, he had a clear head on his shoulders.

He knew what could be done and what couldn’t, and he was completely loyal to both the team and Xia Yu.

"Heh."

Hong She let out an insidious laugh. "Brother Dong won’t let this go? You think we will?"

"You want to eradicate the problem, root and stem?"

Xie Shaokun’s mind instantly jumped to a conclusion.

"How many families has Brother Dong destroyed with his loan sharking? And that’s just what we know about. He’s definitely done plenty of other illegal, secretive things."

Hong She smiled. "We’re just getting rid of a public menace."

Xie Shaokun: "..."

’That logic is completely twisted, but somehow, it sounds right.’

He nodded, feeling no psychological burden. "Fine, we kill him. The guy’s definitely not a good person. He deserves to die."

"Of course."

"But if this Brother Dong knows what’s good for him, bows his head, admits his mistakes, apologizes, and agrees to work for us, then he’ll be one of our own. And we can’t be so cruel to our own people."

Hong She’s tone shifted completely.

Xie Shaokun was completely baffled.

Hong She didn’t elaborate, instead continuing, "Shaokun, in a bit, Brother Hua and I are going to pose as cops. Don’t you blow our cover."

???

Xie Shaokun couldn’t follow this time. "For what reason?"

Hong She froze for a second at his words.

He mulled it over for a moment before the meaning sank in, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

’If I hadn’t gone through nine years of compulsory education, I probably wouldn’t have even understood him.’

"No reason."

"Just for fun,"

he explained.

Xie Shaokun: "..."

’What kind of bullshit explanation is that?’

Still, he didn’t press the issue and led the way to the rendezvous point.

「On a deserted path.」

An SUV was parked in the middle of the road. Two fierce-looking, burly men occupied the driver and passenger seats. Compared to them, Xie Shaokun’s trio looked downright "weak."

"I’ll go down myself," Xie Shaokun said, a cold, murderous intent flashing in his eyes. "Brother Snake can stay in the car and use his superpower from the shadows."

Now that he had resolved to kill, his previous reservations vanished. As for his opponents... even if two more showed up, they would be no match for him.

This wasn’t arrogance. It was confidence.

"No."

Hong She had been driving the whole way and was indeed a bit tired, but he shook his head. "We’re police officers. If we hide in the car while you go commit murder, it’ll look way too fake."

’So we’re really going through with the act?’

The corner of Xie Shaokun’s mouth twitched, and the murderous intent he had just mustered up dissipated.

"Besides, if we show up but don’t even get out of the car, just sitting here all calm and composed, they’ll definitely get suspicious."

"That wouldn’t be good for rescuing Chen Ziqi, either."

Hong She didn’t want to explain, so he just played the Chen Ziqi card.

As expected.

Xie Shaokun agreed.

The three of them got out of the car.

Xie Shaokun walked in the middle, flanked by Hong She and Little Flower. Hong She carried a combination-lock briefcase containing, in actual fact, over a million.

The next part of the process was relatively simple.

It was a simple exchange: money for the person.

The other party had chosen such an open area for the exchange that a sneak attack was impossible. They would have to wait until Chen Ziqi was safe before making their move.

The exchange was completed.

The other party warily prepared to retreat.

Just as Xie Shaokun was about to make his move...

"Stop!"

Hong She suddenly whipped a pistol from his waistband and pointed it at the two men. "Police! Don’t move!"

And then...

The rest was even simpler.

Hong She and Little Flower stayed behind to interrogate the men while Xie Shaokun left first with Chen Ziqi.

「Over half an hour later.」

Hong She arrived alone to rendezvous with Xie Shaokun and Chen Ziqi.

"Snake—"

Xie Shaokun started to say "Brother Snake," but Hong She cut him off. "The two of them have confessed. My partner is driving them back to the station now."

"Now, I have a few questions for Miss Chen here."

"If you would please cooperate."

???

’It’s over. Is he still acting?’

Xie Shaokun frowned. He had no idea what Hong She was up to, but he played along, gave a grunt of acknowledgement, and got out of the car.

「In the car.」

Hong She gave her a gentle smile.

He noticed Chen Ziqi’s gaze flick to the tattoo on his neck and offered a casual explanation. "Don’t be nervous. I’m undercover. I just wrapped up an assignment and didn’t have time to get this neck tattoo removed before being called out for this mission."

"As you know, we’re extremely short-staffed because of the Mist Event."

Thinking of the horrors of the Mist Event, Chen Ziqi couldn’t help but nod, her vigilance starting to fade...