Chapter 562 - 562: The Cao Family of Shanghai's Three Great Families

"Tell me, where were you planning to take the child?"

Jiang Xinghai's eyes turned cold as he stared at the trembling Wu Da.

"Nowhere! I'm not taking him anywhere! I'm adopting him myself, that's all." Wu Da could feel the imposing power of the man before him, but he still tried to lie his way out of it.

"It seems you have a death wish."

Before Jiang Xinghai's voice had even faded, Sun Zhen appeared and crippled Wu Da's left arm.

"AARGH!!!"

Wu Da clutched his broken left arm, collapsing to the ground in agony.

He knew he had no way out. He took a deep breath before answering truthfully, "The Cao Family!"

Jiang Xinghai frowned. 'So it's the Cao Family, one of the three major families!'

He remembered the information Zhao Wenxiang had given him about Shanghai. The three major families were the Du Family, the Huang Family, and the Cao Family.

Moreover, on this trip, he was planning to search for the location of Mirror Lake Manor among the many islands off the coast of Shanghai.

According to Nightingale, roughly two-thirds of those islands were leased or outsourced to the three major families.

"The Cao Family is one of the three major families of Shanghai! They're not people you can afford to provoke... Spare my worthless life, I'll disappear from your sight right now, I'm begging you, sir..." Wu Da was only a First-Realm Venerable, but the aura emanating from Jiang Xinghai was so oppressive he could barely breathe.

"The Cao Family... why do they want this child?" Jiang Xinghai asked again.

"You're better off not knowing. Otherwise, you'll be..."

"If you don't give a straight answer, we'll cripple all four of your limbs and throw you into the Huangpu River to feed the fish." Sun Zhen took a step forward.

"A heart transplant!"

Wu Da hurriedly explained, "A newborn in the Cao Family has a congenital heart defect. They need this child's heart to survive."

"In that case, you should get some sleep."

Holding the child, Jiang Xinghai stepped into the business van.

Sun Zhen then kicked Wu Da, knocking him unconscious on the ground.

"Call the police. Give them a rough summary of what happened here. I'm sure they'll arrive within five minutes."

Jiang Xinghai was well aware that since the police had set up a sting operation, posing as the child's parents to catch the whole group, their backup colleagues would naturally be nearby.

Moreover, the child's real parents would also be coming.

Sure enough, five minutes later, police cars sped to the scene one after another.

At the scene, all six people, including Wu Da, were incapacitated and barely breathing.

Furthermore, Jiang Xinghai had recorded his conversation with Wu Da. With the perpetrators apprehended and the recording as evidence, the police quickly grasped the full story.

However, they still wanted to take Jiang Xinghai and Sun Zhen in for questioning.

"BEEP BEEP!"

Just then, however, a Hummer came speeding over.

It was Nightingale, who had already been notified of Jiang Xinghai's arrival in Shanghai.

As a member of the War Department, she had been instructed by Three-star General Zhong Yunman to come to Shanghai specifically to help Jiang Xinghai find Mirror Lake Manor.

After she showed her credentials, the police stopped bothering Jiang Xinghai and took Wu Da and his men away.

"Here's your child." Jiang Xinghai returned the baby to the couple—the child's birth parents.

"Thank you, Mr. Jiang!"

The child's birth parents looked both overjoyed and alarmed.

They were overjoyed that their child was safe.

They were alarmed because what if the Cao Family sent people after them once they left?

Jiang Xinghai naturally saw the couple's concern and assured them, "Go back, find a different place to lie low for a while. No one will come looking for you."

"Also, take this two million in cash. It'd be a waste not to," Jiang Xinghai added with a smile.

"But..."

The couple hesitated.

Just then, Nightingale spoke up, "Don't worry. The War Department will send people to escort you home and stay to protect you for the time being. Once things with the Cao Family are settled here, we'll notify you."

And so, the couple left Shanghai with their child, protected by personnel dispatched by Nightingale from the War Department.

By now, the sky was beginning to lighten. It was already six in the morning.

"Young Master Jiang, you're being so low-key coming to Shanghai. Why did you choose to take a regular train?"

Inside the Hummer, Nightingale glanced at Jiang Xinghai with a meaningful look as she drove. "And you even managed to crack a trafficking case along the way. That's quite an achievement."

"Perhaps it was just fate," Jiang Xinghai said with a wry smile, thinking of what the infant had almost gone through.

If Zhao Wenxiang hadn't suggested he take a regular train, this whole affair might have gone unnoticed.

"Still, this business with the Cao Family won't be wrapped up so easily," Nightingale said. Her short hair made her look sharp and capable, and her clear eyes, set in a pretty face, glittered.

"Of course I understand that. Given the Cao Family's influence, this matter will probably just be swept under the rug."

Jiang Xinghai just smiled faintly. "Which is why I'm going to pay the Cao Family a visit today."

"You mean with force?" Nightingale asked, a little worried.

The Cao Family has been in Shanghai for many years. They have at least five Martial Arts experts ranked in the top forty-nine of the Hidden Dragon List!

And from what she knew, Jiang Xinghai had only just defeated Sun Zhen, who was ranked fifty-fourth on the Hidden Dragon List.

"With your War Department here, even if I do use force, what can the Cao Family do about it?" Jiang Xinghai replied with a raised eyebrow and a smile.