Trap

The armored vehicle left the port warehouse and drove toward the Elephant House Tavern. Sun Rao and Chen Chuan had just received word that the pair of rich siblings had not only ventured out again, but this time were headed straight there. It was hardly a good place to visit, especially right now. Yinglu District was home to the largest concentration of foreign immigrants in Center City of Jibei Circuit. At present, the dominant gang was the Swordfish Gang. Over half of its members hailed from various island nations across the outer ocean, backed by the Ferris Wheel Company, though their rise had only taken place in recent years. Previously, the largest syndicate entrenched in Yinglu District had been the Elephant Gang. Most of its members were descendants of contract laborers who had arrived from the Sheni Peninsula during the Great Expansion. After the rise of the Swordfish Gang, the two factions clashed repeatedly, and the Elephant Gang was gradually pushed out to the fringes of the district. However, many factions did not want the Ferris Wheel Company to monopolize Yinglu District entirely, so they covertly provided the Elephant Gang with funding and arms. By now, although the Elephant Gang could not push outward, they could still firmly hold their own turf. In particular, the Elephant Gang counted several skilled fighters among their ranks. Having devoured the vast majority of the district, the Swordfish Gang had no desire to push them to the brink, leaving both sides in an uneasy stalemate. Even so, conflicts between the two gangs never ceased, erupting every few days. The Elephant House Tavern was the Elephant Gang's stronghold, a venue that flatly barred anyone from the outer ocean from stepping inside. In fact, a conservative faction among them had recently grown hostile toward anyone outside their own people. "The father of those two does business with the Ferris Wheel Company. They're safe on Swordfish Gang turf, but running off to the Elephant Gang? Did they lose their damn minds? Do they seriously think the Elephant Gang won't check up on them? And they chose the exact moment the two sides are about to have a bloody gang war—pure brain rot!" Sun Rao let out a string of curses. "Junior brother, honestly, I'd love nothing more than to see those two suicidal idiots get killed. But the thought of our bureau having to wipe their asses when things go south just makes me sick to my stomach." Chen Chuan remained silent. The siblings weren't necessarily brain-dead; they likely just wanted to watch the Disposal Bureau clash with the gangs, seeking cheap thrills and excitement from the chaos. He understood Sun Rao's frustration. Yet no matter where one went, the people doing the grunt work had to deal with this sort of garbage every day—unless they climbed high enough to make their subordinates deal with it instead. For fighters, the simplest path was to become a third-limit fighter. The higher-ups wouldn't assign people of that caliber to such petty tasks. Even if the bureau did, a fighter of that level could easily turn around and find another employer. As long as one possessed strength, life would be comfortable anywhere. Without it, the story was the same no matter where one went. Fifteen minutes later, they caught sight of the tower-like tavern in the distance. Its soaring roof crowned an imposing structure of gold and white. The building was remarkably tall and broad, casting brilliant, dazzling shadows on the ground below. As they drew closer, however, the crackle of intense gunfire reached their ears, growing louder by the second. Judging by the sheer volume of noise, at least a hundred people were engaged in a fierce firefight. There was no point in counting on the city patrol team at a time like this. Under such furious firepower, they wouldn't dare approach. They were already the ones who took the blame on ordinary days; if they threw themselves into the meat grinder whenever trouble started, wouldn't they have taken all that abuse for nothing? Just then, the resonator informed Sun Rao that a field shield had been detected around the tavern, obscuring the situation inside. Meanwhile, a message from the bureau confirmed that the siblings were currently inside and ordered them to find a way to resolve it. "Fuck!" Sun Rao cursed loudly. "Let them die! "We have no technical support right now, meaning we can't pinpoint anyone. And with just our team, we can't stop a full-blown gang war anyway. I'm not going to throw my life or my team's lives away in there." He turned to Chen Chuan. "Since I'm leading the squad this time, I'll take full responsibility." Chen Chuan looked at him, about to speak. Sun Rao cut in with a wave of his hand. "Save it. I said I'll take the fall. Today is your very first day on duty, and you don't know the ropes. There's no reason to drag you down with me." Chen Chuan said, "Senior..." "I told you, stop talking! We're not at school. There's no need to play the loyal brother. We go by the book. I made the call, and it has nothing to do with you!" Chen Chuan tried to speak again, but the moment he opened his mouth, Sun Rao cut him off once more. "I know what you're thinking. Our armored car could ram its way through, but who's to say there aren't martial experts in those gangs? They might even have heavy weapons. Going in is far too dangerous. Holding our ground out here is the only right choice!" Chen Chuan waited a moment. Seeing that Sun Rao had finally finished, he said, "That wasn't what I was going to say." "...Then what were you going to say?" Chen Chuan said, "I was going to say, if the Swordfish Gang and the Elephant Gang are clashing and mobilizing so many people, is Tong Daguang—the one we're supposed to be watching—inside? If not, is he at his stronghold? Does that mean there's hardly anyone guarding him? And could he have become a target?" Sun Rao froze, his expression shifting rapidly. "You're right," he said, pausing before adding, "We need to check where he is first." He immediately instructed his resonator to locate Tong Daguang. But due to some form of interference, the query was agonizingly slow, yielding no response for a long time. After waiting about twenty minutes, word finally arrived. The man wasn't at his stronghold; he had rushed out half an hour ago, but seemed to have stopped near Chuansheng Street. Sensing trouble, Sun Rao immediately ordered the driver to rush there at maximum speed. When the armored vehicle tore into the neighborhood like a streak of lightning, they found the street completely cordoned off by city patrol vehicles. Seeing the Disposal Bureau vehicle approach, the patrol cars parted to make way. Once inside, they were greeted by the sight of mangled corpses strewn across the pavement alongside brutally torn limbs. Flesh and implants were scattered everywhere, and severed body parts hung from tree branches, dripping bodily fluids and blood. The scene was utterly horrific. In the central area stood a group of people in plain clothes, though one glance was enough to tell they belonged to the Disposal Bureau. Realizing what had happened, Sun Rao parked the vehicle, stepped out, and hailed one of them. "Captain Li!" Chen Chuan recognized him as well—this was the Captain Li who had coordinated with him before. Looking at the carnage around them, Chen Chuan fell into deep thought. Captain Li looked back and walked over, asking in surprise, "Why are you two here? Didn't they say not to tell you?" The moment the words left his mouth, he caught the expression on Sun Rao's face and slapped his forehead. "Slip of the tongue. Never mind, things have already reached this point, so there's no need to keep you in the dark." Sun Rao looked at him. "So... the bureau set up a trap all along?" Captain Li glanced around, then said to Sun Rao and Chen Chuan, "Let's talk over here." He led them to one side and said, "Yes, the bureau laid a trap. Transferring bureau personnel to other districts and leaving only you two on duty was done deliberately to present a seemingly undefended opening. "The bureau didn't brief you in advance because we were worried that, being young, you wouldn't be able to fool Wei Wusheng's eyes and ears. I hope you won't take it personally." Sun Rao said, "Captain Li, we've stayed inside the vehicle for our entire shift. If you had told us, we could have played along." Captain Li hesitated, seeming to weigh his words before looking at him. "We discovered earlier that someone had been keeping tabs on the resonator working with you, while he remained completely oblivious. "He has worked with the bureau many times and possesses a certain level of clearance and intel access. If someone targeted him, they could easily siphon off our internal intelligence. "In fact, you're not the only one. Quite a few resonators working alongside bureau members had loose ends of one kind or another. This time, the bureau simply exploited this blind spot to arrange several operations. From the looks of it, your end was indeed a leak." Sun Rao's expression darkened. Captain Li waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, it has nothing to do with you. The resonator you used was authorized by the bureau. Besides, baiting Wei Wusheng into the open counts as a merit, not a fault. If not for you, how could we have tracked him down so easily?" "Wei Wusheng!" Sun Rao caught on. "Captain Li, was he captured?" "Sigh!" Captain Li let out a heavy breath. "Wei Wusheng's prowess exceeded all expectations. We had two third-limit fighters take part in the ambush, along with specialized support personnel assisting from the sidelines. Even then, Wei Wusheng managed to slaughter his way out." Sun Rao couldn't hide his disappointment. "Why didn't the bureau deploy more people?" Captain Li replied helplessly, "The bureau wanted to! But outsiders know full well who belongs to the bureau. Most of them were reassigned elsewhere during the setup specifically to convince Wei Wusheng that our forces truly weren't here. "Those two third-limit fighters were requisitioned by the bureau from local authorities. When it comes to third-limit experts, it's never just a matter of giving an order; there are countless bureaucratic hurdles to clear. To get two of them on such short notice, from decision to deployment, was already quite an achievement." Chen Chuan asked at this moment, "Captain Li, was Wei Wusheng injured?" Captain Li sounded uncertain. "Both experts we brought in were injured, so Wei Wusheng shouldn't have escaped unscathed either. We're going to step up our manhunt next..." Mid-sentence, a signal suddenly came through his boundary credential. His expression shifted slightly, and he spoke to them in a solemn tone. "Zhe Rong is dead. I have to go check the scene. You two..." He glanced at Chen Chuan, as though recalling something. "Never mind, come along with me." With that, he hurried back to rally his squad. After returning to the vehicle, Chen Chuan pieced together the situation from scattered reports: Wei Wusheng had first ambushed Tong Daguang as he rushed toward the Elephant House, wiping out all twenty-seven people in one breath. However, he was immediately trapped by the arriving Disposal Bureau personnel. Yet because the strength Wei Wusheng displayed far surpassed his past records, they failed to bring him down. After breaking out of the encirclement, Wei Wusheng had neither fled outright nor attempted to leave Yinglu District; instead, he had turned around and struck down Zhe Rong while she was still participating in the martial arts hall exchange. One had to admit the move was both brazen and insanely daring. Yet upon closer reflection, it was an entirely rational choice. Having broken free of the Disposal Bureau's ambush, Wei Wusheng naturally realized that the bureau's available forces were limited to the group that had attacked him, leaving nobody else to guard the perimeter. That made it the perfect opportunity to kill Zhe Rong. Judging by his actions, the ambush had not dealt him any crippling injury, leaving him with plenty of strength to spare. Even so, another critical question remained: Chen Chuan's name was also on Wei Wusheng's list. Would the man decide to finish what he started and come after him next?