Chapter 100: This Is Retribution
At 2 AM, in the northern outskirts of Peaceful City, inside an abandoned temple, Chen Xue Wen, Lai Hou, and Wang Zhen Dong sat resting in the dimly lit ruins.
Suddenly, the distant sound of a motorcycle echoed through the quiet night.
The three men immediately straightened their backs, eyes filled with vigilance.
Chen Xue Wen pulled out a flashlight and waved it three times in a clockwise motion toward the approaching motorcycle.
A moment later, a responding beam of light flickered five times in return.
Chen Xue Wen exhaled in relief. “It’s Er Yong and Tie Zhu!”
The three men moved to the temple’s entrance, stepping onto the open ground. Before long, a motorcycle roared toward them, carrying three passengers—Li Er Yong, Li Tie Zhu, and an unconscious Leopard.
Li Er Yong’s leg injury had mostly healed. While he still couldn’t run at full speed, riding a motorcycle posed no issue.
Tonight’s operation had been carefully orchestrated by Chen Xue Wen back when he was still in the Law Enforcement Squad. He had foreseen that Snake would try to eliminate him.
So, after leaving the squad, he immediately contacted Li Er Yong and put the plan into motion.
That evening, he had deliberately led Leopard and his men in circles, shaking them off, making Leopard believe he was simply frightened and trying to hide. This successfully lowered Leopard’s guard.
Then, he returned to rest at the temple with Lai Hou and Wang Zhen Dong, while Li Er Yong and Li Tie Zhu stayed hidden outside, ready to strike.
When Leopard and his men launched their ambush, Chen Xue Wen lured the majority of them away, leaving Leopard—who was already injured—unable to keep up. This allowed Li Er Yong and Li Tie Zhu to capture him.
Now, looking at the captured Leopard, Lai Hou and Wang Zhen Dong were once again astounded.
Earlier, when Chen Xue Wen had proposed capturing Leopard, they had thought he was boasting. After all, Leopard had a crew of twenty armed men, making it seem impossible for Chen Xue Wen’s tactics to be effective.
Yet, against all odds, he had succeeded!
“Brother Wen, your strategy was brilliant!” Lai Hou exclaimed in genuine admiration.
Wang Zhen Dong scratched his head, hesitating. “Brother Wen, why did we capture Leopard?”
Chen Xue Wen’s eyes darkened. “To kill Snake, of course.”
Lai Hou and Wang Zhen Dong widened their eyes in shock. Was he really planning to take out Snake?
The ambition was staggering!
Their side only had five men, and the rest of their subordinates were practically useless in a fight. Meanwhile, Snake commanded a force of fifty to sixty hardened gangsters, all ready to wield blades without hesitation.
How could they possibly succeed in killing him?
Even with Leopard in their grasp, it wasn’t enough to take down Snake.
Chen Xue Wen, however, didn’t bother explaining further. Instead, he turned to Li Er Yong. “How did it go?”
Li Er Yong recounted the events, and Chen Xue Wen nodded in satisfaction.
Tonight’s goal had been to capture Leopard, but unexpectedly, they had also eliminated Three Eye, a pleasant bonus.
Chen Xue Wen asked, “Where’s the phone?”
Li Er Yong grinned. “As per your instructions, we removed the battery long ago.”
“Though, with Snake’s limited connections, I doubt he has the resources to track us through it.”
Chen Xue Wen waved dismissively. “Better safe than sorry.”
He, Lai Hou, and Wang Zhen Dong had also removed their phone batteries earlier.
The incident with Zhou Hao’s father using a Personal Handy-phone to track Wu Li Hong had made Chen Xue Wen extra cautious. He had learned that high-ranking figures did have ways to trace calls.
However, what he didn’t realize was that, in that era, communication tracking was extremely difficult and required significant financial resources and time. Ordinary people simply didn’t have the means to do it.
Zhou Hao’s father had only managed it because of his vast influence and network.
Snake, on the other hand, lacked such powerful connections.
Li Tie Zhu tossed Leopard to the ground, and Chen Xue Wen grabbed a bottle of cold water, pouring it directly over his head.
The freezing water jolted Leopard awake.
As he took in his surroundings, his expression turned to stunned disbelief.
“Chen Xue Wen, you dirty bastard!” Leopard bellowed in fury.
Chen Xue Wen smirked coldly. “This isn’t dirty. This is strategy.”
“What’s truly dirty is you bringing twenty men to ambush the five of us.”
Leopard roared, “Chen, cut the crap! If you’ve got guts, untie me and fight me one-on-one!”
Chen Xue Wen scoffed, then suddenly kicked Leopard in the face, causing blood to gush from his nose and mouth.
“One-on-one?”
“What gives you the right?”
Chen Xue Wen stomped down on Leopard’s head, his voice cold and sharp.
Leopard, pinned beneath his foot, couldn’t resist, only roaring in fury, “Chen Xue Wen, my Big Brother won’t let you get away with this!”
“Brother Snake will make sure you’re dead! He’ll slaughter your whole family!”
“All of you will die!”
Chen Xue Wen stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression unchanging as he stared down at Leopard. Only when the enraged shouts gradually died down did he finally speak, his tone calm, “Finished? Then listen to what I have to say.”
Leopard spat, “There’s nothing to say between us!”
“Since I’ve fallen into your hands, do whatever you want. Kill me, chop me up—your call.”
“If I so much as frown, then I swear I wasn’t raised by humans!”
“Threaten me? You’re dreaming!”
Chen Xue Wen chuckled, unfazed. “Brother Leopard, you’re quite the tough guy.”
“But I can’t say the same for your little brother.”
The moment those words left his lips, Leopard’s face darkened. “You… what do you mean?”
Chen Xue Wen’s expression remained icy as he clapped his hands. From behind the abandoned temple, Wang Zhen Dong appeared, pushing a wheelchair forward.
Seated in it was none other than Leopard’s younger brother, Little Black.
Seeing his brother also captured, Leopard’s face twisted in shock. He struggled violently, bellowing, “Chen Xue Wen, if you dare lay a hand on my little brother, I swear I’ll never forgive you!”
Chen Xue Wen’s gaze remained indifferent, cold as steel.
Leopard roared a few more times, his voice hoarse with rage. But in the end, his tone cracked with desperation. “Chen Xue Wen, this is between you and me! My brother has nothing to do with it!”
“Even in the underworld, there are rules. We don’t drag family into this!”
“If you do anything to him, even if you take down my Big Brother, do you really think the rest of Peaceful City will respect you?”
Chen Xue Wen let out a cold chuckle. “No family involved?”
“Leopard, if I recall, your little brother also works for Snake.”
“He’s in this life, same as us. So why shouldn’t I deal with him?”
“I remember, on the very first day I opened my shop, wasn’t it him who led people to cause trouble?”
Leopard was left speechless.
Chen Xue Wen pressed on, his voice void of emotion. “And didn’t Snake, back at Chen Ji Grand Restaurant, kidnap Wu Li Hong to threaten me?”
“And now you want to talk rules with me?”
“What gives you the right?”
Leopard was utterly silent. In that moment, he finally understood what true retribution meant.
Snake had never followed any principles. And now, they were the ones paying the price.
Lowering his head, Leopard clenched his teeth, his mind churning with reluctant contemplation. After a long silence, he finally let out a resentful sigh. “Chen Xue Wen, what… what do you want from me?”
Chen Xue Wen’s gaze remained steady as he spoke.
“Tomorrow night, I’m going to kill Snake.”
“And I want your help.”
Leopard’s eyes widened in shock. For a brief moment, he wondered if he had misheard.
Chen Xue Wen… kill Snake?
What gave him the right?
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation