Enter the Tiger's Den

Enter the Tiger's Den

The two men had parked a car downstairs.

They now sat in the front, carrying Huang Ji and the other two to the place they had arranged to meet Zhang Junwei.

The three would pretend they had been coerced into meeting Zhang Junwei.

Although the two men were obedient for now, Huang Ji knew that Zhang Junwei treated his subordinates well and had built strong bonds with his brothers.

Though he had used a few tricks on them and made sure they would not expose him on the spot, their hearts still leaned toward Zhang Junwei.

So the key was still to deal with Zhang Junwei. As long as he submitted, all the trouble would be resolved.

Half an hour later, the car drove into a used-car recycling market.

All along the way, Huang Ji kept observing his surroundings until the car arrived outside a warehouse.

Two men were smoking outside the warehouse. When they saw Xiao Zha driving, they grinned. "Why did it take so long?"

Xiao Zha got out of the car listlessly. "That old man came home late. I waited in his house for ages."

"Get inside. The boss is playing cards." As they spoke, the two smokers came over to open the door and helped Xiao Zha drag Huang Ji and the others into the warehouse.

One of them asked, "Why are there three? You didn't tie them up?"

"The other two are friends of the old man, so we brought them along. No need to tie them up. Three scaredy-cats—wave a knife at them and they came along obediently," Xiao Zha said.

No one suspected a thing, and they simply led them into the warehouse.

There was a large open area inside. A group sat on sofas watching a soccer match, with beer, late-night snacks, and all sorts of things on the coffee table.

Four more people had set up a Mahjong table in the middle of the floor and were calling out melds.

"Six... four... counting the smokers, Xiao Zha, and the rest, twelve altogether. Just like in Xiao Zha's memories."

Huang Ji looked around and swiftly gathered information.

He soon learned all their names and their capabilities.

Clatter! Someone shut the warehouse door and locked it.

The man who had locked the door smoked as he sneered at Huang Ji.

Huang Ji smiled back at him.

The man was baffled. I locked the door to keep you from escaping. What the hell are you smiling at?

The three stood near the Mahjong table, and no one bothered to greet them.

Zhang Junwei did not even raise his head as he shouted, "Kong!"

Then he rolled the dice and drew a tile, not looking up even once.

Lao Wang and Lin Li exchanged a glance. Seeing how calm Huang Ji was, they stayed silent as well.

Of course Huang Ji was calm. He knew Zhang Junwei was putting on airs, deliberately playing cards in an unhurried manner and giving the three of them the cold shoulder. He was waiting until he won before coming over to question them.

Huang Ji was happy to have more time to sense information.

And so the bizarre scene continued, as if the three of them had never arrived.

Until two minutes later, Zhang Junwei shouted, "Self-draw!"

After happily collecting the money, he finally stood up. "Take a break. We'll play again later!"

Zhang Junwei wore a tank top, and his muscles were quite solid. He lit a cigarette, swaggered over to the three of them, and looked them up and down.

Then he exhaled smoke and said, "Xiao Zha, why are there three?"

"The other two went home with the old man, so we brought them all..." Xiao Zha answered in a low voice.

Zhang Junwei glanced at Xiao Zha, feeling that something was off about him, but he did not pay it much mind.

He only stared at Lao Wang and smiled. "Old man, someone's offering a million to find you. Damn, you're worth a lot."

"Tell me, what did you do to be worth so much?"

Lao Wang calmly said, "A million is too little. I'm worth at least ten million."

Zhang Junwei froze, and the underlings around them all looked over. Ten million? How was that possible?

One million was already enough for all of them to live comfortably for quite a while.

Ten million? They all wanted to quit and split the money.

"Tch. I know you're an old con man, so stop bragging. Just tell me why they're offering a million to find you!" Zhang Junwei said.

"I stole something from them. What else could it be?" Lao Wang said with a smile.

Zhang Junwei's eyes lit up. He had stolen something?

Without question, if someone was willing to pay a million for his whereabouts, the thing they had lost had to be worth far more than a million!

"What was it?" Zhang Junwei pressed.

Lao Wang said, "Are you sure you want to discuss it here?"

The implication was that they should talk alone.

Zhang Junwei looked at his men and smiled. "No need to hide anything. Just say it."

Lao Wang's heart sank. This had been his plan—find a way to get Zhang Junwei alone and subdue him.

But Zhang Junwei clearly did not want to look as though he were guarding against his own men.

"Speak!" Zhang Junwei barked.

"Some things are better left unasked. If you know too much, you'll lose your life," Huang Ji suddenly cut in, then shifted one step to the side.

At the same time, Zhang Junwei shouted, "Don't fucking try to scare me!"

As he spoke, he flicked his cigarette butt, sending it flying through the spot where Huang Ji had just been standing.

"Huh?" Zhang Junwei froze. He had not expected Huang Ji to dodge it.

Then Huang Ji stepped forward and threw a punch at his face.

"Heh..." Zhang Junwei had not become boss for nothing. Though he was not especially burly and was somewhat lean, he truly was the best fighter here.

Fighting people had been a constant in his life since childhood, and he had vast experience. No one in this area had ever been able to beat him.

He tracked Huang Ji's fist, raising his left hand to block while swinging his right fist in a counterattack.

But just as he did so, Huang Ji changed his move!

The punch at his face had been a feint. It suddenly dropped like a banana kick, without losing any force, and slammed into his waist.

"Argh!" Zhang Junwei cried out miserably. A sharp pain shot through his waist, followed by numbness spreading through half his body.

Though Huang Ji did not look strong, his explosive power was terrifying.

At the theoretical limit of human exertion, he could bring out ninety percent of his strength. His force was more than four times that of an ordinary person of the same weight swinging an arm.

And he had struck a weak point!

The spots Huang Ji hit—sensitive nerves, gaps between bones—were all force-generation nodes and even vulnerable areas around the internal organs.

With that one punch, half of Zhang Junwei's body went numb. Even clenching his right fist felt weak, and he could not generate force through his waist or abdomen.

"Huh?" Zhang Junwei had not expected Huang Ji to be this formidable.

But he was also extremely experienced. He fell with the momentum and swept his leg toward Huang Ji's groin.

Yet the moment he moved, Huang Ji had already anticipated it. He leaped into the air, used the incoming leg as a foothold, and whipped his right leg into Zhang Junwei's face, knocking out two of his teeth!

"Pfft!"

Zhang Junwei rolled across the ground. That kick had dazed him and darkened his vision.

Blood filled his mouth. He cursed and hurriedly crawled to the side.

Seeing their boss knocked down in just one or two moves, the underlings burst into uproar.

Then they each grabbed weapons and surrounded Huang Ji. Huang Ji had his back to them as if he had not noticed, silently walking over to Zhang Junwei and lifting him into a chair beside the Mahjong table.

"Hey! At least give us a warning before you make a move!" Lao Wang pulled Lin Li behind Huang Ji and hastily took up a stance against the others.

Without even turning his head, Huang Ji used both hands to precisely pull two weapons from Zhang Junwei's body.

A handgun and a dagger.

"Good! A gun!" Lao Wang was overjoyed. Though Huang Ji was formidable in a one-on-one fight, a gun could undoubtedly take control of the situation at once.

"Give it to me! I know how to use it!"

Lao Wang prided himself on his marksmanship. In America, he had gone up against armed mercenaries before.

Yet Huang Ji casually tossed the handgun far away as if it were trash. Instead, he held the dagger to Zhang Junwei's throat.

"Don't throw it away!" Lao Wang was dumbfounded. Who threw away a gun to use a dagger?

Even if he did not know how to use a gun, it could still be used to intimidate people.

Lao Wang hurried to pick it up, but it was already too late. One of the underlings had run over and picked up the gun.

At that moment, Zhang Junwei's darkened vision had recovered somewhat. Seeing himself held hostage at knifepoint, his first reaction was not fear. He wanted to shove Huang Ji away and roll out of reach.

Ordinary people always assumed that putting a dagger to someone's throat was enough to threaten their life, but it was not that simple.

Zhang Junwei had once broken free from someone's knife. His opponent had been caught off guard, allowing him to create distance.

He considered himself experienced in such matters and was just about to act.

But Huang Ji suddenly turned the dagger downward and drove it viciously into his flesh!

The cold blade slipped in between his neck and collarbone! Blood immediately seeped out!

"Ah! It went in! Don't, don't, don't! Hiss! Pull it out, quick!"

Zhang Junwei was terrified out of his wits. Why was he so ruthless? Was he stabbing tofu? This was his neck!

Feeling the coldness and agony beside his neck, he did not dare move an inch, terrified that he might "kill himself."

"Brother, calm down, brother! Don't let your hand shake!" His entire body was rigid, and he did not dare move at all.

What he did not know was that Huang Ji's angle of insertion had been exquisitely calculated, as precise as surgery. Though the blade seemed to have gone into his neck, it had not touched any vital spot. It was merely a flesh wound.

But how could Zhang Junwei know that? Afraid it might hit an artery, he only saw Huang Ji's face as cold as frost and his hand unwaveringly ruthless. It sent chills down his spine.

Huang Ji knew this would make Zhang Junwei behave, so he leisurely took Zhang Junwei's phone from his pocket.

From beginning to end, he never once turned around to deal with the group of underlings.

"Let go of my boss! Fuck, I'm talking to you! I'll shoot!" the underling who had picked up the gun roared.

Zhang Junwei also seized the chance to say, "Brother, this has nothing to do with you. I'm only after that old man."

Huang Ji said nothing. He looked through the call records, just as he had browsed the internet before. As he looked at each name and number, information flowed endlessly into his awareness.

Seeing that Huang Ji ignored him, Zhang Junwei simply said fiercely, "I took money to settle someone else's trouble. Even with a knife at my throat, don't think you can threaten me. If you've got the guts, stab me to death. That old man isn't leaving this door today!"

After saying that to Huang Ji, he addressed his underlings. "Brothers, if he stabs me to death, shoot them! Blow every last one of them away!"

Huang Ji kept looking through the phone, unmoved.

That attitude directly enraged everyone, especially the underling holding the gun. With a gun in hand, his whole bearing changed.

With a gun in his hand, his confidence surged.

Seeing that Huang Ji would not even look at him, he suddenly racked the gun and pulled the trigger!

"Don't!"

"Don't shoot!"

Zhang Junwei and three of his trusted men all cried out at once, trying to stop that underling.

But the underling still fired. Bang! Bang! Bang! Three shots in a row struck Huang Ji and Zhang Junwei!

Lao Wang's brow twitched. Hearing the sound, he thought something was wrong.

Fury surged in Zhang Junwei as he stared fixedly at the underling.

"Huh?" The underling froze, carefully examined the gun in his hand, and exclaimed, "A toy gun?"

It was only an ultra-realistic imitation handgun. To make it convincing, Zhang Junwei had specially commissioned one made of steel. In theory, if it had real bullets and the barrel were replaced with a rifled one, it could be used as an actual gun.

Only Xiao Zha and two other trusted men knew it was fake. The rest of the brothers had always believed he possessed a real gun.

Huang Ji shook the plastic pellets from his body and smiled at the man. "Pretty ruthless. You want to be the boss?"

He had deliberately thrown the gun near this man because he knew that among everyone here, only this person would truly fire it after picking it up.

"Sorry, Boss. I missed," the man hurriedly said.

"You fucking..." Zhang Junwei's face darkened.

P.S. Sorry.