Fury

Fury

As dusk settled in, Willow Sand Street was already bustling.

Taverns, gambling dens, and brothels stood shoulder to shoulder here, making it one of Xingcheng's notorious dens of depravity.

Aside from the businesses operating in plain sight, the Black Market also secretly traded in all kinds of prohibited goods.

The reason this place had never been shut down by the Overseeing Bureau was not only that the Great Blue Dynasty did not prohibit gambling dens and brothels, making them legal on the surface, but also that most of the establishments on Willow Sand Street had powerful figures from the city standing behind them.

At seven in the evening, the number of pedestrians on Willow Sand Street had already swelled. Songs, laughter, curses, and chatter tangled into a cacophony, while yellow, purple, and pink lights blazed from the various establishments, dazzling beyond measure.

Six Overseeing Bureau vans suddenly drove into Willow Sand Street.

In a place like this, conflicts of every size were unavoidable. People got into fights and caused trouble every day, but so long as no one died, the Overseeing Bureau would not be alerted. Its vehicles rarely entered this area.

Now, six vans had entered at once. It was obvious that something major had happened, and the pedestrians on the street hurriedly scattered to either side in fright.

The six vans stopped outside a gambling den. This gambling den was famous throughout Willow Sand Street, and its business had always been booming.

It was a gambling den operated by the Tiger Sabre Gang.

More than forty fully armed Overseeing Bureau Inspectors swiftly climbed out. Wearing Stab-Proof Vests and steel helmets, with sabers at their waists and Tiger-style Rifles in their hands, they stormed into the gambling den.

The patrons engrossed in games at the various tables were all frightened by the sight.

Some rose and ran, while others shrieked loudly.

"What are you doing, officers?"

The gambling den's manager hurried over after hearing the commotion, followed by more than a dozen brawny men dressed in black shirts and short jackets.

Li Lei entered through the gambling den's doors with his men at the rear.

Without even looking at the manager, he shouted, "The Overseeing Bureau suspects that someone in this gambling den is connected to a serious criminal case. We're taking them back for questioning."

Then he pointed at the manager in front of him. "Take all these people back!"

An Overseeing Bureau Inspector immediately pulled out his handcuffs and moved forward to arrest them.

"Let's see who dares!"

The manager was a member of the Tiger Sabre Gang. When had he ever suffered such humiliation? He roared furiously.

As soon as he spoke, even more burly men in black shirts and short jackets surged out from the gambling den's back rooms, every one of them carrying a knife!

The Tiger Sabre Gang had connections in the Overseeing Bureau, the Cessation of Hostilities Bureau, and the Administrative Office. More than half of Xingcheng's powerful figures were honored guests of the gang leader.

The gang leader had once said something that still made the manager's blood race whenever he recalled it: "We're not running a gang. We represent Xingcheng!"

With those words behind him, the manager was completely unafraid of the Overseeing Bureau Inspectors before him.

What he had not expected was that the Inspectors immediately raised their Tiger-style Rifles and aimed them forward! Click, click, click, click—

Dozens of dark, gaping muzzles left the Tiger Sabre Gang's men afraid to move.

The Tiger-style Rifle was the Great Blue Dynasty's first domestically produced Rifled Gun. It had an effective range of three hundred and fifty meters, with a 6.5 mm caliber.

At a distance of just over ten meters, it would be fatal even if these Tiger Sabre Gang enforcers were wearing heavy armor, let alone cloth shirts and jackets!

"Resisting arrest?"

The killing intent in Li Lei's eyes could no longer be concealed. With a sweep of his hand, he shouted, "Anyone who dares resist arrest gets shot dead on the spot!!"

The enormous gambling den fell utterly silent. Only the successive sounds of rifle bolts being pulled and bullets being chambered remained.

The manager took a deep breath. He realized that something was wrong with today's situation and hurriedly raised both hands to show that he meant no harm.

He plastered a smile across his face. "Officer, we've been in this gambling den all day and haven't gone anywhere. How could we possibly be connected to some serious criminal case? Could there be some misunderstanding? Our gang leader is friends with quite a few of your bureau's officers!"

Li Lei looked at him contemptuously. "Are you teaching me how to handle a case?"

He clearly had no intention of reasoning with them.

The manager's expression darkened, and he glanced back at someone behind him.

That man was a formal martial artist, a trump-card fighter the Tiger Sabre Gang had sent to oversee this gambling den.

But when the martial artist looked at the dark muzzles before him, he could only shake his head helplessly at the manager.

The great battle seventeen years ago had made the Great Blue Dynasty's martial artists suffer dearly at the hands of firearms. It had also made every martial artist stop underestimating such weapons.

There truly were powerful martial artists in this world who could easily dodge bullets or even withstand them head-on, but this Tiger Sabre Gang martial artist clearly did not possess such strength.

If he dared move now, he would most likely be shot dead in a hail of bullets. All he could do was stand where he was and shake his head.

"Take them away!"

Li Lei issued the order again.

This time, no one dared resist. More than a dozen people, including the gambling den's manager, were all handcuffed and taken away.

"Who told you to act on your own? Do you have evidence? You arrested people recklessly without evidence. Li Lei, are you trying to lose your job?!"

Li Lei had just brought the prisoners back to the Overseeing Bureau and had not even had time to send them to the interrogation room when Deputy Overseeing Bureau Chief Wu Yihua summoned him to the office and unleashed a furious tirade!

Li Lei listened to Wu Yihua's scolding expressionlessly. Standing beside him was his immediate superior, Wang Xu, the captain of the Second Squad.

"Wang Xu, is this how you manage your subordinates? If you can't control the people under you, I'll find someone who can!"

After finishing with Li Lei, Wu Yihua turned around and began berating Wang Xu.

Wang Xu hurriedly lowered his head and admitted his mistake. "I failed to keep strict control over my subordinates. I guarantee there won't be a next time!"

Wu Yihua stared at Wang Xu for a while, then turned back to Li Lei. "Li Lei, do you have anything to say?"

Li Lei snapped to attention and shouted, "Reporting, sir! The person who was attacked today was my son. He was almost crippled!"

"I'm asking about your raid on Willow Sand Street. Are the people you arrested directly connected to the ones who attacked your son? What evidence do you have proving that they're connected to the attackers? You're an Overseeing Bureau Inspector. You have to act on evidence!"

Wu Yihua slammed his palm heavily onto the desk and glared furiously at Li Lei.

Li Lei did not answer his question. He merely stared straight at him and said loudly, "An Overseeing Bureau Inspector's duty is to protect the people's lives and property. If, as an Inspector, I can't even protect my own family, then I might as well stop being an Inspector!"

With that, he removed his cap, stepped forward, placed it on Wu Yihua's desk, and turned to walk out of the office.

"You—"

Wu Yihua froze. He had not expected Li Lei to confront him so forcefully.

Wang Xu, who was still standing there, wore the same look of astonishment.

Li Lei had worked under him for more than a decade, and this was the first time Wang Xu had ever seen him so furious, so unyielding!

After leaving Wu Yihua's office, Li Lei stopped short because the corridor was packed with people.

News of today's incident had spread as soon as Li Fei was attacked and brought back to the Overseeing Bureau. People throughout the bureau were watching the matter closely.

"Captain Li, well done!"

Someone suddenly shouted from the corridor.

"Damn it, who doesn't know that the Bear Strength Gang is an outer gang of the Tiger Sabre Gang? The Tiger Sabre Gang definitely sent people to do this!"

"The Tiger Sabre Gang now even dares lay hands on an Overseeing Bureau Inspector's family. If we don't deal with this, won't they be shitting on our heads next?"

"Exactly, Captain Li! Your brothers have your back!"

The corridor seethed with righteous fury.