The Leaker

In the western part of the city, at a private school, a chained wolfdog barked with a chilling ferocity. The thug walked alone and in a hurry towards Long Wen's room. The wolfdog stopped barking, its keen sense of smell having identified a regular visitor. An old woman came to unlock the door. The thug smiled in greeting and entered the cold, gleaming iron gate. The woman said Long Wen was on the second floor. The house was empty and a bit eerie. The thug tiptoed, holding his breath.

Long Wen stood at the top of the stairs on the second floor, watching Hu Pan nervously look around, afraid to come upstairs, and felt a flicker of displeasure. Before I even summoned him, he comes on his own? Isn't that breaking the rules? Long Wen deliberately tried to emulate his boss, projecting an aura of awe and mystery to the underlings. However, Hu Pan's rash arrival must mean something important. Long Wen thought this, waved his hand, and opened his mouth slightly.

"Come up!"

Hu Pan, startled and terrified, looked up. He took a few uncoordinated steps with little strength, head bowed, and walked upstairs.

"Brother Long, sorry to disturb you!"

Long Wen turned and sat on the sofa, slowly lighting a cigarette. He couldn't help but ask about the casino's situation today: "Hu Pan, any gains?"

Hu Pan stood in the empty living room like he was being punished, looking embarrassed, hesitating to speak, stammering, and afraid to tell the truth.

"Whatever it is, speak!" Long Wen's voice rose.

Hu Pan lowered his head, not daring to look at Long Wen, and said dejectedly, "Brother Long, we messed up today. The police came and disrupted the operation!"

Long Wen paused, his face instantly freezing.

"How could that be? I even met our boss today! What happened? How much was the loss?"

The thug said, "Tens of thousands!" Brother Hu put on a pitiful, frustrated look, but in his heart, he knew not much was lost. He deliberately reported a higher amount, pocketing ten thousand. The scene was chaotic, everyone was on edge, only concerned with escaping. No one noticed his little trick. The thug could be said to be repeating his old trick.

When Long Wen heard about the loss, his face darkened. Angrily, he smashed a cup on the table, making the thug tremble in fear. When distributing rewards last time, Long Wen had already been wary. He deliberately put unevenly stacked money in the envelope. The thug, unable to resist temptation, swapped Cuntoucao's envelope. Long Wen later confirmed this with Cuntoucao but remained silent.

Long Wen sneered, "Really tens of thousands?"

The thug said, "Y-yes." He spoke evasively, clearly lacking confidence, which Long Wen had already noticed.

"How much was the reward I gave you last time?" Long Wen seized the opportunity to ask.

"This... this..." the thug fumbled, completely at a loss.

"You won't say? I knew you had something to hide! You dare to play tricks on me? No way!" Long Wen roared.

The thug lowered his head, silent, his body trembling slightly.

"I see everything you do. Anyone who is two-faced with me, saying one thing and doing another, will absolutely have no good end!" Long Wen continued to scold.

"Brother L-Long, I was wrong. I was greedy and swapped Cuntoucao's share. It was my greed and momentary confusion. Punish me!" the thug pleaded.

"How much money did Cuntoucao actually take?" Long Wen suddenly asked loudly.

"This... no, I don't know." The thug was caught off guard. He hadn't expected Brother Long to ask about Cuntoucao. Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. At that moment, he guessed that Cuntoucao's money might have been much less.

"Ha... ha..." Long Wen, his expression turning fierce, mocked.

"Stupid pig, you got six thousand yourself, but let someone else take ten thousand, while you should have gotten ten thousand. Aren't you stupid?"

Completely bewildered, he thought How could this happen? He began to realize that this was Long Wen's trap, a deliberate test, and he himself was a petty person. He involuntarily slapped himself a few times, muttering, "I really am a bit stupid!"

The swap was exposed. Almost simultaneously, the thug fell to his knees with a thud. "Brother Long, I was wrong..." The thug confessed to intercepting ten thousand at the casino.

Long Wen walked back and forth in the living room with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, a sinister smile appeared on his face. He turned and slapped Hu Pan hard.

To handle such a matter, Long Wen should have reported to the boss. But Long Wen wanted the thug to be completely obedient to him. He decided on his own, covered up the matter, and instead of cutting off a finger as per the rules, the thug was only severely slapped by Long Wen, his face swelling.

Hu Pan pleaded, "Brother Long, I was wrong!"

The thug knew the consequences. Although his face was swollen, he was grateful. His plea softened Long Wen. He wisely knew what to do – he knelt before Long Wen and kowtowed three times, pledging his loyalty.

"Magnanimous adults overlook minor faults. I will absolutely obey Brother Long from now on!"

Hu Pan's act of submission pleased Long Wen. "Fine, learn your lesson!"

Long Wen asked again, "How did the police know?"

The thug mumbled evasively, "I don't know!" He glanced timidly at Long Wen.

"Really don't know?" Long Wen retorted.

"Really don't know, I swear to heaven! I've never done anything against Brother Long!"

"That's good. But I will investigate this matter further!"

"Good, we'll definitely find the informant and tear him to shreds!" the thug gritted his teeth, his anger unquenched.

Long Wen ordered the thug to gather the gambling proceeds to provide funds. Safety had always been the top priority, and arrests at the western city casino were almost zero. The location and movements being exposed this time must have been due to someone tipping them off.

At the casino today, the thug believed he had made thorough arrangements. He had assured Long Wen that participants were only allowed in, not out, and all communication devices were to be stored uniformly. How could they have been exposed? The thug couldn't figure it out. Fortunately, there was a hidden escape door in the casino, allowing them to get away.

Long Wen was also somewhat puzzled. He thought to himself, Who could it be?

The thug was greedy and unscrupulous, and there was a possibility of betrayal. Cuntoucao, recently released after being arrested by the police for drug use, had not revealed the source of the drugs or his accomplices, indicating Cuntoucao was reliable.

The thug lost face in front of Long Wen and was extremely annoyed. Long Wen, to some extent, had already begun to suspect him, as evident from the distribution of reward money. Although the thug outwardly submitted to Long Wen, he harbored dissatisfaction internally. He was not the one who leaked the information, but he couldn't find any clues pointing to anyone else. Yet, Long Wen focused his suspicion on him. Unwilling to accept this, he feigned illness at home and didn't come to the company for several days.

Long Wen vowed to find the informant. He called his assistant, Ma Shaokang, to discuss it. Ma Shaokang was a shrewd individual who had completed three years of high school. He returned home to start a business, but due to the city's sluggish economy, his enterprise went bankrupt, and he was hounded by Long Wen's debt collectors. Long Wen intended to recruit Ma Shaokang to join him and absolve his debt. Ma Shaokang found it difficult but joined to survive, becoming one of Long Wen's few educated subordinates.

Ma Shaokang saw Long Wen's distress and casually said, "Boss Long, what's so difficult about that? If we don't catch the traitor within our ranks, how can we survive? Don't worry, doing this..." Ma Shaokang whispered a plan into Long Wen's ear.

Five days later, Long Wen drove to Mao'er Mountain, not far from the city. He secretly summoned the thug, Cuntoucao, and a few other small leaders to a farmhouse on the mountain. The meeting was scheduled for 4 PM. At the same time, Long Wen asked a trusted friend in the telecommunications industry, Wu De, to secretly monitor the phones of the few leaders. However, this secret friend demanded a hefty price from Long Wen. For future convenience, Long Wen reluctantly paid up and secretly sent people to monitor the movements of the few leaders. This double insurance would surely expose the informant.

Long Wen told no one about the monitoring, not even Ma Shaokang, who had devised the plan. Because he hadn't clarified the situation, he trusted no one.

However, to his surprise, while he was on the phone with his telecommunications friend, Cuntoucao, who happened to be passing by, overheard the secret.

At 4 PM, Long Wen, the thug, Cuntoucao, and several other small leaders arrived as scheduled. Long Wen paced back and forth in a small living room of the farmhouse. The small leaders didn't know what new scheme Long Wen had up his sleeve or what he intended to do. They knew it was rare for Long Wen to appear in front of them publicly like this to assign tasks. This time, something very important must be waiting for them. They all waited anxiously for Long Wen to speak.

"Brother Hu, what happened to your face?" one of the minor leaders noticed Hu Pan's swollen and red face.

"I got drunk and fell! Listen up, President Long is about to speak!" Hu Pan deliberately covered his face and shifted everyone's attention.

Long Wen finally spoke: "The boss is having some difficulty getting a loan from the bank this time, and his funds are a bit tight. He wants us to move some goods to alleviate the immediate crisis. To ensure everything goes smoothly, I'm having a few of you follow me to the provincial road where Hedong and Tangdu meet to pick up a shipment. We'll make the move afterward, with the exact time to be determined. But he stressed one point: the success of this matter hinges on secrecy. Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain. If anyone leaks any information, I, Long Wen, will not let them off lightly." After speaking, Long Wen snapped a chopstick from the table in two.

"Those who break the rules will meet this fate!" Long Wen slammed the broken chopstick heavily onto the ground.

When Long Wen assigned the task, he thought it through meticulously. He made specific arrangements for who would go first, who would cover the rear, who would stand guard, and contingency plans for exposure or failed transactions.

Here, besides the thugs, Cuntoucao and the other minor leaders were seeing Long Wen's principles for the first time. They felt a chill run down their spines. Unconsciously, they all took a deep, cold breath. However, the few hoodlums deeply believed Long Wen was about to do something big. Thinking of the substantial rewards they would each receive after the job was done, a hint of excited smiles involuntarily appeared on their faces. They had no idea that a bloody trial awaited them.

After Long Wen finished giving instructions, the thugs, Cuntoucao, and the minor leaders each went their separate ways, leaving the farm and heading down the mountain.