Making Clever Use of [Phantom], the Chen Family's Munitions Stockpile, a Thunderous Crash Inside the Building

But Luo Bin still said, "No need. Just keep pulling your rickshaw in peace. If you can't make a living in Ping City anymore, you can come find me at the Chen Family. My name is Luo Bin.

"You can also go to the old Pei Family Manor beside Stone Slab Alley and give them my name. Someone there will bring you to me..."

Seeing how resolute Luo Bin was, Liang Shuisheng hesitated, but still sighed. "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, young master. I'll be on my way..."

"Go ahead."

Luo Bin watched Liang Shuisheng pull his rickshaw away with a smile. Then he turned around, his expression darkening, and strode into the ruined building.

As expected, that damp, frigid aura was now overwhelmingly strong. Earlier, a similar aura near the pier had cut off his perception in the city, leaving his senses unreliable...

But thinking back on it, Luo Bin suspected there was something in the waters beneath Long Wind Pier. Otherwise, how could ordinary moisture rising from the river possibly interfere with his innate ability?

He would have to be careful whenever he passed the Li River from now on.

The Fu River, a tributary of the Li River by Yingshui Ferry, had a Water Mountain Ghoul lurking beneath its surface, posing as the "River God"...

If even little streams and creeks had Demon Specters, Luo Bin couldn't believe there was nothing fearsome in the mighty waters of the Li River, surging eastward...

Flood Dragons were said to roam Pengze Lake in the south.

Luo Bin immediately activated the active innate ability granted by the Water Ghoul Essence Soul—[Phantom].

The most important aspect of this ability was Breath Concealment. It could suppress his blood flow, heartbeat, and aura, and even make his movements and footsteps much lighter as he walked...

As he stepped across the floorboards, Luo Bin was confident he could approach in silence unless his target had exceptionally keen senses or was a Martial Master at Jade Bone Pass or above.

The Ping City Women's Normal School in the city had become the Black Sheath Gang's headquarters after the Black Sheath Hall broke away from the Green Bamboo Gang.

Ruan Pei hurried along beside Luo Wendi. The latter cursed and swore, his face twisted into a vicious scowl, frightening the female students leaving class until their hearts trembled...

"Goddammit, who was it this time? The Sun Family, the Jiang Family, or some Demon Specter that's gone rotten in the coffin?

"They dared kidnap the young master?

"Ruan Pei!"

"Here!"

Luo Wendi bared his teeth. "Take some brothers to the warehouse out back. Load the munitions I got from the Falan Island merchants onto the vehicles...

"One light howitzer, eight ZB-53 Heavy Machine Guns, and my Thompson Submachine Gun too. As for the rest of the gear, let the brothers take what they need..."

Ruan Pei's heart stirred. Were they really going to make a big move?

He immediately turned to summon the brothers and head for the warehouse, but Luo Wendi called after him again. "However many guns we take, that's how many we'd better bring back..."

Ruan Pei knew exactly what he meant. He would keep the men in line: take what they needed, and put it back when the time came. He had that lesson etched in his mind.

Minutes later, a line of passenger jeeps that had come from near Chen Residence pulled up along the street. The Black Sheath Gang members around Luo Wendi quickly climbed aboard.

The two vehicles Ruan Pei had loaded with munitions also emerged from the direction of the warehouse.

The group headed north through the city.

With one arm resting on the car window, Ruan Pei asked, "Boss, are we going to the Sun Family?"

"We're not going to the Sun Family. We're going to Red Night... Sun Jingyao's there. We'll grab him first."

"Got it!"

The convoy slowly made its way toward Red Night Nightclub.

On the way, Ruan Pei spotted a rickshaw coming toward them in the distance. He looked closely and saw that it was Liang Shuisheng, the man who had taken Luo Bin away not long before.

Liang Shuisheng was panting, his face flushed. As soon as he saw Ruan Pei leaning out of the window and waving, he ran over...

"Sir, are you looking for the young master who was with me earlier? He seemed to be searching for someone. He went alone to that haunted building two li north of Long Wind Pier...

"If you're going to rescue someone, you might want to go help him over there."

Ruan Pei looked toward Luo Wendi in the other car. The latter was leaning out of his window too. After hearing Liang Shuisheng, he lit a cigarette and shouted, "Turn around! Head to Long Wind Pier, then go north!"

Ruan Pei tossed two silver dollars out of the car. The group was just about to drive off when Champion Brand cars led by Chen Tianren arrived, followed by several jeeps... Zhang Huai was among them.

Chen Mansheng was in the passenger seat of the lead black Champion car...

Seeing Luo Wendi and the others preparing to turn around, Chen Mansheng said to Chen Tianren in the back seat, "Dad, Uncle Luo and the others were talking to that rickshaw driver just now, then they started turning around. Did they find out where my brother is?"

Chen Tianren rubbed the gun at his waist and waved a hand. "Follow them."

The two convoys turned around like aircraft carriers changing course, moving exceptionally slowly...

Before long, another convoy came from the direction Luo Wendi and the others had originally been heading. Seeing the traffic jam ahead, they leaned on their horns.

Honk, honk, honk—

"Who's up ahead? Please make way for the Sun Family. We just need to get through." A man in a jacket, who looked like a butler, shouted toward the convoys belonging to Chen Tianren and Luo Wendi.

In the back seat sat a young man with slicked-back hair and powdered cheeks, his features rather delicate. His fists were clenched tight.

"The Chen Family again! The Chen Family again!

"If anything happens to my sister, I'll blow up your Moon Veil Pavilion with explosives!"

The young man was Sun Jingyao, third young master of the Sun Family—the same man who had clashed with Chen Tianren on the street outside Moon Veil Nightclub earlier...

Sun Jingyao was about to erupt, but his gaze passed over the rear of Luo Wendi's turning convoy. The last two jeeps, which had been disguised as pickup trucks, slowly bared their "fangs" toward the Sun Family convoy...

The black muzzle of a light mortar pointed straight at Sun Jingyao's car at the head of the convoy.

He fell silent... Gradually calming down, he waited for the Chen Family convoy to finish reorganizing, then followed behind without a word.

Meanwhile, Sun Jingyao's mind was filled with questions.

"How did the Chen Family get a mortar like that? The Southern Democratic Alliance explicitly forbids families and private citizens from owning heavy weapons like these... And last month, Chen Tianren had a Maxim Heavy Machine Gun too..."

Sun Jingyao leaned forward slightly and peered through the side window at the second-to-last vehicle in the Chen Family convoy. At a glance, he saw that it wasn't the devastating Maxim he'd seen that day!

It was another kind of heavy machine gun he'd never seen before...

"The Chen Family... What's going on?!"

Sun Jingyao drew a quiet, sharp breath, steadying himself. He told himself this wasn't the time to fall out completely with the Chen Family. The Sun Family still had an ally in the Jiang Family.

If one family couldn't handle them, two could. After all, the Jiang Family was much stronger.

Guided by Liang Shuisheng, Luo Wendi and Ruan Pei's vehicles led the way as the group raced toward the little ruined building north of Long Wind Pier.

The convoy stretched like a long dragon, kicking up clouds of dust.

The peddlers and shopkeepers along the roadside hurried indoors at the sight.

"Is there going to be another war?"

"Or has some monster shown up somewhere?"

A short while later, the group reached a spot three hundred meters from the ruined building.

Chen Tianren leaned against the car window, talking with Luo Wendi.

"What's going on with the Sun Family? Why are they following us?" Chen Tianren asked.

Luo Wendi couldn't help laughing. "I just sent someone over to ask. They said the Sun Family's young lady was kidnapped too. Someone got word that she'd been brought to this building as well."

Chen Tianren furrowed his brows. Could there be more to this than met the eye?

He glanced at the munitions in the last two vehicles behind them, and some of his unease eased.

Just as everyone was about to get out of their cars,

a thunderous crash boomed from inside the ruined building!