Heart demons?
Everyone stared at him in confusion, completely unable to make heads or tails of what he meant.
Only one well-traveled veteran rider's eyes lit up. He gave a knowing smile and whispered, "I get it. I really get it. The station chief just killed so many people, so his qi and blood must be surging, and he's probably got a bit of a temper. He needs to let off steam. I know a place..."
"Oh?" The others caught on in an instant.
"We're in! Station chief, we're absolutely in!" Several riders perked right up and shouted excitedly.
"Station chief, I'm with you too. Whatever you want to do next, just say the word!" Lin Zhen handed him another fresh towel, his tone resolute. Several well-regarded clubs flashed through his mind.
"Good. Then put your connections to work and find out where those gangs' hideouts are." Li Jinshui continued wiping the blood from his body.
"Huh?" The smiles on everyone's faces immediately froze.
"Station chief, we're going to those gangs' hideouts? To... to do what?" Lin Zhen's hand trembled, his face full of bewilderment. How could the gangs' hideouts help anyone blow off steam?
"Obviously, we're going to set them on fire."
Li Jinshui sounded perfectly righteous. "If you kill without setting anything on fire, it's like wearing fine clothes on a night walk. I killed so many people tonight. If I don't set something on fire, how am I supposed to quell my heart demons?"
"Hiss!"
Everyone drew in a sharp breath.
Holy crap!
Killing and arson could quell heart demons?
Station chief, do you even hear yourself?
What did you do before this?
Talk was talk, but Li Jinshui was still determined to make this trip.
A few veteran riders knew the nearby gangs' hideouts like the backs of their hands. Seeing how set Li Jinshui was, they gritted their teeth and offered to lead the way.
"Bzz, bzz..."
Not long after they set off, Li Jinshui's phone started vibrating.
The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.
"Hello?" Li Jinshui frowned and answered.
"Is this Li Jinshui? I'm Wang Yunming, the incoming head of the Youth Training Camp."
A hoarse, cold voice came through the phone. Its tone carried the unquestionable authority of someone used to giving orders. "I'm informing you that your position as acting station chief involved suspected internal misconduct. You've been removed from the post. Report to the branch office immediately for questioning."
Incoming?
Li Jinshui nearly laughed in anger. If the guy hadn't even taken office yet, what gave him the right to order him around?
"What's your strength?" Li Jinshui asked without the slightest courtesy.
"..."
The other end of the line fell silent for a moment, then Wang Yunming said coldly, "Li Jinshui, I'll say this one last time. Report to the branch office immediately for questioning, or bear the consequences. Huang Lichen, Ye Mei, and the others have already been detained by the Inspection Department and are confessing to their crimes. If you don't come in, we'll assume you're fleeing to avoid prosecution."
"Oh?" Li Jinshui raised an eyebrow. So Old Huang and the others were still alive. That was good news, at least.
But wasn't Old Huang supposed to be nearby, fighting the other Thousand-Jun Realm experts?
How had they already been taken back to the branch office?
No, something was off. This situation ran deep.
Li Jinshui recalled what Huang Lichen had said on the phone: there was a mole, so their plan had been exposed long ago.
Even the dozen or so First-rate Martial Artists who were supposed to be lying low nearby had yet to show their faces.
Now that I've driven off the gangs and am going to finish them off for good, you're calling me?
"Heh!"
Li Jinshui laughed. "So you've got eyes watching the area? You already know I'm going after those gangs, which is why you're in such a hurry to call me, right? You, surnamed Wang, the camp head who hasn't even taken office yet?"
"..." A noticeably heavy breath came from the other end.
"Li Jinshui, I've already warned you. If you keep refusing to see reason, don't blame us for notifying the Inspection Bureau to hunt you down."
With that, the other party hung up.
Li Jinshui furrowed his brows and slowly put away his phone.
Were they planning to use embezzlement charges to get the Inspection Bureau involved?
"Does this mean they don't have enough people free right now to stop me?"
Li Jinshui's frown gradually eased, though something still felt off.
They were only a few small gangs. Why stop him from wiping them out?
And even if they wanted him back for questioning, it shouldn't be this so-called incoming camp head who contacted him.
Someone from Flash Group Delivery should have handled it—or even a member of the branch office staff. Whatever the case, the Youth Training Camp had no business interfering. He'd already graduated.
"I hate these cryptic schemers hiding behind the scenes. I don't care what you're up to. First I'll wipe out the gangs, then I'll crush Wei Hu!"
Li Jinshui stopped wasting his breath and urged everyone to keep moving.
The group raced onward, lightning flickering around them as they sped toward East Star Society's hideout.
Yet not even a few minutes after they set out, the phone in his pocket began vibrating again.
"Li Jinshui, are you determined to flee to avoid prosecution? I'm warning you, this is over. Stop stirring up trouble and get back to the branch office right now! Do you hear me?"
The moment he answered, Wang Yunming's furious voice came through.
"Hear your mother! Screw you! You're a hundred percent a scam call. Get lost!" Li Jinshui cursed, hung up, and promptly blocked the number.
The more they panicked, the more it proved I was doing the right thing!
"Bzz, bzz!"
His phone started buzzing wildly again. Another unfamiliar number.
"Hello! Li Jinshui, I'm the manager of Wei Hu Security. Tonight's business is over. You need to stop. Huang Lichen and Ye Mei will get in touch with you shortly."
"Screw you."
Li Jinshui blocked another caller and kept going.
"Hello! A-Shui, it's Huang Lichen. It's all right now. That bastard Chen Yu was bribed at the last minute..."
"Screw you... Ahem, I don't believe you."
Li Jinshui blocked Huang Lichen too.
It wouldn't matter who called. He was wiping out those gangs, no matter what. Even Ye Mei couldn't stop him. That was final!
"Brothers, full speed ahead! Tonight, we're making history!"
Li Jinshui shouted, picking up the pace once more and leaving everyone far behind.
He could more or less guess why they were trying to stop him. Someone wanted to bury what had happened tonight and keep it from escalating.
If Chen Yu really had betrayed them, then Ye Mei, Old Huang, and the others had already lost and were about to be dismissed.
Li Jinshui wouldn't fare any better. At the very least, he'd lose his job, and his backing would be gone.
So his only chance to turn things around was to flip the table and keep making trouble until those people couldn't cover it up anymore.
Worst case, they'd all get hauled in by the Inspection Bureau. Who was scared of whom?
At that moment, the lights blazed inside an ordinary factory building.
The air reeked of blood, and pained groans rang out now and then.
This was East Star Society's headquarters. The survivors had all escaped back there, scattered across the floor in various states of injury.
In a private office, the gang leader sat with a grim expression, gripping his phone as he called over and over.
But no one answered.
"Damn it! They tell me to get my men out of here, but look at them! They're a bunch of old and sick people. How far are they supposed to run?" He kicked over the solid-wood coffee table in front of him, thoroughly on edge.
His superiors had ordered him to evacuate all his men. They couldn't afford any more serious casualties.
But looking at the situation, there was nothing he could do. Whether they were martial artists or ordinary people, almost everyone was injured and badly wounded. Many had lost so much blood that they'd died along the way.
The fact that they'd made it back to the main headquarters at all was already a blessing. How could they withstand another trip so soon?
"Bang!"
At last, he smashed his phone to pieces, got up, and hurried to the safe to pack his valuables.
Li Jinshui would be here any moment. He had to make sure he was safe first. Worst case, he'd flee to another city and start over.
"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"
Just then, a familiar sound came from outside the factory's main entrance.
The East Star Society leader froze. His face went pale, and his whole body began to tremble.
It was that bastard Li Jinshui, pretending to be the doorbell!!!