Yue Xiaofei, What Makes You So Special? You Can't Just Conjure Up a Police Backer, Can You?

Hearing this, the Deputy General beside him stared in disbelief.

Who in the entire Northern Frontier didn't know Zhao Mengsheng's temper?

Anyone who dared curse him like that was asking to die!

Yet Zhao Mengsheng didn't care. He roared into the phone, "Cut the crap! I didn't call to catch up! It's urgent! A matter of life and death!"

"Huh?"

Jin Dapao sounded surprised. "Something has Great God of War Zhao in such a panic? Has the sky fallen?"

"This is worse than the sky falling!"

Zhao Mengsheng's voice trembled.

"Company Commander Yue's son, Yue Xiaofei! He just called for help. He said he'd been kidnapped! He's in Jiangcheng, and they're threatening to kill him!"

"What?!"

A crash came from the other end of the line, as though someone had kicked over a chair.

"Zhao Mengsheng, you're fucking useless!"

Jin Dapao's furious voice thundered through the phone.

"You think being a War God makes you something special? You can't even protect Company Commander Yue's son?"

His voice rang with anger and disappointment.

"What did Company Commander Yue teach you back then?"

"Cover your comrades! Protect your brothers, even if it costs you every last drop of blood!"

"Did all that go in one ear and out the other?!"

The Deputy General sucked in a sharp breath and shrank back, sneaking a glance at Zhao Mengsheng.

Yet God of War Shanhe, whose name struck terror into his enemies, took the scolding without a word. Guilt covered his face.

"Tell me! Where are they holding Company Commander Yue's son?"

Jin Dapao pressed him at once.

"Jiangcheng! Black Tortoise Manor! The basement! It's in your jurisdiction!"

Zhao Mengsheng gave him the exact location.

"Goddamn it!"

Jin Dapao ground his teeth, his voice seething with rage.

"What little bastard dares touch Company Commander Yue's son on my turf? Does he have a death wish?"

"Listen to me, Zhao Mengsheng—"

"I'm deputy director of the Jiangbei Provincial Public Security Department now. The Flying Tiger Squad answers to me!"

"I'll have the Flying Tiger Team assembled in one minute!"

"We'll reach Black Tortoise Manor in ten minutes, tops!"

"You can eat my dust! Once I've rescued him, you and I are going to settle this!"

"And another thing..."

As if something had just occurred to him, he added one last jab.

"Don't think being a War God makes you so impressive!"

"To me, you're still the Raw Recruit who trailed after Company Commander Yue!"

"When this is over, I'm making you call me Platoon Leader again!"

Whew...

Hearing that, Zhao Mengsheng breathed a sigh of relief. At last, a faint smile appeared on his tense face.

"Fine! As long as you rescue Xiaofei, I'll call you Platoon Leader—or even my godfather!"

"Cut the crap! Wait for my good news!"

With a sharp click, Jin Dapao hung up.

Inside the aircraft, the Deputy General looked stunned. He had never seen the Iron-Blooded War God so rattled, much less heard anyone dare speak to him that way.

"War God, Deputy Director Jin..."

"He's an old comrade of mine, and the brother Company Commander Yue trusted most!"

Far from angry, Zhao Mengsheng answered with a smile:

"With Madman Jin on the job, Xiaofei will be fine!"

"It's those thugs who'd better pray for themselves!"

At the Jiangbei Provincial Public Security Department.

"Move, move, move!"

Jin Dapao hung up, snatched his radio, and roared into it:

"Flying Tiger Squad! Emergency assembly!"

"Destination: Black Tortoise Manor, Jiangcheng!"

"Armored vehicles, sniper rifles, breaching equipment—bring every damn thing!"

"Assemble within one minute! Show up a second late and I'll skin you alive!"

From the other end of the radio came a chorus of replies.

"Copy!"

"Copy!"

"Copy!"

Jin Dapao charged out of his office. The officers nearby trembled under the force of his murderous fury.

He checked his magazine as he ran, his movements as smooth and practiced as ever.

"Company Commander Yue, just watch!"

A bloodthirsty light flashed in his eyes. He looked like the "madman" he had been on the battlefield again!

"They dared touch your son!"

"I don't care who they are. I'll make them wish they'd never been born!!!"

One minute later.

Rumble!

More than a dozen special police vehicles roared out, lights flashing as they raced toward Black Tortoise Manor in Jiangcheng.

Meanwhile, in downtown Jiangcheng, at the Gao Corporation Building.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was about to begin.

The venue was packed with people, its guests a gathering of the rich and famous.

Business giants from Jiangcheng mingled with prominent figures from other cities and provinces.

Dressed in their finest, they made the occasion look like a celebration of peace and prosperity.

For the Gao Family, it was a day that would go down in history!

The building was complete, and their business empire had expanded again.

Soon, it seemed, the whole of Jiangcheng would belong to the Gaos!

Gao Tianxiong, dressed in an expensive suit, raised his glass with a triumphant smile.

"Thank you all for coming. The Gao Family could never have achieved this without your support!"

Nearby, Gao Zisheng worked the crowd, unable to hide his smugness.

He basked in the attention as though he were already Jiangcheng's undisputed prince!

Suddenly, someone cried out:

"Look! What's that?"

Everyone turned toward the sound.

On the distant horizon, a column of thick smoke rose skyward like a firework.

Then came a second, a third...

The plumes joined together, coiling above the city like a giant red dragon.

"It's the Beacon Fires!"

Someone screamed, their voice shaking.

"My God, am I seeing this right?"

"The last time they lit the Beacon Fires in Jiangcheng was decades ago! Are we going to war?"

"It's not just Jiangcheng!"

A well-informed young man held up his phone, his face deathly pale.

"I just got word. Over a hundred cities have lit the Beacon Fires!"

"What on earth is happening?"

The venue plunged into chaos.

People speculated about the sudden turn of events, worry and fear written across their faces.

Gao Tianxiong and Gao Zisheng noticed it too.

"Dad, what's going on?"

Gao Zisheng's eyelid twitched. His chest tightened with a dreadful premonition.

"Why panic? It's probably some kind of drill. Today's a big day for the Gao Family. Don't let this ruin it."

Gao Tianxiong sounded relaxed, but unease gnawed at him.

The Beacon Fires were no ordinary signal.

For over a hundred cities to light them at once—this was no simple drill.

But right now, the ribbon-cutting ceremony came first!

"By the way, what's happening with Yue Xiaofei?"

Gao Tianxiong lowered his voice.

At the mention of the name, Gao Zisheng looked smug again.

"Don't worry, Dad. Brother Dao got him and locked him in the basement of Black Tortoise Manor.

"I had him put in leg irons, and his phone was thrown away ages ago."

"There's no way he can escape!"

Gao Tianxiong nodded, a murderous glint crossing his eyes.

"If we're doing this, we do it cleanly. Leave no trace, or it could come back to haunt us!"

"Dad, you can stop worrying."

Gao Zisheng thumped his chest. "Brother Dao knows what he's doing."

"The car had fake plates, and they grabbed him in an old neighborhood with no cameras."

"No one can trace it back to us!"

Gao Tianxiong nodded in satisfaction and sipped his champagne.

"Well done. Once this is over, I'll buy you a new sports car!"

An excited smile spread across Gao Zisheng's face.

Heh!

Yue Xiaofei, you think having some big shot in the Military behind you makes you untouchable?

Hmph. How naive!

The Military is the Military, and the police are the police. They stay out of each other's way.

No matter how powerful the Military is, it has no authority to interfere in a local case.

What can they do to me?

Your Yue Family is A Family of Loyal Heroes?

That's ancient history!

In the end, you're just an ordinary man with no power or influence!

Your grandfather's a hero?

He has dementia now. He can't even remember who he is.

Your two uncles are Martyrs?

They died long ago. Now that the attention has faded, who remembers them?

Your mother's a hero?

She died years ago too. Is she going to crawl out of her grave to help you?

Your only surviving parent, your father, is in prison!

And not just any prison—the Black Prison. He'll never get out in this lifetime!

Yue Xiaofei, who do you have left to rely on?

What, are you going to conjure up a Police Backer out of thin air?

What a joke!

Once the ribbon-cutting is over, I'll head back to Black Tortoise Manor and show you what I have in store!

In Jiangcheng, anyone I want dead is as good as dead!

The more Gao Zisheng thought about it, the smugger he grew. He opened another bottle of champagne and drank it down.

He looked toward the thick smoke in the distance, utterly unconcerned.

Little did he know...

Those Beacon Fires blazing across the sky had been lit for Yue Xiaofei!

A storm powerful enough to tear Jiangcheng apart was about to strike!