Qingmu was chatting with the Hong Family father and son when he received Bi Shenghua's call.
" The Boss Coal and I were kidnapped by a guy surnamed Jiang. They're demanding 20 million yuan to ransom us at the old power plant in the north of the city."
Bi Shenghua left only this one sentence before hanging up the phone.
Qingmu was startled at first, but after hearing that she was with the Crow, he was relieved.
Hong Kui asked him what had happened, Qingmu said, "A friend of mine has been kidnapped, and they want 20 million to ransom him."
Hong Kui said, "It's not easy to prepare 20 million in cash right now."
Qingmu said, "No need to prepare. The money is just a pretext. Their target is me. I need to go and meet them, and try to end it all once and for all."
Hong Kui said, "I'll go with you."
Qingmu said, "It could be quite dangerous."
Hong Kui said, "It can't be more dangerous than a gang shootout in New York."
Qingmu said, "Rich people can be unpredictable when they go crazy; they want me dead."
Hong Kui laughed and said, "I bet they have no chance."
Qingmu stopped objecting. He had originally thought Hong Kui would bring a group of men with him, but unexpectedly, Hong Kui drove a car and set off with Qingmu without anyone else.
They had only driven a short distance when Huang Ziqiang called, asking where Qingmu was. Qingmu said he was on his way to the old power plant in the north of the city. Huang Ziqiang was startled and immediately warned him not to go, saying that Jiang Deguan had set up an ambush there.
Qingmu was surprised that Huang Ziqiang would inform him and asked how he knew. Huang Ziqiang said that he had been sending people to keep an eye on Jiang Deguan, so he got the news. Qingmu then asked him if he had seen Bi Shenghua. Huang Ziqiang said that he knew there was an ambush there because he saw Bi Shenghua being taken to the old power plant in the north of the city.
Hearing Huang Ziqiang's words, Qingmu became even more determined to go, saying, "Tell me everything you know, I absolutely have to go and save that person."
Huang Ziqiang said, "The old power plant was an abandoned factory with a very complex layout, making it difficult to defend at night. Jiang Deguan went all out and may have even hired snipers."
As Hong Kui drove, he chuckled and said to Qingmu, "What deep grudge does this guy have against you? He even hired a sniper, which is rare even in United States. Looks like they see you as an extremely dangerous guy, and they can't deal with you without a sniper."
Qingmu also felt this was a bit excessive. This was China, and even getting a homemade hunting rifle wasn't easy, let alone having a sniper. It seemed Jiang Deguan had really gone all out.
He laughed and said, "The gangsters in Hollywood blockbusters are equipped no less than the military."
Hong Kui said, "That's in the movies. There are no gangs like that in real life. Real gang leaders smoke cigars, drink coffee, wear sharp suits, and Tiantian doing charity work, playing golf, or simply hiding in a church confessing this and that to God. They hide their guns better than anyone else, and all their bodyguards are former soldiers; none of them are from the underworld."
Qingmu then asked, "What about those bald-headed, shirtless, tattooed people on the streets of Chicago who curse 'fuck,' carry machetes, and are always ready to attack?"
"That's idiot!"
After Hong Kui finished speaking, he burst into laughter, as if they had just returned from listening to a crosstalk performance, completely oblivious to the danger ahead. Qingmu couldn't help but look at Hong Kui with newfound respect.
Following the navigation, Hong Kui arrived near the old power plant and parked the car in a discreet spot. Qingmu contacted Huang Ziqiang, and the two met up quickly.
Huang Ziqiang was shocked to see Hong Kui with Qingmu, and thought to himself that he had made the right bet this time.
He told Qingmu that Jiang Deguan had brought about a dozen people inside, and later about five or six more people escorted Bi Shenghua in. As for whether there were any ambushes outside, he didn't know.
"Are you sure Jiang Deguan is inside?"
"Sure."
"Is there a bald guy working for Jiang Deguan?"
"You mean Hou Biao? My men said they didn't see him."
Qingmu nodded and discussed the next step with Hong Kui. He wasn't afraid of how many people were inside, but he couldn't ignore the sniper. No matter how skilled he was, he couldn't hypnotize everyone within a few kilometers, and the bullets fired from a sniper rifle had no consciousness and didn't dream.
This is where the shrewdness of the North America Chinese gang leader becomes apparent. Hong Kui opened his phone's satellite map and carefully examined the terrain and surrounding environment of the old power plant. Then he took out paper and pen from the car and drew a simple map, marking out the possible sniper positions one by one.
After drawing the map, he had Qingmu and Huang Ziqiang get into his car. He drove around the abandoned old factory buildings of the old power plant, stopping and starting, carefully checking the differences between the map markings and the actual locations. Every time they passed a place, he would remind Qingmu where there might be snipers hiding.
Qingmu asked him, "You were just saying that gang leaders are either playing golf or confessing in church, how do you know this?"
Hong Kui said, "I wasn't so lucky because I killed someone while I was in a mental hospital. To wash away the stain on my record, my father sent me to a military academy, and I later served in the naval reserve for two years."
After circling around once, Hong Kui asked Huang Ziqiang, "How many men do you have?"
Huang Ziqiang said, "We have plenty of manpower, but when it comes to serious combat, there aren't many who can handle guns."
Hong Kui said, "We don't have enough manpower. If we check every point, we won't finish by dawn. I took a look, and based on the central axis of the gate, there are only four suitable points on the left. If we check those four points, we can climb over the left wall. As long as we are careful to hide, the probability of being spotted by the sniper on the right is not high."
Qingmu said, "You don't need to take any risks with me."
Hong Kui said, "I guess he only has one sniper, and the rest of them might have a few pistols at most, so they're not that dangerous."
He then pointed to the blueprints and said to Huang Ziqiang, "Take your men to search the right side, focusing on this area, this area, and this area. Remember, if you find a sniper and the blueprints, take them out if you can; otherwise, just harass them."
Huang Ziqiang explained that he understood and then took the map.
Qingmu and Hong Kui made their way to the buildings on the left. They entered the first building together. There were no snipers inside, but there were several men in black carrying weapons. It was obvious that Jiang Deguan had arranged for them to keep watch there.
This time, Qingmu finally witnessed Hong Kui's skill and ruthlessness. He was like a Lion lurking in the darkness, moving without even stirring up a breeze, but once he got close to his prey, his movements were thunderous and unstoppable. He easily subdued the four people inside, three of whom died, leaving only one alive.
Hong Kui only asked him one question, "Where is the sniper?"
The man had barely said he didn't know when Hong Kui snapped his neck.
Qingmu asked him why he didn't ask the book more questions, and he replied that asking even one question would be superfluous, since the sniper's location couldn't possibly be known to a mere lookout.
Qingmu admired his decisiveness; this straightforward style suited his temperament very well.
Next, they split up and headed towards the next three buildings, quickly meeting up at the fourth building. The first two buildings were empty, but in the fourth building, they were surprised to find that several men in black were dead.