The Crow was startled when it saw someone come in, but when it saw that it was Qingmu, it flapped its wings and flew over, landing on his head and scratching his hair vigorously.
"You're late! Quack!"
Qingmu reached out and pulled the Crow down, pointing at the half-dead people on the ground, and said, "Did you do this?"
The Crow nodded vigorously. "What's the reward this time?"
Qingmu patted the Crow's feathers. "I'll treat you to a big meal."
The Crow Guagua excitedly, then suddenly calmed down and asked seriously, "Let's get this straight, where are we going to eat? The little restaurants in Liuying Lane don't count!"
Qingmu said, "You can eat wherever you want."
The Crow took flight, circled once in the sky, then landed on a tree branch and cawed loudly, "A feast is served! Guagua... A feast is served! Guagua..."
Hong Kui and Li Wei were both seeing a bird that could talk for the first time, and they were even more astonished when they heard Qingmu say that the people on the ground were all the work of this Crow.
The Crow cawed for a while, then flew back to the top of the Qingmu, lowered its head, and whispered in his ear, " Ruhua is frightened, go and comfort her, caw..."
Qingmu walked over to Bi Shenghua and asked, "Are you alright?"
Bi Shenghua said, "If you had come any later, something would have happened to me."
Qingmu sensed that Bi Shenghua was a little unhappy, scratched his head for a while, and said, "Um, I don't know..."
Bi Shenghua was both amused and annoyed by Qingmu's clumsy behavior, and said, "Alright, alright, stop acting like a woman. How are we going to clean up this mess?"
Qingmu said, "You don't need to worry about it."
At this moment, Huang Ziqiang led his men in. After checking the buildings on the east side as Hong Kui had instructed, he rushed towards the factory area. Although he hesitated for a while at the gate, considering that there were only two of them, Qingmu and Hong Kui, and that it was his chance to make a contribution, he gritted his teeth and led his men in.
Huang Ziqiang was startled when he saw Li Wei. Of course he recognized Li Wei —the head guard of the Xia family, Xia Wenyuan's personal bodyguard, and the legendary number one expert in the Three Wu region. Only then did he understand why the lookouts and ambushes outside the old power plant had all been killed.
However, what shocked him most was not Li Wei's skills, but Qingmu's energy.
This strangely dressed guy not only possessed terrifying abilities, but he also managed to get Xia Wenyuan's personal bodyguard to help him rescue people. In addition, he had never been able to understand why Hong Kui would personally accompany Qingmu on this adventure. He understood this young man less and less, and he was simply a bit frightening to him.
Huang Ziqiang felt both relieved and apprehensive. He was glad he hadn't sided with Jiang Deqian, and he was glad he had decisively severed ties with Jiang Deguan after Jiang Deqian's death. He was even more glad that he had taken Qingmu to see Hong Zhenlong. Given the current relationship between Qingmu and Hong Kui, Huang Ziqiang would certainly deserve some credit for his actions.
Having managed to establish a connection with the largest Chinese gang in North America, and now seemingly able to take another step closer to the Xia Family, Huang Ziqiang felt that all the risks had been worthwhile.
"Is that man Jiang Deguan?" Qingmu asked him.
Huang Ziqiang said with absolute certainty, "It's him."
Jiang Deguan was tied up tightly by Old Wang and Auntie Zhang. Auntie Zhang even imitated what she saw on TV, taking off her socks and stuffing them into Jiang Deguan's mouth.
Qingmu walked over and removed the smelly sock from Jiang Deguan's mouth.
Jiang Deguan spat, clearing his mouth of the salty, foul taste, and said, "I still underestimated you."
Qingmu said, "Just because of your damn brother?"
Jiang Deguan said, "Blood is thicker than water. Even if my brother has made a mistake, I cannot let him go unavenged."
Qingmu suddenly remembered something, looked around, and then asked, "Where's Hou Biao?"
Jiang Deguan sneered, "He refused to kill you, so I drove him away."
Qingmu felt something was off. He believed Hou Biao wasn't that kind of person; even if Jiang Deguan really did drive him away, he wouldn't break his promise. So there must be something wrong here.
Jiang Deguan said, "Kill me."
Qingmu suddenly understood something and said, "You really risked your own life to avenge your brother?"
Jiang Deguan asked, "Do I even have a chance to survive?"
Qingmu said, " Hou Biao won't let me kill you. Your desire to die is precisely to have Hou Biao kill me, isn't it? Because you know that Hou Biao will only kill me if I kill you. So..." He stood in the center of the courtyard and looked around at the darkness, " Hou Biao must be lying in ambush somewhere right now, aiming at me through his scope."
Li Wei and Hong Kui unconsciously looked warily outside the factory. The surrounding high-rise buildings loomed in the shadows, like lurking monsters in the dim city lights. The two exchanged glances, confirming that all possible danger zones had been checked.
However, a dangerous instinct rose within them, and almost simultaneously they cried out, "Chimney!"
Outside the entire factory area, besides the high-rise buildings they had already inspected, the only other thing visible to them in their courtyard is a huge chimney, located on the extension of the old power plant's central axis.
That chimney doesn't belong to the power plant; it used to be the large chimney of a paper mill that was right next to it. The paper mill relocated more than a decade ago, and the factory buildings have long been demolished, but the chimney has been preserved. There's still construction going on there now; I heard they're building a new smart industrial park. The paper mill's land is part of the first phase, and the old power plant is planned for the second phase, so demolition hasn't started yet.
The reason Hong Kui and Li Wei both ignored the chimney was because it was at least two kilometers away from their current location, a distance that most rifles do not have an effective range of.
Just as they were becoming alert, they heard a loud bang, and a large cloud of dust rose from the ground between Qingmu and Jiang Deguan, as if a small detonator buried underground had exploded.
Everyone was startled; Old Wang and Auntie Zhang burst into tears.
Bi Shenghua opened her mouth wide, wanting to shout but unable to, only managing to utter a hoarse " Qingmu " from her throat, which even she herself could not hear clearly.
Then, a faint gunshot rang out from the darkness in the distance.
Li Wei and Hong Kui simultaneously looked up at the chimney, identifying the gun model from the bullets and gunshots. "TAC-50!"
Just then, Qingmu's phone rang. Qingmu glanced at the number, pressed the speakerphone button, and asked, " Hou Biao?"
Hou Biao's voice came through the phone. "Let him go."
Qingmu asked, "Given the current situation, how long do you think you can protect him?"
Hou Biao seemed to be thinking about something and remained silent for a long time.
Then, with a loud bang, a cloud of dust erupted from the ground in front of Qingmu.
Li Wei and Hong Kui knew how powerful the TAC-50 was, but there was a brief moment after firing when the bolt was pulled back. They wanted to warn Qingmu, but seeing that Qingmu didn't intend to dodge, they exchanged a glance and, taking advantage of the moment when dust rose on the ground and before the gunshots rang out in the sky, quietly retreated and disappeared into the darkness of the corner.
As gunshots rang out in the distance, Hou Biao's voice came through the phone. "As long as I kill you all, he'll be safe."