Chapter 409 - 364: The Setup
Chapter 409: Chapter 364: The Setup
Ancient Temple City.
It was famous for its many temples and Taoist monasteries.
Furthermore, the temples here all had histories stretching back over a thousand years.
Even more astonishingly, every single temple and monastery was bustling with worshippers.
Devotees came from every province and city in the New District.
The stream of people seeking divine guidance and answers was endless...
And yet, inside one of the ancient temples,
the thriving incense smoke outside stood in stark contrast to the grim atmosphere behind the temple.
A group of Blood Handprint members dressed in black robes stood together in a room.
In the center sat a person, their hat pulled down low, obscuring half their face.
The entire room was exceptionally quiet.
It was so eerie that one had to be careful even when breathing.
After a long while, a man in a black robe hurried in.
He dropped to one knee and announced, "Lord Blood Envoy has arrived!"
Hearing this, the person sitting in the center slowly raised their head.
It was the face of a middle-aged man, but it was as if his face had been burned.
The scars had completely ruined his features.
It was impossible to make out what he originally looked like.
His eyes glittered as he glanced outside.
A short moment later, the faint sound of footsteps could be heard.
Then, three foreigners walked in one after another.
The middle-aged man rose and stepped forward, bowing deeply. "Lord Blood Envoy..."
BOOM—
The next instant, the leader, a blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner, slammed a fist into his body.
The blow sent the middle-aged man flying several meters away.
The Blood Handprint members on either side all tensed, their gazes simultaneously snapping toward the three foreigners.
"You trash! How stupid can you be to play a winning hand so disastrously?"
"All the assets we’ve cultivated for years have been rooted out by the Town Martial Department and the Demon Hunting Bureau!"
"And now our strongholds in every city are being pulled up by the roots, one by one?"
"And you still have the nerve to just sit here?"
The Blood Envoy was furious, and he began to curse loudly.
The middle-aged man clutched his chest and, with a SPURT, spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
He forced his body upright, came forward, and said obsequiously, "Your lesson is well-received, Lord Blood Envoy!"
"This subordinate truly did not expect..."
"You didn’t expect it? Then where were your countermeasures?"
"You think you can just wave this all away with a simple ’I didn’t expect it’?"
The middle-aged man quickly shook his head. "Of course not. This subordinate has already devised a countermeasure!"
"As long as those people from the Town Martial Department dare to pursue us here, I will ensure they never return!"
"Hahaha..."
The Blood Envoy threw his head back and laughed.
But his eyes were filled with contempt and disdain.
"With your abilities? If you really had what it takes, would you have been beaten into this state?"
"Yang, don’t blame me for not warning you. You only get one chance!"
"If you lose even Ancient Temple City, there will be no need for you to exist anymore!"
"Someone from the Old District will naturally take over your duties!"
"Consider it carefully. Either they die, or you do..."
After speaking, the Blood Envoy snorted coldly and glanced at the others.
He then directly left with his two companions.
The moment he was gone, the middle-aged man suddenly went SPURT.
He coughed up another mouthful of fresh blood.
Seeing this, the others were about to move forward and help him up.
The middle-aged man waved his hand. "Don’t worry about me. Go about your business!"
"The people from the Town Martial Department will be here soon!"
"Yes, sir!"
The black-robed men all bowed hastily.
They hurried outside.
Only then did the middle-aged man sit back down.
He began to rapidly recover from his injuries.
...
Shanyang City.
On the bustling, lively streets,
everything seemed to indicate a decent public safety environment.
However, behind the facade often lay filth and decay.
Meng Die sat in an SUV, a hamburger in her hand.
The patty in this particular hamburger, however, was Demon Beast Meat.
She was eating it with great relish.
A short while later, the car door opened.
Two Left Guards got into the vehicle one after another.
"What’s the situation?"
Meng Die took a bite of her hamburger and glanced back at them.
"Lord Left Department, the investigation is more or less complete!"
As he spoke, the man took out a map.
After unfolding it, he revealed several locations circled in red ink.
"Shanyang City doesn’t have a ’feeding ground,’ but there are several Blood Handprint strongholds!"
"A KTV, a bar, a nightclub, and a bathhouse—these are the Blood Handprint’s main strongholds!"
"Besides these, there are also some smaller outposts scattered around them!"
"I’d say they’re less like outposts and more like intelligence stations!"
"These intelligence stations are extremely tricky to deal with. They’re all in contact with each other and have to report in every thirty minutes!"
"This ensures the safety of each station and confirms that there are no abnormalities!"
When the Left Guard finished speaking,
Meng Die nodded and said, "It seems they’re being extremely cautious, just like the Lord General said."
"The closer we get to their core, the more careful they become!"
"It seems that trying to take down these strongholds one by one is impossible!"
The two Left Guards both nodded in agreement.
"Lord Left Department, I suggest we strike all at once!"
"Their report interval is thirty minutes, which means we have to take down all the intelligence stations within half an hour!"
"While taking down the intelligence stations, we must launch a coordinated strike on the KTV, bar, and nightclub!"
"That might be the only way to eliminate the Blood Handprint strongholds in Shanyang City!"
"If even one is missed, they’ll notice something is wrong, and our entire operation will be for nothing!"
Meng Die took a few more bites of her hamburger.
"But we don’t have enough people!"
"And it’s probably too late to request reinforcements from the Lord General now!"
The two Left Guards nodded. "What if... we coordinate with the local Public Security Bureau and have them assist us?"
Meng Die glanced back at the two of them.
"Who knows if they have people inside the Public Security Bureau? If we tell them, the information might leak again. Who’s going to take responsibility for that?"
At her words, both Left Guards fell into deep thought.
The force of Left and Right Guards that had come to Shanyang this time numbered just over a hundred.
For past clean-up operations, a hundred-plus people would have been more than enough.
This was mainly because other cities only had two or three ’feeding grounds’ or strongholds.
Even if they split into three groups to attack simultaneously, their numbers would have been sufficient.
But the situation in Shanyang City was clearly different from the others.
Not only were the strongholds spread out,
but there were also numerous intelligence stations...
This was the cunning of the Blood Handprint. If one intelligence station was taken down,
it would immediately arouse the suspicion of the others.
If they couldn’t make contact, every Blood Handprint member in Shanyang City would be alerted.
They would scatter and flee, perhaps even leaving Shanyang City entirely.
If that happened, this operation would end in failure.
This was absolutely not an outcome Meng Die wanted to see.
Nor was it a result that Lin Yi wanted to see.
Therefore, they had to ensure they could take down all these strongholds and intelligence stations
without letting a single person slip through the net...
Thus, the lack of manpower became the biggest problem.
As for the local Public Security Bureau, Meng Die didn’t trust them at all.
Just as they were sitting in the car, wondering what to do,
someone suddenly came up to the car window and knocked a few times.
Meng Die glanced back.
She rolled down the window, and the person bent down and said with a smile, "Want a hamburger? Sesame-seed filling?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Die’s face lit up with joy, and she quickly said, "Get in!"
The door opened, and the person got into the car.
"What are you doing out here?" Meng Die asked, looking at the person with pleasant surprise.
The other two Left Guards also showed expressions of delight.
The newcomer was none other than Wei Shang. He took off his face mask.
He smiled and said, "My injuries have completely healed. Since it’s a critical moment, the Lord General sent me over! This time, the Lord General had me bring two hundred Right Guards!"
"He said you might need more people here, so he sent me to help!"
As soon as he said this,
Meng Die, overjoyed, exclaimed, "That’s fantastic! The Lord General truly knows me best!"
"To be honest, we were just worrying about not having enough people!"
"I never expected the Lord General would send you all over directly!"
Wei Shang smiled and nodded. "The Lord General anticipated your situation here long ago!"
"By the way, where’s Feng Lei? Why don’t I see him?" Meng Die quickly glanced outside the car.
Wei Shang replied, "He went to Brother Biao’s position. They ran into a manpower shortage as well!"
Hearing this, Meng Die nodded.
She then explained the plan to him.
Now they had over two hundred more Right Guards.
All were external combat personnel with impressive fighting skills.
With their help, tonight’s operation could proceed smoothly.
Wei Shang nodded. "You make the plan, I’ll just carry out the mission!"
"Alright!"
A sharp glint flashed in Meng Die’s eyes.
The worry she felt just moments ago was now replaced by anticipation.
She was just waiting for night to fall to launch the operation and wipe out the Blood Handprint members.
However, just as they were laying out their plans,
Lin Yi was already walking out of the Ancient Temple City Railway Station.
He looked at the prosperous and lively scene outside the station.
Ancient Temple City, in particular, was a city known for its thriving temple worship.
More than half of the city’s population were devotees of its various temples and Taoist monasteries.
As a result, the atmosphere here was very harmonious.
Lin Yi carried a black bag as he walked out of the station.
Just then, a man in his thirties walked over.
He said with a slight smile, "Friend, are you here in Ancient Temple City to offer incense?"
Lin Yi glanced back at him and nodded. "Yes, it’s my first time."
"Where do you want to go? Just tell me, I’m very familiar with all the temples and monasteries!" the man said, patting his chest.
Lin Yi stopped and looked at him.
"How much to get to Kunshan Inn?"
"Kunshan Inn? You must be going to Jinzhong Temple, right?"
Lin Yi nodded. The man’s brow furrowed deeply, and he stroked his chin.
"That’s not a short trip. From here to Kunshan is at least twenty kilometers. As for the price... Hey? Wait, friend, don’t go yet!"
Before the man could finish, Lin Yi started walking away.
Seeing this, the man hurriedly chased after him.
This time, Lin Yi didn’t stop, only glancing back at him.
"I thought everyone in Ancient Temple City was a devout believer. It seems that’s not the case!"
"It’s barely ten kilometers from the train station to Kunshan, yet you told me it was twenty?"
As he finished speaking, Lin Yi had already reached the roadside.
Just as he was about to raise his hand to hail a cab, the man quickly said, "No, no, you were asking about Old Kunshan, right? I thought you meant New Kunshan!"
"If you had just said you were going to Old Kunshan, then yeah, it’s a ten-kilometer trip.
Don’t bother hailing a cab here. I’ll take you. Just ten kilometers, how about twenty yuan?"
The man was getting a little flustered.
He hadn’t expected to run into someone who knew the way.
Lin Yi shook his head. "I’ll pass!"
He waved his hand again, and in no time, a taxi pulled over to the side of the road.
Lin Yi opened the door and got right in.
He gave the driver an address and sped off.
Watching the taxi drive away, the man’s expression darkened.
"If you knew the way, why were you pretending to be an out-of-towner? Ptooey!"
After muttering a few curses,
he turned around, his expression instantly changing, and walked toward a few passengers who had just gotten off the train.
"Are you all here in our Ancient Temple City to offer incense? Where to? I know Ancient Temple City like the back of my hand. I can take you wherever you want to go. Come on, come on, the taxis out here are all expensive, I’m serious..."