Underworld: Starting with conquering countless lustful beauties

Meanwhile, on a high slope a hundred meters away from the gate of Fenghua Building Materials, an inconspicuous black SUV turned off all its lights, disappearing into the night like a lurking black panther.

The car window rolled down a crack, and a professional SLR camera with a telephoto lens peeked out from the gap, like the muzzle of a sniper rifle, locked onto the chaotic battlefield below.

"Click, click, click—"

The sound of the camera shutter was particularly crisp and rapid in the cramped space of the train carriage.

"Wow, this is definitely the most explosive gang fight in Donghai City this year."

It was Hao Mei who spoke. Today she was wearing a smart windbreaker, and her striking wine-red hair was casually tied into a ponytail. She looked less glamorous than usual, but more sharp and passionate like a professional reporter.

She squinted one eye against the viewfinder, her fingers flying across the shutter button, chewing a piece of gum, her expression as excited as a child who had discovered a new continent.

In the driver's seat, a young man wearing black-rimmed glasses, who looked rather refined, was sweating profusely as he fiddled with recording equipment and a spare camera. He was Hao Mei's assistant, Xiao Ma.

"Sister Mei...aren't we standing too close?" Xiao Ma swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly. "That's a gang fight, they're hacking at each other with machetes! What if they spot us and rush at us..."

"What are you afraid of? I've practiced Taekwondo!" Hao Mei retorted without turning her head, but the camera never left the figure wielding a steel rod in the crowd.

In the footage, Chen Feng is covered in blood, but his eyes shine with an astonishing light. Every swing of his stick, every dodge, carries a primal and wild beauty. That composure as he walks on the edge of life and death, that ruthlessness soaked in blood, is completely different from the "thug" who harassed her under the tree in the villa area that night, yet they strangely overlap.

Hao Mei's heart skipped a beat.

Ever since Chen Feng "tree-pinned" her and mocked her, she'd been obsessed with figuring out his background. Driven by a woman's intuition and a journalist's professional instincts, she was convinced he had a story. So, she immediately assigned Xiao Ma to investigate.

Xiao Ma, whose real name is Ma Dehua, is a young man in his early twenties. He is not particularly handsome, but he is an absolute expert in investigative work. He worked with Hao Mei for two years on social news, doing all sorts of dirty and tiring jobs, and was proficient in everything from staking out locations and following people to taking photos without their consent.

Like a keen-nosed hunting dog, Xiao Ma found out Chen Feng's basic information in just one day—the owner of Fenghua Building Materials, nominally in the sand and gravel business, but actually a notable figure in the underworld of the South District. Moreover, it was rumored that he had recently clashed with Mad Dog, and the two companies were currently locked in a fierce battle.

After receiving the news, Hao Mei became even more convinced of her judgment. In the following days, she dragged her poor little horse along and began to follow Chen Feng 24 hours a day.

She saw a lot.

She witnessed how Chen Feng directed his men to ambush the Wild Duck Lake embankment, using chili powder and quicklime to fumigate Mad Dog Qiang's men until they crawled out like dead dogs. The scene made her laugh uncontrollably in the car, exclaiming, "So mean, so mean, but I love it!"

She also saw how Chen Feng turned a passive situation into an active one in a desperate situation. The seemingly "pretty boy" who could only be kept by rich women was actually a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Mei-jie! Look! The police are here!" Xiao Ma suddenly exclaimed.

Hao Mei shifted the camera and, sure enough, saw more than a dozen police cars speeding towards them.

The next scene made Hao Mei pause as she pressed the shutter button, her brows furrowing tightly.

She saw Mad Dog Qiang's men very "cooperatively" throw away their weapons, cover their heads, and squat down; some even lay on the ground pretending to be dead. She saw the police officer leading the group walk coldly toward Chen Feng, instead of toward Mad Dog Qiang, who clearly had more men. She saw Chen Feng being pinned to the ground and handcuffed, while Mad Dog Qiang stood aside "chatting amicably" with the police officer...

"Something's not right." Hao Mei's voice turned cold.

"Sister Mei, what's wrong?" Xiao Ma hadn't reacted yet.

"Didn't you see?" Hao Mei pointed to the scene in the distance, "Those cops arrested the wrong person! It was clearly Mad Dog Qiang who brought people to cause trouble, so why did they arrest Chen Feng? That lead cop, judging from the way he talks to Mad Dog Qiang, they're totally in cahoots!"

Xiao Ma suddenly realized, and his expression changed: "Isn't it obvious that they have a protective umbrella?"

"It's not just about protection," Hao Mei sneered, her eyes flashing with the sharp glint of a reporter. "This is collusion between officials and criminals, law enforcement breaking the law! Mad Dog Qiang brought over a hundred people to vandalize the place, and nothing happened to them; Chen Feng, who was clearly the one who was beaten, was the one arrested. What do you call this? This is turning black into white, being unable to distinguish right from wrong!"

As she watched Chen Feng being escorted into the police car, a strange emotion welled up inside her.

I can't tell if it's anger, or...heartache?

She took the camera from Xiao Ma and played back the footage she had just recorded. From Mad Dog Qiang's convoy entering the battlefield, to the shootout, and then to the police arriving and clearly favoring Mad Dog Qiang... the entire process was recorded in its entirety.

"Xiao Ma, the footage we've shot these past few days is enough to write a long article." Hao Mei's eyes burned with fire.

"Sister Hao, what do you want to write?"

"Write what?" Hao Mei sneered. "Write about the chaos in the sand and gravel industry in the South District! Write about how local bullies monopolize the market and oppress the people! Write about how some law enforcement officers act as their protectors and distort the truth!"

"But..." Xiao Ma hesitated, "This involves the police. And your father is also..."

"My father is my father, and I am me," Hao Mei interrupted him. "In all my years as a reporter, when have I ever been afraid of anyone? The more someone tries to cover it up, the more I'll expose it and let everyone see!"

"Let's go, back to the newspaper." A confident smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"I'll go home and work overtime tonight to organize the materials. Tomorrow's headline is ready!"

Looking at Hao Mei's face, which was slightly flushed with excitement, Xiao Ma secretly sighed: "Sister Hao's energy is something no one can stop."

However, he always felt that Sister Hao's enthusiasm this time was not just due to her professional intuition as a reporter...

He recalled the focused look Hao Mei had given Chen Feng through the binoculars these past few days, and thoughtfully stroked his chin.

Xiao Ma curiously leaned closer: "Sister Hao, do you think Chen Feng is a good person or a bad person?"

"Good guy? Bad guy?" Hao Mei sneered. "There are no absolutely good or bad people in this world. He's a gangster, that's true, but look at what he's done—seizing sand pits, intercepting goods, fighting… to put it bluntly, it's all about fighting with Mad Dog Qiang, that local tyrant. That bastard Mad Dog Qiang has monopolized the market and bullied construction site bosses for so many years, and nobody's ever done anything about it. Now that someone dares to challenge him, it's quite a strange story."

The investigation over the past few days has given Hao Mei a general understanding of Chen Feng.

This man was indeed a ruthless character. He was decisive, meticulous, and extremely loyal to his men—he personally paid each of them three thousand yuan as a reward for their hard work, which was no small sum in those days.

More importantly, unlike traditional organized crime groups that bully the weak and oppress the strong, he treats his construction sites fairly and honestly, with clearly marked prices. On the contrary, Mad Dog Qiang's side has always relied on monopoly and violence to exploit construction site owners.

"This person... isn't that annoying." Hao Mei looked through the binoculars in the car, a slight smile unconsciously curving her lips.

"Sister Hao, what are you laughing at?" Xiao Ma came over, looking gossipy.

"It's nothing!" Hao Mei composed herself, glared at him, and said, "Focus on driving!"

"Oh, oh..." Xiao Ma shrank back, but in his heart he was thinking: Sister Hao has been acting strange these past few days. The way she looks at Chen Feng seems different from how she used to watch people...