A miraculous doctor descended from the heavens.

"Gu Feng, is that him?" The advisor looked at the man's tacky attire and felt a chill run down his spine.

What's wrong with young people these days? Do they have to dress themselves up like this to be considered fashionable?

Does this really look good?

"That should be it."

Gu Feng, being an ancient person, was much calmer than the advisor, and was already used to those colorful and trendy outfits.

He carefully compared the photocopy of his ID card and nodded.

This person had made himself into something neither human nor ghost nor demon, and he couldn't shake off that strange, hybrid vibe. With a single glance, the discerning eye of the old official revealed the true nature of this monstrous creature.

Gu Feng was about to go over and pull the man out when his advisor stopped him, saying, "Hey, Young Master Feng, mind your status. You're now the son-in-law of the leader of the Yihe Gang, your status is extremely noble. You don't need to do this kind of rough work."

"Huh?" Gu Feng's eyes widened slightly. Was he really of high status? Why didn't he feel it at all?

"Let's go, let's wait outside." After saying that, the clerk turned around and walked out.

"Waiting for wine or meat? Why not just go in, drag them out, and ask them a few questions? Why go through all this trouble?" Gu Feng muttered to himself, but still followed the clerk out the door.

The two got into the Mercedes, and a black minivan pulled up in front of the internet cafe shortly after.

Several burly, imposing men got out of the car, the leader of whom was particularly strong and muscular, with a fierce glint in his eyes.

With a wave of his hand, several burly men stormed into the internet cafe, while he himself walked up to the Mercedes and politely knocked on the window.

The advisor nodded, and the bald man opened the car door and got in.

"Let me introduce you. This is Hua Tian, ​​the head of the Dark Hall. Hua Tian, ​​and this is our son-in-law, Gu Feng," the advisor introduced the two.

"Young Master Feng, hello." Bald Hua Tian greeted Gu Feng.

Gu Feng nodded, and Ding Lisheng finally unleashed the power he had been holding back in the shadows.

He carefully examined Hua Tian. He had fat ears, a round face, and a bald head. His features were rugged and very distinctive. He gave off a fierce yet capable vibe, especially his eyes, which revealed a wolf-like coldness, ferocity, cruelty, and cunning.

This is definitely a formidable opponent.

"Gu Feng, Hua Tian is good, especially recently, he has performed exceptionally well," the advisor said to Gu Feng, pointing at Hua Tian.

Gu Feng naturally understood what the advisor meant.

The Yihe Gang was in a turbulent period, and before the situation stabilized, the leaders of the 21 halls could not be trusted. Only the Dark Hall, which had no official position but was absolutely loyal and had always been hidden in the shadows, directly obeying Ding Lisheng, was the only one that could be used.

With so many things happening lately, it would be strange if Hua Tian didn't make a move.

"Hua Tian, ​​you've worked hard," Gu Feng said to him with a smile.

"It's not hard work!" Hua Tian replied, his face beaming with the look of someone who had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel. After hiding for so long and enduring so much hardship, he finally had a chance to show off.

As the three were exchanging pleasantries, the burly men who had stormed into the internet cafe dragged the man with the unconventional afro hairstyle out and threw him into a minivan. Without waiting for Hua Xia's order, they slammed the doors shut and sped away.

The entire process, from start to finish, took less than three minutes. The hands and feet were clean and there was no hesitation or delay, which was incredibly fast.

The secret service team was indeed well-trained and exceptionally capable. Gu Feng silently praised them in his heart.

The Mercedes followed at a leisurely pace. The advisor, his expression grave, called out, "Hua Tian."

"Here!" Hua Tian immediately stepped forward.

"The person you arrested is related to tonight's formal meeting. So no matter what, you have to get the mastermind out of him," the advisor said in a deep voice.

"Rest assured, Master, I will handle it well." Hua Tian nodded cautiously.

"What about that other matter? Has it been taken care of?" the advisor asked again.

"It's done. That fellow was cunning, but we managed to intercept him at the airport." Hua Tian replied, then asked, "Does the advisor want to see him?"

"There's no point in seeing him now. Let's wait until tonight's conference," the advisor sighed.

The Mercedes followed the van to an abandoned mine warehouse.

After both cars came to a stop, Hua Tian invited Gu Feng and his advisor into a luxurious office that seemed completely out of place in the abandoned warehouse. He had them sit on a leather sofa, then brought out ice, crystal glasses, and brandy, pouring each of them half a glass of iced liquor before saying, "Advisor, Young Master Feng, please have a seat."

After saying that, Hua Tian turned on the LCD monitor in front of the two of them, then closed the door and left.

The monitor showed a warehouse of equipment in the mine. The screen was divided into six sections, with a particularly large one in the center surrounded by several smaller sections.

The middle square faces an iron chair, while the other five squares face that chair from different angles, some near and some far.

However, even now, the screen is still empty.

"Master, where is this place?" Gu Feng asked, looking around curiously.

"You won't like this place. Hanhan only came once and never wanted to come back." The advisor picked up his wine glass, gently swirling the ice inside, and said expressionlessly, "This is the torture chamber of the Dark Hall. All the people we captured the night of the big shootout at the hospital are here."

"Oh." Gu Feng responded noncommittally, his gaze fixed on the LCD screen, where someone had already appeared.

The man with the afro was held up by several people and pressed down onto the iron chair. His hands, feet, waist, and neck were quickly secured with iron chains.

After the afro was securely tied up, Hua Tian appeared on the screen.

With a gloomy expression, he slowly walked up to the man with the afro, reached out and grabbed his ear, pulling his entire head down with him.

"Kid, listen to me carefully. I don't have time to mess around with you. But if you insist on messing with me, I have no choice but to play along."

The man with the afro was pale and looked at Hua Tian with extreme fear. His mouth was trembling, his upper and lower teeth chattering, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Hua Tian stretched out his hand, and a burly man next to him handed him a pair of iron pliers.

Hua Tian gripped the pliers and opened and closed them twice with a "click-click" sound, then opened the jaws and clamped onto one of the afro-haired man's fingers.

"Now, I'll ask you a question, and you'll answer it honestly," Hua Tian said, firmly gripping the pliers.

"No, no!" The man with the afro shook his head in terror.

Hua Tian frowned and gave his subordinate a look. The subordinate immediately understood, stepped forward, and slapped the man with the afro hard across the face, shouting, "Shut up!"

The slap was extremely hard, leaving a red five-finger mark on the afro-haired man's face, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Whether his teeth were knocked out or not is unknown, but they were definitely loosened, and his mouth closed obediently as a result.

"Did you buy a SIM card at a shop along the river a week ago?" Hua Tian asked in a deep voice.

The man with the afro was taken aback, then shook his head vigorously: "No, no!"

Hua Tian tightened his grip on the pliers, and with a sharp "snap," a section of the afro's finger was severed at the root and fell to the plate below with a "thud."

"Ah—" The man with the afro let out a miserable, chilling scream, like a pig being slaughtered, long and shrill.

But in this desolate place, even if he screamed his lungs out, it would be no use.

"Did you buy a SIM card at a shop along the river a week ago?"

Hua Tian grabbed the man with the afro's hair with one hand, forcing him to look up at him, while the iron clamp in his other hand moved up further, clamping down on another joint of that finger.

"No—" Before the man with the afro could finish answering, another scream rang out, "Ah—Mom—!"

Without asking, Hua Tian cut off the second knuckle of the same finger.

Gu Feng felt a chill run down his spine. He looked up at his advisor, only to see him staring blankly at the screen, occasionally taking a sip of wine, his face filled with indifference and numbness.

"Did you buy a SIM card at a shop along the river a week ago?" Hua Tian asked for the third time, as the pliers moved upwards again, clamping down on the last remaining segment of the finger.

"I bought it, I bought it, I bought it!" The man with the afro was covered in saliva, snot, tears, blood, and urine as he shouted and admitted it.

"What's the number?" Hua Tian asked again.

"I..." The man with the afro hesitated for only a moment before feeling another wave of intense pain. Hua Tian had cut off the last remaining segment of his finger, and he fainted under the immense pain and psychological pressure.

If playing dead worked, then what would be the point of having organized crime?

Hua Tian sneered, raised his hand, and one of his men brought over a bucket of ice water, which he poured over the man with the afro.

The man with the afro was instantly sobered up by the splash of water.

The explosive hairstyle stopped exploding when it got wet, sticking to my face all wet and ruining my makeup. The non-mainstream makeup that I had worked so hard to create was completely destroyed.

"What's the number?" Hua Tian asked again, the pliers clamping down on the last joint of the other finger of the man with the afro.

"I don't remember, I really don't remember, please have mercy on me!" the man with the afro cried out.

This answer obviously did not satisfy Hua Tian, ​​so that finger joint was cut off again.

"What's the number?" Hua Tian's voice was cold and cruel.

The man with the afro was on the verge of tears, feeling utterly helpless, but he had genuinely forgotten what number he had bought.

"Big brother, grandpa, my dear dad, I really don't remember the number! I only remember it starts with 1355, really! It wasn't me who used it, I just bought it for someone else, I don't remember! Even if you cut off all my fingers, I still can't remember everything! I've always had a bad memory, I've never passed a test when memorizing things. Please, old man, have mercy and ask me a different question!" The man with the afro cried and wailed incoherently.

Hua Tian's cold gaze pierced the afro like a knife. After a long while, he finally believed that the man wasn't lying, so he changed the subject: "Who was the person who asked you to buy the phone card?"

"I don't know, I really don't know, I really don't know..." the man with the afro screamed in terror, but before he could finish, he let out a series of piercing screams, "Ah—ah—ah—"

Clearly, Hua Tian was quite disappointed with the afro's performance, and his patience was wearing thin. This time, he cut off three knuckles from the same finger of the afro.

"Grandpa, grandpa, grandpa, I really don't know! I was just surfing the internet at the internet cafe that day, having a great time, when suddenly someone ran up to me and told me to go buy him a card. He said he'd give me 500 yuan, but I'd only get 250 first, and the remaining 250 after I bought it. He also told me not to tell anyone, or I'd die. Waaah, I'm such a fool, such a fool, such a fool! Grandpa, please spare me, please spare me!" The man with the afro cried out, trembling all over.

It seems this is indeed a very silly and unconventional person.

"Do you recognize that person?" Hua Tian asked again.

"That guy was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, obviously trying to hide it from me. But I recognize him, I'd recognize him even if he were ashes! His nose is huge, like Jackie Chan's. I recognize him, I recognize him!" the man with the afro shouted.

Seeing this, the advisor finally stood up, walked to the door, and pressed the red button.

A long beep came from the monitor, and then Hua Tian put down the pliers, picked up a white towel to wipe his hands, and disappeared from the screen.

Not long after, Hua Tian reappeared in the office. The clerk took a manila envelope and poured out a stack of photos. Gu Feng looked up and saw that the photos were none other than individual portraits of the Twenty-One Hall Masters.

The clerk rummaged through the papers, finally picking one out and handing it to Hua Tian: "Let him identify it; is this it?"

Hua Tian nodded, didn't say another word, and left with the photo.

Before long, both the advisor and Gu Feng saw on the screen that the man with the afro was nodding excitedly at the photo.

At this point, the outcome is practically a foregone conclusion.

The advisor then turned off the monitor and continued to sip his wine intermittently.

Having witnessed the ways of the underworld, Gu Feng felt a chill, but he wasn't too unsettled.

Deceit and treachery, the survival of the fittest—even after more than a thousand years, society remains just as realistic and cruel.