Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

"very good."

Sha Ruijin spoke in a deep voice.

"As long as Gao Yuliang sides with me, the structure of the Standing Committee will be completely changed."

"I want Shen Zhong to know that he doesn't have the right to call the shots in Handong!"

The two made this dirty deal over the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Sha Ruijin walked to the window and looked at the dazzling night view of Handong City. He seemed to already see Shen Zhong being betrayed by his followers and leaving in defeat.

Meanwhile, in the capital city, thousands of miles away, in a heavily guarded mansion...

Zhong Xiaoai put down the phone, her face contorted with hatred.

She pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk and, from a hidden compartment, pulled out a black satellite phone without any markings.

There is only one number saved in my contacts.

Looking North Tower - Liu Sheng

Without hesitation, she pressed the dial button.

The phone rang only once before it was answered.

A hoarse yet steady male voice came through the receiver, with a heavy Hong Kong accent.

"Young Miss".

"The time you're contacting me means you have a big business opportunity."

Zhong Xiaoai didn't waste any words and went straight to the point.

"A luxury apartment in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Island; the target is Gao Xiaofeng and her one-and-a-half-year-old son."

"I want someone to appear before me within 24 hours."

"Price: Five million."

She paused, then added her last chip.

"Once this is done, I guarantee that all of Wangbeilou's businesses in Beijing will have smooth sailing for the next three years."

Mr. Liu on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds, seemingly quickly assessing the risks and rewards of the deal.

Wangbeilou, the most mysterious private club on Hong Kong Island, is a den of iniquity that hides a vast gray industry network.

They'd even dare to mess with members of Congress if the price was right.

"The price offered by the young lady is very tempting."

Liu Sheng's voice came through the radio waves, but it was devoid of any emotion.

"However, my men have just sent back intelligence."

"There are at least two sentries around that safe house, and their activities show a very clear military special reconnaissance style."

"They should be the most elite special forces personnel in mainland China who have retired."

Liu Sheng's words confirmed Sha Ruijin's intelligence.

"Our people attempted close-range reconnaissance twice, but were forced back both times by the other side's highly professional counter-reconnaissance methods."

"A head-on confrontation would come at too high a cost and could easily alert the Hong Kong Island Garrison Command."

"Five million can't buy the life of my top cleaner."

Zhong Xiaoai tapped her fingertips lightly on the table.

"I don't care about the process, I only care about the result."

"What you do is your business."

Liu Sheng chuckled softly on the other end of the phone.

"Since Miss has put it that way, then I'll have to resort to some unconventional methods."

"If brute force doesn't work, then we'll have to outsmart them."

"Luring the tiger away from the mountain."

Liu Sheng spoke slowly, but every word exuded a chilling, strategic aura.

"I will spend five million to hire Wo Luen Shing, the most active triad on Hong Kong Island, to organize two hundred gangsters to carry out a large-scale brawl in the neighborhood where the safe house is located."

"The bigger the commotion, the better. Ideally, it should attract all the police forces on the street."

"The two soldiers Shen Zhong left behind, due to their status, could not engage in large-scale conflicts with foreign and local forces. Their only option was to expose themselves and request support from the garrison command."

"As long as they leave that apartment building."

Liu Sheng paused, then lowered his voice even further.

"My cleaners will have plenty of time to go in and bring people out clean."

This plan is insidious and vicious.

It precisely exploited the fatal weakness of the heavily deployed military personnel, who faced numerous restrictions when enforcing the law abroad.

"I authorize you to go ahead and do it."

Zhong Xiaoai coldly uttered those words.

"The money will be transferred to your Swiss account within an hour."

"Remember, I only want them alive."

After hanging up the phone, a sinister smile appeared on Zhong Xiaoai's face.

Shen Zhong, do you think hiding people in Hong Kong Island will guarantee everything is safe?

I want you to see with your own eyes how you are dragged step by step into an abyss of no return by your so-called allies!

……

Meanwhile, in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

In a chaotic alleyway of an urban village, in an inconspicuous tenement building.

The two retired veterans of Longya, whom Shen Zhong had arranged, were sitting in front of the monitor screen, chewing betel nuts.

"Ali, don't you think it's a bit too quiet outside tonight?"

One of the men, who had a scar on his face, took a swig of ice-cold beer.

"Something's not right."

The man called Ali pulled up the street corner surveillance footage from the past hour and played it at four times the speed.

"Half an hour ago, three groups of people selling drugs passed by our building and deliberately dropped things."

"They are testing the waters."

The scarred man spat out the betel nut residue in his mouth, pulled the pistol from its holster on his lower back, and skillfully disengaged the safety.

"It seems someone is watching us."

"Raise the security alert level to the highest level."

Ali turned off the monitor, picked up the walkie-talkie on the table, and gave a deep order.

"Notify Team B to tighten the outer perimeter defenses. Any unidentified personnel approaching should be dealt with immediately without warning."

A somber atmosphere instantly filled the small room.

Meanwhile, upstairs in a heavily guarded safe room...

Gao Xiaofeng had just managed to coax her crying son to sleep.

She sat on the edge of the bed, humming an unknown tune softly, her face showing a sense of peace and contentment after surviving a disaster.

Having escaped the control of that devil Zhao Ruilong, she thought that she and her child had finally seen the dawn of a peaceful life.

She had no idea that beneath the seemingly bustling cityscape outside her window, a web of death woven from money and hatred was quietly enveloping her and her child.

The hands of the clock silently traced the lines on the wall.

It was exactly 2:00 AM.

"Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"

The doorbell of the safe house suddenly rang without warning, its urging sound as urgent as a death knell.

Ali grabbed the walkie-talkie from the table, his eyes sharpening.

"Who's at the door?"

A tense response came from the walkie-talkie from Team B.

"Report! We haven't spotted anyone approaching!"

Ali suddenly looked up and stared intently at the surveillance screen in front of him, which was divided into a nine-square grid.

The motion-sensor lights were on in the narrow corridor outside the door, providing ample illumination.

But the screen was eerily empty!