Chapter 19 (Part 2) No pain, no gain.

Two weeks later, in New York.

A bespectacled, refined-looking man stood before an ornately carved door, took a deep breath, and raised his hand to knock. Although no light shone through the crack in the door, creating an eerie silence, he knew his difficult master was definitely inside.

After waiting for half a minute, a cold voice came from inside the door.

He gently pushed open the door, only to be greeted by a room filled with profound darkness. These past few days, the man had often locked himself in his pitch-black room every night. Although he had gradually grown accustomed to the man's behavior, the overwhelming, almost tangible darkness still made him gasp for breath. He steadied himself; his exceptional night vision, essential for an assassin, helped him adapt to the darkness in the shortest time, finally finding the man standing alone by the French windows. Even in the darkness, that tall, imposing figure remained as commanding as ever. Wei Lan sighed inwardly, taking two quick steps to stand behind the man, and spoke in a deep, unusually serious tone.

"Young Master, we've just received news that the third stronghold in the radiation zone has fallen. Your subordinate believes..."

He suddenly noticed that the man's back tensed up instantly, and he looked like an arrow ready to be released—a dangerous sign. He immediately stopped talking and waited for the man's next reaction.

Then he heard the man's voice soften: "Continue."

Looking up at the other person, Wei Lan hesitated for a moment before continuing, "It's time."

Xu Qi stood quietly by the floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze fixed on the dark sky. Not a single star shone; the clouds hung low and heavy, a strong wind blew, and a torrential downpour seemed imminent. A storm was brewing… A resolute glint flashed in his eyes. He slowly turned and nodded to Wei Lan: “Go.”

"Yes, young master." Wei Lan bowed solemnly, then turned and pushed open the door to leave.

The moment the door closed, the room suddenly became as bright as day, followed by a deafening clap of thunder—the storm had finally arrived. Xu Qi tilted his head slightly, looking at the rain streaks slanting across the glass, and slowly curled the corners of his lips into a smile. What will tomorrow bring? Probably… the rain will stop and the sun will shine again.

Wei Lan, drenched from head to toe by the sudden downpour, gave a wry smile, strode to the car door, and, ignoring the water on her clothes, opened the door and got in.

"Boom..." On this stormy night, the streets were deserted, and the entire world seemed to be filled only with the thunder and rain. Thinking he had to get to his business quickly, Wei Lan drove on for a while, but found that the rain was getting heavier and heavier. If he continued driving, something might happen, so he had no choice but to pull into a parking lot to take shelter for the time being and leave as soon as the rain subsided.

At this time of day, the public parking lot was naturally deserted. The normally bright lights looked rather pale, and the occasional lightning outside made it seem even more eerie. Wei Lan parked his car near the door, frowned as he looked at the ridiculously heavy rain through the rain-blurred car window, and casually pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

This situation might be quite tricky. Two weeks ago, a small gang on the outskirts of New York was suddenly wiped out, with only a few henchmen escaping. Normally, these kinds of gang fights are commonplace and few people would pay attention. But in the following week, small gangs on the outskirts of New York were repeatedly challenged and then wiped out overnight, leaving no survivors. In just one week, almost half of the small gangs on the outskirts of New York were destroyed, and suddenly, all the major powers in New York City were focusing their attention on this area.

Based on information from various sources, the forces that took down these small gangs were likely the same, and their methods were ruthless and decisive, indicating considerable power. Being targeted by such a force, these small gangs were naturally powerless to resist and destined to be devoured. However, strangely, after wiping out the small gangs, this force showed no intention of taking over their territory. Like a typhoon passing through, it swept through one area and quickly moved on, seemingly destroying for the sake of destruction. On the surface, this matter seemed puzzling, but anyone with discerning eyes could see that it was aimed at Long Ming—almost all the small gangs that were wiped out were under Long Ming's protection. These small gangs usually had the backing of a New York underworld boss, giving them a significant advantage in battles of equal strength. Their swift elimination was naturally a welcome development for those small forces who had previously suffered losses, and it inevitably led them to harbor other thoughts about Long Ming himself.

As one of Long Ming's key figures, Wei Lan was assigned by Xu Qi to take direct charge of this matter two weeks ago. More than half of the small gangs in the New York area were under Long Ming's tight control; within Long Ming, these areas were called "radiation zones," and each small gang was designated a stronghold and numbered for easy management. For the past two weeks, he had watched as these strongholds were destroyed by that unknown force, yet he chose to remain inactive. In his view, these were merely demonstrations; the real big move was yet to come. Tonight, with the last stronghold breached, he knew their time to strike had come.

"Drip, drip..." The torrential rain turned into a continuous drizzle. Wei Lan casually stubbed out his cigarette and stepped on the gas.