Chapter 30 Bird of Paradise 15
In the corridor behind the bar, Luo Siwei turned around and saw two burly men walking towards her.
The figures of these two men were incomparable to those small gangsters. They were covered in muscles, and even the ground was shaking when they walked in the corridor. The tall figures of the men blocked the light, instantly making the already dim light in the corridor even darker.
Of the two, the one in the lead was tall, standing at a full 1.9 meters tall. The one behind him was fat and strong, with a bald head, and looked like a wall.
Luo Siwei judged that these two people were probably professional bodyguards.
She made a quick decision. The corridor was too narrow and the other side was tall and strong. She was not at an advantage when outnumbered. In addition, she had not figured out the situation yet, so she might as well act according to circumstances.
Thinking of this, Luo Siwei replied, "I'm looking for someone..."
"Who are you looking for?" the tall man in the lead asked her.
Before Luo Siwei could answer, the fat man behind her stepped forward, pulled her hair, and pushed her into the private room. The door of the private room was ajar, and it was pushed open.
The man's movements were rough and his hands were very strong, without any mercy at all.
Luo Siwei could have stood firm or fought back, but she didn't force it. Instead, she pretended to be weak and fell in the middle of the private room.
The floor of the bar was covered with thick carpet. She was not injured, but she pretended to be hurt and lowered her head to observe the environment.
This was a larger private room than the previous one, located in the corner of the bar. Unlike the previous room, this one had two doors: a front door leading to the dance floor, and a back door where she had just been.
Luo Siwei planned her route in her mind. If she needed to escape, the front door would undoubtedly be safer, provided she could unlock it...
There wasn't much alcohol in the room, but there was a faint smell of cigarettes.
There were seven people in the private room, all men, four of them were sitting and the rest were standing. When they saw them come in, they stopped talking.
The bald man walked up to a man who was sitting and said, "Boss, this woman is sneaking around outside."
"What do you do?"
"He said he was looking for someone."
Luo Siwei sat up and saw that the boss the man was talking about was a man in blue clothes. He had short hair, dark skin, and a scar at the corner of his eyebrow.
Luo Siwei was thinking about how to answer, when suddenly she heard a cold and gentle voice above her head: "Why are you so disobedient? Didn't I ask you to wait outside?"
This sound is...
Luo Siwei was startled and turned her head to look. She saw Chi Li sitting on the sofa in the booth next to her.
Sitting next to him was a slightly plump middle-aged man, Huo Cunsheng, and there was also someone she didn't know sitting next to him.
Luo Siwei quickly realized that this might be a police operation and she was brought in by accident, and Chi Li's words just helped her out of the predicament.
Luo Siwei reacted quickly. She stood up and leaned against Chi Li, looking frightened. "These people are so fierce. I was scared to death just now..."
Huo Cunsheng also reacted quickly when he saw this scene and laughed: "What a misunderstanding, what a misunderstanding. Didn't Boss Ye just tell you to wait outside... Sister-in-law, why are you so impatient?" He pointed out Chi Li's current pseudonym.
Luo Siwei pulled Chi Li and pretended to act coquettishly: "There are so many women here, I'm afraid you are deliberately not letting me follow..."
Chi Li looked at her and said softly, "I'm talking to someone about serious matters." As he spoke, his hand moved to her waist and held her in his arms.
Luo Siwei instantly moved closer to Chi Li. This was the first time she had been so close to a man. Under the dim light in the private room, his skin looked cold and pale, and his eyes were as bright as stars.
The man sitting opposite seemed a little suspicious of her, his eyes flickering as he kept sizing up Luo Siwei: "You...are you here to see him?"
Chi Li raised his eyebrows with displeasure and asked, "Why? Boss Huang doesn't trust us?"
At this point, the bald man who had just left whispered a few words to Boss Huang.
Boss Huang laughed awkwardly, "If I can trust you, I can trust you." His eyes were cold as he spoke, showing no sign of letting them off. Then he changed the subject, "But my men said a police car came downstairs. Boss Ye, you don't know anyone from the police, do you?"
In one word, the scene suddenly became quiet and the atmosphere became tense.
Luo Siwei's heart skipped a beat. The police car they were talking about should be the one she had asked the Municipal Bureau to dispatch just now.
What these people were discussing was, of course, illegal activity. Chi Li and Lao Huo had clearly disguised themselves as someone else to conduct business with each other. She hadn't anticipated that her arrest of those thugs would cause trouble for Chi Li's operations.
Thinking of this, Luo Siwei's body tensed up, and he was ready to take action if the negotiations failed.
Chi Li patted her on the back and told her to relax.
Through the thin clothing, Luo Siwei could feel the warmth of Chi Li's palm. From her angle, she could just see his profile. Chi Li's nose was tall, and his eyelashes were clearly visible in the dim light. Her heart was pounding, and she smelled a faint mint scent on her breath, and her heart calmed down.
Chi Li then turned around and asked Boss Huang, "If I knew someone in the police force, would you still notice me talking to you here, calling the police here and driving a police car?"
After hearing this, Boss Huang was silent for a moment.
A smart person will not put himself in danger. These people are still here. If they are police, sending a police car over will alert them, which is obviously inappropriate.
Chi Li remained calm and continued to question Boss Huang: "Besides, what can a police car do? How many people can it arrest? If I really were a police officer, making such an arrangement would be too much of a disrespect for you."
The implication of this sentence is that if the police were involved in this operation, they would certainly arrange a bigger scene, which would not only eliminate their own suspicion but also give the other party a boost.
Boss Huang had run-ins with the police before, having narrowly escaped twice. He knew the Donglan City Police were difficult to deal with. If it were a police operation, they should have concealed their identities and taken the situation by surprise. Sending a police car so brazenly here was indeed a bit illogical.
Thinking of this, Boss Huang said, "Don't be nervous, I'm just asking casually." As he said this, he hooked his finger.
The bald man next to him moved and snatched the handbag that Luo Siwei had placed aside.
The zipper of the bag was opened with a rustling sound, and the things inside were suddenly placed on the coffee table in front of several people.
Luo Siwei was on her mission tonight, so naturally, she couldn't have any identification with her. Even her ID card was a fake. Several small items in her bag suddenly scattered, bouncing a few times on the table, and one of them landed right in front of Mr. Huang.
Boss Huang reached out and picked it up. It was a small dice. He shook it in his hand. It was made of mercury, a high-end product, and it was definitely not cheap.
Boss Huang's eyes lit up when he saw the dice. He was a gambler, and seeing gambling equipment was like seeing a fellow gambler. How could a police officer carry such a thing? He took the dice in his hand and played with them, "So it's a fellow gambler."
Chi Li said to him in a neither soft nor hard tone: "Boss Huang, it's rude of you to doubt us, but you also snatched the children's toys. That's a bit rude."
After hearing his words, Boss Huang's tense jawline relaxed and he handed over the dice. "It seems like it was a misunderstanding. Why don't you help me put the things away?"
The bald man put the things in the bag back, and Luo Siwei snatched the handbag away with a bit of aggrieved look on her face.
Luo Siwei felt a little relieved in her heart, because those dice were seized after she caught those gangsters. They were not considered evidence, and she didn't want to leave them here to harm others, so she just put them in her handbag. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
The tense atmosphere eased a bit, but Chi Li's expression remained somewhat unhappy. He said, "Boss Huang, if you're suspicious, then I'll tell you the truth. We're all police officers. Old Zhai, Jiang Nian, and I came here specifically to set a trap for you..." He looked at Luo Siwei again, "And she, too, came to help. We're all police officers, waiting to catch all of your people in one fell swoop."
This was the absolute truth, but to the other party, it sounded like the words spoken in anger after being wronged, or like a joke.
In the eyes of those on the opposite side, if the person in front of them really had some connection with the police, they would be panicking and trying their best to deny the connection, and would never say such words here with a relaxed look.
Boss Huang looked at Huo Cunsheng's beer belly, then looked at the delicate Luo Siwei, and laughed out loud.
By now, he actually relaxed. His eyes swept over Luo Siwei and he said, "This is a misunderstanding caused by my cautious subordinates. I've never seen such a good-looking cop." He paused, took a puff of his cigarette, and continued, "But you know, the police have been cracking down recently. They just arrested one of our drivers, and we're about to open for business..."
Huo Cunsheng immediately gave both sides a way out: "There's been a bit of unrest lately, so it's right for everyone to be cautious. But even if there's chaos outside, business is still the most important thing."
Jiang Nian was the most nervous among them. Fortunately, he was smart enough. He hadn't said anything until now because he didn't understand the situation. Now he said at the right time, "Then let's get down to business. I'll explain the procedures of our bank in detail to Mr. Huang..."
Chi Li patted Luo Siwei and handed her a car key. He said to her softly, "Be good and wait for me in the car. I'll go find you after I finish my business here."
Luo Siwei responded hurriedly. This time no one stopped her. She walked to the door and unlocked it.
After coming out, Luo Siwei walked through the front hall and went downstairs. She felt like she had been on the edge of danger and finally returned to the world. The music outside was still deafening, and figures were swaying in the dance floor.
Luo Siwei's heart finally settled down, but his heartbeat was still a little slow.
She walked all the way to the nearby parking lot. Afraid of being followed, she walked quickly, her eyes fixed straight ahead, her hand secretly pressing the car keys in her pocket.
After walking for a while, a black car finally chirped twice and turned on its lights.
Luo Siwei breathed a sigh of relief, opened the car door and got in, only to find that his palms were full of cold sweat.
She escaped from inside, but she was still worried about Chi Li and Huo Cunsheng.
The people on the other side were clearly well-prepared. They were outnumbered and might even have guns. Could something else happen inside? Would Chi Li be in danger?
She looked at her phone for a while nervously.
About twenty minutes later, she finally saw Chi Li walk into the parking lot, walk in this direction, open the car door and get in.
Luo Siwei asked him, "Where's Lao Huo?"
"Bring the informant back from the other side." Chi Li said to Luo Siwei, "I'll take you back."
He looked calm and composed, as if he had just worked overtime or had a meal, not at all like he had just left a dangerous place.
After the car drove out for a while, Luo Siwei asked, "What's going on?"
Chi Li said: "You know I'm pursuing a casino case recently, right?"
Luo Siwei nodded. She had seen some information the last time she went to Chi Li’s office.
Chi Li said: "The boss Huang is called Huang Gan, and he is known as Huangquan Old Ghost in the underworld. He has killed people and has been on the run. Most of his men are criminals with previous criminal records."
He then gave Luo Siwei a detailed introduction of the situation.
This group of people originally worked as guerrilla dealers near Donglan.
Huang Gan's gang consisted of more than a dozen people, most of whom lived near Donglan. They were familiar with the terrain and adept at hiding. They had an organization, a client base, and even weapons, making it difficult for the police from nearby counties to control them.
In recent years, the boss behind Huang Gan has even colluded with online gambling and developed online business. The online casino then gathers bosses who like live gambling, doing both online and offline business.
In recent years, this group of people have been organizing big gambling games, appearing and disappearing in secret, and specializing in opening casinos in the wild mountains and wilderness.
The commission they earned from a single gambling game could be hundreds of thousands or even millions, enough for these people to squander for months. When there were no gambling games, they would hide away and spend their money on wine and women.
Director Chen asked the municipal bureau personnel and Che County police to form a special task force, and these matters happened to be the responsibility of Chi Li.
At this point, Chi Li said, "The police recently shut down their website and worked with Interpol to investigate the overseas money laundering bank. They also arrested one of their drivers. After Huang Gan opened the gambling game, he would receive a large amount of cash. Their previous channels were investigated by the police, so they had to find a new bank. Today I am pretending to be someone from the bank, and we are discussing the business of transferring cash overseas."
Luo Siwei was still a little frightened when she thought about it: "I caught a few hooligans who drugged someone here tonight, and then I called a police car to pick them up. I didn't expect..."
Chi Li said, "It's okay, you showed up at the perfect time. Huang Gan is a suspicious person. He had been testing us before you showed up. But because of the police car and your appearance, he made things clear, which actually dispelled his concerns."
Luo Siwei finally felt relieved: "Have you heard about the gambling?"
Chi Li nodded: "I have basically figured out the situation. I can tell a lot from the transaction information between Huang Gan and the bank."
After Huang Gan received a large amount of cash, except for some of it for his own use, he would not keep the rest for long. He would try his best to launder and transfer the money out.
Although the information collected by the police now is only indirect, it can help them infer the time when the gambling game was opened, the amount prepared and the scale.
At this point, Chi Li said with some regret, "But there are still some deviations from the plan. We were planning to send another driver in to help with the internal and external cooperation, but unfortunately Huang Gan quickly found a replacement driver." After explaining the situation here, he asked Luo Siwei, "How is your case going?"
Luo Siwei said, "I have already found out what He Jin did that night, and I also know the reason why she was so cryptic. I think she will tell me the truth."
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