Rong Zhaonan wore a mask, closed his eyes, held a gun, and rested his index finger on the trigger, looking like an old monk in deep meditation.
All the noise outside the car window seemed irrelevant to him.
The chaos at the typhoon shelter continued, with many diners fleeing the area.
The shouts and curses of vendors hastily packing up their stalls, the wails of the injured, and the clamor of thugs mingled together.
It was like a pot of boiling oil, ready to explode at any moment, creating utter chaos.
But the chaos at the typhoon shelter did not dampen anyone's spirits.
Some stall owners and diners simply moved slightly to avoid the center of the fight before continuing their business or eating and drinking.
As if they were used to this scene, some people even lit a cigarette and slowly smoked it while watching the spectacle.
After all, this territory was divided up by three forces: the 14K, the Hongmen Society, and the Triads.
Such fierce battles happen from time to time, so it's nothing unusual.
Those thugs were "well-behaved" and wouldn't actually harm innocent people.
Moreover, the stalls in the typhoon shelter had long paid protection money to the local gangs.
Those who didn't leave are waiting for the "bosses" to come and quell this farce.
For these people struggling to make a living at the bottom of society, filling their stomachs is the most important thing. As for the diners who stay, it's because they bought food and don't want to leave.
The 14K officers fiercely searched every boat, overturning fishing nets and kicking over buckets, cursing under their breath, but they did not actually harm any ordinary people.
Cha Shenlou, who was hiding in one of the cabins, heard the commotion outside and immediately gripped a gun tightly in his hand.
"How's it going? What's happening outside?" he asked in a low voice to a burly man with a dragon tattoo on his left arm beside him. His eyes betrayed his undisguised tension and unease.
The man shook his head, indicating that he didn't know the situation either.
At that moment, a thin figure slipped into the cabin; it was the henchman responsible for setting up stalls and keeping watch on the shore.
He was still carrying a bunch of equipment he used for setting up his stall, and he even had a handful of loose change in his hand, probably the last payment from when he packed up.
The thin man looked impatient.
"The 14K and the Hung Hing Society have clashed. I heard that the Hung Hing Society killed one of their leaders, and now the 14K is searching everywhere for people!"
Cha Shenlou's already gloomy face became even more unpleasant. He suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the cramped cabin.
"Damn it, why did this have to happen at this time? What a coincidence!" Cha Shenlou cursed through gritted teeth.
He was already suspicious, and at that moment he immediately turned to look at the tattooed man beside him—
"Ah Jie, go out right now and see what the 14K is up to! Also, go ask that old woman who just came by, is it really just a simple disturbance?!"
The man called A-Jie stood up impatiently, muttering something under his breath—
“This typhoon shelter gets into trouble every two days. What are you panicking about? You can’t just see Aunt Shu whenever you want. If you’re scared, you should hide under the boat instead of scaring yourself here.”
Cha Shenlou glared at him fiercely, but didn't say anything more.
The "bottom of the boat" that A-Jie mentioned refers to a special structure on this fishing boat—the lower deck.
This secret room is located at the deepest part of the ship's hull. It is a small space that can only accommodate two or three people, and it is extremely well hidden.
If you weren't familiar with the ship, you wouldn't even notice its existence.
Cha Shenlou felt extremely aggrieved as he was being looked at with mocking eyes by several men who were ostensibly protecting him but were actually monitoring him.
But he was still very cautious and asked the captain to open the secret compartment in the hold for him, where he hid.
"That old guy is cunning." One of the men spat disdainfully as he watched Cha Shenlou's dejected figure.
Shortly after Cha Shenlou hid in the secret room, the 14K members indeed found the ship.
"Whose boat is this? Have you seen a man covered in blood?" The leader was a burly man with a face full of scars, and his triangular eyes fiercely scanned the people on the boat.
"Brother Chicken, what brings you here in person?" Ah Jie recognized the man immediately; it was Chicken, the 14K's junior leader in charge of the Typhoon Shelter.
He forced a fawning smile and bowed as he approached the other person to offer him a cigarette.
Chicken took the cigarette, gave him a cold glance, and repeated his question: "Have you ever seen a man covered in blood?"
"No, no," Ah Jie said with a forced smile, waving his hands repeatedly.
He pointed to a mess of pots and pans and some uneaten food in the cabin.
"We can't go fishing these days, we're all doing business here, how could we dare cause trouble? Right, brothers?"
The crew members behind him nodded in agreement: "Yes! Yes!"
The pheasant glanced at the items, frowned, and said coldly, "We'll find out by searching!"
Ah Jie's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly realized that Chicken and his men would most likely not find anyone on the boat.
But for tonight's operation, each of them was carrying a gun!
What if they accidentally get discovered by the pheasant and his people...
His eyes darted around, and he quickly lowered his voice, saying, "Brother Chicken, how could we dare to hide the murderer? There are indeed some things hidden on this boat, but they're just some side hustles—a few kilograms of marijuana. You know, we boatmen, if we don't make some shady stuff, how can we support our families?"
As he spoke, he pulled a wad of banknotes from his pocket, stuffed it into the pheasant's hand, and said ingratiatingly—
"Brother Chicken, I know that according to the rules, we are not qualified to do these kinds of businesses, but please be kind and let us off the hook. Here's a small token of our appreciation, please take it with you for tea."
The pheasant weighed the thick wad of banknotes in his hand and calmly put the money away.
He glanced at Ah Jie, then at the men around him, exhaled a smoke ring, and spoke in a chilling tone—
"You bunch of bastards, listen up! If you see anyone suspicious, report it to us immediately. If you dare to cover it up... you can forget about working here!"
"Of course, of course, Brother Chicken, don't worry, we will cooperate fully!" Ah Jie nodded and bowed, his face full of fawning smiles.
Pheasant then withdrew his gaze with satisfaction, waved his hand, and left with his men.
Watching the 14K members walk away, Ah Jie finally breathed a sigh of relief and muttered a curse in the direction Chicken had left.
"Damn it, two thousand yuan is gone just like that, it's infuriating!"
He spat, threw the cigarette butt in his hand on the ground, and crushed it with his toe.
At this moment, one of the underlings asked Ah Jie, "Brother Jie, should we call Cha Shenlou out?"
Ah Jie waved his hand impatiently, "What are you yelling for? Let that loser stay in there! He's annoying to look at!"
The thought of Cha Shenlou's cowardly and blustering demeanor, and the money he had lost, filled him with rage.
The burly man shrank back and dared not utter another sound.
Ah Jie, grumbling, grabbed a bottle of beer and walked to the ship's side. Looking at the port, which was almost deserted, he scratched his head in frustration.
What a mess!
Before Ah Jie could catch his breath, another urgent horn sounded from the distant dock.
"Waaah—waaah—"
A piercing sound tore through the night sky, and several dazzling lights rapidly approached, stopping at the shore.
"The cops! What's with the cops?"
Ah Jie's expression changed drastically, and he cursed under his breath.
Ah Jie lowered his voice and ordered menacingly, "You all better be smart! Hide your stuff, and nobody's allowed to make a sound!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of uniformed police officers quickly walked onto the dock and began checking passing ships and people.
Ah Jie stared warily at the police.
But soon, he saw the once arrogant pheasant leading a group of henchmen, like startled stray dogs, skillfully escaping down the side path.
"Which bastard called the police? If I find out, I'll make sure his whole family is rich and powerful!" Chicken cursed angrily as he ran.
A group of arrogant 14K gang members were also chased around by the police, inevitably leading to a chase.
Ah-Jie felt a sense of relief as he watched the 14K members being chased away by the police.
It seems a customer called the police, and the officers have arrived to maintain order.
This is a common scene in the typhoon shelter, but today's situation is special, so he still needs to be more cautious.
But he didn't notice that after the police arrived...
The dock, which was already half full, slowly emptied out. Diners who were reluctant to leave, tourists who were watching the excitement, and vendors were all driven away or sent back to the boat by the police under the pretext of maintaining order.
Only a few large restaurants, such as Zhenbaofang, remained in the distance, and they too quietly closed their doors.
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