kvmb 163. Crossed the line.
163. Crossed the line.
The person who killed Ma Weilong, the leader of the Viper Gang, was none other than Zhou Hongyi.
He came to the Viper Gang leader's residence for no other reason than that his latest system check-in point was set there. The leader can only blame his bad luck.
After checking in at the latest location, Zhou Hongyi gained a new skill – [Master of Disguise].
This disguise is completely different from his previous fake beards and glasses. The [Master of Disguise] skill allows him to alter his facial structure using anything available, even changing his face shape, bone structure, and height through manipulation. Of course, this effect cannot be maintained for too long.
Zhou Hongyi had just awakened this skill and immediately used it to increase his height, but he made a small mistake when attacking the face. Unable to do anything else, he had to wrap himself in a scarf. However, this did not stop him from killing.
The reason he spared the woman in the cheongsam was to indirectly warn Saotome, Kondo, and all the high-ranking officials and pro-Japanese traitors of the Wang Jingwei regime: don't be too happy yet. In the night of Shanghai, a ghost still lingers, and their lives could be taken at any moment.
Yes, even if we can't kill them all right away, we should keep them living in fear. Isn't that what the Japanese often did to the people of Xia?
Zhou Hongyi returned to the safe house and spent some time fiddling with his face, finally managing to restore it to its original appearance. The pain from the dislocated bones and tendons made him grimace and sweat profusely.
"This skill has no cooldown, but it's fucking painful to use."
Zhou Hongyi changed his clothes in the safe house and went straight to the police station. The Lunar New Year holiday was over, and everyone had returned to normal work. As the director of the Jing'an Second Branch, he had to live up to his uniform and his position.
Therefore, Zhou Hongyi set a KPI for the police officers of the Second Branch: to combat crime and maintain public order in Shanghai.
All suspected rebel elements and strongholds will be subject to crackdown. Many shops on the streets are also involved in tax evasion. Although taxation isn't their responsibility, Zhou Hongyi's former superior, Feng Jinxiong, who was in charge of finance, simply informed the tax authorities and delegated tax collection to the Jing'an Second Branch Bureau.
"Brothers~~~Are you all ready?"
As soon as Zhou Hongyi entered, the police officers from the Second Precinct were already dressed and holding batons, shouting in unison with a menacing air, "Ready!"
"Very good, then let's go out and maintain order on the streets and collect taxes, let's go!"
With a wave of his hand, Zhou Hongyi led a team of about 100 people from the Jing'an Second Branch Bureau, leaving only a few on duty.
Led by Zhou Hongyi, A Gui, and Chen Gong, who had returned from a mission, they split into three groups, determined to improve public order in the jurisdiction of the Jing'an Second Branch and collect all overdue taxes.
Under the guise of maintaining public order and cracking down on rebel elements, Zhou Hongyi ransacked the casinos, opium dens, and brothels of the Poisonous Snake Gang and the Green Gang. Anyone who resisted was immediately beaten with a police baton. Moreover, the shops he focused on collecting taxes from were all Japanese-owned businesses, such as Japanese restaurants, kimono shops, and the pubs he frequented.
"You idiot! Why should a sushi restaurant owned by the Empire pay taxes to you?"
During the investigation, we encountered quite a few rude business owners who, relying on their status as ordinary citizens, spoke rudely and resisted paying taxes.
Zhou Hongyi certainly wouldn't tolerate them. He had already given instructions beforehand: any troublemakers would be beaten up first, then thrown into the bureau's jail for a proper lesson, so that they would avoid him in the future.
"Damn it, I don't care where you're from! If you open a shop in Shanghai, you have to pay taxes! Brothers, get the ball!"
The owners of these Japanese-owned shops would immediately give anyone who acted arrogantly a good beating. They would beat you half to death, then drag you into a dungeon and leave you there, unable to call for help.
The Viper Gang and the Green Gang received news one after another that their establishments had been raided, which quickly made the leaders of the two gangs restless. They met to discuss how to handle the situation.
Qiao Si was a big shot within the Green Gang, so he was naturally present at this meeting.
The meeting was chaired by Huang Tiangang, the second-in-command of the Green Gang. Although he was over sixty years old and had a full head of white hair, he was ruddy-faced and spoke with a strong voice, which was even a bit noisy.
"Has the director of the Jing'an Second Branch gone mad? He's biting like a mad dog! When has our Green Gang ever offended him? In the past two days, under the guise of investigating rebels and collecting taxes, he's smashed up two of our opium dens and three gambling dens, and even arrested all the girls in our area. We need to teach him a lesson. Does he really think our Green Gang is made of paper?"
This second-in-command of the Green Gang was hot-tempered and acted swiftly, always ready to confront anyone head-on.
But Qiao Si hurriedly advised from the side, "Second Master Huang, calm down. I know Zhou Hongyi of the Jing'an Second Branch quite well, and he must have his reasons for doing this. Moreover, he is on good terms with many high-ranking officials in Shanghai, and even many low-ranking military officers are regulars at his New Paramount, where they indulge in debauchery and call each other brothers. If we confront him head-on, it will be a loss. How about this, I'll arrange to meet him, we'll set up a table with food and drinks, and have a good talk to see if there's any misunderstanding?"
The current leader of the Viper Gang said sarcastically, "Misunderstanding? Master Qiao, you're talking about misunderstandings now? Our leader was murdered just two days ago. The moment the old man passed away, our territory was raided repeatedly. Not only that, but a lot of our goods were seized. Zhou Hongyi from the Jing'an Second Branch has overstepped his bounds! Our warehouse is clearly not in their jurisdiction, it belongs to the First Branch, but that damn First Branch chief didn't dare utter a sound. Damn it, we give him a huge sum of money every month, and they're all useless!"
Qiao Si's forehead was sweating. He thought for a moment and said, "We've all heard about the murder of Chief Ma, but in the end, it wasn't Zhou Hongyi who did it. I heard from a friend that it was an underground assassin from the Red Party. There's something written on the wall of Chief Ma's house that says, 'The killer is the Four-Faced Buddha, acting on behalf of Heaven.'"
The current leader of the Viper Gang is named Xie Xiaoyuan. She used to be an actress, but ended up being kept by Ma Weilong. Somehow, she became a pillar of the gang, especially after Ma Weilong's death. She defied public opinion and became the new leader. This man, despite being a grown man, is always covered in makeup, making his face look like it's coated in two pounds of flour. Now, Qiao Si doesn't even want to look at him when he speaks.
"Master Qiao, I didn't say he killed him, but while our Viper Gang leader was being buried, he raided several of our warehouses, claiming there was something wrong with our goods, and confiscated them all! What's wrong with our goods? They were all reported to the Japanese. I think it would be better to join forces with both of our forces and wipe him out! He's all sworn brothers with those lowly officers, and so are we!"