At the back end of Tianhong Street, Su Tianyu was waiting when his phone buzzed. He picked it up immediately.
"Hello?"
"They chopped off one of Zhang Hao's fingers and tossed it into our yard. I'm telling you, Yu Mingyuan has probably come to an agreement with the other side and is forcing us to withdraw from the partnership." Su Zhengcai gritted his teeth and said. "Think carefully before you enter Tianhong."
"Chopped off his finger?" Su Tianyu was clearly stunned.
"Yes, damn it..."
"I got it, you don't need to worry, Uncle." Su Tianyu's face darkened as he hung up the phone. He turned to Kong Zhenghui, Bai Hongbo, and the others. "They chopped off one of Zhang Hao's fingers."
Upon hearing this, the faces of everyone in the car turned grim, but they didn't speak.
"The matter is out in the open now," Su Tianyu said directly. "If you can't even hold a knife steady, don't even think about negotiating with Yu Mingyuan. Even if you end up working for Lu Feng, they won't use you. Cooperation only works if you have value. Whether or not we continue doing business on the sea in the future, we can't back down in this matter! I'll get the people and the goods back myself, even if we end up being kicked out. But we have to make Yu Mingyuan come to us and negotiate face-to-face, standing while taking our money and leaving!"
Kong Zhenghui thought for a moment. "What Little Yu says is right. Without the sea business, there's also the sanitation business. If we're nothing, we're nothing in any circle."
Bai Hongbo, sweating heavily, spoke up. "Are we really going to do this?"
"You either stick with the three families or you decide on your own," Su Tianyu replied.
Bai Hongbo thought for a solid ten seconds before clenching his teeth and putting on the motorcycle helmet he had just bought that day. "Since we're already here, let's do it!"
Kong Zhenghui looked up at Su Tianyu. "I'll do it too."
"Make the call." Su Tianyu nodded.
Kong Zhenghui took out his phone and dialed his contact. "Hello?"
"Feng Hai's gone out, not at home. Guo Lin was at Xinxin Foot Bath." The voice on the other end responded quietly. "He only has three or four guys with him, but the area is full of dealings from the Ma gang."
"Got it."
After hanging up, Kong Zhenghui turned to Su Tianyu. "Ready to go?"
"Let's go!" Su Tianyu didn't hesitate and nodded firmly.
"Do it. Do it so they know we're serious. How well we perform will determine the success of this year's funeral business," Bai Hongbo muttered, his voice gritting with determination.
"Bang!"
Two vans revved up and drove towards Xinxin Foot Bath.
Meanwhile, Wang Daolin, with eight officers, got into two cars and left the police station.
Tianhong Street in the southern district was a bustling, albeit decrepit, area that ran through the entire Tianhong Harbor. With a length of nearly 7–8 kilometers, it was full of people, but also full of problems. It was home to a rough crowd, the bottom-tier dockworkers who lived off the harbor, and the area was rife with small gambling dens, brothels, and half-hidden drug dealings. Most of these businesses were under the control of the Ma gang.
The police personnel in Tianhong Harbor were also almost all affiliated with the Ma gang, making it a small society where both the underworld and the law were intertwined. It was very insular—anyone trying to run a small business there without connections would be nearly impossible.
The two vans sped down the street, and the twelve people inside could feel their hearts pounding. They looked at the various shops along the road, and at the muscular men sitting in front of them, and though they tried to stay calm, it was hard to deny that they felt nervous. After all, this was the absolute stronghold of the Ma gang. Who knew how many people would suddenly appear to help if anything went wrong?
Bai Hongbo, breathing heavily under his helmet, muttered, "I've realized Little Yu is a real curse. What kind of life did I live before he came? Drinking by day, sleeping with girls by night! But now, since he showed up, I have to sleep with a knife in my hands every night. How am I supposed to live like this?! I'm telling you now, if things go sideways, I'll bail. I'm out."
"Shut up!" Su Tianbei yelled. "Get some dignity, will you?"
"I can tell you definitely have a tiger..." Bai Hongbo shot back.
As Bai Hongbo and Su Tianbei bickered, the van suddenly slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road.
"We're here. This is the Xinxin Foot Bath," Kong Zhenghui pointed out at a two-story building on the side of the road. "What do we do, go straight in?"
"There are girls inside, and a manager. We can't just go in and grab people without making a sound," Su Tianyu thought for a moment and replied. "Let's do it cleanly and quietly, just grab them and go. A little rough, but quick."
"What if they're not here on Tianhong Street, and we get stopped on the way?" Bai Hongbo asked anxiously.
"With them in our hands, why should we be afraid?" Su Tianbei responded firmly.
"Let's do it!"
Su Tianyu opened the van door and stepped out, the others exchanging glances before following his lead.
Five seconds later, they entered the lobby. Su Tianyu saw three men sitting on the sofa, chatting with two girls. He quickly tested the waters and called, "Brother Guo Lin!"
Upon hearing his name, a middle-aged man sitting deeper on the sofa instinctively lifted his head. "Who are you?"
Seeing that the man responded, Su Tianyu quickly approached.
Luckily, their timing was just right—Guo Lin wasn't upstairs but was sitting in the lobby.
"What do you want?" Guo Lin stood up, noticing that the group was heading towards him.
"Bang!"
Su Tianbei kicked Guo Lin, sending him crashing to the floor, while the others drew their knives and forks.
"Don't move!"
"I said don't move!!"
Bai Hongbo, Kong Zhenghui, and the others pinned down the other two men.
Su Tianyu stepped forward, wearing gloves, holding a military knife in one hand, and grabbing Guo Lin by the collar, pressing the blade to his stomach. "We need to talk, don't move, or I'll stab you."
"You bastards...!" Guo Lin wasn't an idiot, and he wasn't going to let them take him without a fight. He struggled and tried to push Su Tianyu off.
"Thrust!"
Su Tianyu acted swiftly and darkly, stabbing Guo Lin in the lower abdomen with the military knife, though he didn't go too deep to avoid killing him instantly.
Guo Lin screamed and cursed, but by then, Su Tianbei and the others were already dragging him out.
"Don't make a move, or I'll shoot." Bai Hongbo, holding his knife with one hand and his gun with the other, acted like he was ready to pull it out at any moment.
The staff members upstairs, hearing the commotion, came running down. When they saw Bai Hongbo in his helmet and the group looking professional, they hesitated to make any moves.
The group was quick to get in, and quicker to get out, taking Guo Lin and his two companions straight to the van and leaving in a hurry.
Outside the Su family compound, the sound of firecrackers rang out, and Su Zhengcai and Su Tianbei rushed over to the scene, finding a crumpled white cloth on the ground.
Unfolding it, they found a severed finger with a note attached.
"Don't withdraw from the partnership, or next time we'll cut off your leg!"
"Motherfucker!!" Su Zhengcai's eyes turned red with rage. "Yu Mingyuan really can't hold his ground, huh? I'm done with him. I'll handle this myself!"