408: Empty promise

Empty promise

Somewhere in New York, Jiang Zhen was staring at the picture in his hand while sipping his wine. His phone lit up with an incoming call, and he picked it.2

"Got the picture?"

Jiang Zhen smiled. "Yes. Got Yang Mingshen?"

The man on the other side clicked his tongue in disdain and annoyance.

"Seems that is a no."

"Only because that woman pushed him aside. Or Yang Mingshen would have been dead. That moron was useless. Couldn't even stab him with a cutter when his attention was diverted."

Jiang Zhen chuckled. "Yang Mingshen is the devil's incarnate. He wouldn't die so easily. The Yang's are just as untouchable as the Jiang's. Not for long though…"

"Heh. I saw the news. Jiang Wei was being carried in a stretcher. Your boys did a good job. Beaten him to a pulp."

He just smiled and stared at the picture the other man clicked of Lihua and Mingshen standing outside the hospital.

"What's your plan?"

"There is no hurry. The Jiang family is mourning their Mafia King's condition. Let them mourn a little longer. It isn't nice to intrude at such a sensitive time."

"Hahaha. When did Jiang Zhen become so sympathetic?"

"I am just waiting for the right moment. I want to destroy their Underworld from within. Completely. Utterly. And then…" he stared at Lihua in the picture, "build my own Underworld from scratch. Just how it was supposed to be."

"And if I cooperate with you, I will get my hands on Yang Mingshen too. You are right. That bastard is a devil's incarnate. He almost had my neck two years ago when I plotted to kill him."

Jiang Zhen heard him take angry breaths. But then he calmed down. "I had to run away from his clutches. But this time, Yang Mingshen will. That fucking bastard has some serious luck. Even two years ago, some shitty woman saved him. She died instead of him. And even today, some other woman pushed him away from the cutter. What the hell of luck is he born with?"

Jiang Zhen smiled. "Luck doesn't stay for too long. His will run out soon enough. Just like Jiang Wei's has."

---

Beijing Police Headquarters.

"It wasn't just a brawl, am I right?" Mo Huojin faced the goons in the interrogation room, who had supposedly beaten up Wei and put him into a hospital.

The tall, bald man with a scar running through his left eye said, "Whatcha mean? That bastard picked up a fight."

"By doing what? Just breathing? He didn't initiate any contact with you. YOU came to him. So he was your specific target. I want to know who told you to do that?"

"Nobody! That bastard was too arrogant coz he had a pretty face," he sneered. "So, I ruined it to teach him a lesson."

Mo Huojin smiled. "There is one interesting piece of information I came across when I dug back into your recent activities."

The tall, bald man furrowed his brows.

"There was a rehabilitation program going on last week, and I came to know that you spoke with the teacher-in-charge of the training."

"Ya so? Is that a crime now?"

"No. Unless the teacher quietly slipped a photo in your pocket and told you to be 'good' to any new 'friend' that may join in prison."

He slightly stiffened.

"That photo was of Jiang Wei, and his words were a cryptic message for you to take care of him. In other words, brutally wound him."

"Are ya fucking crazy? Don't charge bullshit accusations on me! I don't have any pictures. You can check my cell, my clothes or whatever. I am clean."

"I know. You have already torn it apart and flushed it in the toilet. You are not dumb to leave proof. So is the teacher-in-charge, who turned out to be a fake. He is untraceable. We found the real trainer-in-charge tied up in a warehouse. Passed out. Unfortunately, he didn't see his attacker."

The tall goon just shrugged. "Not my problem."

"Indeed. The fake man grabbed his ID and documents and even made a mask of the real trainer's face to impersonate him. He went to great lengths to kill Jiang Wei. Which you did quite beautifully."

"I didn't do anything!" He flared his nostrils in anger.

"What did he offer you in return? Freedom from prison?"

He sneered. "You are trying to make me guilty."

"You think they are really gonna let you get free from here? You did beat up Jiang Wei, but you really think you can walk out from here?"

"I am innocent. Go to hell. Say whatever you want."

"You are just their pawn. They already discarded you the moment you did your job. The exchange was never two-sided. Nobody is coming to get you out of here."

He snorted.

"Think about it. Why would they? It's not like you are a threat. Even if they don't come for you, what will you do? Threaten to confess and expose them? But how? You don't even know the real face of the man who gave you Jiang Wei's picture. What information do you have to pose a risk to them?"

He frowned.

"The faker knew that you would tear the picture and flush it in the toilet. Maybe he even suggested that to you to prevent 'you' from getting into trouble. But he was actually saving his ass. That way, he secured any risk from the cops having that photo and possibly getting a fingerprint on it. The trainer wasn't wearing gloves. We could have run his print and identified him. But now that evidence is also gone. So really. What do you have on him?"

That made him finally stiffen.

"See?" Mo Huojin smiled. "Now that you really think back, you got nothing on him. He tamed you with the promise of setting you free. You for too excited to ask for anything else. Which you should have like - Did he give any timeline? When will he come to free you? Today? Tomorrow? The day after?"

He stiffened more.

"Tsk. Just empty words. You don't even know how long you are supposed to wait for your freedom. It's pointless."

The goon finally began to sweat. "You are all bullshit!"

Mo Huojin sighed and got up. "Anyway. I am leaving. You are of no use. Good luck waiting for your non-existent help."

He paled and became extremely fidgety.

As Mo Huojin stepped away, the goon suddenly exclaimed after racking his brains for any hint. "I-I remember now! That faker! When he turned, I saw a scratch mark on the back of his neck!"

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