This morning, Ryuzaki Makoto was sound asleep, holding the soft and sweet Asuka in his arms, when he was woken up by a series of urgent phone rings.
When he heard the news that Goro Ishida was seriously injured and hospitalized, his sleepiness vanished instantly, and he sat up abruptly in bed.
He hurriedly put on his clothes, not even having time to explain much to Asuka, and rushed to the hospital.
Outside the intensive care unit, he met Kirisawa Jin and Kazama Kaoru, who both looked equally somber and exhausted.
The two men briefly recounted the ambush they had suffered the previous night, and then, filled with rage, went off separately to gather intelligence.
After all, Ishida Goro was a brother who had survived alongside them through mountains of corpses and seas of blood; this grudge must be avenged!
Ryuzaki Makoto stood alone in the quiet hospital corridor, took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
At this moment, the corridor leading to the intensive care unit was densely packed with members of the True Dragon Society who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
The vast majority of the members of the True Dragon Society were combat personnel trained by Goro Ishida.
To them, Goro Ishida was not only the leader of the organization, but also their instructor and an older brother who trained and sweated with them every day.
Now that Goro Ishida is in trouble, they all spontaneously rushed over and are staying here.
Ryuzaki Shinya understood their feelings and did not try to stop them.
He took puffs of his cigarette, white smoke swirling around his face, obscuring his expression.
He squinted.
Kowloon Group, that's interesting.
Three professional assassins were able to injure three of his own generals.
Fortunately, I purchased a batch of weapons from that Li a while ago and equipped them to Kirisawa Jin and his men.
Otherwise, they might have actually succeeded in stealing our chicken last night.
Ultimately, it all boils down to one sentence.
Intelligence work is not as simple as it seems.
If you don't have your own people in the other party's upper management, it's very difficult to accurately track their every move.
Now, the True Dragon Society's empire is growing larger and larger, making it impossible to attend to every aspect of the lives of every core member.
Ryuzaki Makoto took a deep breath, calming his anger slightly.
Especially in situations like these, one must not reveal any weaknesses.
The fact that the other party could resort to such underhanded methods as "assassination" without regard for the consequences precisely indicates that the Kowloon Group is in a panic.
If you get carried away at this moment and do something irrational, you'll be more likely to give the other party an opening to exploit your weaknesses.
After all, this is supposed to be a "society governed by the rule of law".
However, it's impossible to prevent the other party from bleeding heavily!
Don't you like showing your fangs?
Then I'll pull out all of your teeth, one by one, from this dying old dragon!
If the other side is able to use large-caliber sniper rifles and send out such professional-level assassins, then it means that the one who took action must be the assassination unit of the Kowloon Group—Yuan Hui.
Everyone in the Source Society is doomed!
But before that, we must find a way to upgrade the weapons and equipment of our men.
Judging from last night's events, the enemy's weaponry was indeed superior to ours.
In modern warfare, it's not simply a matter of who has more people to win.
Even if he possesses a near-superpower skill like "zero-distance combat," whether he can dodge the terrifying rate of fire of a sniper rifle 100% is still an unknown.
It seems I'll have to contact that guy surnamed Li again.
And this time, we're going to eat our fill!
Let's see if we can come up with a way to lure out his father, who's in the arms business, and double-cross him!
Just as Ryuzaki was pondering his next move, a series of chaotic footsteps echoed from the stairwell.
Immediately afterwards, three police officers in blue uniforms appeared in the hallway.
As soon as the three policemen appeared, the True Dragon Society members who had been quietly guarding the corridor all turned their cold gazes toward them.
The three policemen were so frightened by the hundreds of hostile gazes that they took a step back.
However, remembering their mission, they mustered their courage and shouted loudly to the crowd.
"Ryuzaki Makoto, are you here?! We're from the East City Police Department! We suspect he's involved in a heinous murder! We need him to come with us to the station for questioning!"
Ryuzaki Makoto, sitting on a bench at the back of the crowd, remained motionless upon hearing this, as if he hadn't heard it at all.
However, his True Dragon Society underlings couldn't take it anymore.
Damn it!
Brother Ishida was just assassinated and is still lying inside, his fate unknown!
You bunch of cops, now you actually want to arrest our guild leader?!
"Whoosh—!"
In the corridor, a dark mass of True Dragon Society members, like a tide, slowly approached the three policemen.
The three policemen were so frightened that they swallowed hard and involuntarily took a step back.
They shouted, trying to remain calm.
"What do you want?! We're police officers! If you dare to do anything reckless..."
The few True Dragon Society members blocking the front looked at them with disdainful sneers.
"What's wrong with the police? Can the police just arrest people arbitrarily?"
"Get out of here right now!"
The three policemen, unable to withstand the immense psychological pressure, drew their pistols from their waists and aimed them at the True Dragon Society members in front of them.
"I'm warning you! Don't come any closer! Otherwise, we will arrest you all for assaulting a police officer!"
However, the True Dragon Society members who were leading the group showed no fear whatsoever.
They took a few more steps forward and pressed their chests directly against the dark muzzle of the gun.
"Go ahead and shoot if you dare! Come on! Shoot here!"
Just as the three policemen were caught in a dilemma, their palms sweating.
"Da da da da..."
Another burst of hurried footsteps echoed in the stairwell.
A short while later, a slightly overweight middle-aged man with slicked-back hair led dozens of equally armed police officers and rushed up.
The three policemen breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the person who came was their superior, Matsui Hiroshi, the chief of the East City Police Station.
They quickly addressed the newcomer.
"Chief! Look..."
Matsui Hiroshi ignored his three men who were practically terrified.
His gaze pierced through the dense crowd and looked directly at Ryuzaki Makoto, who was still sitting calmly on the bench behind him.
He laughed heartily and said loudly.
"Hahaha! President Ryuzaki, you've made quite a fuss! It's just a routine inquiry, no need to make such a scene, is there?"
Ryuzaki glanced at the other person out of the corner of his eye.
He recognized the fat man as Matsui Hiroshi, the chief of the East City Police Station.
This person was mentioned before when we were investigating information about the eastern part of the city.
He and the Kowloon Group have long been a community of shared interests, sharing the same interests.
The deaths of Takano and Hirai would have been absolutely impossible without the fat man's cooperation.
Kowloon Group, oh Kowloon Group, you've finally figured it out and know to use official power to deal with me.
However, in Ryuzaki Makoto's view, this was precisely a sign that the opponent had run out of tricks and was beginning to weaken.
Ryuzaki Makoto slowly stood up from the bench.
As soon as he stood up, the True Dragon Society members who had been protecting him immediately parted to the sides, making way for him.
With his hands in his trouser pockets, Ryuzaki Makoto walked out of the crowd with unhurried steps, heading towards Matsui Hiroshi.
Kowloon Group, is this your last desperate struggle?
Since you want to play, then I'll play along with you properly.
I hope you can handle the challenge.
Don't let me...
It wasn't satisfying at all.