When Lee Jae-sung, who was sitting in the back seat, heard Ryuzaki Mana's strangely emphasized way of addressing him, his heart, which had just been at ease, involuntarily tightened again.
He tilted his head, eyeing the figure in the driver's seat with only half a head visible, and asked hesitantly:
"Ryuzaki-kun, this friend... looks unfamiliar, doesn't he?"
Through the rearview mirror, Ryuzaki Makoto caught a fleeting hint of suspicion in Lee Jae-sung's eyes.
His smile deepened, and he even reached out to straighten Akutsu's collar, which wasn't particularly disheveled.
"Hey, Chief Li, don't panic. As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. In this chaotic place of Huya Liu, how could I have survived this long without a few friends? This is my best friend from Huya Liu for many years, a true 'invisible man,' the biggest underground black market dealer in the entire city. Believe me, the place he takes you to is so safe that not even a fly can get in. It's definitely the safest place in the world."
As soon as Ryuzaki Makoto finished speaking, Akutsu in the driver's seat stepped on the gas, and the specially modified high-powered engine let out a deep roar.
Instead of heading towards the bustling city center, the black MPV turned around and sped straight towards the desolate, sparsely populated outskirts of Toaru.
The car drove for a while longer in the darkness, and Akutsu gave a subtle nod to Ryuzaki Makoto in the passenger seat.
Ryuzaki truly understood.
He and Akutsu simultaneously pulled out two exquisitely designed miniature gas masks from a hidden compartment under their seats.
Because the car's overhead light wasn't on and the night outside was as thick as ink, the Li father and son in the back, who had just experienced a rollercoaster of emotions and were still secretly rejoicing at their narrow escape, didn't notice the strange little actions of the two people in front.
"Sizzle—"
Akutsu gently pressed an inconspicuous black button on the control panel.
The air conditioning vents inside the car began to emit a very faint hissing sound. Then, a colorless and odorless gas, which appeared slightly whitish in the darkness, began to silently spread throughout the enclosed car cabin with the cool air from the air conditioner.
That's fluoroalkyl.
An inhaled general anesthetic that was once widely used in clinical medicine.
However, the one Akutsu used was clearly an enhanced version that had been purified and improved in an underground laboratory.
It can rapidly enter the human bloodstream through the respiratory tract within just 30 seconds, and deeply suppress the central nervous system in a very short time, causing any unprotected adult male to fall into a deep coma without even realizing how he lost consciousness.
Lee Jae-sung and Lee Gang, who were in the back row, had just gone through a life-or-death race and were extremely exhausted both physically and mentally. All they wanted to do was relax in the leather seats for a while and put their hearts back down.
However, before long, a feeling of drowsiness washed over me like a tide.
Lee Jae-sung's head began to nod uncontrollably, his eyelids feeling as heavy as if they were weighed down by two thousand-pound weights, and he couldn't lift them no matter what he did.
He shook his head vigorously, trying to stay awake, and subconsciously reached out to pat his son Li, who hadn't said a word.
"Li...don't sleep..."
This tap was nothing to worry about; the surface felt soft and yielding.
He was horrified to discover that Li had already passed out, his head lolling to the side, like a lump of mud, with saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Lee Jae-sung, after all, had been living a life of constant danger for so many years. If he still couldn't react to this, then he would truly be a fool.
This is definitely not normal drowsiness; I've been infected!
In a flash, he suddenly understood everything that had happened that night, and the illogical details came together like beads on a string.
With his last breath, he pointed a trembling finger at Ryuzaki Makoto ahead and cried out in a hoarse voice with all his might:
"Ryuzaki Makoto... Ryuzaki Makoto! You... you... bastard... you cheated!!"
In his final moments, as his consciousness was completely swallowed by darkness, he seemed to hear Mana Ryuzaki's voice, tinged with regret.
"Chief Li, get some rest. When you wake up, you'll find that all your troubles are gone, because... there will be a brand new 'world' that belongs only to you."
Lee Jae-sung stared wide-eyed, his lips moving weakly as if he wanted to utter a vicious curse.
"asshole..."
However, he ultimately couldn't utter those two words completely.
His head lolled to the side, and he collapsed heavily onto his son, falling into a deep coma.
The vehicle drove for another ten minutes or so on the winding mountain road before finally coming to a stop in front of an abandoned slaughterhouse deep in the mountains.
This place has been abandoned for many years. The gate is rusty and overgrown with weeds. There is no one for miles around. It is an ideal place to kill, rob, and destroy evidence.
Several of Akutsu's men, who had been waiting there, were dressed in professional protective suits and looked like seasoned veterans who were used to doing dirty work.
Akutsu turned off the engine, opened the car door, took off his mask, and stepped out of the driver's seat with an indifferent expression.
He casually waved to the few men who surrounded him:
"Drag those two sleeping 'pigs' in the back row to the underground freezer. They're specially prepared for our VIPs. Tie them up securely with special steel cables and chains, wrap them up several times. It doesn't matter if you remove their hands and feet. When they wake up, give them a good welcome. I hope to hear something different."
Without uttering a word, the men silently nodded, deftly opened the back door, hoisted the unconscious Li father and son onto their shoulders, and disappeared into the dark gate of the slaughterhouse.
At this moment, the Li father and son, who were bound hand and foot, had no idea about the so-called "earth-shattering naval battle" they had just experienced at sea.
From beginning to end, every explosion and every gunshot was a carefully crafted show by the two top-notch "directors," Ryuzaki Makoto and Akutsu.
Everything, whether it's a feint or a clever escape, is for one purpose only—
These two cunning fish were tricked off that impenetrable cruise ship and lured into this deadly trap without bloodshed.
In fact, Ryuzaki had considered a simpler, more direct approach: using the True Dragon Society's force to forcibly take down the two men.
With the True Dragon Society's current strength, dealing with two outsiders on Hu Yaliu's territory wouldn't be difficult.
However, after careful consideration, he ultimately rejected this plan and decided to adopt this troublesome but foolproof method.
After all, the other party is not a pushover who can be completely manipulated.
As a seasoned cunning man who has been in the underworld for decades, how could Lee Jae-sung not have a few trump cards up his sleeve for such a large-scale arms deal?
The dozens of fierce, armed bodyguards around him, and even the remote-controlled bombs that might have been planted on the cruise ship, are all uncertain risk factors.
If a direct confrontation were to break out, causing unnecessary casualties among the True Dragon Society brothers for the sake of two fish that are destined to die would not be in the best interests of Ryuzaki Makoto as the leader.
And as it turned out, his judgment was absolutely correct.
A near-perfect psychological game not only secured them all the goods but also sent the Li father and son to the gates of hell without firing a shot.
Watching the person being taken away, Ryuzaki Shinya got out of the passenger seat, leaned against the still-warm front of the car, took out a pack of cigarettes, skillfully lit one, and took a deep drag.
Having finished arranging everything, Akutsu dusted off his hands and slowly walked over.
He glanced at the flickering red dot between Ryuzaki's fingers, and unusually, spoke up:
"Give me a cigarette too."
Shinichi Ryuzaki raised an eyebrow, looking at Akutsu with some surprise.
Why has this old man suddenly changed his tune today? He suddenly wants to smoke this kind of ordinary cigarette?
This old guy used to smoke cigars.
However, Ryuzaki Makoto didn't say much. He took out a cigarette from the pack and handed it to Akutsu, then lit it for him with a lighter.
Akutsu took a deep drag, the tobacco pungent into his lungs, but it eased his furrowed brows somewhat.
He smoked a cigarette and said, as if talking to himself:
"Don't worry, just like we agreed in the plan, there's a lot inside these two fish. I'll squeeze every penny out of the Li family's overseas accounts, and after it's all laundered, I'll transfer it all to your secret account."
Ryuzaki Shin didn't say anything, just nodded.
This was indeed their previous gentleman's agreement.
However, he had a question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time.
Akutsu contributed a great deal of manpower, resources, and even connections and intelligence throughout this entire affair.
Even the final detention, interrogation, and laundering of funds were all handled by him.
However, this old fox, who never gets up early for nothing and always tries to stretch every penny, actually only asked for some small items from the Li family when they first started negotiating their terms.
Ryuzaki Mako wasn't naive enough to think that Akutsu had suddenly become a living saint, doing charity for him.
He flicked his cigarette ash, looked at the enigmatic man beside him, and finally asked:
"Brother Akutsu, I've always had a question in my mind, but I don't know if I should say it."
Akutsu was smoking, his expression obscured by the swirling smoke, but he simply shook his head slightly.
"Given our current relationship, there's no need to beat around the bush. Just say what you mean."
Ryuzaki Makoto smiled, his eyes sharpening slightly.
"Brother is right. I was being too polite. I just want to ask, after going through all this trouble and taking such a big risk, what exactly do you want to get from the Li family?"