It was total pandemonium. Members of the drug enforcement task force trained their guns on Hei Lang’s henchmen and kept shouting forcefully, “Squat down, squat down! Hands over your heads, do you hear us? Squat down!” The henchmen had retaliated when Xiao Luo stepped on their leader, the Dragon Gang Protector, Hei Lang. Members of the task force were initially stunned when Xiao Luo first kicked their informant down, then planted his foot on Hei Lang’s shoulder. But quickly recovered to take control of the situation.

  Tensions rose, the burly men would never allow anyone to humiliate their leader, Hei Lang. They were provoked and bristling with rage. With clenched fists, they gave Xiao Luo a murderous stare and clearly wished to kill him.

  “You lot, squat down.”

  Hei Lang calmly gave his men the order.

  “Yes, elder brother.”

  The gang of burly men squatted down reluctantly upon hearing Hei Lang’s order. As they got down, they kept glaring hard at Xiao Luo, seething with anger and hatred. Placing his foot on Lei Hang’s shoulder was akin to forcing Hei Lang to crawl between his leg; it was synonymous with total submission and a great sign of disrespect.

  This did not bother Xiao Luo in the slightest, and he continued to leave his right foot on Hei Lang’s shoulder, making a show of slowly fastening his shoelace.

  The Dragon Gang protector had never been treated with such disdain, and Xiao Luo’s actions infuriated him beyond measure. His muscles twitched, and his whole body tensed up as the rage grew within him. Like a cornered wolf, he glared at Xiao Luo with daggers in his eyes. He was a dangerous man, and at this point, he looked to have made up his mind to strike out at his tormentor.

  “To be honest, I enjoy seeing you this furious, and yet unable to do anything about it. So always remember, I am the police, and you all are outlaws. When the time comes, outlaws are bound to be hunted and taken down by the police, am I clear?”

  Xiao Luo smiled mockingly. After he had tied his shoelace, he kept his foot on Hei Lang’s shoulder and posed like a triumphant contender, placing a hand on his right knee.

  Hei Lang contained his rage and stayed silent, but he glared coldly at Xiao Luo, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

  “We received news that you all are here to meet the drug smugglers from the Golden Triangle. Of course, the information we received could be fake, but could it really be a coincidence since you all are here?” Xiao Luo laughed derisively at the implication he just made.

  “F*cking bullsh*t, it just so happens that we like to barbecue and enjoy the sea breeze here. So what, are you cops going to arrest us for that?” One of the burly men who had attempted to strike at Xiao Luo earlier, roared from his squatting position, snarling with angry eyes.

  “Thank you. You had been chosen!” Xiao Luo thought to himself, seeing the opportunity to work his scheme.

  Xiao Luo curled his lips upwards and promptly removed his foot off Hei Lang. He immediately said to Wang Yongjia, “Captain Wang, please handcuff him and take him back to the police station!”

  Wang Yongjia was not sure what was happening, but he had come to trust Xiao Luo’s instincts and played along. He coughed dryly and said, “Cheng Chusheng, you two go over there and cuff him.”

  Cheng Chusheng and another member of the team complied with the order, taking out their handcuffs, they walked towards the burly man. They did, however, question themselves why they were doing it at all.

  “What’s happening? What right do you have to handcuff me?” The burly man shouted loudly, becoming aggressive.

  \r \r \r

  “Behave yourself, or you’ll see what happens!” Cheng Chusheng threatened.

  The burly man knew that it would be futile to resist the arrest, so he unwillingly allowed himself to be handcuffed. The task force members had actual guns and bullets, and he wasn’t going to push his luck.

  Xiao Luo walked up and looked down at him, then laughingly said, “Littering and polluting the seawater, is there any problem if we arrest you for this?”

  What?

  Littering, polluting the seawater?

  All the task force members were surprised when Xiao Luo mentioned those charges, but no one said a thing.

  “I’m not convinced!” The burly man shouted.

  Xiao Luo raised an eyebrow. “Not convinced? Come back to the police station with me, I will make sure that you are!”

  “You son of a Xiao b*tch, I will kill you!”

  The burly man was furious, he leaped up and charged, ramming his head hard into Xiao Luo’s mid-section.

  Xiao Luo staggered back for a few steps, but he showed no visible reaction on his face. Instead, he looked at the burly man with a twinkle in his eyes, and said, “Now there’s one more reason, assaulting the police!”

  Hei Lang had been quietly observing the altercation, and his gaze turned cold as he stared hard at the burly man.

  “Bring him away!”

  Wang Yongjia was now up to speed with Xiao Luo’s plans, and he quickly ordered Cheng Chusheng to bring the burly man away.

  Before they left, Xiao Luo turned to Hei Lang and had this to say, “Hei Lang, you better not cause trouble, I will always be watching you,” ……

  After they left the jetty with the burly man, Cheng Chusheng, very much in the dark about the plan, asked, “Captain Wang, what’s going on, why didn’t we take our informant out? If he stays back, he will be in great danger.”

  “He will be very safe and can continue his job as an undercover.”

  It was not Wang Yongjia who answered Cheng Chusheng, but Xiao Luo.

  “What Xiao Luo said is correct!”

  Wang Yongjia then spoke up in agreement.

  The task force members had their own doubts. Their presence at the jetty had only served to alert Hei Lang to the fact that he had an informant in his midst. How would it be safe to leave their informant there?

  Cheng Chusheng did not have the same confidence that his captain had in Xiao Luo. As he glanced at Xiao Luo with a look of contempt, he expressed his reservations to Wang Yongjia, “Xiao Luo is an inexperienced officer, and he is just shooting from the hip. Captain Wang, why are you playing to his tune? if anything happens to our informant, we won’t be able to bear this responsibility.”

  “Cheng Chusheng, can’t you think with that dumb head of your?”

  Wang Yongjia was getting very annoyed with Cheng Chusheng now. He more he thought about it, the more he was convinced about why his team had failed in most of their missions – they were just dumb. It would be a miracle if they could ever succeed in anything.

  Wang Yongjia gestured to the burly man detained in the back of the van and chided them all, “We took this fella with us based on a ridiculous charge. Who do you think Hei Lang would suspect the informant is now?”

  His words struck everyone, and they recalled what had happened earlier.

  The burly man appeared to be the most agitated of his gang. Granted, he was showing his loyalty towards Hei Lang, but it would still create some doubt in Hei Lang’s mind as his reaction seemed somewhat over the top. Hei Lang would surmise that his aggression was only a ploy to get himself arrested and thereby get out of a dangerous situation, making him the prime suspect of being an informant.

  With Hei Lang’s distrustful nature, he would already have made up his mind that the burly man would have to be neutralized, whether or not he was an informant.

  Had they taken their own informant back with them on the other hand, it would have been as good as telling Hei Lang who the snitch was.

  And why was it critical to have an inside-man planted in Hei Lang’s camp? They’d need someone to give them the details of Khun Sa’s next drop. After the visit to the jetty, Khun Sa would certainly not turn up now. Besides, it was already daybreak. The only other alternative would be to put the place under surveillance day and night. And even then, what if the drop-off point was changed?

  Wang Yongjia patted Xiao Luo’s arm and said appreciatively, “We almost got it all wrong, Xiao Luo. So, many thanks to you this time.”

  “No problem!” Xiao Luo replied with a smile.

  Cheng Chusheng felt foolish and actually blushed. The others looked at Xiao Luo, with newfound respect. ……

  They received a message from their informant two days later and was given the place and time of the meeting between Hei Lang and Khun Sa.

  Elsewhere, Long Sankui had dispatched his men to go after Xiao Ruyi and Tang Ren. Gu Qianxue and Feng Wuhen were on hand to thwart the attack, but it left the couple terrified.

  Troubling news also came from Xi Province. The county police station of Gushan had apprehended five gangsters who had tried to harm Xiao Luo’s parents.

  “They are just fighting desperately like a cornered wild beast.”

  Xiao Luo could sense the desperation of Long Sankui as he sat in his chair, sipping tea. Long Sankui had always been the puppet master behind the scenes and had used others to do his dirty work. Now that his Four Protectors had been eliminated, the old fox would have to dirty his own hands. It would only be a matter of time before he slipped up. The moment he obtained evidence of Long Sankui’s crimes, Xiao Luo would confront him directly. There would be every reason for him to do so.

  He had already set the wheels in motion. If all went well the following night, Long Sankui would lose his fourth protector.

  Step by step, he would see to the destruction of the Dragon Gang……