Chapter 307: Directly Entering the Tiger’s Lair

"Boss Zhou, it's better if I take this risk myself. You and Boss Du should head back," Luo Wei said.

An Audi sped down the road from Linyang to Jin Ning. This was the same Audi that Zhou Ming had brought back from Lingnan. Zhou Ming, Du Peng, and Luo Wei were all in the car, with Luo Wei sitting in the back seat, leaning on the front seat's backrest, persistently urging Zhou Ming and Du Peng to return. They were heading to Jin Ning today, where they planned to take the so-called risky actions Zhou Ming had mentioned to rescue Luo Wei's wife and expose Jin Ning's criminal activities.

Zhou Ming glanced back at Luo Wei. After two days of rest, Luo Wei's body had mostly recovered, with only some superficial injuries and bruises remaining.

"Engineer Luo, haven't you been saying the same thing since we started? Aren't you tired?" Du Peng asked.

"That's because I really think you guys don't need to come. After all, this is my issue, and I'm already very grateful for your help. If you end up getting hurt or something, I'll feel truly responsible," Luo Wei replied.

Zhou Ming said, "Engineer Luo, don't worry. As a capitalist who fears death, I wouldn't recklessly risk my life. As long as there aren't any major accidents like earthquakes, floods, or alien invasions, I'm over ninety percent confident that we'll come through safely."

Zhou Ming's sarcasm didn't make Luo Wei smile, who was now more anxious than ever. Zhou Ming pointed to Du Peng and said, "But this guy is a rich young master. Maybe you can persuade him."

Luo Wei immediately turned to Du Peng, but before he could say anything, Du Peng protested, "Zhou Ming, is this how you transfer the hatred? I've served in the military; 'retreating in the face of danger' isn't in my dictionary."

"Boss Zhou, Boss Du, I know you're both brave men. I just hope you can be safer so you can help me better!" Luo Wei said.

Zhou Ming ignored Luo Wei's words and said, "So, Engineer Luo, did you hear that? Even this guy is standing tall, so I can't back down. At least I have to make our school proud!"

Thus, Zhou Ming, Du Peng, and Luo Wei chatted all the way, and nearly two hours later, they arrived in Jin Ning. Driving through the streets, Du Peng looked out the window and commented, "So this is the legendary Jin Ning? It doesn't look too bad. At least it seems more developed than Linyang."

Hearing Du Peng's comment, Zhou Ming snorted, "Jin Ning has many mines, so development is good. Even if criminal forces are rampant here, it shouldn't reach the level of street violence and rape. If it were that bad, they wouldn't be able to establish a city here."

Zhou Ming and his companions weren't here for tourism, so they headed straight for Jin Ning Company.

As the largest company in Jin Ning, Jin Ning Company had an impressive office building in the city center. When Zhou Ming and the others arrived at the building, Du Peng got out of the car and looked up at the high-rise, saying, "This Jin Ning Company looks pretty good! Just from the building, I wouldn't have guessed they were such a disgraceful criminal organization."

Zhou Ming remarked, "Often, behind a glamorous façade is the best place to hide filth, like with high-end banquets, the entertainment industry, and so on."

Du Peng and Luo Wei exchanged confused glances, clearly not understanding Zhou Ming's reference. Zhou Ming didn't explain, leading Du Peng up the stairs while Luo Wei stayed downstairs. After all, Luo Wei was the main person involved in this situation and had escaped after injuring Jin Ning Company's people. It was safer for him to stay downstairs to avoid any accidents.

Zhou Ming and Du Peng went straight to the Chairman's office. According to their prior information, they knew that the Chairman of Jin Ning Company was named Gao Ming. The manager who had caused trouble with the engineering team was his younger brother Gao Feng. They were the sons of Gao Jianhui, the Deputy Secretary of the Jin Ning Municipal Committee and the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

It was precisely because of their backing from the Political and Legal Affairs Commission that their criminal activities went unchecked, which was why the police had just watched Luo Wei get beaten after receiving the report.

Upon entering the office, Zhou Ming introduced himself, "Chairman Gao, hello. I'm Zhou Ming from the Nanhui Township Industrial Park in Linyang."

Upon hearing Zhou Ming's introduction, Gao Ming immediately stood up and shook hands with him. "Oh, it's Boss Zhou! What a rare guest. I've heard so much about you. The proposal for the township industrial park was brilliant! But I'm curious, what brings you here today?"

"No need for flattery, just a matter I need to discuss with Chairman Gao," Zhou Ming said.

Gao Ming made a gesture to invite Zhou Ming to speak. "Boss Zhou, please go ahead."

"It's like this. I recently started a road administration company and we are constructing a highway connecting Linyang to Nanjing. This project officially commenced recently. I heard that the engineering team working in Jin Ning has been harassed by your company. Your manager not only caused trouble at the construction site but also beat up the team and detained one of our engineers and his family. I hope Chairman Gao can release them," Zhou Ming said.

"Oh, so that's the issue," Gao Ming said with a smile. He leaned back on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and took a puff before continuing, "I think Boss Zhou might not have the full picture."

Zhou Ming responded with a curious, "What do you mean by that, Chairman Gao?"

"I don't know where Boss Zhou got the information that we are harassing your engineering team. From what I understand, it was your team that harassed my company and injured my people, so our staff had to retaliate," Gao Ming explained.

Du Peng slammed the table in anger, but Zhou Ming quickly stopped him from saying anything rash.

Gao Ming was indeed shameless. His people had been collecting extortion fees and beating people up, and now he was turning the tables and claiming that Luo Wei's team had harassed them. Zhou Ming couldn't understand how their road construction had possibly harassed Gao Ming's company.

Zhou Ming was very angry about Gao Ming's claim, even wanting to slap him. But he knew it wasn't the right time to confront Gao Ming, as he still didn't know where Luo Wei's wife was. Zhou Ming needed to keep his composure.

Seeing Du Peng's angry reaction, Gao Ming's smile grew wider. "This brother here seems quite upset!"

"My brother has a bit of a temper, so please excuse him, Chairman Gao," Zhou Ming said. "However, the past grievances have already passed. I don't want to pursue them further. I just want to ask how Chairman Gao can release my people."

"Boss Zhou, it's easy to say. Your people injured mine, so how can we just let it go without any compensation? How can I explain this to my subordinates?" Gao Ming said.

"So what does Chairman Gao want?" Zhou Ming asked.

"For the injuries to my people, we can't skip the medical expenses. Since Boss Zhou is an understanding person, just pay me one million, and we can consider this matter settled and be friends. How does that sound?" Gao Ming offered.

"One million? Chairman Gao, you're really asking for a lot!" Zhou Ming said. "Fine, one million it is. But can I see my people first? I need to ensure their safety."

Gao Ming happily agreed, "Boss Zhou, you are indeed generous. From the moment I saw you, I knew you were a reasonable person. I'll take you to see your people now. I can't make any promises, but I guarantee they are still alive."

"Then I'll trouble Chairman Gao to show us the way," Zhou Ming said.

"If it were anyone else, I'd spit in their face, but for Boss Zhou, I'm very willing to do this," Gao Ming said, rising from his seat and leading Zhou Ming and Du Peng downstairs. They all got into their respective cars. After Zhou Ming got into his car, he said to Luo Wei, "That's the real boss of Jin Ning Company. He's going to take us to your wife now. You must control your emotions, understand?"

"Don't worry, Boss Zhou. For my wife, I'll control myself!" Luo Wei said with a murderous look, staring at Gao Ming who was smiling and waving at them from the car.

Zhou Ming said nothing more, knowing that any words at this point would be futile.

They followed Gao Ming's car to a tenement building on the outskirts of the city. A few punks with bleached hair were playing cards at the entrance. Upon hearing the sound of cars, they looked up. When they saw Gao Ming's car, they immediately shouted, "The big boss is here," and ran inside. Soon, dozens of people came out of the building.

Seeing these people, Luo Wei immediately said to Zhou Ming, "The leader there is Gao Feng, that bastard! And those people coming out are the ones who caused trouble at our construction site."

Zhou Ming also recognized Gao Feng, who looked very similar to Gao Ming. He followed Gao Ming's car to the entrance of the tenement, parked, and reminded Luo Wei to control himself before getting out of the car with Du Peng.

Gao Ming greeted Gao Feng

 and introduced Zhou Ming to him. Gao Feng came over with a mocking tone and said, "So this is the famous Boss Zhou from Jingchu Province. It's truly a pleasure to meet you. I feel that if you had given me the one million earlier, we could have avoided a lot of trouble."

"Boss Zhou has been to Hong Kong City, so how can Gao Feng speak like this?" Gao Ming scolded Gao Feng, although his expression showed no real disapproval.

Zhou Ming didn't want to argue about this. He directly asked, "Where are my people?"

Gao Feng looked at Gao Ming, who gave him permission before saying, "The male engineer was released last week. You can go to the engineering team to find him. If he hasn't returned, I can help you post a missing person notice and ask the police for help. As for the woman, she is in the tenement building behind, being well cared for."

"No need," Zhou Ming said, waving his hand. "Just bring the woman out for me to see."

"Bring her out?" Gao Feng said. "Boss Zhou, we do business with one hand paying and the other delivering. Since the money hasn't been paid yet, how can we bring her out? What if she runs away? But since you seem so sincere, I can take you to see her."

Zhou Ming looked back at Luo Wei and nodded, "Alright."