MTLNOVEL Chapter 63:
Chapter 63:
The leading police officer sneered, his tone full of disdain: “The Liu family’s father and son were killed by an expert, and the car door was kicked open with great force. Not many people could have done that, right?” He paused before continuing. “Besides, you’re all members of the Brotherhood. It’s not just about what you say. You’d better come with us…”
The hearts of everyone in the Brotherhood sank.
Right now, they were almost certain that Chen Mo was responsible. There was a deep grudge between him and the Liu family, providing a strong motive for murder. The fact that the killer was an expert only reinforced their suspicions. They had also been keeping an eye on the Liu family, noticing their attempts to flee. They knew the approximate time of their departure.
With all these factors, who else could it be?
“Why are you all silent? Come with us to assist in the investigation,” the officer continued. “We will investigate thoroughly. If you’re truly innocent, we won’t falsely accuse you.”
He gave a cold glance, then waved his hand.
Several police officers stepped forward and handcuffed the core members of the Brotherhood.
Just as they were about to be taken away, the leading police officer frowned and asked, “Where’s the other one? The one named Chen Mo?”
Chen Mo had recently shown great strength in the underground world.
The police were well aware of his reputation.
“He went out and hasn’t returned,” the second-in-command replied, trying to cover for Chen Mo. Despite their frustration with Chen Mo’s actions, he was still their leader’s apprentice, and they couldn’t abandon him.
“You say it’s none of his business? Maybe he’s the killer.” The officer retorted.
“Don’t think we don’t know. Your Brotherhood has been in a heated conflict with the Liu family. You even exposed their crimes online. Now that the Liu family is dead, your gang can’t escape suspicion.”
The officer’s gaze firmed as he studied their faces, searching for any sign of guilt. But these men were seasoned; they gave nothing away.
According to their intelligence, Chen Mo returned to the Brotherhood’s headquarters every night. Tonight was likely no different.
“We’ll wait here.” The officer said.
After waiting for nearly half an hour, Chen Mo finally returned, looking defeated and lost.
Two officers immediately rushed at him with handcuffs.
Chen Mo, his face pale and eyes red as if he’d been crying, instinctively dodged them. Despite his emotional state, his reflexes were still sharp.
“What are you doing?” Chen Mo asked, frowning. Only then did he notice the police surrounding the Brotherhood’s headquarters. His brothers were handcuffed, their faces showing confusion and shock. “What’s going on?” He demanded. He had only stepped out briefly, and now everything had changed.
“Chen Mo, do you plan to resist arrest?” The leading officer said, placing one hand on his waist, ready to draw his gun. If Chen Mo resisted or attacked, he had the right to shoot.
“I’m not resisting, but if you’re going to arrest me, I want to know the reason,” Chen Mo replied angrily. “We haven’t done anything wrong, so why are you treating us like this?”
The officer’s expression remained stern. “I’ve already told them the reason. The Liu family, their son, and their driver were killed on their way to the airport. The evidence shows that the Liu family was attacked by an expert.”
Chen Mo’s confusion deepened as he asked: “The Liu family is dead? Who killed them?”
The officer replied, “That’s what we want to know. Recently, the only people in conflict with the Liu family were your Brotherhood, and you’re all experts…”
Chen Mo knew that police investigations often started by identifying who had the motive. The Brotherhood not only had a motive but also the capability.
“Even if we are experts, you can’t just pin the Liu family’s deaths on us,” Chen Mo argued. “Maybe it was an old enemy of theirs who framed us.”
Before he could continue, the officer cut him off. “Our police station handles the investigation. You don’t get to tell us what to do. Just come with us and help with the investigation.”
Chen Mo’s performance impressed his fellow Brotherhood members, who couldn’t help but give him a silent thumbs-up. His acting was so convincing that he genuinely appeared to be an innocent man wrongly accused. But deep down, they all believed that Chen Mo had killed the Liu family.
“If you claim to be innocent, then let me ask you—where were you between 9:30 and 10:00 tonight? Do you have an alibi?” The officer’s suspicion grew as Chen Mo hesitated.
Unlike the others who had agreed to go with the police without much fuss, Chen Mo seemed to be hiding something.
Why was he so reluctant?
The police station represented justice, so what was Chen Mo afraid of unless he had something to hide?
Chen Mo was about to answer when he suddenly froze.
From 9:30 to 10:00, he had been secretly following Xu Hao and Xia Qingge while they were shopping. He had stayed hidden, avoiding cameras, which meant he had no alibi. His heart sank. Was he about to be blamed for a crime he didn’t commit?
Seeing Chen Mo’s silence, the officer’s eyes turned cold. “What’s the matter? Don’t want to talk? Were you doing something shady during that time?”
Chen Mo remained silent. He had indeed done something shady, but it was following Xu Hao, not killing the Liu family.
The officer snorted coldly. “No wonder you don’t want to go to the station. Are you afraid of revealing the truth?”
With a wave of his hand, the officer signaled for the arrest to proceed.
Chen Mo was left with a sense of dread, realizing he might be taking the fall for something he didn’t do.
He was asking casually, but it seemed that Chen Mo had no real issues. Still, they needed to go back and interrogate him thoroughly. The four members of the Brotherhood were taken away.
The second brother subtly approached Chen Mo and whispered, “Brother Chen, what’s going on? Didn’t I tell you not to act during this period?”
“We were going to investigate the Liu family and his son soon. Once they were in prison, you could have done whatever you wanted with them. Why did you…”
The second brother was filled with frustration, sounding like he was reprimanding Chen Mo out of disappointment. He wanted to give him a piece of his mind.
“Second Brother, I really didn’t kill them,” Chen Mo said, his voice filled with frustration.
Seeing the skeptical looks from his brothers and the firm tone from the second brother, Chen Mo felt more wronged than ever. He couldn’t help but defend himself.
Chen Mo’s voice was loud enough that everyone around him heard.
Even a police officer walking ahead smirked, thinking that Chen Mo was hiding something.
Realizing the situation, Chen Mo quickly fell silent.
These people were his master’s close brothers and his elders. Chen Mo decided not to hide anything anymore. “I wanted to deal with Xu Hao. I just went to follow him this afternoon…”
The second brother’s expression changed instantly. His eyes flickered as he stared at Chen Mo for a while. Based on Chen Mo’s character, he wouldn’t lie about something like this. This suggested that someone else must have killed the Liu family and his son, putting them in a difficult situation.
Shaking his head, the second brother decided to focus on the current crisis rather than who killed the Liu family. His expression turned serious.
“You’re not lying to me, right?” He asked, looking directly into Chen Mo’s eyes. Chen Mo met his gaze with determination.
“You mustn’t tell anyone about following Xu Hao,” The second brother warned after taking a deep breath.
Chen Mo, being part of the underworld, must have been following Xu Hao with ill intentions.
If the police found out, the crime would be escalated, especially if Xu Hao, a prominent entrepreneur in Shanghai, got wind of it. Chen Mo could end up in grave danger.
On the other hand, if Chen Mo kept quiet, the truth would eventually come out, and he might be able to escape serious punishment.
Chen Mo understood the second brother’s meaning but felt frustrated and bitter.
The difference in status meant that even when he was wronged, he couldn’t tell the truth. It was infuriating.
He clenched his fists in anger, thinking about how the man he hated had taken away his beloved Xia Qingge, who now looked happy with a fifty-year-old man. The pain in Chen Mo’s heart was unbearable.
[Ding! Chen Mo is furious, +798 emotion points]
[Ding! Chen Mo is full of resentment, +96 emotion points]
That night, while many senior members of the Brotherhood were taken away, a dormant force swiftly swept through Nancheng.
With lightning speed, they annexed small factions one after another and then launched an attack on the Brotherhood’s headquarters.
With no senior leaders present to take charge, the Brotherhood was overwhelmed, losing ground rapidly. This night belonged to the Blood Slaughter Gang.
The members of the Blood Slaughter Society, led by Old Mo, finally unleashed their fury. They had long been lurking in the shadows, growing stronger while the Brotherhood and other alliance forces clashed. Now, with the Brotherhood occupied, they seized the opportunity to rise.
Xu Hao had played his cards well.
Suppressing the protagonist while taking over the Liu family’s new energy company, he had manipulated the Blood Slaughter Gang into doing the dirty work, allowing him to reap the benefits. The Brotherhood, Chen Mo, the alliance forces, and the Liu family were all pawns in his game. Xu Hao emerged as the biggest winner.
Caught off guard by the Blood Slaughter Gang’s sudden attack, the Brotherhood tried to resist, but without their top fighters, they were forced to retreat, unable to launch any counterattacks. The Blood Slaughter Gang expanded aggressively, seizing territory and growing in power.
By the next day, the Blood Slaughter Gang’s influence had grown to rival the Brotherhood, occupying half of the underground world in Nancheng.
On the third day, the Blood Slaughter Gang launched a full-scale assault, forcing the Brotherhood to retreat even further.
Amidst the chaos of the underground world, a significant event also occurred within the Xu family. More specifically, it involved Xu Hongjiao.
Under Xu Hao’s careful guidance, Xu Hongjiao’s piano skills had improved significantly. Finally responding to fan requests, she decided to perform publicly at the Magic City Concert Hall. The event attracted many fans eager to see the youngest international piano master in action.
Because of her beauty, Xu Hongjiao’s influence surpassed even that of the previous piano master, Edward. She didn’t disappoint her fans, delivering a stunning performance of her best piece, which left the audience in awe. Her piano skills were on par with Edward’s.
However, someone in the audience asked why her performance didn’t match the divine song that had gone viral online. Xu Hongjiao, who disliked lying, had to follow Xu Hao’s suggestion and give a plausible explanation.
She claimed that she had played that piece out of inspiration and couldn’t replicate the feeling anymore. The excuse was somewhat believable, as artistic inspiration can indeed be fleeting.
Xu Hongjiao assured her fans that she was constantly improving and that one day she might reach that level of inspiration again. Her words earned her even more admiration and love from the audience.
As she finished her performance and was about to leave, a young man called out to her.
His name was Zhao Lei, the son of the chairman of Zhao Media, the company where Xu Hongjiao currently worked.
After Xu Hongjiao’s rise to fame, Zhao Lei, a playboy by nature, had taken an interest in her.
Hearing about her performance at the Magic City Concert Hall, he traveled from the Imperial City to see her, intending to confess his love.
The result was predictable: Xu Hongjiao rejected him on the spot. Zhao Lei was displeased. He had been pampered all his life, never facing rejection, and Xu Hongjiao’s refusal only fueled his desire to pursue her further.
After being rejected for the third time, Zhao Lei realized that Xu Hongjiao was resolute. No matter how hard he tried, she would never accept him. If the soft approach didn’t work, he decided to use force.
He threatened to ban Xu Hongjiao from the entertainment industry unless she agreed to be his girlfriend. Zhao Media was a large corporation worth billions and not afraid of the Xu Group, so he felt confident in making such threats.
But Xu Hongjiao, like all the Xu sisters, had a strong character and refused to yield to his threats. As a result, Zhao Media blacklisted her, and Zhao Lei vowed to bury her career.
At this point, Xu Hao, as Xu Hongjiao’s father, couldn’t stand by and watch his daughter be bullied. He stepped in to support her.
In truth, Xu Hao had a better plan to solve the issue of his daughter’s ban and could easily turn the situation around. However, he didn’t implement it right away. He wanted to wait and let the situation unfold a little longer, knowing that this was the perfect opportunity to win over his third daughter.