MTLNOVEL Chapter 308: A Worthy Opponent
Daniel, this New York detective, was almost insane, he had mentally prepared himself, but the massacre at the steel mill still left him completely stunned.
The pungent smell of gas and a foul odor spread across the crime scene...
Bodies were strewn about haphazardly, with blood pooled so heavily in the parking lot that the cops had nowhere to step without tainting their shoes.
Not a single gunman from the Albanian Gang was left alive; the corpses riddled with machine gun bullets were too horrific to behold...
There were many illegal immigrants and homeless people inside the steel mill; those women who were responsible for packaging drugs for the gangs hadn't fled far, but they were tight-lipped, which was as good as having no survivors at all.
With things like residency rights, you can easily pry open the mouths of illegal immigrants.
But what did that prove?
Wearing a mask in a fight is a basic skill, that's exactly what they said on the phone in the bar that stumped the bomb disposal expert.
If Hu Lang really was an extremely vicious criminal, then Daniel felt he should now apply for SWAT backup, block Hu Lang at Cornell Hospital, and even at the risk of his own job, drive him out of New York.
But all the people and information were telling Daniel that Hu Lang was not a ruthless villain.
He was a warrior, with principles and methods, a warrior who didn't want his vendetta to last overnight, and if Daniel couldn't catch those who attacked Hu Lang, the killing would continue.
Just as a New York cop got close to a body and vomited on his shoes with a "argh", Daniel heard his phone ring. He glanced at it and answered, "Please, give me some good news!"
"Boss, we found the husband of the woman from customs, but we're a step too late, he's been shot and is now in the hospital fighting for his life..."
Daniel felt his head swell and then his blood pressure spike so much that he suddenly shot forth a stream of blood from his nose. Just as he was about to speak, Ailin on the other end continued, "However, we got a lead; the person who gave him money is the owner of a cab company, I'm on my way to their office now."
Daniel wiped the fresh blood from his lips and said, "Next time start with the good news, that's all..."
Just as Daniel hung up the phone and was about to look for Serial, a young cop examining a body suddenly raised his hand and shouted, "There's a live one here..."
Saying this, the young cop leaned against the wall beside him, vomited acid, then bravely returned to his 'post', not daring to look at the unfortunate guy whose head was half smashed in with brain matter spilling out, instead desperately waving at the paramedics...
Daniel ran over to take a look, then shook his head in disappointment.
Watching the medics carefully lift the unlucky guy onto the stretcher and then cover the horrendous wound with heaps of gauze, Daniel suddenly pulled the young cop aside and said, "You follow the ambulance; make sure they take the victim to Cornell Hospital."
The young cop was stunned for a moment and said, "But..."
Daniel glared at the young cop and said, "Are you fucking deaf?"
After sending the man off, Daniel looked around and finally found Serial at the entrance to the blast furnace warehouse, holding a handkerchief to his nose, staring at the corpse of the Albanian fat boss.
When Serial saw Daniel approaching, he waved his hands to indicate he should not come closer, then came over and pulled Daniel to a place upwind before saying, "If you have a drug test tomorrow, you're probably going to be suspended."
Daniel sniffed and smelled a strange scent in the air, then, suddenly realizing something, he said in astonishment, "What the hell is this? No wonder I saw several hobos high as kites; I thought...
FUCK, this Hu Lang must be out of his mind. Who the hell burns HLY like that?
Serial laughed and said, "That's how people from China love to do it because a hundred years ago there was a guy named Lin Zexu who did exactly that to the East India Company."
Then Serial patted Daniel on the shoulder, still laughing, and said, "You need to keep cool and try to seal off the area as much as possible, at least keep the media out.
I told you we couldn't keep pace with Hu Lang, but you insisted on coming. Look, we can't get anything out of this."
Daniel stared at Serial with teeth clenched and said, "Are you blind? There's just been a fucking massacre here!"
Serial shrugged indifferently and said, "I thought you Americans would be used to it by now since it happens often in your schools..."
As Serial looked at the About-to-explode Daniel, he apologized and said, "Alright, my bad!
But now we know one thing; those who ambushed Hu Lang outside the downtown police station weren't Albanians because the weapons they used were completely different.
Buddy, Hu Lang's rampage isn't over yet!"
Daniel glanced at Serial and said, "Why do I feel like you're gloating?"
Serial shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess I am a little, because I'm Italian, and a year ago in Italy, I saw much worse. Many civilians died then, but here, it's all assholes who are dying...
However, buddy, if we don't find clues quickly, things here are going to escalate."
Daniel, grinding his teeth, said, "So we should go talk to that Hu Lang; he's got to stop!"
Serial shook his head with a smile, "You're not high-ranking enough, do you think the FBI agents are all just twiddling their thumbs?
"If I were you, I'd have someone find the phone company and have them check for calls made or received from here in the past hour."
The mobile phones of the dead gang shooters were mostly present, whereas the phone of the gang leader had vanished.
Hu Lang wouldn't just take away a phone for no reason. He must have discovered a clue..."
Upon hearing this, Daniel excitedly pounded on Serial's chest, then while gesturing for him to follow, took out his phone and delegated tasks to his people.
Serial got into Daniel's car and asked curiously, "What are you planning to do?"
Daniel said, "I'm heading to Cornell Hospital. I want to see that Hu Lang.
"I want to see the expression on his face when he sees an enemy he failed to kill..."
Listening to this, Serial scratched his head with a bit of a headache, eying the street-smart aura of Daniel and said, "It's not necessary. You can't do anything to him. He won't shoot you in the face."
Daniel, grinning, said, "Who knows? Even if I can't do anything to him, it's good to remind him of his actions."
While speaking, Daniel's phone rang. He picked it up, frowned, and after answering said, "I'm busy right now, if it's not something important you can tell me tomorrow."
"......"
Upon receiving the message from his informant on the other end of the line, Daniel held his head and kicked the nearby wall in frustration, then looked at Serial and said, "You won't believe it, but somebody put a message out on the streets: anyone daring to shoot at Hu Lang and upload the video online will get 5,000 dollars.
If they manage to hit Hu Lang, even just grazing him, they'll walk away with 20,000."
Saying this, Daniel clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, "New York is going to be in chaos!"
Experienced as he was, Serial had never encountered such a situation before...
"Find the person offering the reward. Without the bounty, everything will stop."
Daniel shook his head laboriously and said, "It's useless. They are using Virtual Coin, all the transactions are done online...
"FUCK, by the time we catch that guy, the morgue will probably be filling up with the corpses of those who attacked Hu Lang."
Saying this, Daniel looked at Serial with a grave expression and said, "And that's not even the worst of it..."
Serial, with his vast experience, understood immediately upon hearing the amount of the bounty. The opponent didn't need a professional shooter, not even gangsters...
The target audience was those young thrill-seekers, drug addicts, the bottom ranks of gang members, even those with familial difficulties.
Pulling out a phone and firing off a few shots for a video online could earn them 5,000 dollars—where else could they find such an easy deal?
They had no idea who Hu Lang was, let alone the consequences of shooting at him.
Once Hu Lang chose to retaliate against these people, the situation would reverse, and the FBI and police wouldn't maintain their patience like the present.
The person on the other side was clever. He didn't expend a lot of effort, just spread some street news to push Hu Lang into an awkward position. Now, he either had to accept FBI protective custody or become a 'Murderer.' Either option was enough to trouble Hu Lang and impact his movements.
.........
At this time, Joe Ga, located at Cornell Hospital, also received the news...
Chris, the intelligence broker, finally came into play. He had given Joe Ga a call the moment he learned of the news.
"Hu Lang, you need to leave New York for the time being..."
After hearing this bizarre news, Joe Ga gestured Nis to look after the girl, then sat down in the waiting area outside the hospital's surgery room. After pondering for a while, he said, "The other party must be thinking the same thing!
"They not only want to mess up the meeting with Jemma's parents, but also push me against the officials.
"This is retaliation for cutting off their drug line."
Saying this, Joe Ga saw 'Jackal' and 'Medic Officer Bird' entering from outside. He greeted them and then spoke to Chris, "Buddy, I trust you, but I need to see some results. It's been two days, and I've been targeted non-stop. This isn't right..."
Chris, on the other end of the phone, replied with a bitter smile, "Pal, it's only been two days.
If twenty days go by without me providing enough intelligence support, you can call me useless, but just two days..."
Chris, slightly helpless, continued, "Aren't you trying to acquire a PMC company? I've collected some information on a few companies and will send them to you immediately.
Buddy, I'm in Washington making contacts, you need to keep it down, don't let things get out of hand...
"Also, I found you an intelligence officer. He'll call you, and you can decide if you want to interview him. You need someone calm to analyze the situation with your current condition."