Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 167 Wang Youcai in Despair
Wang Youcai prepared two copies of the video files.

One copy was in the clubhouse office, and the other was a copy he secretly made and kept in the villa's safe.

He understood the principle of having three burrows, so that if something went wrong at the club, he would at least have a backup plan.

But now we have no backup plan.

Wang Youcai's trump card for controlling that group of people is gone.

He suddenly felt as if the whole sky had collapsed.

"Tao Jun...why..."

Wang Youcai leaned against the wall, clutching his hair with both hands: "Wang Sheng... Tao Jun... what did I do wrong! Have I ever mistreated you all these years?!"

Wang Youcai's expression was one of extreme pain. He couldn't understand why the person he trusted most would betray him time and time again.

Have I ever mistreated them?
No.

Not only did they not mistreat them, but they also lived very comfortably under their care, leaving them with absolutely no reason to betray them.

Wang Youcai carefully recalled when Tao Jun had sided with Hu Yingshao.

But the more he thought about it, the more terrified he became, because apart from this kidnapping case, Tao Jun had always acted as if he knew Hu Yingshao but wasn't familiar with him.

"Could it be from the very beginning..."

Wang Youcai's fingernails dug into his scalp, and a trickle of blood flowed down his forehead.

Every gift bestowed by fate has a price already secretly marked on it.

In life, don't think you can get anything easily. Everything in life requires effort and sacrifice, and those easily obtained gifts will eventually come at a price.

Tao Jun took the initiative to help him maintain order, and Wang Youde accidentally met Hu Yingshao and gained connections.

Their help now seems so incongruous.

At the time, Wang Youcai believed that this was his good fortune and that he had met a benefactor, since he and his brother had nothing else to scheme for except for their miserable lives.

Now it seems that I was just a puppet.

There is a powerful hand in the darkness that controls everyone's destiny.

They were like a group of puppets, manipulated at will.

Even though he had become one of the giants of the underground forces in Qianhua City, in the eyes of the mastermind behind the scenes, he was just a pawn that could be discarded at any time.

"Even if I'm a puppet, I've never done anything to harm that old fox's interests... Why are you suddenly targeting me..."

Wang Youcai racked his brains trying to figure out where things had gone wrong.

As he was thinking, a name suddenly flashed into his mind—Jin Ping'an.

Three months ago, Hu Yingshao suddenly asked Wang Sheng to kidnap a girl. When Wang Sheng refused, he put Tao Jun in charge.

The conflict with Jin Ping'an also stemmed from this.

Whether it was him being investigated by the police, being framed for robbery, or Song Jie's secret scheme, everything was related to this young upstart.

“That old bastard Hu Yingshao wanted to teach him a lesson, but I kept giving in because I was afraid of him…”

Wang Youcai suddenly realized that someone wanted to use him to get rid of Jin Ping'an, and his constant concessions to Jin Ping'an had made that group very dissatisfied.

"Hehe, hahahahahaha! Hu Yingshao, Crippled Wolf, Song Jie... everyone wants to get rid of you, but no one dares to lay a hand on you personally!"

Wang Youcai laughed maniacally like a madman: "Jin Ping An, Jin Ping An, not only can you invite that famous bounty hunter from the Asian Union, but so many people also want your life. Just who are you?"

After he finished laughing, he took out his phone and dialed someone's number.

"Why are you calling me in the middle of the night when you can't even clean up your own mess? Don't expect me to help you."

The person who answered the phone was none other than Song Jie, the intelligence chief of Qianhua City.

"Tell me, did you already know that I was a puppet put on by someone else?"

Wang Youcai asked into his phone.

Song Jie coldly replied, "What does your business have to do with me?"

"Who exactly is Jin Ping'an, or who is behind him? Why are you all targeting this young upstart at all costs?"

Wang Youcai ignored Song Jie's attitude and continued to press for answers.

"...You called too late."

Song Jie said something that was hard to understand.

"I'm an intelligence dealer, not a free consulting platform. If you're not here to buy intelligence, don't make those calls..."

As they were talking, Song Jie decided to hang up the phone.

But the next moment, Wang Youcai's words made him stop.

"I can help you kill Jin Ping'an."

Wang Youcai decided to go all in: "In return, you have to help me resolve the troubles, and you also have to tell me some things."

Song Jie asked in a deep voice, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything!"

"No problem, I'll tell you everything after you kill him, provided... you survive."

"hehe."

Wang Youcai let out a chilling laugh, but the laugh revealed a hint of desolation.

Sometimes being too smart isn't a good thing. A carefree puppet, once it discovers the truth about the threads binding it, will only face deep despair.

If he were as foolish as Wang Youde, perhaps he wouldn't have so many troubles.

Wang Youcai made up his mind to go all out; he not only wanted to deal with Jin Ping'an, but he also wanted to take revenge on Hu Yingshao.

The fact that the video is gone doesn't mean he's completely powerless against Hu Yingshao.

Wang Youcai may not have the energy to target a group of people, but he does have the ability to harm one person. He specifically left behind a backup plan to harm this old man.

Since the outcome is a near-death experience, I'll risk my life to get a piece of flesh from that old guy before I die!

…………

After receiving the items, Tao Jun immediately returned to his rented apartment, turned on his computer, and made a video call on his phone.

He wasn't worried at all that Wang Youcai would bring people to his door.

Because this apartment wasn't prepared by Wang Youcai at all; he had his mistress find someone to rent it for him privately.

After plugging in the USB drive, Tao Jun found Hu Yingshao's video among a large number of video files.

After confirming that everything was correct, he moved the mouse and clicked delete.

As for the other video files, Tao Jun didn't touch them. Behind each video is an invisible network of connections.

He can use these videos to get the people in them to fulfill his small 'requests'.

Tao Jun pulled the webcam that was pointing at the computer screen toward himself: "Mr. Hu, your video has been deleted. What do you think we should do with the rest?"

"You can decide whether to delete or keep the remaining videos."

After confirming that his video had been deleted, Hu Yingshao stopped caring much about what was going on.

After leaving that message, he ended the video call.

After hanging up the video call, Tao Jun formatted the computer, removed the battery, and took the powerless laptop to the bathroom. He then placed the laptop in the bathtub filled with water for physical formatting.

Although he didn't know much about computers, he had heard of file recovery technology.

Now that your computer is gone, let's see how you recover it.

Tao Jun nodded in satisfaction after finishing all this.

All I need to do now is go outside and lay low for a while until things are over.

Tao Jun was well aware that he was a veteran figure in Wang Youcai's faction, and that they were all in a relationship where if he fell, Wang Youcai would also fall.

Even if he betrayed Wang Youcai, the other party could only swallow his anger.

Not only will they not hunt him down now, they will also clean up the mess and help him deal with the fake Wang Sheng he hired.

Although the plan seemed perfect, Tao Jun knew that Wang Youcai was only helping him clean up the mess to prevent him from falling into the hands of the police and causing everyone to suffer a lose-lose situation.

They will definitely send people to hunt him down afterward, but at that time I will have Hu Yingshao as my backer. If the other party loses his trump card, what will he use to retaliate against me?
Tao Jun couldn't help but smile. He loved this feeling that made others hate him to the core, but they couldn't do anything about it.

“That old fox Hu Yingshao would never have imagined that the video Wang Sheng copied would end up in my hands, so he wouldn’t dare to use me as a pawn so easily.”

Tao Jun stood on the toilet, removed a piece of ceiling panel, and reached out to touch it: "Hmm? Where's the thing?"

"Is this what you're looking for?"

The sudden noise startled Tao Jun so much that she lost her mind and slipped and fell off the toilet.

Just as the back of his head was about to make intimate contact with the ground, a strong and powerful hand grabbed his collar and threw him out of the bathroom.

Terrified, Tao Jun didn't have time to think about what had happened; only one thought occupied his mind: to run.

Whoever appeared behind him just now, unless it was Hong Ying, they were all up to no good.

Wang Youcai's people, Hu Yingshao's people, and the police.

Regardless of which faction is at play, it's definitely not a good thing for them to come looking for him at this time.

Tao Jun used both hands and feet to scramble and crawl towards the door, but after only a few steps, he was kicked in the back of the knee and immediately fell to his knees.

Tao Jun hardened his heart and pulled out a dagger from his pocket to stab behind him. But as soon as he raised his hand, his wrist was grabbed and restrained.

The man pressed his thumb against the joint, and Tao Jun felt his right hand go limp, causing the dagger to slip from his grasp.

"grass!"

Tao Jun roared angrily and thrust his left hand with all his might straight at the opponent's temple.

There was a dull thud.

The man released his grip, and Tao Jun knelt on the ground, clutching his nose, blood seeping from between his fingers.

"Hmph, umm, hahaha."

Tao Jun opened his mouth wide, inhaling continuously and emitting meaningless groans.

Seeing that the other party did not pursue, he took the opportunity to grab a wine bottle and smash it, but was kicked two meters away as soon as he started to strike.

The entire battle was one-sided, with Tao Jun being relentlessly beaten.

Having experienced the vast difference in strength, Tao Jun stopped struggling. He leaned against the wall, raised his head, wiped away the tears in his eyes, and looked at the blurry figure.

"messenger."

"Just knowing me is enough."

The messenger pulled two tissues from the coffee table and wiped the drool off his hands.

Tao Jun's nose was knocked crooked by the messenger, which made his voice sound a bit strange: "Heh, a bounty hunter who has won the Medal of Honor, who in the underworld doesn't know him?"

As Tao Jun spoke, he moved toward the refrigerator, behind which he had hidden a pistol.

How could a ruthless man like him, who had been in the underworld for over a decade, possibly surrender so easily? As long as there was even a sliver of hope of escape, they would not give up easily.

Boom!
A fruit knife was nailed to the shelf above Tao Jun's head.

"You can try to get the gun behind the refrigerator, but do so at your own risk."

As soon as the messenger spoke, Tao Jun quickly lunged behind the refrigerator, pulled out a pistol, aimed at the messenger, and pulled the trigger.

However, the imagined splatter of blood did not occur.

Do you need bullets?

The messenger pulled a plastic bag from his pocket and threw it at Tao Jun. The bag was filled with bright yellow bullets.

But Tao Jun didn't dare to move an inch, because the messenger was pointing a gun at him.

Nobody would bet on whether this guy meant the bullets in the bag or the ones in his gun.

Tao Jun slowly put down the gun, kicked it aside, and squatted down obediently.

"We shouldn't have any grudges, right? How much is the reward the police have set for me?"
"If you let me go, I'm willing to pay three times that amount, and it'll be in cash so you don't have to worry about the police finding out."

Seeing that he could not resist by force, Tao Jun began to negotiate with the messenger.

It's clear that he hasn't given up on the idea of ​​escaping.

The messenger didn't speak, but silently walked up to Tao Jun, stepped on his right hand, and twisted his five fingers with his toes.

"Ah!!! Waaah..."

Tao Jun gritted his teeth and suppressed his screams, fearing that his neighbors would hear them and call the police.

He opened his eyes wide, veins bulging on his forehead and the back of his hands, the muscles in his cheeks trembling, and his toes all curled up as he desperately endured the excruciating pain.

The messenger paid particular attention to the fingertips, and Tao Jun's little fingernail almost completely fell off.

The messenger only let go after all five of his fingers were broken into two or three joints.

"I should have said that if you choose to take up arms to resist, you will bear the consequences."

The messenger grabbed Tao Jun by the hair, forcing him to bite the edge of the coffee table with his teeth.

Tao Jun's face was filled with terror. He knew very well what was going to happen next, because he had often done this to others before.

This time it was his turn to experience that tangy, unpleasant feeling for himself.

Ignoring Tao Jun's pleading gaze, the messenger suddenly pressed down on the back of his head, instantly shattering most of his white teeth, many of which broke in the middle.

After the entire procedure, Tao Jun was in so much pain that he was delirious.

The messenger took out his cell phone from his pocket and turned on the voice recorder he carried with him. He figured Hu Yingshao should be calling soon.

Sure enough, the phone rang not long after.

"Jin Ping'an has found your location. Quickly grab the USB drive and get out of there!"

Hu Yingshao's warning came through the phone.

"It's too late," the messenger replied.

Hu Yingshao remained silent for a while, but he did not hang up the phone.

After about thirty seconds, the voice on the other end of the phone switched to a synthesized voice: "Who are you? Where is Tao Jun?"

The old fox was indeed very cautious.

"Haven't you been obstructing my investigation lately?"

"messenger?"

"it's me."

The messenger readily admitted it.

"...Why aren't you staying put in Nevada City? What are you doing here at Chihaya?"

The synthesized child's voice sounded a bit jarring, but the messenger didn't seem to care: "I'm a bounty hunter. Someone paid me to do something, so I came. Is there a problem?"

"Don't forget who you are now. If you break the law again..."

"If I break the law again, I'll face the death penalty, so what do you think? Why don't you try reporting me?"

Hu Yingshao fell silent immediately.

Whistleblower?

Who dares?

This madman blew a group of people into the air with a bomb in front of all the police officers in Nevada and the anti-gang squad brought in by the Asian Union, and afterwards he was completely unharmed.

Who would want to mess with someone who doesn't follow the rules, flips the table at the slightest disagreement, and is always at risk of being executed by the Asian Union, with one foot in the grave?

He dared to target Jin Ping'an, Tian Hao, and make a fool of Wang Youcai because these people all had bottom lines, had concerns, and were willing to follow the rules and act according to regulations.

Would someone who has lost everything, even their life, still care about so-called rules?
This is the same principle as good people deserving to have guns pointed at them.

It doesn't matter if you push Jin Ping'an too far, but if you push the messenger too far, he might be willing to take a bomb with him and die together.

(End of this chapter)