Deadly Trap.

Chapter 17. Violence for Violence
"His reputation is well-deserved, but his actual abilities are hard to live up to."

Behind him, the man's voice spoke to himself, barely concealing his smug satisfaction, "I'd long heard of the 'Great Strategist of Minzhou,' and it turns out it's this simple. All I have to do is pull the trigger—"

Enjoying the palpable tension in the air, the unfamiliar voice grew increasingly smooth, accompanied by a soft laugh:
"Unfortunately, a very important person wants to see you. Make your way there."

The voice spoke dismissively, and the black muzzle of the gun flashed suddenly. The gun barrel blurred to the right, and then, once again, it slammed violently back into the back of his head.

Clearly, the other party was threatening him to go to the right.

Out of the corner of his eye, Gu Mufeng could also spot a dark, narrow alley across the street. A black Jeep was parked on the shoulder of the alley. It was only a few steps away, not very far.

Gu Mufeng stood still, motionless.

“I won’t play along.” He said simply, his voice calm and unhurried. “Go find your master and make him come to see me in person. I might as well take the time to hear what he has to beg for.”

"Ha, what a big mouth you've got. You've forgotten?"

As if in a show of defiance, Gu Mufeng pressed the gun against his occipital bone again with force. The bullet was poised to fire.

"Now, you have no choice. Trying to fool me? Don't you want to know who's threatening you?"

Gu Mufeng remained calm and gave a cold snort: "I have no interest in a dog's name."

"'dog'?"

At that moment, the voice behind the gun cracked: "It's just a collaboration, K! You only rose to power by stepping on your brothers. Soon the throne will change hands, and you won't even be a dog anymore!"

"You wish."

"Shut up! I don't care about any 'big shot's' plans if I want to! Right now, I'm going to take your life!"

In his rage, the muzzle of the gun trembled dangerously.

"Heh." A beautiful smile curved his lips, as if he had heard the funniest joke. Gu Mufeng chuckled softly, a rare occurrence for him. "You? You can't do it."

"boom!"

Gunfire erupted in the suburbs, like the sound of war horns.

The bullet flew out with a "whoosh" and pierced straight through the steel plate of the Panamera ten paces away.

The matte, night-sky blue paint left black marks, like cigarette butts pressed into skin, and now, smoke was rising. The recoil caused the gun to drift momentarily.

At the same time, a black glove appeared out of nowhere, steadily pulling over the scorching hot barrel, its thumb smoothly engaging the safety at the butt of the gun. Another black glove appeared even more suddenly, its hand locking the wrist holding the gun.

He stepped back, then suddenly exerted force, pulling the other man's body close and slamming his knee into his heart with pinpoint accuracy.

"Clang".

"...Ugh."

Gu Mufeng's strength was formidable. He coldly glanced at the man at his feet who was vomiting blood, his face full of disgust.

That's really far off. And it's incredibly dirty.

He didn't even have the heart to raise his hand and kick the other person hard in the mouth as usual.

Without any hesitation, Gu Mufeng twisted the human wrist he held like a rebellious origami.

"Click".

In an instant, the man beneath his feet sprang up, then slammed back to the ground like a whip. "Ouch—" The man curled up in pain, gasping for breath.

The black pistol was flung from his dislocated hand. Inertia sent the gun flying in an arc through the air—straight through, it landed in Gu Mufeng's outstretched palm.

The man gasped and stared wide-eyed, unable to believe that he had been so easily subdued by this figure who had nothing to do with violence. Fear and embarrassment welled up in his eyes.

"It seems this appearance really makes you forget what I've done in the past." Gu Mufeng's tone was extremely sarcastic, his lips barely moving.

He had barely finished speaking when Welsh, who had heard the gunshot signal from the narrow alley across the empty street, jumped out of his ambush and strode over: "Boss, is that you?"

"……fine."

Slightly lifting the beautiful eyelids beneath Jiao Jin's hair, Gu Mufeng gently rubbed his right ear, silently enduring the piercing ringing in his ears after the gunshot.

With practiced ease, he ejected the magazine from the semi-automatic pistol with one hand, gave the weapon a quick glance, and then kicked the assassin in the lower back with the tip of his black leather shoe, dismissing him like trash. He then handed the weapon over to Welsh.

Three steps away, Gu Mufeng's left hand, holding the gun, hung naturally as he looked at his prisoner with great interest.

The man knelt on the ground in a disheveled state, his eyes defiant and stubborn, staring at him with hatred.

For some reason, Gu Mufeng frowned slightly as he looked at this face. Somewhere in his memory, this face made the long scar on his forearm on his back ache faintly.

Ignoring the fresh dislocation of his right wrist, Welsh twisted and pressed both of the man's hands behind his back, then bound them with industrial tape, making him look like a large worm. The man lay stiffly on the cold, rough cement floor, only his head stubbornly held high.

Veins bulged, and the man blurted out:

"you--"

"Oh yeah."

His tone was casual and playful, but Gu Mufeng's smile was icy cold.

"Forget about threats. You don't actually think I know nothing about you, do you?"

"I set bait several times, hoping to catch a dog."

"I'm very busy, but in order to get this dog to bark a few more times, I actually have to put on an act."

At this point, Gu Mufeng's face lit up with an enigmatic smile: "But you did say something interesting."

The man on the ground stared wide-eyed:
"Could it be that you—"

"That's right, everything is under my control."

"I deliberately parked the car far away, just to urge you to hurry up and take action."

“I know I have a bad reputation, and you will definitely use guns; I also expect your ‘big shot’ won’t be willing to kill me immediately. So, I still want your guns.”

"Actually, I want both the gun and the bullets."

"even……"

As he spoke, Gu Mufeng raised his hand.

"Boss, the Slayer sniper team and I have taken down the enemy support and strapped them into the car as planned."

After Welsh calmly finished his report, Gu Mufeng's carefully planned "little plan" was finally completed.

Looking down at him with a disdainful gaze, Gu Mufeng strode forward, raised his foot, and slammed the heel of his leather shoe into the back of the captive on the ground. Amid the man's continuous cries of pain, he bent over, bracing himself against the long leg that stretched out under the force of the blow, and put all his weight on it.

Looking down, Gu Mufeng smiled lightly.
"Before you make a move, find out who you've messed with, okay?" The man at his feet stared wide-eyed, panting heavily, as if he were digesting something.

Before a few illegible swear words could even escape his lips, Welsh promptly ripped off some industrial tape and smeared it over the man's mouth.

This is for the man's good.

Having followed him closely for eight years, Welsh knew his boss inside and out: his boss abhorred violence.

Although Gu Mufeng is a man of few words, always sporting a model's face with a half-smile, when it comes to taking action to torment someone, it's no joke.

"Boss, a gun?"

After securing the prisoners tightly, Welsh stepped forward and asked:

"We were able to get a gun. So it really was the Dark List?"

Without answering immediately, Gu Mufeng carefully placed the pistol into his coat pocket. His thumb rested on the familiar grip, the calluses on his fingertips perfectly fitting the trigger.

He released his grip, and a deep, cold disgust flashed across his eyes.

“Welsh, you take the bullet—” he casually gestured toward his Panamera, “—and dig it out for me.”

"As for the dog, take it back and keep it locked up as planned. Someone will claim it."

"Yes, Boss."

"besides."

Beneath the surface of apparent complete control, a chilling sense of unease crept into Gu Mufeng's heart. He knew all too well that this "big shot," this man who had rekindled hatred from the ashes of seven years ago, would not let the matter rest.

Gu Mufeng's voice was cold and deep: "Welsh, this is something you and I both know."

Seeing Gu Mufeng's gloomy expression, Welsh understood:

"Yes, Boss. As you wish."

Looking at the gloomy sky, Welsh felt a vague, suppressed, and cold unease rising in his heart.

Although I am in complete control, this is just the beginning.

>>>>>
Watching Welsh's prisoner-transporting vehicle disappear into the distance, Gu Mufei finally allowed himself a moment to relax amidst the heavy snow, and slowly exhaled.

White mist surrounded them.

As if unconsciously, his gaze fell on the car door pierced by a bullet.

The bullet marks are still glaring.

His cold, tense face was reflected in the car window, cruelly reminding him:

Minzhou's shrewd strategist, congratulations on narrowly escaping death again. But if your calculations and reactions had been off by even a fraction of a second, the bullet would have pierced your head just now.

You will lose everything.

Rubbing his still-lingering, sharp tinnitus, Gu Mufeng clenched his fists and realized he was sweating profusely; his gloves were damp and sticky. He was still instinctively afraid.

A mocking sneer curled at the corner of Gu Mufeng's lips. Hadn't he already prepared himself for death eleven years ago before it began?
He had to plan meticulously until the very end.

His gaze instantly turned cold as he quickly extinguished this inappropriate emotion, his heart returning to its usual chilling intensity.

Getting into the car, Gu Mufeng started the steel machine in his hands and turned around to head towards the more distant suburbs of Minzhou City. The Panamera smoothly merged into the Minxi Expressway. Evening traffic was heavy, and the brake lights and taillights melted into a red sea against the backdrop of the heavy snow. Gu Mufeng's thoughts, however, drifted elsewhere:
Judging from what just happened, the number of assassins is quite limited. It is likely that some force wants to use Gu Mufei's reputation to make the assassin famous.

However, this person was no stranger to Fri-Night; he even showed undisguised hatred towards Gu Mufei himself.

"K"?
Gu Mufeng chuckled softly. This codename, hadn't it been a long time?

He knew perfectly well that, given the current established power structure in Minzhou City—from the municipal government and the four major financial groups to the Tianxing and Dilong gangs—he and FN were unique and irreplaceable.

If the "big shot" the assassin mentioned was truly a person of high rank and power, it would be impossible for him not to know.

Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, Gu Mufeng was acutely aware of his own value and the threats he posed. If someone wanted to take his place, their intentions would be crystal clear.

Just then, his phone vibrated again on the center console.

Outside the car, the suburbs flashed by. With his left hand firmly on the steering wheel, Gu Mufeng picked up his phone with his right. Several pale black dots overlapped, indicating two new messages.

The topmost one has just arrived, and that's where Dai Ze is:
"The survivor has woken up and is asking questions."

The next item is that of investigation consultant Lee Eun-jo:

"Boss, we found something interesting at the murder scene. XO~"

After a moment's thought, Gu Mufeng replied to Li Enzuo:
"10:30. Office."

A moment later, he replied to Dai Ze:
"On my way to see Cheng. Meeting at eight o'clock. Special forces, be careful."

For some reason, he felt inexplicably worried. With a rare moment of unease, he let go of the phone and placed it back on the center console.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the endless stream of traffic: the police station was not far away. At the end of the snowstorm, the dark gray city skyline loomed faintly, winding and lurking.

His enemy is somewhere, quietly preparing a fatal blow.

What should we do next?
Immediately afterwards, he received a phone call with a single word:

"she".

>>>>>
Next chapter: Sincerely begging him

[Author's Note | Chapter Seventeen]

"You? You can't do it."

The aesthetics of violence are laid bare, and the hunting game has officially taken a turn!

...Since Miss Su Li isn't here, readers, please enjoy the show on her behalf! (laughs)

Gu Mufeng's plans were never thwarted by an attack.

His strategy was grand, his mind too deep. He was accustomed to placing himself in the most dangerous position, then waiting for his enemy to be exposed and defeated.

His calculations were flawless. But everyone makes a mistake someday. And then—what will happen?
His answer to himself was that he could only keep looking forward.

(The author chuckles: Surely things can't always go this smoothly for President Gu?)

In the next chapter, who will make this phone call?

Feel free to leave a comment and discuss the plot!

Thank you for your support, reading, and voting! I'll keep updating diligently!
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(End of this chapter)