MWC – Chapter 114 Heart of Darkness (Part 1)

I AM DROPPING THIS NOVEL. IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTINUE THEY CAN. IF POSSIBLE PLEASE SHARE THE LINK SO I CAN BINGE READ TOO.

Early in the morning, Lu Ming came out of his bedroom yawning, only to find a steaming breakfast already laid out on the coffee table in front of the long sofa. There was quite a variety: soft foods like soy milk, milk, and porridge, and dry foods like fried eggs, fried meat, and egg yolk bread.

Han Annie was tidying up the messy files on her desk, reaching for something at the back of the desk. She was on her tiptoes, her body leaning forward, her black-stockinged legs and the curves of her body in a blue skirt looked quite enticing, with a youthful vibe.

Lu Ming coughed and said, “I’ll eat first and then take a shower and brush my teeth! Have you eaten?”

“I have already eaten!” 

The clear and crisp response was expected. Lu Ming, as usual, patted the seat beside him and said, “Come, sit with me and eat a little more!”

Unexpectedly, Han Annie hesitated for a moment, then walked over and just sat down opposite him.

“Ah, you should like soy milk…” Lu Ming picked up the steaming soy milk and blew on it, “I’ll cool it down for you.”

Han Annie ignored him and silently unpacked the food bags, placing them in front of Lu Ming. She also put a fried egg on Lu Ming’s plate, having noticed yesterday morning that Lu Ming eats very little in the morning, usually just a glass of milk and a fried egg.

“My mother was my father’s concubine…” Han Annie suddenly said.

Lu Ming was startled, nodded, and stopped joking around. He placed the soy milk in front of her and silently picked up the milk, taking a sip.

“My father is Han Renwang. I don’t know if you’ve heard of him?”

Lu Ming was taken aback again, “Han Renwang” was the mayor and military commander of Beining City in Wu’an, essentially a local warlord, one of the many military factions in the Northern Frontier Province.

But he was already in his sixties or seventies and was rumored to have a violent and unpredictable temperament.

“I’ve wanted to leave that home for a long time. Since the beginning of this year, my father established my eldest brother as his successor. My eldest brother’s mother, whom I call Auntie, has been bullying my mother even more, so…”

Lu Ming remained silent. Just as he was about to speak, the phone on the desk suddenly rang urgently.

There were two phone lines in the room: one to the “secretary’s office” for calls that needed Lu Ming’s attention, and the one on the desk, which was like a red hotline, used only by important people who could dial directly.

Since the red hotline was ringing, Lu Ming had to get up and pick up the receiver.

It was Action Group Leader Cantona, “Commissioner, early this morning, our agents monitoring at Nanpu discovered a suspicious vehicle. The people getting out of the car were wearing trench coats and masks. One of them, possibly unconscious, was carried into an alley with many small inns. We’ve almost confirmed which inn they are in. Upon investigation, the inn is unregistered. But we can’t be sure if it’s the radical organization hideout your informant mentioned. Should we continue monitoring closely or take action now?”

Lu Ming hesitated. If this was indeed the location mentioned in Bizhu’s tape recording, the suspects might be taking action again, and delaying could result in another death. But if it was a misunderstanding, it could alert the suspects.

After a few seconds, Lu Ming nodded, “Take action! If it turns out to be a mistake, start a thorough search of the area immediately, going door-to-door.” Since the surveillance began, the action office had obtained special authorization from the court for a search operation in the Nanpu area. The special authorization was obtained from Judge Christine, so there was no risk of leaks.

After putting down the phone, Lu Ming looked at Han Annie and said, “No matter what, I will stand by your side and support you.” Without waiting for Han Annie to react, he added, “Alright, I have some official business to attend to. Tell Datou to prepare the car!”

…

At a herbal tea stall near Nanpu Railway Station, with a sign indicating it was closed for business, Lu Ming sat under the awning, observing the crowd not far away.

The inn under investigation was located in the most secluded part of an inn street. A cordon was now set up around it, with patrol officers stationed every few steps in front of the cordon, and outside, a crowd of onlookers had gathered.

Forensic officers in white protective suits were entering the inn from their vehicle.

Moments earlier, a gunfight had erupted here. Rumor had it that gang members had been shot dead by the police on the spot.

The onlookers were excitedly discussing the events.

After watching for a while, Lu Ming turned around and entered the inner room of the herbal tea stall.

This herbal tea stall had long been turned into an action team control point.

Inside was a small courtyard. Arriving at the eastern wing, Lu Ming peeked through the paper window to see four or five men lying face down on the ground with their heads in their hands, their faces pressed tightly against the floor, with several action team members pointing their guns at them.

The inn seemed to be one of White Rose’s hideouts, containing a dozen militants. Several had been killed on the spot, with the injured sent to the hospital. Those slightly wounded or uninjured were captured—six in total—and were being interrogated one by one.

The captives were not taken back to the Husky Hotel; the interrogation was being conducted immediately for speed and secrecy.

Lu Ming looked at the thinner man among them, “I’ll check on the victim first, then bring this one to the interrogation room. I’ll conduct the interrogation. Make him look heavily injured on the way, as terrifying and bloody as possible, but don’t let them communicate. Just let them catch a glimpse.”

This thin man was the one who had gone to the Wind Bao Club with Little Renault, the one who could speak Central Asian.

He was also number 5 from the tape Bizhu heard, present when Little Martha was tortured.

Beside him, Cantona nodded repeatedly and smiled, “These guys didn’t dare to resist and surrendered immediately.”

Lu Ming smiled, “So, they don’t even have a drop of blood on them…” He turned and went to the western wing.

Inside, a girl in a black uniform stood up and saluted immediately.

She was the only female member of the action team, surnamed Wang, with a military medical background. In the action team, she served a role akin to a field medic, providing immediate medical assistance to injured team members, reducing the risk of injuries worsening or death due to lack of timely care.

Next to her small stool was a medical box.

Sitting on the bed was an elderly man in his fifties or sixties, with gray hair and a frightened expression. He also stood up when Lu Ming entered. He had an IV drip attached to his wrist.

Xiao Wang said from the side, “Mr. Gao, this is Commissioner Lu, our top supervisor!”

The elderly man immediately became agitated and bowed, “Thank you, thank you, sir!”

On a normal day, he would have been very arrogant in front of the police or any law enforcement leaders. But today, having barely escaped death, he still felt unreal, and he was still worried about the true identity of these people and whether they really intended to let him go home.

Lu Ming looked at the elderly man, speechless for a moment. These White Rose people had truly gone mad. They seemed to crave more and more excitement, targeting successful individuals from Central Asia, and the first target was crazily ambitious.

This Mr. Gao, named Gao Jingtai, was the head of Century Pictures, a major film company second only to Renault Pictures. In recent years, it had been catching up with Renault in terms of development.

It was undoubtedly Little Renault’s idea, both for excitement and to hit Renault’s competitor.

White Rose probably hadn’t realized the danger approaching them. Even if they had heard about the Special Action Office’s existence, they might still think it was business as usual with law enforcement only putting on a show. Higher-level sources would probably lead them to believe it was just a power play by the Grand Prosecutor’s Office to expand its authority.

Nobody would imagine that I, a mere small-time official, would be going all out to track down these radical organizations.

Looking at Gao Jingtai, Lu Ming smiled, “Mr. Gao, the medical vehicle will arrive soon, but Xiao Wang has checked your health. There’s no major issue, just a bit of dehydration. She’s already giving you an IV. Before you leave, could you make a statement?”

“Yes, yes, no problem!” Gao Jingtai replied hastily.

“Do you need a lawyer present?” Lu Ming asked.

“Can I call a lawyer?” Gao Jingtai was taken aback.

“Of course,” Lu Ming smiled, “There’s a phone here. Should I have them bring it over?”

Gao Jingtai looked at Lu Ming, hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head, “No need. I’ll make the statement now.”

Clearly, he still felt uneasy and thought it best to follow the arrangements.

“Alright, thank you.” Lu Ming turned and walked out.