Chapter 331 — A Composed Response

But there was no answer from inside the room, not so much as a stir... Wei Zhao's brow furrowed at once. Had this fellow Xie Jinbiao not come back? Or had someone dragged him off?

"Xie Jinbiao?" Wei Zhao called out.

"Big Brother?" This time a sound did come from within, and a moment later the door swung open to reveal Xie Jinbiao's gaunt, ashen face! The room inside was pitch-dark, not even the light switched on.

"Why haven't you turned on the light?" Wei Zhao stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

"I didn't dare!" Xie Jinbiao said meekly. "Someone knocked earlier — sounded like a waiter — and I didn't even dare make a sound. I didn't dare turn on the light either, for fear the Shuilan Gang would track me down and finish me off... Big Brother, you're formidable, you don't fear them, but I'm not like that. I can't fight them — the moment they see me, I'm dead... So for safety's sake, I played the part of a room with nobody in it. Just air..."

"..." Wei Zhao was rendered briefly speechless. Even if the Shuilan Gang held sway over this city, they hardly had the luxury of searching hotel after hotel, room after room — otherwise they'd never get anything else done.

"Pack up. We're leaving right now." The matter was settled; Wei Zhao had no mind to linger. Qingbo had booked tonight's flights, of course — though if tonight's assignment hadn't been completed, the tickets could still be changed.

Qingbo had booked two return tickets, one in Wei Zhao's name and the other naturally under Xie Jinbiao's. Xie Guangbo had also been thorough in his preparations: guessing his son most likely carried no ID on him, he had obtained a fresh set of identity documents for Wei Zhao to keep on his person.

Xie Jinbiao had already showered. His clothes were a little dirty, but there was little else to prepare, so he went downstairs with Wei Zhao. Wei Zhao had Xie Jinbiao slip out the hotel's back entrance and into the car first, while he himself checked out at the front desk, unhurried and at ease.

As he was settling his bill, several members of the Shuilan Gang came charging into the hotel lobby, shouting at the desk clerk: "Have you seen two Shuilan Gang members with a wounded woman in black staying here?"

"N-n-no..." The clerk jumped in fright and answered hastily.

Wei Zhao had nothing to fear from them. Back at the repair depot he had kept the brim of his cap pulled low; it had been impossible for them to make out his features. He doubted they had even seen enough to register that the cool girl was an Easterner. So Wei Zhao put on the look of a timid, trouble-averse man and said to the clerk, "My deposit... please... I need to go..."

The clerk handed back the deposit slip and his ID. Wei Zhao snatched them up and bolted without a backward glance. The Shuilan Gang members who had barged in watched him go with a sneer of contempt. "Coward!"

The other gang members who heard this burst out laughing as well. "Let's go! Try the next hotel... Damn it, who sent a killer in anyway, to gun down Chief Xiulandan... Still, we're the Second Chief's people — Xiulandan's death suits us just fine! It's just that we won't get any peace for the next few nights. We'll have to hunt down the murderer..."

The clerk watched the Shuilan Gang members leave in trembling relief before letting out a long breath. By this time Wei Zhao had already reached the parking lot, climbed into his car, and was on his way to the airport.

Of the two blue baseball caps in the car, one had been tossed aside. The other now sat on Wei Zhao's head.

"Big Brother... you... how can you still dare to wear that cap?" Xie Jinbiao jumped. The Shuilan Gang was searching for him and for himself right now — wasn't wearing this cap asking for trouble?

"Cut the nonsense!" Wei Zhao shot him a hard glare. "If you don't want to die, sit still and shut up!"

Xie Jinbiao didn't dare open his mouth again, though he was still puzzled deep down. By rights, this Big Brother was no reckless sort. What on earth was he playing at?

The car approached the edge of the city, where someone had set up a checkpoint, blocking every vehicle bound outside the city limits. Only a handful of cars were waved through. The rest all sat stopped at the roadblock — some waiting anxiously for God knew what, others simply turning around and heading back.

Wei Zhao did not pull over to the roadside as the others had. He drove straight toward the checkpoint ahead.

"Big Brother, you're going to ram the checkpoint? They've got so many men — don't do anything foolish..." Xie Jinbiao's fear got the better of him.

Wei Zhao turned his head slowly and fixed him with a cold stare. Xie Jinbiao clamped his mouth shut at once. Big Brother had told him not to speak, and he had spoken anyway — a fresh wave of dread washed over him.

He shouldn't doubt this Big Brother's abilities. Surely he had a plan! Xie Jinbiao told himself so, trying to feel reassured.

"Pull over!"

Just as Wei Zhao's car neared the roadblock, the Water Blue Gang members on sentry duty swept it with a signal flashlight and gestured for him to stop...

Wei Zhao brought the car to a halt, and several Water Blue Gang members closed in around it: "Get out! What do you do? Don't you know the Water Blue Gang has sealed off the road? Eh? You're one of ours? Lift your head — how is it I don't recognize you?"

"Brother, I... I just wanted to ask, what's happened up ahead? Why is the road blocked?" Wei Zhao inquired with elaborate caution.

"What business is it of yours to ask so much? I'm the one asking the questions — what do you do, and where did that cap of yours come from?" The Water Blue Gang member found Wei Zhao deeply suspicious and barked at him.

"Brother, I bought this car just today at the Water Blue Gang's repair yard. The cap was a gift from Brother York — I bought the car from him, and he said that as long as I wore this cap, no one in Blue City would give me any trouble..." Wei Zhao went on, still carefully, still meekly.

"Oh? You're saying you bought this car from us?" The gang member nodded, then shouted to another member standing not far off: "Chief, there's a fellow here says he bought his car from us — that York sold it to him, and gave him the cap too!"

"Then give York a call. If it checks out, let him go; if not, haul him back with us!" The little chief was busy inspecting other cars and had no time to waste jabbering with the men on this side. He waved a hand and went off to deal with other matters.

"Then wait here a moment!" The gang member inspecting the car had warmed up considerably — after all, the man before him might well be a customer of the Water Blue Gang.

He pulled out his phone and hunted through his contacts for a long while before he finally found York's name and dialed. York, plainly checking cars somewhere himself, picked up and said hurriedly: "Lazi? What do you need me for?"