Liu Fei, who had been feigning death, couldn't help but open his eyes when he saw the situation.
"Can you not go too far! I'm the leader of a gang, alright!"
Kullinan looked at Li Chonglou with confusion, wondering if he had said anything wrong to provoke such a reaction.
Could this person be abnormal, perhaps mentally ill? The thought struck Kullinan, and the more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed. After all, what normal person would be held in such a manner?
With that thought, and without waiting for Li Chonglou's reply, Kullinan began to scrutinize Liu Fei with a curious gaze. Unbeknownst to him, this very look deeply wounded Liu Fei's pride.
"Let me go! Otherwise, not a single one of you will escape!"
As he finished speaking, a muffled thud echoed. Eagle Eye muttered as he retracted his hand knife, "So noisy. What courage does a败家之犬 (prodigal dog) have?"
However, with Liu Fei's outburst, Li Chonglou also wanted to obtain the information he desired from the two men as soon as possible.
"Let's head back first. Everyone, follow me."
And so, Li Chonglou led the group to his company.
The airport was less than ten kilometers from the company. Upon reaching the main road, Li Chonglou summoned Gao Baisong's convoy. In about half an hour, they arrived at the company.
In the early stages, to save money, the company and factory were built nearby. The company was a three-story self-built building. However, under Zhou Tong's supervision and renovation, this three-story structure had been transformed into something quite presentable. At least from the outside, it looked no different from offices in the city center.
Furthermore, a large plaque hung at the company entrance, inscribed with the four characters 通古明今 (Connecting the ancient and the present) in calligraphic style, exuding a certain artistic flair.
However, upon entering and discovering it was merely a clothing company, Eagle Eye was the first to voice his surprise, "I say, boss, this isn't a newly opened company, is it? What did you do before this?"
"What, are you afraid I don't have money to pay you?" Li Chonglou rolled his eyes and then instructed Zhou Tong to arrange a lavish dinner.
The sun was just setting as well. Zhou Tong busied himself with arrangements. Once everything was set, and while the others were enjoying the feast, he quietly pulled Li Chonglou aside.
"Brother Li, what's the deal with these people? And that big guy, damn, could he really be a bodyguard you hired?"
With Meat Mountain's physique, he was always the center of attention wherever he went. But if he were truly hired as a bodyguard, it would certainly provide a great sense of security.
Li Chonglou smiled. With their combined skills, especially Meat Mountain's, hiring them merely as company bodyguards would be a gross underutilization of their talents.
Finally, he gave Zhou Tong a brief overview of the individuals' identities.
"Free agents? I think I've heard clients mention that before, but aren't they a bunch of really twisted guys? I heard that only old-school assassins and killers can do that kind of work."
A hint of wariness suddenly appeared in Zhou Tong's eyes as he looked at the group.
After following Li Chonglou, he had gradually come into contact with this circle. Previously, he would only deal with wealthy individuals, and might have even tried to build connections.
But now, he feared that a single misspoken word could lead to his demise by a mere flick of a finger.
Li Chonglou, seeing through his thoughts, shook his head and said, "Don't worry, they're just trying to make a living."
Zhou Tong asked, "Then why did you bring them back to the company?"
"Not as bodyguards, but they can be muscle. Isn't it reassuring to have skilled fighters at your disposal?"
Li Chonglou grinned, which earned him a roll of Zhou Tong's eyes. In his opinion, there was no difference between a bodyguard and muscle.
However, Li Chonglou's words had some merit. Still, Zhou Tong expressed his concern, "Are you sure I can handle them? What if they don't listen to me?"
Li Chonglou turned his gaze towards the dining table. Meat Mountain sat in a corner, engrossed in his meal. Across from him, Chen Pao and Eagle Eye were engaged in a lively conversation, while Kullinan sat quietly to the side. Liu Fei was also at the table, but positioned next to Meat Mountain, any slight movement would draw the attention of everyone.
Li Chonglou pondered for a moment and then whispered to Zhou Tong, "If they all stay, have Meat Mountain follow you. Pay attention to Chen Pao, and just observe Eagle Eye."
Zhou Tong immediately understood Li Chonglou's intention and couldn't help but give a wry smile, "Brother Li, the way you put it makes me even more scared."
Li Chonglou patted his shoulder, "Don't worry. Even if they have ulterior motives, they'll at most use you to threaten me, they won't lay a hand on you."
In fact, Li Chonglou had considered this before returning. It would be disingenuous to say he wasn't worried, but to achieve great things, some risks had to be taken.
Moreover, as he had stated, the core issue was that Zhou Tong gave them no reason to kill him. Zhou Tong was just an ordinary person, so any action against him would, at most, be a form of threat.
As long as no one was killed, everything would be manageable.
There was also another reason that led Li Chonglou to make this choice.
Although this incident seemed resolved, the subsequent troubles were just beginning. For one thing, Lin Qianqian would definitely need his cooperation for investigations, and the General Administration would likely take notice of him.
Therefore, after this matter, Li Chonglou had truly come into contact with people from the martial arts circles in Shangjing, which posed a potential risk for Zhou Tong and the others.
While they were referred to as muscle, in a sense, they were also bodyguards for Zhou Tong provided by Li Chonglou. It was important to remember that his company wasn't just about Zhou Tong; there was also Hai Yan and Yu Ke, all of whom were his friends. Li Chonglou naturally did not want anything to happen to them.
After his conversation with Zhou Tong, Li Chonglou returned to the dining table. However, his attention, rather than being on the exquisite food, was fixed on Liu Fei.
"After this meal, I expect your cooperation. Otherwise, just eat seriously."
Liu Fei, who had been lowering his head, paused upon hearing the latter part of the sentence. Meat Mountain, sitting beside him, also stopped eating.
The atmosphere suddenly turned heavy. Chen Pao and Eagle Eye also concluded their conversation and turned their gaze towards Liu Fei.
However, Liu Fei offered no response, merely pausing before continuing to eat. Instead, Chen Pao turned and asked, "Brother Li, regarding the voice recorder..."
"I've listened to the recording. I'll tell you the whereabouts of the materials later."
Li Chonglou replied directly. Green Bull's dying words had not been deceitful. The core materials were hidden within the blue doll that Chen Peiyue had taken away. However, she had later resold the doll to an informant of Green Bull, so Chen Peiyue likely didn't know its current location.
It was also a coincidence that Green Bull's informant had obtained the blue doll inadvertently.