Chapter 1 The Aftermath

One day later, in the evening, at a high-end apartment complex.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the windows, seeping through the gaps in the curtains and into the room. Kong Zhengqi and a woman lay in bed, savoring the passion they had just shared.

"Dilingling!"

The cell phone on the bedside table suddenly rang. Kong Zhengqi stubbed out his cigarette and picked up the phone. "Hello, what's up?"

"General Manager, we've found a buyer for that batch of goods from yesterday. I contacted one," a voice from the finance department said over the phone. "It's Lao Qi and his people. They want to come and see the goods."

Hearing about the business opportunity, Kong Zhengqi sobered up a bit. "When?"

The finance person replied, "In an hour."

Kong Zhengqi glanced at his watch. "Okay, I'll get ready and head over now."

"Alright." The finance person hung up.

As soon as he put down the phone, the woman leaned over to kiss him, but Kong Zhengqi gently pushed her away. "I'm going out. Stay here for a while."

The woman was a little unhappy. "Hmph, going to see another little vixen?"

Kong Zhengqi smiled and pinched the woman. "I'm going to see your mother. Be good, okay?"

"Ugh, you little garbage!" The woman didn't seem very satisfied with their earlier encounter.

After a few more teases, Kong Zhengqi got dressed and left the apartment.

Aside from his weakness for women, Kong Zhengqi had basically no flaws. He liked to handle things personally, and he had a strong work ethic.

The Kong family's children all had one thing in common: they were all very capable when it came to specific tasks. It was precisely because of this style that their family had been able to accumulate so much wealth.

In the casino, many seemingly lucrative departments didn't actually offer their managers much opportunity for embezzlement because Kong Zhengqi controlled everything. He was willing to give, and you could make some shady income; if he wasn't willing, he could recite all the financial details from memory.

Ten minutes later, a car left the apartment and headed for the casino.

…

Around six o'clock, the buyer and Kong Zhengqi met in the casino's backyard warehouse and began opening the boxes to inspect the goods.

At the same time, a black van stopped in front of the casino. Kong Zhengqi, with two people from finance and three or four attendants, went straight to the third-floor office area.

Entering the office and finding his cousin absent, Kong Zhenghui turned to the female secretary and asked, "Where's the General Manager?"

The secretary quickly explained, "The General Manager is at the warehouse, talking business with a buyer. Do you need me to call him?"

"No need," Kong Zhenghui nodded. "Bring the casino's finance people here. I need to audit the accounts."

"Yes!" The secretary sashayed out of the room.

"Rumble!"

A burst of loud engine noise came in.

Kong Zhenghui glanced out the window and saw a line of high-powered military vehicles driving down the street in the distance.

The Dragon City area had local garrisons that frequently rotated troops. Ordinary military vehicles driving in the city weren't anything new. Kong Zhenghui didn't pay it much attention and continued waiting for the finance people.

Five minutes later, the finance people entered the office, and they began handling the funds.

…

While Kong Zhenghui was busy, the line of military vehicles stopped directly in front of the casino's main entrance. A large number of garrison soldiers jumped out of the vehicles and surrounded the casino in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, the security guards outside the casino hurriedly stepped forward to ask, "What's going on? What is this…?"

The soldiers glanced at them, not paying them any attention. They simply and rudely pushed aside the security personnel, grabbed their guns, and rushed into the casino...

At the same time, in the spacious backyard of the casino, several trucks were parked.

Inside the warehouse, the buyer and seller were counting the goods, apparently having reached an agreement.

Kong Zhengqi wiped his hands with a clean towel and said, "Either you pay me all at once, and I'll give you all the goods. You know these are all for covering debts. I just need to avoid losing money. Or, you can help me sell them on consignment, and we'll split the money. Lao Qi, we've been working together for so long. I trust you."

The buyer was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a suit and smiling. "Hehe, sure, we've been doing business for so many years…"

"Bang!"

Before he could finish speaking, a loud crash suddenly came from the direction of the back gate, startling everyone.

"What's going on?" Kong Zhengqi frowned and walked towards the warehouse door.

When they came out, they saw that the back gate had been rammed open. Seven or eight military vehicles were parked in the yard, and a large number of soldiers had jumped out and blocked the exit.

A battalion commander coldly swept his gaze over Kong Zhengqi and the others and pointed. "Take them all down!"

The soldiers charged toward them aggressively. Kong Zhengqi was a little dazed by the sudden situation and couldn't help but ask, "What's going on, brother? This is the Huatong Society's territory."

"We're smashing up the Huatong Society's territory!" The battalion commander put his left hand on his hip, drew his sidearm with his right hand, and pulled the trigger, firing into the sky.

"Bang!"

The gunshot frightened many of the workers, who retreated backward.

The battalion commander raised his handgun and shouted at them, "Stop talking nonsense and squat down!"

Kong Zhengqi frowned, realizing that the newcomers were not friendly. He quickly winked at the people beside him, signaling them to secretly use their cell phones to call for help. He then walked forward and said loudly, "I am Kong Zhengqi of the Huatong Society. Who is your leader? Let's talk. There must be some misunderstanding…!"

Two soldiers rushed to his side, grabbed his arms, and slammed him to the ground with a thud.

"What are you doing?" Kong Zhengqi shouted, "Who gave you the right?"

No one paid any attention to Kong Zhengqi. In the blink of an eye, all the other workers were also subdued.

…

In the casino lobby, twenty or so soldiers, armed with automatic rifles, surrounded the area.

The guests looked at the soldiers who had suddenly rushed in, bewildered. They wondered why the military was mobilized since Dragon City didn't crack down on gambling. Had the laws been changed overnight?!

An officer, yelling, shouted to the guests: "Everyone squat on the ground, don't move!"

No one dared to mess with armed soldiers. After the shout, all the tourists, and the staff, all squatted on the ground.

First, the hall, then the second floor, were all brought under control.

"Pa Pa Pa!"

A burst of footsteps resounded, and a dozen soldiers rushed to the third-floor office, checking each door.

In the innermost office, Kong Zhenghui was still dealing with financial matters with the finance people. Suddenly hearing a commotion outside, followed by dense footsteps, he couldn't help but frown and ask, "What's going on outside?"

"Bang!"

Just as Kong Zhenghui was about to go out to see what was happening, the office door was suddenly kicked open.

The soldiers rushed in, sealing off the office in the blink of an eye.

Kong Zhenghui stood up abruptly, asking in confusion, "What unit are you with? What do you want?!"

An officer strode forward, saying expressionlessly, "Kong Zhenghui, you are suspected of involvement in a case of selling stolen military supplies. We are under orders to arrest you."

Kong Zhenghui raised his eyebrows and asked, "You? Arrest me?!"