Chapter 1 Evening

Evening.

Su Tianyu, having finished the Bai family's funeral affairs, immediately returned to the warehouse. But he was dumbfounded as soon as he entered because the goods at the door had been moved.

"Da Xiong, Da Xiong?!" Su Tianyu stood at the door and glanced around. He didn't go inside, but called out softly twice.

After a few seconds, a head peeked out from the abandoned cellar in the lower level of the warehouse. Da Xiong, his face dirty, replied in a low voice, "I... I'm here, Brother Yu!"

This warehouse was rented by Mingyuan Company later. It used to be used to store fresh goods. The basement floor not only had a cellar, but also two pools.

Da Xiong crawled out and wiped the water stains from his face.

Seeing him, Su Tianyu immediately closed the door: "What's going on?"

"Some... someone came in the afternoon to inspect the warehouse... a watchman." Da Xiong replied, "I didn't dare to go out, so I hid."

Su Tianyu couldn't tell the people from Mingyuan Company that there was a wanted criminal hiding here, so he certainly didn't know why they suddenly came to the warehouse.

"It's... it's okay, they're all gone." Da Xiong said, his face pale.

"Ah, that's good!" Su Tianyu stepped into the room and helped Da Xiong take out simple medical supplies and daily necessities from the cellar.

Ten minutes later, Su Tianyu shone a small flashlight on Da Xiong's wound, changed the dressing for him, and gave him an anti-inflammatory injection with a disposable syringe.

Da Xiong sat on the goods, lowered his head, and didn't say a word.

Su Tianyu used the electric kettle he brought yesterday to boil some hot water and made another bowl of instant noodles for Da Xiong: "Eat something first, I'll find a way to bring you some nutritious food tomorrow or the day after."

"Bro... Brother Yu... you're too kind to me... I owe... owe you...!" Da Xiong lowered his head, holding the instant noodles. It was hard to tell whether it was because he stuttered or because he was inherently introverted, but he found it difficult to express his gratitude.

Su Tianyu immediately waved his hand: "Don't say that, eat."

Da Xiong nodded slowly, picked up the instant noodles with a fork, and ate them in big mouthfuls.

Su Tianyu lay on his back on the cargo boxes, his head resting on his arms, his eyes blankly staring at the blurry ceiling.

Before long, Da Xiong finished the instant noodles, not even leaving a drop of the soup.

"Are you sleepy?" Su Tianyu asked.

"I... I'm not sleepy yet."

"I won't leave tonight, otherwise you won't be able to handle it if the watchman comes over." Su Tianyu stretched: "I'm sleepy, I'll sleep for a while, you wake me up in the second half of the night."

"Okay, good!" Da Xiong nodded heavily.

"Don't think too much, just focus on healing your wounds." Su Tianyu turned over, lying on his side with his back to Da Xiong, and slowly closed his eyes, saying, "Tomorrow I'll think of a way to get a familiar watchman to come over."

"Okay," Da Xiong responded quietly.

After Su Tianyu finished instructing Da Xiong, he didn't say anything else, just lay on the pile of goods to rest.

Late at night, the room was eerily silent, and Da Xiong, sitting on the pile of goods, could hear the sound of rats foraging around the hall.

Su Tianyu seemed to be sleeping soundly, lying on his side on the pile of goods, without moving.

Da Xiong turned his head and glanced at his back, his eyes a little complicated, his expression a little tangled.

He wasn't a smart person, and he thought about things very slowly, needing to ponder them for a long time in his heart. But fortunately, Su Tianyu was asleep, and no one was disturbing his thoughts.

Time passed by, minute by minute. After Da Xiong sat on the pile of goods for nearly three hours, he suddenly got up slowly and stepped onto the ground.

Turning his head to look around, Da Xiong tiptoed to pick up the medical supplies from the pile of goods. After hesitating for more than ten seconds, he resolutely walked towards the small back door.

The surroundings were quiet, and Da Xiong's footsteps echoed rhythmically in the room, but they didn't attract Su Tianyu's attention.

Da Xiong followed the corridor to the back door, decisively pushed open the iron door, glanced at the night outside, and then stepped out.

He had made up his mind that he had to leave, and without saying goodbye to Su Tianyu.

Carrying a plastic bag, Da Xiong walked quickly along the surrounding paths, walking for more than twenty minutes before he noticed that he was far away from the warehouse.

Ahead was the city, with thousands of lights illuminating the night, but it had nothing to do with Da Xiong.

Behind was the suburbs, with vast lands stretching for tens of thousands of miles, but Da Xiong didn't know where he should go, or how to avoid the search by the city gate guards.

The world was so big, yet there was nowhere for him to find shelter.

Da Xiong clutched the wound on his shoulder, his eyes momentarily filled with confusion and helplessness.

At the crossroads, Da Xiong squatted on the edge of the ditch, looking down at his feet, hot tears streaming down the sides of his face.

Since he was a child, he had suffered physical and mental abuse from his family. After growing up and joining the sanitation department, he was also bullied by his colleagues. Some time ago, he took the blame in the detention center, and the inmates treated him like livestock.

But had Da Xiong ever cried? Never, because at that time he still had hope, he still had longing for life.

But now?

Now Da Xiong was completely desperate and confused. He didn't know where he should go, or where he was headed.

...

Inside the warehouse.

As soon as Da Xiong left, Su Tianyu opened his eyes. He lay alone on the pile of goods and just sighed.

If Da Xiong's experiences, personality, and attitude towards life hadn't truly resonated with Su Tianyu, then the latter would never have chosen to put himself at risk for someone he had known for less than half a year.

Saving Da Xiong's life and treating his wounds were already irrational acts. If Da Xiong were caught in the future and confessed, then Su Tianyu might even be labeled as an accessory and sentenced to more than ten years.

Sheltering him for two days was already the maximum extent of Su Tianyu's capabilities.

Su Tianyu himself couldn't help him, and the Yu family, who could help him, wouldn't.

Five police officers were killed. How big of a deal was that? Who would dare to get involved?

Su Tianyu thought about this for a long time before slowly getting up, cleaning up some traces of life in the room, and also leaving in the night.

...

Two days later.

The Bai family's funeral affairs ended, and Su Tianyu, Kong Zhenghui, Bai Hongbo and others went to the Yu family together to meet Yu Mingyuan and discuss what to do next.

At the same time.

Inside the teahouse opened by Gu Tongshan in Longkou District, Li Hongze, Lu Feng, Xu Hu, Wei Xiangzuo, and more than a dozen core members of the wharf gang in Zhanan District were all gathered together.

"We're friends, but business is business." Li Hongze said with a light smile, smoking a cigarette, "What kind of tangible benefits can I get by getting involved?"

"You also have a grudge against the Yu family, our goals are the same." A core member of the wharf gang said with a smile.

"That's different." Li Hongze waved his hand and said, "We have a conflict with the Yu family, we can settle the score ten years later, but if we get involved with you guys now, we'll become the gun."

Xu Hu pondered for a long time: "If the Yu family is overthrown, the Zhanan District wharf gang will be unified. In addition, you'll get a share of the sea trade, the same scale as what the Yu family used to do."

Li Hongze pondered for a long time: "Deal, it's settled!"

"If things are done on a small scale, it won't be effective." Gu Tongshan said succinctly: "Make things bigger, the more attention it gets from above, the better."