Chapter Fifty-Seven: Crisis

As soon as he stepped off the plane, the scent of rain-soaked earth greeted him, and the fervent warmth of Mansaiga welcomed its distant guests with open arms. Pan Lun twisted his neck, stretched languidly, and finally shook off the fatigue of the flight.

His reception awaited him at the arrivals gate. No sooner had Pan Lun appeared than his greeter hurried forward, ushering him into the black sedan parked outside the airport.

Seated in the car, Pan Lun addressed his host, “Wang Zhi, how are things here lately?”

Wang Zhi turned from the front passenger seat, replying, “Not much has changed at the casino. After all, there are only so many people in Mansaiga, and visitors from back home haven’t increased much.”

“The betting site is doing a bit better than before. The disappearance of that scam company that used to send us customers did impact business, but now things are recovering. I’ve recruited some new people to handle promotion, so I reckon in time the effects of that scam company will be completely erased.”

Pan Lun nodded. He was well aware how much trouble Sun Zhengtao’s disappearance had caused him, not to mention the subsequent vanishing of Qian Zhen. This was precisely why he felt dissatisfied with Song Xin and Xu Wei.

Business is ruthless: there are no eternal friends, no permanent enemies. Those who bring profit are friends; those who cause loss become foes.

After the upheavals of the past few months, Pan Lun realized that relying on one person was too great a risk. Better to depend on oneself. He planned to expand his promotional team—perhaps even assemble his own money-laundering crew, just in case Song Xin’s side faltered and dragged him down.

Though he’d made his position clear to Song Xin and even to Xu Wei, without his own team, he’d still be dependent on them. And by now, Pan Lun had no fondness for Xu Wei whatsoever; he was already preparing to replace this partner.

Pan Lun asked Wang Zhi, “How large is our promotional team now? And what about the tech team—are we hiring?”

Wang Zhi answered, “The promo team’s about two hundred strong now, the tech team has a hundred. Without anyone sending us recruits, it’s tough to hire. I’ve had them start looking online.”

After a pause, Wang Zhi continued, “Promotion is easier, since people don’t have to come to Mansaiga—many are willing. But the tech team is harder; these programmers aren’t so easily fooled anymore, few are willing to make the move. Those loan sharks aren’t doing their part—if they squeezed more programmers, hiring wouldn’t be so difficult.”

Pan Lun understood: if not for desperate circumstances, skilled programmers wouldn’t leave home for Mansaiga, where living conditions were poor compared to back home.

This was the butterfly effect caused by the disappearance of the Qian brothers. Without predatory loan companies luring people into debt, programmers were content with their domestic salaries, unwilling to risk it all to join Pan Lun’s tech team in Mansaiga.

Pan Lun said to Wang Zhi, “There’s always a way. Besides our own promo team, let’s find a few more 'pigs'—the difficulties will pass. Take it slow.” He lowered his head, ending the conversation, and Wang Zhi, understanding, turned back and left Pan Lun in peace.

Pan Lun’s mind was still plotting how to replace Xu Wei and his associates. He realized his phone was off, so he switched it on. As soon as it connected, Song Xin’s message arrived as expected.

Reading the text, Pan Lun grew instantly alert, forgetting he was still in the car. He sent Song Xin a request for a voice call. After a few beeps, the line connected. Before Song Xin could speak, Pan Lun said, his tone tinged with annoyance, “What’s going on? Didn’t you guarantee our partnership wouldn’t run into trouble? What’s this about Hai Feng? Why’s he come to Mansaiga? You said you hadn’t been exposed—so why is he here?”

Song Xin replied calmly, “It’s precisely because we’re partners that I’m informing you Hai Feng and his group have arrived in Mansaiga. If we’d been exposed, he’d show up in Ming City, not where you are. I don’t know what he’s up to—just giving you a heads up. If he’s not here to investigate you, it’s nothing to worry about. If he is, you can prepare in advance.”

Pan Lun considered it. Song Xin had a point: if Hai Feng was targeting her group, he’d be investigating in Ming City, not traveling thousands of miles to Mansaiga. Since he was here, his target must be in Mansaiga—and Pan Lun wasn’t the only one from back home. Whether Hai Feng was after him specifically was uncertain.

Pan Lun’s irritation faded. He said to Song Xin, with a hint of sarcasm, “So you don’t even know what he’s here for, but you want me to watch out? You’re all so jumpy—didn’t expect Xu Wei to be so timid!”

Before Song Xin could answer, Pan Lun continued, “There’s one thing I don’t understand. You say Hai Feng isn’t targeting you, but why has he taken down every company you’ve partnered with? That can’t be coincidence, right? Or have you been under his scrutiny all along, and he’s picking off your associates one by one?”

Song Xin replied, “Mr. Pan, let me remind you: Commissioner Xu and our partnership have nothing to do with each other, so please stop dragging him into this. I’ll investigate Hai Feng thoroughly; whether he’s targeting our partners, I’ll provide you with a proper explanation.”

Pan Lun found it amusing how eager Song Xin was to distance Xu Wei from the business. He despised Xu Wei’s duplicity—wanting to play both sides—yet envied him for having Song Xin as such a loyal, capable subordinate. He chuckled, “Explain as you see fit. Since he’s a big problem, let me help you out for once.”

Song Xin asked, “What do you mean by help?”

Pan Lun answered, “If he’s trouble, just make him disappear for good. That’d solve everything for you.”

Song Xin knew Pan Lun meant to kill Hai Feng, but her voice remained calm. “I must remind you, Hai Feng is a policeman—and killing a cop brings big trouble.”

Pan Lun laughed, “Isn’t that good news for you? You can use my hand to do the dirty work, and all the trouble falls on me.”

He paused, then continued, “This is Mansaiga, not back home. Here, he’s not a policeman—just another tourist. Mansaiga sees thousands of tourists every year; if one dies, it’s no big deal.”

Song Xin said, “I don’t advise you to do that, though of course I can’t order you. Do as you wish.”

Pan Lun smiled, “Miss Song, no need to distance yourself just yet. If something happens to me, you won’t escape either—we’re all in this together. So you’d best have your Commissioner Xu arrange for my protection. And send me photos of Hai Feng and his group as soon as possible.”

Song Xin knew Pan Lun was not to be trifled with. He was warning her—and warning Xu Wei—to maintain their stance. If Pan Lun got into trouble, he’d drag Song Xin and her associates down with him.

Song Xin understood Pan Lun’s thinking: though she claimed Hai Feng wasn’t targeting her, starting with Sun Zhengtao, every company she’d cultivated had been taken down by Hai Feng. She couldn’t honestly believe it was mere coincidence. She didn’t know the real reason, but Pan Lun’s method—removing Hai Feng—would indeed solve everything. So Song Xin said, “Understood. I’ll send you their photos shortly.”

At that moment, the White Tiger Squad was on their way to the hotel, chatting and laughing as they admired the scenery. Unlike back home, the vegetation here was lush, the vistas wide. Though Mansaiga lagged in modernization, its undeveloped charm brought its own pleasures: the green hills and clear waters were soothing to the soul.

Hai Feng sat in the car, gazing out the window, recalling what Li Weiwei and Zhao Zhijie had reported three days earlier.

At the time, Hai Feng was in his office, writing up case logs—planning to document his cybercrime investigation methods for future reference. Li Weiwei had just announced she’d cracked the betting site’s server. Hai Feng’s spirits soared; he told Li Weiwei and Zhao Zhijie to meet him at their secret base.

Once there, Hai Feng pressed Li Weiwei for details.

Li Weiwei explained, “This company’s servers are well-secured—they’ve got a solid tech team. Luckily, I had a ‘0day’ vulnerability that fit their system. I’ve infiltrated their internal network, and Zhao Zhijie helped organize their data.”

Seeing Hai Feng’s anticipation, Li Weiwei continued, “This betting site is indeed based in Mansaiga. We checked their operating license—there’s no legal registration in Mansaiga, so it’s definitely illegal.”

“Judging by the number of devices on their internal network, the site employs at least four hundred people. If we launch a raid, we can’t manage it alone; we’ll need Mansaiga’s authorities to cooperate.”

“We’ve also reviewed their financials: the site’s monthly cash flow hits several billion, over a hundred billion annually. Some funds go through Zhizhou Pay to fourth-party payment companies and shell companies—after that, the money is completely dispersed and untraceable. But I believe it’s routed through those companies to Mansaiga.”

Zhao Zhijie added, “While tracking their finances, we found some black card accounts, including one I suspect is used by ‘Teacher Song’ for laundering. So we may be facing our old adversary again.”

Hai Feng asked, “You mean ‘Teacher Song’ has resurfaced? Is she behind the laundering?”

Zhao Zhijie nodded, “She may not be solely responsible, but she’s likely involved.”

Hai Feng replied, “Got it. Gather the team—we’re heading to Mansaiga to find out who’s really running this gambling site, and to meet our old nemesis, see what she’s made of!”

Lost in thought, Hai Feng was jolted awake by Liu Zhiyang as they arrived at the hotel. Hai Feng let go of his reverie, joined the others, and entered.

That night, Tang Xin relayed her conversation with Pan Lun to Xu Wei. Xu Wei was displeased by Pan Lun’s defiant attitude, though he’d once bowed and scraped before him. Deep down, Xu Wei held contempt for such businessmen.

He believed these people forgot their roots once they’d made money, parading themselves as big shots, flaunting their status before public officials, even running for positions like commissioner or delegate, meddling in his work.

To Xu Wei, Pan Lun and his ilk were nothing more than short-sighted fat rats. In his mind, money was fleeting—power was eternal. Still, Pan Lun had his uses, so Xu Wei let his disrespect slide.

When Tang Xin told him Pan Lun intended to eliminate the White Tiger Squad in Mansaiga, Xu Wei was shocked, thinking Pan Lun had lost his mind—planning to murder policemen. He cursed Pan Lun’s recklessness.

But as he cursed, Xu Wei fell silent. A voice inside told him that letting Pan Lun handle Hai Feng might be a wise move.

Xu Wei knew how much trouble Hai Feng had caused him: first Sun Zhengtao, then the Qian brothers, then Chai Xian, and even his own brother had been taken down by Hai Feng.

His carefully built underground empire was reduced to Pan Lun as his sole partner. Time and again, Xu Wei suspected Qiu Zhiyong was using Hai Feng specifically to target him.

Yet that seemed unlikely—if Qiu Zhiyong knew his secrets, why hadn’t he interfered during Xu Wei’s promotions? Xu Wei couldn’t fathom the reason, but he knew if Pan Lun dealt with Hai Feng, all his problems would be solved. As long as he stayed clear, sacrificing Pan Lun was worthwhile.

Xu Wei understood Pan Lun wouldn’t let him off so easily, but he also knew this was the perfect chance to remove Hai Feng and clip Qiu Zhiyong’s wings.

So he told Tang Xin he would soon send her photos of Hai Feng and his group, so she could pass them to Pan Lun, and instructed her to keep him updated on Pan Lun’s actions.

In his heart, Xu Wei fervently hoped Pan Lun would resolve Hai Feng in Mansaiga.

Meanwhile, Xu Wei called another trusted subordinate. He was ready to sacrifice Pan Lun—once Hai Feng was eliminated, his aide would be ready to dispose of Pan Lun, eliminating future risks.

After hanging up, Xu Wei settled into the sofa, closing his eyes to rest. He believed he had arranged everything: if Pan Lun succeeded, Hai Feng would be gone. Pan Lun’s sacrifice was insignificant—after all, one general’s success is built on countless bones. For his career and ambitions, Xu Wei had already decided Pan Lun’s corpse would serve as his stepping stone.

The night in Mansaiga was tranquil. The White Tiger Squad slept soundly, while Pan Lun had no interest in the night’s beauty. He was reveling in his own casino, reviewing the photos Song Xin had sent him.

A great battle was about to begin, and this night would be the last peaceful evening for both sides in Mansaiga.