manynovel Chapter 73: Ambush
Chapter 73: Ambush
All of this was done in just a few dozen seconds. The police's footsteps were already at the alley entrance.
"Don't move, you inside, police!" The beam of a flashlight swept in.
Song Zhaowen didn't linger. He turned and darted into the depths of the alley like a cheetah. With a few leaps, he scaled a low wall and disappeared into the shadows of the intricate cluster of buildings.
Instead of leaving immediately, he circled around and quietly crept back to a position where he could observe the alley entrance, hiding behind a pile of abandoned building materials.
Seven or eight policemen cautiously entered the alley with their guns. Under the flashlights, the mess and corpses on the ground made them gasp in horror.
"Report to headquarters! A gunfight has broken out in the back alleys of Sai Kung Fisherman's Wharf, and multiple bodies have been found... Preliminary assessment indicates a gang shootout... Requesting backup and forensic assistance!"
Song Zhaowen watched for a while before turning and leaving.
He navigated the maze of alleys and old buildings with practiced ease, avoiding possible streetlights and surveillance cameras. Half an hour later, he was far from Saigon and hailed a taxi on a quiet street.
"To Yuen Long," he announced his destination, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes to rest.
The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror, noticed that his clothes were a bit dirty, but he had a calm demeanor, so he didn't ask any questions and started the car.
While he was pondering, the taxi arrived near the Yuen Long warehouse district. Song Zhaowen paid the fare and got out of the car. He walked for a while to make sure no one was following him before sneaking into an ordinary hotel and sleeping there for the night.
The next day, nothing happened, and Song Zhaowen returned to the warehouse.
It's called a warehouse, but it's actually just a few shipping containers pieced together by the sea. There are few people around, but it's well hidden.
Inside the warehouse, Chen Haonan's wounds had been re-bandaged, and he was leaning against a cot, his face still pale, but his eyes fierce.
Xiao Zhuoxiao and Wu Zhaoyong were counting the weapons, with Tony helping them.
When Song Zhaowen entered, everyone looked up.
"Brother Wen, you're back! Are you alright?" Xiao Zhuoxiao greeted him.
"I'm fine." Song Zhaowen waved his hand and walked to Chen Haonan's bedside: "Haonan, how are you feeling?"
"I won't die." Chan Ho-nam's voice was hoarse, but he couldn't contain his excitement. "By the way, Chen Yao just paged me; we've found out where those Japanese are hiding!"
Chen Haonan struggled to pull a small pager from his pocket. The screen displayed a coded message consisting of several lines of numbers and letters. He had clearly memorized it by brute force, and now, enduring the pain, he whispered, "114 degrees 15 minutes east longitude, 22 degrees 10 minutes north latitude."
"Tony, the chart!" Song Zhaowen said in a deep voice.
Tony immediately took out a detailed map of Hong Kong and the surrounding waters from the cabinet next to him and spread it on the table. Song Zhaowen's finger landed precisely on that coordinate point.
114 degrees 15 minutes east longitude, 22 degrees 10 minutes north latitude... That sea area is not far from Lamma Island, but it is located further east, on the edge of the high seas, which is indeed a good spot.
He looked up at everyone and said, "Chen Yao's information is basically confirmed. Now, it's time for us to take action."
"Brother Wen, what's the plan?" Da Tian Er rubbed his hands together, his eyes bloodshot, the sight of Jiao Pi's death fueling his anger.
Song Zhaowen didn't answer immediately, but looked at Chen Haonan: "Haonan, take this business card."
After saying that, he took out the business card that Chen Jiaqi had given him: "This woman is an inspector in West Kowloon; she's very shrewd! If you give her such a bombshell, she definitely won't let this opportunity pass."
"By the way, Ah Yong, have you finished preparing the things I asked you to prepare?"
Wu Zhaoyong pulled a large cardboard box from the corner: "Hey~ Brother Wen cost me a whole three thousand coins, you have to reimburse me."
"I'll give you six thousand coins!"
Xiao Zhuoxiao curiously peered inside and saw that the cardboard box contained hairspray, bleach, several packets of white sugar, and a pile of industrial steel balls...
"Brother Wen, what are you doing with all this random stuff?"
You'll find out soon enough!
Song Zhaowen picked up a can of hairspray and, with the sharp tip of a butterfly knife, carefully pried open a small opening at the bottom edge of the can, his movements as gentle as defusing a bomb. Then, he picked up a bottle of bleach and slowly poured the pungent liquid into the hairspray can until it was nearly overflowing. Finally, he used super tape mixed with rags to seal the opening tightly, repeatedly wrapping and reinforcing it. He quickly completed the second can using the same method.
"This is... an improvised fuel-air explosive (FAE). Are you trying to send me to eat a grenade? I'll pay those bastards tenfold."
Xiao Zhuoxiao, Wu Zhaoyong, and even Tony, who was used to seeing all sorts of things, couldn't help but swallow hard as they looked at the two carefully modified hairspray cans.
"Brother Wen... this thing... is it really that powerful?" Da Tian Er leaned over, somewhat incredulous.
Song Zhaowen picked up one of the cans and weighed it in his hand: "The propellant in hairspray is a flammable and explosive gas, and the sodium hypochlorite in bleach decomposes when heated to produce a large amount of oxygen and chlorine, which are strong oxidizers themselves. When the two are mixed and sealed, the internal pressure rises sharply under high temperature, and once it ruptures..." He made an explosion gesture, "Bang! The instantaneous high temperature and shock wave are no less than that of an ordinary hand grenade, and the range may be even larger, and... it will burn."
"Once it gets on you, water can't extinguish it; it will burn through your bones!"
Song Zhaowen spoke casually, but the content was chilling.
-----------------
a few days later.
Chen Jiaqi was a pragmatist, and he immediately reported the crucial intelligence that Chen Haonan had offered to him.
As for the complicated relationship between Chan Ho-nam and her, we won't go into details here.
The largest yakuza organization in Japan, plus the No. 4 gang that has recently been rampant in Causeway Bay, is definitely a big case!
Soon, a joint task force composed of multiple powerful departments was established at the West Kowloon Police Station.
The briefing room was filled with smoke. The projector clearly projected the information provided by Chen Haonan onto the screen, with each hideout and each name densely packed into several lines.
The senior officers from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, the Narcotics Bureau, and the Special Duties Unit (SDU) who were present, as well as the commander of the Flying Tigers who had been urgently summoned, all looked grave.
Chen Jiaqi stood in front of the curtain, her beautiful face filled with only a chilling expression.
"Through intelligence analysis, the target, Liang Kun, is currently the head of the Hung Hing triad and the mastermind behind the recently emerged noodle business known as Bliss. However, he is cunning and treacherous, having preemptively cut off all his channels. Even after raiding all his hideouts, there was insufficient evidence to take him down. But the long arm of the law will eventually catch up with him..."
Chen Jiaqi paused for a moment, then pulled out the second photo of Yuan Qingnan.
"Gentlemen, this is a key member of the Yamaguchi-gumi in Japan... Intelligence shows that all of Liang Kun's goods come from him. If we can control him, we can completely prosecute Liang Kun."
Then several photos of locations on outlying islands flashed by.
Chen Jiaqi's sharp gaze swept across the entire area, finally settling on the Flying Tigers commander: "According to intelligence provided by my informant, the outlying island is likely the temporary hideout of 'Yuan Qingnan,' an important figure in the East City Society. This man is extremely dangerous, with a powerful background, and his combat strength... is extraordinary. I demand that the raid on this location be carried out with the most elite forces, with lightning speed, a single, decisive blow, leaving him no chance to react or escape!"
Flying Tigers Commander Stephen Chow shrugged indifferently.
"Commander Zhou, you'd better be serious."
"Tch, do you think a bunch of yakuza are invulnerable? You can trust the Flying Tigers. My men are ready. Two teams in total: Team A will launch the main attack, while Team B will blockade the land and sea, ensuring not even a fly can get out!"
"I hope so." Chen Jiaqi slammed his hand on the table. "I am the commander of this operation. All departments, coordinate your efforts and clear the island as quickly as possible. Primary objective: capture Yuan Qingnan and seize all evidence of his crimes. Operation codename—'Thunderclap'!"