Chapter 123: The Serpent Sect, Part 2

As the local leader in Jinwan, Brother Helen commanded a degree of respect among the rising young generation. Several vans packed with men screeched to a halt in front of the Oriental Venice club, and the occupants immediately swarmed inside, wielding machetes.

Helen, wearing sunglasses and an expression of arrogant disdain, stepped out of his Mercedes sports car. He lit a cigarette and sauntered inside. In the club’s grand lobby, over a hundred thugs stood waiting, their faces twisted with menace as they glared at three individuals on the other side. Helen reached the center of the room to find five of his men sprawled on the floor. The three intruders remained unfazed, casually rolling dice, showing no sign of fear at the arrival of reinforcements.

Helen slumped onto a sofa and propped his feet up on a glass table. "You’ve got a lot of nerve stepping onto my turf. Who are you working for?"

Du Bin stopped what he was doing and looked up. Upon receiving a nod from Helen, Du Bin continued, "A female friend of mine was abducted by your brothers in the Snake Gang. I hear it’s all because of a woman in your crew. Do me a favor and let her go."

"A woman? There are so many women in this world. It wouldn't be strange for someone to impersonate our people," Helen replied. He immediately thought of someone, but what did it matter if they were responsible? This entire district belonged to the Snake Gang; no one dared to cross them.

"Is that so? But I doubt you could mistake the Snake Gang’s signature tattoo," Du Bin said, picking up a glass of Hennessy from the table and swirling it, the intoxicating aroma drifting through the air.

"Even if it were us, so what? You three have no backing, yet you dare to demand someone from me? You’re courting death. If I get annoyed, I’ll have her sent to the red-light district to serve guests within the hour," Helen laughed, his followers jeering at the three for their futile resistance.

Realizing that negotiation was off the table, Du Bin signaled to Hu Guozheng. Hu gave Helen a look of pure contempt and raised his middle finger. "Dare to fight me one-on-one?"

"You little brat, so eager to die," a hulking man beside Helen stepped forward before his boss could even give the order. "Brother Helen, leave these three kids to us."

"Dapao, they’re all yours. Beat the men to death. As for the girl, she’s quite pretty—bring her to me to warm my bed tonight." Lin Jiaxu, noticing the girl among the trio, saw an opportunity. If the friend they were talking about was also a beauty, he would add her to his harem; if not, he would let his men have their way with her before putting her to work. He smirked, puffing on his cigarette while waiting for his inevitable victory.

Dapao gestured for his hundred men to surround the trio. Hu Guozheng, with a look of disdain, pulled a pre-prepared iron pipe from under the table. Before the thugs could take a defensive stance, he charged into the crowd, swinging wildly. Within moments, a dozen men were writhing on the ground in agony.

Seeing the girl standing there looking fragile and seemingly incapable of fighting, some of the thugs sneered, "Capturing this little missy will be a piece of cake."

Li Ning adjusted her glasses, a bewitching, playful smile spreading across her face. The thugs closing in on her were momentarily stunned.

Dapao lunged at Li Ning, intending to pin her down. Just as he reached for her, she dropped into a crouch and executed a 360-degree spin to slip away. In one fluid motion, she drew an M9 pistol from behind her back and fired a shot directly into Dapao's leg. Screaming in agony, Dapao collapsed, bracing himself against a table. The other thugs froze, their hands trembling on their weapons.

Li Ning gave them no time to hesitate. With her left hand, she drew an MK23 pistol. Aiming both weapons at different points, she opened fire. *Bang, bang, bang...* The terrified thugs fell one by one, clutching their wounds and wailing in pain.

Helen was stunned. The cigarette fell from his lips, and his body trembled. "Am I seeing things? This girl is a monster with those dual pistols—and that crossfire technique!"

Hu Guozheng was dissatisfied; he felt his own performance had been overshadowed by the girl. He spotted Helen attempting to flee toward the exit and laughed. Just as Li Ning took aim, Hu Guozheng gestured for her to stop, then sprinted forward. "Hold on, the boss is mine!"

He launched himself into the air, delivering a flying kick to Helen, sending him crashing into the bar. Helen tumbled, unable to find his footing. Hu Guozheng, too focused on his dramatic landing, missed his footing and slammed his lower back hard against the steps.

He lay on the ground, unable to rise. His expression shifted from triumph to a grimace, finally twisting into a mask of pure pain, a single tear welling in the corner of his eye.

Li Ning shook her head and sighed, "Show-off. You reap what you sow."

Du Bin was embarrassed for him, but he couldn't help but chuckle. Hu Guozheng roared, "Laugh, just keep laughing! Why don't you come over and help me up? I’ve thrown my back out!"

Du Bin walked over to assist him, but as Hu Guozheng moved, a sharp, excruciating pain shot through his spine. "Ouch! My back!"

Li Ning walked over to Helen and leveled her gun at him. "Tell me, where should I shoot?"

Helen broke into a cold sweat. He hadn't expected this refined-looking girl to be such a ruthless killer. He could only repeat the word "doomed" to himself.

"Who... who are you people?"

"It doesn't matter who we are. Release my friend, and we'll call it even." Du Bin dragged Hu Guozheng toward the sofa. He tossed a phone he’d picked up to Helen, who hesitated before making a call.

Elsewhere, a van pulled up to a hotel. Two thugs dragged Qin Ling inside and threw her onto a bed in a locked room. She screamed, but no one paid her any heed.

She looked around; the room was set up like a studio. A computer was running near the bed, and a camera followed her every movement. Confused, Qin Ling walked over to look. A live stream was in progress. The viewer count, originally around a hundred thousand, spiked into the hundreds of thousands the moment she appeared on screen. The chat was flooded with vile comments and gifts, and the lewd topics made her skin crawl.

After some time, a man wearing only boxer briefs entered. He wore sunglasses, his muscular physique on full display. As he walked toward her, Qin Ling felt an inexplicable danger. She backed away, trembling. "What do you want?"

The man didn't answer. As Qin Ling scrambled to escape, he grabbed her arm and yanked her back, throwing her onto the bed. Her stomach hit the mattress hard, leaving her gasping for air. The man lunged, his hands tearing at her clothes. The live stream chat exploded with messages of approval.

A woman watching at home saw the caller ID "Helen" on her phone and picked up. The voice on the other end was panicked. "Tong Xiaoguo, did you capture a girl today?"

"What I do is none of your business."

Helen was desperate. "Tong Xiaoguo, let her go immediately and bring her to the Oriental Venice!"

"You think you can just give orders? What about my pride?"

Lin Jiaxu wiped sweat from his brow. "Listen to me, this girl is someone we cannot afford to offend."

"Is that so? I’d like to see what kind of skills her rescuers have." Tong Xiaoguo hung up and signaled to her man. He opened the door, stopping the man in the room just as he was about to force himself on Qin Ling.

Tong Xiaoguo walked in, signaling the others to leave. Qin Ling clutched her torn clothes, tears in her eyes. She recognized the girl—it was the same one who had fought her over a piece of jewelry earlier.

"What's wrong? You looked so high and mighty earlier," Tong Xiaoguo said, walking to the computer and typing away.

Qin Ling, having regained some composure, pulled her disheveled clothes back into place. "Using such low-life tactics. You're shameless."

"Everyone, was the live stream of Guangdong’s number one beauty being humiliated entertaining?" Tong Xiaoguo waved at the camera, then feigned a look of grievance. "I'm so sorry, but due to some issues, we have to cut this exciting stream short. I'll make it up to you next time. Anyway, I have something urgent to attend to, so I'm closing the channel. See you tomorrow, bye-bye."

Qin Ling was furious, but she felt a sudden wave of nausea and cold sweat. Tong Xiaoguo didn't notice, simply calling for her men to drag Qin Ling down to the van.