Chapter 515: The Scapegoat’s Fury

“What did you just say?!”

Zhao Zhicheng pushed the woman in his arms aside and stood up, shouting impatiently, “Turn off that damn music!”

The group of lackeys, who had been thoroughly enjoying the loud music, exchanged confused glances but quickly turned it off.

“Boss, all our places have been raided. A lot of people have been arrested. You need to figure something out!”

The lackey who rushed in to report spoke hastily, never having seen Hong Kong’s police act so crazily before.

A group of cops stormed the place, grabbing people left and right. If anyone resisted, they were beaten to a pulp. Even dropping names didn’t help.

“Damn it! Bastards! They take my money, and now they’re raiding my places!”

Zhao Zhicheng cursed furiously before picking up his phone and dialing a number.

“Chief Zhang, what’s the meaning of this? Raiding my places is one thing, but couldn’t you at least give me a heads-up first? Don’t forget who got you your car and house!”

“Zhao Zhicheng, stop talking nonsense! I have no idea what you’re babbling about. Listen to me—if you know what’s good for you, turn yourself in at the police station now. I might go easy on you, but otherwise, you’re on your own!”

An authoritative voice reprimanded him from the other end of the line.

Hearing the voice, Zhao Zhicheng was stunned, taking a moment to process what was being said.

Could Zhang Baopi really say something like that? “Chief Zhang, I got a bit worked up just now. Please don’t take it to heart. What’s really going on here? I’d appreciate a bit of guidance for old times’ sake.”

Though Zhao Zhicheng was furious about Chief Zhang’s backstabbing, he knew better than to act rashly.

“Zhao Zhicheng, you should think hard about who you’ve pissed off. The whole of Hong Kong is cracking down on crime now. Your big-shot bosses whom you’ve dragged into this mess won’t let you off easily either. Be smart about this.”

“One last warning—there are some things you can’t just blurt out. You can’t afford the consequences, and neither can your family.”

With that, the call was abruptly ended.

Zhao Zhicheng swallowed hard. A citywide crackdown? How could things escalate so much?

Who did I piss off?

Hell, I’ve pissed off tons of people! There aren’t many in Hong Kong I haven’t offended! How the hell am I supposed to figure this out? “Zhao Zhicheng, you bastard!”

“Zhao Zhicheng, get out here!”

Just then, a commotion broke out, followed by a large group of people storming in.

“What the… what are you all doing?!”

Zhao Zhicheng, who had been racking his brain trying to figure out who he might have offended, was shocked at the sight.

These were some of Hong Kong’s most notorious bosses, and now they were all glaring at him with eyes full of murderous intent. Who wouldn’t be scared?

“What are we doing? Zhao Zhicheng, you bastard! It’s one thing for you to throw your life away, but why the hell do you have to drag us down with you? How do you plan to settle this debt?”

“Exactly! Zhao Zhicheng, have you lost your mind? Do you even know who we are? We’re just a bunch of nobodies who can’t stand out, and you had the balls to mess with Xu Shaochen? Now, we’re all screwed because of you. You deserve to die!”

“Kill him!”

Everyone started cursing at Zhao Zhicheng, feeling utterly wronged. Here they were, minding their own business, when disaster struck out of nowhere.

At first, they were all laughing at Zhao Zhicheng for daring to cross Xu Shaochen, thinking he was as good as dead.

But then, in the blink of an eye, they found themselves taking the fall for him. They were all itching to kill him themselves.

“Xu… Xu Shaochen?”

Zhao Zhicheng could hardly believe it. That young kid—wasn’t he just some businessman?

Besides, he didn’t even have any holdings in Hong Kong. How could he be that powerful? His lack of imagination was simply due to his poverty.

His narrow vision and limited scope made it impossible for him to comprehend Xu Shaochen’s true status.

“Who else do you think? You better go and beg for mercy right now, give us a chance to survive, or I’ll kill you before I get arrested.”

“Zhao Zhicheng, if you’re a man, you’ll handle this yourself. Don’t drag us down with you.”

Zhao Zhicheng’s face turned pale. He stood there frozen, speechless.

……………

As for Zhao Zhicheng.

Xu Shaochen had already forgotten about him.

That kind of trash wasn’t even worth the memory.

“Ring, ring, ring…”

Suddenly, his phone rang.

He took it out and saw that it was a call from He Feng.

“Hello, He Shao, what’s up?”

“Xu Shao, about tonight’s gambling cruise, I couldn’t get your invitation. But Prince Ma, the owner, says you won’t need one. He’ll personally greet you outside.”

Xu Shaochen was a bit disappointed when he heard the first part. He began to wonder if his reputation had started to fade, unable even to get an invitation to a gambling cruise.

But after hearing the second part, he realized it wasn’t that his name didn’t work—it was simply that he was too awesome.

“Shaochen!”

At that moment, a shout rang out.

Xu Shaochen turned his head and saw his roommate Liu Chao standing by the roadside, waving at him. Next to Liu Chao were a few men and women.

“Got it. See you tonight, then.”

Xu Shaochen ended the call and walked over to Liu Chao.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing. I just got here this morning, on a vacation. What about you?”

Meeting his roommate in a different city, Liu Chao was clearly excited.

“I’m here for a business deal,” said Xu Shaochen.

“Ha! Chao, your friend sure likes to brag. A business deal? Come on.”

A young man in a suit, one of Liu Chao’s companions, chuckled and looked at Xu Shaochen with a mocking expression.

Liu Chao looked a bit embarrassed and said to Xu Shaochen, “Shaochen, this is my girlfriend’s brother, Tan Chen. He’s a bit blunt—don’t mind him too much.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Liu Chao? Are you saying my brother’s not good enough?” The girl who had been playing with her phone beside Liu Chao was suddenly annoyed when she heard that.

“No, I…” Liu Chao was suddenly flustered, struggling to find the right words.

“Alright, you guys go ahead and do your thing. I’ve got some stuff to take care of, so I’ll head off.”

Xu Shaochen smiled, then turned and walked away.

“Liu Chao’s dating a rich girl, huh? But it looks like that soft life won’t be easy.”

Xu Shaochen thought to himself. It was obvious that Liu Chao’s girlfriend’s family didn’t think much of him. Otherwise, Tan Chen wouldn’t have mocked Xu Shaochen to his face, without leaving Liu Chao even a shred of dignity.

Tan Chen watched Xu Shaochen walk away, then shot Liu Chao a mocking look and said sarcastically, “Liu Chao, you’re soon to be part of the Tan family. You might want to stop hanging out with your lowlife friends—they’ll just lower the Tan family’s status.”

Liu Chao was immediately enraged by the comment and said defiantly, “He’s got more money than your entire Tan family does.”

“Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.”

Tan Chen just smiled dismissively, not even bothering to argue further with Liu Chao.