Chapter 732: The Marionette

Book – Chapter 732: The Marionette (5th Update)

Xiao Yu remained absolutely still as a bullet streaked past him. Lin

Why didn’t he dodge?

Because the bullet was never aimed at him.

A gaping wound of blood burst from Wang Hao’s chest.

Everyone turned to look at Lao Liu, who gripped his pistol firmly.

“Haozi and I have been brothers for ages,”

Lao Liu forced a strained smile. “Since he betrayed Brother Kang, why not let him die quickly instead of making him suffer?”

Could anyone here be that foolish?

Do you really believe your own words?

A wave of derisive laughter met Lao Liu’s gaze, as if everyone saw nothing but a complete idiot.

His expression shifted erratically—he knew no one would buy his story.

Suddenly.

He raised his pistol.

In that moment, Xiao Yu stepped up beside Hua Kang.

But he had miscalculated.

The opponent also raised his pistol—not to fire at anyone,

but to… kill himself!

Bang!

The gunshot echoed as Lao Liu swallowed his pistol and collapsed onto the ground.

Xiao Yu was stunned, and so was everyone else.

Few people have the courage to commit suicide willingly,

especially not a hardened criminal like him!

……

Two bodies were carried away.

Yingzi, Lao Zhao, Laohu, Fifth Lord… they had all left.

With a grim expression, Hua Kang signaled to the Glasses Man.

The Glasses Man departed as well.

“I just can’t figure it out,” Hua Kang murmured.

“Don’t say that—you know, I’m puzzled too,” Xiao Yu replied coldly.

That earlier scene had felt like a monumental mockery.

A man, knowing he was doomed, still said nothing.

Even when facing death and agony, he offered no words.

Xiao Yu had gone to extreme lengths trying to force his enemy to talk…

only to have him silenced for good.

The man who silenced him had also swallowed his pistol and taken his own life.

What kind of secret could drive these two to risk death without hesitation?

And what exactly were they trying so desperately to hide?

Was it about a person?

Or something else entirely?

If it was about something, given enough time, the truth would come out.

But if it was about someone… that would be truly terrifying.

This person could control others so completely that even in the face of death, no one would betray him.

What kind of power could achieve that?

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Xiao Yu like lightning.

Two words surfaced in his mind: Wuhu!

His expression grew strange as he looked at a still-dazed Hua Kang and asked,

“Are you sure you really control the Drug Cartel?”

“Hmm?”

Hua Kang frowned at Xiao Yu, “Isn’t that obvious…”

But before he could finish, he was left speechless.

Really—did he control the Drug Cartel?

If he did…

then why had betrayals been happening one after another?

What were Haozi and Lao Liu still keeping from him?

And what about Yingzi, Lao Zhao, Laohu, and Fifth Lord? Publicly, he was hailed as their leader, but could he really command their loyalty behind the scenes?

Or… were they following someone else’s orders?

Suddenly, Hua Kang’s expression turned cold.

It was as if he were stripped bare, standing alone in a frozen wasteland.

Xiao Yu’s words struck Hua Kang like lightning,

leaving him utterly disoriented—as if his over twenty-year undercover career were nothing but a sham.

Had he been hit too hard? It seemed Hua Kang had gone completely dazed…

Yet Xiao Yu couldn’t help but smirk at how thoroughly he’d been played.

Hua Kang’s ascent within the Drug Cartel was nothing but a farce.

It must have been all arranged from the start.

But the mastermind never expected

that Hua Kang would make such a swift return.

Or rather, he didn’t expect Hua Kang to return at all.

After all, when the police arrested Hua Kang, they assumed his betrayal meant his undercover days were over.

Ordinary people would wonder, ‘You think you’re the boss and still play undercover? What the hell?’

Who would believe such a wild story?

And even if someone did, who would risk hijacking a police car like Xiao Yu to extract him?

And then bring him back into the Drug Cartel?

Apart from Xiao Yu, no one would dare play that game!

Even if they suspected Hua Kang of being undercover, no one would release him without a prolonged investigation.

Meanwhile, the Drug Cartel could simply appoint a new leader and keep things running as normal.

Much like powerful figures who keep puppets on display.

Big shots holding the strings while their puppet figures do the public work.

When troubles arise, they can just cut the string and cast the puppet aside.

Let the puppet take the fall.

It’s a convenient solution.

So how did Xiao Yu know all this?

Isn’t this exactly the kind of maneuver Old Silver Coin—who’s so entrenched in the system—would pull off?

After two lifetimes within the system, he knew it all too well!

But to manipulate a Drug Cartel to this extent… that was something extraordinary.

This wasn’t a feat ordinary people could attempt; few would dare try.

Because if you lose control of your puppet, it might just turn on you.

So how do you avoid that?

It’s simple: besides the puppet, everyone on stage is a true operator behind the scenes.

In other words…

Within this Drug Cartel, except for Hua Kang…

everyone else might very well be controlled by that hidden mastermind.

No matter how much your puppet struts around, it’s completely useless.

You’ll always remain at their mercy.

If that’s really the case…

how pitiful… Xiao Yu didn’t know how to comfort Hua Kang.

In this world, the real horror isn’t simply someone smarter than you,

but someone who can control you completely.

And you haven’t yet realized that you’re just a puppet, being played like a complete fool!

“So that’s it!”

After a long pause, Hua Kang finally came to his senses and managed a bitter smile.

He didn’t need Xiao Yu’s help to analyze things; he understood the cause and effect on his own.

He was nothing but that fool, completely manipulated.

“But I still can’t understand,” Hua Kang frowned. “Why did he do it? Why did he want me to rise to power?”

“He never wanted you to rise,”

Xiao Yu said quietly, his look as if to say, ‘Did reading turn your brain to mush?’

“What?” Hua Kang asked, confused.

“Perhaps…”

Xiao Yu’s eyes grew strangely intense. “This man disliked the former Drug Cartel leader so much that he used you to take him out. He raised you only because… he planned to eliminate you as well.”

“Eliminate me?”

Hua Kang, puzzled, asked, “Why would he want to eliminate me?”

“Could it be that…”

Xiao Yu articulated each word carefully, “That man knew you were an undercover agent?”

“Tsk!”

Hua Kang gasped as a chill swept over him, sending shivers down his spine and raising goosebumps along his neck and arms. He cried out, “How is that possible?”

“Why not?” Xiao Yu sneered.

Suddenly, an unresolved doubt from the past flashed through his mind.

Remember Hua Kang’s dossier?

It was deleted from the police’s secret undercover files four and a half years ago.

Who did it?

Wen

Xue