Chapter 108: Massive Explosion at the Qingshe Gang Logistics Warehouse

TL: LittlePeach

A two-story warehouse building stood on the outskirts of Heping District in Shenyang.

Bearing a sign that read Qingshe Logistics, the place was one of the bases operated by the Qingshe Gang, an organization with no fewer than three hundred members.

Wang Chang, the branch chief who managed one of its dozen or so warehouses, was a man with ambitions of someday moving on to bigger things. One of his long-held dreams was to go beyond being a mere warehouse keeper and run a profitable business of his own.

“Hyeong-nim. We’ve received reports that everyone except two teams has finished the job.”

Just then, the second-floor office door opened, and the enforcer, Huang Tao, strode inside.

Wang Chang, who had been sunk into the sofa and staring blankly at his phone, glanced over and gave a slight nod.

“Yeah? What’s taking those two teams so long?”

“The smuggler one team was tracking left town on business, so that’ll take a little longer. The other team contacted us about an hour ago to say they’d found their target, but we’re still waiting for word that the job is finished.”

Wang Chang nodded as if it were nothing important and picked up a cigarette from the table, placing it between his lips.

While he lit it, Huang Tao spoke with a cautious expression.

“But hyeong-nim, since the Kowloon Society controls this smuggling network.... Aren’t we risking a war if this goes wrong?”

“A war? If wars broke out that easily, why do you think our big brother keeps stuffing bribe money into the mouths of Shenyang Public Security? Even the Kowloon Society can’t just come after us however they please in the middle of Shenyang.”

Wang Chang snorted pompously.

He exhaled a long stream of cigarette smoke and shook his head.

“The whole reason we’re digging little mouse holes bit by bit is to avoid a war, isn’t it? Once we start quietly siphoning the goods out of their warehouses through those holes, little by little, it’ll only be a matter of time before their rice bowl becomes ours.”

“Still.... I’m afraid the Kowloon Society might retaliate somehow.”

“How are those bastards supposed to retaliate when they don’t even know it was us?”

Wang Chang clicked his tongue at the anxious Huang Tao.

“We’re not going after the Kowloon Society itself right now. We’re only taking out their bottom-rung couriers. Those couriers are small fry who don’t even know they’re working under the Kowloon Society. If a bunch of nobodies at the very bottom suddenly disappear, you think the Kowloon Society can immediately decide the Qingshe Gang did it? All we have to do is move into the vacancies and take over the business.”

“Hmm.”

“Besides, what’s so special about the Kowloon Society? Their home turf isn’t even Dandong. It’s way down in Hong Kong. We, on the other hand, have been rooted in Dalian and Shenyang for almost half a century.”

Wang Chang grinned and gestured toward his desk with his chin.

On top of it lay a list detailing the movements of the major smuggling couriers operating within Shenyang.

“Think about it. That list that anonymously landed in our hands a few days ago. Who do you think sent it?”

“I’m not really sure....”

“Christ. You still don’t get it? How can your brain be that slow.... Have you already forgotten who owned the smuggling business around here before the Kowloon Society swallowed it whole?”

“The previous owner.... Wouldn’t that be the Chongqing Society?”

“Exactly. The Chongqing Society. The real original owner of Dandong’s smuggling business was the Chongqing Society.”

Wang Chang ground his cigarette out in the ashtray, his eyes gleaming.

Smoke he had yet to fully exhale leaked from his mouth.

“There are only two organizations in Dandong capable of putting together a list this detailed, complete with contacts throughout Dandong’s smuggling network. The Kowloon Society or the Chongqing Society. But would the Kowloon Society be crazy enough to hand us their own livelihood? That means the Chongqing Society sent us a signal. They reached out and put a knife in our hands because they want us to stab at the Kowloon Society on their behalf. That smuggling-network list is our payment.”

“Ah.”

It was a possibility Huang Tao had never considered, but once he heard it laid out, the theory sounded convincing.

Seeing Huang Tao staring blankly, Wang Chang began putting on even more airs.

“So there’s absolutely no problem with us using this list to steal the Kowloon Society’s rice bowl. And if those bastards catch on and try to retaliate? Whether they’re even capable of retaliating is another question, but if it comes to that, we can just take this ledger to the Chongqing Society and throw our weight behind them.”

“Then....”

“In the end, once that happens, we’ll be the ones choosing between the Kowloon Society and the Chongqing Society. The Chongqing Society, the original owners, practically set the whole table for us by handing over this ledger. Shouldn’t we take this opportunity to secure a decent rice bowl of our own?”

Only then did Huang Tao nod deeply.

The Qingshe Gang had long been entrenched on the Chinese mainland, and it had always kept an invisible wall between itself and organizations like the Kowloon Society and the Chongqing Society, which had come in from places like Hong Kong and Taiwan, avoiding dealings with them whenever possible.

Now that those two massive organizations were at each other’s throats over their interests, this had to be the perfect opportunity for the Qingshe Gang to swoop in from the middle and reap the benefits.

“And when that happens, a mere warehouse keeper like me rising overnight into a candidate for the next society head will be nothing.”

“Well, I’m following your lead, hyeong-nim....”

“Yeah, yeah. Just trust me, bastard. You’re built like a damn mountain, yet you’re scared of every little thing.”

“Ahem.”

Looking thoroughly pleased with himself, Wang Chang rose from the plush sofa.

He looked out the second-floor window at the dozen or so vans lined up across the open lot below.

They were vehicles prepared to replace all the existing smuggling couriers once those couriers had been eliminated.

He had poured everything into them, not only the organization’s funds, but every last bit of his own money as well.

“I don’t know how far around Shenyang those Chongqing Society bastards spread this list.... But this is a fight where whoever gets ready first and takes the first bite gets everything. There’s no reason to worry about anyone else.”

Just as Huang Tao gazed at Wang Chang’s back with an expression of deep admiration for the man’s undisguised ambition.

KABOOOOOM!

“Ugh!”

A sudden impact shook the entire building as though an earthquake had struck. Wang Chang jumped in fright, collapsed, and rolled across the floor.

“A-Are you all right, hyeong-nim?!”

Huang Tao also staggered after losing his balance, then hurried to Wang Chang’s side.

“W-What the hell was that?!”

“I-I don’t know. It was like lightning struck or something....”

The two terrified men scrambled to their feet and looked out the second-floor window again.

Screeech, creeeeak.

A van had smashed straight through the warehouse’s first-floor steel shutter and was lodged halfway inside.

“...Isn’t that one of the vans we gave our guys?”

“Y-Yes! That’s definitely one of ours....”

Just as Huang Tao stammered, his lips trembling.

Fwoooosh!

“Huh? Wh-What?!”

Scarlet flames suddenly erupted from inside the crumpled van.

As if someone had drenched the place in gasoline, the fire spread at incredible speed, washing over the warehouse and threatening to devour the entire building at any moment.

“Q-Quick! Get the guys together and put out the fire!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Wang Chang and Huang Tao, their faces drained white, rushed downstairs in horror.

At the same time, the gang members in the yard across the way panicked and came running with buckets of water and fire extinguishers.

“Fire! Fiiire!”

“Fuck! Who the hell was driving that thing?!”

“N-No one! There isn’t even a burned-up body inside....”

“Get the fire hose, no! Call a fire truck! Get a fire truck!”

“Aaargh! Hot!”

“Bring more water! More water!”

Wang Chang stood there with his mouth hanging open as he listened to his subordinates scream and curse while frantically throwing water onto the flames.

Fwoooosh!

As though the van had been packed full of gasoline, the rapidly spreading flames washed over the warehouse and began devouring the entire building.

Wang Chang had been frantically carrying buckets of water when he suddenly came to his senses.

“W-We shouldn’t be doing this. I need to get the important stuff first....”

The warehouse burning to the ground was one thing, but he absolutely had to save the important documents stored in the second-floor office.

Wang Chang spun around and hurried toward his desk.

But then.

“...Huh?”

Smoke was beginning to curl through the second-floor office.

Inside the office, which should have been empty, an unfamiliar man was lounging sideways in a chair.

“W-Who the hell are you?!”

Wang Chang shouted as he backed away.

The man rose from his seat, scratching the back of his head as if he couldn’t be bothered.

With every step he took closer, the reek of gasoline and sour sweat rolled off him.

“You don’t need to know. Where’d you get this list?”

The man held a stack of papers in one hand.

It was the list of smuggling couriers Wang Chang had been looking over only moments ago.

“You fucking bastard, how dare you talk like that in front of....”

Wang Chang’s eyes bulged as he grabbed the axe hanging at his back.

At that moment.

KABOOOOOM!

“Uwaagh!”

His mind seemed to flash white, and an enormous wave of pressure slammed into him, sending Wang Chang tumbling across the floor.

A moment later, when he sat there dazed and looked around.

“....”

One corner of the warehouse building had been ripped to shreds and was simply gone.

He could see his subordinates struggling to crawl along the ground around the blast site.

While Wang Chang stared stupidly at the scene, the man holding the list snorted.

“Quit being dramatic. It was only one gas cylinder. I tried buying five, but the gas station owner asked if I was crazy and refused to sell me any.”

“....”

“So I bought a whole bunch of fuel cans instead. This is what’s wrong with China.”

The flames unleashed by the explosion spread in every direction.

Before long, fuel spread toward the vans parked in rows across the lot, and the flames caught on them as well.

As Wang Chang’s dreams and ambitions went up in flames in the middle of the night.

“I told you to talk, didn’t I? Want me to start by sticking this into your thigh?”

The man casually took the axe from the seated Wang Chang’s hand and gave it a shake.

***

After finishing the job, I leisurely made my way toward the minibus waiting a good distance away.

When I stepped through the open door, Crane No. 14 stared at me from the driver’s seat with a dumbfounded expression.

“Th-Th-Th-Th-That looked like something exploded. Did you do that?”

“Yes, I did. I figured there was no need to drag things out.”

“....”

First, blow something up. Then get started.

Wasn’t that the orthodox approach to espionage and infiltration I had learned through firsthand experience in Southeast Asia?

“We should get going, shouldn’t we?”

“Ah, ah! R-Right, we should, we should....”

Vroooom.

Crane No. 14 hurriedly started the engine.

When I glanced over, I could see the distant glow of the flames wavering like a heat haze between the buildings.

Fortunately, the warehouse was in an isolated area with no nearby buildings for the fire to spread to.

“W-Where should we go?”

“Dandong.”

“Dandong? Why go there at this hour?”

“You remember Wu Ping and the guys with him we met earlier, right? Once they get released, they’ll be desperate to find both of us.”

“Ah.”

“So it’s better to leave altogether. Don’t even come near Shenyang for a while.”

“That’s.... Well. I can sleep on the bus, so I guess it doesn’t really matter....”

Fortunately, Crane No. 14’s operations tended to revolve around the vehicle he drove.

Unlike other agents, that meant relocating his place of residence caused him no real inconvenience.

He smacked his lips regretfully.

“What a waste. I was making pretty good money from that side job....”

“There’s plenty of work in the world. Another opportunity will come sooner or later.”

“Tsk.”

Crane No. 14 spun the steering wheel in a wide turn, and the bus leaned into it.

After dropping into a random seat, I remembered the documents tucked inside my jacket.

Wang Chang had been trembling when he said he suspected the Chongqing Society had distributed them.

‘I hadn’t planned on meeting her.’

It looked like I’d have to pay Yang Mi-ryeong a visit tomorrow.

*****

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