Sexy, alluring dancers, noisy spectators, people taking pictures, people eyeing each other with lust, and the stage lights... All these elements put together was like a multicolored whirlpool of hormones, sweeping Xia Lei into the heart of the abyss.
But in the middle of that whirlpool, Xia Lei had become unusually calm. He was full of anger earlier, but now he was completely serene. Not only was he calm, but his thinking had become clear all of a sudden.
This place was called Bright Moon Palace Club, and it was connected to Gu Kewen.
This was an old hideout of Gu Kewen’s.
Some of the members here could also have connections to Gu Kewen. There could also be people like Gu Dinghai, who had bought a large number of shares from the Vientiane Group in the crowd of spectators.
“Really, what loose man! He married a wife like Shentu Tianyin and he’s still coming out here to fool around,” said a woman in the crowd.
That sentence seemed to set off everybody else into letting out their own complaints.
“Exactly! He has such a good woman like Shentu Tianyin but instead of cherishing her, he’s actually running around womanising. I really don’t know what’s going through his mind,” said someone.
“The newspapers dress him up as some national hero, like he’s as great as a god. So is this actually how he is? Was he living behind a mask?”
“How could Shentu Tianyin like such a man?”
A mix of comments flew about.
All of the comments described Xia Lei negatively, painting him as rotten from head to toe.
Xia Lei’s mood didn’t change in the slightest despite all the mocking and ridicule. His gaze swept across their faces, remembering all who criticised him. His intuition told him that the more viciously they slandered him as worthless, the higher chance there was of them being in Gu Kewen’s camp!
“He sure can hold it in. He hasn’t even said a single word.”
“Is he keeping quiet?”
“What meaning is there for Shentu Tianyin to live together with that kind of man?”
“Right, is he taking some sweet things on the side?”
“Sweet things? Haha, great analogy. Shentu Tianyin might just cheat on him too if she saw these pictures, then he’ll have sour things,” said a middle-aged man, laughing.
Xia Lei suddenly pushed a dancer away from him and snatched up a bottle of unopened beer from a table. His swung his arm, flinging it towards the middle-aged who had mocked him.
The beer bottle streaked straight through the air, coming to a stop when it smashed against the middle-aged man’s forehead.
Bang! The beer bottle exploded against the middle aged man’s forehead, and blood spurted. Blood mixed with beer trickled down his face. He collapsed to the floor a second later.
Xia Lei had been just a silent sheep a second ago but he had now become a vicious wolf.
The female dancers sticking to him didn’t dare to get close anymore, and they scrambled away hurriedly.
All discussion stopped.
Violence wasn’t a way to solve problems, but violence could sometimes be used as a final solution to destroy the problem itself.
Some of the club bodyguards came running over quickly. Xia Lei’s attack on someone in their territory was considered an issuance of a challenge to them.
Xia Lei’s lips curved into a faint sneer as he strode forward. He leapt forward, one foot out, and kicked the closest bodyguard ruthlessly, right in the chest. That bodyguard screamed as he was thrown back, knocking down several wine tables before his fall was complete. However, he didn’t crawl back up.
After both his feet landed on the ground, Xia Lei reached out to seize the fist of a another bodyguard which was coming his way. He pushed down with his left hand as he leaned to the side, and used his other elbow to strike the bodyguard’s face. Blood spurted as the bodyguard’s nose and teeth were broken. Xia Lei let go of his hand, then kicked him in the underbelly. The man slid several meters.
The remaining bodyguards then realised that the target they were supposed to beat up was out of their league. Fear struck their hearts at once, and they froze in their attack, standing still around him.
“What are you guys doing? Go!” The leader of the bodyguards, the one with the walkie-talkie, shouted angrily.
A young bodyguard of the club suddenly pulled out a knife. He gave a shout, and charged at Xia Lei.
“A knife now?” Xia Lei’s lips curved into a small sneer.
The hot-headed young bodyguard let adrenaline overcome him as he dashed before Xia Lei to stab at his chest.
Xia Lei did not retreat. He stepped forward, dodging the blade as he grabbed the young bodyguard’s knife wielding wrist. He abruptly pushed down, and stabbed. The knife meant for him was now stuck in the young bodyguard’s abdomen.
Xia Lei let go. The young club bodyguard curled up on the floor. Both his hands were wrapped around his abdomen as he howled. Blood gushed out of his abdomen, quickly forming a pool on the floor.
It was like a -70 degree gust of air had swept through the underground bar, freezing everything.
After a short lapse of silence, someone suddenly screamed, “Ah!! Murder!”
“Call the police! The police! Hurry up and call the police!” somebody shouted.
Some people took out their phones to call the police.
Xia Lei didn’t stop them from calling the police. He stared at the club bodyguard leader and said coldly, “You still want to continue?”
Cold sweat ran down the club bodyguard leader’s forehead, “You, you... You dare to kill somebody here!”
“Just killing one person made you this scared? The number of people I’ve already killed are in the three digits. Adding a few more to that number would be nothing,” said Xia Lei.
The club’s lead bodyguard opened his mouth, speechless. All of his little subordinates next to him were pale. They were in this line of business and also had experience stabbing others, but in front of Xia Lei, they were just small fry.
“So you don’t dare to come forward anymore, huh? If you’re scared, then call your boss out. I want to meet him,” said Xia Lei.
At this moment, Gu Dinghai quietly pushed through the crowd, heading for the underground bar’s exit.
“Mr Gu, we are not done talking and you want to leave?” Xia Lei said loudly.
Gu Dinghai shivered. His legs seemed like they were filled with lead, and he could not move anymore.
He could still talk with Xia Lei calmly about the stock market and laws without any worries earlier because he believed that Xia Lei wouldn’t dare to do anything to him. But it was different now. Xia Lei was now like a bloodthirsty beast. Talking about laws to a beast would be like telling it about business world rules — wouldn’t it just be talking nonsense?
A group of people suddenly charged in through the underground bar’s entrance. All of them held weapons. Some held baseball bats while others had steel rods and knives. Every one of them looked fierce and menacing.
A bald youth was their leader, and he shouted fiercely, “Who’s causing trouble here!”
The leader of the club’s bodyguards sighed in relief when he saw the bald youth. He pointed at Xia Lei and said, “Young Master Zheng, it’s him!”
The bald youth strode angrily towards Xia Lei with an entourage of bodyguards behind him. They surrounded Xia Lei.
“You dare cause trouble at my place, and even injure one of my men?” The man known as Young Master Zheng glowered at Xia Lei, and his eyes said that he wanted to rip Xia Lei apart.
But Xia Lei was very calm. “So you’re the owner of this place? You don’t look like it. It’s probably your father, right? What’s your name?”
This tone of his — even a docile rabbit would turn rabid if it heard that!
“Fuck!” The bald youth roared, “Beat him to death!”
A bodyguard swung a baseball bats at Xia Lei’s head.
Bang! A gunshot.
“Ah—” A scream of pain echoed through the air as the bodyguard holding the baseball bat fell to the floor. He held his knee with both hands, and howled in pain while trembling uncontrollably.
Xia Lei took two steps forward and pressed the still-smoking gun against the bald youth’s forehead.
Nobody spoke. The underground bar sunk into another strange silence.
It was a whole other level of seriousness now, with the appearance and firing of a gun.
“You… You...” The bald youth was no longer arrogant. He was trembling as he spoke. “D, Don’t do anything hasty.”
“I asked you your name earlier.”
“Zheng, Zheng Xu.”
“This club is your father’s? What’s your father’s name?”
“Y, yes, his name is Zheng Xiangdong.”
Does your father know a woman called Gu Kewen?” Xia Lei pressed the gun lightly to Zheng Xu’s head, pressuring him.
“My… father...” Zheng Xu mumbled.
Gu Dinghai kept blinking at Zheng Xu.
This didn’t escape Xia Lei’s notice. He did not need Zheng Xu to say any more, because he already knew the answer.
“Move aside!” Xia Lei shouted.
Zheng Xu trembled uncontrollably as he staggered back.
The group of club bodyguards around Zheng Xu also backed away in panic.
Xia Lei’s gaze swept over each and every one of their faces before he said loudly, “I know that there are people here who are connected to Gu Kewen and are doing things for her. I don’t know what benefits she has promised you all or what blackmail she has against you, but what I want to tell you all is that she has committed the crime of treason. If she turns up here, I will shoot her, no questions asked. Some of you guys must have lived too many good days and are tired of living. No problem, just continue mingling with her, and sooner or later, you all can be taken to the grave with her!”
No one spoke, and no one dared to provoke Xia Lei again.
The crowd’s silence and fear was precisely the effect Xia Lei wanted from his show of violence. He had stabbed someone and brought out his gun precisely to show his power, to let all of these people helping Gu Kewen see his way of doing things!
Amongst the people present, Gu Dinghai’s mood was evidently the most complex. He stared at Xia Lei, his eyes filled with hatred but also a trace of powerlessness.
Gu Dingshan was his brother. He had reason enough to hate Xia Lei because of this. However, what could he do against Xia Lei?
Right then, a group of police officers suddenly charged into the underground bar.
“Put your gun down!” The leading officer had sharp eyes and saw the gun in Xia Lei’s hands immediately when he came in.
Xia Lei placed the gun on the floor as he said, “Calm down. I’m carrying out official business.”
“Carrying out official business? What official business?” The police officer asked as he gestured to his subordinates to surround Xia Lei, preparing to arrest him.
Zheng Xu’s lips curved into a faint sneer. “You stabbed someone and brought out a gun. What kind of result did you think you could get?”
Xia Lei said nothing.
One of the police officers suddenly said, “Isn’t that Xia Lei?”
“Right! The Thunder Horse Military Factory’s Xia Lei!” His colleague also recognised him and spoke excitedly.
“Shit...” The leading police officer then realised it, and a smile immediately filled his face. “Aha, so it was actually Mr Xia! Do you need any help?”
Zheng Xu’s smile froze.
Xia Lei gave a laugh. “It’s fine, it’s fine, everything’s already over. Officer, take these people back for interrogation and see if they’re one of the criminals on the wanted list. Also, I’ll have to trouble you to call an ambulance and send these two criminals to be treated.”
“Absolutely, no problem at all. What are you guys still standing there for? Do what he said!” barked the leading police officer.
“All right, well, I’ll be leaving now, Officer,” said Xia Lei.
“No problem, no problem. Take care, Mr Xia! Oh, right, your gun, please keep it.” The leading police officer picked up Xia Lei’s gun from the ground and handed it to Xia Lei with both hands.
“Thanks, bye.” Xia Lei turned and left.
The crowd stared as he left, like it was none of his goddamn business.
The psychological blow given to the people of the underground bar had already become too great to estimate.