Era of Mist

Chapter 218: Chapter 217: Intelligence

Shi Tiexin waved his hand, and his four underlings went down to the second floor, leaving only the two of them on the third.

Officer Gao sat across from Shi Tiexin, laying out his intelligence in a quick, clear voice.

”Ouyang Hong has a younger brother, Ouyang Shun. On the surface, the two of them own many businesses. Their commercial ventures span social media platforms, e-commerce, multimedia, and more. But his core enterprise, his main power base, is a pharmaceutical company. His most well-known public identity is the CEO of that company.”

Shi Tiexin nodded. ’Sounds like a true business magnate.’

”Ever since he fled to Japan, his businesses back in our country have taken a huge hit. He lost stock, his assets were carved up and devoured by others... you could say more than half of his business empire has collapsed. But his power base, that pharmaceutical company, has branched out and put down roots in Japan, establishing a firm foothold.”

Shi Tiexin nodded again. Ouyang Hong was like a half-starved camel that was still bigger than a horse.

”But that’s all a facade. The pharmaceutical company is just a cover. The real reason he’s been able to survive in Japan, and even team up with his brother Ouyang Shun to form the Hongshun Society—transitioning their power from a gray area to outright criminal and managing to stay afloat—is because the two brothers are actually master drug manufacturers.”

”Drug manufacturers?” Shi Tiexin was a little surprised, but not overly shocked. ”So they’re drug dealers?”

Officer Gao shook his head grimly. ”Not just dealers, or at least, not ordinary ones. They’re major drug lords who run the entire operation, from R&D and production all the way to sales. And the most terrifying thing about these two brothers isn’t their production methods, but their research and development capabilities.”

”R&D?” Shi Tiexin didn’t know much about that. The drugs he’d learned about only covered the few common types; he’d never heard of them needing R&D.

”Yes, R&D.” Seeing Shi Tiexin’s confusion, Officer Gao elaborated. ”Drugs are constantly being updated and iterated upon. Heroin and its kind are first-generation. Methamphetamine is second-generation. You know about this, right?”

Shi Tiexin nodded. ”I’ve heard of them.”

”With each new generation, there are huge improvements in every aspect—ease of production, convenience of transport, sophistication of concealment, and so on. And the harm they cause gets worse with each generation. Old-school drug dealers never thought about this stuff; they figured they could just hold on to a few plots of land and farm them forever. But not these two brothers. They’re highly educated.”

”They have a much broader vision.”

”They are far more determined to pursue technological advancement.”

”You could say they’re a rare breed among capitalists, the type that never gives up on investing in technology and upgrading their methods. But it’s such a damn shame, so infuriating, that they’ve applied all their genius in the wrong direction.” Officer Gao’s expression was heavy. ”Thanks to the R&D of those two brothers, we’re now dealing with the fourth generation.”

”Fourth generation!” Shi Tiexin had no idea what level fourth-generation drugs were on, but a little imagination was enough to tell him they wouldn’t be easy to deal with.

”There’s a wide variety of fourth-generation products, but they all share several characteristics: they’re highly addictive, extremely concealable, imperceptible when administered, and nearly impossible to quit.”

”For example, one of their products looks and smells ordinary. On the surface, it’s almost identical to common chicken bouillon powder—even police dogs have a hard time telling the difference. But one canister of this ’chicken bouillon’ can get someone hooked for life, leading them to ruin their family and their own life.”

A chill ran down Shi Tiexin’s spine. He couldn’t help but wrack his brain, trying to remember if he’d eaten anything with chicken bouillon in it recently. ’If someone really managed to drug me without me knowing, that would be a huge problem.’

”There’s another kind that looks just like a cartoon sticker—the kind rowdy kids stick on the back of their hands. But if you actually stick it on your skin, the drug seeps right through. It requires no paraphernalia to smoke or ingest; just a playful slap of a sticker is enough to get you addicted. A lot of young women partying at nightclubs have fallen victim to it.”

’They can do that?’ Another chill went through Shi Tiexin. He quickly tried to recall if any of the young men or women in his gang had been sticking cartoons on themselves for fun. ’If they really got hooked... then they could become Ouyang Hong’s eyes and ears, his spies, at any moment, and I might be completely unaware.’

’Terrifying! Absolutely terrifying!’

’Thank god Wang Dafu only told me the plan. No one else knows the details; they all just think it’s a standard revenge operation, so there’s no chance for a leak. And thank god I met with Officer Gao today and learned the truth about the Ouyang brothers. Otherwise, I could get taken out someday and never even know what hit me.’

’No, these two brothers are too dangerous. They must be eliminated!’

Shi Tiexin suddenly thought of something. ”If the Ouyang brothers are this dangerous, how did they get the chance to escape to Japan? Why are they still alive? With the Eastern Realm’s capabilities, it shouldn’t be hard to send an elite team over to capture or kill them, right?”

”Heh!” Officer Gao suddenly laughed, but it was an ugly, sarcastic laugh. After a moment, he sighed. ”I’d like to know why those menaces are still alive, too...”

Officer Gao’s words carried a hidden meaning. Clearly, the word ”menaces” didn’t just refer to the Ouyang brothers; he was alluding to someone else.

Shi Tiexin fell silent.

’If it’s really as I suspect, then the backers protecting the Ouyang brothers are traitors to our nation.’ He had suffered a great deal growing up, but this was the first time he had encountered a dark conspiracy on a scale that could bring calamity to the entire country.

Shi Tiexin and Officer Gao then began to talk in detail. They spoke in low voices for nearly half an hour as Shi Tiexin’s own plans began to take shape. After thirty minutes, he had a clear picture of everything he needed to know.

After a moment of silence, Shi Tiexin asked, ”So what happened with your daughter?”

Officer Gao’s brow furrowed sharply. He shot a glare at Shi Tiexin. ”Don’t you already know?”

”I only know the result, not the process.”

”Is the process important?”

”It is.” Shi Tiexin’s expression was very serious. ”Very important.”

Officer Gao stared hard at Shi Tiexin for a long time before finally letting out a cold snort. ”There’s not much to tell. My girl took after me. She grew up to be a cop, worked in narcotics, and was investigating these fourth-generation drugs. To find the true source, she took a risk and went undercover. Eventually, her investigation led her to the Ouyang brothers. And then...”

Officer Gao trailed off, unable to continue. His face was a mask of pain. He finally let out a deep sigh. ”And then... she was sacrificed. It’s as simple as that.”

Shi Tiexin was silent.

Officer Gao’s account was brief, but Shi Tiexin was suddenly moved. The spiritual chunk in his mind buzzed and vibrated, as if it wanted to say something but couldn’t get the words out, ultimately only managing to convey a sense of sorrow and grief.

Shi Tiexin was silent for a long moment, then he looked up at Officer Gao. ”So, you and the Ouyang brothers truly are mortal enemies.”

”I didn’t come to Japan with any intention of going back alive.”

”Then why aren’t they wary of you?” Shi Tiexin said in a low voice. ”If I were Ouyang Hong and a mortal enemy like you showed up at my doorstep, I would have killed you the moment I found out who you were. The law in Japan is nonexistent now; he has nothing to hold him back. Why would he be swaggering around in front of his company, spouting nonsense to you about how ’money lets you do whatever you want’?”

”Because he has no idea I have a vendetta against him.” Officer Gao gave a sarcastic laugh. ”Do I have the words ’My Daughter’s Killer’ written across my face? No. What’s written there is—’Don’t Even Think About Evading Taxes.’”