{Chapter: 221 Blow After Blow?!}
Everything appeared perfectly in place.
Yet…
Something didn't feel right.
Gu Qingshan couldn't put his finger on it, but a sense of unease crept into his chest.
His instincts were rarely wrong.
"Boss Qingshan!" Wang Ergou called out, waving one hand. "Come on over! The funds have all been converted. Everything you asked for is right here in the suitcase!"
Gu Qingshan narrowed his eyes, not moving. Although the distance between them was just a few meters, he didn't open the car door.
"Ergou," he said slowly, "You've done well. But instead of me getting out, why don't you bring the suitcase over here?"
There was a slight pause.
Then came Wang Ergou's reply.
"Sure thing, Boss!"
But strangely… he didn't move.
Not even a single step.
Gu Qingshan's gut twisted.
Ye Feng, who had been quietly observing from the driver's seat, must have sensed it too.
Without warning, Ye Feng slammed his foot down on the accelerator. The car lurched forward, racing ahead a few meters away from its previous position.
And then—
BOOM!!!
A deafening crash echoed behind them.
The car shook from the shockwave.
Gu Qingshan and Ye Feng spun their heads around.
Behind them, right where their vehicle had been parked just seconds ago, a massive stone boulder had fallen—smashing into the pavement with crushing force. The boulder was at least three to four meters tall, its jagged sides suggesting it had been hoisted from a construction site or rooftop.
They looked up. The top of the building towered dozens of meters above, making it clear the boulder had been waiting—carefully timed to kill.
Gu Qingshan's face turned pale.
That had been an assassination attempt.
His fingers trembled as he called Wang Ergou, the phone barely steady in his hands.
When the call connected, he screamed into the receiver, his voice full of rage and disbelief.
"Wang Ergou! You tried to kill me, you ungrateful bastard?!"
On the other end, Wang Ergou chuckled coldly.
"Boss Qingshan… your life really is as tough as ever."
His tone was detached, as if he were commenting on the weather rather than a failed murder attempt.
Gu Qingshan's vision turned red with fury.
"Traitor! What did you do to Lao Gui and the others?! They would never betray me—they were loyal to the end!"
Wang Ergou replied casually, without a trace of remorse.
"Lao Gui? Oh, that old guy. I tried to talk sense into him. Spent a few days persuading him to join Young Master Lin. Unfortunately, he wasn't very cooperative."
Gu Qingshan gritted his teeth.
"Wang Ergou… I treated you like my own blood! I made you my right hand! Have I ever wronged you? Tell me, what did I do to deserve this betrayal?!"
Silence answered him at first.
Then, a mocking laugh came through the speaker.
"You want to know what went wrong?" Wang Ergou sneered. "After you promised that I'd inherit the Qingshan Gang, how much power did you actually give me? Did you even give me a tenth of what you held?"
His voice turned sharp, bitter, filled with years of resentment.
"You always talked about loyalty—but in your eyes, I was just a tool. Someone to call when you needed something done. You built an empire, but I was never truly a part of it. You gave orders—I obeyed. That was it."
"But when Ye Feng came back," Wang Ergou continued coldly, "you handed control over to him without hesitation. And what about me? I was your so-called right-hand man, wasn't I? But in your heart, I was just garbage. Nothing more than a disposable tool."
His voice was bitter, low, and full of suppressed rage.
"Even Ah Yong… you threw him out like bait without a second thought. If that was his fate, I knew mine wouldn't be any better."
Gu Qingshan's face darkened, but he said nothing.
Outside the vehicle, the situation had already changed.
Unbeknownst to him, Ah Yong's men had silently surrounded the car during the conversation. Dozens of figures now stood at strategic points, forming a tight encirclement, each one holding weapons—knives, clubs, metal rods.
It was a trap.
Wang Ergou had been stalling, using their conversation to distract Gu Qingshan and buy time.
Once the noose was fully in place, his tone shifted from casual to deadly serious.
"Ah Yong," Wang Ergou said, eyes cold. "Do it. Send Boss Qingshan on his way to the next life."
"Yes, Boss!" Ah Yong responded without hesitation, stepping forward with a group of heavily armed thugs.
They advanced in formation, ready to deliver the killing blow.
In that instant, it became clear to Gu Qingshan that the entire situation had been orchestrated from the very beginning. The betrayal ran deeper than he had imagined.
Not only had Wang Ergou turned on him—but even Ah Yong, the very man he had risked as a decoy in a previous conflict, had switched sides. That meant his entire inner circle had collapsed.
Gu Qingshan gritted his teeth. He knew Wang Ergou was ruthless and ambitious—but he wouldn't have had the courage or means to carry out this coup on his own.
No.
There was someone else pulling the strings from the shadows.
Lin Yuan.
It had to be Lin Yuan.
That cunning brat again!
He'd destroyed everything Gu Qingshan built—and he'd done it silently, without even stepping onto the battlefield.
The thought made Gu Qingshan feel suffocated with rage and helplessness.
He hung up the call abruptly.
"Ye Feng! Step on it! Now!" Gu Qingshan shouted, his voice sharp.
Ye Feng gave a quick nod, his expression grave.
In the very next second, several thick iron plates emerged from the windows and sides of their Land Rover with a metallic clunk. Hidden mechanisms activated, forming a protective barrier around the vehicle.
Spikes extended outward in all directions—forming a rotating defense perimeter.
This wasn't an ordinary car.
Gu Qingshan had it secretly modified months ago as an emergency escape vehicle. The conversion included reinforced armor, retractable defenses, and a shield-grade structure—all designed to withstand violent ambushes like this one.
Of course, such transformations required time to activate, which is exactly why Gu Qingshan had dragged out the conversation with Wang Ergou—to buy those crucial seconds.
Now, the trap was sprung on both sides.
Ah Yong and his men rushed forward, weapons raised.
Bang! Bang! Thud!
Their knives, iron rods, and iron clubs crashed down on the vehicle with brutal force, but the armor held strong.
The Land Rover didn't budge.
It was like trying to break into a tank with sticks.
Ye Feng's driving skills then came into play.
He spun the wheel, hit the gas, and burst forward.
With a deafening screech, the vehicle tore through the encirclement, spikes ripping apart weapons and forcing enemies to dive out of the way.
In the blink of an eye, they were gone—speeding into the distance, leaving behind only dust and chaos.
Ah Yong and his crew stood stunned.
"…Sorry, Boss," one of them muttered sheepishly, bowing his head toward Wang Ergou.
They had failed.
Once, they were equals. Wang Ergou had been no more powerful than any of them—just another soldier in the Qingshan Gang. But now, not a single man dared look him in the eyes.
The shift was obvious.
They all knew the reason.
Wang Ergou now served Lin Yuan—the young master of the Lin family.
A name that struck fear into the hearts of everyone who dared oppose him.
If Lin Yuan had reduced Gu Qingshan to a desperate fugitive, who would dare cross him now?
Even in failure, Wang Ergou's position was untouchable.
One of the men couldn't hold back his anxiety and asked in a nervous whisper, "Boss Wang… we let Gu Qingshan and Ye Feng escape. Won't Young Master Lin be angry with us?"
Wang Ergou remained calm, unaffected by their concern.
He spoke slowly, but with absolute confidence.
"It's fine," he said. "Young Master Lin said it himself—it's almost impossible to kill Gu Qingshan and Ye Feng in one blow. They're too cautious, too well-prepared. Today was just a test. He has other plans for them… fates worse than death."
The men fell silent.
Then Wang Ergou gave them a sharp look.
"And don't call me 'Boss,'" he said flatly. "I'm just one of Young Master Lin's dogs. Same as you all."
None of them dared to speak again.
Because they knew he meant every word.
And worse—they were all starting to believe it themselves.
*****
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