Chapter 83 - High Society

"He's in a remote area," announced Long Jie.

"I'll let my father's team know," Song Luli replied.

What her father needed to gather required some time, so he informed them to locate Long Huojin in his exact position and not to engage in any combat. Their mission was only to report back to him.

Zhang Enyu hit the gas pedal hard, speeding towards the countryside. They found the van that took Long Huojin, but it was abandoned and vacant.

It was midday, and Long Jie kicked the side of the van hard enough to leave a huge dent. He was frustrated.

But the others searched the inside of the car.

Su Xiang found some blood, feeling the warmth of it. "It's fresh," she examined.

Song Luli glanced around the fields, wondering if she could pick up some tracks. She couldn't find car prints or footprints anymore. But she remembered that Long Jie studied agriculture.

"Jie," she called out to him.

He stepped to her side. "What is it?"

"Look at the field. Can you notice any differences?"

Long Jie narrowed his eyes, gazing over the grass, mud, and rocks. He couldn't pick up anything immediately.

He then pointed at a patch of tall grass. "They went on foot in a zig-zag motion. They walked over the grass instead of the mud or paths," he said.

The six of them hurriedly began to walk on foot, abandoning the van they brought. They wanted to sweep in unnoticed and undetected, as driving their car would attract attention.

Into the woods, they followed the subtle tracks. Long Jie was able to see the spots and marks on the trees, in the grass, and the misplacement of branches that Song Luli couldn't notice.

When they reached the end, they found multiple abandoned houses and buildings, almost like a ghost town.

"He could be anywhere!" exclaimed Song Luli.

Song Meiling glanced at the buildings, narrowing her eyes. There were no sounds, almost as if time froze. She scanned each house and building, pointing at one with broken windows and nests on the ledges.

"How do you know?" Song Luli asked.

"Look at the vines," she said. "It's tidy, but at the other buildings, it's grown wild. It's a hindrance to people who reside in them. But not if it's kept." Long Jie took out a drone from his bag and started driving it in the air.

The six of them hunched over, looking to see the camera.

"It's the one," Long Jie said. "I have to go further in."

From the angle of the camera, the windows of the roof had shattered. He drove it inside, picking up the exact coordinates of where Long Huojin was.

He was on the floor, where some people were beating him, bleeding.

Long Jie dropped the controller and ran towards the building.

"Fuck!" Song Meiling said, picking up the control. The drone was then falling out of the sky, startling her.

Song Luli ran after Long Jie.

"This wasn't the plan!" Song Meiling yelled after them.

"I have to help them," chimed in Xun Zichen. "Stay here," he told the rest of the three.

"I'm coming, too!" Su Xiang told him, grasping his hand.

"Great. Are we all suicidal now?" Song Meiling said to them sarcastically, but they ignored her. She raised her hand in frustration, looking at Zhang Enyu, who only shrugged at her.

"This is your family," he said.

"Fuck my life," Song Meiling replied.

Xun Zichen and Su Xiang sprinted towards the building with Long Jie as the lead, and Song Luli shortly behind him, racing across the field.

Song Meiling sighed, biting her lip. "I think, maybe, I should help them too," she said to Zhang Enyu.

He furrowed his brows. "Are you stupid?"

"I'm the oldest! I should be protecting them," she snapped, conflicted.

"It's dangerous. And no offence, you haven't once shown me that you're capable of defending yourself."

Song Meiling pouted. "But, I'm worried."

Zhang Enyu sighed. "You're a lot more helpful in this end," he told her.

"How?" she questioned.

"Let's report back to your father."

Song Meiling nodded. "Okay," she said.

...

Long Jie ran towards the side of the building, where the sun casts its shadow. He ran out of instinct, out of fear for his father's life.

But why did these people take him?

He had to admit that his father had done things in the past that he wasn't proud of, things Long Huojin buried before and after he married his wife. But was this all catching up to him now?

He didn't check if anyone followed him, and he kept going.

He found a shattered window, quickly sweeping the glass away, and jumping through it.

He crouched down, and there were cargo shipment cases. He hid behind one of them, sliding across the container. There were also barrels scattered everywhere.

He overheard voices, picking up the jarring sound of his father. He sounded defiant despite the pain he most likely endured.

Long Jie took a deep breath.

He remembered what his grandfather, Long Yuntian, the Head Dragon, told him when he was younger. ' Our wealth did not come from old money; it came from spilled blood. The High Society is not what you think. Members of the Underworld hide in plain sight. When you hold Long Group, don't let those poor souls who lost their lives so we can thrive, go to vain.'

"I waited so long for this," said a man with white hair and red eye-bags, interrupting his thoughts. "You and your bitch thought you were clever for leaving me in jail." He then smiled broadly with yellow-stained teeth. "You should have killed me when you had the chance."

His father scoffed, blood oozing from his mouth.

"We left you to rot. Dying would have been too easy, too quick," Long Huojin replied.

Wang Weimin , Long Jie thought.

Wang Worldwide plummeted after Long Huojin destroyed it. He also sent Wang Weimin to jail for life and destroyed everything else Wang Weimin held dear. But he deserved it, and Long Jie didn't know he was let out early.

Long Jie clenched his fingers into white fists. He was breathing hard, angry.

He had nothing to do with his Grandfather's Underworld dealings or his father's feud between Long Group and Wang Worldwide. But he was sucked into it, and he wanted to end it.

He carried one of Song Luli's knives. Three people were surrounding Long Huojin, and though it was a risk, Long Jie felt like he had a good chance.

He was about to go when he heard someone step on glass.

His eyes darted to the window, where he saw Song Luli enter and froze at the spot. Long Jie's eyes widened, looking back to the men whose attention shot towards her.

Wang Weimin positioned a gun at Long Huojin's head while the other two men ran towards Song Luli.

Everything spiralled around him. He would only be on time to save one of them. He looked at his father, who locked eyes with him. Long Huojin nodded slowly, smiling at him.

Long Jie was conflicted. He threw the knife, which embedded in Wang Weimin's side. He then ran towards Song Luli, but instead of pushing her out of the way, he tackled one of the men on the floor. He knew that Song Luli was capable of taking care of herself. So, she snapped out of her daze and began using her fighting skills to hurt her attacker.

It was one-on-one, so they quickly took them down.

Long Jie smiled at Song Luli, panting hard before they approached Wang Weimin. But Wang Weimin then pointed the gun towards them. Long Jie stepped in front of Song Luli, shielding her.

Song Luli tried to wriggle out of his grip, but Long Jie refused to let her go anywhere near him.

"Mr. Wang," Long Jie began, "let this go. You can leave now and live the rest of your life while you can."

"I want revenge!" he seethed.

"There's no point. You lost."

"I was in jail for over 25 years. I want to destroy Long Group."

"Leave everything in the past," Long Jie tried to reason with him.

Wang Weimin aimed the gun at Long Jie. A gunshot rang, and Song Luli clung onto his body with her heart racing; her anxiety flared.

Wang Weimin's body fell over, and behind him was Xun Zichen. Su Xiang followed after, looking over the body.

Wang Weimin was still alive, but bleeding heavily.

Long Jie and Song Luli approached him carefully. Xun Zichen kicked the gun from Wang Weimin's hand.

"I'm not the only one after Long Group," Wang Weimin said through a bloody smile before his last breath.

And then, more of his henchmen swept in.