Chapter 285 The Worst Criminals

Everyone murmured in confusion, casting doubtful looks at the tiny family restaurant that had seen better days.

"It looks too low-class for him," another one commented.

"Is this a joke? Did we get pranked?"

"This place already looks destroyed, why are we even here?"

"Maybe we took a wrong turn somewhere," another one offered. "All the roads look the same in the dark."

"Quiet. All of you. We have our orders," the leader said grimly and the team of seven quickly fell into silence. "This is the intel we got from our client. Do not question the mission!"

"Yes Sir!" The group of men chorushed and it echoed loudly throughout the silent night. The leader wanted to facepalm.

"Keep quiet! Do you want to be found out?" He hissed angrily. God, he was stuck with incompetents, but they were all the goons he could get on such short notice, since the task was also given without prior arrangements, yet he was given such a tight timeline to execute!

It was also hard to get people willing to travel so far into the countryside to execute this one task - thankfully, their client Z was more than willing to pay for the increased travel expenses.

"We're splitting up. Half of you, go to the house and find Sun Jingwei and his wife. The other half, grab the kerosene oil from the van. We're going to torch the restaurant!"

"Yes Sir," they chorused, but this time more softly to not attract attention.

"Remember our main objectives: Sun Jingwei and his wife must be captured alive, at all costs. The restaurant must be destroyed." He repeated. This was something their client emphasised repeatedly.

Sun Jingwei and Li Xue Ning were not allowed to die! If he had more time, he'd wonder about the identity of their client. That person was clearly out for revenge, and they had no qualms about making a statement!

"Can we injure them?" One goon asked worriedly. "We didn't bring the chloroform and there are no stores open now. We can't buy any."

"We can't buy chloroform at any store, stupid." Another goon scolded. "We'll look like criminals."

"But we are criminals."

"So we should be stealing chloroform?"

The leader sighed. Truly, it was hard to find good, smart henchmen nowadays! Any man that was smart enough would have steered clear from this line of work, hence he was left with morons, and out of this bunch of morons, the stupidest ones came with him this time around!

"If it's necessary to subdue them. We cannot have them getting away." The leader explained patiently, as though he was a schoolteacher.

"Then what about the others?" A recruit asked curiously.

"If they obstruct you, get rid of them. It shouldn't be too hard. According to the intel provided, two of them are old, and one is a frail woman. None of them should pose a problem."

"The adult son and Jingwei's bodyguards might be a problem, but we have the element of surprise on our side. Use the women as hostages if necessary."

"Do we need to keep them alive?" Someone asked.

"Our mission doesn't specify whether they are needed alive or not." The leader said, pulling down his own ski mask. "Now is everyone clear?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Quiet!"

"Yes Sir…"

"Let's move out!"

======

"Uncle, do you have a headache?" Jingwei asked worriedly, fluttering around Li Tai Cheng. He still had a frown on his face, and his nose wrinkled, as though he smelled something bad.

"Shush." Tai Cheng raised a finger to his lips. He whispered. "Did you hear that?"

There was a muffled chorus of something outside their restaurant. Jingwei's ears perked up in surprise - was it a bunch of rowdy drunk teenagers making trouble?

"Uncle, I think those are drunkards." Jingwei said reassuringly. "Either that, or students who drank too much. I can go and chase them away if you want."

There was another muffled cheer. Jingwei was prepared to chase them away, but Xue Ning's father pulled him back.

"No it's not," Tai Cheng said with a frown. "We don't have drunk students or drunk mobs."

More importantly, he heard them say something like 'Yes Sir.' That definitely wasn't something a regular civilian would say!

"But - "

"Shhh. Do you hear that?" Tai Cheng whispered.

A pause. Jingwei was about to shake his head because there was no more strange cheering, but then he heard the sound of footsteps shuffling around the restaurant. He waited for them to fade away, but they seemed to be getting closer!

"Uncle, are there people looking for us?" Jingwei asked cautiously, not liking the wary, pinched look on Li Tai Cheng's face. "Should we go outside and take a look?"

But as he prepared to leave, Xue Ning's father pulled him back and shoved him under the table!

"Uncle? What's wrong?" Jingwei asked, now beginning to panic.

"The footsteps don't sound like anyone we know. Keep quiet and stay low. I'll go outside to check it out." Tai Cheng instructed, and he armed himself with two long cooking knives, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Jingwei froze, suddenly feeling terrified.

But he knew that he could not be cowering under a table while Xue Ning's father went to investigate.

"Uncle, I'll go with you," he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. He picked up a knife too. "You can't go alone! What if it's dangerous? You'll get hurt!"

Xue Ning's father could only look at him with an unreadable look in his eyes, while Jingwei stubbornly refused to get under the table. It was admirable for Jingwei to care about his life, but honestly… it was almost unnecessary. He did his best work when no one was watching.

There was a strange smell wafting through the air. Jingwei's nose twitched and he gagged. Was that… petrol?

"Kerosene," Xue Ning's father gasped, and he hurriedly pulled Jingwei towards him. Someone was trying to commit arson! "Run straight to the house and get help! I'll create a distraction."

"Uncle? What are you saying?" Jingwei shook his head frantically. "I'm not leaving you behind!"

"Aish, this kid," Tai Cheng grumbled, even as fondness began to take root. This boy was a stubborn crybaby, but he wasn't a coward. "Fine, but make sure to protect yourself! Remember, your life is more valuable than mine. If anything goes wrong, escape!"

"With all due respect, that's nonsense." Jingwei said firmly. "Xue Ning would never forgive me, and I would never forgive myself!"