Wang Zhuo immediately frowned. Among the two watching the ball game and drinking beer, one was a fat man, likely the "Second Fat" He Linze had mentioned, but the remaining three didn't match up at all.

The young man watching the game with the fat man was spewing vulgarities and acting boisterously; he was very likely Da Yang, one of the troublemakers He Linze had mentioned. So, who were the remaining two?

After a moment’s thought, Wang Zhuo guessed that the handsome guy with glasses and a hint of scholarly air was almost certainly Xiao San'er, as he seemed the most cultured, like an electronics expert. The young girl must be Passerby A, a relative visiting from another crew. Ma Xingmin was probably out on an urgent errand.

The gang leader’s absence gave Wang Zhuo a slight headache. If he moved now, this kid might pick up on any sign and escape—that simply couldn't happen, as the video files were in his possession. But not acting wasn't an option either; with one captive already, lingering could invite trouble.

Dragging He Linze into the hallway of a residential unit, Wang Zhuo said in a low voice, "Tell me about your accomplices’ appearances."

Fei Long smacked He Linze lightly but firmly on the head, startling him into immediate, honest confession.

"Da Yang has a long face, single eyelids, and tightly curled, permed hair; Second Fat is the stout one, with long hair, standing only about one meter sixty-five; Little Ma Ge wears black-rimmed glasses with blue accents, is somewhat thin, and looks like a student; Xiao San'er is about one meter fifty-five, looks a bit like the Child Goddess of the Heavenly Mountains..."

Fei Long immediately yanked his head and demanded, "What Child Goddess of the Heavenly Mountains?"

"I know," Wang Zhuo sighed internally, half-amused, half-exasperated. So, that little girl was Xiao San'er. He Linze, thoroughly frightened, had mixed up his details and forgotten to mention Xiao San'er was female.

Considering the description, Xiao San'er’s features did bear a passing resemblance to Shu Chang, the actress who played the Child Goddess of the Heavenly Mountains.

That settled it: all four members of the remaining group were inside the room. Little Ma Ge was reading, Xiao San'er was wearing earphones and watching a Korean drama on a tablet, Da Yang and Second Fat were watching the game, and the one coordinating from the internet cafe had finished his lunch delivery task for the day and wouldn't be back before dark.

It was the perfect time to strike.

"Give me the keys," he said, holding out his hand to He Linze.

"I... I don't have keys," He Linze said with a bitter smile. "None of us are allowed to carry keys when we leave, and we can't knock when we return; we have to communicate by phone."

More counter-surveillance... Wang Zhuo pouted in irritation.

After a moment’s thought, he quickly formed a plan and called Fei Long over, giving him detailed instructions.

Fei Long hurried off and soon returned with four men. He led the way, clutching a helium balloon featuring Pleasant Goat, while the four men followed in pairs, carrying two large sofas.

Jiangzhou was a bustling metropolis, with shops everywhere. Following Wang Zhuo's instruction, Fei Long bought the topical sofas from a nearby store. The movers, seeing his air of being a rich client, insisted the sofas required two people to carry, though one could manage. Fei Long didn't argue, paid them double wages, and set off with the four men.

He led the way upstairs, the workers trailing behind. Ma Xingmin, who was reading while monitoring the surveillance feed, noticed so many people suddenly appearing in the hallway, and he focused on the monitor screen.

"Easy there, guys, if anything gets scratched or bumped, I’ll have a hard time explaining it to the boss!" Fei Long shouted boisterously.

The workers answered in unison, assuring him to relax.

As they rounded the corner on the third floor and headed up to the fourth, Fei Long pulled out his phone to make a call, telling the workers to go ahead. As they brushed past each other, he deliberately let go of the balloon; the helium balloon shot upward, obscuring the surveillance camera hidden behind a bundle of cables.

At that very moment, Wang Zhuo, who had been waiting below, shoved He Linze forward and sprinted up. As he passed Fei Long, he handed He Linze over, quickly slipping past the range of the camera.

Inside the room, Ma Xingmin stared at the monitor, suddenly recalling a movie starring Louis Koo where criminals used a helium balloon to block nearby security cameras before committing a crime.

Though he found it suspicious, he truly couldn't imagine this was the work of Wang Zhuo or the police.

The balloon was soon snatched away by the fat man, and the lively voices from the hallway were nearing the door; their conversation could be vaguely heard.

Just then, the fat man suddenly yelled, making the workers stop, and he stomped his foot, cursing, "Damn it, where are the keys?"

The keys were missing? That meant the job couldn't be finished! The workers quickly told him to search, abandoning the sofas temporarily stacked between two apartments on the fifth floor.

Fei Long pretended to make a phone call, then announced that someone would bring the keys shortly, which finally reassured the workers.

"Disturbing the neighbors is bad form. I'll just say a quick word to the boss's neighbors and tell them we’ll be leaving soon," Fei Long said cheerfully, walking over to knock on the door of the unit opposite Ma Xingmin’s.

"Someone's home in there; they're watching the game," a worker reminded him.

"Oh? Then we'll greet this one first." Fei Long turned accordingly.

Ma Xingmin was peering out through the peephole, annoyed but preparing himself to deal with the situation.

After Fei Long knocked three or four times, Ma Xingmin opened the door a crack and leaned out, just about to speak, when he felt his hair yanked violently. Immediately following came an intense pain, a force so great he couldn't struggle or resist, and he was dragged straight out of the room.

The one who moved was Fei Long, who, just two seconds ago, had been cheerfully harmless-looking.

Pulled like that, Ma Xingmin felt his blood run cold, realizing disaster had struck.

Da Yang and Second Fat watched Little Ma go to open the door, but they were astonished when, as soon as the door opened a crack, Little Ma suddenly shot out.

As the two of them involuntarily stood up, a slender figure stumbled in—it was Maria, who was supposed to be monitoring the scene near the hotel at this time.

He Linze used to be nicknamed Little Ze, but over time, the nickname became associated with a certain virtuous Japanese actress. At some point, everyone started calling him by that actress's name: Maria.

Behind Maria, Ma Xingmin fell backward, landing hard on his rear, then, carried by the momentum, he flipped backward awkwardly on the floor.

Swish! Da Yang had already drawn a machete nearly two feet long from under the table. Second Fat, slightly slower to react, also rushed to the television set and grabbed an eighty-centimeter-long steel pipe from behind the TV cabinet.

A loud noise echoed from the hallway—the workers, seeing the turn of events, had jumped right over the sofas and fled toward the stairs.

When Wang Zhuo and a fat man entered the room with the stylish gait of a master and apprentice from a gambling film, Da Yang and Second Fat suddenly felt the air thicken, a suffocating pressure descending upon them.

The fat man was one thing; he was just larger than Second Fat and empty-handed, covered in excess flesh, so his fighting ability might not be high. But Wang Zhuo, who entered first, was different. Videos of this man roughing up thugs, assaulting police officers, and fighting city management had been censored online, but they could still be found by those who knew where to look. When Xiao San'er climbed over the wall and downloaded videos from an American site, she saw that the accumulated views on these clips had exceeded ten million.

Even Wang Zhuo himself didn't realize he was famous outside the firewall, blooming where he was planted.

After seeing those videos, Da Yang and Second Fat understood the immense gap between their own capabilities and the "action director’s." The moment this god of destruction appeared before them, their legs began to tremble uncontrollably...

The commotion also alerted Xiao San'er, who rushed to the bedroom doorway and froze, stunned.

Wang Zhuo glanced at her, thinking that as long as the girl didn't approach the computer, everything would be fine, so he ignored her and turned his attention back to the other four.

It seemed everything was under control. Fei Long cheerfully asked for instructions, "Boss, should I send those sofa-carriers away first?"

"Handle it cleanly," Wang Zhuo nodded.

A short while later, Fei Long had dismissed the four workers. They were paid two hundred each for carrying the sofas back, double what they were initially offered, and they left happily.

When Fei Long returned, Wang Zhuo had already taken possession of the sofa in the living room, sitting there sipping beer. Ma Xingmin, He Linze, Da Yang, and Second Fat—the four unruly children—were lined up kneeling before the television set, their weapons already discarded elsewhere.

Xiao San'er was squatting to one side, tending to an electric hot plate boiling water. Nearby were instant noodles, eggs, and some vegetables. Fei Long suddenly remembered that he and Wang Zhuo had been so focused on this matter that they hadn't eaten lunch.

Closing the door, Fei Long sat down heavily next to Wang Zhuo and scornfully berated them, "Look at your pathetic states. With looks like these, you dare try extortion?"

The four dared not speak out in anger, hanging their heads silently.

This feeling was truly exhilarating! Just as Fei Long was about to continue showing off, Wang Zhuo gave him a sidelong glance and said, "Go into the room and bring out the computers."

"Uh... Oh, right." Fei Long immediately cooled down and obediently went to work.

This small crew had three computers, all top-of-the-line laptops, each worth over ten thousand yuan. Fei Long lined them up on the coffee table, secretly calculating whether he could take one home after this was settled.

"Ma Xingmin, look up," Wang Zhuo said flatly.

Ma Xingmin's hair was a tangled mess from being pulled by Fei Long. His face was pale, his expression rigid as he forced himself to look up. He wouldn't have been this frightened if he were facing the police, but Wang Zhuo was a violent offender who beat up cops before talking business, making him seriously worry if his small frame could withstand this man's handling.

Wang Zhuo stared into his eyes and asked, "Tell me, how long have you been doing this, and how much money have you extorted in total?"

While looking at Ma Xingmin, Wang Zhuo spoke to Fei Long, "Go get that iron pipe. If he hasn't told me everything by the time you get back—start with the right leg."

"Got it. Let's see if his leg is tougher than the iron pipe!"

Fei Long cackled wickedly and went to fetch the pipe. Before he could return, Ma Xingmin began trembling, his lips quivering as he stammered, "One million eight hundred thousand. We've been doing this for over half a year, and we made a total of one million eight hundred thousand!"

"Heh." Wang Zhuo sneered, then looked at Fei Long and asked calmly, "He's lying. What do we do?"