Chapter 0427: The Hidden Hand

Power—when one doesn't have it, many often stand on the moral high ground and accuse others of clinging to their positions. But when they themselves sit in that seat, they truly understand the taste of power.

That was how Zhou Wei was. Before he sat in this position, he didn't think being an official was anything special. Back then, he felt that being an official meant serving the people.

But after he himself took this position, his thoughts slowly changed.

"Brother Zhou, are you serious?"

A man sitting across from Zhou Wei frowned and said to him.

Zhou Wei smiled: "What, you don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you." The man quickly shook his head: "Brother Zhou, your words I naturally trust. But I don't quite understand how a few brats could open an arcade. I saw their registered capital was five hundred thousand."

This was the year 2000; five hundred thousand was no small sum.

"Five hundred thousand?" Zhou Wei waved his hand: "Listen to them brag. Two or three hundred thousand at most; the rest is all hot air."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice: "I've checked. That Zhang Qian came from a welfare home. They managed to rent Wanda Mall because, like the owner of Wanda, they are veterans."

"And the money?" the man asked curiously: "If they really came from a welfare home, where did that money come from?"

"Not sure, probably donations or loans." Zhou Wei said indifferently: "Whatever the source, they have no backing at all."

"Are you sure?" The man still couldn't quite believe it.

Zhou Wei looked at him: "You, why are you so timid? Look, I've been holding them up for days, and those two haven't found anyone to come ask for help. The manager who came today, in his twenties, had a big mouth, but nothing happened all day. What are you afraid of?"

As he spoke, Zhou Wei narrowed his eyes, his voice gradually deepening: "If you don't do this, don't blame me for being rude."

With that, he stood up and left the restaurant directly.

Watching Zhou Wei's back, the man frowned, waved his hand to signal the other two who had stood up to sit down.

"Boss, what do we do?"

A bald man beside him asked, rubbing his head.

"What else? Send someone to check it out." The man had a scar on his face, his eyes fierce, making him look quite intimidating.

"I'll go," the bald man said solemnly.

"You go? Send a kid to see what's going on. Don't bring any weapons." The man glared at his subordinate and waved his hand.

The bald man was stunned, completely surprised that his boss was so cautious.

"Do you know how I've survived all these years?" The scarred man picked up a dish in front of him, ate it, drank heavily, and then asked.

"Who doesn't know your reputation, Boss? Back then, you followed Master Li, and Master Li followed Master Four." The bald man looked at Scar with admiration.

The other man at the table also looked impressed.

After all, the man before them was a legend in the Xiangyang district. Among those on the streets, who didn't know him? In the early 1990s, he was a trusted aide of the famous gun-and-knife-wielding Li the Cripple, a subordinate of the notorious Master Four in the province. Unlike his two bosses who had met their end, Scar had been active from the mid-1980s until now, building his own business and opening a logistics center.

"Master Li, Master Four..." Scar muttered these two names, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

"You guys." Scar looked at his two subordinates and waved his hand: "Master Four was impressive back then, registered with the province. Master Li was also impressive, striding sideways in the city. But where are they now?"

The two subordinates were stunned. The bald man clearly heard a note of desolation in his boss's tone.

"Boss..." the other subordinate couldn't help asking: "What's wrong?"

"My point is simple: no matter what bullshit Zhou Wei says, you all stay steady." Scar said solemnly: "He's using us as pawns. If something goes wrong, do you think that bastard will step up for me?"

The men looked at each other. No one was stupid. Who was Zhou Wei, and who were they? Had anyone ever seen an official stick his neck out for a bunch of thugs?

In short, though they were uneducated, everyone understood that in the eyes of those people, they were tools—useful when needed, discarded when not.

"Understand?" Scar sneered: "I've outlived Master Four and Master Li not because I'm tougher, but because I'm smart enough."

"These officials—none of them can be trusted." Scar said solemnly.

The men exchanged glances. Though they didn't know why, they all felt Scar was right.

"Alright, do as I say. Remember, don't cause trouble." Scar waved his hand and instructed his confidant.

The bald man nodded: "Got it, Boss."

Watching the bald man and the others leave, Scar put down his chopsticks, leaned back in his chair, his expression very serious.

He wasn't stupid. As he said, he had survived over a decade without being caught, surviving every crackdown, not because he was a great fighter or particularly capable.

But because he was the most cowardly!

The ones who could fight, who jumped the highest—they had all been caught by the police and executed.

Not to mention, back then, all the big shots under Master Four, including his own boss Li the Cripple, none escaped the law's severe punishment; they all fell. Even Zheng Guang, who fled to Beijing, was caught last month. He was Master Four's number one killer, a legendary boss across the three northeastern provinces.

Scar still remembered that years ago, one of his cousins worked under Zheng Guang and was accidentally captured by a gang of thugs.

Logically, Scar's cousin was just a low-level thug, negligible in the underworld. But Zheng Guang went alone, without even the sawed-off shotgun he usually carried. He said: 'If you want to cut my brother, I'll take the blows. I'll cut off my own hand.' At the moment he raised the knife, he was stopped, and Scar's cousin was released.

After that incident, Scar's cousin became utterly loyal to Zheng Guang.

And just a few days ago, news came from home: his cousin was arrested by police in Beijing, along with his boss—Zheng Guang.

If even such a big shot could fall, what chance did a small fry like him have?

Scar knew very well that in China, playing the gangster ultimately led nowhere.

"Wanda Mall, huh, not so easy to mess with." Scar muttered to himself, thought for a moment, pulled out his phone, and dialed an acquaintance: "Hey, Old Zhang, it's me. Yeah, yeah, doing well. Are you still delivering goods to Wanda Mall recently?"

"Is that so? Okay, let's have a drink sometime. Ah, I'm fine. Just had an argument with someone. Damn it, someone wanted me to cause trouble at Wanda. Am I crazy? I'm running a logistics business just fine; I'm not going to look for trouble."

Hanging up, a smile curled at the corner of Scar's mouth: "Trying to use me as a pawn? Zhou, you're still far from it."

… …

… …

The next morning, Zhao Fusheng, still in the dormitory, received a call from his father.

"Come over quickly." Father Zhao's tone was somewhat anxious.

Zhao Fusheng was startled, agreed, washed up, and took a car to the mall.

As soon as he entered, he saw his father sitting there with a serious expression, and beside him was Chen Hai.

"Uncle Chen, you're here too." Zhao Fusheng greeted Chen Hai, then looked at his father: "Dad, what's wrong?"

He thought something had happened at the mall, otherwise why would his father call him over so seriously?

But Father Zhao's first words stunned Zhao Fusheng: "Fusheng, did you know? That Zhou Wei has already started to act."

Zhao Fusheng frowned: "What do you mean?"

He didn't quite understand. Could it be that Zhou Wei knew he was planning to make a move against him?

Thinking carefully, Zhao Fusheng thought it unlikely. Apart from Zheng Yao, he hadn't done anything.

So what was going on?

With a puzzled look, Zhao Fusheng turned to his father.

Father Zhao sighed and explained the whole story, finally saying helplessly: "Luckily, that delivery guy knew your Uncle Chen and quickly informed him, otherwise it would have been trouble."

Chen Hai nodded: "Yes, I'm telling you, this is no joke. If it doesn't work out, talk to your General Zheng and postpone the arcade's opening, or have your dad help you find someone to intervene."

Their thinking was simple: since Zhou Wei was going to cause trouble for the arcade, they might as well lie low for a while. As the saying goes, civilians don't fight with officials. Zhou Wei, though just a section chief in the Industry and Commerce Bureau, had some power. If he really set his mind to making things difficult for the arcade, there would be ways.

But Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "It's not that simple."

He saw more clearly than his father and Chen Hai. Zhou Wei was willing to use people to cause trouble at the arcade over such a small matter, which showed his appetite was big. Perhaps his real intention wasn't the arcade at all. Otherwise, he could simply keep refusing to issue the business license, and Zhao Fusheng would be helpless—without the paperwork, no matter how much money he invested, he couldn't open.

In other words, Zhou Wei probably didn't care about that at all.

Thinking this, Zhao Fusheng looked at his father: "Dad, can you find out who this Zhou Wei really is?"

Intuition told Zhao Fusheng that this matter was definitely not as simple as it seemed.