Chapter 33: Anticipating the Black Dog Gang's Scheme

“Damn, why did you buy so much? Can we even finish all this?” Jiang Yuan exclaimed in surprise. As the leader, he was usually quite frugal with their meals.

“Brother Yuan, Eagle was worried about your health, so he wanted to get something nourishing for you. Come on, eat up,” Jiang Butong replied.

Eagle cast a grateful look at Jiang Butong.

The aroma of the food made everyone realize how hungry they were. After all, they’d been up all night and hadn’t even had dinner the previous evening.

Like a whirlwind sweeping through the remnants of a storm, the three of them devoured every last bite.

After lunch, Jiang Butong and Eagle left the hospital in the van.

Jiang Butong gave Eagle Liu Shuanzhu’s address and put him in charge of navigation, as he wasn’t a local and wasn’t familiar with the area.

Forty minutes later, Jiang Butong stopped the van in a suburban neighborhood. The surrounding houses were cramped and dirty, with the barest living facilities.

Following Eagle’s directions, Jiang Butong pulled up slowly in front of a dilapidated two-story building. It looked like it dated back to the seventies, with peeling walls overgrown with moss.

“Brother Tong, do you want me to go knock?” Eagle asked.

Jiang Butong shook his head. He still wasn’t sure if Liu Shuanzhu was truly on their side, so he wanted to wait.

They waited until dusk.

Eventually, Liu Shuanzhu came back, riding a bicycle and smoking a cigarette, evidently in high spirits.

Jiang Butong watched through the rearview mirror and saw Liu Shuanzhu was alone. He got out of the van.

Liu Shuanzhu was humming a tune, but when he saw Jiang Butong standing there, his face changed.

He almost turned to run, but then realized—he’d already switched sides, so what was there to run from?

“Shuanzhu, where are you off to?” Jiang Butong asked with a friendly smile.

“Bro—Brother Tong…” Liu Shuanzhu parked his bike and walked over obediently.

“Get in,” Jiang Butong said, tilting his head toward the van.

Liu Shuanzhu climbed in reluctantly, noticing there was someone else in the back seat. He was glad he hadn’t run, or he’d have been in trouble.

Jiang Butong started the van and drove them to a quiet spot.

The atmosphere was tense. Eagle offered Jiang Butong a cigarette, hesitated, and then handed one to Liu Shuanzhu as well.

Lighting his cigarette, Liu Shuanzhu felt a bit more at ease.

Once Jiang Butong felt the mood was right, he spoke.

“Shuanzhu, tell me—what’s the situation on your end?”

Liu Shuanzhu hesitated, then said, “When I went back yesterday, I saw our old—”

He caught himself. Since he’d defected, Dog wasn’t his boss anymore.

“I saw Black Dog. He asked me what happened yesterday.”

Jiang Butong asked, “Did you mention me to Dog?”

Liu Shuanzhu froze. In truth, he had mentioned Jiang Butong—otherwise, how could Black Dog believe Jiang Yuan could take on five men alone? But now he wasn’t sure if Jiang Butong wanted him to mention it or not. He stared at Jiang Butong, anxious and afraid he’d anger him.

“It’s all right, relax. You’re one of us now, I won’t do anything to you,” Jiang Butong said calmly.

Relieved, Liu Shuanzhu confessed, “I did mention you. Otherwise, there’s no way six of us could have lost to Brother Yuan…”

Jiang Butong nodded. If Liu Shuanzhu hadn’t mentioned him, Black Dog would never believe their plan had failed, which would only arouse suspicion.

“Go on,” Jiang Butong prompted.

Eagle, in the front passenger seat, looked serious. This was his first time being part of a high-level discussion with Jiang Butong. He felt a sense of pride—most of the brothers only knew Jiang Yuan, and few realized Jiang Butong was the strategist behind him. Without Jiang Butong’s schemes, Jiang Yuan would never have gotten this far.

“Black Dog is planning to hit your restaurant tomorrow night,” Liu Shuanzhu finally dropped the bombshell.

Eagle’s face changed instantly. The enemy was moving so fast? They didn’t even know where Black Dog lived, and if Liu Shuanzhu hadn’t warned them, they’d have walked straight into the trap tomorrow night.

Jiang Butong was also alarmed. It seemed that after yesterday’s failed plan, Black Dog was desperate to launch a second attack—he was determined to wipe them out.

Though the two sides had only clashed head-on twice, things were already at a boiling point.

“Time and numbers,” Jiang Butong demanded.

“Midnight tomorrow. Less than thirty men,” Liu Shuanzhu revealed everything.

Eagle’s eyelids twitched. They barely had twenty men on their side, and Jiang Yuan was still in the hospital.

Jiang Butong smoked in silence, letting the haze fill the van as he considered their situation. Now that he knew the enemy’s plan, he was confident they’d suffer no losses—at worst, they could simply hide. But you can’t hide forever; that wasn’t a real solution.

“Give me Black Dog’s address,” Jiang Butong said.

“Number 25, Lake Heart Road. It’s a video arcade—Black Dog usually stays upstairs, the business runs downstairs, and he sleeps above,” Liu Shuanzhu replied, curious how Jiang Butong intended to deal with Black Dog.

“Got it. Don’t get involved tomorrow.”

Liu Shuanzhu nodded, opened the door, and left.

Once Liu Shuanzhu was gone, Eagle looked nervously at Jiang Butong.

“Brother Tong… what do we do?”

To be honest, Eagle was worried—so many people fighting, someone could easily get killed.

Jiang Butong glanced at Eagle and smiled. “What? Are you scared?”

Seeing Jiang Butong’s calm, untroubled demeanor, Eagle inexplicably felt his nerves settle.

“With you here, Brother Tong, I’m not afraid,” Eagle said, puffing out his chest.

Jiang Butong beckoned Eagle closer. “Go do something for me.”

Eagle leaned in as Jiang Butong whispered instructions in his ear. As he listened, Eagle’s eyes widened in shock.

“Is that… really going to work?” Eagle was stunned.

“A black cat or a white cat, as long as it catches mice, it’s a good cat,” Jiang Butong said, clapping Eagle on the shoulder.

The van sped away.

By the time Jiang Butong returned to the hospital, it was already afternoon.

Jiang Yuan noticed he was alone. “Xiao Tong, where’s Eagle?”

“He’s running an errand for me,” Jiang Butong replied.

“What’s the situation with Black Dog’s gang?” Jiang Yuan pressed.

Jiang Butong relayed everything Liu Shuanzhu had told him, and Jiang Yuan nearly leapt out of bed.

“Goddamn Black Dog! I wasn’t even looking for him, and now he comes after us. No way, I’m getting discharged right now!” Jiang Yuan fumed.

Jiang Butong pressed a hand to his shoulder. “They won’t make a move today. Get out tomorrow.”

“You’ve already made arrangements?” Jiang Yuan saw that Jiang Butong looked completely unruffled and guessed as much.

“Yes, everything’s set. Since we know Black Dog’s plan, tomorrow we’ll turn the tables and trap him like a rat in a cage!”

Jiang Yuan’s heart raced with excitement. “Tell me, how are you going to do it?”

Jiang Butong shook his head. “I’ve got something to handle at the wholesale market. That shipment of tapes just arrived.”

“Damn, you’re keeping even me in the dark!” Jiang Yuan cursed with a laugh. But he’d known Jiang Butong since childhood, trusted him with his life, and never doubted him. If Jiang Butong wasn’t saying something now, there had to be a reason.

“I’ll come back tonight.”

Jiang Butong said his goodbyes and drove off toward the wholesale market.

Not long after he left, Chen Sheng came to visit Jiang Yuan at the hospital. Jiang Dashuang had heard about Jiang Yuan’s injury and came along as well.

It was afternoon, and the restaurant wasn’t too busy yet; they’d only stay a short while before heading back.

“Not bad, you really are young—you look like you’re recovering well,” Chen Sheng said, patting Jiang Yuan on the shoulder.

“Brother Chen… Brother Zhuang…” Jiang Dashuang greeted them both.

Jiang Dashuang had brought Jiang Yuan some food and fruit.

“Xiao Yuan, I made you some pork rib soup with soybeans. You need to build up your strength,” he said, taking out the container of rich broth.