Chapter 331 — A Calm Response

But no one answered from inside the room — there was not even a sound... Wei Zhao's brows knit at once. Had that brat Xie Jinbiao not come back? Or had he been taken?

"Xie Jinbiao?" Wei Zhao called.

"Boss?" This time there was a stir from within, and then the door opened, revealing Xie Jinbiao's pale, gaunt face. The lights were not even on inside; the room was pitch dark.

"Why didn't you turn on the light?" Wei Zhao stepped in and shut the door behind him.

"I didn't dare! Someone knocked earlier — a waiter, I think — and I didn't dare make a sound. I didn't dare turn on the light either. What if the Water Blue Gang came for me and killed me..." Xie Jinbiao said in a small voice. "Boss, you're tough, you're not afraid of them, but I'm not. I can't fight them. If they see me, I'm dead... So, for safety's sake, I pretended there was no one in the room. Just air..."

"..." Wei Zhao was speechless. Even if the Water Blue Gang was that formidable in this city, there was no sense in them searching hotel after hotel, room after room — they would have no time for anything else.

"Pack up. We're leaving now." His business settled, Wei Zhao had no mind to stay any longer. Uncle Qing had booked tickets for tonight; if the job could not be finished tonight, of course, the tickets could be changed.

Uncle Qing had booked two return tickets, one for Wei Zhao and the other, naturally, in Xie Jinbiao's name. Xie Guangbo had been thorough as well: guessing that his son probably had no papers on him, he had had a fresh set of identity documents made and given them to Wei Zhao to carry.

Xie Jinbiao had already showered; only his clothes were a little dirty, so there was little to prepare. He went downstairs with Wei Zhao, and Wei Zhao had him slip into the car through the hotel's back door first, while Wei Zhao himself unhurriedly checked out at the front desk.

Just as he was checking out, several members of the Water Blue Gang burst into the lobby and demanded of the clerk: "Have you seen two members of the Water Blue Gang staying here with a wounded woman in black?"

"N-no..." the clerk said, startled.

Wei Zhao was not afraid of them. Back at the repair shop he had pulled his cap brim low, so there was no way they could have gotten a clear look at his face. They probably had not even gotten a good look at him — likely not even at the fact that the cool girl was an Easterner. So Wei Zhao now played the timid sort and said to the clerk, "Give me my deposit first... I want to leave..."

The clerk returned the deposit and his ID. Wei Zhao took them and ran off without a backward glance, while the Water Blue Gang members who had rushed in cast him a contemptuous look: "Coward!"

The others laughed out loud as well: "Let's go! On to the next hotel... Damn it, who knows who sent the killer who shot Hulandon, the chief... But we're the Second Chief's men, so Hulandon dying is all the better! Only now we can't have a quiet night — we still have to hunt the killer..."

The clerk watched the Water Blue Gang members out the door in terror, then let out a breath of relief. By then Wei Zhao was already in the parking lot, in his car, driving toward the airport.

As for the two blue baseball caps in the car, one had been thrown away; the other was now on Wei Zhao's head.

"Boss... you... why are you still wearing that cap?" Xie Jinbiao was startled. The Water Blue Gang was looking for him and for himself — wearing that cap was asking for trouble, wasn't it?

"Shut up!" Wei Zhao glared at Xie Jinbiao. "If you don't want to die, sit still and keep quiet!"

Xie Jinbiao did not dare speak again, though he was still puzzled. By all rights this boss was no reckless man — so what was he doing this for?

The car headed for the city exit, where someone had set up a roadblock, stopping every vehicle leaving the city. Only a few cars were let through; the rest were all halted there, some waiting anxiously for something, others simply turning around and heading back.

Wei Zhao did not park by the roadside like the others. He drove straight on toward the roadblock ahead.

"Boss, you're going to run the checkpoint? There are so many of them — don't do anything crazy..." Xie Jinbiao was getting scared.

Wei Zhao turned his head and glared at him coldly. Xie Jinbiao shut his mouth at once; Wei Zhao had told him not to speak, and he had spoken — a chill of fear ran through him.

He should not have doubted this boss's ability. He must have a plan! Xie Jinbiao consoled himself.

"Stop!"

As Wei Zhao's car neared the checkpoint, the Water Blue Gang men stationed there flashed a signal torch at him and gestured for him to stop...

Wei Zhao stopped the car, and several Water Blue Gang members closed in: "Get out! What's your business here? Don't you know the Water Blue Gang has sealed the road? Huh? You're one of ours? Lift your head — how come I don't know you?"

"Brother, I... I wanted to ask, what's going on up ahead? Why is the road sealed?" Wei Zhao asked "cautiously."

"What's with all the questions? I asked you what your business is, and where did you get that cap?" The Water Blue Gang member found Wei Zhao highly suspicious and demanded.

"Brother, I bought this car today from the Water Blue Gang's repair shop. Brother York gave me the cap — I bought the car from him. He said that as long as I wore this cap, no one in Blue Town would give me trouble..." Wei Zhao went on explaining "cautiously."

"Oh? You say you bought this car from us?" The man nodded and shouted to another Water Blue Gang member standing not far off: "Chief, there's a fellow here who says he bought his car from us, that York sold it to him, and the cap was a gift from York too!"

"Then call York. If he confirms it, let him go; if not, take him back!" The little chief was busy checking other cars and had no time to waste on chatter here. He waved a hand and went off to other business.

"Then wait a bit!" The man checking cars was considerably more polite now — after all, this person might be a customer of the Water Blue Gang.

He took out his phone, searched his contacts for a long while before finding York's name, and dialed. York was evidently checking cars somewhere too; he picked up and said hurriedly: "Lazi? What do you want with me?"

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