Orange Isle.
Late night.
A bar in the north of the city.
The bar's name was 'Black Panther'.
Wild music echoed through the bar, specifically the nostalgic song 'No Place to Hide'.
In a corner.
Behind a round table.
Mike Martin's hair was slightly dishevelled, and he wore a black suit without a tie, drinking beer with a tired expression.
He occasionally looked around.
Warily observing the people in the bar.
At one moment.
A figure hurried over and sat down beside him.
It was a middle-aged man.
Bald, with a scar at the corner of his mouth.
After sitting down, the middle-aged man lowered his voice and said, "Mr. Mike, Station Chief Xu is missing. He hung up on me and even blocked me."
Mike Martin's face darkened.
A hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
But he remained very calm.
Looking at the surrounding crowd, he asked in a low voice, "Is there a way to go to Taiwan Island? Leaving China from Taiwan Island and returning home via Sakurajima is also an option."
"I'll try."
The middle-aged man casually pulled out his phone, sending messages while sighing, "Mr. Mike, I didn't expect the foreign side to abandon you like this."
"Hmph."
Mike Martin let out a cold snort.
The middle-aged man looked at him: "The main thing is that Mr. Mike was a bit too hasty. If you want to eliminate that kid, how could you launch an attack on our Chinese mainland? Isn't that ridiculous? You've lived in our country for so long, have you ever seen anywhere dare to have such a violent armed conflict? If it were outside the national border, it would be fine."
Mike Martin cursed under his breath, annoyed, "The attack was not my order at all. I was constantly being monitored, how could I have the chance to do something so stupid?"
The middle-aged man was startled: "It wasn't your order?"
"No."
"Then who found the people?"
Mike Martin's gaze was gloomy, and he said in a low voice, "I heard a new person in charge arrived, a woman. The order should have come from her."
The middle-aged man said in astonishment, "A new person in charge? She doesn't even understand the situation here, so why would she order the pursuit of that kid?"
"Hmph. I couldn't figure it out at first either. But then I saw the announcement from Aerospace 909 Institute, and I finally understood the meaning of this attack."
Mike Martin gulped down several mouthfuls of beer, then shook his head and sighed, "That kid is too strange."
"He's just an extra actor; it's normal for him to gain a lot of attention on a variety show."
"But he actually has the ability to get a Chinese Academician to cooperate with him, and China even approved a budget of eight trillion yuan."
"It was this matter that made the bosses decide to kill him."
"Do you know what eight trillion yuan means?"
"China being able to launch eight trillion yuan and spend ten years to build the project Chen Feng created shows that this project is no small matter."
"I had someone research it."
"According to the project announcement from Aerospace 909 Institute, once that thing is successfully built, no matter where the equipment is located, as long as the latitude and longitude coordinates are set, it can release a super storm at the relevant location."
The middle-aged man nodded: "That's how it's described; I've also seen the 909 Institute's announcement. But what's the problem with that? Their goal is to manage the atmospheric environment."
Mike Martin gave the middle-aged man a cold look: "Lu Gang, you can't be so rigid in your thinking. You need to learn to think from a different perspective."
"China publicly announced this is an environmental protection project."
"But have you ever seen an environmental protection project in any country that would launch so much money, eight trillion yuan?"
"And it's even led by the Academy of Sciences?"
"This thing Chen Feng created can generate super storms anywhere in the world at will."
"What if this super storm happened in Eagle Country's Nightless City?"
"Or even the Pentagon or the White House?"
"Can you imagine that scene?"
The middle-aged man looked dumbfounded.
Mike Martin said coldly, "That's not an environmental protection project. The high-level officials of China are not promoting that project for the sake of atmospheric environmental governance. China is preparing to promote the project as a super weapon. The environmental protection project is just a cover."
The middle-aged man murmured, "Mr. Mike, hearing you say that, I suddenly understand. It's too terrifying, isn't that a more powerful deterrent than nuclear weapons?"
"Yes, a super weapon more terrifying than nuclear deterrence."
Mike Martin gnashed his teeth and said, "Once China completes the project, all Western countries will be shrouded under China's super weapon deterrence. That's why the higher-ups suddenly launched an attack regardless of the consequences. That kid, Chen Feng, cannot be kept alive."
The middle-aged man: "..."
He continued to send messages with his head down.
After a few sips of wine, Mike Martin suddenly looked at the distance warily: "Lu Gang, why are there suddenly so many people?"
Lu Gang looked up twice, then chuckled softly, "Mr. Mike, don't be afraid. Those people are all local underworld figures. This is a bar, and night is when the party truly begins, so don't worry. There will be more and more people."
Mike Martin blinked: "Are those all from the underworld?"
"Yes."
Lu Gang looked at the people in the distance and said, "Mr. Mike, to be honest. The more underworld figures there are here, the safer you are. Because it means this bar has no risks and won't be under police surveillance."
"Hmm."
Mike Martin let out a long breath, nodded, and relaxed his entire body.
He continued to drink beer.
Soon, another large glass of beer was empty.
At this moment, Lu Gang smiled and said, "Mr. Mike, it's all arranged. My friend has a private jet that can take you to Taiwan Island."
"Private jet?"
Mike Martin's eyes lit up: "Is your friend very rich?"
"He's alright."
Lu Gang put away his phone, called a waiter to bring a few more pitchers of beer, then whispered, "We'll depart around three in the morning. So we can still enjoy ourselves for a few more hours."
"Good."
Mike Martin's eyes began to search the dance floor, and as he glanced around, he casually asked, "Lu Gang, is your hometown on Orange Isle?"
"Yes."
"Who else is in your family?"
"I have elders above me and children below me."
Lu Gang picked up his beer and took a few sips, chuckling softly, "Mr. Mike, you still don't believe me? To be frank, our family has been involved in the underworld in Shanghai since my great-grandfather's generation."
"Mr. Mike should have heard of Shanghai's Qing Gang, right?"
"My great-grandfather and my grandfather were both high-ranking figures in the Qing Gang."
"My grandfather was even the hall master of the Qing Gang's Punishment Hall."
"Later, after the liberation, our family left Shanghai to avoid suppression and eventually settled here on Orange Isle."
"However, our Lu family still holds a place in the underworld of Orange Isle."
"So, rest assured, I am not a good person."
Mike Martin turned to look at him, slowly smiling: "I like people like you. The less of a good person you are, the more great things you can achieve."
Lu Gang also smiled.
He raised his glass in a gesture, and the two clinked glasses and drank heartily.
Just as he put down his glass, Mike Martin suddenly froze, looking around in confusion: "Where are all those people who were dancing just now?"
"Maybe they got tired from dancing."
Lu Gang put down his glass expressionlessly.
Mike Martin: "Why do I feel like the number of people in the bar keeps increasing?"
"Everyone coming in is from the underworld."
"Do you know them all?"
"No."
Lu Gang looked at the distant crowd and said indifferently, "But after these people come in, almost every one of them will make a gesture. That's an ancient Qing Gang hand signal."
"The Qing Gang again?"
Mike Martin finally grew suspicious, slowly putting down his glass: "Is the Qing Gang having a meeting here tonight?"
"Not a meeting, someone summoned them."
Lu Gang suddenly stood up, looking at a person slowly approaching in the distance, surrounded like stars around the moon, his eyes gleaming, and he murmured softly, "He's here."