Chapter 42: Stirring Desires

In the blink of an eye, early June had arrived.

Although the rainy season in Southern Thailand did not bring days of uninterrupted downpours, it invariably delivered one or two showers every single day.

Zhong Yuan and his two companions had been in Yishi for about ten days now.

Yishi was situated in the southwest corner of Songkhla Province, close to the northern border of Malaysia. With a well-developed transportation network, it was considered a relatively prosperous city within Songkhla Province.

The Buddha Hand Gang's stronghold in Songkhla Province was right here in Yishi. It was overseen by a man named Ai Kun, who was in his forties, solidly built, standing one hundred and eighty centimeters tall, and weighing well over two hundred pounds with a physique packed with sinewy muscles. His body and neck were covered in Sanskrit tattoos, making him extremely easy to recognize.

Zhong Yuan and the other two had located him without expending much effort.

However, whenever this Ai Kun ventured out, he was invariably accompanied by at least seven or eight men, sometimes close to twenty. It was no easy task for Zhong Yuan and his team to make a move.

Ai Kun's base of operations in Yishi was a villa estate located on the outskirts of the city.

Covering an area of easily seven or eight mu, the compound was enclosed by walls over two meters high, topped with barbed wire and equipped with numerous security cameras. The central villa was also under constant guard.

This Ai Kun was exceptionally cautious and vigilant.

Yet, this was precisely why Zhong Yuan had chosen this place as their first stop.

The Buddha Hand Gang had dominated the south for many years, and Songkhla Province had always been a region of paramount importance to them. It served as a critical gateway for "imported" human cargo.

In recent years, economically underdeveloped regions such as Malaysia and the Philippines had become sources of continuous outward migration, making them primary targets for human trafficking syndicates.

Coupled with the fact that Songkhla Province connected several provinces further south to the Malaysian border, and possessed Southern Thailand's unique political climate, human transit here was exceedingly convenient.

This constituted one of the major enterprises of the Buddha Hand Gang.

Naturally, such a lucrative business inevitably provoked jealousy.

As the local commander holding such a vital enterprise, Ai Kun was naturally a thorn in the side of many who wished nothing more than to eradicate him swiftly!

Furthermore, located in a border region complicated by religious strife, conflicts of all kinds were a daily occurrence.

Taking all these comprehensive factors into consideration, Ai Kun was the optimal choice as Zhong Yuan's primary target!

For one thing, situated at the southernmost tip of Southern Thailand, the Buddha Hand Gang would never easily suspect that Zhong Yuan would travel such a great distance to strike.

Secondly, many people wished for Ai Kun's demise, making Zhong Yuan the last person they would expect. Moreover, once Ai Kun was dead, Zhong Yuan would not even need to clean up the local stronghold himself; plenty of individuals would emerge to purge it in his stead.

Of course, most importantly, the human trafficking business controlled by Ai Kun was vital to the Buddha Hand Gang. Losing this stronghold would practically amount to severing one of the gang's arms.

Not only would they instantly lose a massive source of revenue, but the trouble from the buyers alone would be enough to give the Buddha Hand Gang severe indigestion! Plagued by endless troubles, the gang's attention would naturally wane, making Zhong Yuan's subsequent actions much easier.

However, based on Zhong Yuan's observations over the past few days, Ai Kun appeared to have trained in martial arts and likely possessed considerable combat prowess. His bulky frame, combined with genuine skill, meant even Zhong Yuan would not find dealing with him easy.

This was something Zhong Yuan had not anticipated before arriving. Yet, having chosen his target, there was no reason to back down lightly.

Not only did he have to strike quickly, but he also had to ensure absolute infallibility.

Late in the afternoon on this particular day, the skies suddenly opened up once more. The torrential rain arrived without warning, pelting down with a sudden, clattering fury that caught people off guard.

As soon as the rain started, the subordinates who had been stationed around Ai Kun's villa scurried back under cover.

The sprawling courtyard was enveloped by the downpour, swirling mists rolling through the hazy air and blurring everything in sight. The deafening sound of the rain effectively masked a multitude of noises.

Two young men assigned to the east side hugged their heads and sprinted hastily beneath the eaves.

Neither of them noticed two figures flashing past in quick succession not far behind them.

The rain did not last long, stopping after about half an hour. As the wind blew, the clouds in the sky dissipated, casting a crimson glow from the distance across the water-drenched, emerald-green lawn. Refracting minuscule, multicolored glimmers, the scenery was unexpectedly breathtaking.

Beneath the eaves, the two young men had yet to finish their cigarettes and lingered for a moment, reluctant to move as they gazed at the distant sunset glow.

One of them suddenly spoke up, "I heard the boss brought a woman back last night?"

The other grunted in affirmation, "Yeah, supposedly she was part of that batch of black-market cargo that arrived a couple of days ago."

"Well, that woman is pretty lucky. Otherwise, once she was resold and dumped straight into a club, she wouldn't come out until she was completely ruined!"

"No kidding! I heard from Old K that she had just given birth not long ago. When the boss went over to check the headcount, the front of her clothes was soaked right through..."

"Heh! No wonder! Isn't that just the boss's favorite flavor?"

"Hehe..."

Their deliberately muffled laughter was filled with vulgarity and obscenity, enough to turn one's stomach.

At that moment, the walkie-talkies clipped to their shoulders crackled to life. "Little P, Jamie, go check cameras number seven and nine on the east side!"

Hearing this, the two hastily tossed away their cigarette butts, unclipped their radios to acknowledge the order, and hurried toward the distant boundary wall.

It did not take them long to reach the perimeter.

Little P stood beneath camera number seven, looked up, and saw a leaf plastered over the lens. Thinking nothing of it, he climbed up and reached out to brush the leaf away.

Meanwhile, around a corner two to three hundred meters away, Jamie also spotted a leaf stuck to his camera. Dismissing it just as easily, he removed it and reported the matter over his walkie-talkie.

However, the person listening frowned.

Although the wind had blown during the heavy rain just moments ago, for two cameras to be blocked simultaneously seemed far too coincidental.

In the security room, a man known as Brother Du furrowed his brow and instructed the two subordinates manning the monitors to pull up the footage from cameras seven and nine leading up to the downpour.

The footage was retrieved promptly.

Both cameras faced outward, monitoring the path along the perimeter wall. The area surrounding the villa lacked commercial establishments and remained quite deserted; apart from their own personnel and vehicles, very few people or vehicles ever passed by. Even when someone did pass, they dared not linger. After all, in Yishi, even a small child knew whose territory this was—no ordinary person would dare come here to court death!

Ah Du and his two subordinates meticulously reviewed the footage from both cameras, but found nothing amiss. Although vehicles had passed by prior to the heavy rain, none had stopped.

Still uneasy, Ah Du had his subordinates check the footage from other cameras recorded when that specific vehicle passed, confirming there were no irregularities.

After a moment of thought, he pulled up the feed from camera number eight, which faced the garden inside the courtyard. Before the heavy rain, the footage showed only Little P and Jamie on duty on the east side. After the rain started, although the picture blurred occasionally, the disruptions lasted no more than a second or two.

The east garden was vast, with a straight-line distance of two to three hundred meters from the courtyard wall to the villa. While there might be blind spots unreachable by some cameras in between, scaling the outer wall and dashing into those hiding spots within a window of just one or two seconds was impossible.

Ah Du finally relaxed.

Nevertheless, he issued a parting warning: "Yishi hasn't been very peaceful these past couple of days. You two, keep your eyes wide open and stay sharp. If anything slips through that shouldn't, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

The two men nodded frantically in agreement.