Chapter 138: Might As Well Make a Bigger Scene

Kang Ning drove the car into the urban area, intending to leave Tear River right then and there. However, after stopping to inspect the contents of the stolen bags, he immediately hesitated.

Among the documents in the bags, two belonged to a deputy bureau chief and a branch bureau chief respectively. There were also two photocopies of a wanted poster bearing Kang Ning’s name. In each of the two bags containing the documents, there was fifty thousand yuan in cash, along with some bank cards, mobile phones, and other small items. In Ni San's bag, aside from a dozen cards and an expensive mobile phone, not a single penny was left behind, but an Arabian dagger among them made Kang Ning unable to put it down.

Kang Ning turned off the three high-end mobile phones, removed their batteries, took out the SIM cards, and put them into his pocket. Then, without any hesitation, he tossed the three phones into the armrest storage box of his car. He knew that losing their service firearms was a major incident that needed to be reported to the Ministry of Public Security, and he only worried whether those two men would try to cover the matter up.

After a brief moment of consideration, Kang Ning decided to blow the matter up even further, creating a situation too big for the two men to handle, which would achieve the best possible result.

Judging by the relationship between the two men, Ni San, and each other, Kang Ning felt they were nothing more than national termites and scum among officials, so the more miserable he made them, the better.

Considering that the other party would likely mobilize forces to quickly seal off all entry and exit routes of Tear River, Kang Ning took immediate action.

Kang Ning drove the car to the parking lot of the "Echo Disco." After getting out, he walked briskly into the bustling disco, adjusted his glasses, walked up to a man who looked like the head of security, and said softly, "Is Brother Qing around?"

The security head immediately looked at Kang Ning with suspicion and vigilance: "Who are you? What do you want with Brother Qing?"

Kang Ning glared at him viciously: "I was invited here by Third Brother, and Brother Hai is my senior martial brother. What of it? Is my identity not worthy of meeting your Brother Qing?"

The security head instantly put on a flattering expression. Amidst the deafening rock music, he attentively led Kang Ning up to the second floor. As they walked, he reported loudly in Kang Ning's ear: "Two guests just arrived from Guangdong. Brother Qing chased all the women out of the private suite and gave strict orders not to be disturbed. Big Brother, since you are Third Brother's close confidant, even if Brother Qing has matters as huge as the heavens, he wouldn't dare refuse to see you."

Kang Ning thought to himself that this saved him trouble; the fewer people around, the better.

Passing through the long, narrow corridor on the second floor, they stopped in front of a private suite at the very end. The security head knocked on the door, completely unaware that Kang Ning behind him had quietly put on a balaclava.

As soon as the door opened, a large head poked out. Seeing Kang Ning with only his eyes exposed behind the security guard, the man looked extremely surprised. Before he could even react, Kang Ning struck him heavily on the head with a palm strike. He collapsed heavily onto the floor like a dog snatching dung. Before the security guard could figure out what was happening, Kang Ning struck him as well, sending him flying into the door and crashing unconscious against the base of the wall.

Brother Qing, sitting on the sofa, and two utterly shocked men from Guangdong had just tried to reach behind their waists when they saw Kang Ning close the door with his heel. Instantly and inexplicably, he flashed right in front of the three of them, two pitch-black gun muzzles already aimed directly at the heads of Brother Qing and another man.

"Draw your guns! Why aren't you drawing them anymore?"

Kang Ning looked at the three men with contempt. Catching the hateful gaze of the skinny Guangdong man on the far end, he unleashed a fierce kick straight into the skinny man's left ribs. With a miserable shriek, the skinny man flew over two meters past the sofa, smashed headfirst into a potted plant on a flower stand, and passed out. The revolver hidden on his body fell onto the smooth floor, its cylinder still spinning incessantly.

Kang Ning glanced at the full bag of ecstasy on the table, estimating there must be five or six kilograms of it. He looked up at Brother Qing and said coldly, "Still dealing drugs, and in such a large quantity. Not bad, you've got guts!"

"Who the hell are you?"

Brother Qing stared viciously at Kang Ning's exposed eyes, gritting his teeth as he threatened: "Don't you know whose territory this is? Pulling whiskers on a tiger's head—I'd say you're tired of living!"

Ignoring the threats entirely, Kang Ning fired two consecutive shots with both guns, striking Brother Qing squarely in both knees.

Brother Qing howled as he clutched his wounds, collapsing onto the sofa and rolling around in agony. Not a shred of composure or calmness remained on his face. Meanwhile, the Guangdong man sitting beside him, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, stared at Kang Ning with a face as pale as paper, evidently deeply wary of Kang Ning's ruthlessness.

Seeing Kang Ning kick away the pistol at Brother Qing's waist and point both guns at his own head, the Guangdong man, who had seemed somewhat composed just a moment ago, began to tremble. Using his shaking feet, he pushed a combination briefcase out from under the sofa and begged Kang Ning: "Brother, please spare my life. You and I have no past grievances or recent enmity; you mustn't harm me. Take all of seventy thousand here, consider it as my gift—"

"Bang!"

A hole was blown right through the center of the Guangdong man's forehead, and amidst a mist of blood, he slumped heavily back against the sofa. His wide-open eyes stared incredulously at Kang Ning, his slowly diluting pupils seemingly telling Kang Ning that he simply could not believe a stranger he had never met before would actually dare to shoot him.

"Big Brother, please spare me! As long as you don't kill me, I'll be your beast of burden..."

Rolling beside the sofa, Brother Qing was a mess of snot and tears. Seeing that Kang Ning had killed the Guangdong man without the slightest hesitation, he immediately understood that Kang Ning was not simply engaged in a routine mafia robbery.

Kang Ning hadn't originally intended to take lives, but when he saw the venomous malice hidden behind the panicked expression of that Guangdong man, he was left with no choice but to deal a fatal blow to eliminate future troubles.

However, since he had already killed one, having a few more on his hands didn't bring any additional hesitation.

Without even glancing at Brother Qing, Kang Ning raised his hand and shot him squarely in the temple. Brother Qing collapsed instantly, blood and brain matter splashing across the pristine, patterned wallpaper. Kang Ning then fired another shot into the head of the drug dealer with the broken ribs, engaged the safety switches of both guns, and slipped them back into his waist. He picked up the black briefcase on the floor to gauge its weight, then picked up the mobile phone from the coffee table and dialed Gao Qinghua's number.

"Who is this?"

"I am an ordinary citizen, reporting a homicide case involving a shootout between drug traffickers. The location is the Echo Disco, in the private suite at the end of the left corridor on the second floor. There are three dead and two wounded following a gunfight."

Disguising his voice into a hoarse tone, Kang Ning finished speaking and immediately slipped the phone back into his pants pocket.

He carefully observed the bodies sprawled on the ground, then looked at the blood inching toward his shoes, shook his head, walked over to the security guard, squatted down, and struck him on the head with a palm. He then retreated to the door, took off his balaclava, picked up the briefcase, flashed out of the room, and pulled the door shut behind him.

Quietly departing, Kang Ning drove his car toward the western suburbs. Before even leaving the urban area, he heard wailing police sirens piercing the tranquil night sky of Tear River. Knowing that Du Jianwu had mobilized, Kang Ning smiled and stepped harder on the accelerator.

Driving to the foot of the mountain at the Ganlu Temple in the western suburbs, Kang Ning finally set his mind at ease. It seemed the Tear River police had not yet reacted, and the two men who lost their guns had yet to make a move.