Chapter 291: A Trap Within a Trap
After the chaotic fight, the final result was that Shi Tonghui—beaten until his face looked like a pig's head—ended up apologizing to Gao Qi and the others, and even paid two thousand yuan to compensate the front-desk girl's medical expenses. Shi Shouxun also ordered the police to detain him for three days for violating public security regulations. Of course, given Shi Tonghui's condition, he would first go to the hospital and only serve the punishment after the Spring Festival. As for whether it would actually be enforced, Zhang Yang didn't really care. Even if Shi Tonghui did go in, with the Shi family's power, what difference was there between being inside and outside?
Shen Ke, on the other hand, technically wasn't in trouble, but he was covered in injuries. Both eyes were swollen like something unrecognizable, and his arms and legs were limping—he didn't look much better than Shi Tonghui.
The thugs had it worse. Those with criminal records would be dealt with later, and those without were detained for half a month for violating public security regulations.
In this incident, Cai Yu was arguably the luckiest. Although he also suffered some bruises, once the full brawl broke out, he simply lay on the floor and played dead, dodging disaster. But because he refused to give his name, the police took him in for questioning. Naturally, before the interview even started, someone called to bail him out and he was released.
Even so, he was miserable enough. Early the next morning, he rushed to catch the first flight back to the capital.
At the Cai family villa, inside Cai Yong's study, Cai Yong looked at his grandson—bandage on his forehead, a large bruise on his lip, neck wrapped with gauze, ears smeared with foul-smelling ointment. He wanted to laugh, but couldn't.
"So you didn't get to see Shi Shouxun?" Cai Yong slowly walked to the desk, hesitated while holding a writing brush, then wrote several large characters on the prepared rice paper. After looking at them, he seemed dissatisfied and shook his head.
"Your grandson is incompetent. I did see him, but in that situation, even if I wanted to say something, it was useless. This mission has failed." Cai Yu said, a bit discouraged.
Hearing this, Cai Yong didn't comment. He closed his eyes slightly, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced slowly. After a while, he said calmly, "It can't be considered a failure. At least our main objectives were nearly achieved."
He glanced at Cai Yu and continued, "Meng Du disappeared in Shangyan City. Originally, sending you there had two goals. First, with your relationship to Shi Tonghui, we wanted to build ties with the Shi family and then use Shi Shouxun to locate Meng Du. Even if Meng Du had been captured, Shi Shouxun in Shangyan would be highly likely to encounter him… Meng Du must die. If he falls into their hands, we will face huge trouble."
"Second, by leveraging the connections between the Shi family and Shen Ke, we wanted to determine the casualties of Spade Eight and GK, especially the GK operatives and that Lorai—who lived and who died. Only then could we plan our countermeasures."
"But Grandpa, this GK situation has nothing to do with us. Why should we clean up for someone else? We're getting shot while lying down!" Cai Yu said helplessly.
"Yes, we were used as scapegoats. But what can we do? Lorai and Meng Du were both tied to our Cai family. And considering our grudges with the Qiao family, plus your conflict with Zhang Yang—in the eyes of others, all of this naturally points to us."
"Yu'er, remember—no one cares about the real truth. They care only about what they think they see. More accurately—they want to see us and the Qiao family fight to the death." Cai Yong's face showed a cold smile as he spoke.
"Grandpa, who would scheme against us like this?"
"It's not really a scheme. Judging from the events, they genuinely intended to kill Zhang Yang. They were just unlucky." Cai Yong frowned, raised one finger, gestured slightly, then asked, "Yu'er, what do you think about Spade Eight and GK appearing together?"
"To deal with Zhang Yang, Spade Eight alone should've been enough. The appearance of GK is completely inexplicable. Why go through the trouble? If I'm right, on the surface GK was assisting Spade Eight, but in reality, GK likely intended to silence Spade Eight afterward."
Cai Yong smiled and nodded. "Correct. GK's appearance could not have been just to target Zhang Yang. My guess is that their goal was to kill Spade Eight after Spade Eight completed the mission."
His eyes shifted to the desk. "On the desk is a list of deaths and injuries from this incident. Among the dead: eight from Spade Eight's Green Group, seven from GK, and the remaining twenty are high-profile criminals. Thirty-five people total. Three National Security agents killed, five injured. Two SWAT officers killed, seven injured. Nine special forces soldiers injured… From this list, did you notice anything strange?"
Cai Yu didn't answer immediately. He stared at his grandfather in surprise. "Grandpa, how did you get this?"
"This kind of list isn't unique to us. Several major families likely have it as well. It's nothing unusual."
Hearing this, Cai Yu nodded. "Oh."
He slowly walked to the desk, examined the list, and frowned. "Grandpa, those twenty GK operatives being death-row criminals… I think they were used as cover. On paper it looks like Lorai recruited them, but if the truth about Spade Eight being silenced leaked, they could blame everything on these desperate criminals, and GK's involvement would remain hidden."
"Correct. But that's only one oddity. There's another you haven't noticed."
"What oddity?"
"Why are all thirty-five men dead? Not even one severely injured survivor? Forget the others—GK personnel were all battle-hardened, yet none survived?"
"Grandpa, I understand—someone wiped them all out at once."
"Then tell me—who has such ability?"
"From what I've learned, the entire perimeter was sealed. Within several dozen square kilometers, there were National Security agents, SWAT, armed police, special forces, even local militia—over two thousand personnel. Those inside couldn't escape, and those outside couldn't enter." Cai Yu frowned. "Unless the ones who wiped them out were part of the operation… could it have been National Security?"
"But what would be the purpose of killing them? Why set up such a trap, lure Spade Eight, and then… the logic falls apart." Cai Yu shook his head.
"Exactly. The logic doesn't hold. That's what troubles me. If National Security really did it, then why? What would they gain? If not them, then who has the ability…? But those two possibilities don't worry me. What I fear is the third."
Cai Yong returned to his desk, placed one hand on it, and frowned. "I'm worried that National Security deliberately falsified the casualty numbers—meaning they secretly took survivors away. If those survivors leak anything, it could throw the world into chaos."
"Grandpa, don't worry. Since we weren't involved, there's nothing for us to fear."
"You forget Spade Eight." Cai Yong's eyes turned cold. "Spade Eight cannot be allowed to exist in this world anymore. Even though this time we weren't involved, last time…"
"Grandpa, I understand. I'll send people to handle it."
"Yes. Especially Cheng Jisheng…"
"Understood. I'll go rest now."
"Wait." Cai Yong sat in the rattan chair behind his desk. "Even though you didn't get more information from Shi Shouxun on this trip, that Shen boy getting beaten so badly is actually an unexpected advantage for us. Yu'er, this must have been part of your plan, right?"
"Hehe, Grandpa is still the smartest." Cai Yu nodded sheepishly. "But it was really just a coincidence. I only planned to provoke Shi Tonghui's arrogance and stir trouble. Then it just so happened we ran into Zhang Yang at the hotel. I simply pushed the situation, intensified the conflict, and since Shen Ke is conceited, it was only natural the two sides fought."
Cai Yong nodded approvingly. "Shen Ke may be from a branch family, but the Shen family always protects their own. This strengthens the alliance between us. The Shen family might now be more eager than us to strike. After the New Year, when everyone gathers at Donghua Garden, we'll bring things up with the Qiao family."
"Grandpa, the Qiao family has been unusually quiet lately. Something feels off."
"Yes, something is off. The Qiao family traditionally doesn't care much for the economy, especially heavy industry. But suddenly, their Lanchen Group has acquired Qing Steel and Long Steel—both mid-sized steel plants—then took control of the nearly bankrupt Tianxiang Machinery. What are they planning? Are they trying to compete with us?"
"But let's worry about that after the New Year. Right now, Spade Eight is the real threat." Cai Yong slowly pushed the characters he had written earlier toward Cai Yu.
"Endure, and the storm will pass!" Cai Yu read the phrase softly, frowning. Besides the fact that his grandfather's calligraphy was nothing to praise, he was more focused on the meaning. Was this a sign of yielding to the Qiao family?
That didn't seem like his grandfather's style.
Not long after Cai Yu left, Cai Yong received a phone call. Seeing the caller ID and the name displayed, his brows tightened and he quickly answered, his tone becoming respectful.
"Elder Shen!"
"Old Cai, I've invited Qiao Zhengguo for tea at Donghua Garden. Are you interested in joining?"