Early 2003. Beihai.
Early spring in this coastal city brought a hint of warmth to the breeze, but outside the municipal courthouse, the air was frozen in a suffocating tension.
After three years of investigation, evidence gathering, and legal maneuvering, the behemoth that had entrenched itself in Cape Road for a decade had finally reached its final hour in the sun. Outside the courtroom, Armed Police stood in solemn formation with rifles in hand, cordoning off the area for a hundred meters. The fishermen and small vendors once oppressed by the Haicheng Gang watched from a distance, their eyes filled with a long-awaited, almost disbelieving sense of relief.
Inside the courtroom, the lights were a stark, sterile white.
Lu Changfeng and Lu Changhai sat side by side in the front row of the defendants' dock. Changfeng had withered significantly. His signature gold-rimmed glasses still rested on his nose, but the gaze behind the lenses had gone completely dark, like a pool of stagnant water. The crisp, tailored shirts were gone, replaced by a dark prison uniform. Under the majesty of the law, his carefully cultivated "scholarly grace" appeared farcical and pale.
Beside him, Lu Changhai had long lost the arrogance he displayed when he rampaged through "Mini-City." He sat with his head bowed, his shoulders trembling occasionally. Two years of detention had ground away his ferocity; he was now merely a trembling prisoner facing the Reaper.
"...Lu Changfeng, for the crimes of organizing and leading a criminal organization, intentional homicide, drug trafficking, and extortion... multiple sentences to be served concurrently: Death Penalty, with permanent deprivation of political rights."
The judge's steady, powerful voice echoed through the hall. Each word hit like a heavy mallet, shattering the Lu family's final illusions. Upon hearing the words "Death Penalty," Lu Changhai collapsed into his chair, letting out a suppressed, broken wail of despair. Lu Changfeng merely closed his eyes slowly, his Adam's apple bobbing once. He said nothing.
Two weeks later. The Road to the Execution Ground.
It was an exceptionally clear morning in Beihai. The prison van drove slowly through the streets of the West District. Outside the iron-barred windows were the landscapes he knew best: the old buildings of Cape Road, the Guiyuan Restaurant that once belonged to him, and the silhouette of Guantou Ridge in the distance.
Lu Changfeng sat in the van, looking at the sea through the bars one last time. On the water, fleets of fishing boats were heading out with the tide, their sails dotting the horizon. Without his "management fees," the movements of those fishermen seemed much lighter.
"Changhai," Lu Changfeng called out softly.
From the adjacent compartment, a soul-crushed Lu Changhai responded, "Brother..."
"We spent our whole lives calculating," Lu Changfeng's voice was faint, as if whispering to the sea breeze. "But we forgot one thing... this sea never belonged to us. In this life, we owe our family a debt we can never repay."
At the foot of Guantou Ridge, a thunderous crack of gunfire.
With several crisp roars, the Lu brothers—who once held the power of life and death in Beihai—along with their "elite" lieutenants, Ah Jun and Ah Sheng, were executed simultaneously. The "Black Web" that had taken ten years to weave, soaked in blood and money, vanished into thin air under the sword of justice.
The protectors—Vice-Chief Chen, Section Chief Huang, and Director He—who had once toasted as brothers at banquet tables, had also been sentenced not long ago. Justice may have been delayed, but in the hour of reckoning, no one was exempt.
Epilogue: Rebirth on the Horizon
After February, Beihai welcomed its most beautiful blossom season.
The night market at Cape Road regained its former vitality. Without the black-suited thugs roaming the streets, the stalls grew denser, and the aroma of charcoal-roasted oysters wafted far. The fishermen at Dijiao Pier gathered to drink "Big Mouth" beer, discussing the year's harvest without the fear of their hard-earned catch being forcibly undervalued.
The Lu Residence was confiscated by law. The two marble lions that once struck fear into hearts were removed, and in their place, lush phoenix trees were planted.
The sea breeze continued to blow, and the rocks of Guantou Ridge remained silent amidst the rising and falling tides. People still occasionally mentioned those turbulent years over tea, but their tone was no longer one of fear—only a deep cherishing of the peaceful days.
Lu Changfeng once thought he controlled this sea and its rules. But in the end, he understood: no matter how long the night, it can never block the first ray of dawn on the horizon. Justice is the eternal anchor of this coastal city.
(The End of Volume 1)