Chapter 122: Surgery on Lin Fan

So he sent a message to Li Yang, a hitman he had once bought off, ordering him to go to Lin Fan’s hometown and quietly protect his family.

When word reached them that Lin Fan had returned to Hang City, Su Qianlong met Bai Jiahao at the penthouse villa on his top floor. This time, no courtesan stood by their side, not even a glass of liquor was prepared.

Since they had planted two moles, Shijie and Yanbin, under Lin Fan, he had never once taken the bait. It was as if Lin Fan had already prepared for everything, leaving them with no opening. Even worse, the exposure scandal failed to blacken him. Instead, he used it to clean his name. It was Chen Yanzi and her brother who got themselves blacklisted across the entire internet.

After they sat down, Su Qianlong came straight to the point.

“You were the one who sent several killers to Lin Fan’s hometown, weren’t you? How did it turn out?”

At that, Bai Jiahao’s face darkened at once.

“What? Is there a problem?”

“I don’t know what to make of it. I sent two batches over one after another. Strangely, once those men arrived, they disappeared without a trace, as if they’d evaporated. I sent a third team to find out what happened to the first two, and not even a single strand of hair was found. Either Lin Fan prepared for it long ago, or someone leaked the plan.”

Bai Jiahao answered in a slightly shaken tone, his pulse pounding. He feared there was a more dangerous killer watching from the background.

After several failed attempts to wipe him out, he was already close to losing heart.

“What are you getting at?” he asked.

Su Qianlong noticed Bai Jiahao staring at him with a strange expression and, annoyed, tightened his lips. Before, he might have masked his displeasure, but now he showed it directly.

It had been Bai Jiahao’s own idea to send men to Lin Fan’s hometown to abduct his parents. The exposure scandal had also been hatched behind the scenes by both of them, with Chen Wei as their adviser. But Chen Wei turned out to be a useless teammate, and Lin Fan had Su Hanmo at his back. In sheer intelligence, the two of them could not hold a candle to Hanmo.

After public opinion reversed, Bai Jiahao saw the situation slipping and sought extreme measures to bring Lin Fan under control. Yet by now he had dispatched more than ten killers in succession, and all of them vanished into thin air. Mysteriously disappeared.

“With Lin Fan backed by Su Hanmo, we have no way to move against him. Unless we bring out one of your Su clan’s hidden experts, only they might be able to handle him,” he said.

Bai Jiahao did not want to wade deeper into the mess. Then he changed tack.

“I can have Chen Wei call Lin Fan out, take him to a secluded place, and let your men finish him. He is the thorn in our eye and the knife in our side; only if we pull him out can we sleep at peace.”

“All right. Tomorrow I’ll summon one of the experts. Hopefully, he’ll kill him.”

The next afternoon, after a meeting at Starlight Entertainment, Lin Fan planned to meet Zhang Yi.

Just as he stepped out of the building, he received a call from Chen Wei. The first sound on the other end was Chen Wei’s dark laugh.

“Lin Fan, if you want Zhang Yi to stay alive, come to Water World Park at once.”

Lin Fan froze in place, shocked. As soon as he snapped back to himself, he shouted, “Chen Wei! How dare you lay hands on my woman?”

“When you called me before, did you really think today would come? If you’re not here within an hour, don’t blame me for being merciless. And don’t you think your girlfriend is pretty? She has real charm—far more beautiful than the other live stream girls.”

Chen Wei laughed wildly.

Lin Fan never doubted him. Furious, he hung up and drove immediately to the place Chen Wei had named.

Water World Park was an abandoned amusement complex in the outskirts of Hang City, ringed by unfinished buildings. What puzzled Lin Fan was this: it was a weekday, and Chen Wei could not possibly have abducted Zhang Yi from the Public Security Bureau.

Yet he still couldn’t reach Zhang Yi. He also dared not call her parents. If they learned she had gotten into trouble, they would surely blame him. Since the exposure affair, rumors had spread online—claims he was kept by superstar Li Li, or that he was involved with a female streamer from his company, and so on. Zhang Yi’s parents had called him too, ostensibly in concern, but more often with demands: stop causing trouble, stop wasting yourself, and if you’re dating Zhang Yi, don’t be two-tongued.

This was Lin Fan’s first experience with a full-scale public assault, and most of what he’d done so far followed Su Hanmo’s instructions. With Zhang Yi endangered, he could not even notify her parents.

So he went alone.

Whether it was a tiger’s den or a sea of blades, he would have to force his way through.

Inside the main building, he saw three vans parked at the entrance from a distance. As soon as he entered the derelict structure, men burst out from both sides and closed in around him. Each held a steel knife. Their murderous intent burned in their eyes, eyes like wolves fixed on prey.

“Well, you really came when I called!” Chen Wei appeared, smug and laughing.

“Where is Zhang Yi? What did you do to her? Chen Wei, you’re out of your mind. How dare you touch my girl? Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose you?”

Lin Fan roared, fury surging.

“You still dare to talk about exposing it? Because of you I can’t even go home now, and I dare not face people. Today I’m going to cut you open!”

Chen Wei shouted back, voice ragged with rage, knife in hand.

“This is what you brought on yourself! Don’t blame me. If one single strand of Zhang Yi’s hair is harmed, I’ll skin you alive. I always do what I say.”

Lin Fan burned with anger and outrage. He had not expected Chen Wei to descend to such savagery. At this level, there was no fault in his cruelty.

“Ha! She’s a police officer—I really wouldn’t dare do anything to her. You’re such a fool, believing everything I say.”

Lin Fan’s brows knit. After a moment’s thought, he finally realized: Chen Wei had never kidnapped Zhang Yi. He had been deceived.

“Seeing you with that blank, dumbfounded look, I can’t stop grinning,” Chen Wei said with a menacing grin.

By then Lin Fan was beginning to cool down.

“What is your real purpose?” he said. “Who told you to do this—Bai Jiahao or Su Qianlong?”

At those words, Chen Wei stiffened for a moment; a flicker of wariness flashed in his eyes. He had not expected Lin Fan to identify Bai Jiahao as the unseen orchestrator so quickly. It only proved Lin Fan had truly been prepared in advance.

“Nothing’s behind this,” Chen Wei said, shaking his head and laughing. “I came here and set up a grave for you. On this day next year, it will be your memorial day. If you want someone to blame, blame your own lack of humanity. You exposed me and my sister, and even my sister said she wanted you dead.”

The more he spoke, the more certain Lin Fan became that Bai Jiahao was directing everything from the shadows.

“Did you know my phone was recording from the moment I walked in? I set it to capture everything. I’m certain Bai Jiahao ordered you. Want to know why?”

With contempt in his face, Lin Fan gave a mocking laugh.

Seeing Chen Wei falter, he continued, “Same point: your intelligence isn’t enough. All those men are trained fighters. You’re just a street loafer—how could you possibly know so many trained men?”