Almost at the same time, Lee Joong-ku, in the detention cell, also received the news and the blurry photo through secret channels.
"Hahaha! Dead?! Ding Qing, are you finally going to die?!"
He first erupted in a crazed, ecstatic laugh, but as he continued to laugh, his expression gradually turned grim and suspicious.
"No... it's too easy... how could he be found so coincidentally at this time? And critically injured?"
Lee Joong-ku's suspicious nature made it impossible for him to easily believe it, "Is it a trap? Is it a feigned escape? How could that Night Owl guy let him die so easily?"
He immediately contacted his confidant outside: "Go investigate! Use every means possible to find out! Is the person in that clinic really Ding Qing?! Get a clear look at his face! Check his fingerprints! DNA! I want irrefutable evidence!"
The Goldmoon Group headquarters was even more chaotic.
The directors were panicking, and various factions were stirring.
Those of the Ding Qing faction were like bereaved parents, leaderless.
The Di Ri Faction and the Tiger Faction, on the other hand, were extraordinarily excited, secretly forming alliances, preparing to seize territory and power. The neutral faction wavered, calculating which side would be more profitable to join.
The news of Ding Qing's critical condition was like a giant rock thrown into a cesspit, stirring up a monstrous stench and the frenzied wriggling of countless maggots.
Meanwhile, the real Ding Qing, escorted by Johnny and Ah Jin, had already been secretly transferred through a covert route to a safe house far from the center of Lishui City.
Through an encrypted channel, he calmly received the chaotic information from the outside world, a cold, mocking smile playing on his lips.
The storm had been ignited; now he only needed to wait quietly, to wait for all the clowns to take the stage, to wait for them to bite each other until they were exhausted.
Johnny stood by the window, looking at the calm sea outside, as if all the commotion in the outside world had nothing to do with him.
At the entrance of the Lishui City Local Procuratorate, reporters and onlookers bustled.
Due to insufficient key evidence and the effective work of his legal team, Lee Joong-ku was finally released on bail after several days in detention.
He wore a slightly wrinkled suit, his beard cleanly shaven, but the sinister and violent look in his eyes was even more intense than when he went in.
Facing the flashing magnesium lights and a barrage of questions, he remained expressionless, pushing past reporters roughly with the escort of his lawyers and several confidants, quickly getting into a waiting black mercedes-benz sedan.
Inside the car, the atmosphere was oppressive.
"Big Brother, you've suffered."
The confidant in the passenger seat whispered.
"Less nonsense!"
Lee Joong-ku impatiently interrupted, loosening his tie, "How's the investigation going? Is that bastard in the clinic really Ding Qing?!"
The confidant looked troubled: "The clinic is under strict police control, and it's difficult for our people to get close. The doctors and nurses inside have a consistent story, saying they found a severely injured person whose identity is unknown. The police's initial DNA comparison... seems inconsistent with Ding Qing's file, but the sample might be contaminated, so it will take more time..."
"Siba!" Lee Joong-ku slammed his fist on the seat, "I knew it! It's fake! Absolutely fake! That bastard Ding Qing must be hiding in some rat hole, secretly laughing!"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, not only because he had been played, but also because of the disappearance of White Ghost, Leo.
The top assassin hired at great expense had vanished as if into thin air after the failed operation, making him feel like a fool.
"Keep investigating! Dig three feet deep and drag out Ding Qing and that Night Owl for me!" Lee Joong-ku roared.
The car drove into a private nightclub controlled by the Di Ri Faction, which temporarily became Lee Joong-ku's command center after his release.
He needed to quickly regain control of the situation and suppress the internal chaos and disloyalty caused by his imprisonment and Ding Qing's "near-death."
In the private room, the music was noisy, and smoke filled the air.
Lee Joong-ku impatiently waved away the others, drinking hard liquor alone, contemplating his next move.
Just then, the door to the private room was silently pushed open.
A figure walked in.
He wore a well-tailored white suit, which seemed out of place in the dim, decadent environment of the nightclub.
He was about fifty years old, with the deep contours of a mixed-race face, eyes as calm as deep water, and a faint, almost imperceptible, indifferent smile on his lips, as if he saw through everything.
Most striking was his meticulously combed, almost silver-white hair.
Lee Joong-ku, his eyes hazy with drink, looked up, frowned, and spoke in an extremely unfriendly tone: "Siba... who are you? Who let you in? Get out!"
He thought it was some disrespectful subordinate or a customer who had entered the wrong room.
The man in the white suit paid no attention to Lee Joong-ku's rudeness or dismissal.
He slowly walked to the liquor cabinet, picked up a clean glass on his own, poured a little whiskey, and gently swirled it, his gaze remaining fixed on Lee Joong-ku.
"Mr. Li, you've just gotten out, why so much anger?"
His voice was low, with a peculiar, magnetic quality, as if tempered by years, his tone even but with an undeniable power.
Lee Joong-ku narrowed his eyes, sobering up a bit.
He realized this person was not simple, able to silently bypass the guards outside and enter his private room.
"Who exactly are you?"
Lee Joong-ku's hand slowly moved towards the dagger hidden at his waist, his tone full of vigilance.
The man in the white suit smiled slightly, taking a sip of his drink: "My name isn't important; you can call me Luca. As for who I am... someone who can help you solve problems."
"Solve problems? What problems do I have that need you to solve?" Lee Joong-ku sneered, but his wariness reached its peak.
Luca?
He had never heard of this person.
"You have many problems."
Luca put down his glass, his gaze sharpening, "Ding Qing's fate is unknown, dangling everyone's appetite like a ghost, keeping you restless. The White Ghost you hired at great expense failed and is now missing. The group's internal morale is unstable; some people are waiting to see you fail, even wanting to replace you."
Every word he spoke was like a needle pricking Lee Joong-ku's most painful spots.
Lee Joong-ku's face became extremely grim: "You know all this? Who exactly are you?!"
"As I said, an assassin."
Luca stepped forward, an invisible pressure spreading, "An assassin more professional than White Ghost, and one who knows how to thoroughly eliminate trouble. You need someone to find Ding Qing and ensure he disappears forever. At the same time, you need someone to deal with that Night Owl who has repeatedly ruined your plans."
He paused, looking at Lee Joong-ku's shifting expression, then threw out the ultimate temptation: "And I, coincidentally, am very interested in that Night Owl... Our goals are aligned, aren't they? How about we cooperate?"
Lee Joong-ku stared intently at the white-suited man who called himself Luca.
The other man's aura was as deep as the sea, carrying a dangerous air of seasoned experience, even beyond Lee Joong-ku's comprehension.
He instinctively felt apprehension, but the conditions the other party offered precisely hit his greatest current needs and pain points.
He desperately needed a sharp, reliable blade right now! A blade that could cut through all the tangled mess!
"Cooperate?"
Lee Joong-ku licked his dry lips, his eyes flashing with madness and a gambling light, "How do you want to cooperate? And why should I trust you?"
The faint smile on Luca's face deepened, as if everything was under his control.
"Because I can stand here and talk to you, and your people outside are completely unaware," he said softly, "Because I know all the details of White Ghost's failure. More importantly..."
His eyes suddenly turned cold: "Because my name, White Lion, meant an absolute death sentence many years ago. It's just that I've been out of this circle for too long, so long that many people have forgotten."
White Lion!
White Reaper!
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