Cao Yang heard Bozai confirm that Liu Zhenhu was home—but he didn't enter. Instead, he turned and walked away.
During his daytime reconnaissance, he noticed a few men whose aura didn't belong to this villa district. Their rough, underworld energy screamed—they were Liu Zhenhu's men, undoubtedly laying an ambush.
He took a taxi to Bozai's place. No one answered his knock, so he forcefully twisted the door lock open.
Bozai's things were still there, but Xiaoling's belongings were gone.
Cao Yang came to confirm one thing: had Bozai betrayed him?
Seeing Liu Zhenhu's men earlier, he had suspected Bozai. But thinking it through, Bozai had no reason to betray him. Once Cao Yang sent the video to the Henan Gang, Bozai's life would be forfeit.
Even if Bozai had been threatened, coerced, the fact remained: he personally killed his own brother. The odds of him betraying Cao Yang were slim.
Besides Bozai, only Xiaoling could have betrayed them. She didn't know the agreement between Bozai and Cao Yang, but she knew about their interactions.
Cao Yang also knew about the bounty Liu Zhenhu had placed: 1 million to kill him, 2 million to capture him alive. Money can sway hearts, and Xiaoling might have seen an opportunity to profit.
The situation confirmed his suspicions—Xiaoling had indeed betrayed them.
Bozai had instructed her not to go to work. She resigned from Baiye, overheard others talking about Cao Yang, and learned about the bounty.
Though incapable of killing or capturing Cao Yang herself, she assumed providing clues would earn her some reward. So, she arranged through the manager to meet Liu Zhenhu, revealing everything about Cao Yang and Bozai.
Liu Zhenhu did not hold back—he handed her 200,000 in cash and told her to act as if she knew nothing.
Now Xiaoling had returned home, using the money to build a house for her parents. Poor Bozai remained completely in the dark.
Bozai, anxious, expected Cao Yang to arrive, but he waited in vain.
Cao Yang sent a message: "There might be an ambush. I'll act another day."
Bozai, disappointed, lay down to sleep.
…
"Boss, it's morning. Take a rest."
"Why hasn't he come? Did he notice our ambush?"
A subordinate shook his head. "Don't know."
Liu Zhenhu sighed. "Call out the men."
From the villa rooms, seventy to eighty men emerged. They had been cooped up all night—no smoking, no loud talking—frustrated to the limit.
"Go back and rest."
A-Wei dismissed the men and turned to Bozai, by the dog kennel. "What about this guy?"
Liu Zhenhu looked at Bozai, sleeping soundly, his anger rising. He still didn't know Bozai had killed Liu Yu; he only thought Bozai had taken Cao Yang's bribe to betray him.
"Bring him here!"
Four men woke Bozai and dragged him before Liu Zhenhu.
"Kneel!" one kicked him to the ground.
"B… Boss… what's wrong?" Bozai's legs shook. He sensed trouble.
"What benefits did you take from Cao Yang? Why betray me?" Liu Zhenhu loomed over him.
"I didn't!" Bozai broke out in cold sweat. He'd been threatened—he hadn't received anything from Cao Yang.
Not only did he take nothing, he had been beaten and cuckolded.
"You're not being honest," Liu Zhenhu's gaze signaled, and several men delivered a brutal beating.
"Stop! Stop!" Bozai screamed, agony written across his face.
Now he realized why he'd been "chosen" to feed the dogs. Liu Zhenhu had long known about his collusion with Cao Yang, deliberately assigning him to feed the dogs as a conduit of false information.
"Boss, I really didn't take anything from Cao Yang. He threatened me!"
"Oh? How did he threaten you?"
"He… he…" Bozai faltered. Speaking the truth now meant death.
"He threatened my girlfriend! Said if I didn't cooperate, he'd harass her every day!" Bozai fabricated this explanation.
"You love your girlfriend very much?" Liu Zhenhu had seen Xiaoling. She was average-looking; not enough to make him care.
"Yes, I love her," Bozai nodded earnestly.
"Damn it! You betray your boss for a woman?"
A-Wei slapped him relentlessly, more than ten strikes, until blood poured from his nose and mouth.
Liu Zhenhu took Bozai's phone and checked the recent messages—Cao Yang's alert had not yet been deleted.
"This kid's alertness is impressive. At the slightest hint of trouble, he flees."
Seeing the messages, Liu Zhenhu believed Cao Yang had escaped. He looked at the beaten Bozai. "Do you want to live or die?"
"Live… live," Bozai begged, thinking, who would want to die?
"If you want to live, cooperate fully. Tonight, make the call I instruct. One slip-up, and the dogs will feed on you."
"Y-Yes…" Bozai nodded vigorously.
"Take him away. Guard him well."
Bozai was escorted to the dogs. Liu Zhenhu rubbed his temples. After preparing all night, Cao Yang didn't fall for the trap—and their villa's security had been exposed.
"Boss, how did he know about our ambush?" A-Wei asked. They had hidden well, even Bozai didn't know.
Liu Zhenhu shook his head. "I don't know. The kid's just… very alert."
Cao Yang's alertness was ordinary, just slightly sharper than average.
Cao Yang had long returned to the villa. Now he hid in the drainage well beneath it.
Suspecting an ambush, he hadn't rushed in. He waited until daylight, heard the troop footsteps leave, confirming his intuition.
He sent Bozai a message saying he had left—intentionally, for Liu Zhenhu to see.
Knowing Bozai was a mole, Liu Zhenhu would definitely check his messages.
Cao Yang didn't tell Bozai he'd been exposed. He didn't care for Bozai's life or death—he was following Liu Zhenhu's strategy, lulling them into complacency.
He stayed in the well until eleven o'clock, then carefully lifted the cover, sneaking along the wall into the villa.
The men had stayed up all night; now they were likely asleep.
Cao Yang remained cautious. Though the main force had left, Liu Zhenhu's routine security still patrolled.
"Woof! Woof!" As he entered, two vicious wolves in the kennel barked furiously. Their senses far sharper than humans.
"What's the General barking about?" a sleepy guard yawned.
"I don't know. Go check."
"Why should I go?"
"Your ass!"
Cursing, the guard went to check—and never returned.