Zhou Kai pushed open the door of the driver's cabin and jumped down. Lin Chuan and the others also got out of the car in succession.

The leader of the underlings was taken aback; he obviously saw Lin Chuan. He was ready to scold Zhou Kai and his group, but on seeing Lin Chuan, decided to show some courtesy. He forced a smile and said, "Yo, Brother Chuan, what wind blew you here?"

As he spoke, he hurriedly offered a cigarette to Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan was not polite, taking the cigarette and said, "I've come to find the Northeast Tiger."

"Ah? Looking for Mr. Hu?" The underling was taken aback and said awkwardly, "I'm afraid Mr. Hu is busy right now and probably doesn't have time to see you."

"It's fine if he doesn't have time to see me; I'll go see him," Lin Chuan said with a smile.

Rustling...

Zhou Kai and the others immediately brandished their weapons and surged forward. The several underlings stepped back and said awkwardly, "Brother Chuan, don't be rash, please don't be rash!"

At this moment, several security guards walking around the parking lot also gathered around. Although they knew they were no match for Lin Chuan, they couldn't just stand by at this moment. They had to try hard to stop the intrusion and prevent them from entering.

"Will you go find Northeast Tiger, or shall I?" Lin Chuan asked coldly.

"I—I'll go," the underling said awkwardly.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Lin Chuan said coldly, a cigarette hanging from his lips.

The underling scurried inside, heading straight for the Northeast Tiger's office. The Northeast Tiger was busy at his task. Hearing Lin Chuan had arrived, he immediately stood up and sent the girl away. The underling scurried down again.

"Brother Chuan, Mr. Hu said to let you go up," the underling said with a beaming smile.

Without saying a word, Lin Chuan stepped in. Zhao Zhonghai and Zhou Kai were about to follow, but were stopped by the others: "Brother Chuan can go in, but that doesn't mean you can too."

"Bullshit, looking for a fight, huh?" Lu Dapao was anxious, swinging his machete and cursed, "Be careful, or I'll hit you so hard you won't recognize your own grandfather."

Lin Chuan turned his head to look at Zhou Kai and the others, saying, "Alright, you all wait outside."

"Brother Chuan, it's too dangerous for you to go in alone," Zhou Kai said anxiously.

Zhao Zhonghai took a drag on his cigarette, smiled, and said, "Go on up, we'll wait for you here!"

Lin Chuan nodded and turned to walk in.

Zhou Kai and the others anxiously watched Lin Chuan's retreating figure, worrying Northeast Tiger and his men might set up an ambush or traps inside. If anything happened to Lin Chuan, it would be troublesome. The transport market, Feixiang Company, Haiqing Pool might all be at risk of being lost. Lin Chuan was the leader, the one everyone saw as the boss. If anything happened to Lin Chuan, everything would be ruined. No one could take Lin Chuan's place.

In Qinghua Pool, inside the fifth-floor office,

The Northeast Tiger was lying on a Taishi Chair. Don't underestimate this Taishi Chair; it comes with electric functions. Moreover, the design of the chair is based entirely on the science of pleasure physiology; a woman lying on this chair, legs across the armrests on either side, even if the depth of Taohua Pond is a thousand feet, it wouldn't compare to any man standing tall and mighty.

Tapping his Erlang's leg, the Northeast Tiger said with a smile as Lin Chuan entered, "Lin Chuan, long time no see."

"Tiger, indeed it's been a long time," Lin Chuan replied, with a cigarette in his mouth and hands in his pockets, "So long that you've healed your wounds and forgot the pain, right?"

The Northeast Tiger looked puzzled and squinted his eyes, the scar on his face looking a bit terrifying as he said, "Brother, I really don't understand what you mean. Are you here to set me trouble? If so, then I really don't know where I might have offended you."

"Tiger, let's be straightforward," Lin Chuan walked over, sat down in front of the Northeast Tiger, and asked coldly, "Was it you who set the fire at Haiqing Pool?"

"What?" The Northeast Tiger was startled and said, "You mean Haiqing Pool caught fire?"

Lin Chuan stared into the Northeast Tiger's eyes. Even a veteran of the underworld can hardly hide his inner thoughts. Human eyes are the windows to the soul, and they are a transparent glass window. Everyone understands this, so Lin Chuan generally looks at the eyes to observe people. Whether there's deception can mostly be discerned by staring into their eyes and understanding their inner thoughts.

This time, Lin Chuan obviously made a misstep because he couldn't see any flaw in the Northeast Tiger's eyes.

Either the Northeast Tiger was an incredibly good actor, or he really wasn't behind it.

"That's right," Lin Chuan confirmed, "It happened two hours ago. You didn't know?"

"I... I really didn't know!" The Northeast Tiger shook his head hastily. Although the underlings of the Tiger Gang already knew about the fire, no one dared to inform the Northeast Tiger because of his clear orders that no one was to disturb him during his 'practice'. It was strictly forbidden unless there was an extraordinarily important matter or an extremely important person seeking an audience.

The underlings thought that the news of Haiqing Pool being on fire could wait until after Mr. Hu finished his 'practice'.

Suddenly standing up, Lin Chuan warned, "Tiger, I'm warning you, if it turns out you did this, we're far from done."

"Conscience of heaven and earth." The Northeast Tiger snorted coldly, unwilling to show weakness, he said: "If I had ordered someone to do this, may lightning strike me down. But if it wasn't me... hmm, don't think for a minute that you can threaten me today and that I'll let it rest."

Lin Chuan smiled and said, "We'll see. I'm going to have someone investigate this thoroughly."

"I will have someone investigate thoroughly as well," the Northeast Tiger gritted his teeth.

In order to clear his own name, the Northeast Tiger naturally had to investigate thoroughly. Besides, the fire at Haiqing Pool was clearly someone trying to frame him—everyone in Jiangbei City knew about his feud with Lin Chuan. To set a fire at this critical juncture was obviously an attempt to frame him. Moreover, Haiqing Pool was a location he openly claimed as his own; to set fire to Haiqing Pool was akin to slapping his own face. Regardless of the other party's intentions, this matter was hugely related to him.

After Lin Chuan left, the Northeast Tiger immediately convened several of his core followers.

"Mr. Hu, this has nothing to do with us," they said.

"Right, we're not so idle that we'd stir up trouble for ourselves over nothing," another follower chimed in—not surprisingly, since the fire wasn't at Tsinghua University Pool but Haiqing Pool, so it was of no concern to them.

The Northeast Tiger glanced at his men and said, "Who said this has nothing to do with us?"

"Mr. Hu, Lin Chuan is our mortal enemy!" a bearded follower said.

"That's true," the Northeast Tiger nodded and added: "But have you considered, when you hear about the fire at Haiqing Pool, who is the first person you think of?"

"Sometimes I suspect it was done by some of our underlings behind our backs."

"I've had my suspicions too, so I made a point to check—and it wasn't our people!"

The Northeast Tiger gave a cold laugh and said, "That's right, it definitely wasn't our people. But who would believe us if we said so? No one believes us, and I'm afraid the word on the street is that it was the Tiger Gang who did it."

"Damn it, whoever dares to say that, I'll flay them!" the bearded man roared angrily.

You might shut one person up, maybe ten or a hundred, but you can't silence the endless chatter of the masses," the Northeast Tiger glanced at the bearded man and continued, "So we must help Lin Chuan clear this up. Even if it has nothing to do with us, we need to prove our innocence."

"Mr. Hu, we are the mighty Tiger Gang; since when do we need to prove our innocence?" the bearded man said through clenched teeth, "If we say it wasn't us, then it wasn't. Who dares to challenge us on that?"

"Times have changed," the Northeast Tiger gestured dismissively, "If it wasn't for this, and if Lin Chuan joins forces with Feng Taibao, then we'll be in trouble."

Upon hearing this, everyone seemed to recognize some truth in his words.

After all, Jiangbei City was now in an era of tripartite power balance, not just bipartite. With a tripartite balance, if one party wavers, stability is lost. Sensing the reason in this, the followers of the Northeast Tiger had no choice but to agree.

............

At the entrance, Zhou Kai and the others waited anxiously; Zhou Kai and Lu Dapao paced back and forth restlessly, occasionally craning their necks to look inside Qinghua Pool. A few followers of the Tiger Gang kept a watchful eye on them, ready to guard against any sudden attack.

Among everyone, only Zhao Zhonghai was calm and unhurried, sitting on the steps of the entrance, puffing away at his cigarette. That was because Zhao Zhonghai knew that with Lin Chuan's abilities, there was no need to fear the Northeast Tiger. Even if the Northeast Tiger's men were stronger, Lin Chuan could still emerge unscathed. It was a matter of trust.

It wasn't long before Lin Chuan came out.

"Brother Chuan, how did it go?" Zhou Kai and the others immediately gathered around.

"Let's go," Lin Chuan waved his hand.

"Huh? Just like that?" Lu Dapao was startled, "We're not fighting?"

Lin Chuan got into the car, Zhou Kai hurriedly jumped into the driver's seat, everyone else piled in, Lu Dapao, with nothing else to say, hurriedly followed.

Once in the car, Zhao Zhonghai spoke up, "This matter probably doesn't have much to do with the Northeast Tiger, does it?"

"Hmm!" Lin Chuan nodded, "The possibility of the Northeast Tiger committing the crime should be ruled out."

"Indeed," Zhao Zhonghai nodded, "Judging by the Northeast Tiger's usual style, he's not someone to do things in such a sneaky manner."

"Then who could it be?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.

"In Jiangbei City, besides the Northeast Tiger, who else could pose a threat to us?" Zhao Zhonghai asked with a smile.

"Could it be the Thirteen Grand Protectors?" Zhou Kai asked, surprised.

"No way?" Lu Dapao quickly shook his head, "We have no grievances with Feng Taibao, and we've never had a fallout; why would they take action against us?"

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