RBCT Chapter 33 The Storm Is Coming
Chapter 33 The Storm Is Coming
Lin Feng looked at Chen Weiguo: "Brother Chen, we owe you a lot this time."
Chen Weiguo waved his hand: "The job's done, that's enough. What's next?"
Lin Feng had already planned ahead: "Brother Chen, please print out several copies of these key photos. I will also make multiple copies of the recordings and other evidence we've collected. Next, we'll split up and report them! We're determined to eradicate Zhao Xiaohu and his gang of criminals."
The next day, Lin Feng wrote three reports, each accompanied by a complete set of evidence, including photos, recordings, and testimonies from Chen Hai and Liu Cheng.
Then, Lin Feng, Lin Xiaoqiang, and Chen Weiguo sent the documents to the Shenzhen Municipal Public Security Bureau's Discipline Inspection Commission, the Shenzhen Municipal Anti-Organized Crime Office, and the Provincial Anti-Organized Crime Supervision Group, respectively.
Submitting the report wasn't the end of it; Lin Feng wanted to add fuel to the fire.
He asked Lin Xiaoqiang and Chen Weiguo to help him find more people.
Lin Feng gave each of them fifty yuan and told them to use a public phone on the street to call the provincial supervisory team's hotline to report the problem.
They also designed several different scripts for them, all targeting the "Ben Se Bar" on Dongyuan Road in Luohu District for alleged prostitution, gambling, loan sharking, violence, and other offenses.
Under Lin Feng's command, these people spread out their reports at different times and locations, and made multiple reports.
The goal was to keep the supervisory team's phone ringing non-stop, making them realize that public discontent was boiling over, that the matter could not be covered up, and that it had to be dealt with immediately.
Over the next few days, in several different neighborhoods including Luohu, Futian, Nanshan, and Bao'an, large groups of seemingly unrelated people, speaking in different accents, dialed the reporting hotline from public phone booths.
The reports all pointed to Zhao Xiaohu and his Bense Bar.
Just as the whistleblowing work was in full swing, Tang Lei, who was at the very center of the vortex, was suffering greatly.
Everything changed the day Tiger's men ambushed Lin Feng downstairs.
First, his performances were suspended for a few days, then the performance schedule was increased from two shows a day to three shows a day. Zhao Xiaohu demanded that the losses be made up.
Before, you could leave right after singing, but now you can't leave early either; you have to have a couple of drinks with Zhao Xiaohu's friends or regular customers.
Ah Biao and his henchmen changed their way of looking at him. They were less polite to the "pillar of the show" and more blatantly surveillance.
One night, Tang Lei wasn't feeling well. He hadn't been sleeping well for several days, and he was under a lot of stress. When he sang, his breath was a little weak, and he couldn't reach the high notes.
After stepping off the stage, Zhao Xiaohu angrily berated him, saying, "What kind of rubbish did you sing? I paid you to come here to ruin my show!"
"Brother Tiger, this kid's getting more and more cocky lately," Ah Biao chimed in, adding fuel to the fire.
"I'm only keeping you here to sing because I'm giving you face. Who do you think you are? If you don't sing properly, I'll ruin your voice. Anyway, if you're ruined, there will be other people to sing."
Tang Lei lowered his head, his eyes slightly red: "I understand, Brother Tiger."
On another occasion, when Tang Lei finished singing and came off stage, Zhao Xiaohu called him into a private room. Inside sat two unfamiliar faces, dressed in wealthy clothes.
"Tang Lei, come here and greet these two bosses. They're from the building materials business in the city, and they're my good brothers."
Tang Lei bowed and nodded: "Hello, boss."
"Here, offer a toast to the two bosses." Zhao Xiaohu handed him a full glass of foreign liquor.
Tang Lei has a low alcohol tolerance, but he didn't dare refuse. He picked up his glass, forced himself to drink a cup, and immediately felt extremely unwell.
When I drank the second glass of wine, the spiciness burned my throat, and I started coughing. I didn't finish it.
"Raising fish?" Zhao Xiaohu's expression changed. "Tang Lei, now that you're a bit famous, you're not giving me any face anymore?"
A shopkeeper nearby tried to smooth things over: "Hey, Tiger, he's a singer, he makes a living with his voice, you have to understand."
"Understand?" Zhao Xiaohu grabbed his glass of wine, flicked his wrist, and splashed the wine all over Tang Lei's face...
The liquor streamed down Tang Lei's face and into his collar. Tang Lei dared not resist and was instead forced to apologize to Zhao Xiaohu's two friends.
After getting off work that day, he returned to his rented room as if he were fleeing.
I locked the door, frantically splashed cold water on my face, and looked up to see my disheveled reflection in the mirror.
He took out his phone and saw the name "Lin Feng" in his contacts.
Lin Feng hasn't appeared in the last few days, as if he's vanished into thin air. A terrible thought crept into Tang Lei's mind: Could Zhao Xiaohu have tried to harm Lin Feng?
He regretted having unrealistic fantasies and even more so, dragging Lin Feng into this mess.
With trembling fingers, she sent a text message to Lin Feng: "Lin Feng, are you alright? Have Zhao Xiaohu and the others given you any trouble?"
He deleted "I'm fine here" and changed it to "Take care of yourself, don't risk your life for me anymore." After thinking about it, he deleted everything again, and finally only sent one sentence: "Lin Feng, be careful. Take care."
After sending the text message, Tang Lei felt as if his heart was being gripped.
Time ticked by, and just as he was about to despair, his phone screen suddenly lit up; it was Lin Feng's reply.
"Teacher Tang, I'm fine. Please take care of yourself. I'm not afraid of him. Dawn is coming! Soon you'll be able to sing on a real stage and let more people hear 'Lilac Flower'."
Tang Lei looked at these lines of text repeatedly, especially the sentence "It's almost dawn."
He was pleased, but dared not hold out hope. Zhao Xiaohu had been operating in Luohu for many years, deeply entrenched in his power base. How could Lin Feng, a student from another province, possibly compete with him?
……
That evening, Lin Feng lit a cigarette in his guesthouse room and quietly looked out the window.
The whistleblower letter was sent more than a week ago, and the supervisory team made intensive phone calls for three days. They did everything they could.
But on Dongyuan Road, things remained calm and peaceful.
A cold wind blew past the window, and dark clouds loomed overhead, threatening a downpour. The air was so stuffy it made one feel uneasy.
On the other side of the city, Tang Lei, carrying his guitar, walked hurriedly down the street to the bar, just like he had done countless nights before.
As dusk fell, the shops on both sides of the street lit up with colorful neon lights.
At 6:30 p.m., people were already starting to arrive at the entrance of the True Colors Bar. Several regulars greeted him, and he nodded without stopping.
As he walked to the door, he noticed several unfamiliar faces across the street.
They stood in front of a grocery store, wearing jackets, neither buying anything nor speaking, just staring at the bar.
Tang Lei didn't pay much attention and pushed the door open to go inside. Inside, the familiar noise and dim lighting enveloped him.
He rested briefly in the backstage lounge area to adjust his state and prepare for the performance.
At the same time, taxi driver Lao Gui had just dropped off a passenger near Dongyuan Road.
He lit a cigarette, slowly turned the car around, and prepared to go to the next busy place to wait for customers.
The taxi turned off the bar street and passed a few intersections.
Seven or eight Iveco vans drove up ahead, their lights off but their windows open.
Old Ghost glanced around and saw the camouflage uniform, the helmet, and the black gun he was holding.
Old Gui lightly applied the brakes, letting the other cars pass first. Then he took out his phone and dialed Lin Xiaoqiang.
In the guesthouse room, Lin Feng's phone rang.
A few minutes later, Lin Xiaoqiang's bread truck stopped downstairs at the guesthouse.
Lin Feng quickly went downstairs and jumped onto the bread truck.
Lin Xiaoqiang stepped on the gas, and the van sped off into the distance, heading towards the Dongyuan Road bar street.