NSD Chapter 103: War of Wits

Inside the food store.

Qin Yu was talking on a phone with a tight knit between his brows, “Don’t rush into it yet. Wait for all of us to arrive before making a move.”

“He would have been long gone by the time you arrive!” Ma Lao-er exclaimed in agitation. “When I caught Wen Tao, I was spotted by one of his colleagues at Duke Carnival. If this colleague were to know Little Qu too, our plans would be going down the drain! Furthermore, Little Qu has called Wen Tao twice already, but we couldn’t afford to let him pick up the phone. This has most likely alarmed Little Qu. If he were to get away, we won’t be able to find him again!”

“Ma Lao-er, I know that you are feeling anxious right now, but it’s more important to be safe than anything else. You can stop your car in the vicinity of Wen Tao’s home first. Just keep a lookout for now, don’t make any move yet,” Qin Yu instructed.

“Like I have said, you can’t just look at Little Qu in this matter. You have to think about the fact that the pharmaceutical company and Yong Dong know that we are here, and their connections here are much sturdier than ours. If they have already found Wen Tao ahead of us, charging right in at this moment is tantamount to suicide!”

“Qin Yu, you don’t understand the situation because you’re not here!” Ma Lao-er argued in agitation.

“If the enemy got to Wen Tao ahead of us, they would have already gotten Little Qu by now. They wouldn’t have allowed Wen Tao to have a chance to return to Duke Carnival. Furthermore, have you thought about how long Little Qu has already been in Fengbei so far? It has been around 24 hours, right? Do you get it now? We’re in a rush for time! Little Qu is a very sly individual. As soon as he notices that something is amiss, he’ll be gone in a flash. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have missed him in Songjiang back then!”

“I still think that…”

“How about this? I’ll give you the address, and you rush over quickly,” Ma Lao-er said as he glanced at his watch. “I’ll first see what the situation is before deciding whether to make a move or not.”

“… Alright then. I’ll contact Uncle Ma now.”

“See you then.”

The two of them ended the call here.

Qin Yu had Old Cat foot the bill for their food before rushing out of the food store. At the same time, Qin Yu whipped out his handphone and called Old Ma.

“Hello?”

“Uncle Ma, are you done on your side?”

“Yeah, we’re ready to set off.”

“Here’s the current situation. Ma Lao-er has already gotten a hold on Wen Tao, and he’s rushing to where Little Qu is at the moment. However, I think that there’s a need to be exceptionally careful, especially since yesterday’s affair has shown that Yong Dong and that Xing guy already have their eyes on us. We don’t have as many connections in this city as them, so we can’t afford to go head-to-head against them, do you get it?” Qin Yu analyzed the situation with a frown.

“Just think about it, if they could find us right after we entered Fengbei, don’t you think that it would be a piece of cake for them to find a mere card dealer working in Duke Carnival?”

“Yes, I share the same thoughts as you on this matter,” Old Ma replied.

“Let’s do it this way. I’ll send the address to you, and you’ll head over to the destination right away. There’s no need for you to fetch me and Old Cat,” Qin Yu instructed. “We’ll head there on our own. You have to be extremely careful. Don’t rush in to nab Little Qu if you were to spot him. That lad is already in the open, and the first one to make his move will risk exposing himself.”

“I understand. Let’s go with that.”

“Alright. Stay in contact.”

“Okay.”

Qin Yu hung up his phone.

…

Around 15 minutes later.

Inside the car.

Ma Lao-er grabbed Wen Tao’s hair and asked, ‘Where’s your house?”

“Straight ahead, turn left at the alley and we’ll be there,” Wen Tao replied honestly.

“Little Liu, stop the car behind the building and turn off the engine,” Ma Lao-er instructed.

“Noted.” Little Liu did as he was told.

Ma Lao-er then turned to Wen Tao and said, “I know that this has nothing to do with you. As long as you cooperate with us, I have no intention of doing anything to you. Instead, I’ll compensate you for your time and injury.”

“I-I understand,” Wen Tao replied with a nod.

In the end, Ma Lao-er still decided to go along with QIn Yu’s suggestion. He didn’t rush right into Wen Tao’s house, but instead, he began issuing instructions to Wen Tao, “Take a deep breath and give Little Qu a call. Tell him that you met a friend along the way, so you chatted for a little longer. Your phone was on silent mode, so you didn’t hear anything at all. You’re already on your way back home.”

“It’s best not to give him a call,” Wen Tao advised with a shake of his head.

“What do you mean by that?” Ma Lao-er frowned.

“Little Qu is a very cautious person. If I were to call him to explain this matter, it’ll incur his suspicion instead,” Wen Tao replied in trepidation. “That person who we bumped into by the parking lot doesn’t know Little Qu, so I think you can just go right in… I don’t think he has left yet because he doesn’t know anyone else in Fengbei.”

Ma Lao-er fell into deep thoughts.

“If you really want me to make the call, I’m willing to do it. But if he senses that something is amiss and runs away… there’s nothing I can do about it either,” Wen Tao quickly added.

Ma Lao-er rubbed his head in frustration. He turned to Little Liu and asked, “Do you have any suggestions? Should we head right in or wait?”

“What’s there to wait for?” Little Liu replied without any hesitation. “Little Qu is no fool. Given that Wen Tao has been delayed for so long, and his call wasn’t picked up either, his guard would surely be up by now. He just has to give a call over to Duke Carnival, and he would know that we’re here.”

However, Liu Zishu immediately refuted Little Liu, “I think that we should still wait till Uncle Ma is here. It’ll be safer if we have more people.”

Liu Zishu shot a sideward glance at Wen Tao before adding on, “Who knows whether his words can be trusted or not?”

“Bro, I nearly had my dick cut off! Would I dare lie in such a situation?” Wen Tao immediately argued indignantly.

“Shit!” Ma Lao-er cursed. He looked at his watch before taking out his phone to give Old Ma a call.

Di ling ling!

But at this moment, Wen Tao’s phone suddenly rang.

“Who is it?” Ma Lao-er asked.

“It’s from Little Qu,” Wen Tao took a look at the screen before replying.

“Pick up the call and put him on speakerphone. I want to hear what he says.”

“Understood,” Wen Tao nodded. He leaned in to put his mouth by the phone, but it was Liu Zishu who pressed the button to pick up the call.

“Hello?”

“…!” There was no response from the other side.

“Hello, Little Qu?” Wen Tao asked once more.

There was a moment of silence before Little Qu replied deeply, “Did you meet those people from Songjiang?”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean by Songjiang?” Wen Tao replied with feigned confusion. “I met a friend earlier on the street, and he said that he didn’t want to work at Duke Carnival too, so we chatted a bit longer.”

“Oh. When are you coming back?” Little Qu asked.

“I’m already on the car. Around ten minutes I guess.”

“Got it. We’ll talk once you’re back here,” Little Qu replied before hanging up the phone.

Ma Lao-er sat in the car and thought for a moment before he suddenly said, “I think he’s already alarmed.”

At this moment, they saw a silhouette walking out of the alley hurriedly, moving in the direction of the main road.

Liu Zishu was habitually scanning the surroundings when he spotted the silhouette. He took a closer look before blurting out in astonishment, “It’s Little Qu! He’s come out!”

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