The Prey

Su Mo chose Wang Jian and Gao Ming as his tools for a reason, not on a whim.

The possibility of exposing himself was small, but it existed. So he needed those people to act as firewalls for him to keep himself more hidden.

For example, Wang Jian was responsible for helping him purchase some special items that were easier to arouse suspicion. This way, even if Wang Jian was caught, he could get away safely.

And Gao Ming was the same logic. Some things, those likely suspicious things, let Gao Ming do them. And Su Mo himself hid behind the scenes with an increased safety factor.

This trial was a brand new model that required extremely many things to prepare, so it also required a fair amount of time.

About 20 km outside Xikang City, there was an abandoned hospital that used to be the largest mental hospital in Xikang called the Third Ward.

But as the urban planning and development of Xikang progressed, it was gradually abandoned and had been abandoned for 8 years.

The structure of the Third Ward was also simple, divided into inner and outer parts.

The outside was a huge empty space surrounded by a wall 4-5 meters high. Without tools, it was impossible for people to climb out.

Inside, in the four directions, there was an iron gate to the east with broken locks.

To the west, south and north, there were three 6-story buildings connecting them. These were the former inpatient and office buildings.

At this time, at eight o'clock in the evening, two people were busy inside the Third Ward.

"Are the iron plates prepared sufficiently? There are quite a lot of windows to be nailed," Su Mo asked.

Gao Ming nodded, "Absolutely enough, I hauled half a truck full."

"Okay then, let's get to work," said Su Mo.

Soon, Su Mo and Gao Ming took out lots of iron plates, tape and other items from an old truck.

Then they started nailing the windows shut with iron plates in the three buildings to prevent people from running outside through the windows.

It was a troublesome and tiring job. They had to work hard for two full nights.

But it didn’t matter. This was something they had to do. Only with thorough preparation work could they get the best results. This was very interesting.

In the next few days, the two of them came here every night. Then they arranged the site, mainly various monitoring and safety measures.

Of course, they were not afraid of someone else coming in. This place was so desolate that basically no one came. Moreover, they bought locks so no one else could enter the interior anyway, so there was no problem.

On the night 8 days later when they were busy with the final arrangements, Su Mo laughed, “Today is Wednesday. Let's do it the day after tomorrow. Do you have any problems over there?"

"No problem. I've been waiting for a long time," Gao Ming said.

"Good, see you on Friday then," said Su Mo.

Then the two separated and left separately.

The next day was Thursday. Su Mo and Song Juntian were playing chess in the office.

"Haha, Brother Song, your horse is about to be eaten by me," Su Mo laughed.

"It doesn't matter, go ahead and take it," Song Juntian replied.

After a while, Su Mo laughed again, "Your cannon is also almost gone. I should be able to win this game.”

“It doesn't matter. Victory and defeat are common in the art of war," said Song Juntian.

Another 10 minutes later, Su Mo frowned at the chessboard in thought for a moment and sighed softly, "I lost."

Song Juntian gently moved a chess piece and laughed softly, “You are very good at skirmishes, better than me.

But looking at the whole picture, I have a slight advantage. Hahahaha!"

Su Mo also laughed magnanimously, "Then, is there a way to win decisively both in details and overall?"

"You are quite greedy indeed. But it is indeed possible.

If you are strong enough to consider every step of your opponent, then no matter the details or the overall situation, you can have complete control.

But to think of every possibility, how difficult it is!” said Song Juntian.

Su Mo rubbed his nose, “Life should be full of surprises and unexpected events to be interesting.

If you know the outcome of everything in advance, how boring would that be?

The fun of life lies in the unknown. Isn’t that right, Brother Song?"

Song Juntian was stunned for a moment and then burst out laughing, "I was the one thinking too much into it. Indeed, the unknown is the greatest fun. Hahaha!”

In the Honglu Nightclub, a man in his forties with a silly-looking appearance was holding up his glass towards a few others and said with a smile, “Today is my treat. Brothers, feel free to drink and have fun. And after getting drunk, I’ve arranged other events as well. The main principle is to have fun.

President Liu, Chief Hu, President Wang... I’ll make the first toast.”

After speaking, he drank it all in one go and even overturned his glass to show not a drop was left.

This man was Second Master Mei. Many people might think that a big boss in human trafficking should be a frenzied villain with knife scars on his face. In fact that was not the case. For underworld bosses, especially those doing shady business, the most important thing aside from being ruthless was interpersonal relationships.

No matter if it was various government officials, business leaders across industries, or fellow gang members, good guanxi was crucial. Otherwise, just some random person could take you out without you even knowing how you died.

After drinking with several bosses and leaders until after 11 p.m., Second Master Mei finally stumbled out of the nightclub. He was going to go home while he arranged for the younger brothers to take care of the others.

As he got into his ride, he was completely sober. He lit a cigarette as he rolled down the window, “Back home.”

The younger brother who doubled as his driver immediately started the car and headed towards a villa.

His home was located in the suburbs, a standalone villa without other houses within tens of meters around. He couldn’t live too close to others, first because he was in the shady business. Second, he had a big secret that only he and a few others knew about.

After arriving home, he asked his driver to leave on his own. Then he opened the door and walked towards the villa.

Not long after the driver had left, he saw a parked car at the roadside that looked somewhat familiar, as if it was his brother’s car.

He stopped and rolled down the window to shout outside, “Old Four, is that you?”

The next moment, a figure got out from the car and walked towards him. He did look a lot like Old Four.

“What are you doing here so late? Are you waiting for me to take you to the girls? I was...”

Before he could finish speaking, that person suddenly sped up and quickly rushed over in front of him, pressing a stun gun against him.

After pulling the driver out of the car and throwing him into another car, Gao Ming continued to wait there silently.