"Of course," Zhang Ziwei said with a smile, clearly in a good mood after hearing the news about his mother. "I haven't wasted the past five years. Learning Morse code wasn't that difficult."
"Good. I'll be waiting for your message tonight," William said as he pulled a belt buckle from his pocket. "This is a locator. If you find yourself in a situation where you can't carry a phone, press the button inside, and it'll still send me a signal."
William revealed the button hidden in the belt buckle. "But this thing was something I threw together casually. It can only send a signal; it can't make calls or send messages. Only press it if your life is in danger or if you've confirmed the presence of the Eight-Faced Buddha."
"Seriously? With all your money, you couldn't give me something more advanced?" Zhang Ziwei complained as he took the belt buckle and swapped it with his own.
"I told you, I made it casually. I didn't have much need for this kind of thing before. The only advantage is that its signal is unique, making it almost impossible for current anti-surveillance equipment to detect it, so the risk of exposure is very low."
"That's more like it. You should leave now," Zhang Ziwei said, checking his watch. "The monks will be here soon."
"Be careful," William reminded him.
After parting ways, William left the café, and Sunday spoke up. "Sir, the signal is coming through clearly."
"Good," William replied. What he hadn't mentioned to Zhang Ziwei was that the belt buckle also had eavesdropping and electric shock functions. Being naturally cautious, William didn't trust Zhang Ziwei as much as it seemed. After all, five years spent with drug traffickers could change anyone. Who knew what Zhang Ziwei might be planning? If he dared to betray him, William wouldn't hesitate to shock him.
At 10 p.m., following the tracker on the Eight-Faced Buddha's eldest son, William and Barney arrived at a secluded beach early and parked their car in the nearby woods. Inside the car, William rested his legs on the dashboard and closed his eyes to nap. "Boss, someone's coming," Barney, sitting by the monitor, warned. "Three cars."
"Sunday, send a Black Edge drone under one of the cars. I want to hear what they're saying."
"Understood, Sir."
Within moments, William and Barney, through their earpieces, could hear not just the engine sounds but also Sunday's translations and the visuals of the Eight-Faced Buddha's three sons, his daughter, Zhang Ziwei, and others.
When the three cars parked, an elderly voice came from one of the vehicles. "Did you capture the person?"
"We didn't, but we killed Duan Kun," Zhang Ziwei replied. "When we arrived, Duan Kun was already surrounded by the police, so I had no choice but to order his execution."
"Yes, Father, the situation was quite dangerous. We couldn't capture Duan Kun alive," the Eight-Faced Buddha's second son added, flashing Zhang Ziwei a smile. "Zhang did well this time. He didn't hesitate when dealing with his former brothers, even shooting one of them."
"Hesitate? Ha! I think he didn't intend to kill his own brother at all. Everything he did was just an act," the Eight-Faced Buddha scoffed. At that moment, one of his bodyguards threw several large photos onto the ground.
It turned out the Eight-Faced Buddha had secretly been having Zhang Ziwei followed. The photos clearly showed Zhang Ziwei shooting Ma Haotian, then letting him go. "Couldn't bring yourself to do it? Don't forget how he treated you back then."
"So what if I didn't kill that bastard Ma Haotian? Do you think I could just go back and be a good guy now?" Zhang Ziwei shouted. "I have no other option but to stick with you."
"That's right," the Eight-Faced Buddha laughed. "You've got no other way out if you want to live, but what if you don't want to live?"
"Click, click." The sound of guns being cocked rang out, and Zhang Ziwei was suddenly surrounded by the Eight-Faced Buddha's men, their weapons trained on him. "Do you know why I brought you all to the gambling city?" the Eight-Faced Buddha asked coldly.
"It's because the monk told me that Basong was betrayed by one of his own. Other than you, who else would have killed him?"
"I didn't do it! Listen to me, I didn't do it!" Zhang Ziwei, channeling his inner actor, shouted, "I didn't even know Basong was the one transporting the goods. Given my relationship with him, how could I have known the exact timing?"
"Yes, you did!" the Eight-Faced Buddha roared. "And today, you'll die knowing why! Bring him up!"
A moment later, a blonde middle-aged man, hands bound, was dragged from the third car by bodyguards and thrown before the Eight-Faced Buddha's vehicle. The bodyguard kicked the man's leg, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
The blonde man screamed in pain. "Wei! You can't kill me! I'm a special agent from the USA! We're partners!"
"Partners?" The Eight-Faced Buddha burst out laughing. "Calling us partners is a joke! You're nothing but leeches sucking me dry. If it were just that, I could have turned a blind eye. The two billion dollars I pay each year could be seen as protection money. But you crossed the line when you gave Basong's intel to this ungrateful traitor."
With a loud creak, the car door opened, and the Eight-Faced Buddha, his face twisted in rage, stepped out and struck the blonde man in the head with his cane. With a sickening thud, the blonde man's head split open, and he fell backward, blood pouring from the wound.
"You bastard," the Eight-Faced Buddha sneered, stepping on the man's head repeatedly. "You've been feeding off me for more than ten years, and now you want to replace me? Do you know why I insisted on coming here instead of taking Basong's body back to Thailand?"
The Eight-Faced Buddha viciously stomped on the blonde man's head a few more times, laughing wildly. "It's because I bribed your superiors with two billion dollars! I knew your entire plan from the start! Coming here was all part of the setup. We've laid an ambush, waiting for your partners to walk right into the trap. Once we take out their men, they'll be like tigers without claws, nothing more than sheep ready for slaughter. By tomorrow, the entire Southeast Asian drug market will be mine!"
Silence followed the Eight-Faced Buddha's declaration. The entire area was dead quiet. This old fox truly lived up to his reputation, ruthless and cunning, willing to sacrifice even his own son to consolidate his power.
Hearing this, William couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Compared to the Eight-Faced Buddha, he almost seemed like a good guy. A person like this couldn't be allowed to live another second. Once Sunday received confirmation from Zhang Ziwei that the man who stepped out of the car was indeed the Eight-Faced Buddha, William gave the order, "Deploy the triangle drones."
"Understood, Sir."
The improved triangle drones now emitted far less noise compared to the earlier models used in New York. Within seconds, 28 triangle drones were launched into the air.
Just as the Eight-Faced Buddha, having executed the American agent, was about to turn his gun on Zhang Ziwei, a faint buzzing noise reached his ears.
One of his men pointed to the sky and shouted, "What's that?"
Following the man's gesture, everyone looked up, except Zhang Ziwei, who quickly realized that his phone was vibrating in a very specific pattern—Morse code. The message was clear: Run.
Seizing the moment of distraction, Zhang Ziwei dashed behind a nearby rock. Before the Eight-Faced Buddha or his men could react, the 28 drones swooped down, and a series of explosions followed one after another.
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[w w w . p @ t r e o n . c o m / M u t t e r]