Black Society Battle

  While Luo Yi was busy arranging various matters for the task force, Du Boss wasn't idle either. Through repeated interrogations of Li Lao Si and Hong Kun Sheng, plus the information collected by his own intelligence network, Du Boss basically figured out everything Ma Boss had done to him, as well as the black hand behind it all.

  It turned out that the Japanese army had been rushing to buy Shanghai's underworld forces in order to establish a forward base in Shanghai. Initially, they had considered buying Du Boss, but during the January 28th Battle of Shanghai, Du Boss had provided financial support to the anti-Japanese troops, making his stance clear and leading the Japanese to realize that it was impossible to buy him over, so they shifted their target to Ma Boss, who had a competitive relationship with Du Boss.

  Ma Boss's influence in Shanghai has always been inferior to Du Boss, although on the surface he calls Du Boss his brother, but in his heart he has always wanted to replace him. After the Japanese army extended an olive branch to him, he eagerly threw himself into the Japanese army's embrace and willingly became their hatchet man. Kidnapping Du Xinyu was one of his moves to show off to the Japanese army, and since he had been in close contact with Du Boss before, he was quite familiar with Du Xinyu's whereabouts. He sent out a few thugs who kidnapped her when she was alone and took her to an area outside Shanghai, then blackmailed Du Boss. Ma Boss's plan was to take advantage of Du Boss's helplessness and offer to rescue Du Xinyu, while forcing Du Boss to accept the Japanese army's conditions. If this worked out, Ma Boss would gain even more recognition from the Japanese army.

  In the matter of Zhoupu Village, Ma Boss was also a accomplice. The Japanese army did not want to directly take over a village, so they let the local underworld take the lead, and the Chinese side had nothing to say about it, at most it would just be a local disturbance. If someone really got killed, the Japanese army could push the responsibility onto Hong Kunsheng's body, while Ma Boss only needed to make Hong Kunsheng disappear from Shanghai, and this matter would be settled. Who would have thought that an unexpected twist would occur, involving a whole platoon of Japanese soldiers.

  After learning about the situation, Boss Du ordered his men to silence Li Laosi and Hong Kunsheng to prevent them from revealing that the Special Task Force had intervened. As someone who has been in the underworld for many years, Boss Du values loyalty and brotherhood. He believes that the Special Task Force's rescue of Du Xinyu is a favor to him, and if he involves them in his feud with Ma Laoban, it would be ungrateful. After taking care of this matter, Boss Du sent someone to deliver a message to Ma Laoban, asking to meet with him. The message clearly stated that it's best for the two of them to find a way to settle their differences once and for all, and suggested that Ma Laoban bring several people along.

  Mr. Ma saw Mr. Du's letter, and since he hadn't received any news from Li Laosi for many days, he suspected that something had gone wrong with the kidnapping of Du Xinyu. The "settlement" mentioned in Mr. Du's letter was likely to be a fierce battle. Mr. Ma had experienced similar battles before, but in the past, he and Mr. Du were allies. He had a deep understanding of Mr. Du's combat power.

  "Boss Ma, are we going to this appointment?" his military advisor Sun Jianhuang asked.

  "Considering Du's way of doing things, we have to go. If we do, this matter will be settled. If not, he'll bring people to ransack our home."

  "But our brother is no match for him."

  "Alas, I suspect it's Li Laosi's carelessness that alerted Du Lao. Now I don't know whether Miss Du is alive or dead. If Miss Du is fine, there's still room for maneuvering between me and the Dus. But if something happens to Miss Du, our relationship will be a matter of life and death. If the Dus get ruthless, we won't have any foothold in Shanghai - his followers number in the thousands!"

  "Boss Ma, since that's the case, why don't we ask the Japanese to lend a hand? Can Old Boss Du be more formidable than the Japanese?"

  Old Ma shook his head: "The Japanese are now hating me, Hong Kunsheng this little red devil, I don't know what's going on, and he lost a whole class of Japanese people. Fukuda Kazuo has looked for me several times."

  Sun Jianhuang smiled slightly and said, "Isn't this an opportunity? You say that the Zhoupu Village incident was Du Boss's doing, and even Hong Kunsheng and the Japanese were killed by people on Du Boss's side. I think that in Shanghai, there isn't another force that dares to provoke the Japanese. If it's said that Du Boss did it, it might be 80 or 90% true."

  Old Ma's eyes lit up: "Great! Wonderful! I'll call Fukuda right away."

  On the phone, Old Master Ma told a fabricated story with a nose and eyes. He said that after inquiring, several of his subordinates had seen suspected underlings of Du's on the day of the incident in Zhoupu Village, and according to various signs, it should be Du who intentionally started trouble and killed Hong Kunsheng and Song Ben. Moreover, when he sent someone to ask Du for evidence, he was scolded by Du. Du scolded him as a traitor and invited him to a duel. Finally, Old Master Ma timidly asked: Can Mr. Fukuda send a team of Japanese soldiers to help?

  Fukuda Kazuo was a seasoned old agent, and he quickly analyzed the intelligence provided by Ma Boss in his mind, also feeling that there was some truth to it. Du Boss's anti-Japanese sentiment was something he had long known about. The Zhoupu Village incident, if interpreted as Du Boss's meddling, was quite reasonable after all. After all, finding another force in Shanghai that dared to fight the Japanese wasn't easy either.

  "Uh-huh, Ma Jun, I understand the situation you're in. I'll have Team Leader Tong Sen lead a team to assist you. However, we can't make this public, do you understand?"

  "I understand, I will have a foolproof plan." Old Master Ma replied with a flourish.

  With the help of a small team of Japanese soldiers, Boss Ma felt more confident and immediately sent someone to reply to Boss Du, saying that there might be some misunderstandings between them and it would be better to clarify things face-to-face. Since Boss Du was willing to talk, they agreed to meet at a certain place in Minhang three days later, where Ma would apologize if he had wronged Boss Du.

  Ma and Du agreed to meet in Minhang, naturally to have an unimpeded shootout. If they opened fire in the city, the police would intervene. Boss Du sent people to scout out the designated location beforehand, then brought dozens of trusted subordinates to the meeting.

  "Boss Ma, long time no see, have you made a fortune recently?"

  After the two gangs met, their respective bodyguards stood tens of meters away, and the two bosses began to talk face-to-face. This scene has a somewhat ancient flavor, before a big battle, it is often the case that the generals of the two armies come out to curse each other first. The venue for this duel was a desolate beach in Minhang, with ditches all around, which could be used as cover, making it a good place for a shootout.

  "How could I dare? Who is Ma so-and-so compared to Boss Du? Everyone knows that in Shanghai, when Boss Du stamps his foot, the Huangpu River will rise with waves."

  "Haha, that's all in the past. I heard Old Master Ma has recently taken a liking to the sturdy legs of the Japanese, I suppose he's gained quite a bit from it?"

  "Nothing much, Ma just had some business dealings with Japanese people. Don't dare to talk nonsense about this."

  "Is the business you're talking about worth 1 million yuan?" Du Boss went straight to the point, and on that day, Li Lao Si and others kidnapped Du Xin Yu after demanding a ransom of 1 million yuan from Du Boss.

  Ma Lao Ban's face changed slightly, knowing that the kidnapping of Du Xinyu had indeed been exposed. However, he saw no sorrow on Du Lao Ban's face and guessed that Du Xinyu must have been rescued safely. He put on an innocent look and said: "What does Du Lao Ban mean? Can you make it clear?"

  "Is Li Laosi your subordinate? What does this mean, are you asking him about it?"

  Ma said, "Oh? Li Laosi, I'm also looking for him. He stole things from our gang and has been in hiding for many days. Have you seen him, Du? If so, bring him out and let's have a face-to-face talk."

  Mr. Du smiled and said: "Mr. Ma wants to see Li Laosi, it's easy. He is now accompanying Wang Ba at the bottom of the Yangtze River, you can go there to see him."

  "Did you kill him?"

  "Many injustices will ultimately lead to self-destruction. Boss Ma should know this principle. Now that things have come to this, do you still plan on hiding something?"

  "Boss Du, you're convinced that this matter is related to me?" Boss Ma had an instinctive fear in front of Boss Du and, in his anxiety, he inadvertently said the wrong thing.

  "Heh heh, Old Master Ma, what are you talking about?" Du Boss pressed on.

  "This..." Old Master Ma knew he had misspoken, and covering it up said: "Since you were able to kill Li Fourth, naturally he must have done something wrong to you. How would I know what it was?"

  "You, with the surname Ma, you're a traitor who sells out your country for personal gain. You'll be punished by the law of the land. But to curry favor with the Japanese, you dared to lay hands on my daughter? You're truly depraved! My heart aches thinking about how I used to call you 'Uncle' hundreds of times, do you still have any shred of conscience left?" Old Master Du exclaimed in anger.

  "This... this has nothing to do with me, it's all Li Laosi's doing."

  "Listen up, Mr. Ma! I'm giving you two options to choose from. First, take your people and get out of Shanghai, and we'll consider the matter settled. Second, let's settle this once and for all right here."

  "You think you're powerful just because of your surname Du? The Japanese are coming soon, and you won't be able to jump around for much longer. Let's consider this matter settled for today, but when the Japanese arrive, I can still spare your life."

  "Fine!" Old Du spat and said: "In that case, let's meet under the gunpoint."

  After finishing speaking, he turned back and returned to his own team. Old Master Ma saw him turn around, suddenly pulled out a handgun from his pocket, and fired at his back. Old Master Du was walking back when he heard the sound of a gun being cocked behind him, he knew it was the safety catch on the gun, he didn't have time to turn around, relying on years of experience, he dodged to the side. The bullet shot by Old Master Ma missed its mark and hit Old Master Du's left arm instead.

  "What a scoundrel!" Old Du cursed in anger. "Don't you even follow the rules of the jianghu?"

  Ma Boss's sneak attack failed, and he retreated to the back of a mound, shouting at his subordinates: "Fight!"

  Mr. Du's bodyguards, seeing Mr. Du being attacked, had already raised their guns. Two bodyguards rushed forward and carried Mr. Du to a safe place, while the rest of the bodyguards opened fire with their guns. For a time, gunshots rang out as the two underworld gangs clashed.