Chapter 45: The World of Illusions

  Slowly opening my eyes, the wall above me was painted with white lime, and a strong smell of medicine made me want to vomit. What an unfamiliar environment! As soon as I realized this, I wanted to turn over and escape, but as soon as I moved, I found that my whole body was trembling and hurting.

  Why did I get hurt so badly? I was just blinded by the golden light in that reincarnation eye, it shouldn't be this serious, is it too exaggerated or what.

  With difficulty, I move my fingers, slowly feeling around my body, one place, two places, three places...... Waaaah, how did I survive? Just what I've felt so far and there are already over a dozen wounds all over me.

  "On this side, I was still marveling at the tenacity of my life force, when on that side, the door was quietly opened, and a nurse came in with a tray of medicine. However, when she saw that I was awake, she clearly froze for three seconds."

  The "Clang" medicine tray was thrown away.

  "Director, Director, Gao Gang woke up, Gao Gang woke up!" The nurse ran away in a hurry.

  "High strength? What's that supposed to mean? My name is Lin Hao, okay?! How do you people run a hospital? Can't even remember the patient's name! Bad review, I'm going to complain."

  "Huh, no, not Gao Qiang, I'm that ghost!" But the next moment, my heart was like a million wild horses galloping by. Gao Qiang, ah! The one Long Ba Tian emphasized, the one who killed his brother, the one Li Qinglong would rather die than wake up to kill!

  Damn it, damn it, tell me why I've become so powerful, I'm not a time-traveler, I didn't time-travel, I just had my soul enter Li Qinglong's consciousness, is this some kind of joke, heavens?

  I had just compared an old man to a middle finger, when the door was violently opened and a large group of people rushed in, all wearing white coats. I couldn't tell who was who, but judging from their appearance, they seemed to be divided into real doctors and real leaders. After the real doctor finished examining my body, the real leader spoke up.

  "Comrade Gao, what you did this time is extremely unreasonable. You were sent by the Party and the people to infiltrate the underworld, but not to really become a part of it. The harm you suffered this time could have been completely avoided, so why did you insist on saving Cheng Long?"

  "Huh, that leader, how long did I sleep for?" Rational or not, it's none of my business, I just want to know what happened, the plot doesn't add up. It's really frustrating, wasn't Gao Qiang supposed to kill Cheng Long, why is he saving him now?

  "Comrade Gao, please be serious." The chief's face suddenly turned black as he saw me looking distracted, and he continued, "Do you know what happened in the three dragons association while you were sleeping for half a month? In the violent conflict of that group of anti-social elements, five more of our comrades died. All five were iron-blooded men who came from the battlefield. And this time it wasn't about resisting the invasion of foreign evil forces, but invading other countries. What's the difference between them and those imperialists?"

  "I, I, I didn't faint, did I? I couldn't help it." That elder was too angry, the aura of a superior being rushed towards me and made me feel somewhat afraid.

  "Hmph, you're still in a coma and you have the nerve to say that? Dragon Overlord, Li Qinglong is reckless, we finally managed to set up an ambush for the White Tiger Hall's elite from the Green Gang, and then let Cheng Long sacrifice himself to save them. What are you doing here causing trouble? This time, it's the elite of the Green Gang's elite who have received special training from external organizations. If we hadn't intervened in time, you would've died there." The leader was extremely unhappy, as the entire strategy group had spent half a month planning this operation, only to have him mess it up. If they had informed him earlier, perhaps his strong party spirit could have overcome his personal relationships. If that were the case, he would have secretly taken out Cheng Long, and Cheng Long would be dead for sure. With Cheng Long dead, the Three Dragons Society wouldn't be a problem anymore.

  "Sorry, sir, I was wrong." I lowered my head and admitted my mistake. Damn it, the plot has finally been corrected. I remember Mr. Tan saying that when the Three Dragons Association became stronger, they realized that the country would not tolerate their existence. After all, no matter what considerations they had, they would not allow a unified national underworld organization to exist. Such an organization would either be fully controlled or completely eradicated.

  So after basically clearing out the invasion of foreign dark forces, the Three Dragons Association began to actively promote overseas forces and whitewash some people with economic talent. Wealth also started to shrink, in short, everything was preparing for what might happen next. At this time, the struggle at the top of the central government had already ended, and the faction advocating for a crackdown had gained the upper hand. They took one look at the Three Dragons Association's actions and thought, "Good, you want to run? The door is closed."

  So they quickly formulated a plan, and after careful consideration, they finally provoked the Green Gang and the Three Dragons Society into another fierce battle. They successfully used the tactic of "using the strong to attack the weak" to make Long Ba Tian and Li Qinglong, who had become complacent due to their previous successes, engage in solo battles with the Green Gang's top fighters. Although Long Ba Tian managed to defeat several of the Green Gang's high-ranking members, they were surrounded by hundreds of Green Gang members and thoroughly disrupted Cheng Long's battle plan.

  Originally, the plan was to exhaust Cheng Long and then take his life in the chaos of war, but unexpectedly, a twist occurred with Gao Qiang's own people. Seeing his comrades and brothers fall one by one, Gao Qiang went completely mad, charging into the enemy camp alone and killing their high-ranking officials, causing chaos in the Qing Bang camp. Meanwhile, Cheng Long seized the opportunity to turn defeat into victory, not only surviving but also severely damaging the White Tiger Hall of the Qing Bang.

  Of course, this memory came out of Mr. Tan's mouth and became a strong use of the bitter flesh technique, thoroughly gaining Cheng Long's trust, and thus laid the groundwork for Qiang's poisoning of Cheng Long.

  "Knowing the mistake and correcting it is still our good comrade, now you should take care of your injury first, after you recover, the party and people will have important tasks for you." After admitting their mistakes, the leader's face also became much warmer, and after a few words of encouragement, they left.

  The leader left, and my days have become much better. A group of expert-level doctors are treating me around the clock, and all sorts of expensive medicines that can't be bought outside are being given to me for free. Plus, this body's quality is really high, and the life-threatening wounds are healing quickly. In just a few days, I'll almost be able to get out of bed.

  However, as my body recovered, worries began to emerge. After so many days of careful observation, I haven't found any evidence that this is an illusion; everything is just like reality, whether it's food or pain, or the passage of time, nothing seems fake.

  So this makes me a bit at a loss, I've become Gao Qiang, then shouldn't I still go and poison Cheng Long, and then be killed by Li Qinglong? What if this is actually real, once I'm dead, I'll really be dead and can never come back to life.

  "Hey, Old Gao, I heard you're much better now. My buddy's late arrival shouldn't be held against him." One day, as I was contemplating life in the garden, I saw a group of people swarming in from afar.

  Speak of the devil, Cao Cao is here. As soon as I saw the leader, the two words "Cheng Long" popped into my mind. Looking at them walking towards me with smiles on their faces, I feel like they're carrying knives, it's making me nervous.

  "Hey, Old Gao, what's wrong with you? Didn't the little nurse here turn you into a dumpling with her injection?" This time it was Long Batian who spoke up. In his younger years, Long Batian was even more overbearing than he was now, exuding an aura of strength that didn't know how to be restrained.

  "No, I just wonder how you guys came here, aren't you busy today?" I said in a low voice. Now Cheng Long and the others are upstairs shirking responsibility, although they haven't torn their faces apart, but it's also like plotting with a tiger to get its skin. And this is a certain armed police hospital, so how they can come here is the most strange thing.

  "Hey, don't be busy, now these little brats downstairs are all disobedient. Big brother is concerned about you, seeing if you're comfortable here. If not, go to our own hospital, it won't be worse than this place. Whatever you want, we have it, even sauna and massage." Long Batian shouted loudly without any reserve.

  "Gao Qiang, don't mind him. The only reason I came today is to thank you. If it weren't for you, our San Long Hui might have been finished already. You focus on recovering from your injuries, and when you return, you'll be the master of Qing Long Tang." Cheng Long patted my shoulder as he spoke, but his words left me stunned. Damn, how is this still following the plot?

  Qing Long Tang, the direct team of San Long Hui's Cheng Long, equivalent to the imperial guard of ancient generals. You actually want me to be the hall master? Aren't you looking for death? Where is Li Qing Long? He should still have memories from the future, why didn't he tell Cheng Long? Are they testing me?

  "Thank you, Brother Long. I will definitely repay your kindness." I said in a strong and determined tone, reminiscent of Gao Qiang's voice. I remembered that Gao Qiang was originally just a retired soldier, with little to no severance pay, and had returned home almost penniless, without any work skills. It could be said that Gao Qiang was extremely down on his luck, but after meeting Cheng Long, his situation improved, and now he basically has everything he needs.

  They're all brothers from the same house, what's the point of being polite? Cheng Long just smiled to himself, he had his own plans. The situation at the top was unclear for now, but overall it would definitely be unfavorable to them. Moreover, more than half of the elite members of the Sanlong Association were retired soldiers or special agents, which was extremely disadvantageous to them. Once these people launched a rebellion, he wouldn't be able to purge them because they had superior combat skills and organizational discipline compared to his own followers. If he moved against them, the Sanlong Association would be destroyed. Therefore, all he could do was delay for time, allowing them to cultivate their strength.

  In order to delay the time, we need to appease these people first. Among them, there are also people with high virtues and prestige, including Gao Qiang. Gao Qiang is quite capable and has a strong sense of justice, earning the trust of many people. As long as he speaks up, many people will willingly listen to him. So, he's thinking about whether he can win over Gao Qiang.

  It's worth noting that this era is no longer the time when the Three Dragons Association was first established. After years of indulging in wealth and luxury, many members of the association have long forgotten their original oath, including people like Gao Qiang. Those who are desperate for a chance at glory and wealth will grasp it with all their might. So during this period, he has been constantly tempting and luring Gao Qiang, and has achieved some success. Now Gao Qiang is still hesitating, and just needs a little push to succeed.

  Two people hugged their own thoughts and started to make polite conversation, while Cheng Long also took the opportunity to constantly remind Gao Qiang of his extravagant and wasteful life over the years, continuously attacking Gao Qiang's psychological weaknesses. With a group of people who didn't know what was going on, the atmosphere at the scene was indeed lively and harmonious, as if it were a group of heroes singing and drinking together. Unfortunately, I am now Gao Qiang, and those lives I have never experienced, so they don't have any effect on me.

  After the most polite and courteous exchange, Cheng Long led a group of people away, but that captain rushed out again in a flurry. Although he had already guessed that everything about him was under surveillance, his haste really chilled people to the bone. It's really unknown what Gao Qiang was thinking at the time. In comparison, Cheng Long and his team were truly affectionate and righteous, while this captain was completely using people.

  "Gao Qiang, we're extremely disappointed in you. Where's your party spirit? Don't forget you're a party member, you've sworn an oath. Take a look at this, it's the Three Dragons' crime record for the past half month. You take a good look yourself. If you can't handle it, we'll find someone else to carry out the Dragon Slaying Plan." Unexpectedly, the Chief didn't lecture me on revolutionary principles this time, but instead rarely lost his temper and even stormed off leaving behind a stack of file bags.

  I opened the file bag slowly, but soon I was a bit overwhelmed.

  After all, who is the good person in this world?