The War God Hall underground command hall.

Su Wan stood at the entrance, clutching the bowl bottom in her hand.

Old Zhou stopped her.

"You're not supposed to be here."

"I'm looking for him."

"He's not here."

"Then this —"

Su Wan held out the bowl bottom.

"Give it back to him for me."

Old Zhou glanced at the piece of broken porcelain.

On the bottom was half a blue fish.

He didn't take it.

"Give it to him yourself."

"Didn't you say he's not here?"

"He isn't."

Old Zhou stepped aside.

"But you can wait inside."

Su Wan hesitated, then walked in.

The command hall was bigger than she'd imagined.

Data scrolled across ring-shaped screens on the walls.

A massive Pearl River Delta map hung on the wall, dotted with dozens of pins.

She spotted it in one look — the pins were connected by lines, all pointing to one location.

The building across from her own house.

"He's investigating that man?"

"That man is investigating him too."

Old Zhou stood in front of the map.

"Ruan Wenfeng didn't waste these three years."

"He's connected to a bigger line."

"What line?"

Old Zhou didn't answer.

He pointed to a red dot at the southernmost edge of the map.

Overseas.

---

Ten that night.

Nanshan. The penthouse apartment across from the Su residence.

Chen Feng stood in the hallway.

Hands in his pockets.

In front of him was a solid black security door.

He raised his hand and knocked three times.

The door opened.

A man in his forties stood in the doorway.

White linen shirt, sleeves rolled to his forearms.

A glass of red wine in his hand.

"You came."

"I came."

Ruan Wenfeng stepped aside.

"Come in."

Chen Feng walked in.

The apartment was huge. Floor-to-ceiling windows faced the Su family's balcony.

He stood at the window and looked across.

The light on the Su balcony was still on.

That pot of dead jasmine was still in the corner.

"Nice view."

"It is."

Ruan Wenfeng poured him a glass of wine.

"You haven't been here in three years?"

"First time."

"That's a shame. Your wife hangs laundry out on that balcony every day. I can see it all."

Chen Feng turned around.

"Say that again and I'll throw you out that window right now."

Ruan Wenfeng laughed.

"You're still the same — can't take a joke."

"I don't joke with you."

"I know."

Ruan Wenfeng dropped the smile and sat down on the sofa.

"Chen Mo — sorry, Chen Feng, that's what you go by now."

"That ledger. We need to talk."

"Where's the ledger."

"Burned."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

Ruan Wenfeng picked up his glass and took a sip.

"I photographed it, then burned it."

"But the photos — I made plenty of copies."

"Your target isn't me, Ruan Wenfeng."

"It's the man behind you."

"Behind me?"

Ruan Wenfeng laughed.

"You think there's someone behind me?"

"Kun Sha's ledger has seven names from the mainland."

"I've been tracking them for three years."

"Seven names. Seven factions."

"They all want me dead."

Chen Feng walked up to him.

"I've been blocking them for three years."

"Now those seven people know I'm alive."

"They sent you to kill me."

Ruan Wenfeng's smile slowly faded.

He put down his glass.

"How much do you know?"

"Everything."

"Then you know —"

"I know."

Chen Feng cut him off.

"Your wife is in their hands too."

Ruan Wenfeng's expression finally collapsed.

"..."

"Your daughter is five years old."

"She's in Cambodia. Controlled by those seven."

"They sent you to Shenzhen to kill me. Then they'll let her go."

"If you don't kill me — you'll never see them again."

Ruan Wenfeng lowered his head.

His hands rested on his knees, trembling slightly.

"I don't have a choice."

"They found my daughter."

"I ran for two years. They still found her."

"Do you understand — this is my only way out."

Chen Feng looked at him.

A long silence stretched between them.

"Then it never occurred to you —"

"— that there's another way?"

"What way?"

Chen Feng pulled his hands out of his pockets.

"You help me. I'll help you get her back."

Ruan Wenfeng looked up at him.

"You?"

"Me."

"Do you even know who's behind those seven names?!"

"I know."

"The hell you do!"

Ruan Wenfeng stood up.

"You think Kun Sha's ledger is just a few officials' names?!"

"Kun Sha was only a middleman!"

"The real puppet master behind it all — is an organization called Dark River!"

"Dark River?"

"That's right. An organization you have no business messing with."

Ruan Wenfeng stared at him.

"Dark River's reach spans three countries."

"They control seventy percent of the Golden Triangle's flow."

"Kun Sha was just their dog."

"The dog is dead. The master is still here."

Chen Feng stood there.

Every word Ruan Wenfeng said, he'd heard before.

Not from files.

From the last encrypted order before the Longyuan Unit was disbanded:

"Track Dark River. Find them."

"But don't engage."

"Wait for our people to arrive."

Those people still hadn't arrived.

So Chen Feng couldn't wait any longer.

"Who's Dark River's man in Shenzhen."

Ruan Wenfeng was silent for a long time.

Then he said a name.

"...Zhao."

"Young Master Zhao's father."

Chen Feng paused.

"The Zhao family?"

"The Zhao family has been working with Dark River for over a decade."

"A large portion of Dingsheng's gambling parlor money flows into the Zhao family accounts."

"Han Jiang is just a middleman for the Zhao family."

Chen Feng said nothing.

He thought back to the dinner party yesterday — Young Master Zhao's arrogant attitude.

It wasn't a rich kid's mindless swagger.

It was arrogance with backbone behind it.

"And Boss Huang's plot of land?"

"There's something under that land."

"What?"

"Dark River's property."

Ruan Wenfeng picked up his glass and drained it in one gulp.

"So I sent you a message."

"— telling Boss Huang not to sell that land."

Chen Feng looked at him.

"That text message. You sent it?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you here to kill me?"

"I came to Shenzhen to kill you."

"But after seeing you —"

Ruan Wenfeng set down his glass.

"I changed my mind."

"What about your daughter?"

"She's still in their hands."

"Then how can you afford to change your mind?"

Ruan Wenfeng looked up at him.

"Because three years ago, that ledger —"

"I didn't take it on purpose."

"Kun Sha made me take it."

"Before he died, he handed me the ledger and said one thing."

"What?"

Ruan Wenfeng's eyes locked on him.

"Before Kun Sha died, one page was missing from the ledger."

Chen Feng waited.

"That page was taken out."

"By who?"

"I don't know."

Ruan Wenfeng shook his head.

"Someone inside Dark River."

"They didn't want anyone to see that page."

"Not you. Not me."

"He said —"

"'Inside Dark River, someone wants you dead.' "

Chen Feng didn't speak.

He sat down on the sofa.

Wind blew in through the window. The sheer curtain drifted.

"What now?"

"What?"

"You changed your mind. So what now?"

Ruan Wenfeng looked up at him.

"Now I want to work with you."

Chen Feng studied him.

"Work on what?"

"Help me save my family. I'll help you take down Dark River."

"Do you know how big Dark River is?"

"Yes."

"And you still dare?"

"I have no other road left."

Ruan Wenfeng downed the rest of his wine in one gulp.

"Deal."

Chen Feng stood up.

"Three days. Phnom Penh."

He turned and walked toward the door.

At the doorway, he paused.

"What does your daughter like?"

Ruan Wenfeng blinked.

"...Barbie dolls."

Chen Feng nodded.

"I'll buy one."

The door closed.

The hallway was quiet.

Chen Feng stood in the elevator, watching the floor numbers drop.

It suddenly hit him —

Three years of hiding.

Now he didn't have to hide anymore.

The elevator reached the ground floor.

The doors opened. The night wind of Shenzhen rushed in.

He took a deep breath.

Then walked out into the city.

---

The Shenzhen night wind hit his face.

He pulled out his phone and booked a ticket to Phnom Penh for tomorrow.

Then he sent Old Zhou a message:

"Buy me a Barbie doll."

Old Zhou replied with a single question mark.

He didn't explain.

The night wind poured in through the car window.

It suddenly hit him — three years of humiliation, endurance, hiding —

It was all for tomorrow.

He pulled out his phone. Scrolled to Su Wan's number.

Looked at it for a moment.

Then turned off the phone.

He'd deal with it tomorrow.

He put the phone back in his pocket.

Walked to the curb and hailed a taxi.

"Old Nanshan Tea House."

The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

"Drinking tea this late?"

He didn't answer.

The taxi merged into the night.

Chen Feng leaned back in the seat, watching the lights slide past outside.

Three years.

He'd driven this road countless times.

But tonight was different.

He was no longer a delivery-driver live-in son-in-law.

He was Chen Feng.

A man who didn't have to run anymore.

The taxi rounded the corner. The lights of the old tea house swept across the windshield.

He saw someone standing at the entrance.

Su Chengzhi.

Tomorrow, Chen Feng was going to Phnom Penh.

End of Chapter 7: The Hidden Hand