Chapter 148: Facing a Criminal Organization

“What do you mean?” Both Sun Jingtao and Zhao Pengfei were stunned.

Before Jiang Yan could answer, Ye Qing turned around. “They’re gone, driving fast. All the windows on that pleasure boat were tightly shut, and it was riding low in the water—must be loaded with heavy supplies.”

“You said they had guns? Did you see what kind?” Sun Jingtao’s expression grew grave.

Ye Qing replied without hesitation, “If I’m not mistaken, they were all submachine guns.”

Jiang Yan: “......”

Sun Jingtao: “......”

If these people were the very criminals they were looking for, then their opponents were far stronger than they’d imagined.

That was not good news.

“What?!” Zhao Pengfei was incredulous. “They’re carrying guns so openly—aren’t they afraid of running into the authorities?”

At his words, Jiang Yan, Sun Jingtao, and Ye Qing exchanged glances but said nothing.

If they were really worried about the authorities, there wouldn’t be hundreds of corpses on the 22nd floor.

Sun Jingtao suddenly remembered that Jiang Yan had been interrupted earlier and quickly asked, “Right, Jiang Yan, you said you know where Ma Longbiao’s base is—what did you mean?”

“It’s not just Ma Longbiao’s base. It might also be the main headquarters of their Jindun Security group, located in that 101 Sky Hotel.”

Sun Jingtao frowned in thought. “I think I’ve heard my wife mention that hotel. Supposedly, it’s pretty high-end. But how can you be so sure?”

Ye Qing and Zhao Pengfei were both confused.

“The 101 Sky Hotel is in the Boyue Royal Mansion complex on Anming Middle Road, right inside the first ring road. It’s one of the neighborhoods we planned to visit.

The complex has five residential buildings and a 33-story, 101-meter-tall, fully furnished apartment building facing the street. The hotel lobby is on the top, the 30th floor, with a direct staircase from the first floor.

From the lobby, you can overlook the whole city, as if you’re in the sky—hence the name ‘Sky Hotel.’”

Jiang Yan was familiar with this hotel because, in her previous life, a world-famous luxury brand had planned to open a boutique next to the hotel lobby and had even sent her an invitation to the opening gala.

Zhao Pengfei asked, “Wait, isn’t it 33 floors? Why is the top floor the 30th?”

Jiang Yan explained, “Because above the lobby are two floors of open steel staircases. Above that is a helipad—supposedly big enough for two small helicopters.”

“I get it,” Sun Jingtao said. “The building is tall, has a helipad, and hotels usually have generators and backup power. With kitchens, lodging, surveillance—all the facilities you’d need—it’s hard to find a better place.

If that’s the case, then it’s not just Ma Longbiao’s hideout. We’re probably up against a criminal organization that foresaw the disaster and is using the apocalypse to make a fortune!” As he finished, Sun Jingtao’s frown deepened.

If he hadn’t heard about the Blazing Flame Base and that Xue Shao, he wouldn’t have thought this far.

But everything that had happened lately was more bizarre than the last.

A lifelong materialist, even he had to let his imagination run wild.

Zhao Pengfei was a bit lost—he hadn’t heard about Xue Miaomiao, so he didn’t really get what Sun Jingtao meant by “foresaw the disaster.”

But that wasn’t the point right now, so he didn’t ask. Instead, he said anxiously, “So what do we do?!”

If his son was being held by a criminal gang, wouldn’t going there be suicide?

But even if it was suicide, he was going!

Sun Jingtao and Ye Qing fell silent.

Even the people just escorting supplies were armed with submachine guns.

The security and firepower at their headquarters must be on another level.

After all, the four of them barely had enough weapons to fill the gaps in their teeth.

It looked like brains, not brawn, would be their only chance.

“We’re here anyway. I say we scout things out first,” Jiang Yan said calmly, standing up.

So what if they had submachine guns? She had a whole armory stashed in her space.

If push came to shove, she’d just let them have a taste of a couple of grenades.

If they really were connected to the Blazing Flame Base, she’d just take them all out, grab the gold, and disappear.

“You’re right, let’s scout it out first,” Sun Jingtao and Ye Qing quickly agreed.

Zhao Pengfei slapped his thigh. “Yeah, let’s check things out! Worst case, we just end up with a scar the size of a bowl on our necks!”

The other three couldn’t help but laugh, the heavy mood lifting a little.

“So, we’re heading straight to Boyue Royal Mansion?”

“Yeah.”

They wasted no time, quickly lowering the rubber boat back into the water, gearing up, and hopping in.

Though it was unlikely they’d run into the same convoy as before, they still took a detour to be safe.

After about half an hour, the sign on top of Boyue Royal Mansion came into view.

The complex had six buildings, arranged like an airplane spreading its wings.

The “nose” was the apartment building with the helipad.

The other five “wings” were residential buildings, a bit shorter.

But the buildings were all pretty close together.

“Go around to the residential building farthest from the apartment, directly facing the hotel,” Jiang Yan instructed.

She was used to surveillance herself, and worried the enemy might have cameras outside the building.

“Good idea,” Sun Jingtao agreed.

They quickly made their way to the chosen building.

Probably because of the ground-floor shops, the water level here only reached up to the 20th floor.

The hallway was narrow, so they broke into someone’s living room with a fire axe and entered that way.

To be safe, they stowed the rubber boat and hid it well.

After prying open the opposite apartment, they crept along the wall, moving cautiously.

Ye Qing took out his binoculars and peered across. “Jiang Yan, you’re amazing!”

Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“There are two pleasure boats docked outside the apartment building—they’re moving supplies. The rain’s too heavy to see what exactly, but I don’t see any assault boats.”

“Those two assault boats are probably shuttling back and forth as escorts,” Jiang Yan analyzed.

“Let me see,” Sun Jingtao said, taking the binoculars from Ye Qing and switching places. After a look, he handed them to Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan checked, saw nothing unusual, and passed them to Zhao Pengfei.

“So what now?”

Everyone was both excited and anxious.

“We’ll have to wait until nightfall,” Jiang Yan said, gazing outside, her mind racing.

Sun Jingtao nodded. “Yeah, it’s too dangerous to act during the day.”

Zhao Pengfei sighed quietly.

“I’m going next door for a bit,” Jiang Yan said, clutching her stomach.

The other three assumed she needed to take care of personal business and didn’t ask further."