Chapter 2178 — An Jianwen's Latest Plan

"Haha, that would be wonderful!" An Mingyue laughed.

Back at the Hidden Families Summit, every last one of the Fire Wolf Gang's contestants had been a test subject injected with Formula 01—just like the test subjects from the old days of underground duels and bank robberies. Only now the subjects were being steadily refined. That was precisely why An Mingyue had neither rejoiced nor grieved to see those subjects wounded.

The wounded and dying subjects had all been rushed to Dr. Yin's laboratory and the others', where flaws and weaknesses in the formula were teased out of them.

"What's so wonderful about it? Originally, my plan was to train up a batch of 01 test subjects and use them to rob the various secular families. As things stand, these subjects are strong enough to sweep through several of those secular families like an army." An Jianwen spoke with regret. "But to my surprise, most of those families have thrown in their lot with Wei Zhao and that League of the Enlightened. It makes me think twice before I act. Wei Zhao is simply too overbearing. Until I'm sure of myself, I'm not willing to clash with him head-on..."

Reluctant as An Jianwen was to accept it, he had no choice but to face reality. Even the elite late-Earth-tier experts of the Fire Wolf Gang's branch chapters were no match for Wei Zhao, and at the Hidden Families Summit the man had stolen the show entirely, forcing An Jianwen to keep his distance.

So there was no help for it: An Jianwen had to change his plan, redirecting it from the secular families to the hidden families and ordinary sects. That, in turn, meant Formula 01 had to be refined further. The test subjects it produced had to reach peak late-Earth-tier strength before they could rob those hidden families.

A few 01 test subjects would pin down each family's Heaven-tier experts while the rest moved in to rob them—only then was there any certainty of success. If the strength fell short, going in would mean total annihilation.

"Good news, Brother Wen, Uncle An..." The man who came in was An Jianwen's trusted aide, Big Mule.

"Oh? Big Mule, what good news?" An Jianwen's heart stirred; he had a vague inkling of what was coming.

"Formula 01 has been fully refined. The new test subjects can take a beating better than before—at the very least, they can withstand two consecutive blows from early Heaven-tier experts. Against anyone below early Earth-tier, they can kill with ease; against experts from early to mid Earth-tier, they can manage a kill; against mid to late Earth-tier, they can take the enemy down with them; and against peak late Earth-tier and above, they can't kill for now, but they can tie the enemy up in combat for a while..."

"Excellent!" An Jianwen was overjoyed at the report. "This test subject is formidable indeed!"

"It is. We have Dr. Yin's junior fellow student to thank—he found the black box from the old base's destruction. Inside was a notebook belonging to Dr. Yin's mentor," Big Mule said.

"Good. Produce one test subject and bring it out for a trial run," An Jianwen said.

"Yes, I'll go inform Dr. Yin right away." Big Mule paused. "By the way, Li Biaohan is asking to see you. He says he wants to take Young Master Wen out to dinner..."

"Oh? Let him in," An Jianwen said.

"Yes, sir!" Big Mule nodded and withdrew.

A short while later, Li Biaohan walked in respectfully. Seeing both An Jianwen and An Mingyue present, he hastened to greet them: "Greetings, Brother Wen. Greetings, Uncle An!"

"Enough, no need for such formality. We're all family here." An Jianwen waved a hand, motioning for Li Biaohan to sit and talk.

"Yes, sir!" Li Biaohan sat respectfully across from An Jianwen, then produced a ledger and handed it over. "Brother Wen, these are this month's earnings for the Fire Wolf Gang in University City. Please have a look!"

"Oh, good." An Mingyue took the ledger and flipped through it. When he finished, he was fairly satisfied. "Not bad—over three million in a single month. It seems you've been working hard."

"Heh heh, compared to Brother Wen, I'm nowhere close. The speed at which Brother Wen rakes in money—now that's something. I'm just a small fish next to a whale!" Li Biaohan said modestly. In truth, his contribution of earnings was already quite substantial.

He relied on strong-arming purchases and sales at the schools, collecting a little protection money here and there. To pull in over three million a month was no small figure. Of course, it didn't come from a single university—University City held dozens of them, and the boxing clubs at every one had already fallen under Li Biaohan's control, all running the same basic racket.

One university alone could never have produced that kind of income.

"Very good. Keep it up. I'll mention your contributions to the branch leader," An Jianwen said with a nod. "That said, you're still a bit timid. You ought to be bolder!"

"Bolder? What do you mean?" Li Biaohan was slightly taken aback.

"Heh heh, every school has its rich kids, doesn't it? Investigate them thoroughly, every last one. When you're done, I'll send a few men to help you. Once you've identified them, my people will handle the kidnapping. One good job like that could be worth several months of your income!" An Jianwen said.

"Brother Wen is wise!" Li Biaohan was stunned. He had genuinely never considered such a thing before. For one, the men under him could manage a bit of extortion and blackmail, but kidnapping was beyond their nerve. And with so many mouths around, one slip and the whole thing would blow up in their faces.

But things were different now. With An Jianwen's backing and men pulled directly from the Fire Wolf Gang to assist, the operation would be all but guaranteed—no risk at all, and the payoff would be high. All he had to do was find out who had money and provide a few leads on the students.

"Good, I like your character. No dawdling, no looking over your shoulder—you're a man cut out for big things!" An Jianwen was pleased with Li Biaohan's response. What he feared most were cowards who dreaded the wolf ahead and the tiger behind; how could such men ever accomplish anything?

The Fire Wolf Gang had always been a gang that took the crooked path and walked the blade's edge, blacker even than the ordinary underworld organizations. If they didn't do this sort of business, how would they ever make money?

"But Brother Wen, this can't be exposed, can it? If it gets out... doing a job or two is one thing, but over time it'll get harder and harder..." Li Biaohan said after a moment's hesitation.

"It won't be. Even if the men I send are caught, they won't breathe a word. Rest easy," An Jianwen said with a faint smile, utterly unconcerned.

"Mm, I trust Brother Wen!" Li Biaohan said. "By the way, Brother Wen, Uncle An—if you're free tonight, I've arranged..."

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