Chapter 114: The Writing Deal

The two girls were pale with fright; the bodies of the three men lay sprawled in the room. Qiu Fengyu calmly holstered his pistol, then crouched down to examine the corpses. He searched their pockets thoroughly and inspected their bodies carefully before looking up at Alisa.

“I’m sorry... I’m so sorry...” Alisa was on the verge of tears, while the plump girl stood there, dumbstruck and utterly helpless.

“It’s alright. What we need to do now is get rid of the bodies,” Qiu Fengyu said to Alisa. “Do you have any bags? Use them to wrap the bodies, then toss them into the car. Drive to the coast and throw them into the sea.”

“But... but they were here with me...” Alisa gripped her hands tightly.

“I know, I know! Don’t leave the house for now, forget about work for the time being. We’ll figure that out later. Tomorrow, I’ll send you to work, and then you’ll resign,” Qiu Fengyu said, then glanced at the plump girl. “The same goes for you. After some time has passed and things settle down, then you can return to work. Don’t worry, these three have no identification—they’re black market immigrants. No one will report them missing.”

The plump girl nodded vigorously, completely lost and willing to follow whatever Qiu Fengyu said.

Qiu Fengyu lifted each corpse one by one. Fortunately, it was deep into the night with hardly anyone around. He stuffed the bodies into the backseat, then went upstairs and said to Alisa, “Don’t open the door for anyone. Your phone is still there, right?”

Alisa nodded. “It’s in the room. That bastard searched me but left it on the table.”

“Stay in touch. Once I finish this, I’ll come back immediately. Wait for me!” Qiu Fengyu nodded at her before turning to leave.

Alisa watched him walk away, then closed the door, bolting the lock. She even dragged the sofa to block the entrance. Only after these precautions did she feel a bit more at ease.

“He... he’s killed people!” The plump girl stammered to Alisa.

Alisa had somewhat calmed down, taking several deep breaths before saying, “Yes, yes. If we didn’t do this, we’d all be dead. Can you keep this a secret for him?”

The plump girl quickly nodded, then moved closer to Alisa, leaning tightly against her. Tears fell, “God, this is like a nightmare—I wish it were just a nightmare.”

“It will all pass. Everything will get better. Lola, listen carefully—what happened today must not be leaked, not even a little. Otherwise, we’ll all be doomed,” Alisa said firmly. Being from Texas, she had developed a certain resilience to such situations.

“Yes, I understand! I understand!” The plump girl’s expression was still dazed but much better than before.

The two girls huddled together quietly, doing nothing but waiting for Qiu Fengyu.

The car glided out of Los Angeles, following the coastline for some distance before reaching a remote wasteland where Qiu Fengyu tossed the three bodies into the sea.

After handling everything, Qiu Fengyu’s mind raced. It was clear these three had set a trap using the plump girl. Their target wasn’t Alisa—they were after him.

Realizing this, Qiu Fengyu was jolted and immediately took out his phone. After a moment’s thought, he dialed Davis.

“Hey, boss, what time is it? Is it daylight yet?” came Davis’s sleepy voice.

“I need your help. I’ll send you an address shortly. Come see me first thing tomorrow morning. Also... get Tim to take the day off and come with you.”

“Should we tell that Japanese girl?”

“No, we’ll handle this ourselves,” Qiu Fengyu decided after some reflection.

The car circled the city a few times before slowly returning to Alisa’s place. He sent her a text message first, then went upstairs and knocked on the door. After confirming through the peephole that it was Qiu Fengyu, Alisa opened the door.

“Clean up the bloodstains on the floor thoroughly, don’t leave any corners untouched!” Qiu Fengyu ordered as soon as he entered. “Also, wipe down everywhere they touched. Don’t leave their fingerprints behind.”

Alisa nodded and, along with the plump girl, got to work. After a while, Alisa approached Qiu Fengyu and asked, “Who were they?”

“Russians. If I’m not mistaken, they’re from the Russian mafia here in Los Angeles. Damn it,” Qiu Fengyu muttered under his breath.

“Where... where are we going to hide?” Alisa stammered. “Are we leaving here?”

“Yes, for now,” Qiu Fengyu replied. “I promise it will only be for a short time. Both of you will go, wait for my call, and don’t answer any phone calls during this period.”

“I understand. Thank you, Qiu,” Alisa whispered softly.

Qiu Fengyu said nothing, gently patted her cheek, then checked how well they had cleaned. “After dawn, you’ll resign. Try to act as naturally as possible. We’ll go together, and I’ll have Davis take you away.”

“Davis?” Alisa asked in surprise.

“Yes, he’s on my side. Don’t worry,” Qiu Fengyu reassured her. “You two get some sleep. I’ll stay here and keep watch. Don’t be afraid. Everything will be fine.”

Alisa nodded and led the plump girl to a room to rest. Whether they could sleep or not, Qiu Fengyu waited in the living room, dozing lightly until he received a text from Davis: they were almost there—but there was an unexpected development.

When Qiu Fengyu opened the door, three people filed in: Davis, Tim, and Ryouko Mikura. Davis smiled and pointed to Ryouko, “This is the unexpected.”

“You trying to ditch me?” Ryouko snorted at Qiu Fengyu. “We’re all in this together. Honestly, I don’t trust that if you guys get caught by the cops, you won’t betray me. So I decided to come personally. Remember... we’re on the same side.” She gave Qiu Fengyu a somewhat disgruntled snort.

The noise in the living room woke the two girls. They had just managed to doze off before dawn, never daring to sleep soundly.

“Alright, I’ll explain everything again. Listen, this whole thing was caused by the Russians,” Qiu Fengyu said. As soon as he spoke, Davis and Tim exchanged uneasy glances.

Alisa then recounted the situation in broad strokes. They had been ambushed at night by the three Russians, who forced Lola to send a text to Qiu Fengyu, luring him there. But things didn’t go as the Russians planned—they underestimated him.

After the briefing, Qiu Fengyu told the two girls to freshen up before taking them to work in Lola’s car. First, Alisa resigned at her company, then Lola did the same, before they returned.

Qiu Fengyu gave Davis some instructions and took out a stack of cash—two thousand dollars in bills.

“Once you’re settled, call me.”

Davis agreed, then shook his head as the girls packed their things. They got into the car and left. Once the vehicle disappeared from sight, Qiu Fengyu turned his attention to Tim and Ryouko.

“I know you took out the Russian dens, including the one in San Diego, because only you could pull that off,” Ryouko said with a smile. “Looks like someone leaked information about you.”

Tim glanced at Qiu Fengyu. This time, he had brought his full arsenal, ready to fight. All it would take was Qiu Fengyu’s order, and he’d launch an attack—even against the biggest Russian mafia in Los Angeles.

“I want to know where we messed up,” Qiu Fengyu frowned.

“Don’t overthink it. Once the war starts, we’ll find out who betrayed you,” Ryouko said, moving to open a suitcase nearby. Inside were a sniper rifle and a pistol, both fitted with silencers.

She was straightforward, to say the least.

Qiu Fengyu reviewed his actions again, finding no obvious mistakes. Slightly perplexed, he nodded and said, “Looks like someone really wants to cause me trouble. I’ll personally take down that son of a bitch.”

Their clues were limited; the only person who could use Alisa to threaten Qiu Fengyu had to be someone very familiar with him—and that person had to be from the town. But who among the locals had connections with the Russian mafia?

Qiu Fengyu closed his eyes and began to recall slowly.

“What do we do now?” Ryouko asked.

“Wait. Wait for their people to come knocking,” Qiu Fengyu said with his eyes closed. “We have to find useful leads.”

“Alright, hope we can find something,” Ryouko nodded, then gave Qiu Fengyu a peculiar look. “Do you like that girl?”

“Who? Alisa? Haha—no, I don’t,” Qiu Fengyu answered immediately.

Ryouko fell silent. After a while, Qiu Fengyu picked up his phone, as if having made a firm decision. He scrolled through contacts and dialed a number.

“Anthony, it’s me, Qiu,” he said after the call connected. “I want detailed intelligence on the Los Angeles Russian mafia.”

There was silence on the other end, then Anthony chuckled lightly. “What’s this? Planning to take on the Los Angeles Russian mafia? I gotta tell you, that’s complicated—they might have ties with the city’s elites... Well, I don’t care about that. I’m just here to give you info. But... haven’t we already settled our scores?”

Qiu Fengyu paused, then said, “You can make your demands. Let’s make a deal.”

(To be continued.)