After having the thugs sign and fingerprint the confessions, Zhao Yuan folded the papers. He made a show of tucking them inside his shirt, but he had actually opened his Storage Ring and placed all the confessions inside.
He then said, "Considering your cooperative attitude in confessing, I'll show some mercy this once and stop torturing you."
The thugs all let out a collective sigh of relief. A few even had expressions of gratitude on their faces.
Zhao Yuan turned and ordered Li Qingbo and Pan Ping, "Uncle Li, Uncle Pan, find some rope and tie them up. Oh, right, gag them too."
"Okay." Li Qingbo and Pan Ping nodded and immediately led the miners to find some rope, tying the thugs tightly together.
Then, they took out their own towelsâblackened and filthy from sweat and coal dustâand stuffed them into the thugs' mouths. The sour stench was almost enough to make them pass out.
After leaving the room and locking the door securely, Zhao Yuan instructed the miners, "Just leave a few men here. The rest of you go outside. When the Ji Family Brothers arrive, lock the main gate to the coal mine."
"Kid, can we really bring down the Ji Family Brothers?" Li Qingbo asked.
The miners were desperate to get rid of the oppressive Ji Family Brothers, but they were also terrified of retaliation if they failed to finish the job, which left them filled with anxiety and unease.
Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "Uncles, don't you worry. Today, not only will the Ji Family Brothers be finished, but they're also going to compensate you!"
Seeing how confident he was, the miners began to relax, their anxiety fading.
Zhao Yuan pulled up a chair, sat down at the entrance to the small building, crossed his legs, and waited for the Ji Family Brothers to arrive.
Two hours later, two Land Rover SUVs, one after the other, drove into the Ji Family Coal Mine.
As soon as the cars stopped, two burly men got out of the front passenger seats and opened the rear doors.
Two middle-aged men who bore a strong resemblance to each other stepped out of the Land Rovers. They were none other than the Ji Family Brothers: Ji Lianshan and Ji Lianhai.
"Where's Tie Zi and his men? Why aren't they out here to greet us?" the elder brother, Ji Lianshan, said grimly. Compared to his younger brother, Ji Lianhai, he was starting to get flabby, and his aura was far more sinister. His eyes were like a viper'sâhis stare alone was enough to make one's heart pound and scalp tingle with fear.
"Maybe they're inside with the big client?" Ji Lianhai was much more powerfully built than his brother. He seemed unconcerned that the thugs hadn't come to greet them and wasn't suspicious.
One of the Ji Family Brothers was the brains, the other the brawnâa fact made obvious by their physiques and demeanors.
Ji Lianshan said with a dark expression, "Hmph, those guys are getting more and more out of line! Lianhai, you need to teach them a good lesson. Otherwise, they'll get too big for their britches!"
Ji Lianhai nodded and replied, "Don't worry, bro. I'll definitely teach them a lesson!"
After exchanging a few words, the two strode towards the three-story building.
Their bodyguards and driver followed closely at their sides and behind them. Judging by their demeanor, they were all ruthless men who were ready for a fight.
At that moment, Pan Ping and a few miners quietly closed the mine's main gate and secured it with a heavy iron lock.
Neither the Ji Family Brothers nor their entourage noticed the change behind them.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the three-story building and saw Zhao Yuan sitting there.
Ji Lianshan stopped, sized up Zhao Yuan for a few moments, and asked with a suspicious frown, "Who are you? Why are you sitting here?"
Ji Lianhai, unconcerned, said, "Maybe he's the buyer's son? Probably came along for the experience? Hey kid, where are your folks?"
Before Zhao Yuan could speak, Ji Lianshan's expression suddenly changed. "Something's wrong!"
Ji Lianhai was taken aback. "What's wrong?"
Ji Lianshan said grimly, "Tie Zi said a big client was here, but there are no other cars parked in the mine!"
Ji Lianhai quickly turned to look outside. Sure enough, besides their two Land Rovers, the only other vehicles in the mine were a few cargo trucks, which also belonged to them.
How could a major client not have a car?
Besides, the Ji Family Coal Mine was in a remote location. The client couldn't have just walked all the way up here, could he?
It was a trap!
The same thought flashed through the minds of the Ji Family Brothers.
"Tie Zi, where the fuck are you hiding? Get out! Get the hell out here now!" Ji Lianhai roared at the top of his lungs.
He roared several times but got no response. After he finished shouting, Zhao Yuan clapped his hands and called out, "Bring them out!"
A group of miners emerged from the small building, dragging out the thugs who were all tied together.
Seeing the Ji Family Brothers, the thugs thrashed about, trying to shout, but with rags stuffed in their mouths, they could only make muffled grunts.
The Ji Family Brothers were completely blindsided by this turn of events.
Ji Lianhai burst out cursing as he threatened, "Fuck! What do you think you're doing? Rebelling? Let my men go, now! Motherfucker, you people are fucking lawless! Believe it or not, I'll go cripple all your families right now?!"
Li Qingbo stood next to Zhao Yuan and quietly identified the Ji Family Brothers for him.
"Ji the Second, you talk a big game. Want revenge? Too bad you've lost your chance," Zhao Yuan said coldly.
Ji Lianshan raised an eyebrow. He had originally thought this was a rebellion by the miners, but he hadn't expected them to be led by some kid he had never seen before.
'Looks like this matter isn't as simple as I thought!'
"Kid, who are you, and what do you want?" Ji Lianshan asked in a low voice, staring at Zhao Yuan.
"You're not qualified to know who I am. As for what I want, it's simple. Just two things. First, you're going to compensate these miners. Pay them the wages, medical expenses, and nutritional stipends they deserve. Second, I'm sending you two brothers to prison!"
Zhao Yuan took the thugs' written confessions out of his Storage Ring. After glancing through them, he said coldly, "You've done quite a lot of evil, haven't you? Besides running an illegal coal mine, there's kidnapping and extortion, gang fights, ordering hits, and more... This alone is more than enough to let you rot in prison!"
"Prison my ass! I'll fucking kill you first!"
Ji Lianhai reached into his jacket, swiftly pulled out a handgun, aimed at Zhao Yuan, and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
A gunshot rang out.
"AHâ!"
A bloodcurdling scream followed.