The Omniscient

Chapter 52: Turning Against Each Other

Jin Ya’s greatest mistake was showing up in person. Tielong’s delayed appearance was because he had been lying in wait outside. According to the original plan, Tielong would act when Ah Meng and his men stormed the warehouse. However, as Ah Meng got out of the vehicle, Tielong spotted someone still inside—Jin Ya himself.

Tielong made an impromptu decision to capture the enemy leader alive.

With no choice and his men already engaged in the warehouse, Jin Ya, left alone, was caught off guard by Tielong’s sudden appearance. Unable to resist, he was taken hostage.

Tielong marched into the warehouse with Jin Ya at gunpoint. The warehouse doors slowly closed behind them.

Inside, a tense standoff ensued: Old Ma’s men had captured Jin Ya, while Jin Ya’s men were holding the suppliers hostage. Neither side dared to make a move.

Outside, Huang Ji and his group continued to eat their oranges. They had watched Tielong capture Jin Ya and could guess the situation inside was now at an impasse.

As Huang Ji narrated the unfolding events, everyone in his group learned how the setup had led to this predicament.

Old Ma had laid this trap to expose the mole among his men. And that mole? Huang Ji had already prepared everything needed to reveal them.

Still, Old Wang asked, “But what does this have to do with us? How do we get our hands on that six million?”

“Wait until they all fall into the trap,” Huang Ji replied.

“Fall into the trap? But you said this deal is fake, so there’s no white powder in the truck!” Old Wang pointed out.

“Lin Li, drive. We’re leaving,” Huang Ji said, pulling Lin Li along.

“Boss, where are you going?” Zhang Junwei asked, puzzled.

Huang Ji pointed to the distant truck. “Didn’t Jin Ya’s people drive the truck away? Jin Ya definitely has stock on hand. You all stay here and wait. Once you see Cao Jing carrying the boxes inside, call the police.”

The group was stunned. So this had been the plan all along! Huang Ji was going after the truck himself. The two drivers wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

Knowing Huang Ji, he would likely trick them into using Jin Ya’s name to fetch Jin Ya’s own stash and deliver it back here. Meanwhile, Cao Jing’s deal was likely already blown, and with the standoff ongoing, Old Ma would certainly summon Cao Jing and his team over.

Multiple parties would converge, and the resulting chaos would be spectacular.

“This is ruthless… Boss, do you really need to burn everything down just to get some money?” Zhang Junwei muttered, almost pitying Old Ma and the others.

“Beautifully done!” Old Ma burst into laughter upon seeing Tielong walk in with Jin Ya in tow.

Jin Ya scowled. “... I brought so many people. How could your men have reacted in time? Were you waiting for me on purpose?”

He had brought twenty men, while Old Ma had only eight. And it had been a surprise attack—how could it have failed? The only explanation was that the other side had been expecting it, deliberately leaving an opening.

Now held hostage in the warehouse, Jin Ya surveyed the scene. Observing the positions and terrain, he quickly realized what had happened. When Ah Meng had stormed in, most of Old Ma’s people had likely been upstairs, out of sight. This meant Ah Meng had only managed to capture Xiaodao and the suppliers, leaving Old Ma’s team with a chance to counterattack.

Tielong, who had been watching from outside, had spotted Jin Ya and captured him. The situation appeared as though Jin Ya had the upper hand, but in reality, he had walked into a trap.

“Let me introduce everyone. This is Jin Ya, a well-known boss in the business. I’m sure some of you have heard of him,” Old Ma said, grinning.

The three suppliers scoffed. “Of course we’ve heard of him. We’ve even shared a meal with him. Jin Ya, this is low. Tielong told us someone was causing trouble, but I didn’t expect it to be you.”

Jin Ya was in a bind. Though he wasn’t sourcing from this particular group of suppliers, they were all part of the same network and knew each other. By doing this, he had broken the rules.

“Old Beggar! Did you lure me here on purpose?” Jin Ya growled through gritted teeth.

“Ha! Jin Ya, Jin Ya. Didn’t expect this, did you?” Old Ma sneered. “I knew you’d love to see me fail. So I came in person, knowing you’d also show up in person.”

In truth, Old Ma was bluffing to make himself seem omniscient. He hadn’t expected Jin Ya to come in person—it was just a fortunate surprise.

As it turned out, Jin Ya had a light schedule today and had heard that Old Ma was overseeing the deal personally. Unimpressed by his subordinates’ capabilities and not wanting to miss such an opportunity, he decided to show up himself. Little did he know, this decision would land him in Tielong’s grasp.

Ironically, Tielong’s decision to capture Jin Ya had allowed the truck to escape, leading to the suppliers being taken hostage.

The situation was now at a stalemate—a scenario only one person had foreseen, and that person wasn’t in the warehouse.

“The suppliers must die. If they survive, even if I walk away, the trouble will never end,” Jin Ya thought to himself.

“Ah Meng needs to act tough. Even though I’m captured, that old beggar wouldn’t dare harm me!” Jin Ya plotted, giving Ah Meng a look, signaling him to feign indifference to his safety and pressure the suppliers to give Old Ma a hard time.

Ah Meng misinterpreted the signal entirely. “Release my boss, and I’ll trade these three for him!” he shouted.

“F***!” Jin Ya was livid. Was Ah Meng an idiot?

“Deal!” Old Ma agreed instantly.

Old Ma didn’t want to kill Jin Ya. Eliminating him would only pave the way for someone like “Silver Tooth” or “Bronze Tooth,” leaving Old Ma no better off. But if he could safely recover the three suppliers, it would be a perfect outcome. Without a steady supply chain, Jin Ya’s operations would be crippled.

Jin Ya glared at Ah Meng, despair filling his heart. “My subordinates are all useless!”

Yet he couldn’t openly correct Ah Meng. For his plan to work, it had to seem like Ah Meng was defying his orders. If Jin Ya issued a direct command and Ah Meng complied, it would lose all leverage over Old Ma.

Ultimately, Ah Meng aimed his gun at the suppliers, forcing them to walk toward the other side, while Tielong pushed Jin Ya forward to release him.

Both sides carried firearms, and the hostage exchange went off smoothly.

The guns being used were handcrafted. Though not overly complex, they weren’t much better than realistic replicas in craftsmanship. Any workshop with the ability to produce steel products could make one using blueprints. Even Zhang Junwei had managed to commission someone to make guns before, let alone Old Ma’s operation.

The real challenge was manufacturing bullets. Despite appearing simple, bullet production required precision and extensive stamping equipment. Improperly made bullets could jam or even explode in the barrel.

Shotgun shells were relatively easy to produce, but crafting handgun bullets was much harder, especially with strict regulations. Even so, both groups had scraped together enough ammunition to ensure they could engage in a full-scale shootout if necessary.

“Boss, are you okay?” Ah Meng cheerfully asked after successfully swapping Jin Ya back.

Jin Ya resisted the urge to berate his subordinate and instead put on a confident face, addressing Old Ma: “Old Beggar, I’ve got 20 men with me. You should never have let me go. You think you’ve outsmarted me? Ha! None of you are leaving here today.”

Old Ma sneered. “You dare start a shootout here?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I’ll start by killing Xiaodao as an example!” Jin Ya barked, pointing his gun at Xiaodao.

Ah Meng and his men laughed. “That’s right. And don’t forget, we still have someone from your side in our hands.”

But Old Ma remained calm. “Go ahead. Kill him.”

“What?” Jin Ya was stunned.

Xiaodao was one of Old Ma’s trusted confidants. Was he really willing to let him die?

Xiaodao himself chuckled nonchalantly and said, “Boss Jin, go ahead and shoot. If you don’t have the guts, then get lost! Stay any longer, and you won’t be able to leave. Do you really think we came with just this many people?”

Jin Ya was left speechless. Xiaodao, even with his life in the hands of the enemy, remained composed and unyielding. He couldn’t help but envy Old Ma for having such loyal and courageous subordinates.

Even Old Ma gave Xiaodao an appraising look. He had initially suspected Xiaodao of being the mole, and when Jin Ya had taken him hostage, Old Ma felt no concern, thinking it might have been staged.

But Xiaodao’s defiant words now changed his mind. If Xiaodao were secretly aligned with Jin Ya, he would have said something like “Save me, Boss!” to undermine morale. Instead, his response put Jin Ya in an awkward position.

Xiaodao’s actions showed he prioritized Old Ma’s interests above his own survival—hardly the behavior of a mole.

“I had no evidence, yet I doubted Xiaodao… It seems he’s not the one,” Old Ma thought. “Which means the real mole is still among the others around me.”

Old Ma’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at the other confidants nearby, though he couldn’t yet pinpoint the traitor.

“Jin Ya, my reinforcements will be here any moment,” Old Ma said confidently.

“So will mine!” Jin Ya shot back with equal confidence.

Old Ma shook his head. “Continuing this standoff benefits neither of us.”

“You realize that now? And what about your scheming against me? Don’t think this won’t hurt my business after tonight!” Jin Ya growled.

“Jin Ya, I was conducting my business just fine until you came here to cause trouble. Now, tell me, how did you learn about this deal?” Old Ma asked.

Jin Ya froze for a moment. Wasn’t this a setup to lure me here?

Old Ma’s deliberate leak through Li Kun had made Jin Ya think the trap was aimed at him. But now it seemed Old Ma wasn’t targeting anyone specific; he had simply laid the trap to catch a mole.

Jin Ya replayed the events in his mind. The supplier had said earlier, “Tielong told me someone was causing trouble, but I didn’t believe it until you showed up.” This implied Old Ma’s side didn’t know who would show up until Jin Ya arrived.

“So Li Kun’s leak really was accidental, and Old Beggar was just trying to flush out a mole. I wasn’t the snake he was after—I walked into this trap on my own?” Jin Ya realized.

Seizing the opportunity, he laughed and said, “Guys, I only found out about this because a guy named Kun mentioned it during a call. It was pure coincidence. The person you’re after isn’t me—this is all a misunderstanding.”

He hoped this might repair his strained relations with the suppliers.

But it only backfired.

Old Ma’s eyes lit up as he turned to glare at Li Kun. The other confidants also looked at Li Kun, their expressions incredulous. There was only one "Kun" here.

Li Kun was stunned. “That’s nonsense! Don’t try to stir up trouble. When did I ever leak anything?”

He quickly tried to explain to Old Ma, “Boss, I’ve been in the car the entire time since the plan was set. I didn’t make any calls!”

Under normal circumstances, Old Ma wouldn’t believe Jin Ya’s attempts at sowing discord. He would’ve shown full confidence in his subordinates to maintain appearances.

But tonight was different. Old Ma had gone to great lengths to uncover the mole. He needed to know how Jin Ya had found this location.

“Really? He didn’t make any calls?” Old Ma asked, his tone sharp.

The confidant who had been in the car with Li Kun hesitated before quietly saying, “He… did make a call…”

“What?” The group was in an uproar.

Old Ma’s eyes burned with fury. “You dare lie to me?”

“I…” Li Kun stammered, realizing his mistake. He had made a call—to redial the insurance salesperson who had insulted him.

“I didn’t leak anything! That call was just to a guy selling insurance. He insulted me, so I called back to curse him out! That’s all!” Li Kun said anxiously.

The other confidant quickly confirmed, “It’s true. He first got a call from someone selling insurance, then he called back, saying the guy insulted him and he had to curse him back. He even mentioned Kangtai Life Insurance.”

Li Kun nodded furiously. “Exactly! That’s all it was!”

But before he could finish, Tielong, who was familiar with the area, said ominously, “There’s a Kangtai Life Insurance office within 100 meters of this location.”

“What!” Li Kun was dumbstruck.

What kind of bad luck was this?

He had simply taken a call from a stressed-out insurance agent who insulted him after he refused the offer. The agent had even quit afterward. Not content, Li Kun had called back, mentioned the company name offhandedly—and now it turned out that company had an office near the deal location.

Jin Ya might have had other channels for the information, but his accusation, combined with Li Kun’s unlucky actions, made him the perfect scapegoat.

"Hahaha, so it's you, the traitorous rat biting the hand that feeds you!" Old Ma glared fiercely at Li Kun.

“Misunderstanding, Boss Ma! It’s the insurance guy!” Li Kun protested in desperation.

One of the confidants close to him stepped up in his defense. “Boss Ma, there are outsiders here. We can’t just start doubting our own because of what they say!”

Li Kun nodded fervently. “Exactly! It’s pure coincidence, I swear! It’s really just the insurance guy!”

But they didn’t realize that this entire operation was Old Ma’s ploy to flush out the mole. Once trust is broken, explanations and excuses only seem suspicious.

“Coincidence? Do you take me for a senile fool?” Old Ma roared, his anger boiling over—a side of him that hadn’t been seen in years.

Li Kun stared at Old Ma in disbelief, his voice trembling with sorrow. “Boss Ma… you don’t believe me?”

“You betrayed me, colluded with outsiders to set me up, and now you’re lying to my face about some insurance agent? How can I believe you!” Old Ma snapped, calling for Tielong.

Like a striking tiger, Tielong leaped forward. In a few swift steps, he drove his knee hard into Li Kun. Wracked with pain, Li Kun tried to resist but was quickly subdued, pinned to the ground after a few sharp moves.

Tielong retrieved Li Kun’s phone and checked the call history. As expected, it showed one received call and one outgoing call. He dialed the number back, but it went straight to voicemail.

“I’m not! I didn’t! I’m being framed!” Li Kun shouted from the ground, struggling against the hold.

But Old Ma wasn’t listening. For him, the "insurance agent" excuse was laughable. Ignoring Li Kun’s pleas, his cold demeanor silenced the other confidants. Seeing this, Li Kun’s expression turned to one of betrayal and fury. I’ve fought and bled for you, followed your every order, and this is how you repay me—with such cold-heartedness?

Old Ma, convinced that Li Kun was the mole bought by Jin Ya, didn’t bother to conceal his actions in front of Jin Ya. He even used this as a show of force to intimidate him.

Jin Ya, watching the scene unfold, was initially dumbfounded but then delighted.

I’ve worked for years to drive a wedge between him and his men, and finally, I’ve succeeded! Jin Ya thought, reveling in the moment.

Eager to capitalize, Jin Ya called out, “Li Kun! Forget it. We’ve lost this round.”

Li Kun, still pinned on the ground, looked anguished. He knew the truth of his innocence. But Jin Ya, going along with Old Ma’s suspicions, was now actively owning the narrative of having planted him as a mole to seal the accusation.

Feeling betrayed by Old Ma’s unrelenting stance, Li Kun realized his only chance of survival was to defect.

“So be it!” Li Kun thought bitterly. Jin Ya’s been trying to recruit me for years, offering good terms. If Old Ma refuses to believe me and is so ruthless, why should I remain loyal to him?

Old Ma glanced at Jin Ya, then at Xiaodao, who remained stoic and unyielding, and made his decision.

“Jin Ya, want to make another trade? If not, I’ll clean house right here and now,” Old Ma said coldly.

“Of course, I’ll trade! Why wouldn’t I?” Jin Ya grinned.

And so, the two sides conducted another hostage exchange. Xiaodao returned to Old Ma’s side, while Li Kun reluctantly joined Jin Ya.

Jin Ya threw his arm around Li Kun’s shoulder, his gold tooth gleaming as he grinned. This is a win. Though his reputation had taken a hit, he had gained the one talent he had coveted for years.

“Li Kun, stick with me, and you’ll live the high life!” Jin Ya said, his voice brimming with confidence.

Li Kun took a deep breath, resigned to his fate. With a heavy nod, he glared venomously at Old Ma.

Old Ma met his gaze with disdain. In that instant, the two went from comrades to bitter enemies.

The fallout was immediate and irreversible. Old Ma had sacrificed a loyal man in his quest for the mole, inadvertently pushing him into the arms of his rival. Jin Ya, though victorious in this moment, couldn’t foresee the chaos such a fractured dynamic would bring.

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