Chapter 684: Chapter 684

The gunshot was so sudden that the previously noisy environment instantly fell silent.

The captain of the security team responsible for Ding Fan's safety was also frightened, his eyes wide as he stared at Ding Fan, who was nearby.

Who was Ding Fan? He was the one taking over Huang Can's territory, essentially the boss of all bosses. If anything truly happened to Ding Fan, how could Huang Can ever let himself off the hook?

At that moment, the captain of the security team regretted not having arranged better protection for Ding Fan, which led to the current gunfire incident.

Just as the captain believed that Ding Fan must have been severely injured or killed by the gunshot, the next event left him stunned.

Ding Fan simply stretched out two fingers, and between them, he was holding a bullet head.

How... how is that possible?

The captain had weathered many storms in his life, but he had never seen anyone catch a bullet barehanded, much less pinch it between two fingers.

"Kill that man, it was this person who killed General Haji," someone among the agitators outside suddenly shouted.

After that shout, the surrounding agitators rushed towards the villa, their momentum fierce, easily breaking through the guards.

At that moment, Ding Fan slightly pushed with his hands, and suddenly, a tremendously powerful force surged forward, pushing back those who had just charged in.

"This man is a Wizard!"

Having witnessed Ding Fan's capabilities, the crowd became nervous.

The education level here wasn't high, and unexplained phenomena were often attributed to wizards.

Although Mali Island was a place of mixed elements and chaotic security, people still held a deep reverence for wizards, so for the moment, these folks no longer dared to act arrogantly.

With a casual flick of his fingers,

the bullet he was holding suddenly shot out.

The bullet that Ding Fan had thrown emitted a sharp, whistling sound.

Thud... right after the bullet left Ding Fan's hand, a man fell from the crown of a nearby large tree.

At that moment, a spot of blood red was visible on the man's forehead, clearly having been shot in the head by the bullet Ding Fan threw. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽

The surrounding people were now silently looking at each other, even more convinced that Ding Fan was a wizard, as what they had just witnessed was not something an ordinary person could do.

A normal person, how many could catch a bullet by hand and use it to shoot and kill a person?

The person Ding Fan had shot dead with the bullet was none other than the assassin who had just fired at him.

For those who harbored intentions of killing him, Ding Fan was generally not merciful. Whether you were a god or an immortal, as long as you intended to kill Ding Fan, he certainly wouldn't spare you.

Just then, another gunshot suddenly rang out.

After that gunshot, a troop of people came running from the end of the street, and after arriving, they quickly aimed their guns at the rioters.

The leader of these people was none other than Huang Can.

"General Ding, I just received information that Haji's relatives and former subordinates wanted to assassinate you. I apologize for alarming you, my security measures were inadequate," Huang Can said with a look of guilt.

"It's nothing," Ding Fan replied to Huang Can. "It's a turbulent time now; such incidents are normal and not your fault."

Haji wielded considerable armed power on Mali Island, and gaining complete control over his domain in a single day was impossible.

The influence was still connected; especially now, considering Haji's significant power, seizing control would inevitably affect certain people's interests, who naturally would cause disturbances.

Seeing Ding Fan speak this way, Huang Can grew even more admiring of him.

In the security tasks, Huang Can admitted to his shortcomings, yet Ding Fan not only did not blame him but also comforted him instead...

For anyone else, they would certainly scold him fiercely and might even censure him thoroughly.

From this behavior, Huang Can could see Ding Fan's magnanimity.

Now that Huang Can had arrived with reinforcements, Ding Fan no longer needed to continue dealing with the mess.

Ding Fan returned to the villa, and Huang Can organized his team to take control of all the troublemakers. After securing the situation, Huang Can then went inside the villa to find Ding Fan.

"How are the people outside being handled?" Ding Fan asked after Huang Can entered.

"I have sent all these people out to work. We have quite a few opium fields here; I had them and the people from the Sankou Group yesterday go destroy and till those fields," Huang Can replied earnestly.

Ding Fan also strongly disapproved of opium and other drugs. He had many ways to make money and therefore didn't need to rely on such harmful substances.

"However, General Ding, there are still some matters needing attention," Huang Can said, standing honestly beside Ding Fan.

Ding Fan looked at Huang Can, motioning for him to continue.

Huang Can then continued, "The most crucial issue now is the defection of some of Haji's old followers. Last night, these people fled to Hezhe overnight, and during the conflict with the Sankou Group yesterday, Wali was captured by us. Now, Wali's subordinates are also restless, and there are reports that Hezhe is organizing forces, seemingly preparing against us."

Ding Fan pondered for a moment.

Haji had originally been the leading force on Mali Island, but now with unrest emerging from Haji's side, the surrounding forces were bound to make their moves.

"So how many men do we still have at our disposal?" Ding Fan asked.

Huang Can said, "Last night, at least two hundred people ran off to Hezhe's side, so now we only have about two hundred people we can use. And on Hezhe's side, including the defectors from last night and his original forces, I'm afraid he might have five or six hundred men."

As per Huang Can's account, Hezhe had grown significantly overnight and then under the guise of avenging Haji, intended to annex the territory originally held by Haji.

Hezhe was indeed a character who took advantage of chaos.

"General Ding, the Hezhe Group is now the biggest hidden threat. Based on my experience, Hezhe will surely launch an attack on us within three days," said Huang Can.

Having spent substantial time on Mali Island, Ding Fan trusted Huang Can's conjecture.

Ding Fan now really wanted to preserve the force on Mali Island, but the current situation was fraught internally and externally, with many adopting a wait-and-see approach.

Moreover, Ding Fan believed that it wasn't only Hezhe around them that was eager to move against him. The surrounding Tusi were definitely also observing. If the situation turned unfavorable here, those Tusi would inevitably come charging in with their troops to have a share of the spoils.

Apart from these external elements, there were numerous internal factors, the first of which was how to properly secure the loyalty of his current troops.

These men were currently Ding Fan's armed force, and he needed to unite this force completely.

Ding Fan thought for a moment and then told Huang Can standing beside him, "I will handle the issue with Hezhe. You take care of the situation within the district now."

After all, Huang Can was an old-timer in Mali, so appointing him to discipline the military was indeed the best arrangement.

"General Ding, are you saying you'll personally deal with Hezhe?" Huang Can looked at Ding Fan incredulously.

The Tusi Hezhe, also quite notorious in Mali, was ruthless and favored beheading his victims.

Now, with Hezhe having merged the original two hundred men from Haji, he had a force of over five hundred strong. Huang Can didn't believe that Ding Fan alone could handle so many troops.

"General Ding, Hezhe is a notorious drug lord; he is extremely ruthless..." Huang Can reminded Ding Fan at this moment.

Ding Fan merely smiled lightly. "I am fully confident about dealing with Hezhe. You shouldn't worry about that matter now. What you should do now is to discipline the troops, manage them well, and maintain order within the district," he said.

Seeing Ding Fan's firmness, Huang Can nodded, having no more to say.

Ding Fan then continued, "I looked over the troops' weapons yesterday. They are a mixed bag. In a while, I will handle a complete rearming of the troops. You've been an officer before, so how well you train the troops into a victorious force is up to you."

"Yes, rest assured, General Ding!" Huang Can saluted and said again.

The situation in Mali was extremely complex. This place was rife with danger and without a strong military force, one simply couldn't establish a foothold in Mali.

Even with Ding Fan's extraordinary cultivation, his personal power was ultimately limited. At the root of it, developing a strong army was essential.

"As long as we have sufficient funds and weapons, I am confident in building a strong troop," Huang Can declared with conviction.

Ding Fan nodded. In reality, finances were something Ding Fan could handle, and he had already thought about the weapons.

When he returned to Huaxia Country, he would ask Elder Shen and Elder Mu for a battalion's worth of special forces weaponry. Equipped with a battalion's special forces gear, establishing a foothold on Mali Island would indeed be straightforward.

"As for the funds, you may handle yesterday's Gold Coins yourself; as for the weapons, I will have them delivered within a month," Ding Fan said.

Then Ding Fan briefly discussed some specifics about internal discipline with Huang Can, after which Huang Can left.

Ding Fan then walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows of the villa, taking a deep breath.

In Mali, inside Hezhe's villa.

At this moment, Hezhe was holding a meeting with a few of his key subordinates.

Given the importance of this meeting, there were no fewer than thirty people stationed outside Hezhe's villa for security.

Now in the villa's receiving hall.

Sitting in the center of the hall was a Burmese man.

This was a man in his fifties, with yellow-brown skin and curly hair.

This man was Hezhe, who was currently fiddling with a fist-sized Jade Ball in his hand, his eyes slightly closed.

In the hall, besides Hezhe, there were four other men. These four were Hezhe's trusted subordinates.

"General Hezhe, now is the best time for us to annex Haji's territory. More than two hundred of Haji's men have come over to us. With this deployment, we can not only take over Haji's territory but also stabilize the two hundred plus men who have defected," a middle-aged man sitting next to Hezhe said.

"Youkeli is right. The defectors were all Haji's confidants. When the time comes, we'll kill Haji's people, and Haji's old subordinates will definitely loyally…" At that moment, a fat man chimed in.

"Your ideas are quite good..."

Just as the fat man finished speaking, a sudden voice interrupted...

Following that, Ding Fan's figure abruptly appeared in front of Hezhe and the others.