Hospital 444
Chapter 569 - 31 Planning

Chapter 569: Chapter 31 Planning

The Faceless Leader could be a single person or a group; that much was unclear. Regardless, someone high up surely had the complete list of Wumianhui members in order to control them. At the same time, to prevent themselves from being accidentally killed by regular members of the Wumianhui, they would also need to ensure that several people knew their true identity.

There had always been rumors that the Faceless Leader was a government official, even a local councilor. But honestly, Hai Yunlan found this somewhat unrealistic.

Councilors in Delivito Country were elected publicly; they couldn’t wear masks. Providing a protective umbrella for the Wumianhui was just an unspoken agreement, and councilors also feared being cursed to death by the lower ranks. Even so, there were still two sessions of councilors who turned into black skeletons.

In reality, the Faceless Leader must have a harmless identity. They couldn’t afford to offend anyone, nor could they leave Heisong Town to remotely control operations from another country, because any townspeople daring to emigrate would be cursed to death. If there was an exception, it would be extremely noticeable.

They must hide their real wealth and dare not put their own name on any real estate, as the rich are certain to be suspected as the Faceless Leader. Only a handful of trusted confidants holding each other’s vulnerabilities would know their identity.

"If I were the Faceless Leader, what would I do?"

After pondering, this was her conclusion.

There were two possibilities.

First, confide one’s identity only to those who were either not originally from Heisong Town or to those confirmed to have exhausted their backing spirits.

Second, confide one’s identity to those whose spirits’ questioning times were within four hours of one’s own. That way, if they dared to curse you to death, they would manifest black omens just in time for you to retaliate. Although you could curse only one person, you could arrange for other Wumianhui members to curse those who knew your identity on your behalf. The moment black omens appeared on you, you’d let everyone be buried with you.

"But knowing all this is far from enough..."

The best approach was to join the Wumianhui and find a way to reach out to the upper echelons.

However, to join, one had to find a guarantor, and, as a criminal’s daughter, this was difficult for her to achieve.

So, she decided to find a partner.

Years later...

That is, this year, she finally found a suitable candidate.

Her name was Lin Yan, and like herself, she shared a Chinese heritage.

Although Lin Yan had no relatives killed by the Wumianhui, she had been diagnosed with cancer.

On weekends, Hai Yunlan would go to the Hospice Care Hospital to volunteer as a nurse, caring for those patients whose lives had already reached their ends. Most of them were elderly, but Lin Yan, young as she was, had developed a terminal illness that could no longer be treated, inspiring Hai Yunlan’s sympathy.

Though her cancer cells had begun to spread and surgery was no longer an option, she didn’t appear to be a terminal patient at first glance.

In fact, most people taking care of these dying patients were extremely cautious. A person about to leave this world might take extreme actions; any small mistake during care might cause them to bear a grudge, and they might just choose to curse them to death.

After all, only the individual would know whether their backing spirit had been consumed.

Therefore, most caregivers were extremely nervous in Lin Yan’s presence, keeping silent, and even afraid to engage in lengthy conversations with her for fear of uttering something that might offend her.

Only Hai Yunlan could talk to her about anything and everything.

On the brink of death, she wanted to do something meaningful.

"Lin Yan, do you hate the people of the Wumianhui?"

One day, after checking Lin Yan’s health, Hai Yunlan asked her this question.

"In this town, is there anyone who doesn’t hate the people of the Wumianhui? No one dares to say it out loud, but I’m about to die, so it doesn’t matter anymore."

Hai Yunlan suddenly gripped her hand tightly.

"If one day, the names of the Wumianhui members are all made public, their names and photos known by all the townsfolk... then they will no longer be able to commit evil deeds. We could send this group of demons straight to hell!"

Lin Yan looked at Hai Yunlan in shock.

"Is such a thing possible?"

Hai Yunlan clenched her teeth and said, "It’s difficult. Otherwise, the Wumianhui wouldn’t have been rampant for half a century. I once thought about joining the Wumianhui as an undercover agent. But then I realized that there must have been others who had the same idea before, and they would have been prepared for such tactics."

"I’ve heard that there were police officers who went undercover to expose the identities of Wumianhui members, but they were all rooted out in the end. Even the police are afraid of them..."

"The terror of the Wumianhui lies in their pervasive intelligence capabilities..."

The Wumianhui colluded with the police station on one hand to control the townspeople’s household registration information, and on the other hand, obtained most of the information about smuggled people through human trafficking. As time went on, their internal intelligence capabilities became stronger and stronger.

Nobody knew whether the person beside them could be a Wumianhui member, how many among the common townsfolk were their people, and how many of the Delivito officials were their people?

"What’s your plan?"

"While I was in college, I worked over a dozen jobs, all kinds of lowly positions, and these places are conducive to converging and collecting various intelligence. For example, the Wumianhui has monopolized the drug trade in several archipelagos centered around Black Reef Island. And drugs are the easiest means to control gang members, so Wumianhui people usually choose to pick gang members from among the addicts. As long as they provide them with drugs, it’s easy to make them obedient."

Then, Hai Yunlan took out a map and pointed to several places marked with black X’s on it.

"I can pretty much confirm that in these places, there are clandestine drug deals happening."

"You can actually track it to this extent?"

"After all, nobody dares to sweep the Wumianhui’s territory for drugs; they sell drugs almost openly."

She then pointed to several places on the map marked with red X’s, "These are gambling dens, most of which are also semi-open. Almost every casino has illegal lending centers directly connected to it. I’ve worked in these casinos as a croupier, and I can confirm that when gamblers borrow money, they sign contracts with incredibly high interest rates, with almost no hope of repayment. I’ve learned that when gamblers are unable to repay, they only have two choices. The first is to sell their organs, the second is to curse to death a target designated by Wumianhui. Killing one person can cancel all their debts. Of course, the casino management, the dealers, and the loan sharks, all wear masks. Gamblers are also permitted to wear masks while gambling, otherwise it would be too easy for a debtor to retaliate and curse the winner. But when exchanging chips or borrowing money, they must show valid identity documents and register."

She continued, "Addicts and gamblers can easily be absorbed into the Wumianhui, making them convenient to control. Whether it’s drugs or gambling, both are highly profitable trades, and these funds are definitely supposed to be turned over to the leader. Thus, the managers of these places are very likely to know the leader’s identity. After all, how can they transfer funds to him without knowing who he is?"

Lin Yan was surprised at Hai Yunlan’s clear-headedness.

"Wait a minute, it’s one thing for you to work as a croupier in the casinos, but you haven’t been helping with trafficking or transporting drugs, have you?"

"How could I? In this country, casinos that are properly licensed can operate legally, but drugs are absolutely prohibited. Not to mention I would never engage in drug trafficking, even if I wanted to, they would not trust someone they do not trust with such tasks. Most importantly, only masked Wumianhui members dare to interact with addicts, as otherwise, the latter could threaten to curse them in demand for drugs."

"I see..."

In Heisong Town, no one dares to commit crimes besides the Wumianhui. For example, if a regular person were to commit robbery while wearing a mask, they wouldn’t need to carry a gun; a glance at the victim’s work badge would suffice to threaten them into handing over cash. Thus, the Wumianhui were actually constantly fighting against those outside their ranks committing crimes while masked, so this ’protection money’ wasn’t completely wasted.

Therefore, the entire industry of gambling, drugs, and prostitution was completely monopolized by the Wumianhui.

"I once thought of using seduction. But my father was killed by the Wumianhui, and they investigated my identity, so naturally, they would be wary of me. I need someone to help me..."

Lin Yan finally understood.

"You want my help?"

"It’s dangerous, and I know my idea is somewhat selfish. But apart from you, I can’t think of anyone else who can help me..."

Lin Yan did not take long to make her decision and said resolutely, "Okay, I’m in!"