That night, Bai Hongbo, Liu Lao'er, and Kong Zhenghui stayed at the Su compound until nearly eleven. Only after every detail was hammered out did the four finally part ways.
The next morning, chaos struck Zhanan.
All four sanitation companies—Su, Liu, Bai, and Kong—had shut down. Streets lay uncleaned, last night's garbage uncollected, and the entire district's sanitation system collapsed in less than a day.
Aside from Changqing Company and a few minor contractors, more than sixty-five percent of the sanitation workforce simply didn't show up. The official reason: no pay, no work. The truth was plain—when companies go broke, workers stay home.
To the average resident, one day without garbage pickup, they barely raised an eyebrow. But to the district's Management Council, this was a four-alarm fire. By sunrise, the Zhanan administrators were already in an emergency meeting.
The upper echelons could argue politics all they wanted—but the fact remained: shutting down four sanitation companies at once came at a staggering price.
First, the companies still owed wages to idle workers, and every manager who joined the coordinated shutdown had to be compensated under the table. Money had to move; there was no avoiding that.
Second, the strike itself was a double-edged sword. By walking out, they weren't just defying Changqing—they were defying the Management Council. The stoppage violated their contracts, created a public sanitation crisis, and risked drawing the attention of higher authorities. If this stunt didn't pay off fast, the fallout could cripple all four families.
In short, the Su, Liu, Bai, and Kong families had gone all in.
And the man who'd pushed them to buy the house—was the newcomer, Su Tianyu.
By midmorning, the core members of all four families marched to the Zhanan Sanitation Bureau, banners and grievances in hand. Their complaint: Changqing Company's violent monopoly had driven out all competition.
It was a shrewd move. The four companies had now tied Changqing to the stake with them—because in Dragon City, nothing was ever simple.
This wasn't a stable, well-governed society. Dragon City was a political labyrinth—a place born from chaos, power plays, and compromise.
A Brief History of Dragon City
Twenty years earlier, during the final years of the post-apocalyptic Ice Age, the world had been divided into nine "Habitable Zones." The Chinese, with their unmatched infrastructure and organization, adapted the fastest—and came to dominate three of Asia's primary zones.
When the natural disaster eased, human disaster took over.
Ambitious men seized the moment, amassing armies, consolidating resources, and building their own regimes. They became the warlords of the new era.
But unification eventually followed fragmentation. The three Chinese zones merged under one government after decades of infighting. The defeated warlords, however, fled—taking with them their troops, families, and millions of civilians. These exiles, bound by blood and ambition, settled under the European Union's protection—and built what would become Dragon City, a haven for displaced Chinese.
Initially, the EU tried to govern the city directly. It failed miserably. The exiles had no loyalty to their hosts, rejected foreign authority, and used every bureaucratic loophole in the book—citing discrimination and human rights whenever laws pressed too hard.
So the EU changed strategy.
They let the Chinese govern the Chinese, keeping only the final veto power.
And it worked—sort of. The city boomed. Businessmen from across the world flocked to its free markets and shadow economies, drawn by rumor and greed. Dragon City became a golden mirage—where fortunes were made overnight, and lost just as fast.
But the system was rotten at its core. Officials served two masters but trusted neither. Corruption flourished. Violence became business. Dozens of private syndicates, political factions, and "companies" carved up the city's arteries.
Zhanan, in particular, was a powder keg.
As long as things stayed quiet, no one upstairs cared.
But if the trash stopped moving—and the headlines started screaming—then the higher-ups in the EU Directorate would start asking questions.
And that was exactly what everyone wanted to avoid.
1:00 p.m. — Longkou District
In a luxury apartment tower, Changqing Company's boss, Li Hongze, sat across from Zheng Fuan, the head of Zhanan's Sanitation Bureau.
Zheng's lunch was modest—rice porridge and greens. He ate slowly as he spoke.
"Old Li, if they stop one day, fine. Even a week—fine. But if this drags on without an end date, we'll have a real problem."
Li crossed one leg over the other, frowning. "The four families are calling us violent monopolists. The noise they're making is getting loud."
"I just took office," Zheng said mildly. "Zhanan's barely under control, and now this? I don't want rumors flying already." He sipped his porridge, then looked up. "You've got two options. One—if you can't calm things down, release the ringleaders and buy time. Two—if you've got a faster, cleaner way to end it, do it now."
Li nodded slowly. "The pieces are in place. We've already spent too much setting the board. Let's see it through."
"Then handle it quickly."
"Understood."
Half an hour later, Li Hongze left Zheng's home and returned to Changqing headquarters.
In the conference room, a dozen sharp-dressed men in suits sat smoking, the air thick with tension.
Li exhaled a long plume of smoke. "Thoughts?"
Lu Feng sat among them, a drip bag still taped to his wrist. His voice was hoarse but steady. "They want to play hardball? Fine. Whoever leads the charge, I'll break first. You think their workers will fight for free? You cripple a few, the rest will crawl back to work."
Li tapped ash into a tray. "Upper management says a small scuffle is fine—but don't push too far. The Police Directorate had already called. They don't want another mass brawl on record."
Lu Feng's lip curled. "Don't worry. I'll clean up after myself."
Back at the Su Compound — Zhanan District
Since returning to Dragon City, Su Tianyu hadn't rested once. But now that he'd seen the chessboard clearly, he found the whole situation almost simple.
If not for Su Tiannan's measured, righteous streak—and the family's concern for its reputation—Tianyu believed the Sus could've ended this by now, if they'd just been a little colder.
Of course, those were just his private thoughts. He'd just come home; he wasn't about to dictate family business.
That evening, Su Miaomiao—their fiery third sister—hosted a feast to welcome him home. The courtyard buzzed with laughter, steam, and clattering bowls.
The Su family was large—brothers, cousins, nieces everywhere. Even without a reason, dinner was always a full house. But tonight felt different. It was a true homecoming.
"Little Yu, this one's official," Tiannan said with a grin, raising his glass. "You're back, you've graduated, and whatever path you take, we stand together. We're family—never scatter, never bow, never break."
"That's for sure," Tianyu smiled, slipping into their hometown dialect.
At the head table, their second Aunt smiled softly. "The Su family always stood as one. Your father's generation fought shoulder to shoulder through the worst of times. Blood might break—but the sinew still binds it. No matter how far you roam, once you step through that door—you're home. Understand?"
"Yes, Auntie," Tianyu said, standing to toast her. "Don't worry. We'll make things right for Second Uncle."
She downed her drink in one go and said, unflinching, "I'm not worried. If they shoot him, I'll bury him. If they give him life, I'll wait."
The room went silent for a beat.
Tianyu bowed his head. "Auntie, you're the bravest woman I know."
The truth was, every elder of the Su family had survived an age when fear meant death. Nothing shook them anymore.
As the meal rolled on, Su Miaomiao strutted over in a short skirt and black stockings, carrying a dish of steamed carp. "Here—your favorite. I hit four markets for this damn fish."
Tianyu grinned. "Thanks, sis. But with those stockings, maybe find a husband who can handle your legs before you wear 'em out."
"Little brat!" she barked, pinching his ear.
Tiannan, older and calmer, laughed into his drink while the younger ones kept up their playful bickering.
Then the laughter quieted as Bai Hongbo appeared at the door, flanked by his two younger brothers. His head was wrapped in bandages, his flip phone clutched like a badge of rank. He swaggered in with that crooked gait of his.
"Well, well—family dinner, eh?" he said.
"Bai's here!" Tiannan rose. "Come in, have a seat. We were just eating."
"I came to talk business." Bai's eyes flicked around the room—and froze when he saw Su Miaomiao. "Miaomiao, those stockings… absolutely exquisite."
She rolled her eyes. "And that headband of yours—very avant-garde, Bai."
Bai's smile cracked. "Don't even start. Every time I think of that bastard Lu Feng, my blood boils. If I can't cripple him, I'll settle for his mother. One way or another—I'll get him."
"Don't waste your breath," Tiannan said smoothly, motioning for him to sit. "Xiaozhan, get Bai a bowl and chopsticks."
Bai dropped into a chair, still fuming. "Xiao Su, huh? You really set us up good. That little 'self-defense' move of yours? Dragged all three of our families right into it. When Lu Feng was chasing you through the yard, you bolted past me so fast you left the aftermath! Tell me—what did I ever do to you?"
Elsewhere, — Longkou District, Dragon City
In a quiet villa, a man in a crisp white shirt sat reading by the window. Handsome, middle-aged, calm.
From the sofa, another man said quietly, "The four sanitation companies in Zhanan have stopped operations. Their excuse is unpaid wages."
"Let's wait and watch," the man said without looking up. "If anyone from those companies tries to reach me, don't take the meeting. Turn them away."
Downstairs, two young women stepped through the doorway—one of them the wide-eyed beauty from the red sedan.
Would you like me to continue directly into Chapter Nine in this same fully calibrated, natural narrative style next?