"First Brother—First Brother—uh… what happened to you?!"
The dusty-looking woman rushed over the moment she saw First Brother's bruised, swollen face, now puffed up like a pig's head, her voice full of concern.
"Xiao Fu… did you bring the money?"
First Brother clenched his teeth and asked through a twisted grimace.
"I—I brought it… I brought it…"
She signaled, and two underlings handed the hiking backpack to Lin Yao.
It was obvious—she could tell at a glance who was really in charge here.
Lin Yao casually tossed the bag to Ah Bu to verify.
After the check was done, Lin Yao turned to First Brother, who was half-slumped in a chair playing dead, and said:
"You can go now. If you're not convinced, come find me in the Walled City anytime."
First Brother was helped up by two lackeys. Hearing those words, he nearly burst into tears.
After being dragged this far—nearly turned into a eunuch—how would he dare come back a second time?
Just after First Brother left, Lin Yao's brick-sized phone rang urgently—it was Fat Wah calling.
"Ah Yao, did Hongyi stir up trouble? What exactly happened?!"
From the other end, besides Fat Wah's voice, there were also several old men arguing loudly.
Lin Yao replied calmly, "Brother Wah, it's all settled."
"Settled Hongyi means nothing! The key is—don't go too far. Standing behind them is Cheung Lok."
Fat Wah's voice came from the balcony.
At this moment, inside the room, the Wo Luen Shing elders' meeting was in full blaze.
Invincible Windfire Wheel and Moonball the Kingpin were both present.
"Don't worry, Brother Wah. Everything's under control."
Lin Yao didn't want to hear more.
He knew Fat Wah was about to start rambling about those old Hong Kong triad anecdotes.
"Really settled?"
"Good, then. I just had Feng Boy bring people over to support you. Since it's fine, I'll tell him to pull back."
Fat Wah answered on autopilot, but his heart was full of doubt.
A few dozen versus several hundred—how on earth did Ah Yao pull that off?
"Brother Wah, I still have things to handle here. Let's leave it at that."
Lin Yao hung up without giving Fat Wah a chance to press further.
On the other end, Fat Wah stared at the ended call, disbelief still plastered across his face.
He knew exactly how many men Lin Yao had—less than fifty, tops.
And according to Mixed River Dragon's intel, Hongyi had mobilized everyone today.
When Fat Wah first heard that, cold sweat had poured down his back.
Even if he gathered his entire hall, he wouldn't reach 300 men.
Even calling in brothers from the warehouse, it still wouldn't be enough to suppress Hongyi.
Not to mention Cheung Lok behind them.
You had to know—Hongyi's First Brother split off to form his own mountain because he didn't get along with Cheung Lok's Flying Swan.
But Cheung Lok's boss, Fatty Kun, was his godfather.
Fat Wah still couldn't relax. He dialed his godson Xu Feng.
"Feng Boy, Ah Yao says it's settled, but I still don't feel at ease."
"Take a few men over and keep an eye on things. If Cheung Lok dares interfere, call me immediately."
"I'll head over once this meeting's done."
From the other end came Xu Feng's voice:
"Godfather, I'm already on Heng Fung Street. Everything's calm—doesn't look like a fight just happened."
"My men say… Ah Yao handled all of Hongyi by himself. I can't quite believe it…"
"Doesn't matter how he did it!" Fat Wah snapped.
"As long as it's settled, that's enough!"
He was about to hang up when Xu Feng's words stopped him again.
"Godfather, there's one more thing…"
"What now? Say it quickly—I've got an important meeting here today."
"I heard Ah Yao didn't just teach Hongyi a lesson—he also took their money."
"Money? How much? Real or fake?"
The moment Fat Wah heard the word money, his eyes lit up and his voice rose a few notches.
"Not sure exactly, but definitely not a small amount."
"A Da said four of Hongyi's men escorted a woman over, carrying a hiking backpack."
After a pause, Xu Feng added:
"Godfather, by the rules, shouldn't that money be handed over to the hall?"
"Feng Boy, don't talk about money for now."
Fat Wah suppressed the calculations spinning in his head and changed the subject:
"Go notify Ah Yao. Tonight, Palace Hotel, Room 808. Tell him I'm treating him to a celebration dinner."
"Got it, Godfather."
"But hall rules are hall rules. If he really took the money, by precedent, he has to hand it in."
Xu Feng persisted.
Fat Wah's face darkened.
"I'll talk to him. Don't be so eager for quick gains."
With that, he hung up.
He strode back into the meeting room and pushed the door open—
The smell of gunpowder hit him in the face.
Moonball the Kingpin was mid-rant, eyes bloodshot, the atmosphere blazing hot.
Fire Bull had just finished slamming the table, and now Moonball stepped up to the conference table.
He adjusted his old reading glasses sliding down his nose, then unleashed his firepower:
"Brothers, among Wo Luen Shing's thirty-two halls, who doesn't know Big D's strength is the toughest?"
"This seat—who else could take it besides him?"
He swept his gaze over Fire Bull, Old Ghost Kui, and Mao Deng—elders backing Ah Lok—his tone dripping with disdain:
"You support Ah Lok? How much turf does he even control in Jordan?"
"Two streets! His men don't even reach two hundred!"
Then Moonball took half a step forward.
"But what about Big D? He's nearly cleaned out Tsuen Wan!"
"The entire Tsuen Wan shows him face! His underlings exceed eight hundred!"
Finally, he turned to Uncle Deng at the head seat.
"Da Pu Hei already said it—he's not interested in running."
"Then the seat—if it's not Big D's, could it be Ah Lok's? Let him wait another term!"
"Tea, please. Tea."
Just as Fire Bull was about to retort, Uncle Deng calmly lifted the teapot and spoke.
The room instantly quieted.
Everyone followed Uncle Deng's lead and picked up their teacups.
Uncle Deng took a sip of black tea, his gaze falling on Fat Wah, who had just sat down.
"Fat Wah, you look anxious. Something happen in your hall?"
Fat Wah set down his cup and leaned forward.
"Uncle Deng, it was my subordinate Ah Yao."
"Because of Officer Sam's issue, he got tangled up with a few women. Turns out those women were connected to Hongyi's First Brother. First Brother directly mobilized his whole society to cause trouble."
"And now?" Uncle Deng's expression turned serious at the word Hongyi.
"At this crucial moment for choosing the seat, we can't afford a major incident."
"It's fine now. My little brother Ah Yao already handled it."
Fat Wah puffed out his chest, pride all over his face.
"No way. Which little brother of yours is that capable? You think I'd believe it?"
Before Uncle Deng could reply, Moonball the Kingpin sneered first.
"Moonball! F—your—mother!"
Fat Wah exploded, slamming the table.
"My little brother is that capable—more capable than the Big D you're backing!"
"Heh, more capable than Big D?"
Moonball laughed coldly.
"Then why not let him come pick the seat himself?"