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墨書 Inktalez
"Let him go."
After I finished speaking, I turned and walked towards the factory exit. I knew that Xi Xiang was also unwilling, and he would no longer have the chance to assassinate me in the future, so there was no need for me to do anything to him.
"Xiang Dong! Are we still friends?" Xi Xiang suddenly called out to me, but I didn't turn back; I just continued to smile in response.
"You've already made your choice."
I couldn't blame Xi Xiang for this situation. He was a lovesick man, deceived by a woman, and I understood him. He chose to kill me to protect his girlfriend, and that couldn't be said to be wrong. Moreover, this situation arose because of me.
However, as I said, the moment he decided to kill me to protect his girlfriend, he had already made his choice. We were no longer friends.
After this matter concluded, I reported Tianchi and Lu Qiang's situation regarding Zheng Yu to Liu Hao. Liu Hao sought out He Wei that same day, intending to execute him using family law!
But at that moment, Geng Kun intervened to protect He Wei, stating that Liu Hao had no evidence and could not arbitrarily execute his subordinates. At the same time, Lu Qiang began to change his tune, claiming that He Wei was not the one who instigated it.
Even a fool could see that Lu Qiang must have been threatened in some way, but that did not deter Liu Hao from wanting to eliminate He Wei! I heard that Liu Hao called his boss, Vice Leader Chen Ming, and Geng Kun also contacted his superior, Helmsman Ning Chuan. It was clear both sides wanted to escalate the matter.
However, the responses they received were unified! The higher-ups criticized them for being dishonest and causing trouble!
It was evident that both leaders were quite busy and were in a sensitive period; neither wanted any unnecessary complications! Therefore, they were unwilling to intervene in this minor issue below them.
So what would happen now?
In the end, it concluded with Liu Hao stating there was insufficient evidence to execute He Wei under family law; however, Liu Hao still expelled He Wei! The only remaining candidate for the position of White Tiger Hall leader was now me.
You wouldn't believe how furious Geng Kun was when Liu Hao expelled He Wei. I couldn't understand why Geng Kun still didn't see the situation clearly. Why continue to resist?
Zheng Yu sat in my office and chuckled, saying that while Liu Hao had insufficient evidence to execute He Wei, he had used this timing very effectively by choosing to expel He Wei at this moment.
Why was Liu Hao's timing so effective? Because both he and Geng Kun had just called their respective bosses seeking help, but what was their bosses' attitude?
Impatience!
Previously, Liu Hao hadn't expelled He Wei because he knew that once he did so, Geng Kun would inevitably report him to Ning Chuan. After all, Ning Chuan was still Helmsman; Liu Hao couldn't afford not to be cautious. But now? Ning Chuan had just expressed impatience; if Geng Kun reported this matter to Ning Chuan now, he would be the one facing a reprimand first!
Thus, even if Liu Hao expelled He Wei, Geng Kun wouldn't dare—or rather couldn't—report it to Ning Chuan anymore. Liu Hao acted with confidence in expelling him!
So now I am the leader of White Tiger Hall?
I smiled and said that with my only competitor expelled, I didn't even need a vote; I was the leader!
Sort of. But you still need a formal appointment; you will officially become the leader when Liu Hao appoints you the day after tomorrow.
Zheng Yu nodded and said, "I suppose so."
I chuckled and asked, "So if I ascend to the throne, you’ll have to call me Dong Ge, right?" I looked at Zheng Yu with a smile. I had always suspected that Zheng Yu's true identity was my older brother-in-law, and it was fun to tease him about it. Zheng Yu paused for a moment, then smiled helplessly without answering.
Time passed slowly, and before I knew it, two days had gone by. During this time, Geng Kun had not arranged for anyone to assassinate me again. With He Wei removed from the picture and Ning Chuan no longer bothering with his petty schemes, Geng Kun had finally settled down.
In these two days, Lu Qiang had disappeared. I suspected he had been dealt with by family law. He Wei's crimes were not substantiated, but Lu Qiang had indeed harmed his fellow disciples.
On election day, I unexpectedly became the leader of the White Tiger Hall!
From today onward, Xiang Dong is the leader of our South District White Tiger Hall. Xiang Dong, since you just took office, be sure to let Zheng Yu help you out; his abilities are quite impressive.
Inside the Aishang Club, Liu Hao presided over the meeting. There were two fewer attendees than last time, leaving four hall leaders including myself: Liu Hao and Zheng Yu.
"Yes, I understand, Liu Ge," I replied with a smile and a nod. Liu Hao nodded in satisfaction and rambled on about some trivial matters before concluding the meeting. Throughout the meeting, Geng Kun and Wu Hai remained sullen-faced and silent. No one seemed willing to engage with them.
After the meeting ended, I spoke with Zheng Yu about Tian Chi. Ever since Geng Kun was dismissed by Ning Chuan for causing trouble, he had given up on trying to assassinate me. As the leader of Tian Ye Group's White Tiger Hall, no one would dare to target me anymore.
"Dong Ge, now that you’re the leader of White Tiger Hall, there are some matters regarding the hall that we need to discuss," Zheng Yu said on our way there. I acknowledged him with a sound of agreement. Over the past two days, Zheng Yu had started calling me Dong Ge as if he took my earlier jest seriously. But I was just joking; I still referred to him as Yu Ge out of respect since he was older than me and might even be Linna's brother.
Our White Tiger Hall has about eight hundred members; previously under my command were four hundred, while He Wei and Lu Qiang each had two hundred. After He Wei and Lu Qiang's departure, I disbanded most of their followers and retained only one hundred. Now our White Tiger Hall is the weakest among the four halls with only five hundred members.
"What? Only that many?" I exclaimed in surprise. A single underworld hall has five hundred members? When I was undercover in Northeast China, one hall there had several thousand members!
"Yes," Zheng Yu replied. "When President Lin was still around a while ago, he kept reducing the number of personnel in our ranks to keep each hall under control at around one thousand members. Many of Lu Qiang's and He Wei's men are no longer usable. After everything we've been through in White Tiger Hall these past few days, I'm left as the main manager; it's normal for our strength to diminish."
I nodded in agreement; I had heard similar things before. However, in the underworld, strength equates to power—more strength means more influence!
After all, I needed to rise higher because only by doing so could I gain the power to contend with others! Only then could I help Linna take control of Tian Ye Group! If White Tiger Hall doesn’t thrive under my leadership, why would those above me allow me to ascend?
"So how many venues do we currently have? What’s our monthly revenue? How do we compare with other halls?"
I continued questioning Zheng Yu. While the number of subordinates is a standard measure of strength, in today’s society, efficiency is even more crucial—it’s what truly allows me to stand tall.
We have twenty venues, while Azure Dragon Hall has thirty-five, Xuanwu has twenty-five, and Vermilion Bird has thirty. In terms of both the number of our subordinates and our profits, we have always been at the bottom.
Zheng Yu told me this, and I couldn't help but facepalm in disbelief! No wonder Xiong Li, as Liu Hao's confidant, couldn't compete with Cao Minghui; Xiong Li's capabilities are truly limited. It's really pathetic! Is my backbone going to break?
As for the profits from the venues, they vary greatly. The main reason is that both Azure Dragon Hall and Vermilion Bird Hall have casinos, and the profit from just one of those venues can equal fifty percent of our entire White Tiger Hall's earnings.
Zheng Yu continued speaking, and I understood that casinos are indeed the most profitable! Zheng Yu probably wanted me to consider getting into the casino business, but I’m not fond of such harmful enterprises.
I need to think of other ways to make money. Now that I have people under me, and with Tian Ye Group planning to develop its influence in the underworld, what avenues for income does the underworld offer?
As I pondered this, a light bulb went off in my head!
Protection fees!
What if I started a Security Company? With people under me and Tian Ye Group backing me up, who would dare to provoke me? If I run a Security Company, the profits would definitely be substantial!
I shared this idea with Zheng Yu, who agreed that it was feasible but cautioned me not to make the Security Company too large. He mentioned that Tian Ye Group would soon absorb a lot of new subordinates, and I could use that to support my men without drawing too much attention.
I nodded in agreement; I understood the principle of not attracting too much attention. Although outsiders might not dare to provoke me due to Tian Ye Group's reputation, how many people are actually part of Tian Ye Group?
If my Security Company grew too big and had more subordinates than Liu Hao, I would inevitably offend him, leading to a loss of power from above! So while showing off is important, it must be done appropriately; otherwise, it’s easy to overreach and end up in trouble.
Later on, I discussed many other matters with Zheng Yu, mostly focused on the development of White Tiger Hall. We also talked about those two casinos. Initially, I thought Zheng Yu brought them up because he wanted me to try and take them over for ourselves.
But once again, I was mistaken; Zheng Yu had the same idea as me—eliminate those two casinos! We wouldn’t operate them ourselves nor allow anyone else to do so! This reminded me once more of Lin Tianfeng; he despises such businesses. Does Zheng Yu feel the same way? I began to suspect he might just be my wild uncle.
Regarding the plan to eliminate the casinos, Zheng Yu said there was no need for me to worry about it. I should focus on developing White Tiger Hall first by establishing a Security Company. This made sense; having partners is definitely better than going solo. How I wish more powerful allies like him would emerge!
After chatting with Zheng Yu, instead of heading to Tianchi, I went home. Linna had been staying at a hotel for the past few days and had just returned home when I arrived in the afternoon. She was doing yoga.
I hadn’t seen Linna do yoga in days; I really missed it.
“Hey, you’re back so early! Have you become a kid already?”
However, what was annoying was that as soon as I walked into the house, Linna immediately stopped her practice. It felt like being extremely hungry only for someone to wave a delicious Peking duck in front of you before taking it away—very frustrating!
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