Sudden Attack

Ignoring the faint stir among the crowd below, Albert continued.

"From now on, the way you conduct yourselves must also change."

The old butler laid out Chen Mo's rules and requirements one by one.

"Smuggling, casinos, and nightclubs can continue. You may also continue collecting protection money. But once they have paid for protection, we must safeguard the shop owners' interests and resolve their problems for them."

"As for the unsavory activities that cannot be brought into the open—extortion, theft, robbery, forcing women into prostitution, human trafficking, and the like—they will be strictly prohibited. Anyone found engaging in any of the above will be punished by the family."

As Albert spoke, the expressions of everyone present became increasingly colorful.

At last, someone below could no longer sit still. Seeing Chen Mo reclining in his chair with his eyes closed as though dozing, while only the gray-haired Old Albert was speaking, the two men who had exchanged glances earlier looked at each other again. One of them stood up.

"We're the Mafia! We make our living off the dirty business you just mentioned. Now you want us to stop just because you say so? I'm afraid the brothers won't agree!"

The moment he spoke, the room fell silent.

Everyone turned their eyes toward Chen Mo and Albert at the head of the room.

Frank turned to glance at Anderson. Both men wore grave expressions.

"Sure enough, they're still unwilling to accept it."

With the two great families wiped out, Harris and Walker had been the happiest. Their forces were the strongest apart from those two families. The instant they received the news, both had been overjoyed and immediately prepared to gather their men, wipe out their greatest rival in one stroke, seize control of Brooklyn, and become the new kings of the underworld.

As for the Martial Arts School, the two men, blinded by power, naturally assumed that they had relied on their nimble skills to sneak into the headquarters of the two great families late at night and launch surprise assassinations. Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain how merely seven people had eliminated two families totaling over a hundred men without suffering a scratch.

Back then, Mad Dog Tony and his gang had been assassinated late at night by Chen Mo, the owner of the Martial Arts School.

The two men concluded that everyone in the Martial Arts School had to be top-tier assassins.

At the same time, they could not help but lament how careless the two great families had been. They had ruled Brooklyn peacefully for far too many years, and their defenses had grown so lax. Had they known this earlier, they could have hired a group of assassins to sneak in and kill them. Wouldn't they have unified Brooklyn long ago?

When they learned that the Martial Arts School had summoned the leaders of every major and minor force in Brooklyn to a meeting that night, both men were stunned.

After the Martial Arts School killed Mad Dog Tony last time, they had made no further moves. They had stayed quietly at the school, living a life untouched by worldly disputes. Why had they suddenly changed their ways?

Could it be that they, too, coveted the position of Brooklyn's underground king?

Feeling that someone had set their sights on their slice of the pie, Walker and Harris became uneasy. Although the Martial Arts School had only seven people, it posed a tremendous threat. After all, they had no idea how strong the Martial Arts School truly was.

At noon that day, Walker sought out Harris. The two men, once mortal enemies, came together under the threat posed by the Martial Arts School.

The two immediately hit it off and agreed to use this opportunity to join forces, eliminate the people from the Martial Arts School, and then jointly control Brooklyn just as the two great families once had.

Of course, this was merely a verbal agreement between them. As for what each truly had in mind, no one knew.

From the moment Chen Mo entered the meeting room, the two had been searching for a chance to make their move. After hearing Chen Mo's new rules, they finally decided to stop pretending.

They believed that everyone else must also be deeply dissatisfied with these messy bullshit rules. This was the perfect time to act.

As for Chen Mo, the baleful aura around him was indeed intensely oppressive. It put immense pressure on them and made them rate his strength even more highly. But the temptation of becoming Brooklyn's underground king made them ignore every threat, and the pistols at their waists gave them confidence.

They were even secretly mocking Chen Mo for being so overconfident, allowing them in with guns without taking any precautions. Did he think he could dodge bullets? How naive!

Still, that was for the best. It saved them a great deal of trouble. Later, they could simply pull their guns and kill Chen Mo, surely shocking everyone present into submission.

One of them had to strike first. Neither could let the other beat him to it.

Leaving aside the schemes in their hearts, Albert showed little reaction to Harris's sudden outburst. He calmly glanced at him, then asked the people present.

"Does anyone else feel the same way?"

The group below sat silently. No one spoke.

Seeing this, Walker stood with a smile and said arrogantly, "Brooklyn is our Mafia territory. How things should be done ought to be decided by us."

Albert ignored Walker again and continued asking.

"Anyone else?"

"The two of us are enough!" Their long-prepared sudden attack had been treated so casually that a fierce glint flashed through the eyes of the two men, who felt slighted. They immediately drew the pistols hidden at their waists and aimed them at Albert and Chen Mo, seated at the head of the room.

Chen Mo, who had been resting in his chair with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A cold gleam flickered in his eyes as surging killing intent spilled out.

"Is this what you're relying on?"

Under Chen Mo's sharp, murderous gaze, the two men holding guns felt a chill creep down their spines. But the metallic texture and solid weight of the firearms in their hands reassured them. The owner of the Martial Arts School was truly no ordinary man. Where had such immense killing intent come from? They had nearly been frightened by him just now.

Having regained their confidence, the two men kept their pistols firmly trained on Chen Mo. Harris looked at the cold-faced Chen Mo, who still sat calmly in his chair, and said mockingly.

"I know you're skilled, but can you stop bullets? I don't know whether you're confident or stupid. You let us in without any precautions at all, without even searching us. Look, now all I need to do is pull the trigger, and I can take your life immediately!"

As he spoke, Harris shifted the muzzle and aimed it directly at Chen Mo's forehead.

"You can try." Chen Mo looked at him without changing expression, his voice icy.

"Ha! You don't know what's good for you. You're still talking tough at a time like this. What, can you dodge bullets? Fine. Since you're looking to die, I'll grant your wish. Die!"

As he spoke, Harris prepared to pull the trigger. Killing Chen Mo would not only eliminate the greatest threat to ruling Brooklyn, but also intimidate everyone present and make them obediently fall in line.

This time, however, Old Albert did not hurry to step forward and shield Chen Mo. Instead, he stood there calmly, looking as though he were waiting to enjoy a good show.