Dare to Do, Dare to Bear (Seeking Votes)

The entire Mong Kok was restless that night. Wang Xuan's Portland Street was relatively fine; most of his businesses revolved around the entertainment industry, which wasn't illegal in Hong Kong during the 90s. He didn't even care about the losses from some private gambling dens. Those places were merely kept to house his subordinates, and at most, he just needed to bail them out.

However, Baki was in a much worse situation. He was in charge of all the drug business on Portland Street. While not many people were arrested this time, a large amount of drugs went down the drain, costing him nearly a million in expenses alone.

Baki's two trusted lieutenants, Ah Hoi and Wong Jai, also suffered immense losses. Although other parts of Mong Kok weren't as prosperous as Portland Street, areas like the nearby Ladies' Market and Shanghai Street were still densely populated parts of Hong Kong. While not the primary targets of police crackdowns, their gambling and drug businesses still incurred significant losses, and many of their people were arrested.

That night, the Mong Kok police station was brightly lit, with the arrested individuals filling it to the brim.

Baki, Wong Jai, and Ah Sen were busy all night. By morning, not all of them had been bailed out from the police station.

After finding out the reason for the massive raid, the two subordinates complained to Baki about Wang Xuan causing trouble. Of course, they only complained amongst themselves. They had personally experienced Wang Xuan's ruthlessness and didn't dare to say too much, fearing the young man would disown anyone, regardless of relation.

Baki also suffered considerable losses. However, the drug business on Portland Street was originally something Wang Xuan had offered to him as a tribute, so he had to bear the hardship silently.

It hadn't been that long since he took over Portland Street, and this time the losses were greater than what he had earned in the previous period.

When Wang Xuan woke up that morning, he also learned about the losses Baki and his crew had suffered. He couldn't help but curse Wong Chi-shing internally for finding him such a big problem.

No matter how Wang Xuan thought about it, he had to take the blame for this.

He called Baki and arranged to have lunch together, specifically asking him to bring Wong Jai and Ah Sen along. He would host a meal to apologize to everyone.

At noon, at Fu Kee Restaurant.

The restaurant wasn't large, but the food was good, and the place was relatively quiet, suitable for people like them who operated in the shadows to gather.

The downstairs area was already cordoned off by their subordinates, preventing any nosy individuals from disturbing the bosses upstairs.

Wang Xuan stood at the entrance of the restaurant early to welcome Baki and his two companions. Seeing the three of them get out of the car, he quickly walked over.

"Brother, I caused trouble this time." After greeting Wong Jai and Ah Sen who followed behind, he continued, "Let's go upstairs to talk. I'm hosting a meal to apologize to everyone today."

Upon reaching the second floor, the food and drinks were already laid out. Baki sat at the head of the table, and the other two also took their seats. Wang Xuan immediately picked up a glass and said, "Brother, you know what happened before. I was set up by the police and taken away. Afterwards, I retaliated, which also caused the entire Hong Kong Royal Police force to lose face. So this large-scale raid was generally aimed at me.

I just didn't expect it to affect you and the two brothers. Here, I'll punish myself with three cups to apologize to everyone."

With that, he drained his cup, poured another, and drank it down. As he was about to drink the third cup, Baki stopped him, "Alright, we're all brothers. Having this attitude is good enough. We're all in this business, and we'll encounter this kind of trouble sooner or later, whether it's today or tomorrow. Don't take it to heart."

"No, one thing is one thing. It's my fault, and I won't shirk responsibility." Pushing Baki's hand away, Wang Xuan drank the third cup down.

With Wang Xuan showing this attitude, even if Baki and the two subordinates had any grievances, they couldn't voice them anymore. After sitting down, Wang Xuan continued, "I've just taken over Portland Street, so I don't have that much money right now. However, Brother and the two brothers, I will make up for your losses at the end of the month. I absolutely cannot let my affairs cause you all to suffer."

Hearing Wang Xuan say this, Baki and the two subordinates' faces lit up with joy. What did they get into this business for if not to make money? As long as they didn't lose money, they didn't really care about anything else.

As for Wang Xuan himself, losing some money was of no consequence. He knew he was in a mission world, and his only goal here was to complete the mission and earn three years of life in the real world. To complete the mission smoothly, his reputation in both the underworld and the legal world was more important than a few million.

He wanted outsiders to know that he, Wang Xuan, was loyal and accountable, and that he didn't care about money or possessions. They didn't need to worry about being cheated when dealing with him.

With this reputation, it would be easier to accomplish great things in the future.

Since Wang Xuan had made his promise, the group naturally put aside their frustrations. For a while, the wine flowed freely at the table, and the atmosphere was lively.

During the meal, Wang Xuan also briefly mentioned setting up some legitimate businesses as a fallback in critical moments. Seeing that the three of them had no reaction, he didn't say any more.

Everyone had their own thoughts. They were in a mutually beneficial relationship, with no deep personal connection. Besides, good advice is hard to give to someone determined to fail, and great compassion cannot save those who choose their own doom. After giving them a hint, he stopped thinking about it.

After a satisfying meal, everyone dispersed. Wang Xuan saw the three of them off and then returned to the nightclub.

One day, shortly after Wang Xuan finished a call with Shen Leman, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Ah Ying pushed the door open and walked in. "Boss."

"Sit down. What's the matter?"

"It's like this, one of the loans from our company's subsidiary is proving difficult to collect."

Wang Xuan found Ah Ying's troubled expression amusing. "Who is it that's making it so difficult for Brother Ah Ying?"

"The debtor is a lawyer. How are we supposed to get the money back? Many of our usual methods aren't working!"

"Oh!" Wang Xuan's interest was piqued. Lawyers in Hong Kong were a high-income group and notoriously difficult to deal with, or rather, lawyers everywhere else in the world were difficult to deal with, except perhaps on the mainland.

Why would a lawyer borrow money? And why couldn't they repay it?

It was truly difficult to use extreme measures against a lawyer. After all, their goal was to collect money, not to kill. If the money couldn't be collected, even if you tore them to pieces, it would only attract the police and be of no use.

And against lawyers, methods like throwing paint, beating them up, or threatening their parents and children wouldn't work. They would actually dare to sue you!

And they would win!

Therefore, Wang Xuan wasn't really interested in usury. Even if he were to lend money, it would be best to learn from real-world methods, targeting companies or individuals with collateral. At least then, there wouldn't be a total loss!

"How much is owed?"

"Over thirty thousand," Ah Ying said somewhat sheepishly. He felt he had messed up this matter.

"Bring the person here. I want to meet them."

Wang Xuan waved his hand dismissively. It didn't matter if the money couldn't be recovered; it was only thirty-odd thousand, just a lesson learned with money. Besides, he had other plans.