Money and Murder

The next day, Wang Yan received a call from Ni Yongxiao, who provided him with an anonymous account number.

After noting it down, Wang Yan expressed his gratitude, which goes without saying.

Afterward, Wang Yan took Li Yun to the bank to check the balance, which contained exactly ten million USD, and then he changed the password.

Upon leaving, the two wasted no time in finding a law firm.

He found a highly capable lawyer and had him handle the registration of several companies for Wang Yan. Lawyers are professionals at this; they know exactly how to get things done cost-effectively.

It wasn't that Wang Yan didn't want to find a famous high-profile lawyer, but those big shots have connections that ordinary people simply cannot match. They are all rubbing shoulders with this committee member or that bureau chief; Wang Yan was simply not at that level yet.

Wang Yan had the lawyer register several group companies for him, all of which he would need in the future, with the holding group named "Long Teng Group."

Afterward, he instructed Li Yun to begin large-scale recruitment of subordinates with high capability and quality.

As mentioned before, Wang Yan's reputation was large enough, and many Guhuozi in prison had helped spread his name. By now, almost every low-level Guhuozi in Hong Kong Island knew Wang Yan and was eager to work for him. For a Guhuozi, following a boss with a big reputation is incredibly important. Consequently, many came to apply, and after layers of screening, the elites and talents were selected.

Of course, the process inevitably involved various undercover agents planted by the police force. This was unavoidable, as Wang Yan was clearly looking to stir up trouble. To be honest, Wang Yan was happy to see the police-planted moles; these undercover agents were the elites of the police force selected through rigorous vetting, and they were flexible rather than rigid—exactly the kind of talent Wang Yan needed.

After finishing these tasks, he had Li Yun find a few people specialized in financial trading.

Within three hours, Li Yun brought over three practitioners in this field, all of whom were in debt to loan sharks.

Wang Yan told them some information and instructed them to operate according to his directions. Afterward, he offered some gentle encouragement and sent a few subordinates to follow them. As for threats? Did they not know how they were brought here? Did they not know what Wang Yan did for a living? That was the greatest threat of all.

Over the next month, his influence developed steadily; everything had been delegated, so he didn't need to worry too much.

A month later, the money Wang Yan had initially borrowed had finally doubled, reaching over 25 million USD.

He didn't dare dump all that money into a single market; he didn't understand it well enough and could easily be crushed. He split the funds into multiple parts, using small-scale guerrilla tactics, and with his infallible information, the returns were quite substantial.

Subsequently, Wang Yan boarded a plane to San Francisco.

Counting all three of his lifetimes, this was the first time Wang Yan had come to this land of freedom, democracy, and peace—the United States. He wasn't overly excited; it was just more of the same.

He found a hotel and checked in.

The next day, after some searching, Wang Yan finally made contact with the local Chinese gang organization, the Hongmen. Many of the Hongmen bosses of this era had lived through the war years and had contributed to the liberation of their motherland; many of the current bosses still held their country in their hearts.

Wang Yan reached out to them because they were all compatriots, providing a foundation of trust.

Wang Yan was quite nervous about meeting the Hongmen boss. After all, these were ruthless characters who wouldn't blink at killing, with thousands of men under their command and tens of thousands in the organization. If the talks went south, getting a burst of gunfire was a real possibility, and no matter how well he could fight, it would be useless.

Fortunately, the boss was decent and still held affection for his compatriots, not having been blinded by vanity. Seeing Wang Yan, who came from Hong Kong Island and was, in his eyes, a "little brother's little brother," he was inclined to mentor him and treated the young man quite well.

In truth, this boss was also a "little brother's little brother" within the Hongmen, but they were a global organization, leaving Wang Yan in the dust by a hundred thousand miles.

Wang Yan said to the boss, "Big Brother, I've come this time to ask for your help with a favor."

The boss signaled for him to continue, telling him to speak his mind.

Wang Yan continued, "I would like to ask you to help me poach a company's team. I will pay a tea fee of 1 million USD."

The boss indicated that this was a small matter. Although he didn't know why Wang Yan wanted a small team from a small, broken company, he could earn 1 million just by opening his mouth, and he hoped for more jobs like this.

"Alright, then thank you, Big Brother. Here is the check for 1 million."

Without even looking, the boss took it, because ever since he reached this position, no one had dared to cheat him—no one.

Afterward, through the connections of the Hongmen, Wang Yan effortlessly spent some money to acquire the MPEG technology of the C-CUBE company, along with the personnel and the tech. Under Wang Yan's monetary offensive, these researchers had no objections and collectively relocated to Hong Kong Island.

Upon returning to Hong Kong Island, Wang Yan first arranged for the researchers from the United States, gave them a direction, and told them to combine MPEG to develop the VCD. He issued an order to speed up the research, providing money and manpower as needed.

After settling these people, Wang Yan flew without pause to the territory of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union didn't have many days left; it was about to collapse, so he might as well let them have a taste of the soup to warm their stomachs.

Upon arriving, Wang Yan found a Chinese translator and, after much asking around, contacted a general. Although more than a month had passed, this was the most chaotic time, and no one knew what the future held. If you have power and don't use it, it expires; these people holding power were grabbing everything they could—even the Gweilo were two levels behind them.

The general held real power, and it was easy to guess Wang Yan's intentions. As long as you dared to ask, he was willing to sell anything right now. He didn't waste time with Wang Yan and directly asked him what he wanted.

Wang Yan asked what he had, and the general rattled off a long list. Most were military supplies, weapons, and the like. As for civilian goods, the general indicated that no matter what it was, just name it; he had everything.

Wang Yan didn't know that history well and thought he could only grab things during the previous period, but now that the general said this, he had a better idea.

Wang Yan then listed a pile of items: guns, cannons, various lathes, various machines, and so on.

The translator was stunned; was this guy really that bold? He dared to ask for anything.

He then stammered the translation to the general. The general listened carefully; this was a matter of his future comfortable life, so he had to be serious.

After listening and pondering for a moment, he had a measure of what kind of person Wang Yan was.

He replied to Wang Yan that these things were no problem at all and could all be arranged.

Then came the haggling, and an agreement was reached. Including various miscellaneous supplies, Wang Yan spent a total of over 30 million USD.

Of course, this wasn't paid all at once; it was a continuous process.

He sent a subordinate to open a Long Teng branch in the country to help handle domestic affairs, receive equipment, and collect supplies.

Afterward, Wang Yan began traveling the world, acting as a middleman, keeping what was useful for himself, and for things that weren't useful to him but were valuable to others or factions, he would copy the documents or replicate the blueprints of the equipment, then sell them around the world in exchange for USD.

And after connecting with the Hongmen, he also managed to get some things from the United States.

He went through the Hongmen boss for the big items, while keeping the confidential, high-value small items on his own person.

He just kept trading back and forth like this.

Of course, because Wang Yan operated this way, even if he kept it secret, word would eventually leak out. This behavior of poaching business also drew attacks from various forces, leading to all sorts of encirclement and suppression.

Wang Yan certainly wasn't going to be intimidated by them; everyone was out here to make a fortune, so who the hell did they think they were? He took his elite subordinates and fought them head-on.

Wang Yan was bold because of his high skill level. A guy who hadn't fired many shots or killed anyone before, he had his eyes opened this time and gained real experience. While others had to practice shooting at static and moving targets, Wang Yan practiced directly on his opponents. Relying on his excellent physical fitness, high mental acuity, and sharp senses, his hands were steady and his aim was true. His marksmanship had damn well reached LV2 Proficiency.

After killing people, Wang Yan felt that he had changed, and this feeling was very distinct. First of all, Wang Yan's fighting became more ruthless. The various combat skills he had learned—Sanda, Mixed Martial Arts, Muay Thai, Krav Maga, Boxing, and so on—could be said to have reached a higher level, with strikes that were sharp and lethal. Wang Yan could feel that his combat skills were also on the verge of a breakthrough.

Secondly, there was a psychological sensation, one that made Wang Yan involuntarily start to look down on everything. Generally, no one dared to look Wang Yan in the eyes because they couldn't handle that gaze, which felt like being looked at by a predator eyeing small prey. This situation was quite bad for Wang Yan, and he was constantly looking for a solution.

Wang Yan broke through the psychological barrier after killing, and coupled with his space, it was almost like he was cheating. With dozens of lives on his hands, he forced the rival gangs into a steady retreat. Of course, Wang Yan wasn't a god of war; getting injured by others was a common occurrence.

Taking such huge risks brought rich rewards. The equipment, lathes, and machinery he obtained from the Soviet Union were all shipped back to the country. At the same time, the cash in his account was no small sum.

As for the money from Ni Yongxiao, he had paid it back in less than half a year. As for what Ni Yongxiao thought about that, there was no way to know.

Once these things were mostly settled, he finally sat down to properly understand the specific situation of his forces.

Previously, Li Yun had reported to him over the phone, which was naturally not as detailed as understanding it in person.

According to Li Yun's detailed report, Wang Yan had a thorough understanding of the development over the past four months.

During this time, the number of subordinates under Wang Yan had expanded to over 500. These people were all screened layer by layer from the Guhuozi who applied, and their individual quality was quite good. All of them were employed by the Long Teng Security Company that Wang Yan had previously opened, and the treatment they received was not bad at all. There were 13 levels in total, with salaries paid according to rank; the lowest level 1 subordinate received a monthly salary of 5,000, with full insurance coverage. To pay the salaries of his subordinates, Wang Yan had to shell out nearly 4 million every month.

The treatment Wang Yan provided had long since spread throughout Hong Kong Island, and the Guhuozi were all green with envy. It was believed that the next public recruitment would attract even more people. Likewise, Wang Yan had also posed a difficult problem for the bosses of all the triads on Hong Kong Island; this kind of thing was all about comparison. Don't look at how the Guhuozi were always blustering and throwing their weight around; in reality, they didn't get much money. Many Guhuozi were lucky if they didn't have to pay out of pocket, let alone receive a salary or insurance.

In the past, everyone was in the same boat, so it didn't matter, but now the treatment Wang Yan offered was truly not low. The current average income in Hong Kong Island was about five or six thousand, and with Hong Kong Island being small and densely populated, the competition was immense. Since Wang Yan offered five thousand, the subordinates of other triads started to have ideas. I acknowledge you as my boss, and you're out here eating and drinking well, showing off everywhere. The brothers are bleeding and sweating, and we get nothing—no human being could stand for that. The subordinates of major triads were restless, and the streets of Hong Kong Island were unusually quiet.

The bosses of the various triads clearly felt this eerie atmosphere; it was the calm before the storm. If things went wrong, it would be a revolution for the Hong Kong Island triads, and revolutions—require blood.

The bosses were helpless and could only curse Wang Yan while gritting their teeth to pay out money to appease their subordinates. They also promised that they would pay salaries in the future.

Of course, the treatment was inevitably inferior to what Wang Yan offered. At the very least, it stabilized the restless subordinates and maintained their positions.

With the addition of five hundred subordinates, the territory of one street was clearly not enough. The five hundred subordinates were all daring and willing to fight; after all, Wang Yan's treatment was right there, and if you weren't willing, there were plenty of others who wanted to get in.

The area where Wang Yan was located was not a very prosperous one, so it was occupied by some loose, small forces.

Long Teng directly annexed the surrounding small forces with the force of a thunderbolt, without encountering any decent resistance. Afterward, they carried out a cleanup according to Wang Yan's rules.

The various shop owners were very welcoming of Long Teng's arrival because the business on the street managed by Long Teng was truly good. Without all kinds of harassment, robbery, or theft, people were naturally happy to come, and with more people, business was naturally good.

After the establishment of Long Teng Security, the subordinates brought lawyers with them when collecting debts. They needed to sign employment agreements with Long Teng, and all kinds of legal clauses were explained clearly, making it look extremely formal.

Perhaps seeing that the people from Long Teng were easy to talk to, some people always wanted to challenge them, refusing to sign contracts or pay. These people clearly didn't learn their lesson, forgetting the pain once the wound healed; they forgot what Long Teng was actually about. For this kind of behavior, they were directly gifted a set of traditional Guhuozi skills for free. Within two days, they would be crying and begging to sign the contract, with none of the heroic spirit of resistance they had shown earlier. By killing one chicken, the other monkeys naturally signed the contracts obediently.

The current territory had developed to its limit; any further expansion would require going head-to-head with the large surrounding forces, and Wang Yan didn't want to move against them yet. He needed to develop slowly; if he went too fast, his manpower wouldn't keep up.

Wang Yan also established a logistics company, Long Teng Logistics. After all, this was Wang Yan's old line of work, which required many people and had a large cash flow. The employees of Long Teng Logistics were first hired from the families of his subordinates, and only then from outsiders. This behavior, following the high treatment, once again won the loyalty of his subordinates. After all, if your whole family was working under me, and you still wouldn't give your life for me, then I, Wang, would have to finish you off.

The subordinates didn't let him down, and they were all high-spirited. When they had nothing to do, they exercised like crazy; that was all they could do. For this reason, Wang Yan even bought a building in the suburbs, using both threats and inducements without spending much money. He planned to convert it into a sports center, equip it with instructors for his subordinates, and have them train whenever they were free.

Wang Yan also built a shoe factory, employing the female relatives of his subordinates. When they had nothing to do, they would make some pirated goods, which could also earn a small profit. In fact, he didn't care how much he earned; this was also done to win the loyalty of his subordinates.

In the future, Wang Yan would establish various companies, and in a few years, Wang Yan would almost be able to handle every aspect of life.

As for the police force, they were also dumbfounded by Wang Yan's operations. In all these years, when had they ever seen a boss who knew how to play the game like this? Aside from collecting protection fees, there was no illegal or undisciplined behavior at all; on the contrary, the places he managed were particularly prosperous. Moreover, when collecting protection fees, people even signed contracts. Aside from minor issues like fighting over territory or brawling, he was practically a model citizen. But even with Wang Yan acting like this, they didn't relax; instead, they watched him even more closely.