Dominating

On the way to Longteng Headquarters, Wang Yan called Ni Yongxiao and invited him for afternoon tea.

When he arrived at headquarters and looked up at the towering Longteng Building, Wang Yan felt full of confidence and ambition.

As he entered the building with his men, everyone walking around stood at attention and watched him pass. There was no helping it: Longteng was powerful, and Wang Yan commanded awe. Across Hong Kong Island, Longteng was a household name.

Wang Yan took the elevator straight to the large conference room on the top floor.

Dozens of people sat quietly inside. Outside, they were all powerful bosses in their own right, but here, not one of them made a sound.

This was one of Longteng's policies. Whether they were Guhuozi from the Security Company or employees in Longteng's other businesses, anyone who reached level ten had to go to headquarters for promotion training and assessment. The curriculum varied according to their career path and included military training, Longteng's values and development plans, essential management skills, and a range of other related subjects. Even after earning a promotion, they continued to receive regular training.

The reason for all this was to engrave Longteng's rules into them, step by step, throughout the process.

Longteng's recruits were carefully screened at every level. Anyone who worked their way up to level ten was truly one in a thousand. They were absolutely capable of handling the job. The Security Company's people could even have made something of themselves without becoming Guhuozi.

At level ten, they became Longteng managers. If the leaders were properly trained, their subordinates would follow their example and be influenced over time. And as Longteng continued to grow, its recruitment standards kept rising. Together, these two tiers continually improved the overall caliber of the organization.

One of his men pushed open the two heavy doors, and Wang Yan walked slowly into the conference room.

When they saw Wang Yan enter, everyone stood up in unison and greeted him, "Brother Yan!"

Wang Yan nodded and took the seat at the head of the table. "Everyone, sit down."

The men sat down together.

Once they were all seated, Wang Yan said, "I'm sure you all know why I called you here."

"I won't waste time. With Longteng's strength, if we can't deal with a few old bastards, you can all go back and start over at level one."

The men below answered in unison, assuring him there would be no problem. As if! If they had to start from scratch now, there was no telling whether they could make it back to the top. The new recruits in Longteng were ferocious these days.

Wang Yan was confident too, but he still needed to say what had to be said. You never knew when something might go wrong.

"I'll wait for the results. There's no point in talking about it. A Yun, is everything arranged in Thailand?" Wang Yan looked toward Li Yun, seated near the foot of the table.

Li Yun replied, "Don't worry, Brother Yan. We've been watching Jiang Tianyang for three months. There won't be any problems."

"A Fei, how are things on your end?" Wang Yan looked at Fang Hongfei.

Fang Hongfei had risen to prominence during the takeover of the New Territories. He had led his men in killing several Tung Sing members and had proved himself fearless in a fight, ready to kill.

"No problem, Brother Yan. This time, we'll turn the Tung Sing Five Tigers into house cats. Not one of them will get away."

Wang Yan nodded, then asked a few others how things were going and gave them detailed instructions.

Finally, he set the time: eleven o'clock tonight, sharp.

Everyone answered in unison, then went back to make preparations. Hong Kong Island was in for a turbulent night.

Three months earlier, Wang Yan had already ordered his men to track and monitor the bosses of all the various gangs. This time, he intended to bring Hong Kong Island's underground world under his control in one fell swoop.

He couldn't claim the operation was foolproof. With an organization as large as Longteng, it was only natural that some rumors would leak. Wang Yan had started spreading false information three months earlier to muddy the waters. For one thing, among the people at the meeting just now was a mole he had already identified. Wang Yan didn't care. The man had made it to level ten and was earning over a million a year. For all he knew, the man might not even bother passing information to the police anymore.

Besides, Wang Yan had poured money into the police force. All he asked was that they stay out of his business. They knew what kind of man he was; he was someone they couldn't afford to provoke. He could make their lives hell using legitimate methods, let alone if he started getting his hands dirty. So they took the money and did as they were told.

Other gangs had also planted moles in Longteng, hoping to get early warning and respond in time.

Wang Yan had made arrangements for that too. The level-ten bosses and their trusted men would prepare the tools they needed, but they wouldn't be told what they were for until an hour beforehand. In that one hour, Wang Yan's men would be at every airport, pier, and train station. He refused to believe those old bastards could still get away.

Once the arrangements were made, it was almost time for his meeting with Ni Yongxiao.

Last time, Wang Yan had gone to Tsim Sha Tsui to meet Ni Yongxiao. This time was different. Wang Yan had outgrown Ni Yongxiao by so much that there was no comparison, so Ni Yongxiao came to meet him in the New Territories.

When Wang Yan arrived at the teahouse, Ni Yongxiao was already waiting outside, just as Wang Yan had once waited for him. To Wang Yan's surprise, Chen Yongren was standing behind Ni Yongxiao.

When Ni Yongxiao saw Wang Yan get out of the car and approach, he came forward with Chen Yongren and stretched out his hand from a distance. "Brother Yan! Haha, it's been a long time!"

Wang Yan smiled and shook his hand. "Haha, Brother Xiao. It really has been a long time."

He let go and nodded to Chen Yongren. "All right, no need to be so formal. Come on, let's go inside and talk." He led the way in.

After everyone sat down, they had a waiter brew the tea. Wang Yan and Ni Yongxiao first caught up, mostly with Ni Yongxiao showering Wang Yan with praise. Wang Yan enjoyed it. Who didn't like hearing compliments and flattery?

Chen Yongren stood off to one side the whole time. Wang Yan was already doing him a favor by allowing him to stand there. Otherwise, Chen Yongren wouldn't even have been qualified to be in the room.

After they chatted for a while and Ni Yongxiao had nearly run out of compliments, Wang Yan waved the waiter away. The other people present also took the hint and left.

Only Wang Yan's trusted lieutenant and the two Ni brothers remained in the private room, making four people in all.

Seeing Wang Yan's actions, Ni Yongxiao straightened up and adjusted his posture to show respect. He didn't ask Chen Yongren to leave. Ni Yongxiao might have been ruthless, but Chen Yongren was still his half-brother. In the past few years, Chen Yongren hadn't made any serious mistakes, so there was a foundation of trust between them. Besides, Wang Yan was too powerful to offend lightly.

Wang Yan took a sip of tea and said, "Brother Xiao, you know me. I don't like wasting time on pointless stuff."

"I'll get straight to the point."

Ni Yongxiao gave him a look that said he was listening closely.

"To be honest, Longteng will begin its operation tonight. We'll take down every gang in one sweep. Not one of those old bastards will get away. I'll feed every last one of them to the fish."

Ni Yongxiao stiffened when he heard that. He had known this day would come, but he hadn't expected it to come so soon. It had been four years at most, and Wang Yan had already risen to such heights.

If Ni Yongxiao hadn't introduced him to the channels for selling people back then, and if Wang Yan hadn't repaid the favor by sparing him, he'd be getting fed to the fish tonight too. Not one of those men was any good. They all deserved whatever death they got.

Though the news had stunned him, Ni Yongxiao said nothing. He knew Wang Yan had called him here to spare him. Otherwise, Wang Yan could have just riddled him with bullets. It would've been much easier and saved a lot of breath.

Chen Yongren stiffened when he heard those words too. Wang Yan had said them so casually, but they concerned dozens of lives and the future shape and development of Hong Kong Island. After years of experience, Chen Yongren had learned to keep his composure. Though shocked inside, he showed nothing on the surface.

Wang Yan took in both their reactions and continued, "You introduced me to those channels back then, so you did help me out."

"I'll leave you a way out. You know I have close ties with the mainland."

"Longteng is against drugs, and you know where your money came from. You won't be taking a single dollar with you. Donate it all to charity back on the mainland and do some good for once."

"As for your businesses and people overseas, I won't touch them. I'll leave you something to fall back on."

Wang Yan asked, "Is there anything else you want to say?"

Ni Yongxiao hesitated, struggling to find the words. Then he let out a dejected sigh and slumped in his seat. In the end, he said nothing. He knew that Wang Yan was already doing him a favor by sparing his life. He had no choice anyway, so what was the point of arguing?

Seeing that Ni Yongxiao had accepted his fate, Wang Yan said no more. Coming here in person had already been a courtesy to his big brother.

Wang Yan took a sip of tea, got up, and headed out with his man. Just before reaching the door, he remembered Han Chen and the others.

He turned back to Ni Yongxiao. "Take care of those few bookies under you tonight too. No problem?"

When Ni Yongxiao nodded, Wang Yan glanced at Chen Yongren and left.

Wang Yan had a good memory, but only by comparison. He couldn't remember everything he had ever seen. He had been here for four years, and he was constantly learning new things and dealing with all kinds of problems. Even memories that had once been vivid had faded.

Whether Ni Yongxiao had figured out the truth about Ni Kun's death by then or not, Wang Yan still had to kill them. Part of it was because Wang Yan was forcing his hand; part of it was because those subordinates had disrespected their boss and were insatiably greedy.

As for Chen Yongren, even though he was the protagonist and the one who had issued the wish, Wang Yan considered him a minor character. Dealing with him was no trouble at all.

After giving a few instructions about taking over, Wang Yan stood on the top floor of Longteng Headquarters, gazing out at Hong Kong Island and savoring the loneliness of success.

Night fell. Eleven o'clock.

A single gunshot rang out, marking the start of a massive shift in Hong Kong Island's underworld.

As if it were a signal, gunfire erupted across Hong Kong Island. Longteng's men, ready and waiting, charged into the territories of the various gangs in their neat black suits, armed with clubs and other weapons.

The bosses of the various gangs and their trusted subordinates were all attacked.

Camel, the Tung Sing Five Tigers, Da D, Jiang Tiansheng, and the other gang bosses were all killed. Not one of them survived.

Longteng's men swept through every gang's territory, scattering their members.

In a single night, Longteng wiped out every large, organized gang on Hong Kong Island.

People at every level who had connections had already found out why the outside world was in such chaos. Once they understood, they were all stunned by Longteng's strength and boldness. Without reliable information, they would have thought Wang Yan had gone mad.

Hong Kong Island's gangs had been around for decades, but no one had ever managed anything like this. Some people had thought about it, but with so many factions and interests tangled together, it had remained nothing more than an idea.

Wang Yan was different. He had money and manpower, no ties to other factions, and the mainland backing him. It had taken a whole series of coincidences to make it happen. Otherwise, did he really think the British were pushovers? Wang Yan would have been dead long ago.

The next day, Wang Yan got a rough understanding of the situation, then left the rest to his subordinates.

He still had plenty to deal with, including explaining himself to Old Zhang on the mainland and placating the British higher-ups on Hong Kong Island.

There was no helping it. Wang Yan had wiped out all the organized gangs, leaving many lower-level Guhuozi without anyone to keep them in line. Those men thought the world revolved around them, so Hong Kong Island was bound to be unsettled for a while.

Wang Yan spent the next few days constantly busy, trying to stabilize the situation.

Longteng continued expanding into manufacturing, services, energy, real estate, communications, shipping, and other industries. The high profits from high-end products like VCDs were what kept it going. Otherwise, Longteng would have gone bust from spending money at that rate.

Wang Yan didn't handle the day-to-day operations. He left those to his ever-growing think tank and level-ten-or-higher personnel across the various industries. All he had to do was use his foreknowledge to keep the company pointed in the right direction. The boss worked with people; the underlings did the labor. He didn't have the ability or energy to keep track of everything.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. To Wang Yan's surprise, even after all that time, he still hadn't received a notification that the mission was complete. Ni Yongxiao had killed all the bookies under him and gone to Canada, so why hadn't the system reacted?

The gang bosses and their top men were all dead, so there shouldn't have been anything left for him to do. Why was there still no news?

Wang Yan was puzzled, so he sent his men to investigate.

After looking into it, Wang Yan understood. Chen Yongren had been fooled into going undercover in Longteng again. Since Longteng always promoted the capable and demoted the incompetent, Chen Yongren had already made a name for himself and risen to level three in just two months.

Wang Yan was speechless. The kid really was stupid, letting people manipulate him so easily.

He couldn't be bothered to guess what Chen Yongren was thinking. That had nothing to do with him. He only cared about his mission and when it would be completed. After all, the people in the story were dead or gone, so what future could there be? If things kept going this way, he might not be able to complete the mission at all.

When he had first gained the system and put his points into mental strength, he had recalled many things from his childhood. He had lived through two worlds and more than eight years had passed. Wang Yan's life had been rich and varied.

In just eight short years, he had experienced more than he had in the first twenty-odd years of his life, and his experiences had been even more extraordinary. Wang Yan increasingly felt that his mind was reaching its limit.

Without a moment's hesitation, he told one of his men to bring Chen Yongren over.