After Chen Yongren received word that Wang Yan wanted to see him, he felt deeply uneasy. He had no idea what Wang Yan wanted with him.
He went to the office on the top floor of Longteng Headquarters and knocked. When he heard Wang Yan's voice from inside, he took a deep breath, opened the door, and went in.
When Wang Yan saw Chen Yongren walk in, honestly, he wanted to riddle him with bullets.
He hadn't come all this way to babysit the guy and cater to his feelings. Wang Yan had spent so long cultivating his temperament that he nearly lost his cool.
Wang Yan simply stared into Chen Yongren's eyes with a dark expression and said nothing.
Chen Yongren felt as if a wild beast had fixed its gaze on him. The air grew unbearably thick, making it hard to breathe. He trembled, drenched in sweat.
This was the absolute pressure a powerful man like Wang Yan—a billionaire and the boss of Longteng—could exert over those below him. It was the overwhelming force of someone who held life and death in his hands. Chen Yongren couldn't withstand it. It was like a tiger facing a little white rabbit in the animal kingdom, and Wang Yan was a carnivore too.
After a long while, Wang Yan finally spoke. "You're an undercover cop!"
At those words, Chen Yongren's heart lurched. He nearly collapsed on the spot. His lips trembled as he tried to explain himself.
Wang Yan didn't want to hear him ramble. "Then why are you doing it?"
"I know you went undercover in the Ni Family because you were ashamed of your background. Maybe part of it was also revenge against Ni Kun for abandoning you and your mother. I understand all that. It's only human nature."
"What I don't understand is why you went undercover at Longteng."
"Did Huang Zhicheng talk you into it, and now you're trying to uphold your own laughable idea of justice?"
"Or are you tired of living and hoping to give the sea creatures something to eat?"
"Tell me why."
When he finished, Wang Yan stared fixedly at Chen Yongren, who looked as if he'd been struck by lightning.
After hearing Wang Yan's words, Chen Yongren slumped to the floor and stared at him blankly. He didn't want to say anything more. As far as he was concerned, if Wang Yan knew he was an undercover cop, he was bound to kill him. There was no point in saying anything.
Seeing Chen Yongren like this, Wang Yan knew he'd scared him. How many people could truly face death without fear? Why had Wang Yan always kept to himself, barely exploring Hong Kong Island in the four years he'd been here? Wasn't it because he was afraid of dying?
Wang Yan said, "Don't act like you're about to die. I'm not going to kill you."
When he heard Wang Yan say he wouldn't kill him, Chen Yongren's eyes regained their light. He looked at Wang Yan in confusion.
"Why won't you kill me, Brother Yan?"
Wang Yan gave a somewhat strained reply. "I don't want to kill someone who has no brains."
"Longteng has grown too powerful and attracted too much attention. I can understand you coming here undercover to gather evidence of crimes."
"But did you ever stop to think? Is Longteng really so easy to bring down? Never mind anything else—do you know how many people Longteng supports? What do you think will happen to all those unemployed people if Longteng falls? Are you going to support them?"
"Do you know how many undercover cops Longteng has? I've found dozens of them. Dozens, you idiot."
"Some work for the foreigners, some for the mainland, and others are like you, sent by superiors who want to make a name for themselves."
"Without a major accomplishment, could you go back? And if you're hoping to make one, how long do you think that'll take?"
"Even if you found evidence and made some kind of contribution, I'd bet you wouldn't live to see the next day. If you did survive, honestly, I'd go to prison myself without you having to report me."
"Either way, you're the one who dies, while Huang Zhicheng gets the credit."
After hearing this, Chen Yongren thought it over. Things really were as Wang Yan had said.
No matter what, Longteng supported so many people and paid so much in taxes. It had also cleaned up Hong Kong Island, maintained public order, and cracked down hard on drugs. To put it bluntly, it was more of a police force than the police. In some areas, Longteng might even have more public trust than the government.
Maybe when he'd been caught up in it, he wouldn't have taken these things seriously even if he'd thought of them. But hearing them from someone as powerful as Wang Yan made everything click at once. He even figured out the things Wang Yan hadn't said.
Just as his status as Ni Kun's illegitimate son kept him from becoming a police officer, Huang Zhicheng, a Senior Inspector, might not even have the ability to sort things out for him.
Seeing that Chen Yongren understood, Wang Yan said, "All right, don't waste my time. I'm busy."
"Since we were in prison together, I'll give you a hand."
"Do you want to be a cop, or would you rather take some money and live quietly?"
Wang Yan's words left Chen Yongren baffled. He wasn't stupid enough to believe him. Why would someone like Wang Yan care about an insignificant person like him, let alone for such a ridiculous reason?
Wang Yan didn't know what Chen Yongren was thinking, though he could roughly guess. No one just handed out free favors, after all.
But in fact, that really was what Wang Yan was offering. He couldn't exactly tell Chen Yongren, "I have a system, and the system gave me your wish as a mission, so I'm here to help you out." That would make him sound like a lunatic.
Looking at Chen Yongren irritated Wang Yan. He might have been a nobody in his old world, but after living through two worlds, his mindset had long since changed. If he hadn't kept working on his temperament, he'd have become so arrogant he wouldn't even remember his own name. And considering his current status, having to babysit a man who'd clearly gone stupid from being undercover felt like an insult.
Honestly, if not for the mission, Wang Yan would have riddled him with bullets. He'd write his own surname backward otherwise.
Chen Yongren thought it over for a long time before finally coming around.
Whatever Wang Yan was planning, there was no way someone of his standing would bother plotting against Chen Yongren. For now, he'd take whatever benefits he could get and worry about the future later.
Chen Yongren looked up at Wang Yan. "Thank you, Brother Yan. I want to be a cop."
Wang Yan wasn't surprised by his choice. It had been his dream since childhood, and now that it was within reach, of course he wanted to give it a shot.
"All right, I understand. Go back and wait for word."
Though he knew it probably wouldn't help, Wang Yan still added, "Try to live a good life from now on. If you have time, think about what your life would be like without Longteng."
Wang Yan had a bad feeling about this. It was probably hopeless. He was planting a seed in Chen Yongren's heart. Maybe one day Chen Yongren would remember these words, compare them to his life, and feel moved. Then everyone would be happy.
Chen Yongren didn't understand why Wang Yan had said something so strange. Maybe he wanted Chen Yongren to remember his kindness? Chen Yongren dismissed that immature idea. Who was he, anyway? Why would Wang Yan expect him to feel indebted?
He stopped worrying about Wang Yan's strange words, sincerely thanked him, then turned and left.
After leaving Longteng Building, Chen Yongren called Huang Zhicheng. "I've been exposed. Wang Yan didn't kill me."
Huang Zhicheng asked, "What happened?"
Chen Yongren explained what had just happened. He also wanted to see how Huang Zhicheng would react.
After hearing Chen Yongren's account, Huang Zhicheng fell silent for a while. He was trying to think where else he could send Chen Yongren undercover.
Longteng had wiped out the organized gangs and drug-trafficking groups in Hong Kong Island. Huang Zhicheng thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure out where else he could place Chen Yongren. All he could say was, "All right, I understand. Let's meet in a bit, and you can give me the full story."
Chen Yongren said okay and hung up. He was disappointed. Huang Zhicheng's silence had told him everything.
Sure enough, when they met, Huang Zhicheng gave him a bunch of empty reassurances but didn't clearly say he'd help Chen Yongren return to the police force.
Whatever Chen Yongren did, after he left, Wang Yan immediately called a foreign senior official in the police force.
He told him to arrange a post as an Inspector for Chen Yongren and transfer Huang Zhicheng to a desk job.
Because of Wang Yan, Ni Yongxiao still hadn't uncovered the truth about his father's murder, which had effectively saved Huang Zhicheng. Yet instead of being grateful, he'd sent Chen Yongren to cause trouble and disrupt Wang Yan's mission.
Wang Yan naturally had to use a little influence. Killing Huang Zhicheng would have been meaningless; transferring him to a dead-end post would make him suffer.
This wasn't the time to approach people with close ties to the mainland. It could easily cause misunderstandings, making it seem as though Wang Yan was trying to plant his own people in the police force or had some other motive.
Going straight to the foreigners was better. They needed resources to manage things in Hong Kong Island, and with only three years until the handover, they had to make the most of that time. They were happy to deal with a major client like Wang Yan. They got paid for the job, and it was easy money.
As for Chen Yongren's background, Wang Yan had arranged everything from top to bottom, leaving nothing to chance.
A few days later, after the foreigners had worked things out, Chen Yongren received word to report to the Police Station. Chen Yongren had earned some credit for his undercover work, and with Wang Yan's help, he ended up as a Probationary Inspector in Tsim Sha Tsui. The probationary period was only a formality. Within six months, he'd be promoted to Inspector.
Huang Zhicheng had it rough. Wang Yan had originally wanted to promote him to Chief Inspector, a classic case of promoting someone out of the way. But Huang Zhicheng lacked the seniority, and Wang Yan wasn't about to spend money promoting some minor figure just to mess with him. In the end, Huang Zhicheng was transferred from the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station to Police Headquarters to work in logistics. Wang Yan didn't even bother pretending otherwise. He made it clear: I'm deliberately coming after you.
When Huang Zhicheng learned Wang Yan had done this to him, his heart sank. As long as Wang Yan remained in power, he'd be stuck in logistics until retirement. It was only what he deserved.
When Chen Yongren heard the news about Huang Zhicheng, he didn't have time to care. Wearing his uniform, he was far too happy to worry about anything else.
Wang Yan had done everything he could, but, as expected, he still didn't receive a system notification that the mission was complete. He'd more or less given up. He'd take things one day at a time and wait to see when he could return, since the system had no option to go back.
The main problem was that Wang Yan had changed things too drastically, leaving no story to continue. Chen Yongren hadn't been through enough; something was missing. Wang Yan had already held back. Otherwise, he would have killed off all the characters as soon as he got out of prison.
As for the undercover agents Han Chen had planted, they were minor players. Wang Yan had no interest in finding out exactly how many there were or who they were. As long as they didn't get in his way, he couldn't be bothered with them.
Seeing no hope of completing the mission, Wang Yan stopped holding back.
These days, when Hong Kong Island residents went out, no one harassed them or stole from them, and even street fights had become rare.
There was good news from Dragon Ascending Technology too. DVD players had been developed three months earlier and were now in production and on sale. Wang Yan's big brothers, who were spread around the world, were still his business partners. Working with them was so convenient: he didn't have to worry about a thing and just collected the money.
The development of the mobile phone was also nearly complete, and production would begin before long. They were several months ahead of the other major companies, which was enough to bring Longteng a fortune. After all, people only ever remembered who came first.
There was no need to mention the development of Longteng's various industries on the mainland. Wang Yan focused mostly on high-end businesses that stimulated regional growth and employment.
What delighted Longteng's underlings was that the housing development in the New Territories was finally complete. None of the units were for sale to the public. After all, there weren't nearly enough for Longteng's own people.
There were too many people and too few homes, so Longteng began holding a lottery. Everyone had an equal chance, regardless of rank, with absolutely no backroom deals. Longteng also had Longteng Bank, which offered loans to its employees at very low interest rates. Wang Yan treated his people extremely well.
Longteng had been expanding steadily, and its workforce was growing. To fulfill its original promise, it kept acquiring land across Hong Kong Island and developing it on a large scale. Longteng's people were all waiting to buy homes built by their own company; they wouldn't patronize other developers. Hong Kong Island's property prices had already been pushed down a bit by Longteng.
Large swaths of the New Territories and Kowloon remained undeveloped. Property prices in Hong Kong Island had been driven up by developers. Now that Wang Yan was doing this, he'd offended a group of real estate tycoons led by Li the Richest.
These real estate tycoons hated Wang Yan, but they couldn't do a thing about him.
In the past, they could use Hong Kong Island's gangs to do their dirty work. Now that Longteng had wiped out the gangs, no one was left to work for them. Even if they offered money to hire people, nobody dared accept. Longteng's reputation was too intimidating. They didn't dare hire assassins to kill Wang Yan either. They were powerful people themselves and knew what Wang Yan's downfall would mean.
Wang Yan had contributed quite a lot to Hong Kong Island. Take the war on drugs alone: he had all but wiped out the drug-trafficking groups there. And his reward program for informants had been extremely effective.
Of course, because Longteng had cracked down so hard on drugs, consumers in Hong Kong Island found it harder and harder to buy them, and prices soared. As long as the profits were high enough, there would always be people willing to risk their lives for money. There was nothing anyone could do about that.
When consumers on Hong Kong Island could no longer afford the habit, they crossed the sea to Macau or Taiwan instead. These were people willing to risk everything just to get high. The two places had been in chaos lately, and crime rates had shot up.
With consumers flocking to those two places, major suppliers and distributors inevitably started dumping their goods there in large quantities. Major crimes became frequent, further increasing the strain on law enforcement in both places.
Wang Yan's Neighborhood Office system could also serve as local police stations or public service centers in the mainland in the future.
Along with Longteng's massive investments in the mainland and its ongoing charitable work, the mainland had nothing but praise for Wang Yan. That was also why it continued to strongly support Longteng, and why Wang Yan had the confidence to survive as he had.
As for the tycoons, they didn't trust the mainland and kept moving their assets abroad.
The tycoons were powerless against Longteng. They couldn't just sit by and watch their wealth disappear, so they kept transferring their assets overseas to get as far away from Longteng as possible. Wang Yan simply watched. Once they'd moved enough, he'd send elite operatives to work with his big brothers and kidnap them for ransom.
They understood all too well how terrifying Longteng's influence was. If they offended Longteng, there'd be nowhere in the world they could hide.
If Wang Yan kidnapped them in Hong Kong Island, even an idiot would know he was behind it. That would hurt his reputation. It was much more convenient to do it overseas.
Longteng's growth had now reached a bottleneck, and it could only keep expanding abroad. Quite a few of its people had already begun establishing a presence in Macau and Taiwan.
Longteng didn't care how the local gangs reacted. It would simply expand step by step. If they got in its way or tried to take it on, Longteng would finish them off.
Those two places were already Longteng's food on the chopping board. The smart ones would join Longteng. If you weren't smart enough, why bother being in the underworld? It had always been survival of the fittest. If you couldn't understand that, you'd just be feeding the sea creatures.
Before you continue