Ye Ming - Storms

"Welcome back, Miss. I have already tidied up your room!"

"Thank you, Mother Wang. I am very tired, so I will go rest for a while. Please tell my parents I will see them after dinner."

"Yes, yes, go get some rest, Miss!"

Lin walked slowly toward her room. She was indeed exhausted, though not so much that she couldn't see her parents—she had been looking forward to seeing her mother for a long time—but she had to complete the final settings now for the sake of the plan's success...

Inside a villa somewhere on the continent, a young man was having a final conversation with dozens of heavily armed, burly men.

"You are the warriors Lin trusts most. For the perfect success of this incident, I hope you can bring to bear all the results of your usual training. There must be no mistakes. This is not only for our organization but also for Lin's trust and expectations in you!"

"Yes!"

"You are all older than me, and perhaps it is redundant for a junior like me to say these things. In many aspects, you are more capable than I am. The only thing I can say I share with you is loyalty to Lin, and in that, I will not fall short of you by even a fraction. Everything I do is so that Lin can achieve victory!"

"We never doubt the loyalty of anyone in the organization to our leader!"

"Good. Then proceed according to the original plan. If the first phase goes smoothly, you are to act merely as spectators."

"Understood. We will complete the mission!"

"Good. Then, warriors, I sincerely wish you a triumphant return!"

"Yes!"

After the dismissal, the young man left alone through the back door. To the others, it was as if he had never appeared at all...

One week later, at the Ye residence...

"Ye Zi, is your new outfit ready? The Alliance Conference is in twenty-three days; you must prepare a decent set of clothes!"

"Yes, I have already prepared it. Thank you for your concern, Third Aunt!"

"Come, let Third Aunt see how it looks!"

"Alright, please come with me to my room!"

Inside Ye Zi's room, Third Aunt was scrutinizing the outfit Ye Zi had prepared. Because it was truly beautiful, some malicious thoughts began to stir in Third Aunt's heart...

"Ahhh, help me!!" Ye Zi's sudden, shrill scream startled most of the people in the Ye residence, especially the bodyguards on patrol. They rushed into Ye Zi's room, only to find Ye Zi sitting on the floor in a panic, pointing at Third Aunt's corpse...

Then, a series of gunshots rang out. The arriving bodyguards were all struck in the head by bullets from an unknown source and collapsed. Within mere seconds, the Ye residence descended into chaos...

"I hit him! Quick, he ran out the back door!" One bodyguard, relying on years of combat experience, managed to catch the culprit, but he only managed to strike the man's right hand. With the help of accomplices already lying in wait outside, the culprit escaped safely from the Ye residence's grounds...

The brief chaos at the Ye residence was quickly brought under control by Ye Wenzhu. The servants swiftly disposed of the bodies of the bodyguards and Third Aunt, and Ye Zi, who had fainted, was taken to the internal infirmary. All the direct relatives gathered in the Ye family's grand hall.

"Huang Wen is dead. A single shot to the head. Four bodyguards also died, all shot in the head. It seems the opponent is a professional killer. Ye Wenzhu, what should we do? Should we notify the other families?"

"Don't do anything stupid. The Alliance Conference is almost here. Do you want the other families to look down on the Ye family? To lose a family member in one's own home in broad daylight—could there be anything more ridiculous? Ye Wenzhu, I propose we strengthen security before the family meeting begins. That security company over there recently hired a batch of retired special forces soldiers. As long as we pay a good price, they will certainly be more willing to risk their lives than these guys who are just ordinary soldiers!"

"Hmph, hmph, where exactly did you get that information? Could it be that you were the one who did it? Weren't you arguing with the girl Huang Wen just a few days ago?"

"You... don't you go spouting nonsense!"

"Enough, all of you shut your mouths, you idiots! It's fortunate the target wasn't me or Ye Zi, otherwise the Ye family would surely be finished. With idiots like you around, I'm so frustrated I could die. Go back to whatever you were doing. Ye Gaoxin, you are responsible for the bodyguard situation. For the next twenty-three days, I don't want a single mouse to be able to enter the Ye residence!"

"Received! Ye Wenzhu, I will go handle it right now and ensure you are satisfied!"

After the Ye family meeting ended, Ye Wenzhu went straight to the infirmary. Ye Zi had regained consciousness, but her complexion was very poor.

"Ye Zi, although I would like you to continue resting, you are the only witness. To ensure the safety of the other relatives, I must ask you about the sequence of events. Can you describe it completely?"

"Yes. The person was a black man, but not very tall. He was hiding in my wardrobe and suddenly rushed out to shoot Third Aunt. Later, when I screamed, he prepared to shoot me, but the bodyguards ran in. Then I saw him fire several shots at the bodyguards in succession, and then I fainted..."

"He was hiding in your wardrobe? When was the last time you organized your clothes?"

"I haven't opened the wardrobe since the servants delivered the clothes I ordered this morning."

"Did you notice anything strange when the servants brought the clothes over?"

"No. The clothes were in plastic bags. After the servants organized them, they went to the dining hall with me. However, before Third Aunt and I went over, I don't think anyone could have entered my room directly through the door!"

"Why?"

"I have a habit of locking my door whenever I leave. No matter how long I am out, I always lock the door. The lock is custom-made at our own factory."

"I understand what you mean. Get some rest; I will arrange for someone to protect you specifically!"

"Thank you, Ye Wenzhu!"

Ye Wenzhu left, leaving Ye Zi alone in the infirmary with an old physician who had been with the Ye family for decades. The old physician looked at Ye Zi on the hospital bed and sighed. Ye Zi asked curiously, "Why are you sighing?"

The old physician continued to sigh and said, "After the Alliance Conference, the Ye family will have to endure another catastrophe. Ye Zi, you must do your best!"

After a few minutes of silence, Ye Zi said firmly, "That won't happen. The Ye family will have a brand-new beginning after the Alliance Conference..."

Three days before the Alliance Conference, by custom, all family heads traveled to a designated secret location for a preliminary meeting. Such meetings were only convened when emergency situations arose, all to ensure the normal proceedings of the Alliance Conference.

"Alright, everyone is here. Whatever has happened, let's speak plainly!"

"That's right, Boss Hua. You didn't call us here just to drink tea, did you?"

"Don't be impatient, Brother Yu. Since Boss Hua called us out, it must be a very urgent matter. Everyone, listen carefully. Boss Hua, go ahead; we are all waiting!"

"Indeed. If I hadn't obtained concrete intelligence, I wouldn't have summoned all the heads of the families here so abruptly today. Hua Xia, distribute the photos to everyone present!"

"Yes!"

A minute later, the conference room erupted into chaos...

"How is this possible? My daughter would never do such a thing!" "Exactly, my son wouldn't either. There's no reason for it; they're living perfectly fine lives!" "This is ridiculous. You expect us to take it seriously just because a few brats claim they want to overthrow the Family Alliance? This joke has gone too far!" "They have dozens of armed Terrorists? Are we filming a movie? Boss Hua, I suggest you get your facts straight. This isn't a joke to be taken lightly—my Jing'er would absolutely never do something like this!" Everyone mocked Boss Hua's photos and files, as it seemed utterly laughable to them that the eldest sons and daughters of several families would pool their money together to overthrow the Family Alliance...

"Alright, quiet down. Let Boss Hua explain how he found out about this. Regardless of whether it's true or not, we cannot ignore anything that might threaten the Family Alliance!"

"Qiu Hua, you're remarkably calm. Perhaps you already knew? Your daughter Lin's boyfriend is the leader of a major gang. If it were only a few dozen Terrorists, she shouldn't have been able to find them, right?"

"Nonsense. Where did you hear such idle gossip, Elder Ye?"

"That is none of your concern, Qiu Hua. I suggest you focus on keeping your own daughter in check!"

"..."

"Alright, everyone, please quiet down. I will explain the situation in detail to provide you all with an account of what happened!"