"Everything belonging to the Family Alliance will be taken over by the Guangcheng Group. You have only two choices!"
"The first, of course, is to resist and be killed here. Then this place will be burned to ashes!"
"The second is to keep your lives and continue living. But everything you own now will be gone. You'll have to live as ordinary people, in a place where no one knows you..."
"After all, we still have some feelings for you. As long as you follow our arrangements, we'll provide you with decent housing and living expenses. You can do whatever else you want, but you absolutely must not leave that country!"
"Is this hard to accept? Why? Don't you often say you wish you could live like ordinary people? Well, now you can. I'm giving you that chance!"
"Now then, heads of the families, please come down from the stage. Your era is over. I'll give you an hour to discuss things. See you in an hour!"
"Don't harbor any hope of being rescued. Whether it's your guards, friends and family at the police station, or comrades in the military, none of them will come to help you!"
After Yaming left, the hall immediately erupted into chaos.
People questioned one another and speculated...
Ye Wen couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "Quiet down! First, we need to clear up a few things!"
The hall didn't fall silent at once, but it was much quieter than before.
Ye Wen continued, "Under the current laws, they can't simply seize all our assets. Stay calm. With funds on this scale, they can't just transfer everything into someone else's accounts!"
"That's not necessarily true. What if they're all our relatives? What if every family has a direct relative who betrayed us? Then everything you said is meaningless, Ye Wenzhu. We've walked right into their trap!"
"Think carefully. Who suggested the guards? Who proposed this meeting? Who was it that said recently that we might be attacked?"
"It was them—our descendants. Every last one of them. This was all arranged from the start, just as we took other people's businesses from them..."
"We trusted our own abilities too much, and ended up bringing ruin upon ourselves..."
"None of it matters now. If we're killed, our property becomes an inheritance, and they have the right to inherit it. The same goes the other way around: if we disappear, they still have the right to use any of our assets!"
"Everyone knows what happened to the Ou Family, right? They were all killed, and even the Ye Family got dragged into it. Don't think they'll show us any mercy."
The one who said all this was the first to grasp the reality of the situation: Boss Hua.
Compared to the tension and anger from before, everyone fell silent. They had no defense. What was there left to say?
Yaming reappeared in the hall, accompanied by Ye Ming and Kuo Ming.
"It looks like you've figured out the situation. And, as it happens, that's exactly how things stand. So make your choice!"
"Soon, an announcement will call out each of your names. When yours is called, follow the instructions and enter the designated room. There, you'll sign an agreement transferring ownership of your assets."
"We've conducted a very thorough investigation into each of your assets!"
"If you don't move within the allotted time after your name is called, you'll automatically be considered to have refused, and a sniper will kill you on the spot!"
"We'll start with the heads of each family. First is you, Yu Qiuhua. Everything you own belongs to me now!"
Yaming looked coldly at her biological father. Somehow, this moment seemed easier than she had expected...
Yu Qiuhua smiled wryly and left his seat. To him, his life was more important...
Ye Wen saw Ye Zi standing on the platform and called out, "Where are the other members of the Ye Family? Where are they?"
Ye Ming answered Ye Wen calmly. "They're all dead. I killed them myself. But don't worry, Ye Wenzhu. I won't kill you, because you're not someone I hate. I hope you'll accept our proposal. That way, I can keep being your granddaughter..."
Ye Wen sighed...
Kuo Ming smiled at his father. "Father, I've carried out the mission you gave me properly: to surpass you. I've done it now, so you can rest easy. Take the rest of our family with you. I'll keep working hard. Isn't this the result you wanted most?"
"No. Isn't this what all of you sitting here wanted most? Every one of us has done what you hoped we would, making our own families stronger! Isn't that right?"
"We've dissolved this family alliance that was powerful in name only and established a real family."
"No open rivalries, no scheming, none of that hypocrisy. We can help our families thrive!"
"Accept it. This isn't just for your own sake, but for the sake of your entire family."
Boss Hua smiled. He really had seen his son grow up, and at that moment he felt especially at ease. He asked, "Then which country are you going to dump us in?"
Yaming answered at once. "You don't need to know that. But we'll make sure you have decent housing and living expenses for an ordinary family. So you don't starve to death after a few days, your allowance will be paid weekly, just like an ordinary student's. Remember, if you settle down there, you can do whatever you want. Just don't leave that country, or we'll make you learn that there are things more painful than death!"
Boss Hua smiled again. "Then I should thank you for letting me live like an ordinary person. Fine, I accept. My things would have gone to Kuo Zhe sooner or later anyway!"
After Boss Hua, several other families also agreed to the terms. Some were still unhappy, but the reality was right in front of them...
Five hours later, everyone from the former Family Alliance was secretly taken to the docks...
Three days later, they reached their destination. Waiting for them there were former servants and other staff from the various families, though they now had different jobs. They were no longer servants...
They lived in a pleasant residential complex, complete with a supermarket, hospital, gym, and recreation room...
Everyone was assigned a place to live in advance, and under normal circumstances, they weren't allowed to switch homes on their own...
Each home had its own kitchen and bathroom. Most had two bedrooms and a living room, but no dining room. They were fully furnished, with a television, fan, air conditioner...
The weekly living allowance was divided equally among the residents. Each person received [text corrupted] per week, or [text corrupted] per month.
In fact, everything was free except electricity, water, and food.
Overall, the arrangement should have been enough to meet people's daily needs.
Meanwhile, the Guangcheng Group was still busy with the relocation. Everyone had to work more than twelve hours straight. Even the energetic Yaming complained from time to time, but this was what they had wanted...
Three months later, in the family residential complex...
Ye Wen was called over by several elderly people from other families to play chess. For someone who had worked his whole life, this felt like a dream. Though he had lost most of his family, he was already quite content with his current life, especially when Ye Zi came to visit...
Yu Qiuhua and his wife stayed home together watching television almost every day. He'd put up virtually no resistance to what had happened, immersing himself completely in ordinary life. Even his wife, who had been with him for many years, thought there was something strange about it. But in fact, Yu Qiuhua had become gentler than before and treated her with greater care. Everything had changed...
The Hua Family had changed the most of the three great families. They'd thrown themselves into their new lives, organizing people to build gardens and dig ponds, arranging all kinds of recreational activities, and setting up a community management committee. It all showed that they had embraced their new lives. As Boss Hua put it, a dreamlike life like this was rare and precious, so they had to cherish it!
The world was changing. This was only a small beginning...
(End of the Ye Ming Arc. Though really, it should have been called the Guangcheng Arc, right?)
(The Guangcheng Group was the predecessor of Tail of Jet Black, and the place where the dream began.)
(For Yaming and the others, this was their first step toward taking on the world...)
(The next special arc might not cover any other top-tier characters, since some readers have said they'd like to hear about other people's stories, such as Dek or Saint Gonglan, the young pope, or even the Asian Twin Eagles, who have appeared quite often...)
(I'll have to think it over. In any case, I'll give priority to those who've had fewer appearances!)
(If you have any suggestions about Tail of Jet Black, you can add me on QQ and tell me, or add QQ [text corrupted].)
(Thanks, everyone, for all your support. I'll keep working hard!)
Before you continue