"Still studying that map? I really don't think you should go. What good could come from people like them? You might end up losing your lives without even getting paid!"
In an old building in Suginami Ward, many undocumented Chinese lived together, with over a dozen people sharing a single courtyard.
Seeing Aberdeen and Ah Dai poring over a map, Old Ghost sat down beside them and spoke.
"If we die, it's just our bad luck!" Aberdeen said without looking up, offering no further explanation.
"What's this Hongxing like? You're from Hong Kong Island, so you must know." Another man came over, and the others gathered around when they heard him.
After all, that sort of life was far removed from theirs. With nothing else to do, they could listen to it as a story.
"Hongxing..." Aberdeen put down the map, his thoughts stirring.
"Since you're all so eager, I'll tell you about them!"
"Hong Kong Island has a lot of triads, dozens of them, big and small. Count all the Character Piles, and there are hundreds of big brothers..."
"That many?" The others were surprised.
How many people could a single city like Hong Kong Island have, along with Wo Tu Shu?
"Do you know how many people on Hong Kong Island belong to triads? Hundreds of thousands! One out of every ten people!"
Aberdeen explained.
"Life's hard. Without a triad backing you, you can't even run a business. People come looking for trouble every day!"
"Of all those triads on Hong Kong Island, Hongxing is the biggest. Tung Sing and Wo Shing Wo used to be about as big as Hongxing, but Hongxing wiped them both out..."
"Aberdeen, from what you said yesterday, you used to belong to a triad too?"
"Yeah, I was in Hop To, but