Who was Mr. Gu?

At night, at a fishing village pier.

GS bounded up onto the stone steps.

"Brother S!" Someone was already waiting at the pier.

The man looked familiar to GS. He was probably one of the first men he had recruited.

"Where's the car?" GS looked around.

"Parked up ahead."

Silly Fook, Ah Tung, and the others came ashore too. He had only brought these few on this trip, leaving even Shark Yan behind.

The job wasn't complicated: find the man, kill him, go home.

Shark Yan wouldn't have been much use even if he had come.

Ah Tung, Silly Fook, and the others, however, were worth bringing. If something went wrong and people came at him with cleavers, at least there would be a few men who ran slower than he did.

A little later, they got into the vehicle.

It was a battered old van. GS wasn't keen on it, but he was here on business, so he would put up with it.

"Have you checked his movements?" GS asked.

"Yes. Funeral Biu goes to the casino every evening, heads home at ten thirty, and goes running by the sea at seven in the morning."

"With that kind of discipline, why doesn't he sit the university entrance exams? What's he doing being a gangster?" GS took the photographs the man handed him. They showed a stocky man around thirty, not particularly tall.

The photos had all been taken outside the casino, and six or seven underlings could be seen following Funeral Biu.

His face was just clear enough to make out.

GS casually passed them to Ah Tung so the others could memorize his face.

"Did you find his home?" GS asked.

"No. I didn't dare follow too closely in case he spotted me."

GS smacked his lips, feeling a little disappointed.

If they could get into the man's home, they might find a few extra rewards.

He had just paid off several district bosses, and money was a little tight.

"How many people are with him in the morning?"

"Two lackeys, besides Funeral Biu."

"You know the roads, right?"

"Don't worry, Brother S. I've driven this route ten times. I won't mess it up."

"Check the weapons," GS ordered.

They opened the bag in the van. It was full of long and short knives.

After checking them, Ah Tung nodded to GS to confirm everything was fine.

Then each man took a short knife and toyed with it.

Long blades were better for hacking people down, but short knives were more convenient for a job like this. They were easier to conceal.

"Find somewhere to sleep. We'll get up and do the job tomorrow morning."

They arrived at a hotel. The moment they got out, a girl approached to solicit them. "Boss, want a go? Want a go?"

"A go at you?" GS flicked his hand.

"That's right! Want a go, boss?"

"Fuck, I couldn't stomach it!" GS sized her up, then walked away cursing.

What a bunch of ugly mugs.

Early the next morning, GS and the others took the van to a beach. Early risers were already exercising there, while others strolled around, a few dozen people scattered about.

GS looked at his own group. Every last one of them wore a suit, making them rather conspicuous here.

Anyone who wasn't an idiot would spot something wrong and turn tail from eight hundred meters away.

"You, go get some clothes for them to change into." GS pulled out a thousand dollars and tossed it to his subordinate.

The man was efficient. Before long, he returned with some old clothes: ordinary jeans, shirts, and T-shirts.

Once Ah Tung and the others changed, they looked much like young men out for an early morning stroll.

Except for Silly Fook.

"When you spot the target, spread out, close in, and kill him." GS marked several positions in the sand.

Honestly, killing Funeral Biu in a place like this wasn't as simple as he had imagined.

There were too few people on the beach. Funeral Biu would bolt the moment he spotted trouble.

Catching him with a knife in hand was a pipe dream.

That was why GS hadn't been counting on them in the first place.

"In the end, you've got to rely on yourself." After sending the others to spread out, GS sat on the sand and muttered to himself.

Before long, Funeral Biu appeared on the beach, jogging along the shore in shorts.

Once Ah Tung and the others spotted him, they immediately closed in from several directions.

"Boss, something's wrong. People are coming at us," one of Funeral Biu's men warned at once.

Funeral Biu glanced around. Men were closing in from behind and from his left, while the sea lay to his right.

Fuck, which bastard has a death wish? Who dares come after me?

Cursing inwardly, Funeral Biu broke into a sprint. He hadn't gone far before he spotted GS sitting on the sand.

But GS showed no sign of getting up. He wasn't even looking their way.

Funeral Biu relaxed slightly, though he still deliberately ran past seven or eight meters behind GS.

Yet the instant he passed behind him, a pistol suddenly appeared in GS's hand. GS turned and fired.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The volley of shots startled everyone on the beach.

The first bullet struck Funeral Biu's leg, followed by shots to his waist and right ribs. He pitched forward onto the ground.

"Boss!" Funeral Biu's subordinate cried out in alarm, only to take a bullet himself.

Only then did GS stand, carrying the pistol as he strolled over to Funeral Biu.

"Mr. Gu sends his regards."

Then he put another two rounds into his back, over the heart.

Funeral Biu's last thought was, Who was Mr. Gu?

GS put another two rounds into Funeral Biu's subordinate. Only then did Ah Tung and the others reach him, bracing their hands on their knees and panting:

"Brother S, this... hah... this bastard reacted... hah... too fast... he ran as soon as he saw us..."

"If I'd counted on you, he'd have lived to see his grandson turn a month old!" GS said casually. He rolled Funeral Biu over with his foot, confirming it was the right man and that he had died peacefully.

Only then did he yawn and head toward the road. "Let's go. We're heading back."

"That hotel was breeding far too many mosquitoes. Ruined my sleep."

By noon that day, they were back on Hong Kong Island.

GS called Teem-Kwan directly. "Brother Kwan, it's done. Have someone check the news."

"No wonder we've both got 'handsome' in our names. You do handsome work too." Teem-Kwan was in a fine mood and spoke with a laugh.

"Of course. The capable ones get promoted." Once GS said that, both men laughed.

"I'm going to catch up on some sleep." After hanging up, GS took a nap. When he woke, he summoned Big-Eyed Hua, Ah Tung, and the others.

"Big-Eyed Hua will stay in Yuen Long. Someone will stay behind to help him," GS said bluntly.

"Brother S, where are you going?" Big-Eyed Hua hadn't caught on yet. All he really knew was that GS had told him to investigate Funeral Biu. He knew nothing about the rest.

Everyone had already been left stunned by another piece of news that day.

Hongxing had a new leader.

"Causeway Bay, of course," GS said lazily, a cigarette between his lips.

"What are you going to Causeway Bay for, Brother S?"

"To be the boss, obviously. You think I'm going there to be an underling like you?" GS snapped.

"Brother S is going to be the district boss of Causeway Bay," Ah Tung kindly explained.

Big-Eyed Hua was dumbstruck. His eyes were already big, and now they grew even bigger.

How long had it been since Brother S's Initiation Ceremony? He was already becoming a district boss? And in Causeway Bay, at that?

Ah Tung explained a little more before Big-Eyed Hua finally understood what had happened.

"Brother S, I'll go to Causeway Bay with you," Big-Eyed Hua said immediately.

It wasn't that he was especially loyal. It was just that Yuen Long couldn't possibly compare with Causeway Bay.

That was where all the glitz and glamour were.

"Like hell you will. Stay put in Yuen Long. I've got a business that big here. Why would I hand it to Big B?" GS flicked his cigarette ash, no longer bothering to call Big B his boss.

Other areas were negotiable, but Tin Shui Wai was the main issue. He had taken that territory himself.

Besides, his property agency was still operating in Yuen Long. Naturally, he needed to leave these men here to protect the business.

As long as Big-Eyed Hua kept a firm grip on the men under him, he could easily sideline anyone Big B sent over.

Over the long term, it was hard to say.

But with GS's reputation behind him, there shouldn't be any problems in the short term.

In a few months, Big B might even be dead.

GS's only concern was that Big-Eyed Hua couldn't hold things together himself, so he planned to leave someone to help him.

"Ah Yong and Mantis, you two stay." Seeing that nobody volunteered, GS simply picked two men.

"All right, Brother S." Neither looked particularly willing.

"You two, come here." GS beckoned them over.

"What is it, Brother S?"

"Lower your heads."

Both obediently lowered their heads.

GS promptly slapped each of them on the head and cursed:

"I'm having you lead the men, not sending you to Stanley Prison."

Just as he finished giving instructions, Teem-Kwan called. "LS, get ready. We're holding a general meeting tomorrow night."