Chapter 43

"Lai, I hear you're in the magazine business. I'm a cultured guy, and I love investing in culture. Interested in letting me in on it?"

After the meeting, GS stopped Fat Lai. He had been interested in Fat Lai's Magazine Company for a long time.

Pornographic magazines were part of the cultural industry too, after all.

"Sure. Come to North Point for tea sometime," Fat Lai said with a smile. His pornographic magazines weren't making much money, and he had long wanted a foothold in places like Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Mong Kok.

GS's proposal was exactly what he wanted.

"Then it's settled. Give me a proper tour when I come."

"Do you like big tits or small ones? I'll set you up."

Both men burst out laughing.

A group walked past them. Prince stopped and turned to GS. "Pretty Boy S, come to my boxing gym for a match sometime."

"Prince, you're Hongxing's god of war. I'll pass. But I've got a guy called the Southern Fist King. Pretty impressive name, right? I'll have him spar with you sometime," GS said with a smile.

"Shark Yan? He's working for you now?" Prince gave GS a long look, then nodded. "That works too."

Plenty of people had wanted to recruit Shark Yan. Prince had also sent his men to approach him.

After serving several stretches in prison, Shark Yan had turned down every offer when he got out. Who would have thought he would end up following Pretty Boy S?

After leaving headquarters, GS took a car to a Western Restaurant in Causeway Bay.

"Ah Tung, aren't women a pain? What's there to celebrate? And Western food, of all things. I've eaten so much of that stuff I could puke."

Kong Sang had booked out a Western Restaurant in Causeway Bay to celebrate GS becoming the boss.

How long had Kong Sang even been on Hong Kong Island? She was already buying clothes that cost over a thousand apiece, and now she had picked up this sort of thing too.

It was easy to go from thrift to luxury, and even easier to pick up bad habits.

But he really had no interest in Western food. He had eaten it for over twenty years in his previous life. It couldn't compare to a bowl of wonton noodles from a roadside stall.

The next morning, GS got up early for once.

Mostly because Kong Sang was rummaging through every cupboard and drawer in the room. He couldn't sleep even if he wanted to.

"Why bother bringing all that junk? Just buy new stuff when we get there!" GS said through a yawn.

"A lot of it was only just bought. And the clothes need to be packed properly, or they'll be covered in creases," Kong Sang said without looking up.

"Ah Tung, hurry up and bring Mantis and Silly Fook over to help. Fuck, I can't even get some sleep." GS picked up the phone and called him, cursing.

By nearly noon, GS and the others had arrived at the New Residence in Causeway Bay.

It was a sprawling top-floor apartment on the twenty-fourth floor of a new downtown development, a luxury home covering nearly two hundred square meters-over two thousand square feet.

The elevator went straight to the underground parking garage. Pull back the curtains and stand before the floor-to-ceiling windows, and you could look out over most of Causeway Bay.

It was the most suitable property the shop currently had on its books.

Kong Sang fell in love with it at first sight.

GS was fairly satisfied too. It was much better than their previous place. The only problem was the lack of smart-home features, but that was a problem with the era, not the apartment.

Housing for Ah Tung, Silly Fook, and the others had also been arranged a street away. They were ordinary apartments, but good enough for them.

That afternoon, GS took Ah Tung, Silly Fook, and the others to Uncle Hing's office, still in that same little two-story building.

Some of Uncle Hing's crew leaders were already waiting there. There were over a dozen of them, all formally initiated, and quite a few were nearly forty.

The moment GS and his men entered, everyone looked them over appraisingly.

"These men are yours from now on," Uncle Hing said flatly, running a hand over the desktop. He owned this office.

But he probably wouldn't be coming here much anymore.

He had held this position for decades and weathered every kind of storm. Being able to spend his remaining years in peace was already a tremendous stroke of luck.

He wasn't going to dwell on anything else now.

"This is Causeway Bay's new boss, Pretty Boy S. If you don't want to be gangsters anymore, retire early, like me. If you want to keep going, do your jobs properly. Whatever the boss tells you, you do it. Otherwise, if something happens, even my name won't save you."

Uncle Hing knew just how ruthless GS was, and how little regard he had for the rules.

If these men tried anything and crossed GS, they would come to a very bad end.

People said the older you got, the more you cherished old ties. That was why he had offered a warning to these men who had followed him for years. He didn't want to retire only for them all to end up dumped in the sea right afterward.

"I'm tired too. I might as well retire along with Uncle Hing. I've saved a little over the years, so starting a business wouldn't be bad. I'll be counting on your support, boss," a middle-aged man said to GS with a smile.

"No problem. As long as you're still in Causeway Bay, I'll have your back if anything happens." GS was pleased. This man knew what was good for him.

"My wife wants to emigrate. I wasn't sure how to bring it up with Uncle Hing, but that sorts things out," another man said.

"I'll still have businesses on Hong Kong Island, though. I'll hire people to manage them, so I'd appreciate your support, boss."

These two were clearly smart. They had understood Uncle Hing's warning, and at their age, they no longer had much appetite for a fight. They might as well use this chance to retire and earn some goodwill in the process.

The two men stepped aside. Everyone else stayed where they were.

"I'll leave the rest to you. I'm old. There's only so much I can handle." Uncle Hing nodded to GS, then rose and headed out.

He had handed the men over to GS. Whatever happened next was no longer his concern.

"You two, wait outside for a moment," GS told the two men standing off to one side.

Then he turned to the others.

"From now on, I'm the boss of Causeway Bay. What I hate most is people playing games behind my back, so I'm laying down the hard words first."

"Of course, as long as you do your jobs properly, I guarantee you'll eat well, dress well, and have a different girl every day."

GS paused after speaking and studied their expressions. One of them curled his lip, apparently in disdain.

Whether that was really what it meant didn't matter. If GS thought it did, then it did.

GS walked straight up to him. The man looked about twenty-four or twenty-five, with an unremarkable face but a vicious edge to his expression.

"What's your name?"

"Bigmouth Nine. Why?" The man lifted his head and stared straight at GS.

GS slapped him, then followed with a kick. Bigmouth Nine dropped to his knees and vomited in great heaves, bringing up even his stomach acid.

GS ordered coldly, "Kill him!"

"What are you doing?"

"What the hell are you trying to do?"

"If you want to show us who's boss, fine, but killing him is going too far!"

The others erupted, their faces filling with anger.

Before Ah Tung could react, Silly Fook, the most obedient of the lot, stepped forward and locked his arm around Bigmouth Nine's neck from behind.

"He's a cop, you bunch of brainless pigs. I honestly don't know how you've lasted this long without getting beaten to death," GS snapped, pointing at the others.

"He's a cop just because you say so? Do I look like a cop to you?" someone demanded angrily.

"Yes. Kill him too." An opportunity this good had fallen into GS's lap. How could he possibly turn it down?

If he didn't kill a few of them, where would the vacancies come from?

Hongxing only had so much territory in Causeway Bay, and every position was already filled.

Everyone stared in shock. Was Pretty Boy S really this unreasonable?

GS looked at Ah Tung, who immediately charged forward.

The man kicked Ah Tung away and tried to flee, but GS stepped in with a lightning-fast roundhouse kick. Before the man could react, it struck his head. He dropped like a felled log without so much as a twitch.

"Anyone else have a problem?" GS drew a gun and toyed with it, glaring at the others.

"You dare do something like this? Aren't you afraid the men under you will revolt?" someone asked, shocked, frightened, and furious.

"I already told you he's a cop. Anyone that eager to stick up for him must be a cop too. Of course they all have to go."

"You say it, and that makes it true? Where's the evidence?"

"My men already have the evidence. It'll be here in three hours. When it gets here, open your eyes wide and take a good look! Everyone stays here. Nobody leaves before the evidence arrives."

He pointed the muzzle at each of them in turn.

"Bang!" GS mouthed, then chuckled and turned to leave.

"Silly Fook, Ah Tung, keep an eye on them. Anyone tries to leave, kill them."

Back in the car, GS picked up the Big Brother Phone and made a call.

"Officer Wei, get to Causeway Bay within half an hour. Something important's come up."