The next day.
"It really is different here, huh? No wonder they say every inch of land is worth its weight in gold."
On the streets of Hong Kong, Lian Youming followed behind A Xing with his hands in his pockets, carrying a wad of Hong Kong dollars Yang Qing had given him. As he looked at the towering buildings along the way, he kept exclaiming in wonder.
The streets teemed with traffic, buses and taxis streaming together beneath a forest of signs. Pedestrians came and went like swarms of ants, dressed in bright, fashionable clothes of every color. It was extraordinarily bustling.
Lian Youming also understood why Boss Chen had sent him out for a walk. Most likely, he feared Lian Youming would run wild, give in to his urge to kill, and secretly head back to the North District. Zhu Wu, meanwhile, had stayed in the Walled City disguised as him.
A Xing said calmly, "With your seniority, fame, fortune, and riches are yours for the asking."
Lian Youming looked around with keen interest. Seeing stunt performers shooting a movie on a street corner, he smacked his lips and laughed. "That's going a bit far. Besides, where's the fun in that? Things you haven't earned yourself are scarcely any fun at all. How are they different from handouts on the street?"
At the sight of these towering buildings, the planes overhead, and the traffic on the streets, a trace of distant bewilderment crept into his eyes. He suddenly remembered that he was someone living a second life.
Yet for him, everything from before had, at some unknown point, grown ever more distant amid the wearing passage of daily life, his ties to parents, relatives, and friends, and the clashes and deadly struggles of fists, blood, and flesh-so distant