Chapter Eighty-Four: The Chaos Begins

Zhuo Nan left with the ten-million-dollar check, grinning obsequiously. Damn it, this money was earned with my own blood and sweat. He took a taxi to the bar, where his followers, upon seeing him arrive, immediately swarmed around, eager to please. Yang Yilin was there as well, though she merely watched Zhuo Nan from a distance. But Zhuo Nan had noticed her. Compared to Dongfang Zhiyi, this girl seemed more genuine—at least she was someone on the same level as himself.

“Thank you for the black fish soup…” he said with a smile as he approached Yang Yilin.

Long Kun, ever sharp-eyed and having spent enough time with Zhuo Nan to become rather perceptive, immediately spoke up, “Alright, enough, everyone! Why are you all crowding around the boss? Get lost, all of you!”

Seeing that their boss was hitting on a girl, the crowd dispersed in an instant. Yang Yilin called out, wanting to explain herself, but everyone had already vanished, leaving her to think, “You’re never this efficient when I actually need you to work…”

“Don’t mind them. The more you explain, the less sense it’ll make,” Zhuo Nan said indifferently, heading to the bar to order a bottle of beer.

Yang Yilin followed and sat beside him. “How’s your injury?” she asked.

Zhuo Nan shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

“Oh, right. About what I mentioned last time—the investment company—I’ve already arranged everything. We’re just waiting for your final decision,” she continued.

“Don’t ask me. I trust you to handle it. It’s in your hands now,” Zhuo Nan replied with a smile, raising the bottle and taking a hearty swig. There was nothing like the crisp taste of cold beer.

“You’re quite the chairman, aren’t you? Not the least bit attentive to your own business,” Yang Yilin complained.

He chuckled. “What do you expect? I’m an outsider. You’re the expert. It wouldn’t make sense for someone clueless to dictate to someone who knows what they’re doing. You do as you see fit. Besides, you don’t have me holding you back.”

Yang Yilin covered her mouth, laughing flirtatiously. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll run off with all your money?”

Her laughter made Zhuo Nan’s heart flutter. He gazed at her, momentarily lost for words. Seeing his dazed expression, Yang Yilin blushed and lowered her head. Realizing he’d overstepped, Zhuo Nan quickly cleared his throat.

An awkward silence fell between them for several seconds. Finally, Zhuo Nan said, “Well, I’ll let you get back to work. It’s settled—you handle everything. I need to discuss something with Long Kun.”

Without waiting for a reply, he strode quickly toward the manager’s office. Yang Yilin was embarrassed, but Zhuo Nan’s abrupt departure left her with a tinge of disappointment. Was work the only thing they could talk about when they were together?

Inside the manager’s office, Long Kun was sitting in the boss’s chair, pretending to read the newspaper. Seeing Zhuo Nan enter, he sprang to his feet. “Boss, that was fast…”

“Fast, my ass! Can’t you think of anything useful for a change?” Zhuo Nan teased him.

Long Kun grinned. “Boss, if you don’t make a move on that girl soon, it’ll be too late. Lately, a big spender’s been coming to the bar—seems to have his eye on her. Every night he spends thousands on drinks, insists Yang Yilin delivers them personally… I figured he was a customer, so I didn’t interfere. But boss, if this keeps up, you’re in trouble.”

Zhuo Nan laughed. “You’re more anxious than I am! Since when do I need you to worry about my love life? I’m here for business—everything else can wait.”

At the mention of serious matters, Long Kun immediately straightened up. “Just say the word, boss.”

For all his mischief and irreverence, Zhuo Nan could always rely on Long Kun when it came to business. Long Kun might lack many virtues, but loyalty was not one of them. Everyone wants loyal subordinates—capability can be compensated for, but betrayal can kill you.

Zhuo Nan pulled the check that Dongfang Shiguo had written him out of his back pocket and tossed it in front of Long Kun, who stared at it in surprise. Was it payday again? Since joining Zhuo Nan, they got paid at least twice a month, each time in the hundreds of thousands. He picked up the check—ten million! The brothers would each pocket tens of thousands again. “Boss, don’t worry. I’ll split it evenly. I won’t keep a cent for myself…”

Zhuo Nan rolled his eyes at him. Seeing something was off, Long Kun asked, “Boss, what’s wrong?”

“Payday, my ass. This is our war fund. Remember what I told you before?” Zhuo Nan said, annoyed.

Long Kun immediately understood—so the money was for an upcoming fight. “Sorry, boss. I thought it was another payout.”

What worried Zhuo Nan now was that with life getting better, his men might lose their ambition. After all, his ambitions didn’t stop at just Deqing. He said seriously, “Long Kun, I’ve always said there are plenty of benefits to following me, but only if you have the skills to earn them.”

Realizing Zhuo Nan was upset, Long Kun quickly explained, “That was my mistake, boss. Don’t worry—I know my good life is thanks to you. Whatever you ask, I won’t hesitate.”

Zhuo Nan smiled. “I know what you’re thinking. As long as you handle this well, there’ll be plenty more rewards.” Sometimes, you have to use both the stick and the carrot.

Long Kun nodded solemnly. “How do you want to handle it this time, boss?”

Zhuo Nan nodded. “We reshuffle the deck. This ten million is for buying weapons and settling the brothers. I’ve already cleared things with the higher-ups. In ten days, Deqing’s underworld will have just one leader.” As he spoke, his voice rose with excitement.

“Don’t worry, boss. I won’t let you down!” Long Kun promised loudly.

Zhuo Nan patted his shoulder. “Take three million to Ghostman Chao as a fee for his involvement last time.”

Long Kun was puzzled. “Boss, aren’t we…”

Zhuo Nan waved him off. “We’re giving Ghostman Chao this money to create a false sense of security. He won’t suspect us. I know what you’re thinking—if I wanted him dead, I could do it easily. But if he dies now, could you take his place? No. So we need chaos, and from that chaos, we seize control. When the time comes, you’ll move in from all sides and clean up the mess. Those who need to die will die; those who need to be brought in, will be brought in.” As he finished, a sly smile played on his lips.

“Brilliant, boss…” Long Kun, a burly man of over six feet, couldn’t help but flatter him. Zhuo Nan laughed and scolded, “Get out of here! That’s settled. I’ll be waiting for good news.”

Long Kun nodded. “Don’t worry, boss.”

Halfway out the door, Zhuo Nan stopped and asked, “When does that guy you mentioned usually show up?”

Long Kun, unsurprised, answered slyly, “Half past nine every night. Want me to arrange something?”

Zhuo Nan nodded and left without another word.

After he was gone, Long Kun muttered to himself, “I knew you were secretly a hopeless romantic…”

He picked up the check from the table, pulled out his phone, and began making calls to core members: Paigu for weapons, Hu Li for organizing the men, Hou Fei for gathering intel. When it came to running a business and making money, Long Kun was hopeless, but when it came to fighting, he was an expert. He knew that for an operation of this scale, quality mattered more than quantity—well-armed elites, not a mob with machetes. With so much money, he wouldn’t be stupid enough to send men with crude weapons; of course, he’d buy firearms from the coast. Besides, if Zhuo Nan dared to start a war, it meant the authorities had already been dealt with. Ten days was likely the deadline set by the police—everything had to be resolved within that time, or all bets were off.

How to arrange these ten days, how to fight—those were decisions that rested solely on his shoulders. If he failed, Zhuo Nan would certainly be disappointed, and who knows if these days of wealth and luxury would ever return. As the boss said, in ten days, Deqing would have only one leader, and his name would be Zhuo Nan.