…………
Twenty minutes later, the room was quiet; the sounds of fists and feet clashing had ceased. Only the heavy breathing of the two of us men remained. We had both expended our strength and were now sitting weakly on the floor, panting heavily.
My whole body aches. It's not from Wu Gang's beating, but from the SM game I played with the princess earlier; the wounds haven't healed yet, and this fight has reopened many of them. Although the internal wounds are bandaged, this strenuous activity has caused several places to bleed again. My whole body aches, especially my shoulder. He punched me hard, and now I can't lift my right arm.
Wu Gang was in even worse shape than me; half of his cheek was swollen high, from the punch I landed on his face—actually, I had held back; if that punch had landed properly, he probably would have only half his teeth left. And we both had quite a few of each other's footprints on our bodies.
We caught our breaths for a while, then I struggled to my feet and picked up my clothes from the ground. I pulled out a cigarette case, took out some cigarettes, and tossed them to Wu Gang. Wu Gang glanced at them but didn't catch them. Instead, he picked up his own clothes, pulled out a pack of "War God" cigarettes (a special supply for the military) from his pocket, and coldly tossed them to me. I caught them and glanced at them.
Strangely enough, we glanced at each other and then smiled at the same time.
However, after Wu Gang finished laughing, his face darkened again. He silently smoked a cigarette without saying a word.
"If you're still angry, I'll play with you again."
"No need." Wu Gang looked annoyed. "How did you train? When we fought back then, I didn't think you were that good. I've put in a lot of effort these past two years, but I'm no match for you now."
I smiled and didn't say anything. After all, since I reunited with my senior brother, he had taught me a lot of kung fu, and my skill level has improved by a whole new level compared to back then.
"Not playing anymore?" I asked him.
"I'm not fighting anymore! I can't beat you even if I fight, so what's the point?" Wu Gang shook his head.
"Okay, let's stop fighting and talk for a bit." I moved closer to him, then thought for a moment and whispered, "Fang Nan... how has she been lately?"
Wu Gang looked up at me, then snapped, "If you really miss her, why don't you go see her yourself!"
"So what if I saw it?" I seemed not to care about his tone.
"..."
I whispered, "Well, even if I meet Fang Nan and contact her... would the old man behind your family agree to me meeting Fang Nan?"
"Nonsense! Of course not!" Wu Gang blurted out, but then he was speechless.
“You see, you know it won’t work.” I shook my head and said in a low voice, “To be honest, I also feel a bit confused about how my relationship with Fang Nan has come to this point. I can say that I understand her feelings for me very well, and I am also very touched. It’s not that I’m indifferent to her either… But as you can see, I have a girlfriend, who is now my wife. She has been with me for a long time, long before I met Fang Nan. I can’t possibly leave her to be with Fang Nan. You also know that I’m married now. That old man you’ve been talking about, is he an elder in your family? He must be a person of high status and power? Although I don’t know what Fang Nan’s relationship is with your family, Fang Nan is definitely a junior he values highly… Would a powerful elder really stand by and watch his junior be with a married man?”
Wu Ze remained silent.
"Hehe!" I chuckled and continued, "You probably already know my situation. Who am I? I'm in the underworld! I'm a mob boss, doing all sorts of illegal things. To put it bluntly, in Vancouver, my name is synonymous with the underworld! I've been through countless murders and arsons, and I've led my men in countless shootouts. I have quite a few lives on my hands... Hmm, your family is in the military, right? Would your elders allow Fang Nan to be with a mob boss like me?"
Wu Gang took a deep breath and shook his head: "No."
Seeing Wu Gang's frustrated expression, I knew it was about time, so I gave a wry smile: "Alright, I haven't even asked you why you came all this way. Why did you come all the way to Vancouver? I don't think I'm qualified to let a major like you from the military travel all the way across the Pacific Ocean to a party to see me, do I? You wouldn't have come all the way to Canada just to beat me up and vent your anger, would you?"
Wu Gang struggled to his feet. Although his movements were stiff, the man's back remained ramrod straight. He straightened his clothes and looked at me with a complicated expression: "Of course not, I have other business to attend to... But since I'm here, I should at least see you. Actually, I know that things between you and Nannan aren't that simple. I also know many things, and there are objective difficulties between you, but you have to understand me, my position as an older brother!"
I nodded immediately: "I understand. If I had a younger sister, and it was another man who made her frown, lose her appetite, and look haggard, I would go to his house and teach him a lesson without thinking twice."
"Hmph! Hello!" Wu Gang curled his lip.
He then let out a breath, as if trying to release all the pent-up frustration in his heart. His tone became slightly more serious as he looked at me, and he suddenly said earnestly, "Chen Yang! I know what you've been doing in Vancouver, and I know that you're not only a mob boss now, but you also control the smuggling business here..."
I touched my nose: "You really know a lot!"
"Hmph, investigating you won't be too difficult." Wu Gang waved his hand, then said solemnly again, "Alright, let's put personal grudges aside for now. I'm here on a mission, and I need some help. I wonder if you'd be willing?"
"Uh...ah?" I was stunned.
I looked Wu Gang up and down a few times, then chuckled and said, "Please... you're a major in the military..."
“He became a lieutenant colonel the year before last,” Wu Gang interrupted me quickly.
“Okay, lieutenant colonel… what are you doing in North America?” I deliberately laughed exaggeratedly. “My God, you’re not going to do some kind of military special mission, are you? Tell me, are you going to kidnap a Canadian government official, or what?”
Wu Gang looked at him strangely: "Pah... It's not as boring as you think. I'm here to do business, but my public identity isn't that of a soldier. It's just that this business is a bit special, and I need a local channel. I wonder if you would be willing to help me?"
Before I could speak, Wu Gang suddenly said, "Chen Yang, let me be honest with you. Normally, we would have our own channels for this kind of thing! Asking you would be redundant. But I'll also tell you frankly, this is an opportunity! It's an opportunity that Fang Nan begged for by kneeling and crying in front of the old man! This is an opportunity for you, a chance to serve the country. As long as you perform meritorious service, you'll be someone we protect! After you return to China, no matter what, who will dare to touch you? They'll be going against the national emblem on my shoulders and head, understand? This is an opportunity that Fang Nan got for you! As long as you do this well, you can swagger back to China."
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter Twenty: Bargaining
Returning to China?
Going back to China!!
Only I know how much allure those two words held for me when they came out of Wu Gang's mouth!
As I gradually established myself in Vancouver, navigating the complex web of various factions, I managed to gain favor with everyone through a bit of cleverness and a stroke of luck, reaping benefits from every angle. I poured my heart and soul into developing and expanding my small power base. And yet, not a single day went by that I didn't dream of returning home one day!
Vancouver's climate is damp and chilly, unlike the sunny days in Nanjing. The sea breeze here is too strong, far less gentle than the evening breeze along the Yangtze River. My constant struggles and adventures here are nothing like the carefree days I spent in Nanjing with my friends...
Such a strong thought has appeared in my mind every single day, even in my dreams! It can be said that the happiest period of my life was not when I am now a glamorous Fifth Master in Vancouver... but back in Nanjing, when I was a carefree little hoodlum with my three best friends, the four of us wolves who roamed around Nanjing... that is the best period of my life!
Of course, I've told myself more than once: it's not the right time yet!
Although I now possess considerable power, my status, wealth, and the authority I control should make me unafraid of the Green Gang's retaliation—this is limited to Vancouver! On my own turf, I am the local tyrant, and the Green Gang's influence extends far beyond this area; naturally, I am not afraid of them. Even if they come looking for trouble, I am not afraid! Because this is my domain!
But returning to China presents a different, more practical problem… Similarly, I have deep roots here. I'm not afraid of anyone coming to my door seeking revenge. But back home, how could I possibly shake the deep-rooted influence of the Qing and Hong regimes? I have no foundation in China. Even though I'm doing very well in Vancouver, if I were to rashly return with my current strength, it would surely be a dead end—even if I don't die, I'd definitely suffer a humiliating defeat.
Under these circumstances, Wu Gang's words became particularly tempting...
"Going back to China? You mean it?" I tried my best to keep my tone calm and asked him seriously, "You should know exactly who I've offended back home, right? And this isn't just ordinary hatred, it's a deep hatred. It's the kind of hatred that can only be erased with blood and lives!"
“I know.” Wu Gang squinted his eyes.
"Then you should also know that I've offended the Qing Hong. They are the oldest and largest underground force in China. They won't deal with me according to any laws or justice. They're capable of any bloody, violent, illegal, and criminal activities... Under such circumstances, you can't expect a criminal gang to abide by the law... I admit that you must have come from a very influential family. But I don't think that just because your patriarch said something, you can make the Qing Hong let me go."
Wu Gang was getting impatient: "In short, I've said so, so I'm confident. I'm not here to ask you for help. Fang Nan got this opportunity for you. Chen Yang, do you still want to put on airs?"
I smiled, looked at Wu Gang, and slowly said, "Wu Gang, things aren't as simple as you think."
Seeing that he was about to glare at me again, I sighed: "You said go back... Okay, it sounds simple, but it's not like I can just buy a plane ticket and go back immediately... What will happen to the business here if I go back? Right now, in Vancouver alone, there are at least a thousand men working for me, including those on the periphery! And the other smuggling businesses are something I've worked countless hours on, negotiating with various powerful forces many times. If I go back... do you expect me to give up the business here? Do you expect me to abandon thousands of brothers in the Big Circle, abandon the business worth hundreds of millions every year, abandon everything here, and then go back to China?"
Wu Gang didn't speak, so I continued, "Okay...no one in their right mind would do something so foolish. To abandon this beautiful land and then run back to China to start from scratch. But the question is, what if I don't abandon it?"
I stared into Wu Gang's eyes: "Am I supposed to bring a large group of brothers back to China? To continue doing business? You need to understand, I'm in the underworld! All my brothers are in the underworld too. They can't do anything legitimate. All they know how to do is fight, smuggle, seize territory, and do shady business! Of course, I'm excited to have you go back. But I have serious doubts... You want me to cooperate with the military, to do things for you. I don't object. In exchange, you can provide me with some protection after I return to China, and I don't doubt your ability to do that... But..." I took a deep breath: "What are your bottom lines regarding this so-called 'return to China'? Do you want me to go back alone? Or... are you willing to allow me to bring back a large gang of hundreds of men, hundreds of the most elite underworld fighters, to continue running the criminal organization? Can you allow a well-known Canadian underworld group to move back entirely? I don't want to go back and have the police raid my house the very next day!"
Wu Gang was speechless.
Although he was impulsive, he readily agreed to the offer, even patting his chest in front of me to guarantee that the authorities would allow the complete transplantation of a famous North American gang to China... How could he possibly make such a decision?
My meaning is very clear... If I go back, it definitely means that the North American conglomerate is officially getting involved in business in China! Of course, I need to find out what Wu Gang and the others are planning!
“You…can’t you just behave yourself after returning to China? You should be very wealthy by now, with more money than you could ever spend in a lifetime. Go back, be a rich man, run a legitimate company, and make money legally, wouldn’t that be…” At this point, Wu Gang realized he couldn’t continue, his face filled with helplessness, and he shut up, looking at me. Indeed, any other man, who was powerful and influential in Vancouver, suddenly asked to give up his entire empire and return to be an ordinary rich man, probably wouldn’t be willing.
Wu Gang thought about it carefully for a while, then sighed: "I can't answer what you're saying. This isn't something I can decide. After all, you're a gangster. Even if you're willing to serve the country here, I can't guarantee that I'll allow you to take a bunch of people back to run a criminal organization."
This is absurd.
I've only ever heard of welcoming or inviting businessmen back to invest, never of welcoming gangsters to come and run their criminal organizations.
I smiled and said, "I know, so we can talk about it again... You can go back and ask your superiors. I can promise you three things first: First, I will not touch drugs. Second, I will not endanger social stability or cause destruction. Third, as you said, if you need my help with something, I can agree to it right now, no problem! Regardless of whether I can go back in the end, I am willing to do something for you."
After a pause, I said slowly, "Actually, what I do here, people do back home too. Take the sex industry, for example. Doesn't that exist back home? I used to work in a nightclub! And smuggling, hehe… I know there's a lot of smuggling in China too. Even many legitimate foreign trade companies inevitably engage in smuggling or evading customs duties. My business is pretty much the same. As for gangs occupying territory… does that mean gangs in China don't occupy territory or collect protection money? But I can tell you, in Vancouver, on my territory, I've already stopped collecting protection money. My restaurants, nightclubs, bars, and other businesses are enough to support my brothers. They also keep everyone employed. I can even tell you that even if I go back to China to do business, I'll do it cleanly, even more discreetly than the gangs back home, and more in line with the authorities."
"I can only relay what you've said truthfully; I can't promise you anything right now." Wu Gang seemed a little frustrated and waved his hand, saying, "Since that's the case, then we can't talk today."
“No, we still need to talk.” I smiled and said, “You can relay my words back. My request is not excessive… Well, how about this? I will go back to China, and I can do so as a foreign investor in China. I will establish a company in China, and I will ensure that all the company’s income is taxed in accordance with the law! But at the same time, I require that the company enjoy all the preferential policies for foreign-invested companies in China.”
"This isn't a big problem," Wu Gang thought for a moment. "If it's a legitimate business, I don't think there will be any issues."
"Is it really not a big problem?" I smiled. "Under the guise of investment, there's always a mixed bag. Even triads enter the mainland under the identity of investors. What's so strange about that? Many Hong Kong triads organize funds to speculate on land or even invest in movies in the mainland, all under the guise of legality. If they can do it, why can't I? This request isn't unreasonable, is it?"
"As long as you behave yourself and don't do anything wrong, there won't be any major problems."
"I won't mess with others, but someone might mess with me." I said calmly, "Are there no organized crime groups in the country? Hmph... Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. If I'm doing legitimate business, and someone comes to cause me trouble... For example, if I'm running a business in my local area, and someone comes to collect protection money from me?"
“You can call the police. As long as you do things for us, the police will register you. The police will handle these small matters.”
"Hahahaha..." I laughed... and then I slowly said something.
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter Twenty-One: The First Clash
"Wu Gang, do you think that doing business in the underworld always involves fighting and killing?" I smiled, thought for a moment, and said, "The world has changed, and times have changed. I can tell you something interesting, which happened when I was in Yunnan last time."
Then I told you about how I met a local gangster boss nicknamed "Lord Ma" in Yunnan.
"For gangsters to survive and make money, they don't necessarily have to resort to violence. But a local bigwig, if he wants to cause you trouble, has many ways to make sure the police can't find any fault with him." I laughed. "Take that Master Ma, for example. I've heard of him. He once dealt with foreign investors who came to invest in the area this way. When people set up companies and factories, the goods they produce still need to be transported out, right? And since local gangs usually control the transportation industry, if he wants to mess with you, he can make sure no transportation company will be willing to transport your goods! Then your goods will be piling up in the warehouse and you'll have to spend a lot of money on transportation to complete your business! Or... when investors from other places come to open factories, a local bigwig can make it so that you can't even hire many workers! In such cases, even without using violence, they can still make your life miserable."
Wu Gang rolled his eyes: "You, the mighty Fifth Brother, are you afraid of these things?"
I laughed: "In Vancouver, or even in all of Canada, no one would dare to use such underhanded tactics against me. Even if they did, I could handle it. At worst, I could have someone stuff the other person into a sack and throw them into the sea. But in China, would you allow me to do that? If I wanted to do legitimate business, and someone was jealous and wanted to mess with me, or extort or blackmail me, and used similar tricks, calling the police wouldn't do any good."
Wu Gang finally understood: "What exactly are you trying to say?"
“It’s very simple.” My eyes flashed. “Under normal circumstances, I abide by the law and I won’t offend others unless they offend me! But if someone deliberately tries to cause me trouble, then I’m sorry. Of course, I know my limits and won’t make things too big or use overly drastic means. I also know that in the social environment in mainland China, stability and security are paramount, and I understand that.”
“I can go back and report…” Wu Gang’s expression suddenly changed. He stared at me strangely: “Hey! You, Chen Yang! I haven’t said a word about what I asked you to do, but you’ve already come up with so many conditions!”
I shrugged and spread my hands: "I told you, if you need my help, as long as it's within my ability, I'll do it without hesitation and I absolutely won't refuse. Even if you can't help me get back to China in the end, I'll accept it. I've said that to you. Is that enough?"
At this point, I leaned back and laughed, "Alright, now you can tell me what you want me to do. Even if you want me to kill or set fires, I'll do it for you."
Wu Gang's expression turned serious. He thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I've changed my mind... I can't tell you now. Although you said you were willing to help me, I can't let you do this for nothing. Here's what we'll do: I'll go back and ask about the conditions you proposed. If there are no problems, I'll come back to you." He looked me up and down a few times: "Hey! Just as I thought, even though you're doing very well here, you're still very eager to go back to China."
"Even without your help, I can still go back in two years," I said calmly.
Wu Gang stood up, put on his coat, and rubbed his swollen face: "I'm leaving! Damn it, you've bruised my face, those kids will laugh at me when I get out. You wait, I'll come back to you in three days to a week."
After I escorted Wu Gang out, sure enough, his three men were quite surprised to see the bruises on Wu Gang's face. Then, they looked at me with even more respect.
Wu Gang didn't waste any more words with me and left with his men. From his words, I could tell he was planning to stay in Canada for a while longer. After Wu Gang left, Qiaoqiao asked me, "What happened? What did he want to see you about?"
I chuckled and said, "Looks like it's mostly good news... Hehe, business is coming to my door, business is coming to my door!" As I spoke and laughed, I aggravated my wound and couldn't help but cry out in pain.
Qiaoqiao laughed and scolded, but still walked over to me with concern, frowning as she said, "Wu Gang is ruthless enough; you're covered in..."
"Hmph, he's only more seriously injured than me." I grimaced in pain, then looked into Qiaoqiao's eyes: "Qiaoqiao, if things work out this time, I might be able to go back to China immediately."
Qiaoqiao paused for a moment, and a complex meaning appeared in her eyes as she looked at me...
Later that day, Yan Di came out of the hospital. The test results were all normal. We couldn't stay at our house for the time being, since there were so many media outlets waiting there. So I had Yan Di stay at my senior brother's martial arts school. It was big enough and safe enough.
Although I had many things to deal with today, I still took the time to pick Yan Di up from the hospital and bring her home. I stayed with her at home for a while, and even though Yan Di insisted that she had recovered, I still half-forced her to eat lunch by hand. Then I coaxed her to lie down and rest on the bed in her room before taking her out.
After leaving, I immediately went to the warehouse at the seaside dock. I had previously asked Xiao Zhu to send men to capture the other group of people who had followed the princess, and they were all locked up in the warehouse.
"Fifth Brother, shouldn't we conduct an interrogation?" As soon as I entered the cargo yard office belonging to our company at the dock, Xiao Zhu asked me impatiently.
"What?" I smiled. "These people don't need to be interrogated. Just leave them there, don't touch them, give them water and food, just don't loosen the ropes."