Zhang Jian raised his arms in surrender. The police officer closed in on him. "Put your hands behind your head and lie down on the ground!"
Zhang Jian complied. The lead officer pulled out a pair of handcuffs while the other officers kept their guns aimed on him. As the lead officer began securing the cuffs around Zhang Jian's wrists, a strange grin spread across the Zhang Jians's face.
"What are you smiling about, bastard?" the officer demanded.
Zhang Jian shook his head. "Let me read your future. Hmm... You're going to die in the next 3... 2..."
"Wh—" The officer's words were cut short as a bullet pierced his skull. Before the other officers could react, they too fell, bullets finding their marks with deadly precision.
Zhang Jian grinned as he slowly rose to his feet, raising his partially cuffed hand in a thumbs-up gesture.
A masked figure approached—the sniper from before. Pulling down the mask revealed Li Xiu, a member of the Red Dragon.
"Did you get him?" she asked.
Zhang Jian smiled. "Unlike you, I got him for good."
Li Xiu shook her head in annoyance. "You're lucky I didn't blow your brains out alongside these officers."
Zhang Jian's grin widened. "I'm sure you had your sights on my head but just couldn't pull the trigger."
Li Xiu rolled her eyes. A moment later, a small truck screeched to a halt behind them. Hou Qing threw open the door. "Get in, both of you. Police will be here any minute."
Li Xiu turned toward Hou Qing with a seductive smile, prompting Zhang Jian to curse under his breath. "Shameless bitch!"
---
Workers Headquarters
Ryuhei, Kenta, and Samuel waited for Eugene to arrive. When he finally walked in, Ryuhei confronted him immediately. "So what's this about? Why did you call everyone here?"
Eugene smiled. "Nothing too dramatic. Workers has acquired a new affiliate." He glanced toward the entrance. "Alright then. Come on in."
Eli entered, followed by Olly and Warren. Eugene continued, "They'll be working with Workers from now on. They're going to run our new affiliate—the fifth affiliate of Workers. Let me introduce the executives once more."
Eugene gestured toward Warren. "We used to be enemies with Hostel, but now we're working together under Workers. Warren Chae, Director of the fifth affiliate."
He pointed to Olly next. "Hostel A's leader, Olly Wang, now serving as advisor of the fifth affiliate."
Finally, he turned to Eli. "And lastly, the president of the fifth affiliate—Eli Jang."
Yuseong and Mandeok stepped forward to flank Eugene. He smiled coldly. "For the integration of the four major crew members, Hostel hunting is complete. Next up: Big Deal hunting."
---
In an abandoned warehouse, Burn Knuckles had gathered, waiting for a certain group.
Hostel's Big Mommy Sally entered, followed by Max, Derrick, Chuck, and Justin.
Seeing them, Jace stepped forward. "I heard about Eli. He went under Workers? He betrayed us right after we formed the union?"
Sally opened her mouth. "That—"
But Jace cut her off. "And you still have the nerve to show up here? Are you trying to start a war?" Burn Knuckles closed ranks behind him.
A voice rang out from the entrance. "If Burn Knuckles wants a war, why don't we give it a try?"
Vin Jin strode in with a blonde girl beside him—Mary Kim. She had slimmed down considerably since their last meeting in Cheonliang. Behind them came Jewoo Park, Hyungjae Lee, Taebong Lim, and Wooseok Choi.
The full Cheonliang fam had reunited after years apart.
Jace's eyes narrowed. "Cheonliang dam?" he muttered softly.
Then louder: "What's Cheonliang fam doing in Seoul?"
The tension thickened. Sally stepped forward. "Jace of Burn Knuckles—I'm the current head of Hostel. Shouldn't the head of Burn Knuckles come out too? We're here to discuss how to destroy Workers."
Jace glanced back at a large, muscular figure seated in the shadows. "You heard her. What do you think, boss?"
Vasco grabbed his Burn Knuckles jacket and draped it over his shoulders. "I'll hear you out and decide."
---
Few weeks later
A Rolls-Royce glided through the streets of Suwon. Inside the car sat four people: Samuel at the driver's seat with Olly Wang beside him, while Warren and Eli occupied the back.
"We'll be arriving soon," Eli said.
Warren adjusted his tie. "You're planning to recruit those Suwon crews too, right?"
"Yeah," Eli answered.
"What's the Suwon crew's business?" Warren asked.
Before Eli could respond, Olly chimed in. "Service office. Hehe~"
Warren turned to him, confused. "Service office?"
Olly smiled. "Yeah. They provide a very peculiar service. They use gangsters to demolish street vendors. Hehe~ They take money for renovation and business projects and chase away residents living nearby."
"What's the name of their crew?" Warren asked.
This time, Eli answered. "I heard it was something like Stone Head Service."
"Stone Head Service?" Warren repeated, puzzled by the name.
Olly grinned. "Hehe~ I heard their King uses his forehead to bash everyone."
"Thank you for the information. How about you drive instead of chattering?" Samuel said through clenched teeth.
Olly's grin widened. "I can certainly do that. Why don't you hand over the wheel?"
Samuel slammed on the brakes. Eli and Warren flew from their seats and crashed against the front seats. Both cursed loudly.
But Olly Wang remained perfectly seated. He grinned. "This car must be very expensive, right? You should be more careful with it."
Samuel was about to retort when Olly interrupted. "Alright. We're here. That's the Stone Head Service office."
They all exited the vehicle. Samuel said, "As I mentioned before, I'm not going to help you guys. If possible, handle everything inside. It'd be too troublesome if blood gets all over my car. I'm pretty sensitive since I just got this car."
With that, Samuel moved toward the driver's door. "Alright then, I'm—"
Before he could finish, a club smashed into his car's side mirror.
Seeing this, Olly Wang chuckled. "Hehe~ That glass must have been expensive~"