"Right now my little brother isn't qualified to run for the seat," Fat Wah said coldly,
"but sooner or later, that position is definitely going to be his."
"By then you'll probably be dead already—won't even get to use your vote."
"Enough, enough. Stop arguing," Uncle Deng finally spoke up.
"Fat Wah, since the matter in your hall is settled, what's your stance on the seat election?"
Fat Wah answered without the slightest hesitation:
"My position is simple. Whoever Burst Fire supports, I oppose. Period."
"You motherf— you spineless, gutless—!"
Burst Fire exploded into profanity.
"Burst Fire, I'll f— your mother!"
Fat Wah shot back without missing a beat.
As Burst Fire raged, doubt crept into his heart.
Fat Wah had always been cautious, never pushing too hard.
Why did he suddenly look like he'd been pumped full of adrenaline today?
It didn't make sense.
How many people did Fat Wah even have under him?
Tsk tsk tsk!
At this moment, Uncle Deng raised his teacup and knocked it lightly on the table.
The room fell silent.
Uncle Deng said calmly,
"If you're going to keep arguing like this, Wo Luen Shing might as well disband."
After a pause, he continued:
"Da Pu Hei isn't participating. Ah Lok hasn't stated his position. Big D is still young.
I think we can let Chui Gai take the seat for one term."
"Chui Gai? No way!"
Burst Fire jumped up immediately.
Uncle Deng looked at him.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Since Wo Luen Shing was founded, we've had dozens of seat-holders.
Which one was the strongest at the time?"
"What matters to the society is balance. I'll talk to Chui Gai about it."
"Leng Jai," Uncle Deng added,
"get the Dragon Head Cane ready, and prepare the capital. We'll arrange the handover."
A middle-aged man nodded.
"Understood, Uncle Deng. Everything's ready."
"I agree."
As soon as Uncle Deng and Leng Jai finished speaking, Fat Wah immediately voiced his support, shooting Burst Fire a smug glance.
Burst Fire sneered.
"Fat Wah, don't get cocky."
Uncle Deng swept his gaze around the room, unhurried and steady.
"Still bickering?"
Then he concluded:
"Everyone, go back and do your work.
Those who've taken favors should withdraw early—don't make things ugly later."
…
Wong Tai Sin District, Kwong Fung Street.
Palace Bar.
Though it was a small bar, it was already fairly crowded.
Private Room 808.
The moment the door opened, a wave of cold air mixed with the scent of beer foam rushed out.
As Lin Yao stepped onto the bar's entrance stairs, several of Fat Wah's men hurried up.
"Brother Yao!"
"Brother Yao, you're here!"
One loudmouth almost blurted out "Good morning,"
but after Lin Yao shot him a sideways glance and said, "It's night,"
he immediately corrected himself.
"Yes, yes, yes—Brother Yao, you're really something!"
The admiration in their eyes was impossible to hide.
That was how the underworld worked.
Yesterday, they'd been calling him "Pretty Yao" behind his back.
Today, after seeing him settle Hongyi, their respect had gone completely over the top.
Fat Wah waited at the private room door. The moment he saw Lin Yao, his eyes widened.
"Ah Yao, did you secretly go worship Wong Tai Sin or something?"
"How did you suddenly become this fierce?"
"You wiped out several hundred guys, and we didn't even have a single injury on our side!"
"Today at headquarters, when I argued with Burst Fire, my backbone was three inches straighter!"
Inside the room, the air-conditioning blasted cold.
Hand-drawn liquor labels covered the walls.
Several bottles of ice-cold beer were quickly set on the table.
On the side were sliced cucumbers, peanuts, and other simple cold snacks, packed in plastic bags.
Lin Yao pulled over a chair, sat down, and opened a beer.
"Brother Wah, I wanted to settle things peacefully, but they came knocking.
Once I fought back, I couldn't really hold back anymore."
"Good that you didn't hold back!"
Fat Wah downed a mouthful of beer and slammed the bottle on the table, eyes gleaming.
"Crushing Hongyi's arrogance felt damn good—better than f—ing some foreign chick!"
Off to the side, Mixed River Dragon Xu Feng sat with a face dark as charcoal,
his gloomy aura heavy enough to rival a late-stage diabetic patient.
After Fat Wah settled in, his gaze kept drifting toward Lin Yao, unable to suppress his doubts.
Before, Lin Yao had only been slightly stronger than Xu Feng.
How could he now casually flatten Hongyi?
Looking closer, Lin Yao's build was clearly more solid than before.
He radiated vigor, as if he'd become a different person.
Did Wong Tai Sin really answer his prayers?
One man taking on over five hundred—
even movies wouldn't dare film something like that.
A sense of crisis crept into Xu Feng's heart.
Fat Wah's enthusiasm toward Lin Yao today—
was he planning to pass the Dragon Head seat to this kid?
Even the underlings who usually bowed and scraped before him
now looked at him with less reverence, more distance.
The more Xu Feng thought about it, the angrier he became.
He grabbed a beer and chugged it hard.
His chest thumped loudly, but he didn't spare Fat Wah or Lin Yao a glance.
Fat Wah noticed everything but said nothing, simply turning back to Lin Yao.
"Ah Yao, today at headquarters…"
He briefly summarized the key points of the meeting, then added:
"This time, you really brought honor to our hall. You should know what that means."
"Brother Wah," Lin Yao smoothly shifted the topic,
"who do you think has the best chance of taking the seat?"
"In my opinion, Chui Gai has the highest chance."
"Will Big D come after you because of that?" Lin Yao asked.
In his heart, he was already running scenarios.
According to the original trajectory, Fat Wah had clashed head-on with Burst Fire today.
Ruining Big D's prospects would surely invite retaliation.
Would Big D stuff Fat Wah into a box and roll him down the hill?
If so, Lin Yao would really need to go take a look—
for nostalgia's sake, at least.
But things were different now. Too many variables had changed.
Big D might be restrained by the other elders—no one could say for sure.
"Relax!"
Fat Wah waved his hand carelessly.
"Big D may be strong, but he doesn't have the guts to go against the entire elders' council."
"Right now, the only one firmly standing with him is Burst Fire.
Everyone else is sitting on the fence, waiting to see how things go."
At that moment, Xu Feng couldn't sit still anymore.
He discreetly elbowed Fat Wah in the side and kept shooting him looks—
clearly urging him to bring up the money issue.
But Fat Wah acted as if he hadn't seen a thing, continuing to chat warmly with Lin Yao.
Xu Feng's face grew darker by the second, fury visibly boiling over.
Just then, Lin Yao lowered his head to take a sip of beer.
Fat Wah immediately turned and shot Xu Feng a sharp glare.
The warning was unmistakable:
Don't f—ing cause trouble right now.
"If he really sets up a new Wo Luen Shing, what then?" Lin Yao said with a smile.
"What? A new Wo Luen Shing?"
Fat Wah laughed.
"If he tried that, the entire society would tear him apart."
After chatting for a while longer about Wo Luen Shing, Fat Wah let out a sigh.
"Ah Yao, you handling Hongyi really made me look good."
"Brother Wah, when you're in the position, you do what the position requires.
That's only right."
"They already came to the door. If I didn't hit back, how would I survive in this world?"
Lin Yao said calmly after taking another sip of beer.
"True enough. Ah Yao, who would've thought—you're a real talent."
Fat Wah praised him sincerely.