He originally wanted to say a few more words, but after opening his mouth and hesitating, he realized his brain simply couldn't keep up with his tongue…
In the end, he could only chuckle awkwardly, smiling apologetically as he sat back down.
Seeing this, Uncle Deng frowned slightly and said:
"Blowjob Ji, this isn't the time for campaign speeches."
"The priority now is handling Fat Wah's funeral arrangements.
Everyone who needs to be informed must be informed—no lapses in etiquette."
"Oh, oh, oh! That's my mistake—sorry, sorry!"
Blowjob Ji hurriedly replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead in a fluster, then quickly stood up and left the meeting room.
Watching his spineless display, Big D tapped the tabletop with his knuckle and sneered:
"Hell… this is our chairman?"
The room fell silent, as if no one had heard him. No one responded.
Big Head, the West Ring Hall's famous loudmouth, originally wanted to chime in, but when he thought about his own low standing, he swallowed his words and kept quiet.
Lin Yao's peripheral vision swept over Jimmy.
Jimmy still stood there expressionless, as if attending this society assembly were pure torture.
At this moment, Jimmy's forehead was drenched in sweat.
This old tong-lau building didn't even have air-conditioning.
In front of so many people, he couldn't exactly take off his suit, so he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
Uncle Deng cleared his throat, breaking the silence.
"Alright. Let's talk about the real issue."
"Who do you think killed Fat Wah?"
"Uncle Deng, in my opinion—could it be he messed with someone's woman?"
"If not, who would be so ruthless?"
Big D, dressed in a gray suit, was the first to speak.
He glanced at the empty chair beside Lin Yao—Fat Wah's seat—and said slowly:
"His assets weren't touched, so it wasn't for money."
"And if it were for old grudges, they should've settled it long ago.
No reason to wait until now."
"So my analysis is this—Brother Wah must've fallen because of a woman."
Listening to Big D talk, an odd thought popped into Lin Yao's head against his will—
No helmet.
After looking at the empty chair, Big D's gaze shifted to Lin Yao, who stood tall at 1.86 meters.
There was unconcealed admiration in his eyes.
He had heard about Lin Yao taking down over five hundred men from Hung Yi that very day, though he had never met him before.
Now seeing Lin Yao's clean-cut, almost college-student-like face, Big D couldn't help but think:
"No wonder all the big shots on the streets want to poach this kid.
If it were me, I'd want him under my wing too."
"Big D," Uncle Deng interjected calmly, cutting off his train of thought,
"Ah Wah did fool around when he was young, but in recent years there's been no word of him touching anyone's wife. We can rule that out."
"Then that's strange," said String Exploder, the mahjong-handed enforcer, pushing up his old-fashioned glasses with a tone full of veteran authority.
"Someone killed him without taking territory, without grabbing money—what were they after?"
"I've been in the underworld for decades and never seen anything like this!"
In recent years, String Exploder and Fat Wah had been on tense terms. His prized Tiger of East Point territory had clashed repeatedly with Fat Wah.
As he spoke now, the faint smugness in his expression was impossible to hide.
"Could it have been an accident?" an elder suggested cautiously.
"Or… maybe they killed the wrong person?"
The moment those words were spoken, most people in the room shook their heads in disagreement.
Uncle Deng waved his hand and said in a low voice:
"Enough. The police have investigated for this long and still have no leads."
"If we just keep guessing, what conclusion will we reach?"
Then his tone turned grave.
"A country cannot go a day without a ruler—
and a hall cannot go a day without an enforcer!"
"I'll state my position first.
I recommend A-Yao to take over Fat Wah's position."
"If any of you have better candidates, feel free to speak up."
"Then A-Yao it is!"
Dragon Root, holding his betel nut, spoke up decisively.
"There used to be someone more senior—Hungry Dragon—but he's dead now."
"If we put someone else in charge of Kowloon Walled City, they might not be able to handle it."
"Not to mention A-Yao nearly wiped out Hung Yi on his own—impressive!"
"Among the City hall candidates, who's more qualified than him? I don't see anyone."
Hearing this, Lin Yao thought to himself:
So the old fox Sam finally repaid that favor. At least he didn't forget who saved him last time.
Dragon Root's words ended, and he immediately looked straight at Lin Yao.
His eyes clearly said:
Kid, remember this favor.
The underworld was brutally realistic—
everything was about short-term exchanges.
No one played the "long line to catch a big fish" game.
Favors had to be cashed in fast.
Lin Yao understood this perfectly.
"A-Yao?"
Just as Dragon Root finished speaking, String Exploder raised his voice in objection.
"Heh. How old is he? Barely in his early twenties, right?"
"He only became a hall White Fan a few days ago. Before that, he was just a 49er. What qualifications does he have to be enforcer?"
"I recommend Big Head—my protégé.
He knows the rules, understands people, and does things properly."
"He's been in Kowloon Walled City before—couldn't be more suitable."
As soon as String Exploder finished, Big Head, who had been standing to the side, straightened up as if injected with adrenaline.
He subconsciously adjusted his hair, unable to hide his excitement.
"String Exploder, thank you for your support."
But the moment his hair was in place, his face froze.
The one speaking now… was his own boss.
He only heard Gao Bo continue calmly:
"Big Head should stay in West Ring Hall. I still have many important matters for him to handle."
With that single sentence, String Exploder was completely shut down.
His face darkened instantly, anger surging into his voice:
"Damn it! Gao Bo, I'm speaking up for your subordinate here—what kind of boss are you?"
"I've already thanked you," Gao Bo replied coolly.
"Big Head was born in Kowloon Walled City, yes, but he came to West Ring at eight.
The complexities over there—he can't handle them."
"Either way, thanks for the recommendation."
After being blocked so thoroughly, String Exploder shut his mouth entirely, his face so dark it looked like it could drip water.
Uncle Deng scanned the room slowly.
The next second, elders all around began voicing their support:
"Then A-Yao it is!"
"Exactly! A-Yao's solid, skilled, and Fat Wah's most trusted man—who else but him?"
"I agree!"
"Same here!"
...
Before the voices even died down, hands shot up across the room—
a dense forest of raised arms.
In the end, even String Exploder reluctantly raised his hand.
He even turned to Lin Yao and explained deliberately:
"Kid, this isn't personal. I judge matters, not people."
"Since everyone believes in you, I have no objections—
I agree."
Lin Yao clasped his fists and bowed to the elders.
But inwardly, he couldn't help thinking:
No wonder this old bastard always picked the wrong side in both parts of "Election."
Yet he still managed to walk away alive.
That, too, is a kind of survival skill.
Today… he really showed how the underworld works.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. Comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/Star1801