After Ma Da finished delivering the disciplinary notice succinctly, he turned to Zhang Tao and asked, "Well, do you accept this punishment?"
Zhang Tao stammered, "I... I..."
He was at a loss for words, completely caught off guard. He never expected to face such severe consequences from the company for this reason—far harsher than he could have imagined.
Then, an indescribable, scalding bitterness surged up his nose and stung his eyes.
This wasn’t self-pity. It was deep, gut-wrenching guilt.
The truth was, he had hidden his father’s illness partly to avoid troubling others, especially not wanting to disturb the Young Miss.
But what happened instead?
His stubborn insistence on handling things alone had still forced the Young Miss to intervene personally—even sending Ma Da to visit his father, stand up for them, solve their problems, and even throw money at obstacles...
This kindness, this unwavering loyalty, weighed heavier than a mountain!
What had he, Zhang Tao, ever done to deserve this?
He also understood the deeper meaning behind this punishment.
First, the Young Miss was genuinely furious—angry that he hadn’t trusted the organization, ignored company rules, treated himself as an outsider, and bottled everything up. It was a mix of frustration and disappointment.
Second, she was making a statement—to him and to everyone in the Wanlong Society:
Your struggles are mine. Your family is the company’s family.
Next time, no one is allowed to act this foolishly!
Otherwise, Zhang Tao’s punishment will be your warning!
Once he grasped this, Zhang Tao opened his mouth to speak, but his throat felt clogged, and no sound came out.
The sting in his nose grew sharper, blurring his vision. He blinked hard, trying to force back the tears—he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Ma Da.
But in the end, he couldn’t hold it in. Scalding tears spilled over, streaking down his cheeks.
"Ma Da, I accept the punishment! A hundred bucks? Even if it were a thousand, ten thousand—I’d take it! I was an idiot! A fool! I betrayed the Young Miss’s trust..."
Beside him, Ji Yu watched Zhang Tao’s tearful breakdown, wanting to comfort him but unsure how.
Finally, he pointed at Hua Muying’s wild white afro and offered, "Brother Tao, don’t cry. Wanna pet an egg for fun?"
Zhang Tao: "..."
Hua Muying: "???"
Wait, bro, what the hell are you implying?
Are you trying to shave me bald?
What did I ever do to you?
If I weren’t outmatched, I’d challenge you to a duel right here, right now!
Ma Da finally spoke up, shifting the topic.
"Hua Muying, you’ve been quite the ghost lately. We hadn’t heard a peep from you—thought you got kidnapped and sold for organs overseas or something."
"Spill it. What brings you to Great Southern City?"
Hua Muying replied solemnly, "Ma Da, you weren’t far off earlier."
Ma Da stiffened. "Wait, you actually got snatched for organ harvesting?"
He’d only been joking.
"How’d you escape? Those organ thieves are ruthless, from what I’ve heard."
"A woman."
"A woman?"
"Yeah. Ma Da, can we go to the Sky Palace Club tonight? There’s someone I need to get out."
"She knows too much—secrets tied to certain people in Bright Pearl City, like the East Sea Alliance. From what I’ve gathered, they traffic women, many sold overseas. It’s not just prostitution—if some foreign buyer ‘takes a liking’ to a girl, they trick her into going abroad with promises of double pay. Most never come back."
The mention of the East Sea Alliance immediately sharpened Ma Da’s focus.
No wonder they’re rolling in cash—pulling in sixty, seventy million in half a year, out-earning even the Righteous Union. So this is their dirty secret.
Zhang Tao recalled the thugs’ earlier taunt. "Wait, those guys said you peeped on their boss’s wife bathing—was that her?"
Ma Da’s eyes lit up with gossip. "Huh? You actually spied on someone’s wife showering? Talk! What’d you see?!"
Hua Muying smirked. "Exactly what I wanted to see."
Ma Da groaned. "You damn pervert! I hate guys like you—especially when you don’t even invite me..."
Hua Muying rolled his eyes. "Ma Da, get your mind out of the gutter. You think I’d really peep on someone? I just needed to confirm if she was the right person. Plus, it’s freezing—she was bundled up. How else was I supposed to check? Walk up and say, ‘Hey, strip for me’?"
"Ma Da, you’ve got me all wrong. I’m not that kind of guy!"
"......"
Ma Da sighed. "What’s the girl’s name?"
"Lan Die."
"Lan Die... huh, pretty name."
"You said you’re getting her out of Sky Palace tonight?"
"Yeah. She’s in danger there—especially from the club’s owner, Tu Jiu. That guy’s a real monster."
"How many men does he have?"
"Plenty. But by midnight? Maybe not so many."
"Why?"
Zhang Tao guessed. "I challenged them to a fight at midnight."
Ma Da frowned. "A fight? They won’t just send a few guys, right?"
Zhang Tao grinned. "Nah. I’m taking on the whole group."
Ma Da stared, then clapped him on the shoulder. "Damn, Tao, you’ve got balls!"
"But this could work. We call the cops, keep them busy at the park—say, ‘A bunch of guys are gang-raping an old sow’ or something."
"Then we raid the club while they’re distracted. No one’ll stop us."
Hua Muying’s eyes gleamed. "Brilliant!"
"But we can do better."
He borrowed Zhang Tao’s phone, flipped open a little notebook from his pocket, and dialed a number.
"Tell Paozi this: The Wanlong Society’s bringing a hundred men tonight. He’d better not show up short-handed, or it’ll be a boring slaughter."
He hung up and smirked. "Now it’s foolproof."
Ma Da shook his head. "You sneaky bastard."
"Wait—where’d you get that number? How’d you know it?"
Hua Muying flicked his hair dramatically. "Basic skills, my friend."
They quickly ironed out the details.
After hearing Hua Muying’s additions, Ma Da chuckled. "You’ve got more tricks up your sleeve than a damn magician."
Ji Yu scratched his bald head and asked innocently, "So... do I still pet the egg?"
Hua Muying: "..."
Bro, you’re just jealous of my glorious hair. Bald and bitter, huh?
Ma Da checked the time and said, "We still have a few hours before nightfall. Let's scout the location first and get familiar with the layout of the Sky Club. We don’t want to walk into a trap later."
Hua Muying nodded. "Ma Da’s right. I know the area well—I’ll lead the way."
Just as they were about to set off, Zhang Tao’s phone suddenly rang.
He glanced down. "It’s an unknown number."
Ma Da motioned for him to answer, putting it on speaker.
A voice, seething with rage, came through the line: "You Wanlong scum think you’re tough, huh? Calling a hundred men? Fine. At midnight tonight, I’ll show you who really runs this turf!"
The voice belonged to Brother Pao, the same man Zhang Tao had nearly crippled earlier. Over the phone, he sounded far more brazen.
After the threat, the call ended abruptly.
Hua Muying grinned. "They took the bait."
Zhang Tao frowned. "Do you think they suspect anything?"
Ma Da smirked. "Doesn’t matter if they do. What matters is they’ll have to divert men to the park, leaving the Sky Club understaffed."
Ji Yu cracked his knuckles. "So… does that mean I get to smash some heads?!"
