At Liu Yutong's command, the long-placid surface of Bright Pearl City's lake finally began to ripple.
Yun Cheng immediately relayed the order to the high-level core member group chat of the Ten Thousand Dragons Society, which was then passed down layer by layer through the management hierarchy.
In an instant, all core members of the Ten Thousand Dragons Society, whether idling at school, working at a supermarket, delivering goods by car, or laboring in a restaurant, dropped whatever they were doing upon receiving the message and hurried towards the Shunchang Building, the society's current headquarters.
Initially.
The streets around Shunchang International remained calm and uneventful.
However, within the next twenty short minutes, the expressions of almost everyone passing by turned to one of shock and awe.
The square in front of the building and the lanes flanking the surrounding streets were now densely packed, as far as the eye could see, with a uniform line of sleek black luxury sedans!
Even the nearby bicycle lanes were filled with a multitude of electric scooters, and taxis kept pulling over, discharging young men and women dressed in black.
This spectacle left onlookers utterly stunned.
Some bold and curious individuals even secretly called their friends to come witness the commotion.
"Hey, Brother Wang, holy shit! Holy shit, holy shit! I'm... I'm near the Shunchang Building, something huge is happening! The whole street is full of black cars, they're practically overflowing! And there are so many people in black suits, it's like a movie set, they must be filming... anyway, there are so many people, you can't see the end of them! Hurry over, maybe some big celebrity has come to our Bright Pearl City."
"........."
Of course, sharp-eyed individuals noticed the dragon patterns embroidered on the chests of those in black. Their faces paled, and they hurriedly stopped their companions from taking photos with their low-pixel phones.
"Are you insane! Don't take pictures! Do you have a death wish?!"
"Huh? Why? So many black suits, it's so cool! Just like a movie. I can brag to my friends later about seeing something this grand."
"Cool my ass! Open your damn eyes and look closely! Look at their chests, that's a dragon embroidered there! These are Ten Thousand Dragons Society people!"
"Ten Thousand Dragons Society? What's that?"
"It's the biggest society around the university district. These are serious, proper gangsters. You dare take their picture? Aren't you afraid they'll drag you off, beat you to a pulp, and throw you in the river to feed the fish?!"
"I've heard these guys in black have actually done people in before, you better watch it?!"
Hearing how terrifying the origins of these black-clad figures were, the person was frightened into quickly putting away his Nokia phone.
"No pictures, no pictures. Did they see me?"
"Probably not. Let's go, let's go. This is no place to linger. Something big is about to happen."
"........"
For a time, the area around the Shunchang Building became tense and uneasy due to the sudden influx of black-clad figures, with many pedestrians scared into taking detours.
At this moment.
The square in front of the Shunchang Building acted like a giant magnet, continuously drawing streams of black-clad figures converging towards it.
The number of people grew at a visibly frantic rate.
Fifty, eighty, one hundred, two hundred, three hundred...
In the end, nearly five hundred core members of the Ten Thousand Dragons Society began to line up in sections according to their affiliated halls... departments, each wearing a solemn expression.
Although the notification from above didn't specify the purpose, the young mistress summoning them so urgently surely meant something major was afoot.
Of course, some had guessed from today's events what they might be about to do.
The newer members were fine, but especially the old-timers who had followed since the Misty Waters days felt particularly stirred.
After so long, the young mistress was finally going to lead them in a big move!
Indeed, although the young mistress talked about the Ten Thousand Dragons Society being a legitimate company and obeying the law, deep down she still very much wanted to lead everyone to expand, strengthen, and undertake a major venture.
She hadn't gathered so many people for action before because the timing wasn't ripe.
Now, the moment must have arrived, ripe for sweeping up all the other forces in Bright Pearl City in one fell swoop!
And then... the Ten Thousand Dragons Society would reign supreme!
This gathering of five hundred core members represented an expansion of over two hundred people compared to the annual meeting last year.
Estimating at a ten-to-one ratio, the society's affiliated ordinary employees likely numbered around five thousand.
As this black-clad mass gathered, the entire block seemed enveloped in an intangible, suffocating pressure. Even the originally bright sky appeared tainted by this austere blackness, the light dimming noticeably.
The onlookers who had dared to sneak glances earlier now hardly dared to breathe. Some hadn't gone far, watching from what they deemed safe distances.
A powerful intuition told them that something earth-shattering would happen today!
For now, curiosity had temporarily overcome fear.
Just then, from the lobby of the Shunchang Building's first floor, a girl of stunning beauty emerged.
Her face was youthfully exquisite, bearing the delicate features of a girl. She wore a pure black wool sweater dress, over which was draped an equally black long trench coat, exuding an aura of chilling intensity.
Her pitch-black eyes, especially, were indifferent as ice; no one dared meet her gaze wherever it swept.
As she walked step by step towards the dense crowd of black-clad figures, many witnessed a scene they would never forget.
Swish!
Five hundred figures in the square bowed their heads in perfect unison.
"Young Mistress!!!" x500+
Five hundred voices merged into one, like the roar of a colossal dragon—a roar filled with fanaticism, loyalty, absolute obedience, and a resolve to go through fire and water!
The wave of sound rolled out, causing the distant onlookers' legs to go weak, nearly buckling beneath them.
Now, even those who hadn't known what the Ten Thousand Dragons Society was finally understood. This wasn't a movie scene they were watching, but a massive, genuinely terrifying gang... organization!
What shocked them most of all was that all these black-clad gangsters obeyed the commands of that young girl.
It was surreal!
Liu Yutong's gaze swept over the five hundred core members of the Ten Thousand Dragons Society before her. Her cold, stunning face showed not a ripple of emotion.
A moment later.
She slightly lifted her fair chin, her gaze seeming to pierce through the crowd before her and the layers of buildings behind them, fixing on a certain place in the city.
There lay the enemies she was determined to eliminate.
As Liu Yutong took a few more steps forward.
The evening wind seemed to die completely at that moment.
The operation would begin immediately.
Liu Yutong didn't mince words, uttering only two clear, icy syllables.
"Move out!"
