"The Ten Thousand Dragons Society dares to gather so many people in broad daylight on my turf; they must be desperate!"
"To be frank with you all, I sent assassins to kill Liu Yutong today. They should have succeeded in taking her out. That's why her underlings are all charging over here like rabid dogs!"
Zhao Tianxing hadn't told them about arranging the assassins this time; he had done it secretly.
After the last information leak, he weeded out some of the fence-sitters, and those fence-sitters had been quietly dealt with by his men on the road.
Although the few gang bosses present now were relatively reliable, he still didn't fully trust them and had kept them in the dark about this.
So, he told no one about today's assassination attempt.
He was afraid of another leak, a repeat of the first time when they fell into Liu Yutong's trap and she caught them red-handed.
When Liu Songxia suddenly heard Zhao Tianxing say Liu Yutong might already be gone, he jolted with shock.
"Brother Zhao, are you serious? Is Liu Yutong really dead?"
Zhao Tianxing nodded with absolute certainty.
"Think about it. If she were safe and sound, would someone of her temperament impulsively bring everyone here to attack us? Obviously not!"
"If that were the case, she would have brought people to fight last time, not waited until now."
"So, there's only one possibility: she herself is really in trouble, either critically injured and dying, or... already taken out by the men I arranged! The one leading the charge now is probably that guy named Yun Cheng. He's avenging his boss, which is why he's throwing everything he has into this reckless assault!"
"Regardless, I'm now almost certain that woman is finished! Hahaha..."
The other bosses in the private room were momentarily stunned by Zhao Tianxing's sudden good news, then overjoyed.
"Really? Liu Yutong was really taken out?!"
"Brother Zhao, you're amazing! I was wondering why the Ten Thousand Dragons Society suddenly went crazy."
"Haha, the Ten Thousand Dragons Society is digging its own grave! Perfect, let's wipe them all out in one go this time!"
".........."
Seeing everyone so excited, Liu Songxia offered a hollow, congratulatory smile, but his heart sank.
Liu Yutong... dead?
Then what should he do?
Should he fully oppose the Ten Thousand Dragons Society, or play the fence-sitter again?
Just then, Zhao Tianxing, seeming to notice his preoccupation, walked over to him.
"Brother Liu, what's wrong? What are you thinking about? You seem uneasy."
Zhao Tianxing still had some goodwill towards Liu Songxia. After all, this guy was the first to stand by his side back then. Compared to the other bosses, he trusted him more.
Liu Songxia's mind raced, and he quickly found an excuse: "Brother Zhao, I'm worried about the Ten Thousand Dragons Society crowd. Even if Liu Yutong is dead, they're bloodlust-crazed and will definitely fight us to the death. What if we can't hold off those maniacs? Wouldn't we be doomed?"
"Is that what you're worried about? Don't be."
Zhao Tianxing patted his shoulder. "Brother Liu, you were the first to stand up and support me back then. I've always remembered that. I promise you, we definitely won't come to harm. None of you need to worry."
"They're just relying on numbers, right? I have a way to handle it."
Hearing this, although Liu Songxia was curious about what trump card Zhao Tianxing had to stop the Ten Thousand Dragons Society, he held back from asking more.
Loose lips sink ships.
He then pretended to relax. "With your word, Brother Zhao, I feel much more at ease!"
The others also flattered Zhao Tianxing a bit.
Perhaps because he felt 'vengeance was served,' Zhao Tianxing was in an excellent mood and greatly enjoyed the flattery from Liu Songxia and the others.
He then became even more brazen.
"Gentlemen! Liu Yutong is dead! The Ten Thousand Dragons Society is just a tiger with its teeth pulled! If they dare come, they're walking into a trap! Perfect. Today, we'll use their blood to completely wash away the disgrace they brought upon us! And show everyone else in Bright Pearl City what happens to those who oppose Zhao Tianxing!"
He turned and shouted to his subordinate, "Pass the order! Tell all our brothers to hold the line! Tell them the Ten Thousand Dragons Society's young mistress is dead! The ones coming now are just a bunch of mindless mad dogs! Fight them hard! I'll reward a thousand for every one taken down!"
"Yes, boss!" The subordinate immediately went to relay the order.
Watching Zhao Tianxing happily clink glasses with the other bosses and discuss how to divide the Ten Thousand Dragons Society's assets after their defeat, Liu Songxia's heart remained unsettled.
Liu Yutong... are you really dead or not?
If you're not dead... this old fool Zhao Tianxing is going to die very ugly today!
But what if... she really is gone?
Just then, another subordinate rushed in, flustered, to report.
"Boss! There are too many Ten Thousand Dragons Society people! They've broken right in! Their young mistress... has already led her people in and is fighting her way up!"
"Hahaha... hic!"
Zhao Tianxing's laughter cut off abruptly. "What did you say?!"
"Liu Yutong isn't dead? And she's leading them personally?!"
The triumphant smiles on the faces of the bosses who were just toasting instantly froze, as if they'd been doused with ice water.
"What? Liu Yutong isn't dead?!"
"How is that possible! Brother Zhao, didn't you say she was definitely gone?!"
"We're done for, done for, done for! She's here personally, leading the charge herself! We're dead! Zhao Tianxing! Didn't you fucking say she was dead? You lied to us?!"
"My men also said they just saw downstairs... it's full of their people... we're surrounded... we're trapped!"
"Brother Zhao, what do we do?!"
Although Zhao Tianxing was furious at these guys' cowardice—they were supposed to be bosses themselves, how could they all turn so spineless at the critical moment? Where was the guts they had when they were mixing in the underworld? Where did it all go?!
"Stop panicking! I'm here!"
"So what if Liu Yutong isn't dead? So what if she's here? If she dares step through that door, I'll make sure she stays here for good today!"
After saying that, he walked straight to the sofa on the south side.
Liu Songxia, who had been pondering what confidence Zhao Tianxing had to block the Ten Thousand Dragons Society, seemed to guess something from his actions.
Sure enough.
Zhao Tianxing actually pulled out two handguns from a hidden compartment under the sofa.
And while Liu Songxia was still stunned, he directly tossed one of the guns to him.
"Brother Liu, take this gun. If they dare barge in, don't be polite, just shoot them. There aren't many bullets in the magazine, but it should be enough."
He said this entirely out of confidence in firearms. No matter how many people come, as long as one side has guns, the other side normally wouldn't dare act recklessly.
Liu Songxia: "..."
"Damn it, are you sure you're not setting me up?" he cursed inwardly.
If guns are used, the nature of this escalates again.
Dragon Country has extremely strict gun control. Any case involving firearms is a major crime that the police take very seriously and will investigate thoroughly to the end.
Most crucially, now that Liu Yutong isn't dead and has personally led the charge to their doorstep, he didn't need to follow Zhao Tianxing down this dark path anymore.
Soon, Liu Songxia made his choice!
He secretly unloaded the bullets from his pistol's magazine, tucked them into his pocket, and then seized an opportunity to approach, offering to swap guns.
His reason was that he had heard revolvers never jam, and he really wanted to try one. He added that as soon as Zhao Tianxing gave the signal, he would be the first to fire.
Little did he know, this was exactly what Zhao Tianxing most wanted to hear. Zhao Tianxing had already intended for Liu Songxia to shoot first; that way, if Liu Yutong and the others were really killed, he could pin the blame on this guy.
Although among the bosses in the private room, he trusted Liu Songxia the most, it was precisely because of that trust that he chose to give him one of the guns.
In the end, Zhao Tianxing traded his revolver for Liu Songxia's pistol.
Just as Zhao Tianxing was about to eject the magazine to check it, another underling rushed in, flustered, to report.
"Boss, our guys couldn't hold them off. They were taken out the moment they reached the downstairs!"
Distracted by the underling's report, Zhao Tianxing seemed to forget something. He casually stuffed the pistol into his jacket and immediately ordered a full-force, last-ditch defense, retreating to the top floor if they couldn't hold.
Liu Songxia's heart had nearly leaped out of his throat. Thankfully, Zhao Tianxing ultimately didn't open the magazine to check, or he would have been in trouble.
Listening to the constant stream of bad news over the walkie-talkie, he suddenly remembered the message of allegiance he had sent out earlier.
My name is Liu Songxia. I have heard of the young lady's magnanimity. Seeking a position, I wish to abandon the light for the dark!
