Outside.
"Damn, how long has it been? Why haven't the police shown up yet?"
"Are the cops all on holiday today or something?"
"No way, the boys in blue are basically working year-round, holidays? I bet those guys in black suits called ahead and sorted it out."
"Yeah, otherwise with a commotion this big, how could the police just ignore it? They must have been paid off."
"Tsk tsk... the East Sea Alliance is in for a rough time."
"Honestly, in all my years, this is the first time I've seen a brawl with so many people. There must be at least several hundred, right?"
"Same here. I doubt you could find another group in all of Bright Pearl City that could muster this many people."
"I heard these guys in black are from the Ten Thousand Dragons Society. They basically run the show in the university district and even Brocade District, with connections on both sides of the law!"
"That's true. My cousin goes to university over there. He says anyone who doesn't listen to the Ten Thousand Dragons Society gets thrown off a building. Didn't someone from the Yanwang Internet Cafe cross them recently, and then they just... vanished? Too brutal."
A guy on the sidewalk, sipping bubble tea, slurped up a pearl and chimed in with great seriousness.
"I know about that too. It's not just throwing people off buildings. My second uncle's neighbor's brother-in-law's sister-in-law's cousin's classmate works over there. He says the Ten Thousand Dragons Society members don't even walk normally."
"They don't walk? How do they get around then? Fly?"
"Tsk, pretty much. They move around on patches of black clouds, like right now. Wherever they go, nothing's left standing. It's savage!"
"Holy crap! They really are... gangsters. Too ruthless. With these guys around, will there be any light left in our Bright Pearl City?"
A bespectacled student girl timidly interjected.
"What you're saying isn't right, I think... I saw some Ten Thousand Dragons Society people eating skewers at the backstreet of the university district last week. They seemed pretty friendly, even asked the vendor for extra chili powder..."
"Young lady, you don't get it, do you? Bad guys don't wear a sign saying 'bad'. They act nice on the surface to lull you into a false sense of security. The moment you let your guard down, bang—you're dangling off the rooftop!"
The student girl: "..."
"That's... that's too scary!"
Then, someone suddenly lowered their voice. "I heard their boss, Liu Yutong... isn't actually human!"
Everyone: "???"
"What do you mean?"
"I think that woman is the reincarnation of an ancient evil dragon. Human by day, her eyes glow at night, and she can eat three cows in one meal. That's how she can lead the Ten Thousand Dragons Society—that's where the name 'Ten Thousand Dragons' comes from!"
Just as the talk was getting more and more outrageous, the black-suited men parked at the hotel entrance suddenly moved.
One of them, a coldly handsome man, stepped forward and respectfully opened the door of a Maybach.
Immediately after, a tall, stunning figure bent down and stepped out of the car.
When her form was fully revealed to the onlookers, all the rubberneckers watching from a distance and the small-time hoodlums closely following the situation collectively gasped. Only one thought remained in their minds.
Could a human being really look like this?
She was even more dazzlingly beautiful than a movie star, her aura utterly overwhelming.
She wore a long black coat over a matching high-neck sweater, with black high-heeled boots completing the look, the outfit accentuating her extremely slender figure.
Her jet-black, smooth hair cascaded freely down her back, the color pure as ink. Her face, in particular, was breathtakingly beautiful with an aggressive edge—sharp eyebrows, deep-set eyes, a high-bridged nose, and full red lips pressed into a faint, cold line.
Her expression was neutral, her gaze utterly calm. After getting out of the car, she merely swept her eyes casually around before looking away.
But that one glance made everyone who met it instinctively hold their breath.
Powerful, beautiful, dangerous, and carrying an air of aloof indifference towards all living things.
This! Was the young mistress of the Ten Thousand Dragons Society—Liu Yutong!
As soon as Liu Yutong approached, all the men in black immediately bowed their heads in greeting.
"Young Mistress!"
"Young Mistress!"
"…...."
Liu Yutong gave a slight nod. She raised a hand to casually tuck a strand of hair blown by the wind behind her ear, revealing a small black gemstone earring.
Under the lights, the cold glint reflected by the earring mirrored the impression she gave at this moment.
—Cold and proud!
Liu Yutong walked in her high-heeled boots down the path formed by two rows of bowing men in black, heading into the hotel lobby.
Only after her figure disappeared into the hotel did the onlookers, who had fallen silent, feel the suffocating pressure gradually lift.
The same thought surfaced in everyone's mind simultaneously.
This was no cow-eating female dragon!
This was clearly a gangland queen who could make the masses kneel with just a single glance!
Finally, it was the bubble tea guy, the one best at spinning yarns, who broke the silence first, stating with absolute certainty:
"Whether the sky over Bright Pearl City stays dark from now on... really might depend on the Ten Thousand Dragons Society!"
...
Inside the Tianxing Hotel, chaos reigned.
After obtaining crucial intelligence, Ma Da and his men, having swiftly dealt with the East Sea Alliance thugs in the lobby, immediately dispatched a team of their most elite members straight to the top floor.
Apart from one team led by Yun Cheng responsible for the Young Mistress's security, and those guarding the front/back doors and basement passages, the remaining forces split up. Following the acquired intel, they began a floor-by-floor purge.
While this was a mission of revenge, it wasn't limited to that. Per the Young Mistress's instructions, they also had to gather evidence of illegal activities caught on-site to justify the necessity of their operation.
That way, even if Qi Wei and his men showed up later, they'd have nothing to say.
The Tianxing Hotel, as Zhao Tianxing's primary business and gang headquarters, was rife with illegal dealings, everything from drugs to gambling and prostitution.
But catching them red-handed wasn't easy.
The building had fifteen floors, and the fire exits were usually deliberately locked. If reported, they'd pretend to open them, only to lock them again after the inspectors left.
The elevators required special key cards, and there was even a hidden elevator.
Whenever the police came to investigate, they always struggled to catch anyone in the act. By the time they fought their way upstairs, the evidence was long gone.
But with the Ten Thousand Dragons Society here, it was different. The Ten Thousand Dragons Society didn't play by those rules.
What the police couldn't easily do, they did. What the police couldn't easily ask, they asked.
As long as the 'outcome was legal'—after scrubbing away some inconvenient evidence—they could easily make the East Sea Alliance members talk.
Upon receiving the report that the East Sea Alliance lackeys on the top floor were basically dealt with, Liu Yutong took Yun Cheng and others up in the elevator directly to the penthouse.
Meanwhile, urgent reports kept crackling over the walkie-talkies from various floors of the Tianxing Hotel.
"Second floor! They're fighting their way up! We can't hold them! Send backup!"
"Second floor, shut up! We're worse off on the third! This guy's actually using nunchucks! And there's freaking background music! He's beating our brothers with rhythm!"
"Fifth floor... fifth floor... Damn, my teeth... Wait! Don't hit the face... Aah!"
"Basement calling, basement calling... Holy crap, they're not even sparing the old man from the boiler room!"
"…………"
Over on the Wanlong Hui side, the walkie-talkies were equally non-stop.
"Team A reporting, third floor cleared. Successfully apprehended three couples engaged in illicit transactions!"
"Team B has secured the fourth-floor finance office. They voluntarily opened the safe; discovered a large amount of cash and several account books."
"Team C calling. Found a large collection of... photo books in Zhao Tianxing's office, ugh... Request permission for on-site incineration to avoid offending the young lady's eyes."
"Permission denied, those are important evidence... Wait, there's a photo of him in a maid outfit on the last page? That absolutely must be published in the newspaper!"
"Team E apprehended a sleazy foreigner selling drugs. He tried to resist. How to proceed?"
"Tell him the Wanlong Hui only respects Dragon Country martial arts. If he doesn't know any, teach him!"
"Evidence secured on the 7th floor as well. Someone got high on illicit substances and is starting to trip..."
"..."
