"Friends in the Land Rover, hello. My men were out of line earlier, offending you all. Let me start by apologizing on their behalf."
"Let me introduce myself. People in the circles give me face and call me Brother Pao. That bag you picked up contains some of my personal belongings. They're not really worth much money, but they hold some sentimental value for me personally. I was wondering if it would be convenient for you to do me a favor and return the bag?"
"Where are you now? I'll send someone over to pick it up. I promise they won't disturb you again. Also, I've prepared a generous gift as an apology."
"........"
On the other end of the phone, Brother Pao's tone was extremely polite. He had to be. If the other party discovered the contents of the bag, the trouble would be immense.
He had already taken a fall once before in Pearl City. The boss had spent a significant price to bail him and the crew he took there out.
If something went wrong again, he really didn't know how he'd explain it to the boss.
He'd probably be sold off like a piglet to some foreign country by the boss himself.
The boss was already upset about the Pearl City situation. The Ten Thousand Dragons Society had taken out their important partner, Zhao Tianxing. Hell, Zhao Tianxing was even shot dead by that terrifying young lady from the Ten Thousand Dragons Society in Pearl City.
That revenue stream was completely severed.
The boss even had to use a lot of connections and spend a lot of money just to barely clean up the mess and distance themselves from that whole affair.
But with one source of income gone, their earnings took a huge hit, forcing them to explore new avenues.
That's when they thought of a new money-making scheme: loan sharking.
Their main targets were university students, giving out high-interest loans, especially those so-called "naked loans."
The bag those three with the dyed hair lost earlier contained a silver USB drive. It stored a lot of student information, including some videos—not just of girls, but guys too.
Besides being used as leverage to pressure students who couldn't repay into paying up, this information naturally had other uses too.
In short, if this thing fell into the hands of the police, the consequences would be unthinkable.
On his end of the call, Shen Hao let out a cold laugh.
If this Brother Pao hadn't mentioned the black bag, it might have been fine. But bringing it up only raised Shen Hao's suspicions.
He immediately had Zhu Silin search the bag again, and sure enough, she found a silver USB drive.
He took it, examined it, and became even more convinced it contained something utterly unspeakable.
"Brother Pao, that's quite a distinctive memento you've got there? All saved on a drive?"
"Tell me, should I call a friend who knows computers over right now so we can both admire the good stuff you've been collecting?"
He said this deliberately to test the waters.
"Don't! Friend! Please don't!"
"Let's talk this through! Where are you? I'll come myself. Name your terms, whatever you want. You can ask for any amount of money. I just beg you to return that thing to me!"
"Alright, I can name any terms, right? Then have those three reckless underlings of yours come crawling over here on their own, kowtow and apologize. We'll talk about returning the stuff only when I've cooled off."
"Deal! I promise I'll make them kowtow and apologize! Just give me an address..."
"Straight to the point! Let's make it..."
They quickly agreed on a meeting location: further south, in that old factory district scheduled for demolition.
Due to urban planning, all those old factory areas in the south needed to be relocated. Most had already moved out, so the place was basically deserted now.
After hanging up, Shen Hao made another call, this time to Gu Yebai.
"The old factory? They sure know how to pick a spot."
"We've already entered the Greater Southern City area. We'll be there soon."
"Good!"
............
Southern suburbs, the old factory district awaiting demolition.
Shen Hao's Land Rover sat alone in the center of the factory grounds, its headlights on, parked on a potholed concrete clearing.
Shen Hao, a bandage wrapped around his forehead, stood in front of the vehicle. Zhu Silin and Bai Shisui were chatting casually beside him.
The three of them showed no sense of tension at all.
After all, they had already notified Gu Yebai. Given Gu Yebai's influence in Greater Southern City, it would be a joke if he couldn't handle a few small-time thugs.
To put it bluntly, Gu Yebai dealing with those punks would be as easy as an elephant stepping on ants.
They waited for about ten minutes.
"Maybe they won't show?"
"They'll come. Unless they don't want that USB drive anymore."
"......."
Right then.
Several dilapidated vans and over twenty motorcycles roared out from different intersections, their headlights flashing chaotically, blinding to the eyes.
They quickly came to a stop directly in front of the Land Rover.
Doors slammed open. A crowd of thugs wielding steel pipes, machetes, and baseball bats jumped out one after another, a dark mass closing in around them.
Shen Hao shielded his nearly blinded eyes with one hand. Seeing the other side had brought so many people, his heart skipped a beat.
It seemed the USB drive in his possession was even more important than he had imagined.
Soon, Brother Pao, his bald head gleaming, emerged surrounded by his gang of thugs.
He was surprised to see only one man and two women on the other side.
The three thugs with dyed hair followed behind, pointing at Shen Hao and shouting, "Brother Pao! It's him! It's this kid!"
Brother Pao immediately backhanded the lead thug with a loud slap. "You motherfucker! Didn't you say there were a lot of people on their side?!"
"Just wait till we get back. I'll deal with you then!"
Even he wasn't stupid enough to not realize his men had lied to him now.
What 'a lot of people'? Where were they?
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
Brother Pao took a few steps forward, sizing up Shen Hao, then glanced at the two young women beside him. "Kid, you've got some nerve, huh? Bringing two chicks to a meeting like this? Where's the stuff?!"
Shen Hao didn't give him the slightest regard, replying impatiently, "Who are you? Where are those three pieces of trash I asked for? Have them crawl out here and kowtow to me!"
"Fuck! Who the hell do you think you're talking to?!" A thug nearby raised his steel pipe, ready to charge forward.
But Brother Pao raised a hand, stopping his underling.
Although he felt he had the upper hand today, he also noticed that this kid and the two pretty girls he brought showed not a hint of fear despite their overwhelming numbers. It felt too abnormal.
Having been in the underworld for so many years, Brother Pao knew very well how ordinary people would react to a scene like this, and it wasn't like this.
Maybe they really did have a backup plan.
"Kid, which circle do you run in? Give me a name. Wouldn't want to offend someone from the same family by mistake."
Shen Hao grew even more impatient. "You think you're worthy of asking for my name? Cut the crap. Get those people over here to kowtow!"
The thug with dyed hair, still holding his face, stepped forward. "Brother Pao, I know, I know. He told us before. He's the young master of the Shen Group."
Brother Pao narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Shen Hao again.
Truth be told, just from this guy's attire, demeanor, and the car he drove, he really did seem like a rich young master.
Of course he knew about the Shen Group—a publicly listed company worth tens of billions, with a branch in Greater Southern City.
If what the punk said was true, then this guy really wasn't someone to be messed with lightly.
It was just... he simply couldn't wrap his head around it. How could a top-tier rich heir like that possibly get into a conflict with one of his own lackeys?
"Are you really the eldest son of the Shen Corporation?"
