Not long after, Ma Da burst through the door in a flurry.
"Miss Liu, it's all taken care of. Guaranteed you won't see them again."
Liu Yutong nodded, then turned her gaze to Yang Xin, who stood frozen nearby.
During the entire process of dealing with those thugs, Yang Xin had been like an invisible spectator, witnessing everything unfold.
From his perspective, those thugs had been forced to cough up 500,000 as ransom—money that only bought three of them their lives.
As for the others... he didn’t dare dwell on it, especially after hearing Ma Da’s chilling remark, "Guaranteed you won't see them again." It sent a cold shiver down his spine.
These people were ruthless!
And now he was stuck on this pirate ship?
Just as Yang Xin racked his brain for an excuse to slip away, Ma Da suddenly pulled out two rolled-up banners from his bag.
"Boss Liu, I drafted these rules for our future company while I was on the road. Just printed them. What do you think?"
On the left banner, bold characters declared: "Betray the brotherhood, face three blades and six holes."
The right banner read: "Be cautious, meticulous, bold—and law-abiding. Knowledge and action as one."
Liu Yutong: "......"
She could overlook the first one, but the second... She felt her original intent had been twisted, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint how.
Meanwhile, Zhao Tianyi, standing to the side, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, eyes gleaming.
"Brother Ma, not bad! Seems you’ve grasped the essence of our teachings."
"All thanks to your guidance, Brother Zhao."
"Not at all, not at all. Brother Ma is naturally brilliant."
"No, no, it’s your teaching that made me learn so fast."
"Really, it’s nothing..."
"......"
The two of them went back and forth, their mutual admiration growing more effusive by the second.
"Brother Ma, I have a small request," Zhao Tianyi said, eyes sparkling. "From now on, could the brothers stop calling me 'Brother' or 'Teacher'? Just 'The Great Lawyer' will do."
Becoming a revered "Great Lawyer" was his lifelong dream.
Not just a lawyer—a Great Lawyer.
Though only a single word apart, the difference was monumental.
"Easy enough."
"Great Lawyer Zhao?"
"Ah, perfect!"
"Then you’ve got to call me 'Universe’s Second Fiercest Man, Brother Ma'..."
"......"
Liu Yutong: "......"
Ignoring the two buffoons still lost in their mutual praise, she turned to Yang Xin, who stood stiffly with unease.
"Yang Xin, here’s the contract. Sign it, and you’re officially one of us."
Snapping out of his reverie, Zhao Tianyi stopped the flattery and handed the contract to Yang Xin.
Hands trembling, Yang Xin took it. He didn’t even dare read the terms, mechanically filling in his name in the personal details section with painstaking strokes—as if signing his own death warrant.
Once he finished, Liu Yutong reminded him, "Write down your desired salary. Any amount is fine, as long as you believe you’re worth it."
Only then did Yang Xin snap to attention, hesitantly scribbling 8000 in the salary field.
When the contract returned to Liu Yutong’s hands, she frowned at the number.
Thinking he’d overstepped, Yang Xin hastily backtracked, "I—I made a mistake. It doesn’t need to be that much. Five thousand... five thousand is enough!"
At his previous company, his monthly salary had been 18,000, with bonuses and incentives pushing his annual income past 300,000. In this era, he was undeniably high-earning talent.
Of course, if he’d been a deputy manager at a major retail chain, his pay would’ve been even higher.
Now, he’d slashed his own asking price by 10,000, terrified his new boss would deem him greedy—and "arrange" for him accordingly.
At first, he’d genuinely considered packing up his family and fleeing.
But after witnessing how Liu Yutong handled those thugs—especially after seeing Ma Da’s banner, "Betray the brotherhood, face three blades and six holes"—that thought vanished instantly.
If he were alone, maybe. But he had a family, a child. He couldn’t take that risk.
To his shock, Liu Yutong tore up the contract on the spot.
Yang Xin panicked. "No, no, not even five thousand! Three thousand—no, I’ll work for free! Just... just give me a chance, Miss Liu..."
Instead, Liu Yutong gestured for Zhao Tianyi to produce another contract.
Having a lawyer on hand was undeniably convenient—meticulous, prepared, with multiple backups ready.
With the fresh contract, Liu Yutong wrote 20,000 in the salary field herself and handed it back to Yang Xin.
"How’s this number?"
Yang Xin froze. He’d braced for the worst, but when the new contract landed in his hands, something inexplicable tugged at his heart.
The sheer whiplash from dread to generosity sent his opinion of Liu Yutong skyrocketing, even sparking an absurd thought: "Maybe working for her won’t be so bad."
"I... I..."
"If it’s fine, sign it."
Mechanically, Yang Xin scrawled his name.
From this moment on, he was officially part of the organization.
Next, Liu Yutong introduced him to the group.
First, of course, was herself—Liu Yutong, the improbably young woman leading them all.
She was their undisputed head, addressed as "Miss Liu" by everyone. In short, his new boss.
Here, her word was law. Absolute obedience was non-negotiable.
Second-in-command was Yun Cheng, the cold-eyed young man standing guard at her side like a bodyguard.
Then came Ma Da, the burly third-in-command.
Followed by Zhao Tianyi, the bespectacled lawyer.
As for Yang Xin himself? He was the newly parachuted fifth-ranking member—and currently, the highest earner among them.
But he knew he had zero clout. To earn respect, he’d have to prove himself.
The remaining hundred-plus? All core members of the group.
Once the introductions wrapped up, Yang Xin was finally free to leave.
Stepping out of the restaurant, he moved in a daze, barely registering how he made it home.
His mind was a muddle—or perhaps, just overwhelmed by how surreal it all was.
He’d only returned from the provincial capital to scout locations for his company’s supermarket chain in the surrounding counties, with a side trip to visit family.
And yet, because of a single craving for food, he’d somehow ended up part of this... organization.
At home, his daughter was already asleep. His wife, Shu Ning, bent over in her pale pink pajamas, mopping the living room floor.
Hearing the door, she straightened up, offering a soft smile.
"You’re back. Did you get to try that fish pancake place?"
Forcing his expression into something normal, Yang Xin lifted the takeout bag in his hand with a smile.
"Yeah. Brought some back for you too."
Although his hometown was in this county, he was too busy with work and had only returned a handful of times, never getting the chance to try that famous fish pancake restaurant.
This time, he had originally planned to take his wife and daughter there, but unfortunately, his daughter came down with a fever, and unexpected matters forced him to cancel.
In hindsight, he was almost relieved they hadn’t gone.
"Thanks, honey."
Shu Ning took the takeout box, sat at the dining table, and began eating with relish. "This fish pancake is the real deal—so delicious."
Yang Xin watched quietly as his wife finished her meal, then said, "You go ahead and rest. I’ll clean up. I still have some work to take care of later."
Shu Ning nodded and, before leaving, planted a kiss on his cheek. "Don’t stay up too late."
Only after the bedroom door closed did Yang Xin finally exhale.
He hurried into the study, opened his laptop, but instead of working, he began searching for insurance policies—comparing which ones offered the highest payouts, which companies were reliable, and how quickly claims were processed.
As an educated man, he knew all too well the risks of getting tangled in the underworld.
With a bit of luck, he might end up standing in a courtroom.
There, the cops would coldly inform him what it meant to have "dozens of pages of testimony, every page bearing his name."
With worse luck, he might just end up dead in some alley.
He suspected the latter was far more likely, especially since the young mistress had already made it clear—her first target was the supermarket chain owned by Niu Ben, the notorious local tyrant of Wushui County.
Niu Ben had ruled over Wushui County with an iron fist for years, untouched by the law. His connections and ruthlessness spoke volumes—this was a man not to be crossed.
Rumors even swirled that he had blood on his hands.
If Niu Ben ever sent someone to stab him, he needed to make sure his wife and daughter had something to fall back on.
