"By the way, the scouts I sent to Pearl City just sent word. The Wanlong Syndicate is making a move; their convoy has left the city," Liu Shui suddenly said.
"How many people?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but it seems like a lot."
"But no matter how many there are, they couldn't possibly outnumber us, right?"
"Exactly. We've got over seven hundred men here. Looking at the whole world, who could possibly match us!"
Big Lei slammed his hand on the table, threw his wine glass to the ground, and shouted to all his brothers, "Everyone, the advantage is on our side!"
"Let them come! The more, the better! We'll beat them into submission in one battle and let them know who truly rules the skies of Huai City!"
A frenzy of cheers immediately erupted inside the warehouse.
The underlings began distributing red strips of cloth, tying them to their right arms as a friendly identifier to prevent friendly fire in the melee.
In reality, this was somewhat unnecessary. The Wanlong Syndicate all dressed entirely in black; they couldn't be easier to identify.
Aside from that, they also handed out boxes of energy drinks, bread, and cigarettes, allowing everyone to replenish their physical and mental energy in advance.
In a corner.
A group of young thugs in their early twenties were excitedly taking selfies with their crappy, pixelated phones.
"Brothers, after tonight, we can finally say we've seen the big leagues!"
"I posted it to my social media. My friends are so jealous seeing this huge scene. They keep calling me 'bro' in the comments, saying it's too badass, hahaha!"
"How much do you guys think we'll get paid after this fight? Boss Liu said at least two hundred each."
"Two hundred is a lot. I can afford to pull all-nighters at the internet cafe for a whole week."
"Hey, I heard the guys from the Wanlong Syndicate are pretty good fighters. We aren't going to screw this up, are we?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? With so many of us, we could drown them if we each just spit once. You're worried about screwing up? Unless what's coming isn't a wave, but a tsunami!"
"Relax, relax!"
"........"
On the other side, a few men who had previously dealt with the Wanlong Syndicate were also whispering among themselves. Their expressions were clearly not as pumped up as the others; instead, they looked deeply worried.
"Can we really pull this off? If you ask me, when the fighting starts, we should hide in the back so it's easier to run away."
"Lao Dao, is that really necessary?"
"It is."
"You guys have never fought the Wanlong Syndicate. I clashed with them back when I was following Zhao Biao, and those guys are truly different."
"How are they different?"
"I can't quite put it into words. Just, everyone be careful."
"Yeah."
Just then, someone let out a surprised gasp.
"Huh? It looks like the sky just got dark?"
"The days are short and the nights are long right now, isn't that normal? Besides, it's snowing lightly outside, so there's no sun."
"No, I just feel like this darkness isn't normal."
Before anyone else could tell him he was being too sensitive, someone outside suddenly yelled.
"They're here!"
Everyone in the warehouse stood up in a rush, grabbing their weapons.
"Brothers, now we're going to let those out-of-towners know whose turf Huai City is!"
"Oh!!!"
The crowd roared in unison, all getting hyped up. After all, they had the advantage of numbers this time; who wouldn't be intimidated seeing this?
On the road in the development zone, a long, black steel dragon was driving toward them.
In every vehicle, someone was repeating the orders handed down from above.
"We're almost there."
"Once we arrive, nobody break formation. Remember, we are not here to fight. As long as they don't make a move, we absolutely do not strike."
"And if they do make a move?" someone in the back row asked.
"Then incapacitate them as quickly as possible."
The buses began to slow down.
Through the front windshield, Cheng Gang saw their destination: a massive construction site.
At the entrance of what looked like a tin warehouse, a chaotic mess of vehicles was already parked, and a dense, dark crowd of people stood outside.
At a rough estimate, the opposing side had at least five or six hundred men.
On the Wanlong Syndicate's side, the doors of over a dozen Mercedes-Benzes and thirty buses opened almost simultaneously.
Black silhouettes filed out one after another.
In just a few minutes, they formed a sea of black that seemed almost endless.
The opposing crowd, looking at this dense, boundless swarm of men in black, clearly began to grow restless and uneasy.
How the hell was this one or two hundred people?
Multiply that by ten and it'd be closer, right?!
Standing within his own ranks and looking across, Cheng Gang could clearly see the shifting expressions on the faces of those thugs.
From arrogance, to surprise, to disbelief, and finally, to sheer terror.
Their so-called illusion of a numerical advantage shattered completely in this instant!
The few gang bosses, led by Liu Shui, stood at the very front of their crowd, their faces growing increasingly ugly and shocked.
In their expectations, a syndicate mobilizing two hundred men would be the absolute limit. This wasn't a lack of imagination on their part; in reality, whether in the Dragon Kingdom, Harbor City, or even the whole world, that number would definitely qualify as a major syndicate.
But there were at least two thousand people across from them. Could this even be called a syndicate anymore? More like a military legion, right?
In ancient times, this would be considered raising a private army!
How the hell were they supposed to play this!
"Liu... Boss Liu... fuck, something's wrong!"
"Didn't you say they had two hundred men at most? You forgot to multiply it by ten!"
"Damn it, I knew something was off when I saw all those vehicles earlier. Dozens of cars and so many buses, I knew there was no way they were just packing seven little dwarfs per car."
"What do we do now?"
"We just have to fight it out!"
The previously excited underlings now stood frozen in shock.
Idioms they had long forgotten since their school days suddenly surfaced in their minds.
Black clouds crushing the city, a dark moon and high winds, total darkness... In short, it was just so fucking black!
Just as they were panicking, the sea of black across from them suddenly parted to the sides, clearing a path.
Everyone's eyes were involuntarily drawn toward it.
At the end of the path was an incredibly imposing luxury Maybach.
The passenger door opened, and a cold, stern young man quickly stepped out. He walked briskly to the back, respectfully pulled open the rear door, and simultaneously opened a black umbrella, holding it over the doorway.
Immediately after, a girl wearing a long black trench coat stepped out of the car. The dark gold dragon-shaped badge on her left chest was exceptionally striking.
With the girl's appearance, the thousands of men in black bowed their heads in greeting almost simultaneously.
"Eldest Miss!" x 2,000.
This collective shout of "Eldest Miss" made the hundreds of thugs jolt in terror.
At the same time, they were deeply shocked. The leader of this horde of men in black was actually such a young girl? Could she be the heiress of some hidden, elite family?
Liu Yutong walked through the human corridor and arrived in front of these gang bosses.
Her gaze wasn't fierce, but it carried the scrutiny of an absolute superior, as if she were looking at a bunch of monkeys.
"Putting on such a grand display on New Year's Eve... Did you invite us here to watch the snow, or to watch you dig your own graves?"
