Outside the emergency room at San Francisco General Hospital.
Bai Shisui sat on a bench with red, tear-filled eyes. Seeing Liu Yutong and her group arrive, she immediately stood up.
"Sister Yutong."
"How is Uncle Bai?" Liu Yutong held her hands and asked with concern.
"He is still in emergency resuscitation. He was shot twice, and the most serious one hit his abdomen. He lost a lot of blood..." As Bai Shisui spoke, she started crying again.
Beside them, Yun Cheng frowned and asked, "How could this happen? Doesn't President Bai always have bodyguards with him?"
"It was a premeditated ambush," a deep voice came from the side.
Liu Yutong turned her head and saw the young man in a jacket who had come to deliver the message at the restaurant last night.
His arm was wrapped in bandages, evidently injured as well.
"My name is Jiang Chen. I'm a veteran employee who has followed President Bai for eight years. Last night, we received an urgent tip that the Snakehead Gang had locked up a new batch of scam victims in an abandoned warehouse south of the dock district. President Bai immediately took us there to save them, but we were ambushed as soon as we arrived!"
"How many of them were there?" Yun Cheng asked.
"At least twenty, and they came prepared with heavy firepower. Including the president, we only had twelve people in total. Out of our eight bodyguards, six were injured, two of them critically. They had too many men and held advantageous positions. We couldn't hold them off at all."
"If it weren't for the president's driver staying in the car—which was specially modified and bulletproof—and realizing something was wrong from the gunfire, he rammed the car right into those bastards, buying us time to retreat. Otherwise, none of us might have escaped!" Jiang Chen said in agony.
Right at that moment, the door to the operating room was pushed open with a swish.
A doctor wearing a mask and green scrubs walked out.
Seeing this, everyone immediately gathered around.
"The bullets have been extracted, but the patient lost a massive amount of blood, damaging vital organs and blood vessels. His condition remains extremely critical and could deteriorate at any moment. The family needs to be mentally prepared."
Bai Shisui's vision instantly went dark, and she nearly collapsed, but fortunately, Liu Yutong caught her.
Liu Yutong looked at the doctor and said earnestly, "Doctor, please, no matter what, use the best medicine, the best equipment, and the best treatment plan. At all costs, you must save Uncle Bai. Money is not an issue!"
The doctor nodded and returned to the operating room.
The hallway fell into a brief silence.
Then, several more members of the chamber of commerce, having received the news of the president's accident, rushed to the scene. Each of them wore an expression of sheer anger.
"Those bastards! I want to skin them alive!"
"This is too arrogant!"
"We must catch the culprits!"
Everyone present, whether it was these chamber members or Liu Yutong's group, was filled with deep respect for President Bai Jingchen.
A highly successful tycoon who had long achieved financial freedom and could have easily enjoyed the rest of his life in peace, yet for years he consistently risked his life, personally rushing about just to save compatriots he didn't even know.
Such a man did not deserve this kind of fate.
"Have you called the police?" Liu Yutong asked Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen nodded. "We did. The police came, took our statements, and said they would open an investigation. But those slum areas have no surveillance cameras and no witnesses. Even if there were, who would dare step forward to testify against a gang? The Snakehead Gang has connections in the local area."
Liu Yutong thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Do you know where the Snakehead Gang's lair is, or the address of their main base of operations?"
As soon as she said this, everyone looked at her.
"Miss, you couldn't be thinking of..." Yun Cheng frowned.
The gangs here weren't like the ones back home; they all had guns. Even President Bai and his bodyguards had fallen victim. He didn't want to see Liu Yutong put herself in danger. If anyone had to go risk their lives, it should be subordinates like them. It was best for the Miss to stay behind the scenes.
"Don't be so nervous. I'm just asking."
Liu Yutong said to Yun Cheng and the others, "After all, Uncle Bai is my business partner now. If something happens to a partner, I should at least show some concern and understand the situation, right?"
Jiang Chen glanced at Bai Shisui. He wasn't sure if the Miss's friend was reliable, but after hesitating for a moment, he gave an address. "In the dock district, near the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Sea Wolf Alley, there is a three-story red brick building. It has a sign for Seven Seas Freight, but it rarely opens for business. That is one of their main hideouts, and there are usually a lot of people going in and out."
Liu Yutong nodded, committing it to memory. Then she turned to Bai Shisui and said, "Shisui, you stay here and watch over Uncle Bai. If there is any news, call me immediately."
Bai Shisui subconsciously grabbed her sleeve and asked with teary eyes, "Sister Yutong, where are you going?"
Liu Yutong smiled faintly. "To prepare a grand gift for Uncle Bai, of course."
..........
As soon as Liu Yutong walked out of the emergency building, she took out her phone and dialed Jesse's number.
The phone rang three times before it was answered.
Jesse also immediately reported the situation on his end.
"Great-grandmother, I was just about to call you. The tail in Los Angeles reported that Zhao Weixiang's whereabouts have been completely locked down. When do you want to make a move?"
"No rush for now. I have an urgent matter that I need you to handle."
"Uh, what is it?"
"Do you know the Snakehead Gang? I want to know their specific details, including information about their members."
Although the man named Jiang Chen had given them a fair amount of information, it wasn't comprehensive enough; otherwise, Uncle Bai wouldn't have been ambushed.
Having Jesse investigate it would serve as a backup plan.
On the other end of the phone, Jesse fell silent for two seconds upon hearing this.
"Great-grandmother, are you planning to make a move against the Snakehead Gang? This... I might be powerless to help."
"Why?"
"I've run into some trouble on my end too, and it's a massive problem that needs to be resolved immediately."
"What kind of trouble? Tell me about it."
"It's my uncle, Rossi Corraro. I don't know where he got the news, but he found out I'm working for you. He scolded me for bringing absolute disgrace to the family, saying that our Corraro family is a long-standing Italian-American family in the US and a great branch of the Mafia. He asked when we were ever reduced to being lackeys for a little girl from Dragon Country, saying I've completely thrown away the family's face."
"Of course, I know these are all just excuses. I suspect he investigated and found out that my funding comes from you, and he wants to use this as an excuse to attack me. Now there is a division within the family again, and I must resolve it."
Liu Yutong had her phone on speaker, so Yun Cheng and Chu Yang, who were beside her, could hear it too.
Yun Cheng couldn't help but speak up. "Didn't you say you basically had control of the family now? How can you not even solve this little internal issue? You can't even handle your uncle?"
To be honest, Yun Cheng was a bit disappointed in this guy. He tried to imitate the Ten Thousand Dragons Society but only managed to copy the surface.
Within the Ten Thousand Dragons Society, orders were always strictly enforced. With a single word from the Miss, no one below would ever dare to utter a word of dissent.
Look at Jesse over here, completely tied up by a little family infighting. Besides, the laws in America aren't as strict as in Dragon Country. If he really wanted to solve internal family issues, there are plenty of ways. Just execute the disobedient ones on the spot and be done with it!
Hearing Yun Cheng's dissatisfaction, Jesse hastily explained, Boss Yun Cheng, you don't understand the situation. My uncle recently hooked up with a guy named Miles. His father is the second-in-command of the Hells Angels, the largest motorcycle gang in Northern California. With the Hells Angels backing him, he has regained the capital to oppose me... And he put the word out that...
Said what?
He said that if I don't resolve the issue according to family rules, he will unite with a few other uncles and kick me out. By then, let alone helping you, Great-Grandma, I won't even be able to protect myself.
What exactly is your uncle's goal? Does he want you to completely cut ties with us?
That's just one aspect, I suppose. The other is about money.
Since I took over the family, I've transitioned many illegal businesses into legal operations, which led to a decrease in gray income. My uncle and his people are used to making fast money. They can't stand my way of doing business; they think I've cut off the family's financial lifeline.
So, he doesn't really care who you work for, or about losing any family face. He just needed to find an excuse to incite the others, kick you out, and resume running those illegal businesses?
Exactly! Especially when they found out I was cooperating with you and that there were large financial transactions, they accused me of betraying the family and selling family resources to outsiders.
Moreover, I only recently heard a family secret from an elder. It seems that many years ago, the reason my father's branch was able to take control of the family was because of the help from your grandfather, Great-Grandma. My uncle's lineage, being the losers, have always harbored a grudge about this, and now they are using it to make an issue.
Now, seeing the conflict between my uncle and me getting more and more serious, the family elders agreed to my uncle's proposed solution.
What solution?
A duel.
Best two out of three. If I win, he will never interfere with my decisions again and will hand over all the remaining power in his hands. If I lose, I have to step down, and from then on, he will be the main authority in all major family affairs.
Hearing Jesse explain the cause and effect, Liu Yutong and the others really felt that the internal affairs of Jesse's family were quite complicated.
Of course, this didn't stop Yun Cheng and Chu Yang from inwardly despising this great-grandson once again.
Just look at you, the dignified current helmsman of a mafia family, who even received tens of millions of dollars in financial support from the Eldest Miss. How could you still run the gang into such a miserable state?
Then look at the Eldest Miss, starting from scratch at eighteen with nothing, yet she single-handedly forged the Ten Thousand Dragons Association into a behemoth.
This gap... What a piece of trash!
Naturally, Yun Cheng, Chu Yang, and this group of Ten Thousand Dragons Association members were, to some extent, lucky guys who got carried to victory by following the Eldest Miss.
After all, how many Liu Yutongs could there be in this world?
Compared to the monstrously talented Liu Yutong, ordinary people like Jesse, who didn't have cheat codes, were the normal ones.
Jesse, what are the events for this best two out of three?
The first round is a shooting contest, the second is a no-rules MMA fight, and the third is a slapping contest.
Yun Cheng and the others: ???
Slapping?
The first two events were understandable, but what the hell was this third one?
How does slapping count as a competition? Isn't that too childish? Yun Cheng couldn't help but complain.
Chu Yang also nodded in agreement, Exactly, it feels like kids fooling around.
Yun Cheng, do you guys really think it's just fooling around? Liu Yutong suddenly asked.
Yun Cheng: Isn't it?
Liu Yutong thought for a moment and gave an example, There really are these so-called slap competitions here in America, and they are very dangerous. Participants even need to sign a waiver of life and death. Yun Cheng, why don't you two imagine what the result would be if you played a slapping game with Ji Yu?
As soon as she said this, the two most capable fighters of the Ten Thousand Dragons Association couldn't help but freeze.
What would happen if they exchanged slaps with Ji Yu? This question was a bit profound.
The two gradually began to imagine it. Given Ji Yu's terrifying physique of over two meters, if he slapped them with a hand larger than their heads, it would probably send them straight to the afterlife to meet their ancestors on the spot, right?
Just picturing that scene made the two of them simultaneously shudder.
How the hell was this a competition? This was clearly a contest of who had a harder fate!
Ahem...
Yun Cheng coughed awkwardly and immediately changed his tune, Um... Eldest Miss, I just thought about it carefully, and this slap competition is actually quite good, really!
Chu Yang also nodded hastily, Yes, yes, yes! And it particularly tests a person's strike resistance and willpower, while also showing the purest contest between men!
Liu Yutong watched the two make a 180-degree turn in their attitude, the corners of her red lips turning up slightly, What, you don't think it's childish anymore?
Not childish! Not childish at all! The two shook their heads frantically.
This is a collision of strength and courage!
Exactly! It's much more practical than those flashy fighting techniques!
Liu Yutong stopped bantering with them and spoke into the phone again, Jesse, when is the competition scheduled? I'll go watch it in person.
Ah? You're coming, Great-Grandma? Jesse was a bit surprised.
Why, is that a problem?
No, no! Of course it's fine!
How could Jesse dare to refuse? He immediately gave the address and time.
It's at one of the family's boxing gyms. The time is tomorrow night at eight. Since you're coming, Great-Grandma, I'll send someone to pick you up.
No need, we'll head over ourselves. Liu Yutong said, then hung up the phone.
She put away her phone, looked at Yun Cheng and the others again, and said with a somewhat serious expression.
It seems we have to help Jesse resolve his family affairs first. Jesse is currently an important asset for us in this unfamiliar country. If his backyard catches fire and he can't even protect himself, many of our subsequent plans will be difficult to carry out. We need to help him settle his uncle first, so he can free up his hands and fully cooperate with us to deal with the Snake Head Gang and seek justice for Uncle Bai.
Eldest Miss, just tell us what to do! We'll listen to you! Yun Cheng immediately declared.
There are indeed many ways to deal with Jesse's uncle.
Liu Yutong's tone shifted, But here, we still have to choose legal methods. And let me emphasize again, no matter where you go in the future, you must engrave the words abide by the law in your hearts. This will always be the bottom line of our Ten Thousand Dragons Association!
Understood, Eldest Miss!
Call Zhao Tianyi back and see if he can first establish a legal law enforcement identity for us!
Yes! Yun Cheng and the others instantly grew excited.
The familiar rhythm was starting again!
