The night was as dark as ink, and the cold wind howled.
Jia Dan brought along seventy or eighty men. Nearly half of them were his own brothers, while the rest had been summoned by Wumao.
The group piled into eight or nine vans and headed straight for the western part of the city, murder in their eyes.
Their first stop was an underground casino in the western district.
The casino was hidden inside an arcade. From the outside, all anyone could see were several rows of flashing game machines. No ordinary person would ever guess that a gambling den was concealed inside.
But Wumao knew where the entrance was. At the very back of the arcade stood a wall plastered with posters. Push it open, and it revealed a concealed door.
One of the underlings lifted his foot and kicked the door in. Sure enough, there was a whole other world behind it. The place was brightly lit and hazy with smoke, while a group of gamblers sat around playing the machines.
“Who’s there?”
The few thugs guarding the place froze for a moment, then flew into a rage.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Jia Dan had no interest in wasting his breath on them. He simply waved his hand and shouted, “Smash the place!”
His men immediately charged in, howling as they smashed anything they could find and beat anyone who got in their way.
“Don’t move! Get down! Hands behind your heads! Anyone who moves is getting it!”
The casino descended into chaos. The gamblers fled in every direction. A few tried to sneak out through the back door, but Jia Dan’s men grabbed them by the scruffs of their necks and hurled them to the floor, leaving them screaming in pain.
Jia Dan strode into the middle of the casino, kicked down one of the guards who was still trying to resist, then planted a foot on his chest and roared menacingly, “This place is under my management from now on! Anyone who has a problem can step forward and say it to my face!”
The entire casino fell deathly silent. No one dared make a sound.
While Jia Dan and his men were rampaging through the place, the so-called “underlings” Wumao had brought along looked distinctly out of place.
Not only did they refrain from joining the fight, but they also spread out around the casino, each holding a small video camera and filming the chaos from every angle.
They were taking their job extremely seriously—even getting a close-up of Jia Dan’s foot planted on someone.
When Jia Dan saw what they were doing, he frowned and shouted at Wumao, “Wumao, what the hell are your brothers doing? Why are they just filming instead of helping? And what are they taking pictures of everything for?”
Wumao had prepared his explanation long ago. He replied, “Brother Jia, you don’t understand. They’re collecting evidence. Think about it—we’re doing this on behalf of Young Master Cheng. When the time comes, shouldn’t we take these photos and videos to Young Master Cheng and claim credit? We’ve got to let him see how impressive you are, Brother Jia. Once he sees this scene and this kind of presence, he’ll know that you’re a man capable of accomplishing great things!”
Jia Dan was stunned for a moment. Then his face broke into a delighted grin.
“You really thought this through. Exactly! We need to film everything and let Young Master Cheng see how powerful I am!”
What a great partner he had found. Wumao was truly reliable!
Once Jia Dan understood the benefits of being filmed, not only did he stop objecting, he even straightened his clothes and leaned toward the cameras, striking what he considered an incredibly imposing pose so they could capture him more clearly.
“Make sure you get all of me in the shot! I want my heroic image captured!”
“Say cheese!”
The casino’s head guard was a fat man in his thirties. After successfully posing alongside the sole of Jia Dan’s shoe, he finally managed to stammer, “B-Big brother, this place is under Young Master Cheng’s protection. Do you know who Young Master Cheng is? Aren’t you afraid of offending Young Master Cheng—and Lord Tiger?!”
At those words, Jia Dan gave his enormous backside a vicious kick.
“Cut the crap! This place was clearly taken over by the Wanlong Society. You think you can fool me? Do I look like an idiot?!”
“No, no, Big brother, this really is Young Master Cheng’s place. I’m not lying to you…”
“You’re still talking back!”
Jia Dan kicked him twice more, sending the fat man howling until he finally fell silent.
“Listen carefully. From this moment on, this place is under my control! Every month, you’ll deliver the protection money, not a cent short, to the Dazzling Glory Bathhouse in the western district. Miss even one penny, and I’ll rip off one of your arms!”
“Is that clear?!”
The fat man sprawled on the floor and nodded repeatedly. In his heart, however, he was cursing furiously.
Where the hell had this lunatic come from? He actually dared to seize Young Master Cheng’s place. Just wait—you’re going to regret this!
“Come on. Next one!”
Jia Dan waved his hand grandly and led his men away in a mighty procession, leaving nothing behind but a scene of utter devastation.
Their second stop was a KTV in the southern part of the city.
This KTV was fairly large—a three-story standalone building with more than twenty luxurious private rooms. Quite a few expensive cars were parked outside, and business was booming.
When Jia Dan and his men stormed in, the place was already in full swing. The corridors rang with the off-key wailing coming from the private rooms.
“Clear the place! All of you, get the hell out!”
One private-room door after another was kicked open. Before the guests inside could even figure out what was happening, they were dragged out and sent fleeing in terror.
A few of the heavier drinkers tried to put on a tough act, emboldened by the alcohol, cursing and picking fights. Jia Dan’s men promptly surrounded them and gave them a thorough beating. Within moments, they were sprawled on the floor groaning, their drunkenness mostly beaten out of them.
The KTV manager came running out of his office when he heard the commotion. He was shocked by the sight and hurriedly called for help while reaching out to stop Jia Dan and his men.
“Gentlemen, what’s going on? Why don’t we talk this out? This place is…”
Before he could finish, Jia Dan slapped him across the face.
“What is it? This place was taken over by the Wanlong Society, and I’m here today to take it back for Young Master Cheng!”
“Listen carefully. From today onward, the protection money for this place is doubled!”
“D-Doubled?” The manager clutched his face, unable to believe what he was hearing.
They had wrecked his establishment, beaten him up, and now they still wanted him to pay them protection money?
Their nerve was unbelievable!
Then again, why not take off the mask first? He didn’t even know who these people were. How was he supposed to deliver the money to them?
“What? You don’t like that?” Jia Dan glared at him, his eyes filled with menace.
“No, no, Big brother, that’s not what I meant.” The manager hurriedly waved his hands. “I only meant that this place really doesn’t belong to the Wanlong Society. It belongs to Young—”
Smack!
Another resounding slap!
This one was even harder than the first, knocking the manager off balance.
“I say it does, so it does! Say another word and I’ll burn this dump to the ground!”
The manager covered his face and didn’t dare utter another word.
Wumao watched from the side, secretly delighted. Outwardly, however, he fanned the flames.
“Brother Jia, this guy clearly isn’t a good person. Look at him—slick-haired and greasy-faced. He was probably bought off by the Wanlong Society a long time ago.”
“That makes sense!” Jia Dan nodded deeply, convinced.
He walked over and viciously kicked the manager several more times. The man curled up in the corner, clutching his head and not daring to move. Only then did Jia Dan turn around and shout to his men, “Take everything valuable in this place! No matter what, we can’t let the Wanlong Society benefit from it. Consider it interest I’m collecting on behalf of Young Master Cheng!”
His underlings took the order and immediately scattered throughout the building, beginning their looting.
The premium cigarettes and liquor at the front desk, along with the cash in the register drawer—anything that could be carried away was hauled off, and anything too heavy to move was smashed.
Before long, the once-pristine KTV had been reduced to utter chaos.
Wumao’s “underlings” continued taking photos and recording videos, documenting every moment of Jia Dan and his men beating, smashing, and looting the place.
This time, Jia Dan didn’t need anyone to remind him. Instead, he deliberately stepped in front of the camera, smashing things as he shouted at it:
“Young Master Cheng, watch closely! This is Jia Dan venting your anger for you. I’ll smash every Wanlong Society establishment I come across! Just sit back and watch what I do!”
With that, he viciously smashed another speaker, looking incredibly imposing.
