Chapter 12: Chapter Twelve: Released from Prison, Planning Ahead

The next day, Wang Yan woke up and ate breakfast.

He then retrieved some of his personal belongings from the guards—there wasn't much, mostly just an ID card and a few thousand Hong Kong dollars.

Amid a collective farewell from a group of prison hooligans who prided themselves on their lofty righteousness, he walked out the prison gates.

As expected, the moment Wang Yan stepped outside, he saw a row of underlings waiting for him.

About twenty-some, fewer than thirty. Counting them carefully, not only had none disappeared, but a few more had joined.

The group outside, seeing Wang Yan emerge, immediately lit the firecrackers they had prepared in advance to celebrate their boss's release.

Wang Yan walked up to them and saw them all standing in a line, puffing out their chests, shouting in unison: "Welcome, Boss, back from prison."

Wang Yan's scalp prickled from their loud chorus—he thought it was a bit too showy—but he said nothing, since they meant well.

Then his top lieutenant, Li Yun, stepped forward and said: "Brother Yan, let's get in the car. The brothers are all ready to throw you a welcome feast."

Li Yun was in his early twenties, much younger than Wang Yan. According to the system's memory, he had attached himself to Wang Yan during the latter's takeover of a street, and had been with him for two years. Seeing that Li Yun was obedient, reckless, and fearless in fights, Wang Yan promoted him to top lieutenant.

Wang Yan patted Li Yun's shoulder and said: "You've got heart, Yun."

He then got into the lead vehicle—a used eight-seater minivan—and the other twenty-odd men followed suit, climbing in and setting off.

On the way, Li Yun gave Wang Yan an update on the current state of his crew.

As Wang Yan had expected, within a month of his arrest, his men scattered. Neighboring gangs rushed in to carve up his street, leaving only Li Yun and a few loyalists holding on. Just as the entire street seemed lost, Wang Yan's name began to spread—and other factions dared not move. As his reputation grew, those few gangs were small-time outfits, no match for even one of his fingers. They couldn't afford to provoke him, so they withdrew from his territory, apologizing and offering compensation.

Some former underlings who had left, upon hearing how powerful their former boss had become, came crawling back in remorse—and Li Yun allowed them to return.

Wang Yan didn't care about any of this. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter—it's human nature, and he understood.

Wang Yan listened quietly to Li Yun's report: "Alright, I've got the picture."

"Let's talk about everything else tomorrow. Fuck, I've been locked up for a year—today, let's have some real fun."

Soon the car pulled up at a restaurant. A boss who doesn't brainwash his men isn't a good boss. Over the meal, Wang Yan gave his underlings a full dose of motivational bullshit, hyping them up until they were fired up.

Everyone drank happily, and no one caused trouble. Then they headed straight to a nightclub, where Wang Yan waved his hand and assigned each man a girl. He himself took two of the prettiest, treating the whole thing with proper decorum and safety. Wang Yan's body had grown stronger—naturally, he was full of vigor. And after being locked up for a year, he couldn't take it anymore. He fought hard, driving the two girls into retreat, begging for mercy.

The next day, Wang Yan went to his base in Tunmen.

It was a small shop. The former owner, unable to repay his loan shark debts, had it seized by Wang Yan through clever coercion. Wang Yan cleaned it up and turned it into a front. In this world, face matters more than anything.

Wang Yan sat in a chair he'd somehow scavenged, listening as Li Yun gave a detailed report—mainly to find out how much money he had.

Although his street was in the remote Tunmen district, Hong Kong was small and densely populated. Compared to bustling areas like Central or Causeway Bay, his area lacked spending power. His street had over a hundred small shops, but the money he collected paled next to what the city center brought in.

Li Yun talked for a long time, then handed Wang Yan the ledger.

After glancing at the ledger and listening to Li Yun's explanation, Wang Yan now understood the situation.

His street brought in about eighty thousand Hong Kong dollars a month. After paying his underlings, barely anything remained for him. Over the past year, Li Yun and the others had saved him roughly one hundred thousand. Add the money from selling his prison share, he had about four hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars to spend.

Inside prison, Wang Yan had bribed everyone up and down the chain—he spent nearly two hundred thousand. Otherwise, how could he have lived so comfortably, even earning the guards' respect as "Brother Yan"? Being a boss means spending money.

He waved Li Yun away and slumped back in the chair, closing his eyes to think.

In prison, Wang Yan had already thought through most of this. To get a super start and grow fast, he needed vice—gambling, drugs, prostitution—or outright robbery. But due to certain reasons, he couldn't do that. He could only rely on his reputation to gain favors. Though his current power couldn't match even the second-tier of a major boss, his name was loud enough that he likely had at least a sliver of respect among the big players.

After thinking it over, Wang Yan made a few calls, found Ni Yongxiao's contact, and dialed.

"Hello, this is Ni Yongxiao. Who's calling?" The voice came through the line.

"Brother Xiao, it's Wang Yan. Got time to grab a drink?" Wang Yan said.

Ni Yongxiao paused, clearly surprised Wang Yan would reach out, then laughed: "Hahahaha! The infamous King of Hell is inviting me? Even if I'm busy, I'll make time."

Ni Yongxiao, as a major figure in Hong Kong and Kowloon, had also been involved in the lucrative, prison-based business that had been so profitable. Though he didn't know why Wang Yan wanted to meet, he still granted him some face.

They set a time and place, exchanged polite farewells, and hung up.

Wang Yan had nothing to do, and for now, he didn't want trouble—quietness brought wealth. So he stepped out in baggy shorts, a tank top, and flip-flops, strolling lazily to patrol his territory, his domain, his Jiangshan.

What he saw was shocking. In broad daylight, under the clear sky, he witnessed theft, brawls, extortion, and harassment of women—all along the way, not just one incident, everywhere chaotic.

His relaxed mood vanished. He returned to his base and summoned his underlings.

"Brothers, I just walked outside. Honestly, I'm deeply disappointed in you."

"You're a bunch of trash, openly causing trouble on our own street. This isn't just slapping my face—it's slapping yours."

"Trouble on our street hurts our business. Bad business means less money collected."

"Less money collected—do we even have cash to spend?"

"Brothers, this is smashing our livelihood."

"Brothers, answer me—how should we deal with people who try to steal our food?"

Li Yun was reckless, but not stupid—he was sharp and knew how to act. He immediately raised his arm and shouted: "Beat them to death!"

The other underlings, spurred on, joined in shouting: "Beat them to death! Beat them to death!"

Wang Yan gave Li Yun a look of approval. Li Yun beamed—he'd just moved a step closer in his boss's eyes.

"Good. Brothers, I'm setting a rule."

"From now on, anyone who causes trouble on our street—beat them to death."

"But don't harass shop owners. They pay us so we can eat—we should help them as much as we can."

"I want to see a clean, orderly street. Don't disappoint me. You all understand?"

The response was a loud roar from the underlings: "Understood!"

"Good. Now, form groups of three and go out—beat the hell out of those bastards." Wang Yan walked out first.

The underlings scattered. Seeing anyone causing trouble, they rushed in without hesitation and beat them senseless, then dumped them onto the next street.

Within a day, shop owners were satisfied. Pedestrians were satisfied. Everyone on the street saw Wang Yan's strength—and peace would last for a while.

As long as he maintained this, his street's business would boom.

Time quickly arrived for his meeting with Ni Yongxiao. After giving instructions, Wang Yan headed to the agreed location.

He chose a well-known restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. Tunmen was far from Tsim Sha Tsui. When asking for a favor, whether it succeeds or not, you must show respect. This was necessary because Wang Yan's reputation didn't match his power—if it did, he wouldn't need to show up in person; a single call would've sufficed.

At the restaurant, shortly after arriving, Ni Yongxiao appeared with several bodyguards. By now, Ni Yongxiao had already crushed his four major bookmakers and was riding high.

Wang Yan put on a show of courtesy, stepping forward two paces and extending his hand: "Xiao Ge, a pleasure to meet you."

Ni Yongxiao shook Wang Yan's hand and smiled: "It's I who am honored to meet Brother Yan—these days, so many people want to see you but can't. Haha, we absolutely must drink a few rounds later."

Wang Yan glanced at Luo Ji behind Ni Yongxiao, then laughed: "You're exaggerating, Xiao Ge, really, you're overdoing it. Come in, please." He gestured inward, inviting Ni Yongxiao inside.

Ni Yongxiao didn't refuse. He left several bodyguards to guard the door, took Luo Ji with him, and followed Wang Yan toward the private room inside.

Soon the food and drinks arrived. The two exchanged flattery, ate and drank, and Ni Yongxiao had a decent tolerance for alcohol—but Wang Yan outclassed him by miles. Ni Yongxiao had sufficient education, but Wang Yan was exceptionally well-read and had an extraordinary memory; the more they talked, the more in sync they became.

After their meal, Wang Yan called the server to bring a pot of tea and gave Ni Yongxiao a look that said, "I don't have to say it—you know."

Ni Yongxiao realized this was about to turn serious. He told Luo Ji, who stood nearby, to go buy two packs of cigarettes, dismissing him.

His father Ni Kun had barely been buried; even though Luo Ji had worked for his family for five or six years, he dared not trust him easily.

Watching Luo Ji close the door and leave, Wang Yan said: "Xiao Ge, you know I've just been released—I'm still weak. Your coming here is a great honor to your brother."

"We've gotten along well. So I won't beat around the bush."

"The reason I sought you out, Xiao Ge, is that I have a favor to ask."

"I know you specialize in powder distribution and have plenty of liquid cash. I'm short on funds—I'd like to borrow some from you."

"I'll pay you 35% annual interest on the principal. What do you say, Xiao Ge?"

Wang Yan wanted to use the loan to make money grow—his head was full of stock market info; with a sudden move, he could strike hard against the market manipulators. Ni Yongxiao was the richest person he could think of; others had money too, but mostly in illiquid assets. For cash, he needed a big player like Ni Yongxiao.

Ni Yongxiao fell silent for a long while. Wang Yan sat quietly, sipping tea and digesting, not disturbing him.

After a long pause, Ni Yongxiao looked Wang Yan straight in the eye: "Brother Yan asks, of course it's no problem. How much do you need?"

Wang Yan didn't hesitate: "The more, the better."

Ni Yongxiao studied Wang Yan in silence, then said: "Alright, Brother Yan. I have about ten million U. S. dollars in cash I won't need in the short term—I'll lend it all to you."

Ni Yongxiao wanted to build goodwill and do Wang Yan a favor—he knew Wang Yan was now the undisputed strongest man in Hong Kong and didn't want to make an enemy.

Besides, Wang Yan had done something huge in prison. How many people had spent years in Hong Kong jails? Why had no one else succeeded, but Wang Yan did? He didn't know what Wang Yan planned to do with the money—but seeing how thriving the gambling dens had become in prison, he felt an inexplicable trust in Wang Yan.

Besides, 3.5 million U. S. dollars in half a year was no small return—he knew his own investments and stock trading could never yield that much.

The market was limited. No matter how much he stockpiled, he could only sell it slowly. Without money making money, holding onto it was a burden.

Seeing Ni Yongxiao so willing, even though he knew Ni Yongxiao's words were empty promises, Wang Yan still gave a gentle nudge: "Xiao Ge, Hong Kong is too small. Look outside—there's a vast world out there, full of opportunity."

"I'll say something I shouldn't—why sell only in Hong Kong?"

"Look at the great United States—what a free country! Its people need you. I can almost smell the ink of U. S. dollars—what an intoxicating scent."

Southeast Asia might be manageable, but the United States? Ni Yongxiao truly couldn't handle it. He'd thought about it before, but the gap in power was too great, and he had no channels. He didn't bring it up with Wang Yan, instead subtly shifting the topic.

Wang Yan thanked Ni Yongxiao profusely. They chatted about trivial matters for a while longer, then parted ways.

Walking down the street, watching the flashing neon lights around him, he sketched out his future vision. As Han Chen had said: "Old Wang has grand ambitions—I'll make sure you never get a chance to sweep me away."

Regardless of everything else, he hailed a taxi and returned to his shabby little apartment—it was a gift from the system, earned after over a decade of struggle.

Back home, Ni Yongxiao immediately contacted a general he worked with in the Golden Triangle, explained the situation, received a positive reply, and hung up satisfied. In his $100 million villa, sitting on a $100,000 chair, he thought of his father.

Luo Ji, after dropping Ni Yongxiao off at home, immediately contacted his superior, Officer Lu, and reported everything about Wang Yan's meeting with Ni Yongxiao.

Upon hearing the news, Officer Lu grew restless and immediately contacted Huang Zhicheng to discuss it together.

Ever since Wang Yan turned a prison into a gambling den, he'd been on the police force's radar—topping their internal ranking list. There was no choice: Wang Yan's threat was too great. Compared to gang bosses or bandits who targeted rich men or civilians, Wang Yan attacked the very roots of the police force—and his combat power was extremely high. Many officers had gained nothing from him, so Wang Yan was surprisingly popular within the force.

No wonder they were nervous—when a powerhouse and a drug lord meet, something bad is bound to happen.

Huang Zhicheng and Officer Lu analyzed for hours but found nothing concrete. They could only reluctantly give up and report the situation to their superiors. The matter eventually reached the Tunmen Police Station.

Ever since Wang Yan returned to Tunmen, they'd already assigned personnel to monitor him. They were terrified—Wang Yan had committed major crimes before, and if they failed to handle him, they'd be fired. Everyone had families to support; they feared losing their jobs. Worse, Wang Yan was the most powerful triad member in Hong Kong—who knew if he'd go mad and kill a cop? They were afraid.

When Wang Yan began cleaning up the streets after his release, they said nothing—after all, maintaining neighborhood stability was good. But now, after receiving this news, they were on edge—this time, something serious was coming. They had no immediate solution, so they simply increased surveillance on Wang Yan.

Wang Yan knew nothing of this—and he had no interest in it.

He knew Luo Ji would inevitably leak news of his meeting with Ni Yongxiao—but so what? He wasn't doing anything else. Even if he were, they'd still need evidence.