Chapter 1231: Seizing Power

"Mr. Wang, please forgive my sudden visit."

A man of about thirty, refined and cultured, dressed in western trousers, a white shirt, and black leather shoes, wearing glasses with his hair meticulously combed, smiled politely at Wang Yan and shook his hand.

Wang Yan chuckled and said, "Mr. He jokes; I welcome your arrival at any time. Please, sit. Have some tea; this is Mingqian Mingqian Longjing I had someone buy from back home."

Thus, the two sat on either side of the tea table; Wang Yan busied himself with the tea set to brew tea, then proactively asked, "I wonder how the discussions regarding the bank's cooperation application are progressing?"

Mr. He smiled and said, "Mr. Wang, you also know the state of Bomu; there is much for us to consider. Moreover, this has never been a matter between just you and me, but rather an issue between regions."

"I understand, but let us still hope for the best," Wang Yan laughed heartily, pouring tea for Mr. He. "I wonder what brings Mr. He here this time? As long as I can accomplish it, I will exert my full efforts without a second word."

"A reporter from back home came here to conduct an undercover investigation into gambling dens and debt-bondage rooms, but now he has been missing for three days. Currently, in Little Mohon, Mr. Wang's influence is the greatest and your intelligence network the most extensive, so we wish to ask Mr. Wang to help inquire a little."

Wang Yan knew about this matter, as it was a plot point from the original drama; the man had been detained by Uncle Cai and imprisoned in the basement of the Lanqin Gambling House, where he suffered some severe torture. Later, Guo Li Min, failing to learn proper conduct, even subjected this reporter to torture.

He did not show this knowledge, instead asking with great feigned incomprehension, "He went missing in Little Mohon? Surely no one has such audacity? I recall that reporters from back home have come before, along with young people involved in the internet, who openly filmed with cameras, and some even had the temerity to run onto my construction sites to film; I said nothing, and they all returned home safely."

Wang Yan was not speaking falsehoods; indeed, the scene was far more lively than he described.

Because his method of handling gamblers truly aroused curiosity. Initially, there was no news back home, but later it gradually became known, eventually becoming a meme on the domestic internet.

Therefore, major media outlets back home, after gathering information through various channels, all sent people here for on-site investigation.

At this time, the domestic internet was already quite bustling, and there were indeed people involved in the internet; they were bold enough to truly carry cameras and rush over here.

One or two of them did not even know what an undercover investigation entailed, setting up cameras openly on the streets and speaking into microphones immediately. There was even that rash contestant who directly carried recording equipment straight into a gambling den.

Upon hearing the news, Wang Yan found it both amusing and helpless, but since there was indeed nothing to hide or conceal, he tacitly allowed these people to wander throughout Little Mohon, filming whatever they saw.

Even now, the hot topic status back home had not subsided.

If this were placed a few years later in the era of the short-video explosion, the situation here in Little Mohon could genuinely provide food for many people...

And even though the current situation was not as explosive as it would be a few years later, Wang Yan had still gained benefits.

For instance, the tourism business was becoming increasingly booming, with the number of visitors constantly rising. The workers he recruited from back home were also increasing in number. Little Mohon, originally a place of merely 110,000 people, clearly felt the congestion, bustling with noise every single day.

There was even one matter that could be called a marvelous spectacle.

That was, the families of the gamblers, being worried, would investigate if they had the means; feeling that this place was safe, they would travel a great distance to visit relatives. Seeing their kin, though exhausted, still somewhat spirited, they felt both heartache and relief; often, facing the gamblers' tearful pleas, they would cry and scold or beat them, then leave behind some money for them to buy food and clothing, and purchase some cigarettes, before departing.

They would no longer mention spending money to rescue them; staying here to work dryly was quite good...

Of course, not everyone was so sensible; there were still family members making a scene and clamoring to take their people away. Because there were indeed tragic cases; not everyone was so obedient, and when a large group of men gathered together, conflicts were numerous, so fighting and the like were common occurrences.

However, once the soldiers of the security team clicked a rifle bolt into place with a 'crack,' the causing-trouble family members sobered up. If treated with a slightly better attitude and shown some favor, they would assume this was safe domestic territory and subconsciously bring out their family skills of making a scene, rolling on the ground, and causing a disturbance.

Overall, it was a situation where everyone was happy.

Mr. He shook his head: "Little Mohon certainly has no problems; we are clear about the situation here, all due to Mr. Wang's efforts. But outside Little Mohon, the situation is vastly different; those small gambling dens and their debt-bondage rooms still operate as they did before. This reporter may have gone missing in the vicinity of Little Mohon."

Wang Yan thought for a moment and said, "I am not familiar with the gambling dens in the surrounding areas, but there are not that many anyway; the only prosperous place here is Little Mohon, and the other gambling dens amount to nothing. How about this: I will first call Uncle Cai to ask; his connections are broader than mine. You know, I have offended too many people and have no friends. Drink some tea."

While speaking, Wang Yan straightforwardly took out his phone, searched for the number, and dialed.

Mr. He said from the side, "That reporter's surname is Tian."

Wang Yan nodded; at this moment, the phone call connected.

"Mr. Wang, Wa Sa Li," Uncle Cai's Cantonese-accented Mandarin came through the phone.

"Wa Sa Li, Uncle Cai." Without waiting for Uncle Cai to ask, Wang Yan directly stated the matter, "Uncle Cai, I have a matter for which I need your help. It is like this: a reporter from Huaxia, surname Tian, a young lad in his twenties, came here to conduct an undercover investigation into debt-bondage rooms. I suspect he may have been kidnapped and tortured in the vicinity of our Little Mohon. Uncle Cai has wide acquaintances; please trouble Uncle Cai to inquire."

Silence lasted for a long time on the other end of the line before Uncle Cai said, "Boss Wang, to be honest, the reporter you speak of should be with me. You know, I own the Lanqin Gambling House; they discovered this person had been filming quite a bit of material for several consecutive days, so we had no choice but to detain him."

"Is he still alive?"

"Alive, though he inevitably suffered some physical pain," Uncle Cai said. "I will have Ah Xing go pick him up now and send him to the Fengdan Sihai Hotel."

"Many thanks, Uncle Cai; I cannot let Uncle Cai work for nothing. How about this: I will reduce the price of the alcohol by ten percent; next time you buy, it will be at this price."

"Mr. Wang is truly generous."

"Uncle Cai jokes; only if you buy do I have the opportunity to be generous. Let us leave it at that; goodbye."

Wang Yan hung up the phone and smiled at Mr. He before him, saying, "You see, what a coincidence; one phone call reached the very person involved. The person will be sent back shortly; Mr. He can rest assured."

"We thank Mr. Wang for his help; we will not forget this."

Wang Yan smiled and shook his head: "It is all what I should do. To this day, I am still a Huaxia citizen, holding a Huaxia passport, having not changed my nationality. I came here to make big money and get rich, not to lose my conscience, act lawlessly, and commit every evil. If there is any matter, find me anytime; if I can do it, I will speak no second word."

"We understand Mr. Wang's character..."

Wang Yan was an absolute strongman who had turned Little Mohon upside down; especially since Little Mohon was a port of entry, this had a quite significant impact on border security, so Wang Yan's information had also been investigated thoroughly.

How he grew up back home, and how he started his enterprise in Sanbianpo—the more they investigated, the more alarmed they became. Because they would think: if such an awesome person caused chaos back home, what would be done? Before he exposed himself, during those thirty ordinary years of his, he could kill whomever he wished and, with high probability, escape safely. This was quite terrifying.

Moreover, he genuinely possessed talent; relying on killing and robbing cannot maintain an organization's healthy operation; only systems can. In terms of management, Wang Yan also demonstrated surprising ability, and the organization's cohesion was even very good.

Fortunately, all those messy worries did not exist, as Wang Yan had already left to start a business in Sanbianpo.

The two chatted casually about various things, from Sanbianpo to several surrounding countries, then to the influence of Europe and America on this region, essentially laughing and talking about affairs under heaven.

While talking, they smoked and drank tea, passing the time.

About an hour passed in this manner when security downstairs called, saying that Shen Xing had arrived at the hotel with a person.

Thus, Wang Yan and Mr. He went downstairs together.

"Brother Yan, the person is in the car; he is beaten so badly that I did not let him get out. What is the situation?"

"A reporter from back home who was conducting an undercover investigation into debt-bondage rooms; he was caught and dealt with by Uncle Cai's people. This is Mr. He from our domestic office stationed in Little Mohon; he came specifically to find this reporter."

"Hello, Mr. He," Shen Xing sensibly greeted.

Mr. He responded with a sentence, went to the car side to look at the miserable state of the reporter surnamed Tian, and could not help but shake his head.

He turned his head and said to Wang Yan, "Mr. Wang, his condition is not good; it is better to send him to Fengdan Sihai Hospital to have a doctor examine him."

"Agreed." Wang Yan patted Shen Xing's shoulder. "Go, take the person to the hospital; charge the medical expenses to the account."

"Understood."

Shen Xing spoke no second word, answered, and left immediately.

Mr. He also exchanged a few polite words with Wang Yan, then took his leave. He needed to contact the family, inform other relevant personnel, and go to the hospital to confirm Reporter Tian's condition, among other things...

Two days later, Mr. He brought the family members, along with Reporter Tian, who walked with a limp, to the Fengdan Sihai Hotel to personally thank Wang Yan.

He received Wang Yan's enthusiastic reception and was finally escorted out with courtesy.

This matter, of course, did not lie with Reporter Tian, but with the office itself, and also with Wang Yan's sincere heart, in the attitude he had always displayed...

This was a small interlude in life, not particularly important.

After this, Wang Yan settled down again. After all, in Little Mill Lane he had no opponents, people from other places did not provoke him, and instead had now begun to welcome him.

After all, he was running a tourism business, and the tourists were increasing in number; they were all wealthy people who spent money wherever they went, allowing locals there to earn profits. Compared to the beginning, the tourism company's route expansion was now truly much smoother.

In the beginning, people from various regions resisted, but once Wang Yan's tourism business took off and they learned of the relevant profits through various channels, they all became very welcoming; some locals even proactively sought them out, requesting the tourism company to lead tours to their areas.

Wang Yan's tourism company had completely shifted from being passive to being proactive.

Actually, it had been quite proactive before; on one hand, they proactively visited to seek cooperation, and on the other, the bad habits of Sanbianpo were hard to change and rife with problems, so Wang Yan's subordinates proactively carried weapons to their doors for "friendly exchanges"; some survived the exchange, while others were entirely "exchanged" away, and their assets were also "exchanged" into the tourism company's portfolio.

From this perspective, the tourism company's assets expanded very quickly...

Of course, tourism routes could not be opened arbitrarily, going east one day and west the next. Moreover, without distinctive culture, cultural architecture, and similar elements, it would not work.

Tourism primarily revolves around three aspects: humanities, history, and geography; making tourists feel the differences in these three areas, combined with even better service awareness, creates a perfect travel experience.

In this regard, Wang Yan has always been customer-first; he respects the customers' dignity, respects their wealth, and even more so respects the rights they deserve in exchange for spending money with him.

As long as such principles remain unshaken, overall, the business is bound to be excellent.

As for individuals, there are indeed some troublemakers who truly believe that spending money makes them fathers to Mr. Wang; this simply shows they do not know how to behave.

They forgot their status, and they forgot that this is Sanbianpo; dealing with them is simple—for most people, basically picking up a gun, clicking the bolt to chamber a round, makes them obedient; if one click doesn't solve it, firing a shot at their feet makes them tremble; those who still refuse to submit must go to the construction site for "reformation."

However, to date, no one has gone to the construction site. One shot fired at their feet, and everyone fell silent, each more cooperative than the last...

Of course, such contestants are a minority; one might not encounter a few in ten or eight days. The vast majority are actually quite reasonable. As long as demands are made normally, the tourism company is willing to reason, and will even absorb lessons and criticism to continuously improve service levels...

Actually, developing to the present stage, tourism has become the core business under Wang Yan's command.

Although smuggling yields high profits and involves all sorts of chaotic goods, it is ultimately illegitimate. Moreover, in terms of economic benefit, smuggling only brings benefits to himself and cannot universally benefit the people within his sphere of influence.

Now, the people of Little Mill Lane, as long as they pay a little attention, can all earn something to varying degrees. Furthermore, due to the arrival of large numbers of tourists, the revenues of various business establishments here have increased significantly, the demand for labor has grown substantially, and the earnings of wage workers have also seen a certain increase.

At the same time, Wang Yan is also actively promoting policies in Little Mill Lane, aiming to establish minimum wage standards.

The ignorant people of Little Mill Lane do not understand so much, but they can always feel the stability.

To enlighten them, Wang Yan has already established schools in Little Mill Lane to educate the children. At the same time, he has opened a large number of night schools; needless to say, all his subordinates must attend, and there are assessments.

It was only at this point that Liu Wenmin, Lin Changsheng, and others felt something was amiss.

This was aimed at them.

They developed a sense of crisis...

Thus, they made some small moves; the power of the system is, of course, formidable. Once they decided to act, Wang Yan received feedback from various aspects; of course, the incidents were not major, but they were enough to make one frantic.

Tourists' visas could not be approved, tourists began losing items again in Little Mill Lane and encountering fraud again, smuggled goods were seized by other regional government armies, federal police investigated various industries, and various legitimately imported materials from domestic sources could not clear customs due to procedural issues, and so on.

It seemed that in an instant, problems were everywhere, troubles were ubiquitous, as if the massive organization Wang Yan had built over several months was about to collapse...

Thus, Wang Yan once again came alone to the Little Mill Lane Autonomous Government Office Building.

Unlike the laxity of the previous time, this time the entrance of the government building was filled with government soldiers, fully armed with live ammunition; after entering the office building, there was a guard every three steps and a sentry every five paces.

Clearly, they had given Wang Yan sufficient attention.

Even more clearly, this display of force indicated that they did not intend to play fair; they wanted to play dirty.

Wang Yan seemed to feel nothing; with his hands behind his back, led by Liu Wenmin's beautiful female secretary, he took the elevator to the spacious office on the top floor.

The situation in the office was naturally the same: guards stood at the door, and several armed guards stood inside; Liu Wenmin, Lin Changsheng, and two other high officials sat on the sofa, staring fixedly at Wang Yan as he walked in through the door, without a single person rising to greet him.

"Commander Wenmin, today's display of force seems a bit excessive. I wonder what I, Wang Mou, have done poorly to cause Commander Wenmin to act this way?"

Liu Wenmin crossed his legs; he was very relaxed, confident of victory.

"Mr. Wang, we do not wish to be like this either, but you know clearly in your heart what you have done."

Wang Yan laughed heartily; under the gaze of everyone, he walked straight to the chair behind Liu Wenmin's desk, lifted his two long legs, crossed his feet and propped them on the table, then lit a cigarette, acting extremely pretentious.

He exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "I merely promoted some policies for our Little Mill Lane, which were approved by Commander Wenmin; I met some of our government staff and got to know some officers of our army. Everything I have done is for the betterment of our Little Mill Lane, so that the people of our Little Mill Lane can live good lives; I am wholeheartedly serving the public.

I never expected that everything I did for Little Mill Lane would cause Commander Wenmin to misunderstand me so greatly. There is an ancient poem in Huaxia that Commander Wenmin should know: 'I intended my heart to illuminate the bright moon, alas, the bright moon shines upon the gutter.' It is truly a grievous injustice."

"Wang Yan, talking more is useless; you had better cooperate with us, hand over the industries in your hands, and bring out the money, and we can let you return to your country safely. Otherwise, you should know what your fate will be."

Liu Wenmin did not want to waste more words and directly stated his objective.

Of course, they had been coveting Wang Yan for a long time; their original plan was simply to wait until Wang Yan finished building the shopping mall, and then they would sit back and enjoy the fruits, taking over all of Wang Yan's industries.

But they did not expect Wang Yan's development to be so fast. Not to mention other things, although Wang Yan's security team still had an establishment of five hundred men, the armed personnel underneath had reached over a thousand, and they were all undergoing professional military training, far superior to the government army. Those five hundred with official establishment were constantly selected through survival of the fittest, choosing the best among the best.

At the same time, Wang Yan also smuggled military hardware; the firepower configuration of his subordinates was maxed out, and the firepower was quite fierce.

This was already a major taboo.

Moreover, Wang Yan interfered in government operations, swayed government decisions, and even meddled in appointments for various positions, daring to interfere in some appointments within the government army as well; this was going too far.

If Wang Yan continued to develop, they would not be able to contend with him, so they had no choice but to act.

It was Wang Yan who step by step forced them to this point...

Wang Yan, of course, did this intentionally, or rather, this was inevitable. If he wanted to expand the boundaries of his power, he would inevitably infringe upon others' power; power is a selfish beast, and how could those in power sit idly by and watch their own power diminish?

Even if Wang Yan were truly an immortal, they would have to launch an attack against the immortal! This is the most fundamental contradiction.

Wang Yan leisurely blew a smoke ring, smiled, and asked, "I wonder what Commander Wenmin plans to do?"

"Hmph, at this point, why pretend to be foolish? I think you just won't shed tears until you see the coffin. Wang Yan, I know you can fight, but today is an inescapable net; you cannot escape even with wings."

Liu Wenmin sneered, then waved his hand, "What are you still standing there for? Take him away; if there is any resistance, shoot to kill!"

In that instant, the atmosphere in the room dropped to freezing point.

After his words fell, the guards on the side began to move...