Chapter 17: Chapter Seventeen: Domination

On the way to Long Teng's headquarters, Wang Yan called Ni Yongxiao to invite him for afternoon tea.

Arriving at the headquarters, Wang Yan looked up at the towering Long Teng Building, his spirit soaring, his ambitions vast.

Leading his men into the building, everyone inside who saw Wang Yan enter stood at attention, staring respectfully. There was no choice—Long Teng was too powerful, Wang Yan too formidable. In Hong Kong Island, no one didn't know Long Teng, no one hadn't heard of Wang Yan.

Wang Yan took the elevator straight to the top-floor conference room.

Inside the conference room, dozens sat in silence; outside, each was a feared boss commanding his own territory, but here not a sound escaped them.

This was a Long Teng system. Whether security enforcers or staff from other Long Teng industries, anyone promoted to Level Ten must report to headquarters for promotion training and evaluation. Training content varied by career path: military drills, Long Teng values, Long Teng's development plan, essential management skills, and more. After successful promotion, regular training continued.

The purpose was to slowly etch Long Teng's rules into their bones.

Long Teng's grassroots recruits underwent layers of rigorous screening; those who climbed step by step to Level Ten were truly one in a thousand. Their quality was more than sufficient—even security staff who weren't thugs could build successful careers.

At Level Ten, one became a Long Teng manager. Once these leaders were properly shaped, subordinates imitated them, and over time, they were influenced. Combined with Long Teng's growing strength, the promotion threshold kept rising. This two-way linkage continuously elevated Long Teng's overall quality.

A junior pushed open two heavy doors, and Wang Yan walked slowly into the conference room.

Seeing Wang Yan enter, the seated group rose in unison: "Brother Yan."

Wang Yan nodded, walked to the head seat, and sat: "Sit down."

The juniors sat in unison.

Watching everyone seated, Wang Yan said: "You all know why I called you here."

"I won't waste words. If with Long Teng's strength you can't handle a few old bastards, go back and start over from Level One."

The juniors shouted in unison, assuring him there'd be no problem. Joking? Going back to restart now? They weren't even sure they'd make it back up—new recruits in Long Teng were ferocious.

Wang Yan was confident too, but he still had to say it—there was always a chance.

"I'm waiting for results. Words mean nothing. Ah Yun, is Thailand ready?" Wang Yan looked at Li Yun seated below.

Li Yun replied: "Brother Yan, rest easy. We've watched Jiang Tianyang for three months—guaranteed no slip-ups."

"Ah Fei, how's your side?" Wang Yan turned to Fang Hongfei.

Fang Hongfei rose to power during the New Territories takeover, leading his men to kill several East Star boys—bold, ruthless, willing to kill.

Fang Hongfei said: "No problem, Brother Yan. This time, the Five Tigers of East Star will become sick cats—not one escapes."

Wang Yan nodded, then asked others, giving detailed instructions.

Finally, Wang Yan set the time: tonight at eleven, strike precisely.

Everyone chorused "Yes," then returned to prepare—tonight, Hong Kong Island was destined to be anything but peaceful.

Three months ago, Wang Yan began having his men track and monitor the bosses of every syndicate—he intended to seize control of Hong Kong Island's underworld in one stroke.

He couldn't claim absolute secrecy. With an organization as large as Long Teng, rumors were inevitable. Wang Yan spent his first three months spreading disinformation to confuse the waters. Not to mention, among the men in this meeting alone, he'd already confirmed at least one mole. He didn't care—those who reached Level Ten earned over a million in annual salary; whether they still passed intel to the police was debatable.

Besides, Wang Yan bribed the police generously—just keep their hands off. They knew exactly what kind of player Wang Yan was—he was beyond their reach. Even legal methods could crush them; imagine what dirty tricks he might deploy. So they took the money and did their jobs quietly.

Some syndicates also planted moles in Long Teng to get early warnings and respond promptly.

Wang Yan had already prepared for this. Each Level Ten boss led trusted juniors to prepare weapons—only revealing the plan one hour before action. In that one hour, every airport, dock, and station was filled with Wang Yan's men—he didn't believe those old bastards could escape.

After making these arrangements, it was nearly time for his appointment with Ni Yongxiao.

Last time, Wang Yan went to Tsim Sha Tsui to meet Ni Yongxiao. This time was different. Wang Yan now dwarfed Ni Yongxiao—there was no comparison. So Ni Yongxiao came to the New Territories to meet Wang Yan.

Arriving at the tea house, Ni Yongxiao waited outside, just as Wang Yan once had. What surprised Wang Yan was Chen Yongren standing behind Ni Yongxiao.

Seeing Wang Yan step out of the car and approach, Ni Yongxiao stepped forward with Chen Yongren, extending his hand from afar: "Brother Yan, ha! Long time no see!"

Wang Yan smiled and shook his hand: "Ha, Brother Xiao, truly long time no see."

He released the handshake, nodded to Chen Yongren: "Enough formalities. Let's go inside." He led the way in.

They sat down. After the server poured tea, Wang Yan and Ni Yongxiao caught up—mostly Ni Yongxiao showering praise, which Wang Yan thoroughly enjoyed—who doesn't love flattery?

Throughout, Chen Yongren stood silently to the side. This was already Wang Yan showing face—otherwise, Chen Yongren wouldn't even have the qualifications to stand nearby.

After some idle chatter, when Ni Yongxiao's compliments seemed exhausted, Wang Yan dismissed the server, and irrelevant staff quietly left.

Inside the private room remained only Wang Yan's elite junior, Ni Yongxiao and his brother, and Wang Yan himself—four people total.

Seeing Wang Yan's actions, Ni Yongxiao straightened his posture, adjusted his seat—to show respect. He didn't order Chen Yongren out. Though Ni Yongxiao was cruel, Chen Yongren was his half-brother. He'd performed well these past years, still had potential. Besides, Wang Yan's status was too high to touch lightly.

Wang Yan sipped tea and said: "Brother Xiao, you know me—I hate useless formalities."

"I'll be direct."

Ni Yongxiao leaned forward, listening intently.

"To be honest, Long Teng starts operations tonight. We're netting every syndicate boss—those old bastards won't escape. One by one, I'll send them to feed the fish."

Hearing this, Ni Yongxiao stiffened. He'd known this day was coming—but not so soon. Only four years had passed, and Wang Yan had reached this point.

Had Ni Yongxiao not introduced the channels to sell favors, had Wang Yan not helped him back then, tonight Wang Yan would send him to feed the fish too. None of these men were decent—death was no injustice.

Though stunned, Ni Yongxiao said nothing. He knew Wang Yan had summoned him to spare him. Otherwise, a bullet to the head would've been simpler than wasting breath.

Chen Yongren also stiffened at those words. Wang Yan casually spoke of dozens of lives—and the future of Hong Kong Island's power structure. Years had hardened him; though shocked inside, his face showed nothing.

Wang Yan observed both reactions, then continued: "You once introduced me to those channels—you helped me."

"I'm giving you a way out. You know I'm closely tied to the mainland."

"Long Teng is anti-drug. You know how you made your money. Not a cent stays with you—all goes to the mainland for charity. That's your chance to accumulate virtue."

"As for your overseas businesses and personnel—I won't touch them. I'll leave you a foundation."

Wang Yan asked: "Do you have anything to say?"

Ni Yongxiao hesitated, lips trembling, wanting to speak, then sighed heavily, slumping—finally saying nothing. He knew Wang Yan sparing him was already mercy—he had no choice. Why waste words?

Seeing Ni Yongxiao accept his fate, Wang Yan said no more. He'd come himself out of respect for the elder.

He sipped tea, stood, and turned to leave with his junior. Near the door, he remembered Han Shen and the others.

Wang Yan turned back to Ni Yongxiao: "Your bookmakers today—clean them all up. No problem?"

Seeing Ni Yongxiao nod, Wang Yan glanced at Chen Yongren, then walked out.

Wang Yan's memory was good—but relative. He hadn't reached photographic recall. Four years here, constantly learning new things, handling endless matters—once-deep memories had faded.

No matter whether Ni Yongxiao had cleared up the truth behind Ni Kun's death, he had to kill them all—partly because Wang Yan pressured him, partly because these underlings disrespected their boss and were insatiable.

As for Chen Yongren, despite being the protagonist and the one who issued the wish, in Wang Yan's eyes he was just a minor player, an afterthought.

After giving instructions on the takeover procedures, Wang Yan stood on the rooftop of Long Teng's headquarters, gazing at the view of Hong Kong Island, savoring the solitude of a successful man.

Night. Eleven o'clock.

A gunshot rang out—opening the prelude to a massive upheaval in Hong Kong Island's underworld order.

As if a signal, gunshots erupted across Hong Kong Island. Long Teng's men, already prepared, dressed in neat black suits and armed with clubs and weapons, stormed the territories of every syndicate.

Every syndicate boss and his trusted lieutenants were attacked.

Camel, the Five Tigers of Dongxing, Big D, Jiang Tiansheng—all syndicate bosses were killed, not one survived.

Every syndicate territory was overrun by Long Teng's men; the syndicate foot soldiers were scattered outright.

Overnight, apart from Long Teng, not a single organized large syndicate remained on Hong Kong Island.

People with influence at every level had already heard why the streets were in chaos. Once they understood, none failed to be stunned by Long Teng's power and actions. Had they not received confirmed news, they would have thought Wang Yan had gone mad.

For decades, Hong Kong Island's syndicates had never seen such a feat. Others had dreamed of it, but amid tangled interests and rival powers, they could only dream.

Wang Yan was different—he had money and men. He had no entanglements with other factions, and behind him stood the motherland's firm support. Only a series of coincidences made this possible; otherwise, would anyone really think the foreign devils were made of clay? Wang Yan would have been dead countless times over.

The next day, after briefly understanding the situation, Wang Yan handed everything over to his subordinates.

He had many other matters to handle: answering to Old Zhang back home, calming the foreign devil high-ups in Hong Kong.

There was no way around it: by dismantling the organized syndicates, Wang Yan had removed constraints from countless low-level hoodlums. These men believed heaven was first, earth second—Hong Kong Island would surely be unstable for a while.

This was not a situation the mainland or the foreign devils wanted. The mainland needed stability; the foreign devils needed image and profit. A peaceful, prosperous Hong Kong Island was what both sides required.

In the following days, Wang Yan spent himself in constant busyness.

Finally, after pouring out vast sums of money, Wang Yan promised to resolve the issue within two months.

After calming both sides, Long Teng began a large-scale purge across Hong Kong Island.

It was the same old method, but this time Wang Yan was thoroughly prepared—his personnel were all ready, and the operation proceeded with incredible speed.

As Long Teng fully took control of Hong Kong Island, its power rapidly expanded, and it now faced the far larger, more complex task of relocating the displaced masses. This was a long-term, immensely intricate undertaking.

To accommodate more people, Long Teng continuously expanded into manufacturing, services, energy, real estate, communications, shipping, and other industries. It survived only because of the high profits from high-end products like VCDs; otherwise, with such reckless spending, Long Teng would have collapsed long ago.

Wang Yan did not handle any specific affairs—these were managed by his ever-growing think tank and personnel ranked level ten and above. Wang Yan only needed to use his foresight to steer the overall direction, ensuring Long Teng didn't go off course. The superior labor with minds; the inferior labor with hands—he lacked both the ability and the energy to micromanage everything.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. Long Teng had largely taken control of the entire Hong Kong Island and maintained surface-level peace and prosperity. Complete control, however, could not be achieved in a short time.

What puzzled Wang Yan was that two months had passed. Ni Yongxiao had wiped out all his subordinates and fled to Canada—why hadn't the system given him a task completion notification?

Logically, all the top brass were dead, and he had no further use for Ni Yongxiao—so why was there still no sign?

Confused, Wang Yan ordered his men to investigate.

After the investigation, Wang Yan understood: Chen Yongren had once again been tricked into going undercover within Long Teng. And during these two months of Long Teng's takeover and nationwide purge, Chen Yongren had demonstrated remarkable organizational and operational ability. Long Teng always promoted the capable—and so Chen Yongren rose to the top, promoted to level three in just two months.

Wang Yan was speechless. This kid was truly an idiot—completely manipulated.

He had no interest in Chen Yongren's psychological state—it had nothing to do with him. He only cared about his task: when would it finally be completed?

This time, Wang Yan's unification of Hong Kong Island had been a bit hasty. The plot of Inception was now over. After all, the characters in the story had either left or died—what future remained? If things continued like this, the task might never be completed.

When he first gained the system's mental boost, many childhood memories returned. Having lived through two worlds and over eight years, Wang Yan's experiences had been rich and varied.

In just eight short years, he had lived through more than most do in twenty years—and far more vividly. Wang Yan increasingly felt his mind could not bear the strain.

Without hesitation, he ordered a subordinate to bring Chen Yongren to him.