Chapter 19: Hong Kong Island Is About to Return

Long Teng’s affairs have been largely sorted out; now it’s just a matter of steady development.

On ordinary days, when nothing urgent arose, Wang Yan would take a few underlings and wander all over Hong Kong Island.

Due to the previously fragmented power structure on Hong Kong Island and the coordinated attacks against him, Wang Yan had long kept a low profile, cultivating his mind and body.

Now that Long Teng had fully purged Hong Kong Island, no one on this land could threaten Wang Yan anymore—he finally had the chance to truly see Hong Kong Island.

As for Chen Yongren’s affairs, Wang Yan had long stopped caring; let him do whatever he wanted—he’d abandoned it.

Many people had seen Wang Yan, and photos of him in public were available. But unless you knew his status, no one would give his ordinary face a second glance; people only looked twice out of curiosity about what the big boss who ruled Hong Kong and changed their lives looked like—and then forgot him immediately.

Some did pay attention to Wang Yan, but they had to be bold enough to report on him. In truth, his wealth wasn’t inferior to those on any ranking list, yet no list ever included his name.

So Wang Yan walked around freely and safely; unless you noticed the few underlings trailing behind him, you wouldn’t even look at him twice.

Wang Yan idly strolled the streets with his men, buying random items from vendors, sampling food when he saw it, and staring intently to evaluate any passing beauties.

This was the most relaxed Wang Yan had ever felt in over thirty years across two worlds.

This was also the life Wang Yan had always dreamed of.

As a child, he’d been full of grand ambitions; as he grew older and experienced more, he stopped talking about his past glory.

In the end, he simply wanted a quiet, ordinary life—free from worries about survival.

Fortunately, Wang Yan had struck it rich; with his current abilities, he could live securely in the real world without ever having to deal with petty scheming again.

After a moment of reflection, Wang Yan continued strolling, eating, drinking, and ogling beauties.

Now, Wang Yan admired beauties purely for aesthetic pleasure.

Wang Yan himself was no saint; even in the real world, he had to maintain his health regularly, let alone now.

Over these past four years, even though Wang Yan kept to himself, his status and position ensured a life of luxury—his underlings eagerly offered him the best they found, and women of status and wealth, lonely and isolated, naturally came to him. It was all perfectly natural.

In the past, Wang Yan looked at women with ulterior motives; after all, he was just an ordinary man, and seeing particularly alluring women inevitably stirred base thoughts.

Now, he had made a quantum leap—he had more energy, and naturally viewed women with pure appreciation.

Happy times are always brief.

Not long after, news came from Long Teng Technology: the mobile phone had been successfully developed and was ready for production.

Although he couldn’t take the money with him, no one ever turns down more money, especially when the sense of accomplishment was unparalleled.

Wang Yan immediately took the engineers back to the mainland to calibrate the production line and launch manufacturing.

Same old routine: mail finished products to his good brothers, then flood the world with advertising.

Over the past few years, his good brothers had made a fortune alongside Wang Yan—he never hoarded profits, giving them ample margins. Just from the VCD and optical disc industries alone, these men had earned more than they normally made in one or two years of hard work.

Wang Yan didn’t want to run a direct business model—he couldn’t stay in this world forever. Making money was enough; why complicate things? It was far smarter to let everyone profit together; at least, Wang Yan had serious clout on the global stage—not the kind built by mutual flattery, but real clout: when Wang Yan spoke, these men actually moved.

No matter what organization, to get a meal from Wang Yan, they all had to give Wang the man a little respect.

After all, what Wang Yan held was essentially a monopoly—just look at how, after VCDs were first copied, and barely sold for months, Wang Yan had already rolled out DVD, bankrupting those who’d invested heavily in VCD counterfeits.

Every financial conglomerate saw the golden opportunity in Long Teng’s hands and wanted to seize it for themselves.

Wang Yan figured that if things truly reached that point, the mainland would step in to protect its own. He wasn’t some orphaned soul—he had a father behind him, not someone easily manipulated.

So both sides acted with restraint, playing within the rules. Occasional boundary-pushing moves were harmless—you push, I push back.

Amid international turbulence and complex domestic pressures, capitalists had no choice but to retreat. Fine, you can sell—but add tariffs. This tactic was useless; Long Teng didn’t care. This was a monopoly—raise tariffs, I raise prices; consumers still foot the bill. Long Teng didn’t play nice either: it openly vilified capitalists as greedy, bloodsucking, heartless monsters, stoking outrage and inciting mass strikes, protests, and demonstrations in Europe and America.

Westerners were exactly like that—once Long Teng stirred them up, protests turned chaotic. With paid agitators leading the charge, they became large-scale riots of looting, arson, and destruction, turning the streets into chaos.

The incident kept escalating. Though this was capitalism, where capital ruled, even capital had to pay some attention to the masses’ emotions—after all, capital’s assets were these very masses. So came a series of hollow meetings, and eventually, the capitalists conceded: they raised worker wages, enacted minor, inconspicuous policies, and quietly revoked the tariffs previously imposed on Long Teng, restoring the original rates.

In the end, everyone was happy: the masses cheered “Freedom Forever!” while capitalists toasted their victory, having fooled another wave. Of course, even as they celebrated, they kept planning how to crush Long Teng.

Wang Yan handed off the matter to his underlings and left it alone—such a large think tank couldn’t be kept idle; let them handle it.

Next, Wang Yan began visiting China’s top masters of traditional scholarship, seeking their guidance to deepen his knowledge and elevate his cultivation.

These masters were scattered across the nation, mostly teaching at universities. Wang Yan began his spending spree: upon arriving in each place, he immediately presented one million U.S. dollars. Then he studied under the master for a period before moving on to the next, repeating the same process.

Wang Yan’s journey lasted over two years. At first, progress was slow—he had too little foundation in traditional scholarship, and many concepts eluded him. But as he learned more, his understanding deepened. Initially, he might visit one master every one or two months; later, he could visit one every two or three weeks, accelerating rapidly as his skill improved.

By now, two years later, Wang Yan had reached an advanced level. This field was profoundly deep, and every master had his own interpretation—Wang Yan had visited so many, yet never heard the same answer to the same question.

In this process, Wang Yan continuously reflected and synthesized, seeking his own answers.

Over two years, DVDs and mobile phones had spread worldwide. Even though major manufacturers quickly launched competing products just three months after Long Teng’s phone debuted, none could match it. As always: people remember the first. Combined with Wang Yan’s guidance, Long Teng’s R&D, though no products were yet sold, advanced at a blistering pace in the lab—at least two years ahead of other giants.

The war with Western financial conglomerates continued, relentless, until one side was destroyed. After over two years, both sides remained evenly matched, with victories on both sides. This was mainly due to Wang Yan’s overwhelming foresight—otherwise, he’d have been crushed long ago.

Long Teng’s development on Hong Kong Island had also yielded results; many of its employees now lived in Long Teng’s own luxury high-rises.

Long Teng’s control over Hong Kong Island had become deeply rooted; the people now routinely turned to Long Teng for help. For matters Long Teng couldn’t handle directly, its neighborhood offices now included not just Long Teng security personnel, but also respected elderly locals to mediate community disputes and maintain social harmony.

Although Long Teng operated many labor-intensive industries, these existed solely to support employees’ families and foster loyalty. As long as they remained self-sustaining, that was enough. Though the standards were low, in this era, these businesses were incredibly profitable—otherwise, they couldn’t have supported so many people.

But the real money came from its high-end industries, which generated enormous profits, ensuring abundant cash flow.

The world’s rule has always been survival of the fittest—those with the strongest fists speak loudest, and money, too, can become a fist.

Long Teng’s accounts brimmed with vast sums of money, and numerous financial experts, guided by Wang Yan’s intelligence, constantly stirred up chaos in global markets. Combined with profits from various industries, money flowed in the moment the last was spent. The think tank was constantly stressed, balding from figuring out how to spend it all and fend off the conglomerates’ encirclement.

Wang Yan had been in this world for nearly seven years; in one month, Hong Kong Island would return.

Over the years, Long Teng had vigorously developed high-end industries on the mainland, continuously building its industrial chain, boosting employment, promoting regional economic growth, supplying cutting-edge technology, and consistently engaging in charity.

Long Teng’s role in maintaining social stability on Hong Kong Island was indisputably indispensable.