Chapter 361

Amaral’s expression was gloomy to the extreme. Although he hadn't been in Aodao for long, no one had ever dared to poke his sore spot like this.

At this moment, his eyes looked as if he wanted to tear Ni Yongyao apart alive. Even He Xin hadn't expected Ni Yongyao to show absolutely no respect to the Viceroy.

As the saying goes, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Since Viceroy Amaral was still in office and Aodao was still under his administration, one had to show him at least a little bit of face.

Now, Ni Yongyao had burned his bridges and completely disregarded Amaral’s face, and this was all happening in front of everyone.

"Good, very good. I was already planning to settle scores with you over the Gao Laosi matter, and now you've delivered yourself to my doorstep."

"Let me tell you, from now on in Aodao, no one will cooperate with a piece of shit like you."

Amaral was so angry he started spouting profanities. He had originally thought that if he intimidated Ni Yongyao, he would obediently offer up the casino’s cut just like Gao Laosi did.

It wasn't easy to find a suitable dog, and since he had come to Aodao to rake in money, Ni Yongyao cutting off his financial path made him an eyesore.

That was why he was deliberately picking a fight, and Ni Yongyao’s tone was indeed a bit too arrogant.

Ni Yongyao’s gaze was indifferent; he wasn't the least bit flustered by Amaral’s threats, and he just smiled:

"What, did I say something wrong?"

"This land of Aodao has never been yours. No matter how hysterically you bark like a dog, in a few years, you'll only be able to roll out of here obediently."

"I just think that sometimes people should know their place. I call you Viceroy, and you actually think this place is your home? Hilarious."

Ni Yongyao looked down on these foreign devils who acted arrogantly on their own land. It was just that the lease hadn't expired yet; when that time finally came...

Any fleet, any threat—it was all just hot air. Using such words to scare Ni Yongyao was undoubtedly the most ridiculous thing.

By this time, the surrounding people had gathered around, whispering and discussing, having just heard Amaral’s shouting.

No one had expected that someone would actually dare to provoke the Viceroy on his home turf in Aodao.

But once they saw it was Ni Yongyao, they didn't find it surprising. They mocked him for being blind to the greatness of Mount Tai and watched with cold eyes.

Even if a powerful dragon from Xianggang came here, they would have to crawl. Even if they looked down on the foreign devils in their hearts and knew they would be paper tigers in a few years...

...no one would touch this bad luck right now. Instead, they were fawning over them in every way. Everyone knew that even if the foreign devils couldn't be arrogant for many more years, they could easily kill them during this period.

Ni Yongyao took a sip of champagne unhurriedly, his words full of sarcasm: "It seems you foreign devils think too highly of yourselves and don't recognize your own status and position."

"Mr. He, I didn't expect there to be such rude guests. Why don't we go somewhere else to talk?"

Ni Yongyao had an understated demeanor; he simply couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the foreign devil. He truly didn't put him in his eyes at all. Let alone the status of a Viceroy, even if their commander-in-chief came, he still wouldn't give him any face.

At this moment, He Xin was caught between laughter and tears. It seemed Ni Yongyao had offended Amaral to the point of no return. To keep the scene from looking too ugly, he went to Amaral’s side and whispered a few words.

Amaral’s expression improved slightly, and then he glared fiercely at Ni Yongyao, as if he wanted to remember him firmly:

"Mr. He, I hope you don't invite a monkey here next time. This is not a circus."

After saying this, Amaral turned and left.

However, Sophia, who was beside him, looked at Ni Yongyao inexplicably, as if she wanted to remember him. Her beautiful eyes looked at Ni Yongyao with a strange expression.

At this moment, Amaral’s rough voice came: "Sophia, are you still staying there to watch a primitive ape howl?"

Upon hearing this, a flash of disgust crossed Sophia’s eyes, but she followed him anyway. After all, she was the Viceroy’s wife, and every move she made seemed to represent Amaral’s face.

She didn't retort and turned to leave, but she had already remembered Ni Yongyao’s appearance in her heart.

It had to be said that He Xin still had some skill. Even Amaral knew that if he had an unpleasant falling out with He Xin in Aodao, his business would be very difficult to conduct.

No one would go against money, especially someone like him who wished he could gather all the wealth of Aodao into his own pocket.

Ni Yongyao smiled slightly: "Mr. He, since the troublesome person has left, I wonder if you are interested in my proposal."

"I don't want much, just half of the casino profits in Aodao. You will still control the specific operations of the casinos in Aodao."

He had to let others drink soup while he ate meat; otherwise, who would be willing to cooperate with him? He could take Aodao by force, of course.

But the subsequent chaos and governance would take a long time. In Aodao, Ni Yongyao also needed an agent.

He Xin narrowed his eyes and just looked around: "Mr. Ni, this is not a place for conversation. Let's go to the back garden."

He Xin was indeed tempted. The strength Ni Yongyao had displayed was enough to prove that he could carve out his own empire in Aodao.

Besides, he could indeed get quite a few benefits.

At this moment, He Tian'er’s eyes were already shining. The more she looked at Ni Yongyao, the more handsome he seemed. She had long found Amaral, this foreign devil, an eyesore, but due to her status, she could only force a smile.

Not to mention that her father had to clean up after this Amaral every day, he didn't have to do anything, and yet he took away more than half of the He family’s profits.

Moreover, He Tian'er had never seen such an arrogant bastard. This was clearly their own country, yet these people acted as if they were superior, which made her feel uncomfortable.

Seeing that Ni Yongyao didn't fawn over Amaral like others, but instead retorted directly, she felt that Ni Yongyao was truly handsome.

Ni Yongyao had done what even her father didn't dare to do. The admiration in her heart began to build up bit by bit. She stared at Ni Yongyao, wanting to understand him more deeply.

"Mr. Ni, you were really handsome just now."

"Thank you."

Ni Yongyao smiled slightly, and this smile seemed to capture He Tian'er’s heart. Her entire face flushed with shyness.

Just as He Tian'er was about to continue speaking, He Xin coughed:

"Tian, you stay here and continue to entertain the guests for me. I need to discuss some matters with Mr. Ni."

"Dad, can't I go with you?"

Upon hearing this, He Tian'er became anxious. She had only spent less than fifteen minutes with Ni Yongyao, and she really wanted to stay by his side.

But her father’s attitude was one of avoidance, as if he didn't allow her to have any contact with Ni Yongyao.

He Xin scolded her directly: "Adult matters, don't interrupt, little girl. Besides, you are also a host of the banquet today. What would it look like if both of us disappeared?"

He Xin really didn't want his daughter to have contact with Ni Yongyao. If Ni Yongyao were truly interested in He Tian'er, although it would be beneficial to strengthen the cooperative relationship between the two...

...He Xin hoped his daughter could be happier, because others always fawned over his daughter, putting her in the position of being loved, and they would try every way to be good to her.

But Ni Yongyao was not necessarily like that. He didn't look favorably upon this romance.

He Tian'er pouted and retorted: "Mr. Ni isn't much older than me."

He Xin snorted: "Don't talk back, or I won't bring you out in the future."

"Mr. Ni, I'm sorry, family matters have truly made you laugh. Please, this way."

At this moment, Ni Yongyao nodded. Although he was interested in He Tian'er, he was more focused on his relationship with He Xin. He never lacked beauties around him.

At this moment, He Tian'er saw that after Ni Yongyao greeted her, he kept his attention on her father and ignored her completely.

This left her heart full of disappointment; she hadn't even managed to get his contact information.

He Tian'er watched the backs of her father and Ni Yongyao as they left, feeling somewhat aggrieved, but she didn't dare to follow. But next time, she would definitely make Ni Yongyao notice her.

Once they reached the back garden, a cool breeze blew through. There was an antique courtyard with tea sets placed on it—a good place for tea tasting.

He Xin made a gesture of invitation and then smiled as he poured a cup of tea for Ni Yongyao:

"Mr. Ni is truly a young talent from Xianggang. As soon as you arrived, you dared to offend the Viceroy of Aodao. I'm afraid many people will be playing dirty tricks on your casino in the future."

Although He Xin hated Amaral in his heart, he knew that Aodao was still in its lease period and he had to make a living, so he had many concerns and couldn't openly offend Amaral.

Ni Yongyao took the tea and smiled:

"These foreign devils don't recognize their own status, and besides, I have the God of Gamblers sitting in charge."

"Mr. He is also very patriotic. Why cooperate with these foreign devils? I am very familiar with people from the mainland, and I can introduce them to you in the future."

The meaning of these words was that he, Ni Yongyao, already had the backing of the mainland. Even if he didn't, the power of the Ni family itself was more than enough to handle a Viceroy easily.

He had already killed several foreign commanders; a mere Viceroy was nothing.

Upon hearing this, He Xin was not surprised. Anyone with a bit of foresight would have already established connections with the mainland.

The return of Xianggang and Aodao was an inevitable trend. The mainland had been developing very well recently, and even an empire like the Franks didn't dare to break ties with them.

"Mr. Ni, this Viceroy Amaral spent a huge sum of money to get his position. By wiping out Gao Laosi, you effectively cut off one of his financial paths."

"I didn't expect him to be so impatient, but to be honest, I also hate foreign devils."

After saying this, He Xin raised his teacup and downed it in one gulp. He didn't have a good impression of Amaral either. Amaral was wantonly extracting profits precisely because he knew Aodao was going to return, which was like draining a pond to catch all the fish.

In fact, many people in Aodao were dissatisfied with Amaral, but no one dared to provoke his dignity like Ni Yongyao did today.

But in Ni Yongyao’s eyes, this Viceroy was truly a nobody, and he had already forgotten his existence in the blink of an eye. He said indifferently:

"Mr. He, time is precious. Let's not talk about these irrelevant people. What do you think of my previous proposal?"

He Xin glanced at Ni Yongyao. Perhaps only Ni Yongyao would dare to call the Viceroy an irrelevant person; everyone else fawned over this Viceroy in every way.

Everyone knew how much power he possessed in Aodao, but in Ni Yongyao’s eyes, it seemed as if he wasn't worth mentioning.

... 0 Begging for flowers 0 ...

He Xin shook his head and said:

"Mr. Ni thinks too highly of me. Although I am the King of Gamblers in Aodao, some things are not for me to decide alone."

"The He Group I founded doesn't just consist of me; there is also a board of directors. They are all very dissatisfied with me. These directors, led by Nie Aotian, have always wanted to drive me out of the He Group."

He Xin frowned at the thought of this, his words carrying a hint of coldness.

He would not let the foundation he had worked so hard to build be given to others, especially since Nie Aotian’s thinking was too rigid and old-fashioned.

If the entire group were handed over to him in the future, it would be impossible to achieve any results.

Secondly, He Xin paused again:

"Besides, half of the casino profits in Aodao are currently occupied by foreign devils. If I were to split the profits fifty-fifty with you, Mr. Ni, I'm afraid our He family wouldn't get any profit at all."

The He family was currently facing both internal and external troubles.

He Xin himself was also trying to find ways to solve these problems. He had to limit Nie Aotian’s ambition to annex their group while also trying to win over the Viceroy of Aodao. Being caught in the middle was truly uncomfortable.

In Ni Yongyao’s view, these were not troubles at all:

"What if I could help you solve these troubles, Mr. He?"

Upon hearing this, He Xin was somewhat surprised by the power of the Ni family.

He could find ways to solve Nie Aotian himself, but the Viceroy of Aodao was not someone his strength could contend with. He Xin had self-awareness.

"If Mr. Ni truly has such ability, I, He Xin, will absolutely not refuse and am willing to cooperate."

Of course, He Xin was willing to give up half of the Aodao casino profits, provided that he could actually get them.

He wasn't a fool and naturally had ambitions, but clearing these troubles wasn't easy.

.... ... 0

However, He Xin added:

"If Mr. Ni uses radical means, I hope you can spare Nie Aotian’s life. After all, he did me a favor."

Although Nie Aotian acted excessively and didn't put him in his eyes...

...He Xin understood that without Nie Aotian’s help, he wouldn't have climbed to this position. As for the specific methods of the Ni family, he wouldn't ask too much.

If the Ni family could get things done, what did it matter if he gave up half of the casino profits? On the contrary, they would be the ones taking advantage.

Ni Yongyao toyed with the teacup in his hand:

"I believe you will see the results in a while."

Seeing the confidence in Ni Yongyao, He Xin couldn't help but sigh that he had once been just as spirited. However, after Aodao returned to the mainland, no one would be able to snatch the gambling rights from him in Aodao.

"I also hope this cooperation will be very pleasant."

He Xin was actually testing Ni Yongyao’s strength. This could only be considered a verbal agreement; the promise could only be fulfilled if the agreement was truly realized.

It depended on whether Ni Yongyao had the ability to deal with Amaral. As for Nie Aotian, he already had ideas, but having the Ni family step in was safer:

"I will send over the intelligence on Nie Aotian and the Viceroy Amaral later to facilitate your work, Mr. Ni."

As for if Ni Yongyao failed, he wouldn't have much to lose; today’s words would just be considered void. Moreover, after the Ni family failed, they probably wouldn't have the qualifications to touch Aodao in the future, so he wasn't afraid of retaliation for going back on his word.

— Author's Notes —

PS: I had a terrible fever yesterday, so I’m making up a chapter for everyone today. I still have a low-grade fever, and my update frequency has been a bit low lately. Thank you for your understanding!