Chapter 178

"Security! Security!" Johnsen finally couldn't hold back, shouting at the door, "Throw these thugs out for me!"

Ma San shrugged, leisurely took out a new cigar and lit it: "Boss Johnsen, are you looking for these good-for-nothings?"

He snapped his fingers.

The banquet hall doors were pushed open again, and several burly Axe Head Gang members shoved in seven or eight people. Those people were dressed in rags, their faces bruised and swollen—exactly the security staff of Johnsen's mansion.

"How... how is this possible......" Johnsen sucked in a breath of cold air, his face instantly turning ashen.

His proud security team, all retired soldiers from Yingjili, were well-trained daily and equipped with the most advanced weapons. Unexpectedly, they had been subdued without a sound.

"Boss, these bastards put up a good fight," an Axe Head Gang member grinned, showing two missing front teeth, "but having hung out at the docks, what scene haven't we seen? We took care of them in two or three moves."

Ma San nodded satisfactorily: "Did you collect their guns?"

"They're all here!" another gang member walked in carrying a sack, from which came the sound of metal clanking.

Johnsen then realized that Ma San and his group had come prepared. This was no spur-of-the-moment intrusion, but a premeditated operation.

"You... what do you want to do?" his voice began to tremble. The foreigners who had just been chatting loudly now fell silent as cicadas in winter.

"What do you want?" Ma San exhaled a smoke ring, "I didn't say? Come on, let's liven things up for you!" His voice suddenly turned cold, "Since you foreigners dare to scheme against Master Lin behind his back, don't blame us for being impolite!"

Johnsen watched his security personnel being thrown to the ground groaning, then looked around at the helpless guests, finally understanding tonight's situation. These foreigners, having lost the protection of the concession, no longer enjoyed their former privileges on this land.

"Come on," Ma San grinned, revealing a chilling expression, "Let's have a good chat—what were you all plotting just now......"

"You shameless thug!" a French businessman suddenly jumped out, "You're nothing but a watchdog raised by Lin Yu!"

"Exactly!" another German also plucked up courage, "A fawning dog dares to show off its might here?"

The banquet hall fell into dead silence. Everyone held their breath, waiting for Ma San's reaction.

Unexpectedly, Ma San did not get angry. Instead he grinned, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth: "You're right—I am the dog raised by Master Lin."

He leisurely exhaled a smoke ring: "But do you know? The dog raised by Master Lin loves to bite people. Especially you foreigners......"

Ma San suddenly waved his hand: "Drag these two blind things over here for me!"

Several Axe Head Gang members immediately acted. The two foreigners still wanted to resist, but were firmly held down and dragged to Ma San like dragging a dead dog.

"You yellow-skinned monkeys, you will surely pay for this!" the Frenchman kept shouting, "Wait for the Great Powers' army......"

"Slap!"

Ma San slapped him across the face, cutting off his words: "Great Powers' army? You mean those foreign troops we beat to a bloody mess at the dock?"

He crouched down, staring directly at those two faces twisted with fear: "Now I will make you two blind things know what it means to wish you were dead."

Ma San rose to his feet and looked around. The foreigners all lowered their heads, daring not to meet his gaze. Their earlier arrogance and contempt had vanished like smoke, leaving only naked fear.

"Old Five," Ma San leisurely puffed on his cigar, "Go fetch the gear we used to punish those little Japanese devils at the dock. Let these foreign gentlemen also taste it."

"Yes, big brother!"

Watching his subordinate hurry off, Ma San grinned: "Rest assured, I won't let you die so quickly. The dog raised by Master Lin loves to play slowly......"

The two foreigners' faces turned deathly pale as they finally realized they had caused a catastrophe. The other guests fell silent as cicadas, their eyes full of fear. They finally understood that in this new era of Shen City, the identity they prided themselves on was no longer a charm.

Old Five quickly returned carrying a leather case. Ma San leisurely opened the case, took out a thin, long steel needle that gleamed coldly in the light.

"Do you know how we dealt with those disobedient little Japanese devils at the dock?" Ma San said with a smile, "We start from under the fingernails......"

"No! Don't!" the Frenchman let out a shrill scream. The steel needle slowly entered his fingernail bed, blood dripping down his fingers.

"This is just the appetizer," Ma San grinned, then took out a rusty old tiger clamp from the box, "Now let's play something more interesting."

The tiger clamp gripped the German's finger, Ma San slowly applied force. "Crack!"—a crisp sound rang out, and the scream echoed throughout the banquet hall.

"Look, these foreigners' bones are nothing special." Ma San tossed aside the bloody tiger clamp, then picked up a leather whip, "Come, let me teach you what enjoyment is."

The whip whistled through the air, each strike leaving a bloody welt on the foreigners. Their screams rose and fell, their once splendid suits now soaked in blood.

Johnsen and the other guests slumped in the corner, faces ashen. Several ladies fainted on the spot. They had never seen such a bloody scene; these pampered foreigners first truly felt the taste of fear.

"Remember," Ma San threw away the bloody whip, lit a new cigar, "This is what happens when you oppose Master Lin. You weren't waiting for dawn, were you? I see you're waiting for hell!"

The two dying foreigners were thrown into a pool of blood, their gruesome state making everyone shudder. Ma San looked around, revealing a ferocious grin: "Now, who still thinks I'm just the dog raised by Master Lin?"

No one dared answer. This tough character who came up from the docks, in the most direct way, made these foreigners understand one truth: in the new Shen City, their era of privilege is over.

"Ma... Ma boss," Johnsen forced down his inner fear, squeezing out a fawning smile, "Let's talk things over, let's talk things over......"

He trembled as he pulled out a checkbook from his inner suit pocket, his hand shaking so much he could barely hold the pen: "Look, however much you want, I'll write you a check right away. I only beg you... please be magnanimous and let us go......"

Ma San heard this, suddenly threw back his head and laughed loudly: "Johnsen, oh Johnsen, you foreigners are really naive. Thinking everything can be settled with money?"

He leaned in close to Johnsen's face: "You think I came for money? I came to give you a lesson! Make you understand—this Shen City bears the surname Lin, not a place for you foreigners to run wild!"

Johnsen's checkbook "Slap!" fell to the ground, he finally realized that tonight all this is far from over......