Chapter 99

Lei Nuo sat in the Packard luxury car, slammed the seat hard, and said, "This damn madman!" "Utterly lawless!"

Assistant Marcel cautiously glanced at his boss. The Public Administration Bureau Director General, who wielded great influence in the French Concession, was now trembling with anger.

Lei Nuo gritted his teeth and said, "Twenty thousand dollars! What is Lin Yu? Just a petty Fourth Bureau Chief, daring to extort me!"

Marcel wanted to speak but held back. He wanted to remind Lei Nuo that Lin Yu was no ordinary bureau chief.

Such an unpredictable madman is not someone to offend.

But seeing Lei Nuo's ashen face, Marcel still swallowed his words.

The Packard slowly drove past Xia Pu Road, streetlights in the night casting mottled shadows.

Suddenly, a black Buick sedan blocked the road ahead.

Lei Nuo frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

Marcel took a closer look, his expression changing slightly: "Sir, that's Mr. Williams's car."

As his words fell, a tall, slender British man stepped out of the black Buick. It was Smith, Williams's assistant.

Smith approached the car window and said politely, "Mr. Lei Nuo, Mr. Williams would like to have a word with you."

Lei Nuo narrowed his eyes. Williams? The British Concession representative also ponied up twenty thousand dollars tonight; he must be feeling the pinch as well.

"All right."

Lei Nuo followed Smith to the black Buick. The door opened, and Williams sat inside smoking a cigar, his face grim.

Williams gestured for him to get in and said, "Lei Nuo, we need to have a good talk."

The door shut, shutting out the outside clamor. Williams took a deep drag of his cigar, smoke swirling in the cramped space.

Williams gritted his teeth and said, "This Lin Yu is outright challenging our limits!"

Lei Nuo scoffed, "Isn't that right? This madman, relying on wiping out the Ninth Division, thinks he's invincible?"

Williams said with a grim face, "The problem is, he really does have this strength. Look at tonight's contributors—everyone ponied up willingly. Even Old Fox Huang Genrong coughed up fifty thousand!"

Lei Nuo stared at Williams and asked, "So what do you have in mind?"

Williams stubbed out his cigar, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and said, "We can't let this madman continue to run rampant. Otherwise, all the concession powers in Shanghai will be trampled under his feet!"

Lei Nuo pondered. Indeed, if Lin Yu continues like this, the foundations that these foreigners have built in Shanghai over decades could be destroyed by this madman.

Lei Nuo lowered his voice and asked, "What are you planning to do?"

Williams looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping and said, "I've already contacted the consulate. If we can prove Lin Yu threatens concession security, the consuls will pressure the court."

Lei Nuo frowned and asked, "Do you think that will work? Lin Yu now isn't so easy to deal with."

Williams sneered, "So we need solid evidence—for instance, that he embezzled tonight's donations..."

In the night, the two concession representatives plotted in the car, unaware that a pair of cold eyes watched them from the shadows nearby.

Williams exhaled a smoke ring and said, "How about coming to my place to chat? I also have some friends who want to discuss how to sanction this madman."

Lei Nuo's eyes flashed with interest: "Oh? Which friends?"

Williams smiled mysteriously and said, "You'll find out when you get there—I guarantee it'll pique your interest."

The two cars slowly left the French Concession, passed bustling Nanjing Road, and entered the brightly lit British Concession. Here the streets were neater than in the French Concession, with plane trees lining the sidewalks in orderly rows and Western-style buildings packed closely together.

Williams's Buick pulled up before a three-story Victorian-style Western building. It was a typical British structure, its red-brick façade covered in ivy, the iron gate carved with intricate patterns.

Williams gestured, "Please."

Lei Nuo followed him into the building, walked down a hallway carpeted with Persian rugs, and arrived at the second-floor reception room.

As he pushed open the carved wooden door, Lei Nuo froze.

On the leather sofa by the fireplace sat a Western-dressed Oriental man, about fifty, gaunt-faced, with white flecks at his temples, but his eyes were unusually sharp.

Williams introduced, "Mr. Lei Nuo, this is Mr. Mototatsu Watanabe, the Shanghai representative of Mitsui & Co."

Watanabe Mototatsu rose and bowed slightly, saying, "I've long heard of your reputation, Mr. Lei Nuo."

Lei Nuo's heart sank. Mitsui & Co. was no ordinary trading house; it was one of the largest Oriental commercial enterprises in China, backed by a vast network of interests. Although the Oriental Concession had been blood‑washed and the consulate burned down, economic powers like Mitsui still wielded strong influence in Shanghai.

Williams gestured, "Please have a seat."

The maid served tea and snacks, while Watanabe Mototatsu pulled out a sake flask from his pocket and poured himself a cup of clear sake.

Watanabe took a sip of sake, his gaze sharpening, and said, "Gentlemen, you surely know why I'm here. Since the Oriental Concession incident, our losses have exceeded ten million dollars. Now Lin Yu is openly extorting the international business community—if this continues, do we still have a foothold in Shanghai?"

Williams nodded and said, "We were just discussing this very issue, but Lin Yu's power is now too great to confront directly."

Watanabe smiled meaningfully and said, "So we need to join forces. Mitsui's intelligence network in Shanghai remains intact, and furthermore..."

He lowered his voice and said, "Although the Ninth Division has been destroyed, not all Oriental forces have vanished. If you all cooperate, we can completely..."

Lei Nuo and Williams exchanged a glance, seeing interest in each other's eyes.

As the night deepened, three men from different countries plotted in the British-style mansion on how to deal with the young man who frightened them all.

Watanabe gently swirled his sake cup and said, "Taking on Lin Yu directly would be tantamount to suicide. This madman dared to wipe out the Ninth Division; in his eyes we're probably less than ants."

Williams frowned and said, "The problem is, how can a mere Fourth Bureau Chief possess such military strength? Those soldiers' equipment and training far exceed that of ordinary troops. The patrols we saw on the streets tonight looked like demons crawled out of hell."

Lei Nuo's eyes lit up and he said, "Perhaps we can change our approach."

Watanabe's interest was piqued: "Oh?"

Lei Nuo smirked slyly and said, "Since we can't take him on directly, we can join forces to pressure the Da Qian Court. A local official privately raising such an elite force is a serious crime."

Williams's eyes flashed with insight and he said, "Exactly. The court most fears local powers growing too strong. If we can stir up internal strife among them..."

Watanabe nodded lightly and said, "Using their internal contradictions to check Lin Yu is indeed a good idea."

The three exchanged smiles, as if they could already see the arrogant young man's downfall.