Chapter 244: Free and Unfettered

After He Yuzhu thoroughly dealt with Regimental Commander Chang and his men, he finally met up with Zhao Ying on the high seas.

"Are the people Officer Chen sent to meet us getting anxious?" Zhao Ying asked eagerly the moment they met.

"Anxious is an understatement," He Yuzhu shook his head. "That Regimental Commander Chang insisted on boarding the ship with me. I wanted to take care of him, but the man is cunning—he doesn't touch a drop of alcohol and only eats the dry rations he brought himself."

Zhao Ying held her breath and listened intently.

"There was no other way, so I had to keep using the 'haunted' trick, tossing them into the sea one by one..."

Though He Yuzhu said this, he was actually just playing a ghost to scare them, then collecting them into his space once they gathered together.

These people did not lose their lives; they were merely sleeping in the space.

He planned to release the soldiers in batches after arriving in Hong Kong, leaving them to fend for themselves, while keeping the officers.

Zhao Ying was terrified to hear this: "It's fortunate it was you who went; I certainly wouldn't have been able to handle it."

"Sister, I think ships No. 2 and No. 3 should sail back to the United States first. Going to Hong Kong now is likely to invite trouble."

He Yuzhu knew that in a few months, Tianjin would be liberated, and by then, Officer Chen would have no time to worry about this ship. It would be safer to wait for the heat to die down before sailing them back from the United States.

Zhao Ying, however, opposed him resolutely: "Our Eastern Shipping Company now has twelve cargo ships. Once the Tianjin route is cut off, if we don't hurry to expand the Hong Kong market, the company will collapse sooner or later. I must go to Hong Kong, and no one can stop me!"

"Sister, do you know how much Officer Chen hates you? Perhaps the people sent to hunt you down are already on their way."

"With you here, I'm not afraid!" Zhao Ying said with a firm tone.

He Yuzhu said helplessly: "Sister, fighting and killing is too dangerous! Last time I was almost blown up by a hand grenade; it was lucky I dodged fast!"

"I feel for you too, but besides you, who else can shoulder such a heavy responsibility?" Zhao Ying stepped forward and gently hugged He Yuzhu.

"Fine, I promise you." He Yuzhu felt a warmth in his heart and finally compromised.

Seeing that the two had decided to head to Hong Kong, Su Qing hurriedly interjected: "Then I will take the ship back to the United States. We must seize the time; once Officer Chen discovers the cargo has been hijacked, he will likely contact the navy to intercept us, and by then we won't be able to fly away even with wings."

Zhao Ying thought it over briefly and agreed.

Once the plan was set, He Yuzhu and Zhao Ying switched to a small boat when the cargo ship reached the waters outside Hong Kong, slipping into Hong Kong without a sound.

The next day, the two arrived at the Eastern Shipping Company's office in Hong Kong.

The company was not large, with only thirty-some employees.

When Manager Jiang Yue reported to Zhao Ying, her face was full of sorrow: "Miss Zhao, doing business in Hong Kong is too difficult. The Triad comes every day to collect protection money, and one-third of the company's income goes into their pockets. People from the Hong Kong British Government also come to extort us often; this place is truly dark beyond belief!"

A cold glint flashed in He Yuzhu's eyes: "Which branch of the Triad is it?"

"It's mainly the people from 'Wo On Lok'," Jiang Yue replied.

"This bunch of people really needs to be cleaned up," He Yuzhu said coldly.

"Big Brother, please don't be impulsive. The people from the Triad are not to be trifled with; they will fight to the death!" Jiang Yue hurriedly advised.

That evening, He Yuzhu hosted a banquet for Jiang Yue, and while she was dead drunk, he got a clear understanding of the gang members who had been collecting protection money over the years, the police officers who came to extort them, and the background of the local gangs.

Taking advantage of the night, He Yuzhu began his operation.

He did not sleep all night, moving without pause.

In the morning, Section Chief John of the police station was found drowned, drunk, in a small pond; Zhang Jian and Ma Liang, lackeys of the Wo On Lok branch, were found with their necks snapped, their corpses lying in the street.

Zhao Ying was busy gathering company employees for a meeting, while He Yuzhu, after waking up naturally, went out alone to investigate.

At high noon at North Point Pier, the salty, humid sea breeze rushed toward him, carrying the stench of fish and sweat.

A gaunt coolie carrying a sack a size larger than his own frame walked shakily down the gangplank. Before he had taken many steps, he stumbled, and both he and the sack fell heavily to the ground.

The foreman rushed over, cursing, and before the man could crawl up, the whip whistled through the air and lashed down fiercely.

"Trash! Can you afford to pay if the cargo is damaged?"

The whip landed on his arched back one after another, blooming with streaks of blood.

An hour later, the foreman hummed a little tune and swayed to the shadows in the corner of the pier to relieve himself.

Just as he lowered his head to undo his belt, a figure suddenly flashed out from behind him.

A large hand clamped tightly over his mouth and nose, while the other hand, like an iron pincer, gripped his throat and gave a violent twist.

"Crack."

His body went limp, and his entire world instantly plunged into eternal darkness.

He Yuzhu clapped his hands and left the pier calmly.

After finishing a bowl of roast duck rice, he had just stepped out of the shop when he saw two groups of people fighting fiercely in a narrow alley.

Over a dozen people against another dozen, their machetes flashing with blinding cold light in the sun, fresh blood spraying onto the mottled walls.

Just as the battle reached a stalemate, a sudden burst of gunfire came from a rooftop to the side—

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Five shots in succession, every bullet hitting its mark, and five men fell to the ground in response.

The leader of the side that had lost five men cursed loudly: "Fuck your mother! You dare to use guns? Our 14K will never let you Triad people off!"

In the blink of an eye, the street was empty, leaving only a patch of ground stained red with blood.

Another day passed, and He Yuzhu stepped into the Kowloon Walled City in July 1948.

Before his eyes was a world pieced together from refugee shacks and low-rise buildings.

Flies swarmed in groups, dirty water pooled into marshes on the pitted ground, and the low buildings were packed like a beehive, with clothes hanging from every window.

He Yuzhu hadn't walked many steps before several begging children rushed up and tugged at his pant legs.

Every time, he would stop, take candy and small change from his pocket, and stuff them into those dirty little hands.

Just as he turned past a crooked wooden shack and approached a drab, old building, a burst of crying and cursing suddenly pierced his ears.

Two shirtless, tattooed, scarred-faced thugs were punching and kicking a woman curled up on the ground.

"What are you acting so high and mighty for when you're told to serve guests? Don't you believe I'll kill you if you don't listen!" a short Daobalian cursed sharply.

The woman's entire face was swollen so high that one couldn't tell if she was pretty or ugly, and she squatted on the ground, sobbing incessantly.

Just as the two men were cursing with excitement and raised their feet to kick again—

Two flashes of blade light streaked past.

The sharp blades precisely pierced their throats.

The two men widened their eyes, strange "gurgling" sounds emitted from their throats, they looked around in disbelief, and then collapsed heavily to the ground.

The woman witnessed all of this, let out a scream, and scrambled into the building.

In an instant, the entire walled city was like ignited Explosive, exploding with a boom.

It was unknown how many people lived in this building, but at this moment, they all swarmed out.

He Yuzhu mingled in the surging crowd, a smile on his lips, watching coldly from the sidelines.

The third day, HSBC.

A person in rags, looking like a beggar, walked quickly toward the counter.

His face was smeared with mud, making his features indistinguishable, only a pair of eyes were unusually bright, his hair was greasy and matted, and his whole body emitted a sour, rotten stench.

"I... I want to open an account."

The teller frowned in disgust and waved his hand as if shooing away a fly: "Get lost, you beggar! If you don't leave, I'll call someone to break your legs!"

"Motherfucker, you need to look at how someone is dressed just to open an account?" The "beggar" suddenly changed his expression, cursing as he spoke, his movements extremely fast; before the security guard could rush over with a club, he had already turned and dashed out the door, his figure quickly disappearing around the street corner.

An hour later, the teller suddenly froze while counting cash—a full fifty thousand Hong Kong Dollar in the safe had vanished into thin air.

The next morning, Zhao Ying knocked on He Yuzhu's door.

She squinted at him, her tone teasing: "You've only been in Hong Kong for a week and you've already turned the place upside down, you kid are something, aren't you?" She reached out her hand, "How much money did you get?"

He Yuzhu grinned and lowered his voice: "They are all very poor, I didn't get much."

Zhao Ying reached out her hand righteously: "Whoever sees it gets a share, split half with me! The weather here is too hot, the clothes I brought are unwearable, you have to give me some money to buy clothes."

He Yuzhu took out two stacks of Hong Kong Dollar and handed them over: "Those British banks are very cunning, the vaults are dug too deep. I could only manage to snatch some cash from the counter, I really couldn't get much."

Zhao Ying curled her lips while counting the money: "You kid are too stingy. But you're only stingy with me, you're quite generous to your cousin!"

He Yuzhu laughed: "I have high expenses recently, I need to purchase a lot of things here, so I'm a bit short on cash."

He was mainly procuring medicine and supplies urgently needed by the troops for He Daqing.

Zhao Ying put the money away and said seriously: "Stop pretending to be poor! Don't run out again today, you have to come with me to meet some people from the gang."

"Fine, no problem." He Yuzhu readily agreed.

At dusk, He Yuzhu and Zhao Ying arrived at the old tenement building where the Wo On Lok headquarters was located.

The main hall was lit only by a few dim oil lamps, and a wooden ceiling fan creaked overhead, stirring the sweltering air.

More than forty bare-chested men stood on both sides, each with bulging muscles, axes and machetes tucked into their waists, staring at the two with fierce eyes.

Biao Shu, who was sitting on a grandmaster chair, was about forty-five or forty-six years old, sporting a thick beard, his short and sturdy frame straining against a silk shirt.

A hideous scar ran across his left cheek under his crew cut, stretching from the root of his ear to the corner of his mouth.

Seeing the two enter, he remained motionless, only lazily beckoning to Zhao Ying.

"I heard from Ah Yue that you want to see me?"

Zhao Ying nodded calmly: "We plan to use Hong Kong as the base for the Eastern Shipping Company and need dock workers and warehouse staff. We want to discuss a partnership with Biao Shu."

Hearing the word "partnership," Biao Shu's eyes lit up: "How much are you planning to invest?"

"At least two million US dollars, with no upper limit."

Biao Shu leaned forward slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "What kind of partnership?"

"The new company can give your gang 5% of the shares, on the condition that you stop collecting protection fees, and additionally, you must form a professional security team to be responsible for the safety of all our cargo."

"Bang!" Biao Shu slammed the table and stood up: "Do you take us for beggars? 5%? At least 50%!"

Zhao Ying did not back down: "With an investment of two million to ten million, are your two hundred men worth that price?"

"Do you believe that with one word from me, three Triad branches will move out together and make sure you never walk out of this dock alive!" Biao Shu threatened sternly.

At this moment, He Yuzhu stepped forward slowly, his tone calm but sharp: "Biao Shu, when talking business, you should also weigh your own worth. Empty talk is meaningless, it's best not to mention 50% again!"

"Fuck your mother! You ignorant kid, you think you're qualified to lecture me?" Biao Shu cursed loudly.

"Lacking respect for your elders! If you want to talk, show some sincerity!" He Yuzhu retorted without any politeness.

Biao Shu sneered: "Little bastard, you've got a big mouth! If you can't give me 60% of the shares today, don't even think about stepping out of this door!"