Chapter 403: The Four Tigers of Beicheng

"Chairman Li, it's been over half a month since we last met—ha ha, come in, come in, have a seat!"

The luxurious private room's furnishings were unchanged from before the disaster broke out; when Liao Youzhi saw his men escort Li Zongkai inside, he laughed heartily to greet him.

"Chairman Li, good evening."

Gong Chengming, as the second-in-command of the Survivors' Alliance, shouldn't have been present at the banquet—but Liao Youzhi always brought Gong Chengming along, because in Liao's view, this signaled that the Survivors' Alliance's second-in-command held equal standing with the leaders of other factions.

Gong Chengming knew his place; after Liao Youzhi, he greeted the guests with quiet humility.

"Chairman Liao, your vigor remains undiminished—ha ha! Deputy Chairman Gong, good evening."

As Li Zongkai exchanged pleasantries, his gaze swept the room and found no guards—only two female attendants in qipaos standing with heads bowed, and one man standing near the seat who hadn't greeted anyone yet: Liu Yao, boss of the Little Eagle Society.

The large rosewood dining table held fruit, teacups, teapots, and dried nuts—all very refined items.

"Ha, it's just like before. Last time I ate here was probably four or five months ago. You guys wait outside."

As he instructed his men, Li Zongkai shut the private room door and walked toward his seat.

"Old Li, you're not late—not like that Yang guy, who can't even be bothered to show up for his share of the meat!"

After Li Zongkai finished greeting the host, Liu Yao spoke up. He looked like a rough, rugged man, yet he handled these details with precision; from his tone, it was clear he got along reasonably well with Li Zongkai.

The Little Eagle Society was located in the northwest of Qincheng, over ten kilometers from the Civilization Protectors to the east—with no overlapping spheres of influence—but they harbored little goodwill toward the Tianqi Corps, which had not yet arrived, since both operated in the northwest and frequently clashed.

Li Zongkai sighed at the neatly arranged cutlery on the table, took the warm towel offered by the attendant to wipe his hands, then looked at Liu Yao and said: "Liu Officer, long time no see—but… how did this happen?"

As he spoke, Li Zongkai pointed with genuine concern at the spot just below Liu Yao's right ear, showing no artifice.

Liu Yao touched his scar and laughed dismissively. "Damn, some traitor tried to ambush me—I killed him. Not worth mentioning."

Gong Chengming's eyes flickered with an almost imperceptible expression, his face wearing a half-smile.

"In this world today, the most important thing is trust!" Liao Youzhi removed his mask, revealing the gruesome scar on his face. "Liu Officer, I've had the same experience. Damn it—when the disaster first broke out…"

With the floodgates open, the four men at the table cracked sunflower seeds and recounted old stories; the atmosphere grew warm. In no time, half an hour passed.

Liao Youzhi glanced at his wristwatch and frowned slightly. "Looks like Old Yang hasn't returned from Beihé District yet… we…"

"Leader Yang of the Tianqi Corps has arrived."

Before Liao Youzhi could finish, the intercom crackled with a voice.

The men exchanged glances, each with different expressions.

Soon, the private room door swung open again.

"Damn, on the way back from Beihé District, I ran into a horde of corpses—almost didn't make it to see Chairman Liao! Oh, Old Li, good evening!"

Yang Xinqi's rambling voice drifted into the room with a gust of wind; a middle-aged man, around forty or fifty, entered, dusty and weary. Tall, he looked noticeably thinner than the others seated.

"Glad you made it back safe—ha ha!"

"Pleasure to meet you, pleasure to meet you."

Liao Youzhi and Gong Chengming rose to greet the guest; Li Zongkai merely stood and offered a polite greeting.

"Hey, Liu Yao, you're still alive?"

Yang Xinqi spotted Liu Yao lounging in the corner with one leg crossed.

"You got hit by a horde and didn't die? I'd die before you! Pfft! Even if your Tianqi Corps got wiped out, I'd still be alive and kicking!"

Liu Yao deliberately stressed the word "Tianqi," refused to greet Yang Xinqi, and spat a sunflower seed husk toward him—though the force was too weak, and it landed on the carpet. "My god, what kind of trash is this? Chairman Liao, if I'd known you were inviting him, I wouldn't have rushed back so fast!"

Yang Xinqi pointed at Liu Yao, sneering.

"You son of a bitch dare talk to me about manners? Three days ago, who sent someone to steal from the Xinlong Guangyuan Mall? You're a bastard!"

Hearing this, Liu Yao's temper flared instantly—he fired back.

Yang Xinqi laughed. "Yep, it was a bastard who stole it!"

"I said the bastard who sent someone to steal it—you son of a bitch!"

"Ha ha ha! Gentlemen, gentlemen, stop arguing!" Liao Youzhi rubbed his temples—he knew these two would clash the moment they sat together, but he hadn't expected them to be this blatant. He stepped in to mediate.

"Everyone's here today for a common cause—set aside personal grudges for now. You probably don't know, but our reputation's spread far: people from other districts come to trade and call us the Four Tigers of Beicheng!"

As Liao Youzhi spoke, Liu Yao's face lit up with pride—but his lips curled with mockery, as if ready to strike at Yang Xinqi again. Liao quickly raised his hand. "Quick, Xiao Tao, tell the kitchen to start serving! Come on, let's get to business!"

"I'll give Chairman Liao his due—I won't stoop to arguing with animals! Chairman Li, mind moving over a bit…"

Yang Xinqi gave Liu Yao a cold glance, pulled up a chair, and sat between Gong Chengming and Li Zongkai.

Li Zongkai sighed helplessly but shifted his seat slightly to keep the conversation flowing.

"Asshole. Worthless trash."

Liu Yao knew pushing further would make things worse—he cursed once more and went back to cracking sunflower seeds.

Liao Youzhi opened a delicate wooden box, took out cigars, signaled the attendants to distribute them, then cut straight to the point: "Gentlemen, north of Qincheng is now under our four factions' control. If we unite, no one in all of Qincheng will dare oppose us! But in the past month, four hordes of corpses have appeared out of nowhere—some nearing ten thousand strong! Two of these hordes came alarmingly close to our Alliance. You've all felt the threat. If something happens, Qincheng is this small—we all stand or fall together. We can't let this evil force keep growing, correct?"

Speaking of recent events, Liao Youzhi was furious.

"Those bastards are truly despicable! Chairman Liao, since you called us here, do you have information?"

Liu Yao of the Little Eagle Society slammed his fist on the table first—his own camp had faced a horde crisis, and though they lost one comrade, they'd managed to lure and kill the horde thanks to good preparation and early detection.

"Of course! If I didn't have solid proof, I wouldn't have summoned you. According to my scouts, the culprits are a survivor faction north of Provincial Road 52—their headquarters is on Tianma Yu. We don't know their exact name; they might be complete nobodies!"

When Liao Youzhi revealed the news, the men's faces showed no outward reaction—but if one looked closely, Gong Chengming's eyes flickered with a subtle change.

"Chairman Liao, forgive me, but how certain is this information?"

This time, it was Li Zongkai who spoke.

"One hundred percent certain!"

Liao Youzhi crossed his index fingers, his gaze dark and voice low: "Today, my reconnaissance team Three spotted several vehicles dragging a massive horde across Hedaqiao Bridge north of Beierhuan. They dumped the horde right onto Beierhuan and walked away! What's that but shitting in our own backyard?"

"Just like some people—disgusting. They deserve to die."

Liu Yao sneered at Yang Xinqi.

"Are you insane? If it were me, I wouldn't just shit—I'd smear it all over your face!"

Yang Xinqi shot back, then cut off any chance for Liu Yao to retaliate and turned to Liao Youzhi: "Chairman Liao, since we've traced the source, let's just go to Tianma Yu and demand compensation. Split the loot four ways—everyone wins!"

Liao Youzhi rubbed his forehead, paused, then said: "Our four-faction alliance commands respect—but we know little about the north. If they strike back, we'll suffer losses. Any other ideas?"

As he spoke, Liao Youzhi's gaze swept over Gong Chengming's face, then settled on Li Zongkai.

(End of Chapter)