Chapter 1 By the River

By the riverside.

After finishing the phone call, Yu Mingyuan whispered to Su Tianyu, "The Ma Gang sent out a lot of people tonight. They're all outside the Haiyan Pit, and Xu Hu is there too."

"Got it." Su Tianyu nodded, looking at Yu Mingyuan. "...I'll go with them."

Yu Mingyuan patted Su Tianyu on the shoulder and said softly, "That's how it is. If I thought we were just in a business relationship, I wouldn't have shown my face at the Ma Gang warehouse last time."

Su Tianyu nodded heavily. "I'm off."

With that, Su Tianyu stepped into Bai Dabiao's car, closed the door, and said, "Let's go."

"Where to?" Bai Dabiao loosened his collar.

"Uncle, do you think this will work...?" Su Tianyu whispered, starting to discuss the plan with Bai Dabiao.

...

In an apartment in the Longkou district of The Dragon City.

Gu Tongshan sat on the sofa, fiddling with his tea set, and said, "Lao Dong, to be honest, I'm very upset about the missing goods at sea this time."

Across from him, the middle-aged man called Lao Dong crossed his legs, folded his arms, and replied, "Yes, it's a mess."

"Goods went missing at sea. I brought in six million worth of gold bricks, but the coast guard turned up nearly eight million. Heh, the kids in Zhan Nan are playing 'official smuggling' with me, which means someone thinks I'm old and wants to set up their own channels." Gu Tongshan rubbed his prayer beads with his left hand and said softly.

"Xu Hu did it himself?" Lao Dong asked.

Gu Tongshan waved his hand. "It's him, but not entirely him. He definitely couldn't handle that extra million-plus of goods himself. To dare to do it means the brothers below are supporting him."

Lao Dong nodded.

"The goods are gone, and the old Mo from District One are unhappy. Two cars full of people came and have been waiting for my news." Gu Tongshan poured a cup of tea. "Our Ma Gang and these black devils have been cooperating for a long time. Although the price of the goods is a bit higher, the advantage is stability. This time, with Zhan Nan selling smuggled goods through official channels, they're also unhappy."

"It's quite difficult," Lao Dong sighed.

"And the Yu family, they've been making me a little unsure lately." Gu Tongshan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Is Yu Jinrong's son just trying to do some business at sea to make some money, or does the Yu family want to plant a flag in Zhan Nan!"

"Is there any difference?" Lao Dong asked, perking up.

"If it's just about doing business, and there's friction below, then we can have two rounds of fighting and then sit down and talk." Gu Tongshan raised his head. "But if the Yu family's demands aren't just about money and business, then it's different."

"You mean...?"

"Yu Jinrong is from District One, with a military and political family background. I don't think he's just looking to make a bit of money." Gu Tongshan frowned. "The kids in Zhan Nan are unstable, the upper levels of our Ma Gang each have their own plans, and now the Yu family is adding fuel to the fire. It's really upsetting."

Lao Dong nodded.

"Today, Xu Hu's younger brother opened fire in Karl's Living Village, and didn't get the job done." Gu Tongshan said bluntly, "Why don't you take this opportunity to directly contact the military and put pressure on Lao Yu, to test what he really means."

"Be blunt about it?" Lao Dong asked.

"Yes, be blunt and see what his attitude is." Gu Tongshan played with his teacup. "Xu Hu will be back in a while, and I'll talk to him, then we'll look for Lao Yu."

"What about you?"

"I won't show my face." Gu Tongshan said self-deprecatingly, "How could a lowly江湖 (jianghu, martial world) figure like me dare to sit at the same table as a politician? I don't have enough weight! Let the higher-ups send someone."

"Mm." Lao Dong nodded slowly.

...

After the start of the New Era, in order to effectively control the flow of population and prevent wars caused by resource problems, several major districts initially built special zone walls around their main cities and gate passes. Their architectural forms were similar to ancient city walls or the Mexican wall, but their functions were more modern and had a certain degree of war defense capabilities.

After the temperature warmed up in 42 A.E., the earth thawed, and resources began to recover. The resource-rich areas that originally belonged to the ungoverned areas and planned areas also began to gather population and rebuild their homes. However, many of these cities and towns did not rebuild the special zone walls. This was because they needed to reabsorb the population, and the recovery of resources reduced the probability of plunder and riots. Building special zone walls solely for the purpose of resisting war was not cost-effective.

The Dragon City is such a region. It has no special zone walls, is built along the coast, and has many commercial trade lines. However, because this city has no historical heritage, it was planned very modernly in the early stages of construction, and the roads into and out of the city are very clear. Moreover, the surrounding area is surrounded by mountains and water, so there are only a limited number of entrances and exits to the city.

Outside the Haiyan Pit, there is a road into the city, officially called the 302 official highway.

Four cars were driving on the 302 official highway, heading towards Karl's Living Village.

Inside the lead car.

A middle-aged man with a face full of pockmarks frowned and commented, "I'm really impressed. We brought more than twenty people, waited for three or four days, and had the people in our hands, but they still got snatched back."

"Yeah," a young man in the back seat replied lazily, "I think Second Brother is confused from all the acupuncture. He acts like he's sleepwalking all day long."

"Damn it, the goods are gone, and the port isn't operating either. We don't see any money every day. What are we supposed to use to indulge in pleasure?" The middle-aged man was very irritable. "I originally thought that if we held down the worker, Lei Zi, we could get the Yu family involved. At the very least, they'd have to pay compensation and sit down and give in. That way, we could resume work after a while. Damn, who would have thought... Second Brother messed it all up. I really don't know what to say."

"I heard that Gu Lao brought in six million worth of goods this time, but nearly eight million gold bricks were found on the ship. Do you think this matter is...?"

"Damn!" Just then, the driver suddenly interrupted, "You guys are talking too much, don't talk about this behind his back."

The people in the car didn't refute him.

"Di Ling Ling!"

Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Hello? Big Brother!"

"Did you pick up Second Brother?" Xu Hu asked.

"Not yet, we're heading over there. We're not far away."

"How many cars went?"

"Four cars," the driver replied. "There are twenty of us."

"Okay, call me as soon as you pick him up," Xu Hu replied in a low voice. "I'm going to see Gu Lao."

"Alright, Big Brother!"

With that, the two ended the call. The driver held the steering wheel with his left hand and was about to dial Xu Er's number with his right hand.

About fifty kilometers from the border post of The Dragon City, three cars were speeding along. Xu Er sat in the car smoking, looking very unhappy.

"Swoosh, swoosh!"

Just then, three off-road vehicles with their license plates covered suddenly rushed out of the side intersection, heading straight for Xu Er's convoy.