"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Gunshots echoed from afar, gradually drawing nearer.
The guards inside the warehouse immediately drew their pistols, ready to defend.
Xu Dongzhou and Liu Shaobai were also covered by their men, retreating to a hidden and safe position.
"Shaobai, could it be Chen Guoyao's remnants coming for us?"
"It shouldn't be. Chen Guoyao's men have been under our surveillance. If there were any movements, I would have received the news immediately."
"Then who could it be?"
Just as Xu Dongzhou and Liu Shaobai were wondering who was ambushing the warehouse, a blood-soaked lookout stumbled out from the warehouse entrance.
"Mr. Xu... hurry and go... it's the police..."
The lookout managed to utter his last sentence with all his might before he finally died.
Xu Dongzhou and Liu Shaobai, hidden in the shadows, were jolted. Neither of them had expected the people outside to be the police.
"Leader, we'll cover your escape."
The leading guard roared and charged out of the warehouse with his brethren.
However, the moment they stepped out, all eight men were shot and fell to the ground.
The next second, police sirens echoed through the empty third basement level.
Several police cars surrounded the warehouse.
Xu Dongzhou glanced at the van containing the contraband and slumped to the ground, utterly defeated.
Liu Shaobai beside him was ashen-faced, despair filling his eyes.
The main hall's warehouse had no back exit. Faced with the police encirclement, it was nearly impossible for the two of them to escape.
Destroying the contraband immediately?
That was half a ton of goods; it was far too late.
"Creeeak!"
A harsh braking sound came from outside the warehouse.
Seeing a large number of anti-drug and anti-triad officers storming into the warehouse with their guns drawn, Xu Dongzhou and Liu Shaobai offered no resistance, crouching on the ground with their hands on their heads.
As the handcuffs were placed on them and they were put into police cars, the glory of Yihe was about to end.
The news of the arrest of Xu Dongzhou, the leader of Yihe, and Liu Shaobai, his strategist, was not leaked.
This was because after arresting the two, the anti-triad squad immediately sealed the news and began to interrogate them.
It was not until the sky began to lighten that the interrogations of Xu Dongzhou and Liu Shaobai concluded.
However, the Hong Kong Anti-Triad Squad did not rest. Instead, they immediately launched further operations to arrest more high-ranking members of the Yihe syndicate.
Concurrently, the Hong Kong General Headquarters dispatched more police forces to the Anti-Triad Squad to investigate Yihe's illegal businesses.
Following the thunderous crackdown by the Hong Kong police and nearly six hours of continuous fighting, over thirty high-ranking members and hundreds of mid-level members of the syndicate were all arrested and brought to justice.
Yihe, one of the five major syndicates that had dominated Hong Kong for many years, finally fell.
With the collapse of Yihe, a mountain that had stood for so long, it signaled the beginning of the countdown to the demise of all syndicates in Hong Kong.
....
When the news of Yihe's eradication spread, it immediately shocked all the syndicates.
No one had expected that Yihe, which had been so arrogant just yesterday, would be wiped out by the police overnight.
The intensity of this anti-triad operation was comparable to that in the mainland!
Apart from shock, the leaders of the various syndicates also felt a sense of alarm.
Was the higher-ups going to start targeting syndicates?
The same question arose in the minds of every leader.
However, upon learning that the main reason Yihe was targeted was due to smuggling and selling contraband worth two hundred million, the leaders breathed a sigh of relief.
The fact that Yihe was doing business with mainland big shots in contraband was no longer a secret among the syndicates in Hong Kong.
But none of them had expected Yihe to go so big this time, daring to engage in a contraband business worth two hundred million.
It was no wonder the police wiped them out overnight.
After all, two hundred million worth of contraband had crossed the line.
Now that Yihe was gone, Bailiansheng, which had just unified the Qingkuai District, was poised to take its place among the five major syndicates.
That noon, while A Chengrong was still asleep, Bailiansheng's main hall received over ten flower baskets and invitations from other syndicates.
Now that Bailiansheng had been promoted to a first-tier syndicate, many second-tier syndicates were trying to curry favor with them.
However, after waking up, A Chengrong did not attend any banquets, politely declining even the invitation from the leader of 18k.
The reason was simple: although Qingkuai District had just been unified, he still needed to stay and clear out the remnants of hostile forces in the district.
When this message spread, the various leaders were not angered.
Unifying Qingkuai District and clearing out remaining forces was the standard procedure.
But was this truly A Chengrong's reason for refusing the invitations?
....
Two days passed. Yihe was eradicated, and Bailiansheng ascended to the ranks of the five major syndicates. These were still hot topics among the underworld figures.
Just as everyone was lamenting Yihe's excessive ambition and A Chengrong's good luck, another major event was brewing.
On the third day after Yihe's demise, Heshenghe, whose business was smuggling, was caught during a shipment that evening.
Three cargo ships belonging to Heshenghe, used for smuggling, were seized at the Xinwang Wharf in the Western District.
After police searches, over a hundred million yuan worth of smuggled cars, various digital products, and luxury goods were found on the three ships.
In addition to these smuggled items, the police also discovered seven hundred kilograms of contraband hidden on the three ships, all of top quality.
Seven hundred kilograms, whether in the mainland or Hong Kong, was enough to warrant hundreds of death sentences.
After the smuggling ships were seized, the Hong Kong police once again displayed their thunderous methods.
That same evening, the leader of Heshenghe was arrested at a gambling table in his mansion.
Coincidentally, An Hebain, one of the candidates, was also present at the gambling session when the leader of Heshenghe was apprehended.
Upon seeing the police break down the door, An Hebain's face turned pale, and he trembled with fear.
This was the final stage of the leadership transition. His arrest meant he was completely out of the running.
An Hebain had intended to gamble casually tonight. The recent leadership transition had put immense pressure on him, so he just wanted to relax with a few rounds of gambling.
But he never imagined that because Heshenghe's smuggling ships were found to contain contraband, he would be caught red-handed along with the leader of Heshenghe during the arrest.
An Hebain, caught red-handed, initially tried to use his status to force the police to release him.
However, the moment he saw the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) appear, he deflated instantly and realized that the arrest tonight had been a setup for him.
As for who it was, it must have been one of the other four candidates.
Given An Hebain's status, he was directly taken away by the ICAC.
Now that he had been caught gambling, his chance of rising to power was hopeless.
Therefore, before the investigators could even speak, he immediately revealed dirt on the other candidates.
An Hebain's only mindset at this point was that since he had no chance of being elected, he would definitely drag someone down with him.
As for who that someone would be, it was definitely Qiao Tan, with whom he had already fallen out.
Ultimately, he resolutely recounted everything Qiao Tan had done using his power during his tenure and his dealings with triad societies in secret.
Even more crucially, An Hebain possessed evidence of Qiao Tan's corruption and abuse of power, all of which he submitted to the ICAC.
Upon receiving the evidence, the ICAC immediately issued an arrest warrant for Qiao Tan.
When Qiao Tan was brought back to the ICAC and learned that the evidence was provided by An Hebain, he was almost infuriated to death.
Without a word, he immediately exposed An Hebain's criminal evidence, submitting substantial proof as well.
Witnessing them tear each other apart, the investigators couldn't help but lament that the higher-ranking and more powerful individuals were, the more ruthless they were in their actions, never ceasing until the other was destroyed.
In reality, Qiao Tan and An Hebain shared the same mindset: if you don't let me live well, then we'll both go down.
In addition, they both exposed scandalous information about the other three candidates.
Although they didn't have much evidence, it was enough for the ICAC to launch investigations.
While the ICAC was investigating, the Anti-Triad Squad collaborated with them.
The criminal evidence of An Hebain and Qiao Tan revealed their strong connections to triad societies.
With the information provided by the ICAC, the Anti-Triad Squad, having just dealt with Heshenghe, immediately began an investigation into Xin Yi in secret.
From their investigation, they discovered that Xin Yi, which appeared to have completely laundered its image, was not only involved in industries such as film, real estate, and logistics, but was also secretly engaged in the arms trade.
In China, whether in the mainland or Hong Kong, there were two underground industries that absolutely could not be touched.
One was contraband!
The other was arms!
Regardless of whether it was criminal gangs in the mainland or syndicates in Hong Kong, anyone who engaged in these two underground industries would face severe punishment, regardless of their connections.
When Xin Yi was found to be involved in arms dealing, and Qiao Tan provided definitive evidence, the Anti-Triad Squad once again demonstrated its lightning-fast action.
For this anti-triad operation, the police not only dispatched over a thousand officers for the arrests but also requested assistance from the stationed military.
With a thousand police officers and a regiment of soldiers, the Xin Yi syndicate was completely wiped out within three hours.
As an arms dealer, Xin Yi not only had tens of thousands of thugs but also employed nearly a hundred desperate foreigners from overseas.
During the arrest, Xin Yi did not surrender. Instead, they used the weapons they had secretly stored to fight back.
When the news reached the higher-ups, they issued a direct order: annihilate them all, regardless of survival.
An anti-triad operation requires evidence.
However, an anti-terrorism operation only requires a list.
Upon receiving the order from above, the stationed military was the first to enter the fray.
Those resisting desperados and syndicate members were immediately suppressed by modern infantry.
These syndicate members indeed possessed heavy weaponry.
But facing China's iron-willed soldiers, coupled with various modern combat equipment and tactics, the desperados had no room to resist.
After the arrest operation, according to the police's rough estimates, over a thousand members of the Xin Yi syndicate died in this engagement, with no survivors.
As for Xin Yi's leaders, strategists, hall masters, and low-level members, all were sentenced to death.
The Xin Yi Group, which had seemingly gone legitimate, was simultaneously taken over by the Hong Kong government.
With the arrest of An Hebain and Qiao Tan, the ICAC investigated more and more criminals. The Anti-Triad Squad also obtained evidence of crimes committed by other syndicates from shared information.
With the consecutive eradication of three major syndicates—Yihe, Xin Yi, and Heshenghe—the remaining syndicates were filled with unease.
Daquan, 18k, and the newly promoted Bailiansheng all began to rein in their activities and cease their gray businesses.
Second and third-tier syndicates, noticing that the major syndicates had shut down their illegal operations, immediately followed suit.
Only the small, remaining syndicates continued to engage in those gray businesses, believing that the authorities would never bother with small syndicates like them and would surely target the larger ones.
But this time, their calculations were wrong!
....
December 1st.
After a fierce struggle among the last three candidates, He Donggong successfully ascended to the top position in Hong Kong.
Upon taking office, his first action was to grant a five-year tax exemption to Gao Fei's businesses.
His action immediately sparked heated discussions, leaving outsiders curious about the origin of this Feiteng Company, which could receive a five-year tax waiver.
In response to public debate, He Donggong immediately stepped forward to explain.
His reasoning was to encourage mainland entrepreneurs to invest in Hong Kong, stating that any mainland entrepreneur who could stimulate Hong Kong's economy could enjoy tax exemption benefits.
But the true reason was that He Donggong was repaying a debt of gratitude.
If not for Gao Fei's intervention, he might not have been able to rise to power in this leadership transition.
Besides attracting investment to Hong Kong, He Donggong's second action was to launch an anti-triad campaign!
Once the internal orders were issued, Hong Kong fired the first shot in its anti-triad campaign after New Year's Day.
The syndicate culture, which had influenced Hong Kong for a century, faced its doom in January of the new year.