Looking at the small stack of bank cards on the table, Lin Yu hesitated only for a moment before gathering them up and slipping them into his pocket.
This money was rightfully his to begin with—there was no reason to refuse it.
"Thanks," Lin Yu nodded in appreciation.
Zhao She leaned his elbows against the desk, rubbing his hands together with a smile as he replied,
"No big deal."
"Don’t mention it."
After a brief pause, Zhao She’s expression sobered slightly, his eyes sharpening with focus as he studied Lin Yu and ventured cautiously,
"Yu-ye."
"About how to deal with Li Yuan..."
"I was wondering what your thoughts are."
The moment Zhao She asked that question, Lin Yu immediately understood why he’d kept Zhao Dahu waiting outside.
This meeting wasn’t really about the money—that could’ve been transferred directly to his account. No, the main reason he’d been called here was to discuss this very matter.
Lin Yu mulled it over, unsure how to respond, and decided to probe Zhao She’s intentions first by deflecting the question:
"What was your original plan?"
Zhao She blinked in surprise, then chuckled. His gaze grew distant, his hands still rubbing together slowly, his smile tinged with self-mockery as he admitted,
"A big part of why I ended up inside last time was because I didn’t clean up my mess properly."
"I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but my memory’s good. I don’t plan on making the same mistake twice."
At this point, his tone lightened, and he shrugged with feigned indifference.
"Of course, Li Yuan’s different. He doesn’t have any dirt on me, and he’s no threat."
"If Yu-ye wants to spare him, I won’t object."
Lin Yu took a deep breath, not answering right away.
This wasn’t exactly a small matter—it carried some weight.
From Zhao She’s words, it was clear he had no intention of letting Li Yuan live.
Even if he claimed Li Yuan wasn’t a threat, someone like him was always a loose end. Who knew what schemes he might cook up in the shadows, waiting to stab Zhao She in the back when he least expected it?
Li Yuan was absolutely capable of that—he was no honest man, and he held grudges like no other.
But Zhao She had also made it clear: if Lin Yu wanted to, he’d let Li Yuan live.
Meaning whatever Lin Yu said next would be Li Yuan’s death sentence.
Tch.
After a moment’s thought, Lin Yu felt a pang of frustration.
This Zhao She—why couldn’t he just toss Li Yuan into the river to feed the fish and be done with it? Why bother asking for his opinion?
Sure, he and Li Yuan weren’t on good terms, but to outright condemn him to death with his own words...
That was still hard to say out loud!
...
...Maybe Zhao She had been spooked by those rumors in the gang about Lin Yu risking his life to protect his brother-in-law.
Afraid that acting without Lin Yu’s approval would cause problems...
So what now?
Lin Yu was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Sparing Li Yuan would cost him a hefty favor, and Li Yuan wasn’t worth that kind of debt.
But telling Zhao She to go ahead with his original plan...
That was just as hard to say!
After another moment of deliberation, Lin Yu decided to "follow the gang’s way."
He’d drop a hint and leave the rest to fate.
"It’s your call."
"There’s no loyalty between him and me."
"If you think he’s trouble, handle him like trouble. If you think he’s harmless..."
Lin Yu gave a slight shrug.
"Then do whatever."
His implication was clear: Zhao She should decide for himself.
If Li Yuan was a real threat, then deal with him.
If not, then let him live.
Zhao She fell silent for a moment after hearing this, then nodded with a smile.
"Got it."
Lin Yu nodded back and asked,
"Anything else?"
"If not, I’ll head out."
"Nothing else."
Zhao She shook his head.
"Yu-ye, take care. I won’t see you out."
"Appreciate it."
Stepping out of the office, Lin Yu spotted Zhao Dahu still standing guard outside. He asked,
"How’ve you been lately?"
The simple-minded air Zhao Dahu once carried was gone, replaced by a chilling ruthlessness—though when he grinned, that old simpleton look returned, just like before.
Now, scratching his head, he chuckled and said,
"Not bad. Beats school, anyway."
Lin Yu smiled helplessly and nodded.
Everyone had their own path—no use forcing things.
With a brother like Zhao She guiding him, maybe the underworld was the better choice for him.
Lin Yu had meant to leave after a quick word, but something nagged at him, and he couldn’t resist adding,
"Pay attention to how your brother handles things. Learn from him, stay sharp—don’t let yourself get played later."
Zhao Dahu’s smile faded, and he nodded seriously.
"I will."
Satisfied that his words had sunk in, Lin Yu said no more and turned to leave.
The crowd inside Jufu Mahjong Parlor hadn’t dispersed yet. Seeing Li Yuan’s former subordinates, Lin Yu couldn’t help but feel a surge of mixed emotions.
Truly, you never knew what lurked in a man’s heart.
Every one of them had seemed fiercely loyal, yet here they were, all siding with Zhao She.
His gaze drifted to Black Tiger, once the Black Blood Gang’s second-in-command.
Of them all, he was the most surprising.
Black Tiger wasn’t like Lin Yu—he didn’t put on acts. Back then, he’d genuinely been willing to take a knife for Li Yuan. And now? He’d thrown his lot in with Zhao She too...
The irony was almost laughable.
Human nature.
Truly impossible to predict.
As Lin Yu studied Black Tiger, lost in thought, the man seemed to sense it. He looked up from his phone, his eyes meeting Lin Yu’s.
"Step out for a smoke?"
Lin Yu tilted his head toward the exit.
Black Tiger hesitated, then nodded and stood.
The two walked out of Jufu Mahjong Parlor, trudging across the packed snow for a while before stopping about a hundred meters away.
Lin Yu pulled out a pack of cigarettes, handed one to Black Tiger, and lit it for him before lighting his own.
Exhaling a thick cloud of white smoke, he watched as his breath and the smoke scattered in the wind. Then, turning to Black Tiger, who was similarly lost in his own haze, Lin Yu asked curiously,
"How’d he win you over?"
Black Tiger slowly blew out another lungful of smoke. The once-imposing man now looked utterly defeated, aged beyond his years.
"I backed him."
"In exchange for my family’s safety."
Hearing Black Tiger say this so calmly sent a chill down Lin Yu’s spine.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
