Save some money for the betrothal gift

Lin Yu slowly exhaled smoke and white breath, quietly waiting for the cold wind to dry the sweat on his body.

Now that he’d calmed down and thought it over carefully, this outcome was unexpected yet made perfect sense. With Black Tiger’s loyalty-bound personality, only his family could have held him back like this.

"Reasonable."

Lin Yu nodded, his doubts now resolved.

Black Tiger seemed even more dejected. He took a deep drag of his cigarette before letting out a self-deprecating laugh, smoke curling from his nose and lips. His voice was thick with resignation as he said,

"Truth is, I never had a choice."

"Before me, Wang Xing and the others had already been won over by Zhao She."

"By the time he approached me, I was probably the only one left in the Black Blood Gang still standing by Brother Yuan’s side."

Lin Yu frowned, puzzled. "How did none of you notice him eating away at you like this?"

Black Tiger aside, at the very least, Li Yuan wasn’t so foolish as to let his power be hollowed out without realizing it!

Black Tiger stared at the familiar alley he’d walked countless times, his voice heavy with exhaustion.

"Brother Yuan was always wary of him."

"But it didn’t matter."

"Every move Zhao She made was out in the open—no excuses to stop him, no way to block him."

"Bit by bit, his influence grew until even Brother Yuan didn’t dare confront him outright."

Lin Yu’s interest was piqued. "How’d he pull that off? Break it down for me."

Black Tiger didn’t refuse. He took another drag before continuing,

"When he joined, the Black Blood Gang was on the verge of collapse."

"People were either running or injured—only the core members were left holding the line."

"After he joined, he somehow drove a wedge between the Fire Scorpions and the out-of-town gangs, making the outsiders pull out."

"Then he asked Brother Yuan for money—said he needed to recruit new members to rebuild the gang."

"Even though the outsiders had left, the Fire Scorpions were still watching us, ready to finish us off at any moment."

"At a time like that, you think Brother Yuan could refuse?"

"Even though he suspected Zhao She might use the money for his own ends—that the new recruits would only answer to him—he had no choice."

"If Brother Yuan didn’t want to slink out of H City in disgrace, he had to hand over the cash and let Zhao She rebuild the ranks."

"And just as Brother Yuan feared, the new recruits Zhao She brought in barely listened to us. They only obeyed Zhao She."

"That’s when Brother Yuan sat us down and said we couldn’t let Zhao She keep expanding—otherwise, he’d take over the Black Blood Gang sooner or later."

"We were still figuring out how to deal with him when—"

Here, Black Tiger paused and turned to Lin Yu.

"You know about that incident, right?"

Lin Yu nodded. He knew—the hotel explosion that wiped out half the Fire Scorpions’ leadership.

Seeing Lin Yu’s confirmation, Black Tiger didn’t elaborate. He turned back to the alley, took another drag, and said,

"That mess ruined all our plans."

"He was just too ruthless."

"So ruthless that even some of our own started fearing him—some even admired him, wanted to ditch Brother Yuan and follow him instead."

"After that, we’d already lost."

"Even if we could’ve still fought him then, our people’s loyalty was gone. What were we supposed to fight him with?"

"After that, he picked us off one by one."

"Offered Wang Xing money."

"Promised Liu Mahua status."

"He had a sharp eye—knew exactly what each person’s weakness was."

"Then he got to me."

"He didn’t say a word to me. Just had my wife and daughter—hidden in another city—and my parents from the countryside ‘invited’ over. Then he took a nice family photo for us."

Black Tiger’s hand trembled slightly as he held the cigarette.

He forced himself to steady it, taking a moment to compose himself before continuing, his voice thick with pain.

"I failed Brother Yuan."

"If there’d been even the slightest chance he could win, I’d have fought alongside him to the end."

"But there was no hope left."

"I was the last one to leave him in the entire Black Blood Gang."

Hearing this, Lin Yu felt a mix of emotions, his wariness toward Zhao She growing even stronger.

Never let your guard down.

This man was truly terrifying.

Out of old camaraderie, Lin Yu stepped forward and patted Black Tiger’s shoulder.

"Don’t blame yourself."

"Some things are like a tidal wave—you can’t change them. Keeping your family safe is already more than enough."

Black Tiger didn’t respond, his face still twisted with guilt, as if he couldn’t forgive himself.

Seeing his words had no effect, Lin Yu didn’t push further. Instead, he casually asked,

"What’s your plan now?"

"Gonna find another line of work?"

"Or stick with this life?"

Black Tiger shook his head, exhaustion weighing on his voice.

"I’m done with this life."

"And it’s not even an option anymore."

"Zhao She won’t keep people like us around."

"I got off easy."

"At least he’ll give me what he promised."

"But as for Wang Xing and Liu Mahua..."

Black Tiger let out a cold laugh, his tone dripping with disdain.

"If they’ve got any brains left, they’ll bow out quietly."

"Otherwise..."

He left the threat hanging with another scoff.

Lin Yu understood. Zhao She had no intention of honoring his promises now that the game was won.

Makes sense.

Why waste money after you’ve already beaten the final boss?

Now that he’d satisfied his damned curiosity about the Black Blood Gang’s downfall, Lin Yu was ready to leave.

With this much money in hand, he was over the moon.

Even after paying back Qing Mo’s 500,000, he’d still have another 500,000 left!

That was enough not just for four years of college—if he budgeted carefully, he might even cover Tang Manman’s bride price with it!

Wait…

Does this world even have bride prices?

Never really paid attention…

Hope not!

Lin Yu flicked his cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it under his heel.

After standing in the cold wind for a while, he shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to leave.

"Litt—"

"Yu-ye."

Huh?

Lin Yu spun around, startled by the unexpectedly grandiose title.

Black Tiger’s face was a mix of discomfort and defeat, as if the words tasted bitter in his mouth.

But he swallowed his pride and cautiously asked,

"What about… Brother Yuan?"

Lin Yu fell silent for a moment before finally choosing to speak frankly:

"It’s up to fate now."

Those few short words shattered Black Tiger’s composure. He covered his dark-skinned face with a large hand, murmuring over and over in a choked voice:

"Thank you... thank you..."