"A-Yao, I don't really care,"
Lu Qichang said lazily, flicking a cigarette toward Lin Yao.
"But if you don't want to get exposed by Fat Wah, you'd better think this through."
Lin Yao caught it but didn't light it. Instead, he casually tossed Lu Qichang a Cuban cigar.
"Tsk… a gold card really is a gold card,"
Lu Qichang muttered sourly as he examined the internationally embargoed Cuban cigar.
"Smoking this already means you don't even look twice at informant money anymore, huh?"
"Sir, if you've got something to say, say it quickly.
I still have to go back to work," Lin Yao replied impatiently.
"Work? What work?"
Lu Qichang scoffed.
"You really treat being a triad punk as a career now?"
"I don't want to do this either," Lin Yao said bluntly.
"I was basically forced onto Liangshan."
"Cut the crap. Let's talk business,"
Lu Qichang said, finally getting to the point.
"O Records is preparing to push you as a front-line informant."
"Sir, I'm just a 4-9 now," Lin Yao shook his head.
"Even if you arrest my boss, I still won't get promoted."
"Besides, my boss treats me well," he added casually.
"If there are pretty girls, I always get to try them first."
"…Damn you,"
Lu Qichang cursed halfway, then stopped himself.
"Either way, informant money isn't free," he said coldly.
"You need to show me results."
"Sir, every cent I've taken before—once I get the money, I'll return it all,"
Lin Yao said with a smile.
"What do you mean by that?"
Lu Qichang frowned.
"I don't just not want to be an informant," Lin Yao said calmly.
"I don't even want to stay in the gang world.
If I get the chance, I want to retire from Wo Hop To."
"What? Retire?"
Lu Qichang stared at him.
"Do you know the consequences of retiring?"
"Of course I do," Lin Yao replied.
"That's why the timing isn't right yet."
Lu Qichang sneered.
"Enough bragging. You? Retire?"
"Just don't end up getting your brains smashed out by Wo Hop To."
Retiring was no small matter for a triad member.
Once you step into the underworld, it's as deep as the sea.
Retiring meant leaving the underworld entirely.
Transferring meant jumping to another gang.
"Sir, honestly," Lin Yao said, taking a puff of his cigar,
"I've never wanted to be a street thug.
I want to make money—and enjoy all kinds of women with different styles and proportions…"
"Cough—cough—enough!"
Lu Qichang hurriedly cut him off.
"Good speech. Don't give it again."
Then he squinted at Lin Yao.
"You seem different from before.
You sure you didn't start using?"
"How could I?"
Lin Yao rolled his eyes.
"I'd rather smoke air than touch powder."
"…Forget it. I'm leaving. We'll talk next time."
Lu Qichang left with lingering doubts.
According to the original memories,
Lu Qichang had even gone undercover himself before.
Soon after, Lin Yao got into his second-hand Ford and drove away.
Kowloon City!
The old neon sign of the Sampan City massage parlor flickered weakly.
It shared a wall with a shady dental clinic advertising "PAINLESS TOOTH EXTRACTION."
The entrance was a narrow staircase.
Pink slippers were piled messily at the corner.
Inside, a waiter in a wrinkled shirt shouted in mixed Cantonese and Teochew,
"Boss, inside please!"
Steam leaked through the doorway.
Dragon-and-phoenix curtains with frayed threads hung between rooms.
Yellowed posters of Hong Kong starlets were pasted on iron walls.
Don't let the shabbiness fool you—
as long as there was "meat," business thrived.
At the moment, seven or eight customers fresh from baths sat wrapped in towels, watching TV in the lounge.
It was a pirate channel, playing the latest erotic film.
Lin Yao glanced at it.
Today's movie was a bootleg of The Golden Lotus: Past and Present Lives.
The image was blurry.
The male lead specialized in playing Ximen Qing.
The female lead was Zu Xian.
The film wasn't actually that erotic—
but because Zu Xian starred in it, the greasy customers still watched with relish.
"Brother Yao!"
"Brother Yao!"
"Brother Yao, you're here!"
This Sampan City was Fat Wah's territory, handed to Lin Yao.
After meeting Lu Qichang, Lin Yao returned here.
The underlings all greeted him eagerly.
"Where's Abu?" Lin Yao asked.
"Brother Abu went to train the boys in boxing.
Lately some big-circle guys have been crossing the line."
"They beat people and run—can't even catch them."
"Oh right," another underling added.
"We still have to collect protection money later.
Today's collection day."
Lin Yao nodded.
"Go get Abu. I need to talk to him."
"Yes, Brother Yao."
Just then, a sudden commotion erupted in the alley outside Sampan City.
The underlings rushed out, thinking trouble had arrived.
Lin Yao looked over—
and immediately recognized the faces.
A middle-aged man in sunglasses and a gray suit staggered forward, clutching his head.
He'd been stabbed in the back.
Blood soaked his suit.
He was clearly being chased.
The next moment, Lin Yao saw two familiar figures.
Two tall, voluptuous women.
Their faces gleamed with expensive collagen injections.
The key point was their figures—
visibly S… D-cup level dominance.
Instantly, Lin Yao thought of a movie—
Triad Girls: Duel in the Underworld.
One was called Little Lucky Star.
The other was Bozi.
He remembered the film vividly—
mainly because their looks and figures were at their absolute peak.
Estimated double C.
At that moment, both women were wielding cleavers, chasing the middle-aged man.
Lin Yao's underlings stepped in and blocked them.
The middle-aged man saw Lin Yao and screamed desperately:
"A-Yao! A-Yao! Save me!"
"These bitches played 'Immortal Jump' with me!
When I saw through it, they tried to kill me!"
Lin Yao sighed inwardly.
This man was Guan Zaisen,
Wo Hop To's famous "money courier" in the underground betting world.
He had a famous younger brother—Jimi—
a walking human meat grinder.
"Who the hell are you?"
Bozi shouted, gripping her cleaver.
"Dare block our way?"
"Get lost if you know what's good for you—
or we'll chop you too!"
Little Lucky Star waved her blade as well.
"This is between us and this old bastard.
Not your business!"
"Misses," Lin Yao said calmly,
"I advise you not to wade into this muddy water."
"Looking for death!"
An underling named A-Lik lost his temper, grabbed a steel pipe, and rushed forward.
Before Lin Yao could speak—
Bozi flicked her wrist,
the cleaver slashing straight at A-Lik's wrist!
A-Lik recoiled in pain,
only to be kicked in the knee by Little Lucky Star.
"Ugh!"
He collapsed to the ground.
The blade was already pressed against his neck.
Two more underlings rushed in to help—
but were deftly dodged.
Within seconds, they were slashed in the thighs and stumbled back screaming.
Lin Yao's brows furrowed.
As Bozi raised her blade again—
Lin Yao stepped forward.
Everything blurred for an instant.
Before anyone could see clearly,
two sharp cracking sounds rang out!
Lin Yao's fists struck simultaneously,
precisely landing on both women's
soft tissue.
The ferocity froze on their faces.
Clang!
The cleavers dropped to the floor.
Both women clutched their chests and collapsed backward, unconscious.