Feng Zhi went to find someone. A city as big as A City, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack to find someone who’s deliberately hiding. So Feng Zhi arranged for people to try their luck at some of the places Yang Huaijin often frequented. Afterwards, he went to find Lao He himself.
Little did he know, Lao He was prepared long ago, wandering around A City with him in circles. It wasn’t until evening that Feng Zhi finally managed to meet him.
In a seaside restaurant at the docks of District Six, Lao He smiled as he interacted with Feng Zhi, “Feng Zhi, you’re really putting me in a difficult spot. How could us underlings know where Master Jin went?”
Feng Zhi had his men leave, and he stayed alone, gesturing for Lao He to sit and chat.
“Lao He, both you and Zhou Qing are close to Yang Huaijin. Zhou Qing is younger and has more of Yang Huaijin’s trust than you do,” Feng Zhi said. “You can rest assured, if he doesn’t want to see me, I won’t force him. I’m just here to talk to you today, or if there’s anything you want to know, feel free to ask me.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Lao He sat opposite Feng Zhi, calmly scrutinizing him, and after a long while, he spoke, “Master Jin has his own discretion in his affairs, and others can’t influence his thoughts. His matters are beyond my control. However, since the Second Master is interested in hearing stories, I can share some old tales…”
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Lao He felt that his life was already enough of a failure, but he didn’t expect there were still young people wanting to dive into the underworld. His acquaintance with Yang Huaijin began with a ‘discouragement talk,’ but he found Yang Huaijin to be different from others.
In his early twenties, Yang Huaijin was completely ignorant of the underworld, a pride of A University, still carrying the ideals and goodwill of youth towards the world, naive and innocent. Lao He occasionally looked after him as a senior, but mostly wanted to see when he would realize the difficulty and retreat. However, Yang Huaijin didn’t retreat; his goals were clear, and he approached tasks with clear logic. If his physical strength was lacking, he’d train in marksmanship; if he didn’t understand the rules of the underworld, he’d slowly learn and adapt. He brushed off others’ ridicule and malice with a smile.
In many aspects, Yang Huaijin didn’t know the ways of the underworld, but he had his own methods. When the Qingyan Gang was still collecting protection fees, while others relied on intimidation, Yang Huaijin approached it like a salesperson and analyst, analyzing the pros and cons for the business owners, providing feasibility suggestions, and helping the Qingyan Gang implement more comprehensive regulations. Although progress was slow, over time, people realized that both the fierce-looking individuals and the seemingly friendly Yang Huaijin could collect protection fees, and he even did it more smoothly than others. Gradually, using his abilities, Yang Huaijin erased doubts in others’ minds and remained in the Qingyan Gang.
However, Lao He knew Yang Huaijin had secrets, such as his inquiries about someone named ‘A-jiu,’ his solitary lifestyle, rarely going out at night, and the needle marks accidentally revealed on his arm… Yang Huaijin was a marked Omega, unstable during heat, requiring regular injections of suppressants. No Omega would willingly expose themselves to such an unsafe environment like the underworld, so nobody questioned his gender for the time being. However, because of his naturally slender figure and poor physical condition, coupled with the needle marks on his arm, some people suspected him of drug use.
It seems that addicts are more eager than other groups to seek out their own kind, and even Yang Huaijin himself didn’t know when he became a target. Later, he was tricked into attending a drug party. Drugs and sex were always intertwined, and Yang Huaijin’s good looks made it clear that those targeting him weren’t just interested in giving him drugs for free, but had other intentions…
Yang Huaijin found himself isolated and vulnerable, almost falling into drug addiction and being induced into heat. In desperation, he dialed Lao He’s phone number.
Lao He didn’t immediately respond when he received the call. In fact, he didn’t want to get involved. That day, he had a rare opportunity to work with the former Qingyan Gang leader Bai Qingwu, and couldn’t break away to deal with Yang Huaijin, nor did he want to. He had been waiting quietly, hoping to see when this naive young man would face setbacks and leave the Qingyan Gang. Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity…
In the end, Lao He still sought help from Bai Qingwu for Yang Huaijin, but to this day, he still doesn’t know if that ‘help’ was right or wrong.
When Bai Qingwu arrived, it was already late, and what truly helped Yang Huaijin was the mark on his body. Feng Zhi’s Alpha pheromones were extremely powerful, and that day at the drug party, there were only two Alphas present, but both were intimidated by the threat of pheromones and dared not do anything to Yang Huaijin. If Bai Qingwu hadn’t appeared, Yang Huaijin might not have suffered any substantial harm that day, but the fact that he was an Omega would definitely not have been hidden, and it would have been difficult for him to stay in the Qingyan Gang.
However, Bai Qingwu did appear. Bai Qingwu was a strong Alpha, and facing a young Omega in heat, he wouldn’t fear the Alpha pheromones on the other side; instead, it would arouse his possessiveness. Bai Qingwu entered the room where Yang Huaijin was, asked Lao He to leave, and soon after, there were sounds of things being knocked over in the room, followed by silence. Lao He didn’t know what Yang Huaijin and Bai Qingwu talked about in the room, he only knew that Bai Qingwu soon came out of the room and instructed him to buy Omega heat suppressants.
Finally relieved, he didn’t dare to delay for a moment, afraid that Bai Qingwu might change his mind.
Later, those drug addicts were silenced by Bai Qingwu, and Yang Huaijin also gained Bai Qingwu’s attention because of this. Not long after, Bai Qingwu sent Yang Huaijin to the Sixth District Docks. His original intention was for Yang Huaijin to quietly establish a water route at the Sixth District Docks, facilitating some of the Qingyan Gang’s business that couldn’t be conducted openly. Who would have thought that Yang Huaijin thoroughly researched the Sixth District Docks? His undergraduate major was urban planning, and he even sought out his own mentors. Taking advantage of the opportunity to expand the new area in A City, he submitted complete planning designs through various channels, completely revitalizing this dilapidated fishing village. After ten years of operation, the Sixth District Docks has now become an important deep-water port in the country, and the logistics company started by Yang Huaijin with Qingyan Gang’s funds has also grown to a considerable scale.
In Yang Huaijin’s third year at the Sixth District Docks, Bai Qingwu personally appointed him as the head of the Zhuque Hall at the Qingyan Gang’s hall meeting. Thus, Yang Huaijin became the youngest ‘master’ in the Qingyan Gang. Bai Qingwu can be said to owe Yang Huaijin a favor. When Yang Huaijin was twenty-five years old, he promised Bai Qingwu that he would work for the Qingyan Gang for ten years, even if he couldn’t find the person he was looking for.
Yang Huaijin always said he would ‘retire at thirty-five,’ but it wasn’t entirely due to health reasons. He originally entered the underworld to find ‘A-jiu.’ Now that he had found the person, his wish was fulfilled. He had long had the idea of retiring, staying behind only because of the promise he made to Bai Qingwu initially. He was a man of his word, even though Bai Qingwu was no longer in this world.
