"What... what are you doing?"
"Let me go!"
The resident was terrified and shouted.
His face was no longer as fierce as before.
Ying Chen held the resident by the neck, ignoring his pleas, and said calmly, "Two choices. Three die, or a group dies."
"You choose."
"My patience is limited."
With that, Ying Chen casually threw the resident against the wall.
*Thud!*
He hit the wall like a lump of mud.
The resident felt as if all his bones had shattered and his muscles were torn, completely reduced to a pulp, stuck to the wall, unable to move or fall.
He was so scared his face turned ashen, and he instinctively wanted to scream.
But no sound came out.
Everyone could only see his terrified expression, unable to utter a single sound.
This scene shocked everyone.
The residents who had been planning to extort Ying Chen and his companion suddenly began to slowly retreat.
The next second, they turned and fled in unison.
In an instant, they disappeared into the night.
The survival logic of these people from the lower strata was simple: if you are weak, they will bully you mercilessly, extracting the maximum benefit from you; if you are strong, they will run faster than anyone, avoiding trouble at all costs.
It was no different from rats living in sewers, surviving on carrion.
"Save... save me..."
Stuck to the wall, the resident desperately watched his "friends" who had abandoned him without hesitation, letting out mournful cries.
Ying Chen, however, ignored the resident and walked towards Zhuang Ruoting.
After a brief glance at Zhuang Ruoting, he asked, "Since you are now homeless, how about I help you find a home?"
Zhuang Ruoting was stunned.
Ying Chen would help her find a home?
Find what kind of home?
Could it be...
Zhuang Ruoting suddenly had a thought, and her ears instantly turned red.
She felt that Ying Chen intended to take her back to the mainland!
To take her as his own!
She stammered, instinctively wanting to refuse.
But for some reason, the words couldn't come out.
In the end, it turned into a shy nod and a barely audible sound: "Mm."
Although Ying Chen didn't understand why Zhuang Ruoting's face suddenly turned red, he didn't ask further. Instead, he took Zhuang Ruoting and walked towards the night ahead.
The resident on the wall, only after Ying Chen and Zhuang Ruoting had gone far, fell off with a *thump*, like dried mud.
He lay on the ground like a dead fish, only his eyeballs able to move.
Two figures quietly emerged from the darkness. They first went to the bodies of the three dead thugs, searched them thoroughly.
Then they went to the resident. After observing him for a moment and seeing that he was still breathing, they curled their lips.
Next, they stepped on the resident's arm and forcefully pulled a wristwatch off his wrist.
The resident's face contorted in pain, baring his teeth.
But the two figures showed no sympathy. Before leaving, they deliberately kicked the resident hard on the back of the head.
Then they fled.
For the first time, the resident felt how dark, dirty, and despicable this neighborhood truly was.
...
The Li family.
Although the outside world was already in turmoil due to Li Fengcheng's death, practically causing an earthquake throughout Hong Kong, the Li family showed no outward signs of it.
Only the white lanterns hanging at the entrance faintly suggested a funeral.
Inside the Li family living room, a deathly silence prevailed.
One would think no one was present.
In reality, the living room was already filled with people.
Without exception, they were all relatives and descendants of the Li family.
Li family's three sons and Li Fengcheng's siblings were all present.
They sat like statues, expressionless and silent.
Clearly, they were all waiting for the other party to speak first.
In this situation, whoever spoke first would be at a disadvantage.
Finally, someone couldn't stand it and spoke first.
"How long are you going to hold your tongues? Do you all really think you're such filial sons, mourning the old man in silence?"
"Cut the act! You all know each other's intentions, so stop pretending! Aren't you just waiting to divide the family fortune? Then be bold and let's get it over with! Once it's divided, you can go back and get a good night's sleep!"
These words instantly seemed to reactivate everyone's long-dormant linguistic abilities.
The entire living room erupted instantly, with everyone talking over each other, arguing incessantly.
"Sixth brother, what are you talking about? The old man hasn't even been gone for half a day, and you're already speaking like this. Aren't you afraid the old man will get angry and come back for you?"
"Enough with the pretense. Sixth brother is right. We all know why we're here. Let's be direct. How should we handle the vast fortune left by the old man? Divide it equally, or according to each person's status in the Li family?"
"It should be divided equally! We all share the surname Li, we are all Li family members, why should some get more and some less? Isn't it better to have less than unequal distribution? Don't you understand this principle?"
"Bah! How dare you say that! If it's divided equally, then those of us who have worked for the Li family for decades will lose out! We bled and sweated to build the Li family to its current state, while you hid and slept. Now that it's time for harvest, you want to come out and reap the fruits. Have you no shame?"
"Who are you calling shameless?"
"I'm calling you shameless!"
"Say that again! See if I don't tear your mouth apart!"
...
In the blink of an eye, the entire living room descended into chaos.
Arguing and fighting, it turned the Li family, which usually prided itself on its excellent family conduct, into a marketplace.
Li family's eldest son watched the scene with a dark expression. He suddenly picked up a water glass from the table and smashed it on the floor with a loud bang.
Everyone was startled.
Instantly, they all stopped and looked at the eldest son.
The eldest son swept his cold gaze across them and said, "Your father's body is barely cold, and you are already fighting over the family fortune. If father knew this in the afterlife, he would surely be extremely disappointed!"
Upon hearing the eldest son's words, though no one said anything, they all snorted inwardly.
As if the eldest son didn't want to divide the family fortune.
Oh, right. The eldest son indeed didn't want to divide it.
Because the eldest son was the recognized heir of the Li family. Only if the Li family didn't split would the eldest son have the opportunity to control the entire Li family and become its helmsman.
Otherwise, if everyone went their separate ways, managing their own small territories, who would the eldest son lead?
"Most importantly, our bickering here will only make outsiders laugh and give them an opportunity to take advantage!"
"Don't forget, Father has an illegitimate daughter! That illegitimate daughter is no easy person to deal with. She will surely join forces with the Zhuang family, and even the power of other families, to pressure the Li family! At that time, let alone dividing the family fortune, we might all be driven out of the Li family!"
*Swipe!*
Upon hearing the eldest son's words, everyone's expression changed in unison.
It had to be said, the eldest son's words were very reasonable.
Zhuang Ruoting was indeed an unstable factor at the moment.
If they were in her shoes, they would definitely do as the eldest son said, uniting the Zhuang family and other families to pressure the Li family.
Even if Zhuang Ruoting didn't get much money in the end, it would be free money, wouldn't it?
No one would refuse easy money. They couldn't imagine why Zhuang Ruoting wouldn't do it.
"Eldest brother is right. I support Eldest brother! Let's not rush to divide the family for now. Let's unite against outsiders and stabilize the situation first. Then, we can sit down and calmly discuss how to handle the family fortune."
"I also agree with Eldest brother's statement. Zhuang Ruoting indeed needs to be dealt with first. She is a ticking time bomb for the Li family. She must be defused quickly to prevent everyone from being blown up together."
"Hmph, an illegitimate daughter wants to meddle in Li family's affairs? She's dreaming! I think we don't need to think too much. High-end business warfare often adopts the simplest methods. Let's just hire assassins and get rid of her! Then, let's see what she has to claim her share!"
The crowd, which had been arguing fiercely, now surprisingly reached a consensus.
Many even thought the idea of "hiring assassins" was a good one.
The eldest son of the Li family looked at their reactions with satisfaction.
This was exactly the outcome he wanted.
As long as everyone didn't mention dividing the family for the time being, he could logically take control of the Li family's power.
By the time these people wanted to bring it up again, they would find that it was no longer possible to divide the family!
Because most of the assets would have been transferred to the eldest son's name without anyone noticing!
And during this period, they needed an absolute enemy to distract everyone's attention.
Zhuang Ruoting was the enemy the eldest son had chosen.
Of course, Zhuang Ruoting alone was far from enough.
The eldest son had also chosen another heavyweight Boss.
With this thought, the eldest son coughed lightly, "Although it's not suitable to divide the family now, it doesn't mean we can't give everyone some dividends. For example, there's a sum of money that would be quite suitable to distribute to everyone."
"Perhaps it's not much for each person, only about 2 billion!"
*Boom!*
Instantly, everyone erupted.
2 billion is not much?
2 billion was enough for them to live extravagantly for a very, very long time!
So, everyone impatiently asked in unison, "Which money?"
The eldest son cleared his throat, his gaze slowly sweeping across everyone's faces, and replied, "The 50 billion from the Kowloon Mountain battle!"
"Although that money is nominally to be transferred to the person surnamed Ying, it actually remains in our hands."
"As long as you have the guts, you can divide it equally!"
"Of course, I'm just suggesting an idea. As for whether you have the courage, I can't say."
After hearing the eldest son's words, everyone exchanged glances and fell into thought.
They never expected that the eldest son was after that money.
Ying Chen was not someone to be easily fooled!
This was tantamount to seeking skin from a tiger.
But upon thinking that each person could get 2 billion, everyone's eyes lit up with greed.
After a moment, someone suddenly slammed the table and shouted, "What are you afraid of? As long as you're brave, you can get rich! We'd rather die rich than die poor! Let's do it!"