Chapter 1 Dragon City

In the Kong family's bar in Dragon City.

The entire bar was very quiet, and the singer downstairs had temporarily gone to rest.

In the private room, the two men were silent for a long time, not speaking for a good while.

Soft, light music played from the nearby speakers, but Yu Mingyuan felt somewhat heavy, picked up his glass, and took a sip of wine.

Kong ZhengHui glanced at him, thought for a moment, and said, "Actually, I haven't really decided where to go. Probably to the south."

"South America?" Yu Mingyuan asked, puzzled.

"I have a distant relative over there." Kong ZhengHui explained, "They invested in a company that does infrastructure construction locally, and the returns are pretty good."

Yu Mingyuan was silent for a long while. "You're really determined to leave?"

Kong ZhengHui had already said it, so he no longer hid it, and nodded frankly, "Yes, I've been thinking about it for a long time. The reason I asked you out this time is to talk about this."

Yu Mingyuan immediately fell silent, sitting there with a sullen look.

After a short while, he raised his head and said, "So, Gu BaiShun was right to investigate Kong ZhengQi, right?"

"Those are two different things!" Kong ZhengHui said calmly, "What reason could he have? That bastard is just targeting me. More accurately, he's targeting all of us..."

"ZhengHui!" Yu Mingyuan waved his hand, interrupting him. "I admit, I have irreconcilable conflicts with him. But these things don't have much to do with you. Don't always steer the conversation in that direction."

Kong ZhengHui frowned as well. "Don't you understand? He doesn't hate just you, but all of us! In his heart, he feels that our group had something to do with his father's death!"

Yu Mingyuan looked at him and advised, "You're being a little extreme."

"Okay! I'm extreme. Then let's not argue about this." Kong ZhengHui held up both hands, making a stopping gesture. "Let's talk about my wanting to leave. I asked you here because I wanted to ask what you think."

Yu Mingyuan looked at him. "You've already started transferring assets, haven't you?"

Kong ZhengHui immediately waved his hand and said, "Not yet, but I've already started preparing, right after I lost my hand."

Yu Mingyuan heard resentment in these words and could feel Kong ZhengHui's determination even more.

Kong ZhengHui raised his right arm, which was missing a hand, placed it on the table, and pointed to the stump with a blank expression. "If I don't leave, what's the point of staying here? Mingyuan, you should understand some things. In this team, not to mention Da Bai, I'm not even as good as Wang DaoLin, Jin MaoHui, and those guys. Everyone in the team knows about my conflict with Su TianYu. He won't openly suppress me, because he's already risen, and of course, he has to show generosity in public, to show his prime minister-like magnanimity! But will he use me? Will he trust me? To this day, Fei PingSheng and his group still hate me, because I was the one who suggested getting rid of A Shui, right?! But I did it for you, for the team! Tell me, what can I get here? To be honest, if it was just a matter of future prospects, I would have accepted it! At this age, I don't lack money, and I can accept being a free spirit! But does the current environment give me that opportunity? Su TianYu, Li MingSheng, Zhao WeiHu, like idiots, insist on going independent!! They've implicated too many people. I didn't do anything at home, and I still got my hand chopped off! So… I'm scared, I'm tired! I'm worried that one day, I'll even lose my head!"

Hearing Kong ZhengHui say these words, Yu Mingyuan sighed and replied after thinking for a long time, "Okay, I agree with you wanting to leave, and I respect your decision… but not now."

Kong ZhengHui stared blankly at him. "What does that mean?"

Yu Mingyuan replied very directly, "ZhengHui, if you leave now, many people will associate many things with you! And you won't be able to explain it clearly, understand?"

Kong ZhengHui retorted directly, "I haven't done anything. What's there to explain?"

The atmosphere, which had eased somewhat, became tense again.

Yu Mingyuan patiently explained, "Xiao Yu isn't in Dragon City right now, and Da Bai is in trouble again..."

Kong ZhengHui waved his hand, interrupting him, and said with some excitement, "You're right! It's precisely because he's not in Dragon City that I want to leave! If he were here, would I even be able to leave?"

"ZhengHui, don't get excited. Listen to me." Yu Mingyuan patted his shoulder and said earnestly, "You know the situation in Dragon City right now. Da Bai was just assassinated, and the administrative faction is conducting an internal investigation. Who will believe you if you leave at this time?! And it's not safe either. District One will take advantage of Xiao Yu's serious injuries to cause trouble like crazy! You leave here…!"

"Mingyuan, let's not mention these factors!! I'll just ask you one question: can I leave now?" Kong ZhengHui interrupted directly.

"I don't quite understand why you're in such a hurry? What are you afraid of?!" Yu Mingyuan slammed the table and roared, "The situation in Dragon City will definitely have a result in this period of time!! If you're afraid of being implicated, I'll send you to the Violent Crimes Unit headquarters, okay? The whole family can go!!"

"Big brother, what are you thinking?!" Kong ZhengHui stood up and shouted, "What kind of person am I? I'm someone without real power, but I'm one of the founders, one of the elders, of a newly established political entity! Since ancient times, have you ever seen someone like me being let go by the rulers? Especially in a stage of being besieged on all sides!! Will they feel at ease? I'm telling you, when Su TianYu comes back… I definitely won't be able to leave. That's why Gu BaiShun isn't watching anyone else, just me!"

There was some truth in Kong ZhengHui's words. His administrative level was too high. Once he ran, once he left, even if he didn't cause trouble himself, he might be threatened by District One.

Suppose his family was caught, he compromised in the face of money, or he suffered political persecution in that area, etc., all of this could potentially make him turn against them and defect to the enemy.

And once this kind of person defected to the enemy, they could rely on the relationships and connections they had accumulated in the original political entity for many years to deliver a fatal blow to their old boss at a critical moment.

Therefore, it was definitely not easy for people like Kong ZhengHui to leave. It was very difficult, and no major region would easily agree, and there were very few such examples.

Yu Mingyuan looked at him. "I guarantee you!! As long as you stay, no matter how Xiao Yu tries to stop it, I will definitely send you away… Let's put it this way, if one day you are really forced to compromise outside and cause a big problem, I'll take the blame for you, okay?! I understand your feelings, but at this moment, if you leave, it means that the internal rules have been broken…!"

Kong ZhengHui stared at him with trembling voice. "Back then, you said you wanted to do foreign trade, to run an association, and I, Kong ZhengHui, didn't say a word, contributing money and effort. Later, the Tongji Association had disagreements and wanted to split up, and I led everyone to follow you! In the end… great, you two reconciled, and I'm stuck in the middle, pleasing neither side… okay, I could live with that! After all, we could still get things done!! But who would have thought that after this merger ended, you suddenly said you didn't want to play anymore… You left me here. How uncomfortable do you think I am!! Tell me, what am I supposed to do?!"

Yu Mingyuan looked at him, with many rebuttals in his heart, but ZhengHui was, after all, his old brother. He might not have been kind to others over the years, but he had definitely been loyal to him personally, so he didn't want to say such harsh words and tear their faces apart.

The two men looked at each other. Yu Mingyuan thought for a long time and finally said to him, "I still say the same thing: it's not appropriate to leave now. At least wait for Su TianYu to come back, wait for things to end. ZhengHui… if you still trust me, still consider me your big brother…!"

Kong ZhengHui's eyes shifted, and he interrupted with a smile, "You don't trust me? Right?"

The two men looked at each other, and Yu Mingyuan immediately shook his head. "Absolutely not!!"

Kong ZhengHui was silent for a long time, then suddenly smiled. "Alright, then let's not talk about it anymore. Let's drink. After so many years of brotherhood, I'll toast you."

With that, he picked up his glass, raised it to Yu Mingyuan, and then, without paying attention to him, drained it in one gulp.

Yu Mingyuan sat there, feeling an indescribable sense of frustration in his heart.

…

At the same time, at the Dragon City General Administration of Security.

In the interrogation room, Shen Yue was sprawled in a chair, her hair disheveled, her face pale, with bloodstains in many places on her body.

Her hands were cuffed, and there were needle marks on her fingertips. She was trembling incessantly.

Xu Nan sat opposite her, looking at her and asking, "Can you talk now?"

Shen Yue nodded weakly. "I can talk, I can talk…"

Xu Nan put down the torture tools in his hand and couldn't help but say, "You're really sick. We can't reason with you nicely; I had to do something to you."