Chapter 1 Inception

In mid-September, the weather in Longcheng was still somewhat hot, and whenever the night came without a breeze, it felt stuffy.

It was past eight o'clock in the evening. The brightly lit Zhanan District Inner Harbor was lush with greenery, the beach sparkled, and the tourist attractions were bustling with people, with stalls selling souvenirs and Chinese snacks everywhere.

Several old cars parked at the dock. Bai Hongbo led a large group of people out and onto a small yacht, chatting and laughing. He instructed the driver, "Go to Bao Le One."

Longcheng was located by the sea and had a special political environment, so many nighttime entertainment venues had come up with new tricks. For example, there were many "flower boats" in the Inner Harbor of Zhanan District. The girls inside were charming and provided attentive service. They could accompany guests in singing and drinking, and also enjoy the sea breeze, admire the night view, and chat about life.

Of course, the flower boats of today were not quite the same as before. The interior decoration and facilities were very modern. Some large yachts even offered services such as bathing and sauna. However, there were very few in Zhanan District that operated on this scale. After all, this area was still relatively remote in Longcheng, and the economy was relatively backward, so consumption was naturally lower.

Although Bai Hongbo was a bit of a spendthrift, he wasn't a super rich second-generation or a god-level tycoon. If you really asked him to invite guests to the best yacht in Longkou, he probably wouldn't be able to afford it. He might even have to work as a male prostitute for a couple of days to pay off the debt. So everyone didn't try to rip him off and chose a relatively affordable place to play and improve their relationship.

...

After everyone boarded Bao Le One, Su Tianyu was completely amazed. The girls on the yacht weren't waiting in the work room to be chosen. Instead, they wandered around on the deck on their own. Each deck had buffet snacks and free drinks. The girls listened to music, chatted in groups of three or five, or sat alone on high stools. If a guest saw someone they liked passing by, they could just call out the person's number plate.

Each session was two hours, with prices of one hundred and two hundred. You had to open a package upon boarding, with a minimum spend of over five hundred. In short, this was definitely not cheap for the current consumption level in Longcheng. After all, this was a place to buy happiness.

"Choose whatever you want, brothers. I'll cover all the expenses tonight." Bai Hongbo greeted everyone and pointed to a familiar madam, saying, "Find me a girl with rehabilitation experience. My injury has just healed, and I need someone with skills."

"Alright, Brother Bai!"

"Such a sweet mouth. Come here and let me test your oral temperature." Bai Hongbo beckoned.

"Haha, okay, you wait a moment. I'll call someone over first." The madam responded insincerely, calling the surrounding girls over to be chosen.

Since they were out to have fun, everyone was definitely looking to have a good time. Even Kong Zhenghui, a silent type, chose a lively girl, let alone Su Tianbei, Su Tianyu, and other social enthusiasts.

After everyone had chosen their girls, they went to a private room on the third deck. Opening the windows, feeling the sea breeze, and looking at the brightly lit night view of Zhanan District Inner Harbor, the mood in their hearts relaxed unconsciously.

Bai Hongbo was a gold-medal player in nightlife, not only flirtatious but also very good at creating an atmosphere. After two rounds of mini-games, everyone was tipsy, and the girls in the room were dressed even more scantily.

Su Tianyu was also having a great time. After all, he was an energetic young man. Before returning to Longcheng, he had been in the army, living a hard life and not having much contact with the opposite sex. Now that someone was paying for him to socialize, he naturally had to give face to the person who was treating.

In fact, Su Tianyu looked very sunny and optimistic in his daily life, and didn't seem like the wolf cub who could fight Lu Feng to the death.

Inside the room, glasses were raised and exchanged, and the atmosphere was cheerful. Bai Hongbo was playing a little tune and was already dancing wildly with a girl in his arms at the door.

The eldest brother, Su Tiannan, had a normal alcohol tolerance. After playing for a while, he felt a slight headache and chest tightness. He took out his cigarette case and patted Tianyu's leg, "Let's go out for a smoke."

"Oh, okay." Su Tianyu nodded with a smile and followed his brother out.

Most of the rooms on the boat had independent doors that opened onto the deck, where you could stand by the railing and admire the beautiful night view of the Inner Harbor.

The Su brothers walked out together and lit cigarettes next to the railing.

"Hehe, I see you're getting along well with Bai Hongbo." Su Tiannan asked with a smile, "I feel like you're adapting well to the Longcheng environment."

"Not really. Although Bai Hongbo looks cunning and selfish, he's actually a pretty solid guy." Su Tianyu replied softly, "He's easier to get along with than Kong Zhenghui."

"Yes, he likes your third sister," Su Tiannan grinned, "But your third sister says he's a worn-out shoe and doesn't bother with him."

"Haha, that's spot on!"

"Tianyu, you helped a lot with the family's affairs this time." Su Tiannan said, smoking and looking at the sea, "You're more capable than I thought, and you're also very brave. Actually... I was really scared after you fired that gun that night. It would be very troublesome if it were found out."

Su Tianyu paused for a moment and replied, "Do you know why I dared to fire the gun?"

"Why?"

"If Wang Daolin wasn't interested in the dirty gang's business, then he wouldn't have come out to meet you every time I asked you to invite him." Su Tianyu said with a light smile, "No one is a saint. In this day and age, how many officials don't love money?"

"That makes sense." Su Tiannan nodded slowly, looking his younger brother up and down. "Six, listen to your brother, stay home and work in the future. Your second uncle is getting old, and this family business will eventually be managed by us brothers. If we stick together and move forward, we can have a good life in the future."

"Hehe." Su Tianyu smiled at him.

"...How about it, stay?" Su Tiannan continued to persuade, "It's hard to get a public service job, and with our connections, we might not be able to achieve much. Look at the employees in many units, in their thirties and forties, earning a few hundred dollars a month, unable to move up or down, it's quite difficult."

Su Tianyu slowly rested his forearms on the railing, looking down at the surrounding night scene, and said, "Brother, let me tell you a story."

"What story?" Su Tiannan asked.

"When I was 17, my dad sent me to the army. Our family had strong connections at that time, and my personal development plan had already been arranged. I would transition in the army for a year, and when I was old enough, I would directly apply to a military academy, and then I could serve in a grassroots unit. After a few years, if I was lucky, I could quickly become a staff officer." Su Tianyu said softly, "I was very naive back then."

Su Tiannan listened quietly, without interrupting.

Su Tianyu stared at the sea with deep eyes and continued in a low voice, "There's one thing I remember very clearly. The day after my 17th birthday, I went on a patrol mission with my comrades in the squad as usual. At that time, our unit had coastal defense duties. As you know, since the First District's defeat in the war against China, the political infighting within the First District has been very serious. The Republican Party suppressed the Democratic Party, and the internal strife was fierce, which led to the later War of Independence. So during that period, many of our coastal units had coastal defense duties."

"Yes, I know." Su Tiannan nodded.

"When I was in that company, I had a very good friend named He Yudong. He was about the same age as me, from Shandong. His family also followed the warlord Lao Zhou to overseas after the Unification War." Su Tiannan narrated softly, "I loved to read, and so did he. We had similar interests, so we were very close. That day, we were on a helicopter performing a coastal defense mission. It was after three o'clock in the afternoon, and we were about to change shifts when the battalion-level command suddenly received a distress call. It said that in the sea area not far from our patrol area, a yacht belonging to the First District was shelled by a private armed force from the unassigned area. There were more than a thousand people on board, as well as cargo. So the battalion-level command sent us to rescue them first. There were two helicopters, with a total of twelve people, including the pilots."

"Mm." Su Tiannan listened attentively.

"We quickly flew to the location of the yacht, but from an overhead view, I knew that the ship was doomed. The stern of the ship had suffered a devastating blow. The ship had no power, and the keel was broken when the stern sank. The entire ship had split in the middle." Su Tianyu frowned unconsciously as he spoke, "The people on the ship were calling for help at the bow, the crowd was boiling, their faces full of despair. When our company commander saw this situation, he knew that he could not save everyone. The stern had already sunk, the lifeboats on the ship were not enough, and there were no other patrol forces nearby. So he immediately reported to the higher-ups, saying that there were too many people on the ship, and we couldn't save them all. What should we do! But do you know what the higher-ups replied?"

Su Tiannan shook his head.

"The higher-ups immediately drafted a list, telling the company commander to rescue according to the list. I saw that list. There were probably less than forty people, almost all of them were Chinese military officers or wealthy businessmen from the First District." Su Tianyu paused and continued in a low voice, "Soldiers must obey orders. The company commander told us what to do, so we had to do it. So we immediately used rope-dropping to get on the ship and guard the bow, letting the people on the list get on the plane first. But as soon as we did this, the ordinary workers, ordinary people, and staff on the ship all went crazy. They questioned us like crazy, why didn't we take them with us? Even if the helicopter couldn't fit so many people, why didn't we let the old, weak, women, and children go first? The company commander couldn't give an explanation, so he could only fire a warning shot. But at that time, people were desperate, who would be afraid of the gun in your hand? More than a hundred people got red eyes and knocked down two of our soldiers."

Su Tiannan frowned when he heard this.

"The company commander had no choice but to ask the higher-ups again. But the higher-ups said, let us soldiers stay on the ship to maintain order, wait for follow-up rescue, and give the empty seats to the old, weak, women, and children on the ship...to appease public anger!" Su Tianyu said with his head down, gritting his teeth, "I was very scared at that time. I was very afraid that the company commander would leave me behind too. But after he assigned the task, he told me separately, let me get on the plane first, don't worry about the rest. I was very happy, and I was about to get on the helicopter by grabbing the rope-dropping rope. But at this time...my best friend, He Yudong, grabbed my wrist. He...he asked me...if I stayed, I would die, right? He asked me to beg the company commander to take him on the plane with me...but I was scared out of my wits at that time. I was very afraid that if I didn't leave now, I wouldn't be able to get on."

"And then?" Su Tiannan asked.

"Then I got on the plane and watched He Yudong stare at me with very desperate eyes. When the plane flew away, I watched the yacht sinking at a speed visible to the naked eye." Su Tianyu turned his head, his eyes slightly red, and raised his fingers and said, "More than a thousand people, the survival rate of the people on the list was 100%, and the survival rate of ordinary people was about 1/10th of a percent. My friend, He Yudong, who loved to study, never even found his body in the end. In the end, this matter was suppressed by the higher-ups and was never exposed in the media."

Su Tiannan took a deep breath of his cigarette.

"We were all soldiers, why could I leave?" Su Tianyu raised his arm and pointed to the sea and sky, "Because my dad was the senior colonel staff officer of that army, and He Yudong was just an ordinary soldier's descendant. He and I were very close, very close, but there was a wall between us that no one could see. Brother, what do you say that wall is?"

Su Tiannan already understood what Su Tianyu wanted to say.

"It's class, it's social stratum!" Su Tianyu squinted his eyes and looked at the rolling waves with the help of the alcohol, "In such an era, an era full of opportunities, ordinary people may have a little bit of a chance to break through that wall, but relying on the dirty gang obviously won't work. Brother, I'm not the same as you. I can't get over my father's matter... So, I have to do everything I can to stand up again! To not let myself down, and to not let this era down. My future is not in the family's industry. I believe you are too, right?"

...

Late at night, at the entrance of the Su family's mansion, Wang Daolin's car stopped. The thin old man who had beaten the flowery shirt in the detention center walked into the courtyard and shouted, "I'm back, where are the little brats?!"

The third sister greeted him and directly complained, "They've all gone out to party."

"Damn it!" The old man cursed loudly.