Chapter 252: The Desire for Power

The Secretary for Justice asked impatiently, “Governor, just tell us directly what you want us to do. I warn you—don’t try to bring down Shadow!”
Seeing everyone nod in agreement, Pang Cheng-kong frowned. He knew Xiao Ran was powerful, but he hadn’t expected even this group to be influenced by him. After some thought, he realized that if he could accomplish this, he would surely receive praise from higher-ups. Immediately, he smiled happily. “ATV is applying for a license for next year. We can find a reasonable reason to deny it.”
“That’s impossible!” The head of the Home Affairs Department stood up immediately, glaring angrily at the damned governor. “ATV meets all the requirements. It has also been complained about the fewest times among all Hong Kong television stations. We have no valid reason to refuse!”
“You’re the one in charge—there must be a way!” Pang Cheng-kong waved his hand impatiently. The head of Home Affairs Department sat down sullenly, cursing under his breath, of course without saying anything. After some consideration, Pang Cheng-kong smiled darkly at the Secretary for Justice and said, “Draft an anti-monopoly law for the film industry right away. I want to separate the screening industry from distribution and production!”
The Secretary for Justice nodded silently. His predecessor had almost been forced to step down for interfering with Xiao Ran’s business. If it weren’t for Xiao Ran sparing them, they would have already suffered a humiliation. This time, there was a reason for the anti-monopoly law in the film industry—at least he was a bit luckier than the head of Home Affairs Department.
Satisfied, Pang Cheng-kong turned his gaze to the Secretary for Security. This was the real weapon to dismantle Xiao Ran’s personal power. “I want you to cooperate with the anti-monopoly law introduced by the Justice Department by cracking down on the gangs, launching the largest anti-gang operation in history, thereby dismantling Xiao Ran’s criminal network.”
Li Qingning almost jumped up in outrage. What the hell? Could Hong Kong’s gangs really be wiped out? Defying Xiao Ran, the godfather of crime, was nothing but certain death. Pang Cheng-kong smiled mysteriously. “By then, some people within the gangs will turn against them, allowing us to completely crush Xiao Ran’s arrogance!”
Damn your arrogance! Li Qingning wished she could cut Pang Cheng-kong in half. Xiao Ran was usually very friendly to others—over the years, he had donated hundreds of millions to help the police overcome difficulties. But no matter what, that fact couldn’t be changed, could it?
Late at night, Wei Dongling was at home—or rather, in his workroom. This workroom was extremely secure; sometimes even his girlfriend wasn’t allowed in. Li Jiaxin had a servant bring a bowl of soup outside the workroom before smiling at Wei Dongling and saying, “A Dong, it’s time to drink soup. I really don’t know what you’re busy with in there—you won’t even let me in!”
For several consecutive nights, Wei Dongling worked here until 1 a.m. before resting. This piqued Li Jiaxin’s curiosity greatly. Finally, that afternoon, not long after Wei Dongling left, she used the prepared key to open the door.

Li Jiaxin had certainly been in this room before, but usually she only saw ordinary documents and materials, nothing as mysterious as now. Curious, she searched around the room for a while and finally found a very secure safe. She had a key to it, but no password. After thinking for a long time, she came up with a number and entered it immediately. A soft click was heard, and the safe door opened. Li Jiaxin felt a sense of happiness—because the password was none other than her birthday number. Inside, there was nothing but a large stack of documents. She placed them on the table and began to browse through them. After flipping through a few pages, she found a folder labeled “Politician Profiles.” When she opened it, her expression changed drastically. At the top was the profile of Governor Chris Patten, which included not only information about his life but also another document detailing his immoral and illegal actions. The more she read, the more horrified she became, until she was trembling and pale. The documents were extensive, covering many topics, and Li Jiaxin couldn’t even imagine where they came from or how much effort it must have taken to gather them. Finally, she saw what Wei Dongling had been busy with these past few days: a plan, a sinister one. If carried out, many people would be implicated, and the UK’s ruling party would face serious trouble. As she trembled and nearly fell, a pair of strong hands supported her rigid body from fear. She shuddered violently and jumped up, only to see Wei Dongling staring at her with a very serious expression. They stared at each other in silence for a long time, until Li Jiaxin couldn’t help but apologize softly, “I’m sorry…” “Will you leak this information?” Wei Dongling demanded sternly. If it were possible, he would never treat her like this. But these matters were extremely important—some provided by the National Security Bureau, others obtained through Phantom’s own investigations—all necessary information for Phantom’s development. “Of course not!” Li Jiaxin trembled. She had never seen Wei Dongling so stern and was naturally scared. “I definitely won’t…” “Then it’s fine! I trust you.” Wei Dongling suddenly relaxed and smiled gently. “I didn’t scare you too much, did I?” Li Jiaxin breathed a sigh of relief but was then hugged by Wei Dongling. Thinking of the password earlier, the feeling of being cherished became even sweeter. Guan Xin was finally gone! Liang Kun’s mood improved at last. With Guan Xin gone, he was now the only one in control of Hong Kong’s underworld. Don’t ask why he suddenly became so obsessed with this—it was because he had discovered that such power to control everything was intoxicating and fascinating. Thanks to Guan Xin’s strict control, the underworld had become very obedient. Liang Kun couldn’t help but smile triumphantly. If he could control the underworld, he would have the right to talk on equal terms with the governor. The huge profits from the underworld would also allow him to amass wealth quickly, far better than working for Xiao Ran.

A few capable assistants exchanged knowing smiles at their boss. Liang Kun thought for a moment before quickly coming up with a plan to take control of the underworld: “Ah Xiong, Ah Chong, each of you lead a team to track down Guan Xin’s informants. When the time comes to act, capture them all at once—someone will assist you then. But try not to cause harm if possible. It would be great if we could bring those ex-military personnel under our control.”

“I’ll talk to the leaders of several major gangs in the next few days…” Liang Kun was so pleased he could barely contain his smile. He instructed a clever young man, “You’ll be in charge of contacting them then. Make sure nothing goes wrong.”

After giving more orders, he saw his subordinates leave. Finally, Liang Kun couldn’t hold back and burst into loud laughter. “President Xiao, I’m sorry. I really let you down. But I’m just a human being with desires too. You have to understand me!”

If Xiao Ran were still in Hong Kong, or even just in the U.S. for a few days, Liang Kun knew he would never have the courage to betray him, nor would the major gangs. Even Guan Xin, known for his coldness, wouldn’t dare to do so if he stayed.

But Xiao Ran had gone to the U.S. and would stay for at least a month or two. Guan Xin had also gone to Britain, leaving behind many instructions, clearly indicating he would be away for a long time. With this, Liang Kun saw his chance—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Needless to say, it was Xiao Ran who had once brought the major gangs under control. Guan Xin, who succeeded him, filled them with fear. Liang Kun remembered clearly one instance when a gang leader died, and two top figures were fighting over territory. Guan Xin ordered them to stop, but those fools showed no sign of stopping.

The next day, those two top figures were found dead in the water, becoming murder cases under police investigation. That very night, their gangs were destroyed. Guan Xin’s methods weren’t cruel, but they were utterly ruthless. This wasn’t the only time—it happened multiple times, making the major gangs extremely cautious and afraid to anger him again.

Often, the gangs even missed the era when Xiao Ran ruled, as he was quite lenient toward them, using far fewer harsh methods than Guan Xin, almost to the point of indulgence. So, Guan Xin was a nightmare for the major gangs. Now that Guan Xin was gone, it was Liang Kun’s chance!

Why did Liang Kun want to betray Xiao Ran? He had asked himself that question after realizing his desire for power. His answer was simple: through years of manipulating the underworld, he had tasted the joy of power, especially the satisfaction of seeing the major gangs humbly beg him for mercy after offending Guan Xin. He wanted to hold that power to life and death in his own hands, just like Xiao Ran’s desire for control.

Whether it was despicable or shameless, Liang Kun told himself he was at least grateful to Xiao Ran. Without President Xiao, he would never have reached his current position. In fact, he wasn’t worried about what Xiao Ran might do to him if he lost control of the underworld. Without the underworld, Xiao Ran would only have his security company left.

By then, he already controlled the entire underworld, with many people protecting him. There was no need to fear; although there were still significant risks, he believed it was absolutely worth it for the alluring power. Moreover, he had a highly influential ally. Sitting in the leather chair, he swayed gently and said sternly, “President Xiao, I’m sorry, but since you’ve made so much money and no longer care about the underworld, why not let our brother take over?” In high spirits, he started singing proudly, “The land is like a painting…” Guan Xin’s work in the UK was going fairly well, though it shouldn’t have been his responsibility. However, he always felt that Liang Kun had problems and believed that if anything went wrong after he left, it would definitely come to light. Besides, there were indeed some matters in the UK that couldn’t do without him, though he was mainly responsible for one aspect only; public relations were handled by people assigned by Wei Dongling. Over the past few days, they had met many people and achieved considerable results. Some environmental organizations and opposition parties were eager to embrace this brother from Hong Kong, but Guan Xin wasn’t used to it. In this regard, he admired his partners greatly—knowing how to talk to different people depending on the situation, dealing with politicians was simply outstanding. On September 1st, the final revisions to film and cultural policies on the mainland finally took effect. Phantom, the three giants, and Metropolitan all obtained distribution licenses. On the same day, the Film Company announced it would invest 5 billion Hong Kong dollars in the mainland to acquire, renovate, or build 500 cinemas, while the other four companies also announced plans to invest 150 cinemas each in the mainland. Meanwhile, the real estate company under Power announced an additional 10 billion in real estate investments, naturally aimed at supporting the cinemas. As is well known, modern cinemas are usually located within large shopping malls, with both benefiting from each other. Of course, the trading and sales company under Power also announced increased sales in the mainland. It would be foolish not to seize the opportunity to capture the market. Since such a large market couldn’t be solely taken over by Power, Cheung Shing also announced some investments and sales to indirectly support cinema investments and gain a share of the market. On the same day, in the United States, Blockbuster accepted an acquisition, pending official approval. The next afternoon, Xiao Ran was giving instructions to the two supervisors in charge of distributing “Jurassic Park.” One of them was from Phantom’s distribution department, and the other was, of course, local. As they were talking, Huang Ling rushed into the office, saying to Xiao Ran with mixed emotions, “President Xiao, the U.S. authorities have approved the acquisition! We succeeded! But…” Xiao Ran almost laughed. What he feared most was the U.S. authorities blocking the deal. It seemed now that Ge Wenqiu’s efforts and activities hadn’t been in vain, and all previous arrangements had been worthwhile. Suppressing his joy, he asked, “But what?”

“But…” Huang Ling hesitated, unsure whether to disturb Xiao Ran’s mood at this moment. “But Warner, Disney, and Sony have already declared through associations like the Actors’ Guild and Directors’ Guild that they refuse to take on Universal’s projects! Moreover, it’s said they’re planning protests.”
Protests? That was quite new! Xiao Ran couldn’t help but laugh. Waving his hand to signal for Huang Ling and the others to leave, he quietly considered how to deal with the situation. Actually, he wasn’t concerned about actors and directors being blacklisted; the key was figuring out how to handle the protests…
After handling some necessary matters, Xiao Ran relaxed completely. He had been under great stress these past few days. If a giant empire like Phantom was facing funding shortages, the future would be unimaginable.
With Blockbuster’s successful acquisition, substantial cash flow would be available, allowing Universal’s finances to rely less on support from the headquarters in the short term. Thus, Phantom’s funding problems would naturally be alleviated. In fact, once they got through this tough period, Phantom’s finances would be fine.