Chapter 261: Full Offensive

Clack, clack—the deathly pale Mountain Cat could no longer hold back his teeth from chattering. Guan Xin stepped forward and said, “Mountain Cat, aren’t you usually so bold? Look up at me and tell me what you plan to do.”
“I… I…” The terrified Mountain Cat was too pitiful to even finish a sentence, prompting Guan Xin to shake his head repeatedly.
“You may go now…” Guan Xin waved calmly at them, signaling his men to send them away. Just as they were about to leave, he suddenly added, “Xiao Ran told me to give you a chance to live. I want you to understand—Xiao Ran’s rules cannot be broken, and those who violate them must be punished. You may go!”
After the three terrified men left, Guan Xin turned to Liang Kun and said calmly, “Liang Kun, do you have anything to say? Xiao Ran said you’re allowed to choose for yourself!”
“Nothing!” The moment he was brought here, Liang Kun knew he couldn’t escape. Since he was no longer afraid of death, what was there to fear from Guan Xin? He tried to answer calmly, “Coming into this world alone and leaving it alone is already quite fortunate.”
“I thank Brother Ran for promoting me, but I also hate him. If not for him, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in the underworld again!” Liang Kun gradually became calmer, or rather, utterly despondent. “If I lose, I’ll just die—fair enough. I’m truly grateful that Brother Ran allows me to choose for myself.”
If one can’t even choose their own way of dying, it’s probably worse than living. At that moment, Liang Kun understood this at least. Guan Xin’s deep voice rang out again, “Xiao Ran wants you to do something for him. Will you?”
Liang Kun was stunned. He looked up at Guan Xin’s expressionless face. He didn’t understand why Xiao Ran still kept him around. Guan Xin saw the confusion in his eyes and gazed quietly in a certain direction—the direction of the Governor’s Residence. “You don’t need to understand. Just tell me if you’re willing or not!”
Xiang Qiang and the others weren’t freed immediately but were taken to an intersection. The smiling young man said to them, “Brother Xin said everything comes with a price. You chose the path yourselves, so now you must choose again!”
Xiang Qiang and the others vaguely remembered the death of Ghost King Dong, and their hearts trembled. They understood what this meant—Xiao Ran didn’t need them to confess; he would arrange everything for them. Whoever could leave this path alive wouldn’t have to confess.
They exchanged glances, their faces pale, before each choosing a path. Of the three paths, only one led to survival; the other two were dead ends. Whether any of them could leave alive wasn’t important—what mattered was that Xiao Ran was completely controlling them, even their choices.
The next day, Mountain Cat and Xiang Qiang were found dead on the streets. The only one who survived was Jiaolong. This storm swept through quickly, but when Xiao Ran returned, it stopped just as swiftly…

At 7:45 p.m., reports of traffic jams began to emerge on many major roads in Hong Kong. ATV, which kept a close watch, covered the incident extensively. By 8 o’clock, land traffic in Hong Kong was completely paralyzed. On site, countless minibuses and taxis were parked in the middle of the roads, blocking all traffic. The police were overwhelmed; with no drivers around, they could only use tow trucks. However, with so many vehicles in the roads, it would take at least an hour to tow them away. And since tow trucks were in short supply everywhere, things seemed hopeless… This complete traffic paralysis occurred within just one hour and was an unprecedented situation in Hong Kong’s history. Everywhere, cars were packed together, unable to move. All this made Pang Ting-kuong break into sweat. He knew that Hong Kong’s triads controlled bus routes and taxis, so this was clearly premeditated. And since Leung Kun had an agreement with him, he certainly couldn’t allow this to happen. The only conclusion was that it was all ordered by Xiao Ran… Pang Ting-kuong wasn’t stupid; he knew he absolutely couldn’t meet Xiao Ran now, as that would mean surrendering to him, and Hong Kong would then belong to Xiao Ran. But faced with such complete traffic paralysis, he seemed to have no solution either! The situation lasted for a full hour and seven minutes before traffic gradually started to flow again in some areas. Xiao Ran smiled faintly and said through the TV, “See? This is pressure. Pang Ting-kuong will eventually come to me.” Suddenly, Xiao Ran realized that what he had done was quite similar to a scene from “Black Gold.” The difference was that he wasn’t cruel enough to provoke a fight, so there would be no bloodshed this time. This was exactly what he wanted, wasn’t it? That night, several ATV channels broadcast these reports continuously and, as per Xiao Ran’s wishes, invited economists to host programs. On the surface, it was just regular programs, but in reality, they were used to criticize the wrong policies of the British government over the past year or two. The next day, Pang Ting-kuong, who had barely slept all night, finally got a good night’s sleep in the early hours, waking up only near noon. But he wasn’t awakened naturally—he was woken up by his secretary. When he got dressed and went to scold her, he saw her pale and speaking frantically, “Traffic is completely paralyzed again!” Pang Ting-kuong was stunned. Just then, a call from Britain left him completely dazed. His secretary asked carefully, “What happened?” “Britain…” Pang Ting-kuong stood there in a daze, feeling weak all over, almost falling to the ground. After swallowing hard several times, he managed to say in a hoarse voice, “Many British media outlets have reported on some of my past affairs, and they’ve also covered what happened yesterday…” His secretary, who had worked for him for some time and knew quite a bit, felt dizzy upon hearing this and almost collapsed. All she could think was: This is terrible!

Peng Ting-kong trembled. He wondered how such things could be so coincidental, and moreover, it was first reported by the media controlled by Phantom. This must have been planned by that bastard Xiao Ran. Truly worthy of being a politician—very skilled at using tactics—he quickly identified the mastermind behind it. However, this answer clearly didn’t please him. With anyone else, he might have tried to plead or negotiate, but with Xiao Ran, there was nothing to negotiate.

“That scumbag Xiao Ran! This time I’m going to kill him!” Peng Ting-kong gritted his teeth fiercely. If he was lucky enough this time, he might be able to avoid what had happened in Britain: “Call people right away to discuss resetting the tax rates for the entertainment film industry!”

“What a coincidence!” Xiao Ran couldn’t help but clap. He had originally struggled to find an excuse to get artists to go on strike, but Peng Ting-kong’s announcement about revising tax rates undoubtedly gave him one. He ordered Huang Ling beside him, “Contact all the major companies immediately and have them mobilize the artists to apply to the police for a parade! It’s 1 p.m. now—I want to see the parade procession within three hours this afternoon!”

Huang Ling felt these past two days had been incredibly exciting. If her heart hadn’t been strong enough, she might have even developed heart disease. Just as she was about to leave to carry out the task, she heard Xiao Ran call out, “Wait.” Turning around, she saw a thoughtful expression on his face.

Xiao Ran was thinking about whether to organize a parade of ordinary citizens. But then he realized that the public’s emotions weren’t yet ready enough to mobilize them. With that thought, he regretfully shook his head at Huang Ling, signaling her to get to work.

Actually, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. First, let the artists hold a parade to indirectly oppose several policies of the Hong Kong-British government. This way, it would stir up the emotions of ordinary citizens. Meanwhile, an application for another parade was also in progress. Once that parade started the next day, more ordinary citizens would surely join in, creating an unstoppable force.

By then, the media from Britain and the United States under Phantom’s banner would broadcast everything clearly around the world. Combined with Peng Ting-kong’s past scandals, it would be impossible for the British government to avoid shame!

At 2:48 p.m., in two different locations in Hong Kong, two separate groups were getting ready. At 3 p.m., they were set to launch a massive parade. One group consisted of artists—singers, actors from across Hong Kong, and even people from Phantom’s modeling agency—purely a group of entertainers.

The other group was far more substantial than the artists’ group. It was made up of people directly or indirectly related to the film industry in Hong Kong. There were nearly 20,000 film industry workers alone, plus others, meaning this group numbered at least 50,000 to 60,000 people.

The group of artists, aiming to attract passersby’s attention, held hastily made banners and marched along the roads while shouting slogans: “Protest against the Hong Kong-British government’s policies targeting the entertainment industry! Protest against the government’s attempt to reset tax rates—it’s an unfair policy! Protest against the government’s exploitation…”

On the other side of Hong Kong, another scene unfolded: tens of thousands of people flooded several streets like a torrent. At the forefront were executives from major film companies and renowned directors, all holding signs and shouting in a remarkably unified voice, “We don’t need antitrust laws! Protest against the Hong Kong-British government for deliberately disrupting the film industry…”

On either side of the two protest groups, countless journalists with cameras gathered to capture these rare moments. It was truly unprecedented—virtually all artists in Hong Kong were there, from top stars to lesser-known ones. The protest group in the film industry appeared even more united.

Who else but Xiao Ran could have such a rallying power? It was clear this must have been orchestrated by him; as for the reasons, no one wanted to delve into them. But ordinary citizens saw and heard it all—the protests were aimed at the Hong Kong-British government and its policies. Those who were smarter began to recall the economic programs from last night and today, and the experts’ warnings that if those policies continued, Hong Kong’s economy would suffer an unprecedented disaster.

The journalist from the British TV station, part of the Phantom Group, perfectly carried out Xiao Ran’s instructions. The famous host exclaimed to the camera, “We haven’t seen such protests in Hong Kong for a long time. To see them again today—whether it’s luck or misfortune, I don’t know!”

“Let’s take a look at the protesters’ slogans. They are extremely dissatisfied with the current government policies. Speaking of these policies, I must mention that the Hong Kong government is planning to introduce several laws targeting the film industry, which has clearly angered local residents. However, it’s clear the protests are aimed at Governor Patten and the government!” The British host, clearly patriotic, tried to distance the British government from this matter.

That day, the Hong Kong police were in disarray. They wanted to see Xiao Ran, but he was “resting,” and according to the doctors, he “should not be disturbed.” The police chief was helpless; he didn’t want this either, but clearly only Xiao Ran could resolve the situation. And the only way to get Xiao Ran to agree was for Patten to admit defeat in person.

Xiao Ran rested for over thirty hours. In Britain and the United States, this was seen as a highly embarrassing situation, especially for the British government, which had always prided itself on being Hong Kong’s protector—only to face such fierce opposition.

Just when people thought things would calm down by the next day, things changed again. The criminal syndicates controlled by Xiao Ran selected relatively innocent and employed people, who took to the streets the next day—numbering at least a hundred thousand. Along the way, under Xiao Ran’s control, film industry workers joined the protests.

What shocked everyone wasn’t this, but the slogans shouted by the crowd—some of them quite extreme: “Patten, don’t try to ruin Hong Kong’s future! Hong Kong’s economy must not be destroyed by Patten…” It was truly shocking.

As Xiao Ran had predicted, more and more citizens joined the procession along the way due to the excitement and their own emotions. The parade quickly absorbed ordinary people like a sponge. Within two hours, the crowd swelled to six hundred thousand, and by the time it was disbanded, it had reached one million.
This rapid expansion was completely beyond Xiao Ran’s expectations. However, considering the complete paralysis of traffic the day before, which led many companies to suspend work temporarily, it becomes understandable. Moreover, ATV had always hinted that the British government’s policies would cause problems for Hong Kong’s economy. Yesterday, that veil was completely lifted, and those who had gradually accepted this idea suddenly realized the truth, leading them to join in anger.
It is no exaggeration to say that at this extremely tense moment, if Xiao Ran had dared to order the gangsters to create chaos, it would have undoubtedly led to an unprecedented riot, making that day a nightmare in Hong Kong’s history.