Chapter 17

Three days later, during lunch break, as Xie Wendong stepped out of the classroom, he saw Gao Hui Mei standing in the corridor. Feeling a bit puzzled, he asked, “Sister Gao, did you come looking for me?”
Gao Hui Mei rolled her eyes and said, “What do you think? Besides you and me, who else do I know here?!”
Seeing there were many people around, Xie Wendong chuckled and said, “Let’s go for a walk on the playground!” Then he headed outside.
The students had all gone to eat, leaving the usually bustling playground empty. Xie Wendong and Gao Hui Mei walked side by side on the track.
They didn’t speak, lost in thought. Gao Hui Mei was the first to break the silence. “Do you have any friends?”
Xie Wendong paused briefly before smiling and saying, “Of course.” Gao Hui Mei shook her head. “I mean friends you can talk to heart to heart, not those guys under your command. Would you tell them about your personal matters?”
Asked this way, Xie Wendong was truly confused. He considered Li Shuang and the others as brothers, but when it came to heartfelt talks, he silently shook his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t regard them as friends, but their strong sense of brotherhood made it unsuitable for such conversations. He lowered his head, lost in thought, and remained silent for a long time. Seeing this, Gao Hui Mei smiled and said, “If you’re willing, I hope I can become your friend—a friend you can talk to heart to heart!”
Seeing Gao Hui Mei’s sincere expression, Xie Wendong felt a warmth in his heart. Though he had many brothers around him, deep down he felt an inexplicable sense of loneliness. He said sincerely, “Sister Gao, thank you! It’s an honor to have a friend like you.”
Gao Hui Mei’s face lit up. “So you agree?” Xie Wendong nodded and joked, “I’m just afraid Sister Gao will find me too dull as a friend!”
Gao Hui Mei stretched out her hand to Xie Wendong and smiled, “From today on, we’re friends. If you have any worries, come to me. After all, I’m a bit older than you, so maybe I can help!”
Xie Wendong didn’t say anything and took Gao Hui Mei’s small hand. Feeling the tenderness in it, he remembered the passionate encounter in the art room, causing his heart to stir. A breeze blew, bringing Xie Wendong back to his senses, and he released Gao Hui Mei’s hand.
Gao Hui Mei’s face turned red, and she changed the subject. “I actually underestimated you. I didn’t expect you to defeat the Black Dragon Brotherhood so quickly. Now even the principal dares not touch you. You’re truly the ruler of No.1 Middle School!”
Xie Wendong shook his head. “No matter how powerful I am at No.1 Middle School, it’s still just a school. That’s not what I want.”

Gao Hui Mei said, “It seems you have quite big ambitions! You already have a guild with hundreds of brothers—what more do you want?”
Xie Wen Dong looked at Gao Hui Mei and silently replied, “Actually, I don’t know what I want either. I just want to grow further; the current situation doesn’t satisfy me.” Xie Wen Dong had asked himself the same question before but hadn’t found an answer.
Gao Hui Mei said worriedly, “You’ve reached your limit at school. Do you want to expand into society?” Xie Wen Dong nodded and said, “I do have such a plan, and it’s already in progress.”
Gao Hui Mei grabbed Xie Wen Dong’s sleeve and said, “You need to know that people in society aren’t like students. They’re much smarter and more capable! You might be the king at school, but in society, that won’t mean much!”
“I know that. I’ll be especially careful!”
“If… if you encounter any difficulties, I hope you’ll come to me. Maybe I can help a bit!”
Xie Wen Dong nodded and said, “Sister Gao, if that day comes, I’ll come to you.” “I hope you’ll remember what you said today!” “…”
Xie Wen Dong and Gao Hui Mei talked a lot on the playground and got to know each other better. In fact, she wasn’t as strong as she seemed; like him, she was a bit lost in life, searching for her dreams. Comparing her to Gao Hui Yu, Xie Wen Dong thought both had their own strengths—one mature and steady, the other innocent and cute—both were heart-catching girls.
When the class bell rang, the two returned from the playground. Their relationship had clearly become much closer. Xie Wen Dong said to Gao Hui Mei, “Sister, I’ll head back to the classroom first. Let’s talk again if we have the chance!”
Gao Hui Mei nodded, feeling a bit reluctant, and said, “Okay. Are you free tonight?”
Xie Wen Dong thought for a moment and said, “I should be free if nothing goes wrong. Is there something you need?”
Gao Hui Mei said, “How about we go out for dinner together tonight?” When Xie Wen Dong nodded in agreement, Gao Hui Mei turned and left. Watching her walk away, Xie Wen Dong felt confused. He knew he was attracted to Gao Hui Mei’s maturity, but in his heart, Gao Hui Yu’s innocent image kept appearing. This left Xie Wen Dong at a loss, not knowing what to do. Xie Wen Dong had a habit of not thinking about things he couldn’t figure out—after all, there was no point in wasting energy if he couldn’t get a result. In other words, it was a form of denial.
A month later, in the residential area near the Ghostly Disco in the southern part of City J.

“Knock, knock, knock!” There was a knocking at the door, followed by an impatient voice from inside, “Who is it? What do you want?”
“Hello, I’m from the electricity company. We’re here to collect the bill!” said a tall, thin young man who didn’t seem very old.
“Damn it, wasn’t it just collected recently? Why are you here again? Ugh!”
The young man’s expression changed upon hearing this, but he quickly said, “Recently, people have reported electricity theft in this area. I’m here to check. Please open the door so I can take a look!”
“Ugh, what a hassle. Wait a moment!” There was some commotion inside, and after a while, the door opened. A young man in his twenties with a long face stepped out. As soon as he stepped out, he saw a large crowd at the door. Realizing something was wrong, he tried to run away, but it was too late. A few people pulled knives from their clothes and started slashing at him without hesitation. The young man let out a groan before collapsing in a pool of blood.
The others rushed into the house without stopping, slashing anyone they saw. In no time, over a dozen people inside were caught off guard and beaten mercilessly. Some were still using heroin and didn’t understand what was happening before they were stabbed repeatedly. Soon, more than a dozen people lay on the ground, covered in wounds. Those men gathered up the heroin and took it all with them. One of them said to the young man who had spoken earlier, “Qiang, there are a few women in this house. What should we do with them?”
The young man came over upon hearing this, glanced at the women huddled together out of fear, and said, “Ignore them. Let’s go.”
The group quickly left the house, hid the knives in their clothes, and headed straight to the Guiwu Disco. The leader of the group was none other than Gao Qiang.
Guiwu Disco was one of the busiest discos in the southern part of City J. It was controlled by an organization called the Qunxing Club, which had average strength. They were quite lucky to have reached where they were today. The leader of the Qunxing Club was nicknamed “Sex Cat,” fitting for someone with such a lustful nature. That day, he saw a few young, beautiful girls he didn’t recognize at Guiwu and became extremely lustful. He and his brothers kept pestering them. Everyone in the disco knew him, and no one dared to stop him. “Sex Cat” hugged the prettiest one of them, his hands moving all over her body as he emitted lewd laughter.
“Sex Cat, you seem quite enthusiastic!” A cold voice cut through the loud music in the disco and reached his ears. Quick-witted, “Sex Cat” released the girl and stood up to find out who was speaking.
A young man around sixteen years old pushed through the crowd and came over. “Sex Cat” looked at him and said, “Was it you who spoke to me just now?”

The young man nodded but said nothing. Seeing that he was young yet carried an aura of great strength, Color Cat did not dare underestimate him and laughed, “Young man, I wonder if you’ve come here to have some fun or…”

The young man replied, “I’m not interested in fun. But I’m very interested in this place.”

Color Cat was stunned. His expression darkened as he said, “What? Are you planning to take over my place?” The young man chuckled and said, “That’s right! Since you’re young, why not find some women to go home with and enjoy yourself? What do you think of that idea?”

Color Cat stared at the young man and asked, “Who are you?” His men, sensing danger, drew the knives hidden in their clothes. The dancers around them, realizing the situation was bad, rushed out in panic, but more than thirty people remained—those brought by the young man.

A chubby man brought over a chair, and the young man sat down, tapping lightly on the armrest. “My name is Xie Wendong!”

“Xie Wendong?” Color Cat looked puzzled; he had never heard of such a person. He gave a signal to one of his men, who slowly retreated unnoticed. This small move didn’t escape Xie Wendong’s eyes. He said to Color Cat, “You don’t need to go after your men. If nothing goes wrong, they’re all waiting for you in the hospital!”

Color Cat was shocked. His face changed drastically as he shouted, “You killed them all…”

Xie Wendong continued, “They can’t get up anymore!” Cold sweat broke out on Color Cat’s forehead. Wiping it away, he asked, “Young man, do we have a feud?” He racked his memory but couldn’t recall ever offending such a person!

Xie Wendong stood up. “Color Cat, let me make it clear—today I’m here to take it over. No more nonsense. Don’t waste time!” With that, he waved his hand and walked away. The thirty-some men he brought understood this meant an attack. They drew their knives and charged at Color Cat’s group. Although Color Cat’s men were adults, they were outnumbered. Surrounded by dozens of people, they could barely defend themselves. These young men fought desperately, aiming their knives at vital spots. In no time, several of Color Cat’s men fell. The chubby man who brought the chair for Xie Wendong was Li Shuang. Shouting loudly, he drew his knife and charged at Color Cat.

Seeing Li Shuang’s ferocity and realizing he might not be a match, Color Cat pulled out a dark-colored Type 54 pistol from his waist and pointed it at Li Shuang. Li Shuang was startled and stopped immediately. Color Cat laughed loudly, “Go ahead! Come at me! Let’s see if your knives are faster or my gun is faster! Haha!”

A drop of sweat slid down Li Shuang’s face. How could one not be afraid when being pointed at with a gun? That was nonsense. Li Shuang’s hand holding the knife also trembled slightly. Just as the lecher was feeling triumphant, his arm holding the gun suddenly felt intense pain, followed by numbness. His hand loosened, and the gun fell to the ground. The lecher turned in disbelief and saw the girl he had just seduced holding a dagger, deeply stabbing it into his arm. A seductive smile appeared on her face.

The lecher screamed, pushed the girl away, and turned to run. Seeing the situation turn bad, Li Shuang bent down, picked up a chair, and threw it at the lecher. The chair crashed against the lecher’s back with a loud noise, shattering into pieces. The lecher cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Under normal circumstances, such a heavy blow would have left him unable to get up, but at this critical moment, driven by a fierce desire to survive, he got up immediately after falling, ignoring the excruciating pain in his back, and ran toward the back door.

Li Shuang was stunned for a moment before chasing after him at full speed. The lecher reached the back door, feeling relieved. As long as he got out, and with his familiarity of the area, no one could find him. He pulled the door open but froze suddenly, sweating profusely. A tall man nearly 1.8 meters tall stood at the door, holding a foot-long knife. The moment he opened the door, the knife was thrust deep into his abdomen. Bright red blood flowed from the lecher’s abdomen onto the knife and then dripped to the ground. The lecher grabbed the man’s hand, looking at him with a look of unwillingness and disbelief.

The man smirked coldly and kicked the lecher in the chest. The lecher was sent several steps back. Touching the wound on his abdomen, he said, “I… I can’t accept this…” The man stepped forward, wiped the knife clean with his clothes, put it back under his clothes, took out a black piece of paper, and placed it in the lecher’s jacket pocket. Then he turned and left. From his arrival to his departure, the man didn’t say a word. What stuck in the lecher’s mind the most was the prominent scar between his eyebrows.

The lecher’s body collapsed straight down, the blood flowing from his abdominal wound tracing a beautiful red arc through the air.

In the disco, few of the lecher’s men could still stand. Those who remained standing were barely holding on, their bodies swaying unsteadily. The man entered through the back door, took in the situation, smiled, nodded at Xie Wendong, and rushed into the fight…

On October 11th, a fierce gunfight broke out at the Guiwei Disco and its surroundings in the southern part of City J. The leader of the Qunxing Gang, Se Mao, was killed, several of his subordinates died, and dozens were seriously injured. At that time, gunfights were frequent in City J, and deaths occurred regularly. The police were already accustomed to such cases; since no clear cause was found at the scene, they simply treated it as a gang feud and closed the matter. However, the gang world learned that there was a black note on Se Mao’s body, whose meaning was unknown. The day after the Qunxing Gang was destroyed, an organization called the Wendong Gang seized control of the Guiwei Disco. Although some nearby gangs were dissatisfied and had fought against the Wendong Gang several times with no success, they eventually had to compromise and stop resisting them. From then on, the Wendong Gang became the new owners of Guiwei Disco, recognized by all the gangs in the southern part of the city. Xie Wendong’s Wendong Gang had finally stepped into the bottomless quagmire of the gang world.