Chapter 314

Xie Wendong and Gao Qiang were both shocked, shrinking back in fear without even daring to turn their heads, pretending not to hear anything. Though they had dressed up carefully, they couldn’t deceive acquaintances as easily as strangers. Xiao Fang had dealt with Xie Wendong countless times before, and upon closer inspection, he would surely spot some flaws. Xiao Fang wasn’t Xiang Wentian—he had a deep-seated grudge against him. If he were here to recruit Xie Wendong, he would definitely not hesitate to tear him to pieces, regardless of his status. Xie Wendong was 100% certain of this. So when he saw Xiao Fang approaching him and Gao Qiang, he kept his hands lowered, with the golden knife slipping into his palm. After pondering for a long time, Xiao Fang still couldn’t recall where he had seen this man. He walked up behind them, slowly reached out, and slapped Gao Qiang on the shoulder, asking suspiciously, “Brother, where are you from? You seem familiar to me.”

Thankfully, it was Gao Qiang he had approached! Xie Wendong let out a sigh of relief, his anxious heart calming down. Xiao Fang had only seen photos of Gao Qiang, never met him in person. Gao Qiang pretended to be stunned, turned around inexplicably, and looked at Xiao Fang doubtfully, asking, “Friend, are you talking to me?”

After seeing Gao Qiang’s face clearly, Xiao Fang shook his head with a wry smile. The man’s thick beard was extremely distinctive; if he had really met him before, he would have remembered. He chuckled to himself for overthinking, realizing he had become overly cautious since Xie Wendong arrived in Shanghai. He nodded politely and said, “I’m sorry, friend. I mistook you for someone else.”

Gao Qiang smiled and replied, “No need to apologize.” After Xiao Fang left, Xie Wendong and Gao Qiang both broke into cold sweats. They exchanged a glance and smiled. Gao Qiang said, “Brother Dong, I think we should leave now.” Xie Wendong smiled and said, “It’s good that Xiao Fang wasn’t paying attention to me just now.” After a pause, he glanced at the chips on the tray and said to the girl beside him, “I’m giving this all to you. Use this money to do whatever you want—stop working in a job that makes you suffer.” With that, he left the casino with Gao Qiang. The girl stared blankly at the pile of chips in her arms, then at Xie Wendong’s retreating figure, as if in a dream, unable to speak for a moment. “Brother Dong,” Gao Qiang said softly, wanting to end the conversation. Xie Wendong replied, “Just speak if you have something to say. Why be polite with me?” Gao Qiang mustered his courage and said, “Brother Dong, those chips are probably worth over a million. We seem to be short on funds right now too.”

Xie Wendong said, “The initial capital was one million, and with what we won later, it should be around one point five million.” “But,” Gao Qiang said bitterly, “you gave it all to a woman we don’t even know in the blink of an eye. Isn’t that…?” He didn’t dare finish his sentence. Xie Wendong laughed and said, “Do you think we can just take the money and leave?”
“What?” Gao Qiang’s gaze sharpened. By then, the two had left the casino and entered the lobby. Xie Wendong glanced at the ceiling and said, “Have you noticed there are at least three monitors at the front desk? If we were to exchange chips for cash, it would take at least ten minutes. A lot can happen in ten minutes, including Xiao Fang recognizing me through the screen on the central table.” Gao Qiang took a breath; he hadn’t thought of that. With a bitter smile, he said, “It seems that as soon as Xiao Fang showed up, we instantly became big losers.”
“Haha!” Xie Wendong chuckled softly and said, “What’s one million? I can throw it away just as easily as I can get back ten times or a hundred times as much.”
His words were arrogant, but Gao Qiang didn’t think he was joking at all. He nodded seriously and said, “Brother Dong, I believe you.” Guided by a waiter, the two quickly left the hotel the same way they came in. Only after getting into the car did Gao Qiang truly feel relieved and let out a long sigh. Xie Wendong asked, “Qiangzi, how do you feel?” Gao Qiang replied earnestly, “It’s like we’ve been in a tiger’s den.” Xie Wendong snapped, “I’m asking about the casino in this harbor hotel!” Gao Qiang closed his eyes for a moment before saying, “The casinos we could design are at least fifty years behind theirs.” “Mm!” Xie Wendong responded with a long sigh, patted Gao Qiang on the shoulder, and said, “Let’s go home!”

Xie Wendong is a man with strong desires. Whatever he wants to do or obtain, he never shows hesitation. Back at the Flower Hotel, he ripped off his two moustaches in front of the mirror, then washed out the hair gel from his hair. After taking a relaxed hot bath, he called Bo Zhanhui. There was no pleasantries between them; they got straight to the point. Xie Wendong said first, “I was at the casino in the harbor. I saw it and played there.” “How did it feel?” Bo Zhanhui was at home, sitting in a large bamboo chair. Even with two air conditioners on, sweat still soaked his tank top. This was probably why most overweight people disliked summer the most. “Not bad.” “Just not bad?” “Pretty good!” “Haha! If I could have a casino of that scale, I’d be satisfied for life.” Bo Zhanhui said it jokingly. Xie Wendong naturally caught the implication and laughed loudly, saying, “What if you could own half of it?” Bo Zhanhui quickly perked up, sitting up straight from the chair, and asked in a relaxed tone, “What do you mean, Mr. Xie…?” Xie Wendong said slowly, word by word, “Let’s work together to take it over! Once it’s done, each of us will own half.” “Hmph!” Bo Zhanhui thought it was fine to talk about it, but when it came to actually doing it, he hesitated again. After all, the tangible and intangible deterrence built up by the Nan Hongmen over the years couldn’t be ignored so easily. If they failed, the consequences would be unimaginable. Even if they succeeded, would Xiang Wentian spare him? Could he bear the Nan Hongmen’s revenge? Xie Wendong understood his hesitation and didn’t want to push him too hard. He said cheerfully, “Whether we succeed or not, we’re partners. If the Nan Hongmen wants to do you any harm, they first have to get past me. That’s all I have to say. Think it over yourself!” After saying that, Xie Wendong didn’t give Bo Zhanhui another chance to speak and hung up. He stretched his limbs, turned on the stereo in the room, and lay down on the bed to rest with his eyes closed.

Jiang Sen knocked on the door and entered, glancing at Xie Wendong, who was lying leisurely on the bed, and said, “Brother Dong, you seem in a good mood?!” Xie Wendong, without opening his eyes or lifting his head, replied, “Pretty good. Have you been to the casino at the harbor?” Jiang Sen pulled a chair over to the bed and nodded. “I have.” “I want to take it down,” Xie Wendong said, who usually didn’t talk nonsense. Jiang Sen frowned and said, “It’s going to be difficult.” “That’s why,” Xie Wendong said, slightly opening his eyes and smiling, “we need to send more members from our secret group in. The more of our people there, the higher the chances of success.” Jiang Sen shook his head with a smile, worriedly saying, “What worries me isn’t whether we can take it down or not. I’m thinking that even if we capture the casino at the harbor, it still belongs to the Nan Hongmen. We won’t be able to establish a foothold there, nor do we have any right to occupy it.” Xie Wendong laughed and said, “That’s exactly what I’m thinking about. What do you think we should do?”
Jiang Sen pondered for a long time before slowly saying, “Lao Liu reported that the harbor is under Xiao Fang’s control, and Xiang Wentian is someone who values loyalty very much.”
Xie Wendong snapped his fingers and nodded in approval. “Smart!” Smart always spoke simply; there was no need for explicit explanation, as everything was understood implicitly.
Xie Wendong wasn’t more patient than most people. It was precisely because of his impatience that he had progressed so quickly. While his sharp mind and cunning tactics were factors, his good luck was even more crucial. Yet this time, when dealing with the casino at the Harbor Hotel, he showed surprisingly good patience. He used members from his secret group and the Blood Killers to infiltrate over the course of a month. He wasn’t even sure how many members from those groups had managed to get inside or become familiar with the casino environment in that time. Likewise, many things could happen in a month. The Nan Hongmen’s full-scale counterattack was undoubtedly the most troublesome issue for Xie Wendong. He wasn’t aware of how much manpower and resources Xiang Wentian had invested, but there were two occasions when the enemy launched fierce attacks on the Fresh Flower Hotel, seemingly determined to swallow up the North Hongmen.

On the first attempt, on the second day of June, the Nan Hongmen, led by the two top generals Tian Fangchang and Zhou Ting, with an enormous army at their disposal, headed straight for the Fresh Flowers Hotel. Since gathering so many people in one place would easily attract attention, they split up into several groups. Even so, each group was massive in size. The Nan Hongmen’s movements were detected early by their secret agents, who promptly sent the news back to their temporary headquarters at the Fresh Flowers Hotel. Upon hearing this, Xie Wendong remained calm. He first called Bo Zhanhui, informing him that the Nan Hongmen was launching a full-scale attack and asking for reinforcements. His intention was to use Bo Zhanhui as a scapegoat; once the Loyalism Gang and Nan Hongmen were locked in a fierce battle, he would step in to eliminate both factions or reap the benefits as a bystander. Unexpectedly, Bo Zhanhui was even more cunning—he neither refused outright nor agreed completely, claiming he was short of manpower and had conflicts with neighboring gangs, so he couldn’t send many troops. In the end, he sent only Xuan Zidan along with fifty or sixty unimportant underlings as a token gesture. Seeing the meager forces sent by Bo Zhanhui, Xie Wendong gritted his teeth in anger, seething inwardly but showing no outward signs. He treated Xuan Zidan warmly. With such limited forces, he naturally couldn’t compete with the powerful main force of Nan Hongmen, so he resorted to his last resort—asking the police for protection.

Director Xiang was indeed generous, the typical type who uses others’ money to solve their problems. At Xie Wendong’s word, he immediately applied to his superiors, reporting that a large-scale fight was about to break out in his jurisdiction and requesting the deployment of riot control units. Hundreds of armed riot police and dozens of fully equipped officers were stationed near the Fresh Flowers Hotel. Police cars lined both sides of the road, almost filling the entire street. Such a display of force was rare. No matter how bold Tian Fangchang and Zhou Ting were, they didn’t dare engage in open combat with the police. Even if they won, they wouldn’t be able to stay in Shanghai, and the entire Nan Hongmen would suffer as well. With no other choice, the two ordered most of their men to turn back, leaving only a small group to approach the Fresh Flowers Hotel. Through the hotel’s glass windows, they saw Xie Wendong. He seemed to be deliberately sitting near the window, happily eating and drinking, accompanied by the beautiful Jiang Lin, looking carefree and joyful. Inside the car, Tian Fangchang and Zhou Ting stamped their feet in anger—unable to do anything to Xie Wendong under the watchful eyes of the police.

Tian Zhou and the other left in anger, while Xie Wendong laughed heartily. He sent away Xuan Zidan, who had come to watch, then took out a million-yuan check and handed it to Jiang Sen, saying, “Help me deliver this to Director Xiang.” Jiang Sen took it and spat when he saw the long string of zeros on it. Xie Wendong said with a smile, “Director Xiang is someone we can rely on. No matter how much money we spend on him, it won’t be wasted.” Jiang Sen agreed, but he still felt reluctant to see the hard-earned money, obtained at the cost of countless brothers’ lives, spent so easily. Xie Wendong had always been generous with those who were useful to him and had never been stingy. He knew well that money was an important bond that strengthened relationships between people. Without a single soldier or weapon being used, the large-scale conflict between the Northern and Southern Hongmen factions came to an end right under the noses of the police. Although they escaped disaster, the disciples of the Northern Hongmen were not very happy, as they had relied on the police’s strength to scare away their enemies, which they considered shameful. The people of the Southern Hongmen cursed Xie Wendong as shameless, saying that using the name of Hongmen to bring disgrace upon it. Zhou Ting, who was hot-tempered, cursed the most fiercely, even insulting Xie Wendong’s ancestors up to the eighteenth generation. But he forgot that he and Xiang Wentian had also relied on the police’s power. Xie Wendong didn’t care what others said or how they cursed him. He had always claimed to be a villain rather than a hero, so he could act without restraint and even ignore matters of face, because villains would stop at nothing and could act lawlessly. In this way, Xie Wendong easily defused the Southern Hongmen’s first large-scale attack, which also reminded him of the significant gap in strength between him and Xiang Wentian in Shanghai. Seizing this hard-won opportunity, he recruited people locally in Shanghai and continued to bring in more troops from City T. Eventually, he even turned his attention to the Wendong Society in the Northeast and Lao Gui in Yunnan. As long as they could provide manpower, he would take them all. In less than half a month, the Northern Hongmen’s forces doubled. Due to limited living space, their members were spread out widely. People in the underworld joked that wherever there were hotels, you could find Northern Hongmen members, and wherever there were rented houses, you could definitely find them.

There were many people, but they were too scattered, like loose sand, making it difficult to organize them. Xie Wendong understood this principle. After discussing it with Dong Xinlei for two days, he finally came up with a solution. All the scattered personnel were divided into regions, with a leader for each region. Every three regions were combined into a larger region, directly under the control of key figures from the North Hongmen such as Ren Changfeng and Lingmin. This way, cohesion was achieved, and if a fight broke out, they could exert their combat strength. Just as his plans began to show some progress, he launched a second attack on Xiang Wentian.
This time, Xiao Fang also joined in, with more people than before. Fearing that Xie Wendong would use the same trick of involving the police as before, they specifically consulted the head of the Shanghai Police Bureau.