Chapter 91

“What?” The words rang out like a thunderclap, and everyone in the room stood up, turning to look at the person who had entered. When they saw who it was, they were so astonished they could speak none words, their mouths wide open, eyes fixed ahead. Li Shuang even rubbed his eyes, saying in disbelief, “Dong… Brother Dong!”
Xie Wendong watched his brothers’ excited expressions and felt as if he had been reborn. After what had happened, he understood one thing: one should never show mercy, no matter who the other person is, even if it’s your most cherished treasure.
Suppressing his excitement, Xie Wendong smiled and patted Li Shuang’s shoulder, saying, “Brother, it’s me! I’m back!” Then he turned to the others, “Why are you all frozen? Don’t you welcome me back? Haha!”
Sanyan walked up to Xie Wendong with his mouth wide open. “Is it really you, Brother Dong? Are you… are you okay??” He couldn’t believe his own eyes.
Xie Wendong sighed and said, “I’m fine! From today on, the Xie Wendong who used to operate in the underworld is dead! Now, I’m the Xie Wendong who can live in the light!” He smiled as he looked at everyone.
No one understood what he meant, but one thing was certain: Brother Dong had truly returned!
Everyone stood up and surrounded Xie Wendong, their joy evident.
“Brother Dong, you… you’re back…” Li Shuang grabbed Xie Wendong’s arm, tears streaming down his face, his voice choked with emotion.
Gao Qiang pushed Li Shuang aside. “Why cry? You’re such a weakling! We should be happy that Brother Dong is back!” Though he said that, his eyes were already red.
“Brother Dong, why did they let you go?” “Brother Dong, did they hurt you?!” “Brother Dong…”
Everyone spoke one after another, leaving no chance for Xie Wendong to speak. He was silently moved by their concern. These were his brothers who had been with him for years, sharing joys and sorrows. What could be more fulfilling than having brothers who would truly follow you through thick and thin? Xie Wendong’s excitement was no less than theirs, but he managed to control his emotions, his expression remaining as calm as ever.
Sanyan took a deep breath to calm himself down and shouted, “Everyone, step back! Let Brother Dong sit down and talk slowly!”
It took a while before everyone moved aside and helped Xie Wendong sit down in a chair.

“Where should I start…?” Xie Wendong glanced at the others and seeing that everyone was looking at him with confusion, he recounted in detail what had happened since he entered the alley, briefly mentioning Peng Ling’s part only. He didn’t want them to know that he had made such a big mistake over a woman—partly out of basic pride as a man as well.
After hearing this, everyone was so shocked they couldn’t speak for a while. Sanyan murmured, “The Central Security and Political Department? I’ve never even heard of such a department!”
Xie Wendong replied, “I learned about it for the first time too. Given that they were able to pull me away from the police and the respect shown to me by the commander of the troops in City H, this department must have considerable power! This is the ID they gave me!” Xie Wendong took out from his pocket an ID card wrapped in red paper, slightly larger than a business card. Sanyan took it and saw the national emblem on it, with seven characters below: Central Security and Political Department. When opened, it contained Xie Wendong’s photo and a brief introduction, stamped with the official seal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which made Sanyan shiver.
Sanyan handed the ID to Li Shuang, who was leaning in to take a look, and asked doubtfully, “Brother Dong, what does it mean that they gave you this ID? Did you join this so-called Political Department?”
Xie Wendong laughed and said, “Not at all! They want us to go all out against the Soul Group, using force against force. Since the Soul Group has a wide influence, we’ll inevitably have to deal with local police forces. With this proof, things will be much easier for us—we won’t have to fear the police anymore, and we can even order them to serve us, because now we’re ‘people of the state’! Haha, we’re now acting under orders to suppress the Soul Group!”
After hearing Xie Wendong’s words, gasps of shock filled the room.
“But… Brother Dong, while this is great, they might be playing us. What if we’re no longer useful to them… There have been precedents for this before!” Sanyan said anxiously. Everyone in the underworld knew the reasons behind Q Si’s situation and had an instinctive aversion toward the state.

Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “I don’t know what will happen in the future! But this is the only path we have right now. Otherwise, not only will I not be able to escape, but everyone else will be implicated too, and that would bring Wendong down! We just have to take it one step at a time, stabilize our legitimate business as soon as possible, so that the authorities won’t have any leverage against us in the future. Of course, maintaining good relations with them is the most reliable option—but that’s for later; we don’t need to discuss it now!” Seeing everyone’s solemn expressions, Xie Wendong joked, “If all else fails, we can just all run away together! We have people and guns now; we can carve out a world for ourselves wherever we go, haha!”

Seeing Xie Wendong’s smiling face, everyone felt relieved. Since Brother Dong thought it was fine, then nothing could go wrong! This mindset was deeply rooted in everyone’s hearts, and no one doubted the correctness of Xie Wendong’s words.

Zhang Yanjiang said, “Brother Dong, I’m afraid our path ahead won’t be that easy!”

“Oh?” Xie Wendong looked at him and asked, “Yanjiang, why do you say that?”

“Brother Dong, think about it. If other gangsters find out we’ve turned to work for the state, what will they think?! Most of the gangsters in City H were Q4’s old subordinates. Because of Q4, they have no good feelings toward the state. If they learn you’ve joined the Central Political Department, they’ll definitely hold grudges and might even unite against us!”

Xie Wendong hadn’t considered this. He lowered his head, thought for a while, then said darkly, “If they really dare to do that, that’s perfect. I can use the police to send them all to prison, just like Q4 did. Hehe, none of those who oppose me have ever ended up well!”

Li Shuang shook his head vigorously and said, “This isn’t entirely ethical. After all, we’re also part of the underworld. If…”

Xie Wendong waved his hand and said, “There’s no such thing as ethics when achieving great things. I’ve said it before—ethics is like heaven for us; it’s a place we’ll never reach! In today’s society, those who stick to ethics don’t end up well. We’re thugs, we’re scoundrels, so we can use any means to achieve our goals. That’s why we can be extremely arrogant!” Xie Wendong stood up, raised his head, and said, “We need to become porcelain—new nobles who rose from darkness. In public, we must become successful entrepreneurs, attracting everyone’s attention; secretly, we must become underground emperors. Anyone who disobeys will be killed! From now on, there’s no need to hide our identities. It’s time for the dark forces to surface!”

After hearing this, Sanyan’s expression became passionate as he stood up and shouted, “Dongge is right—fuck morality! Morality is something humans define; what we say as kings is morality. What does it matter if we come from the underworld? We must rise to become new nobles. Who wants to live in obscurity forever?!” The thought of doing great things with Dongge again made Sanyan’s blood boil.

The others, inspired by Xie Wendong and Sanyan, also stood up and shouted, “Right! If we’re going to do it, we’ll do it big! If there’s no underground emperor in China, then we’ll be it!”

Seeing this, Li Shuang quickly stood up and said, “I want to be an emperor too!” As soon as he finished speaking, he was met with curses.

Xie Wendong stretched his hand toward everyone, beaming with enthusiasm, “As long as we all work together, what I said just now isn’t just empty talk—it can all be achieved. Remember, from today onward, our goals are no longer limited to the underworld. We must rise to the surface, and if possible, even step onto the political stage to build our strength. Either we don’t do anything at all, or if we do, we must do it perfectly!”

“Dongge, we’ll always listen to you! You’re our eternal leader!” they all said in unison. Their hands were tightly clasped together. Though not physically connected, they could clearly feel the genuine affection between each other.

Xie Wendong said slowly, “I don’t want anything to happen to any of you. You’re like my brothers! So remember, no matter what happens in the future, stay calm—safety is more important than anything else!”

Everyone responded in unison. Xie Wendong exclaimed passionately, “We are porcelain—we shouldn’t clash head-on with earthen pots! We are new nobles—we must stand at the peak of the mountain!”

“We are porcelain! We are new nobles…” they all shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens, even impressing newcomers like Dong Xinlei.

Xie Wendong said this on purpose—first, to give everyone a sense of superiority, the kind that comes from being by his side. Most importantly, he understood that people were always the most crucial factor, especially those who were loyal to him—something that money couldn’t buy. Everyone here had their own strengths and was an indispensable right-hand man to him. Their lives were directly tied to Xie Wendong’s future ambitions for dominance, so it was necessary to make them understand the importance of their own lives.

This day was the most transformative for the Wendong Gang. From a gang that trembled at the sight of police, it gradually became a force that transcended the boundaries between good and evil. It marked the true rise of the Wendong Gang. Although constrained by the Central Political Department, Xie Wendong had officially taken a big step forward beyond the underworld.

Everyone spent the whole day discussing in the dance club and settled on many matters. For example, what kind of company to establish was crucial—setting up a company now was no longer just to cover up crimes or launder money; it needed to actually generate profits to lay a foundation for future growth. No one had a clear idea of what kind of company to form or what in the current market had the most potential to make money, and no decision was reached after the discussions. Xie Wendong decided to ask Old Jin in a few days. They did come up with a company name: Dongxing, symbolizing that Wendong would revitalize things! It also meant “rising in the east.” Xie Wendong also proposed dealing in heroin, hoping to shift the gang’s main source of income from heroin trafficking to underground casinos, while also finding ways to smuggle with foreign gangs—both were lucrative methods.

Xie Xinlei took charge of setting up the casinos, saying he had several friends who were skilled swindlers and could handle things at the casinos. As for smuggling with foreign gangs, everyone was still at a loss for now. Xie Wendong thought to himself that if he really couldn’t find a way, he would go to Russia himself to see if he could establish contact with local major gangs. Since Province H bordered Russia, smuggling with Russia was both convenient and safe.

Additionally, Xie Wendong reorganized the gang for the third time, establishing three sub-branches under each main group. Each group leader would select three sub-leaders for their group, making the gang more systematic and easier to manage. The secret group was divided into two parts: one retained its original name and continued to be called the Secret Group, while the other was renamed Blood Kill and would be led by Xie Xinlei for specialized assassination tasks.