Chapter 255: Major Changes in Hong Kong Island

A few hours before Xiao Ran learned of this news, Le Qingning, the Secretary for Security of Hong Kong, personally went to the office of the Commissioner of Police. After some hesitation, facing his puzzled subordinates, Le Qingning finally snapped, “The Governor wants to wipe out all the gangs in Hong Kong. Go now and organize all police stations across the city to launch a coordinated operation. Whatever it takes, ensure the greatest possible results!”
The Commissioner of Police stared at his superior with wide eyes, speechless for a long time. He also realized that higher-ups intended to eliminate Xiao Ran’s influence. Feeling fearful, he hesitated before saying, “Give me some time. This requires sufficient planning!”
“Submit a plan within two hours at the latest. Everyone must be deployed!” Le Qingning could hardly imagine his own emotions at that moment. Perhaps the only thing that relieved him was that Xiao Ran wasn’t in Hong Kong. “Absolutely no leaks allowed. Send more people to protect me, the Secretary for Justice, and the families of the Chief Secretary.”
Le Qingning knew Xiao Ran was a good friend, but he didn’t know if Xiao Ran would become enraged if he provoked him. At least, if he were in that position, he would definitely react violently. So, at the insistence of others, he also thought about protecting his own family.
Two hours later, the anti-gang forces led by the Triad Investigation Unit of the Police Force set out. At various police stations, countless officers dressed in riot-control gear sat in cars, forming a long convoy that left.
The public was astonished. Seeing such a large-scale deployment, they thought some kind of riot must have broken out. Yet they still didn’t know that more than twenty district police stations across Hong Kong were all mobilized just to eradicate gang forces.
Under the guidance of the Police Force officers, the police arrived at the gathering places of various gangs, but the leaders who usually stayed there were nowhere to be seen, as if they had disappeared overnight. The remaining ones gave the Xing family a strange feeling, as those who were arrested seemed to have been betrayed.
Meanwhile, in a world unseen by the police, Ah Xiong and Ah Chong, along with their men, used their numerical advantage to detain all of Guan Xin’s informants in a large warehouse. Only then did they call Liang Kun.
In Liang Kun’s luxurious villa, as he sang a few lines from an opera, he took the phone handed to him by his subordinates and burst into laughter. Stretching out his hands, he said to the leaders of the various gangs, “Guan Xin’s informants have been eliminated. Starting today, Hong Kong belongs to us!”
Xiang Yi’an had stepped down, and Xiang Qiang, the strongest member of the Xiang family, took over as the leader. But now, almost the entire family was here, not just him—leaders and family members of other gangs were also here. Because in this turbulent time, only Liang Kun could provide them with sufficient protection.
Although Xiang Qiang was usually very calm, he couldn’t help but show joy at this moment. “That’s great! But what if Xiao Ran and Guan Xin return? How will you deal with them?”

“What do you think I’ll use to deal with them?” Liang Kun’s expression changed slightly. He hated it when people mentioned those two in his presence. He glanced around and said, “Now everyone’s on this ship. If they want to get off, there’s only one outcome.”
“I guess Xiao Ran might forgive traitors, but…” At this point, Liang Kun’s own face paled a bit. “But Guan Xin will never spare any traitors. If you want to end up dead on the streets, then stay close to them!”
Xiang Qiang’s heart grew heavier as if he realized something. In this way, Liang Kun had tied them to the war chariot, which was meant to be used against Xiao Ran. Then, Liang Kun spread his arms and, like a god, declared, “I will rule Hong Kong’s underworld. Here, I will be the king, not Xiao Ran. No one but me can control this!”
“Brother Kun, will this police crackdown have a huge impact on us?” asked the leader of a small gang timidly. He had very little capital, so much so that it might be wiped out after the police crackdown, forcing him to ask.
Liang Kun laughed heartily with his hands behind his back. If the monkey who knew Xiao Ran well were here, he would surely recognize that this was an imitation of Xiao Ran’s movements, only with Liang Kun’s own arrogance added. After indulging in his laughter, Liang Kun finally stopped and glared fiercely at the guy, saying, “You don’t trust me, do you? Then do you believe that if I don’t protect you, you definitely won’t make it through today?”
Xiang Qiang sneered. Others might not understand what Liang Kun was up to, but he could vaguely guess—though it was just a guess. He wasn’t afraid of Liang Kun at all. What he and the others feared were Xiao Ran and Guan Xin. But now that Liang Kun had taken control of Xiao Ran’s underworld power, in a sense, no one dared to oppose him, not even Xiang Qiang.
“Today, you might lose many of your operations and suffer heavy losses. But…” Liang Kun’s fierce gaze swept around. “As long as we can drive out Xiao Ran, the government will definitely no longer be able to control us. Then we can do anything—we’ll have plenty of opportunities to make money! We can make ten or even a hundred times more in the future.”
There was still something Liang Kun hadn’t said. He had an agreement with Pang Cheng-kong. In a sense, it was Pang Cheng-kong who had incited him to betray Xiao Ran. This police crackdown on the gangs would surely result in the seizure of many things, but Pang Cheng-kong had subtly hinted that he would allow the gangs to operate freely in the future. That made him immediately understand the reason.
Of course, it was to have these gang members create trouble for the Hong Kong government after reunification. Thinking of this, he felt somewhat reassured. At least it proved that Pang Cheng-kong wasn’t playing him. Moreover, he needed the police to help weaken the power of various gangs so that he could truly control them. Otherwise, any resistance would cause trouble.
“Jiangshan, so picturesque…” Under the gazes of the crowd, Liang Kun started singing carelessly as if no one else was around. If Xiao Ran were here, he wouldn’t believe that the once determined man could be so arrogant now.

In just a few hours, the situation in Hong Kong changed dramatically. All the timid citizens returned home, too scared to go out again. The so-called anti-gang operation lasted six hours, during which many key gang members were arrested, and numerous casinos were shut down. If nothing of this had happened, the Hong Kong police’s actions that night would surely have been praised in the future.

But could Hong Kong’s underworld really fall into the hands of Leung Kun? Was there really no one in the Hong Kong government who could stop Xiao Ran’s evil influence? At least for now, it seemed impossible.

Wei Dongling didn’t get involved in gang affairs; he was a legitimate businessman. The mainland government could at most exert some pressure at this point but couldn’t actually pose much deterrence. The only person who could control the situation, Xiao Ran, wasn’t in Hong Kong. It seemed that the situation in Hollywood was not only a rare opportunity for Xiao Ran but also the best time for traitors.

He learned this shocking news in the middle of the night when someone from a security company called. The news left him stunned for ten seconds. Li Jiaxin, who had been woken up, rubbed her eyes and asked groggily, “What happened?”

“Nothing, go back to sleep!” Wei Dongling reassured her casually. Since he proposed to her, he and Li Jiaxin had been living together. Though they weren’t officially married, it was almost the same.

Wei Dongling knew extremely little about the underworld. But he knew one thing: he understood why Xiao Ran tried so hard to control it—not because he needed great power or influence, but to keep the film industry untainted with such influence.

Returning to his office, Wei Dongling took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled the smoke, watching it blur under the dim yellow desk lamp. Did the British Hong Kong government’s crackdown have anything to do with Leung Kun’s betrayal? Where were Leung Kun and the leaders and key members of various gangs now?

These two questions weren’t important. Whether there was a connection didn’t matter—the fact was, it had already happened. Where Leung Kun and the others were also unimportant. If they wanted to take control of the situation, they had to come out. The problem was, Wei Dongling knew that if the British Hong Kong government didn’t intervene, that was one thing, but if they did, it wouldn’t be that simple.

Right now, only a very small number of people knew that Xiao Ran controlled Hong Kong’s gangs, but many knew he could mobilize them. Plus, the gangs under Guan Xin were now ten times more restrained than before, so the police’s anti-gang operations often ended hastily, with none having taken place in the past year.

For such a comprehensive and large-scale crackdown to occur meant something was up—everyone knew it was aimed at Xiao Ran. He murmured to himself under the light, “This can be seen as disintegrating forces. But what should be done after that?”

After thinking for a while, Wei Dongling gave up. He knew he wasn’t even comparable to Xiao Ran’s apprentices in terms of tactics. It was better to leave it to Xiao Ran in the United States. So, Xiao Ran received Wei Dongling’s call.

Holding the phone, Xiao Ran bowed slightly to Julie and apologized, “I’m sorry, I have something to attend to and need to leave temporarily. How about this? Leave your contact number, and I’ll talk to you when I have time, okay?”

Julie was at an age when she was full of youthful passion. Seeing that Xiao Ran had no trace of an aristocratic airs and was so polite, she immediately felt a favorable impression of him. Nodding, she said in a gentle tone, “It’s okay, Mr. Xiao. You can go back to your work! We can talk again when you have time.”

As Julie watched him leave with a distracted gaze, Xiao Ran entered the elevator accompanied by the three from Sunshine. Only then did she pull her gaze away. She had seen Xiao Ran in the newspapers, but nothing could compare to seeing him in person. Moreover, the photos couldn’t capture his unique charm.

In the elevator, Xiao Ran continued to listen to Wei Dongling explain everything. When he learned that Liang Kun had betrayed him, he could no longer hide his shock. In his mind, Liang Kun wasn’t such a person. It was then he realized he hadn’t seen Liang Kun for a long time.

“How should we handle this?” Wei Dongling asked. Xiao Ran fell silent. He would swear on his life that this was completely beyond his expectations—a complete surprise. He knew the underworld might not necessarily submit to his rule, but he hadn’t expected even Liang Kun, who no longer wanted anything to do with the underworld, to betray him.

Furthermore, the Hong Kong-British government’s crackdown on crime was far beyond his expectations. He had thought it wouldn’t have any impact on him. But now he wasn’t sure. Sometimes, even if someone doesn’t use their power, it’s still terrifying—so terrifying that people want to destroy that power or… that person first.

In fact, Xiao Ran had stayed out of the underworld for years, leaving it mostly to Guan Xin to handle, gradually transferring control over it to ease his own concerns. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say he really didn’t care about the underworld anymore. With his current power, he could easily prevent the underworld from entering the entertainment industry. So, the underworld was basically useless to him.

But then, suddenly remembering something, his eyes sparkled slightly before he calmed down. By then, he had returned to his room. Inside, the three from Sunshine stared at the expressionless Xiao Ran, almost dying of curiosity.

“Actually, the underworld is meaningless to us. But if we want to counter the Hong Kong-British government’s moves right now, we might need to use their strength!” Xiao Ran smiled calmly, his smile as gentle as a breeze: “After all, since the Hong Kong-British government is so obsessed with dismantling gangs, why not go along with it and let them have their moment?”

“The situation here is out of control. I think you should come back as soon as possible to take matters in hand!” Wei Dongling’s tone was serious; he wasn’t joking. “I think you can see why they chose to act now!”

“Currently…” Xiao Ran couldn’t help but sigh bitterly. He couldn’t leave here either—Han Long here was just as unable to control the situation as Pailuo. If he left before things settled, who knew if those two old foxes, Murdoch and Lei Shidong, would sell Universal? “I can’t leave here either. Try to delay things in Hong Kong for a few days while I deal with this situation here as quickly as possible!”

Seeing Xiao Ran hang up the phone, Monkey and Huang Ling couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Ran (President Xiao), what exactly happened?”

“Nothing much. The Hong Kong British government launched an attack on us, and their first move was to target the underworld!” Xiao Ran smiled at them before quickly falling into deep thought. This situation was definitely not what he wanted to see, but difficulties arise in life; as long as one can overcome them, it represents a significant step forward and brightens one’s life greatly.

Hong Kong… Hollywood… This is really interesting! Xiao Ran couldn’t help but smile happily. It had been quite some time since he’d faced such a challenging task, although even this challenge didn’t seem that serious in his eyes—it was still less threatening than Fang Ruohai.

He knew very well that the Hong Kong British government could never bring down a company just through policies, unless that company was engaged in illegal activities. Therefore, he concluded that their aim was to undermine his power in order to make money and disrupt the market. After all, over the past few years, Shadow had blocked many of the Hong Kong British government’s revenue streams, and just curbing real estate inflation had already caused them heavy losses.

Xiao Ran stood up straight, smiled lightly, and walked out of the room: “If that’s the case, there’s no point in dragging this out with these old folks. Let’s settle this quickly!”