Chapter 71: God’s Salvation

“Yesterday you asked to talk to me. Now I’m here!” The Mountain Cat saw that Xiao Ran wasn’t as formidable as Scar had described yesterday, and his fear gradually faded. “You know the rules of the underworld—pay monthly, two hundred thousand per month. I’ll send someone to collect it within the first three days of each month!”
Two hundred thousand? Xiao Ran was shocked. He hadn’t expected these guys to be so greedy, demanding such a huge amount. His gaze met Wei Dongling’s astonished eyes, and he realized this was truly a serious problem.
No way. Xiao Ran had asked Liang Kun before. Liang Kun told him that the underworld usually didn’t target large or medium-sized companies because those were beyond their reach, and the government never allowed them to operate such businesses. Small companies, on the other hand, didn’t dare offend the underworld, but they usually paid at most fifty thousand per month, sometimes even just a few thousand. This was treating them like fools.
This Lian Shengying really had an outrageous demand. Xiao Ran’s originally smiling face gradually turned cold as he stared intently into the Mountain Cat’s eyes. After a long while, he hung up and said to his secretary, “Please bring Brother Kun in.”
Liang Kun opened the door and walked in. As soon as he saw the Mountain Cat, he sneered, “Little Cat, who would have thought you’d become the boss today and even target my boss! You really have guts!”
The Mountain Cat glanced at Liang Kun, his mocking laughter echoing, “So it’s Brother Kun, who used to rule the underworld. Scar, you better remember Brother Kun. He was once a very important figure in the underworld, known as Iron Kun. Now he’s back—are you scared?”
“Scared? How could I not be? I’m terrified!” Scar glanced at Xiao Ran, who remained expressionless. Suddenly feeling guilty, he quickly tried to join in, pretending to ask, “I heard Brother Kun was very powerful before. Could you give us some advice?”
Liang Kun flew into a rage. Although he had stepped back from the underworld for many years, many people in it still respected him. He couldn’t believe that the Mountain Cat, who used to be just a small thug, dared to speak to him like this. Even a fool could tell the Mountain Cat was always referring to the past.
His face turned pale, but he immediately showed a fierce demeanor—truly worthy of being a legend in the underworld. “Mountain Cat, don’t push people too far! Even if I’m down and out, I’m not someone like you to mock!”
This was true. Not long after he was released from prison, other gang leaders wanted him to join their group. But he didn’t want to get involved in the underworld anymore, so he refused. Two important figures highly valued him and wanted to provide him with a job. But Liang Kun held his own dignity and refused to rely on the underworld, which is why Xiao Ran got the chance.
This time, the Mountain Cat didn’t even look at Liang Kun. He turned to Xiao Ran with a fierce expression, “Boss Liang, if you think bringing up Brother Kun will get you out of paying this money, you’re wrong—completely wrong!”
“Two hundred thousand… two hundred thousand!” Xiao Ran didn’t even glance at the Mountain Cat. He just repeated those words, sending chills down Scar’s spine. Suddenly, Xiao Ran turned to Liang Kun and asked, “Brother Kun, what’s the actual situation in the underworld?”

“According to the rules of this business, the company should give at most 20,000—less than 50,000 even!” Xiao Kun was telling the truth. Although Shadow Company did have some money, it wasn’t very large-scale, so 20,000 was already a huge amount.
“Did you hear that, Cat Brother?” Xiao Ran’s cold smile instantly turned into a polite one, though his bent fingers tapped on the table increasingly forcefully, as if striking Cat Mountain and Scar’s hearts: “20,000 or 200,000—aren’t you just messing with me, Cat Brother? Hm?”
He uttered the last word with a heavy nasal tone. Cat Mountain and Scar’s expressions immediately changed. Before they could speak, Xiao Ran leaned forward, resting his hands on the table to exert pressure on them: “Lian Shengying’s territory is in Tsim Sha Tsui, right? If we go to Wan Chai to shoot and New Yee On demands protection money, will you step in then? Hm? Tell me!”
Cat Mountain was clearly stunned. He hadn’t thought this far ahead, as film companies usually had their own forces. Just like in the 1970s, Shaw Brothers, to deal with the traitor Zou Wenhuai, sent their martial artists straight to Cathay’s cinemas, and Cathay did the same, having their own martial artists fight back fiercely.
These were forces that gangs neither dared to provoke nor wanted to mess with. But Shadow Company was small-scale and didn’t even have any martial artists, so it naturally appeared weak in Cat Mountain’s eyes.
However, Cat Mountain suddenly realized that this so-called weakling wasn’t as easy to manipulate as he thought—it wasn’t as comfortable to control either. For a moment, they were speechless under Xiao Ran’s pressure. Thinking about how he’d get scolded by their boss if he failed the task, he snapped in anger, “You bastard! Smash this place!”
Of course, the first sentence was aimed at Xiao Ran, while the second was directed at his subordinates. While Scar was hesitating, another subordinate immediately pulled out an iron rod and started swinging it wildly around the room, with the sound of shattering objects filling the air.
Liang Kun wanted to intervene but ultimately avoided getting involved. He didn’t want to get entangled with the underworld anymore. If he stepped in, he might end up tied up with them. As the iron rod turned the room into chaos, Xiao Ran valued his life more at that moment. He was blocked by a chair and couldn’t dodge the swinging rod!
Just as the rod was about to hit his outstretched arm, a pair of large hands firmly grabbed it. The subordinate tried hard to pull it away but realized he couldn’t move it even by a centimeter.
This unexpected turn surprised the six people in the room, and Cat Mountain was furious. Xiao Ran looked at the owner of those pot-sized hands and saw an utterly ordinary, unremarkable middle-aged man standing between him and the subordinate.
The man indeed looked very ordinary—so ordinary that Xiao Ran could forget him even after turning away. Yet he didn’t seem very old, and though he was thin, he could hold a powerful iron rod without getting hurt, which made everyone gasp in shock.

The middle-aged man glanced at Xiao Ran and flashed a kind smile, instantly letting Xiao Ran breathe a sigh of relief—he wasn’t here to cause trouble. Strangely, the middle-aged man asked Xiao Ran, “Boss, are they the ones causing trouble?” As he spoke, he nodded toward the three men from Mountain Cat, and Xiao Ran couldn’t help but nod in agreement. The middle-aged man immediately smiled—a hearty smile—and said, “Should we keep their hands or feet? Or keep them all?” These words were directed at Xiao Ran. Xiao Ran stared in disbelief—when had he acquired such a seemingly powerful subordinate? He glanced at Wei Dongling, who shook his head slightly, indicating they weren’t from the company. Initially shocked, Xiao Ran saw that most of the items in the office had been smashed and said angrily, “Just keep their hands!” Gangsters were indeed gangsters, showing a reckless courage akin to moths flying into flames. Of course, this was something Xiao Ran realized afterward. The middle-aged man nodded. When the three men from Mountain Cat rushed at him in fury, he simply blocked a few strikes. With several crackling sounds, the three men lay on the ground, screaming in pain. According to Wei Dongling’s extremely enthusiastic account later on, the middle-aged man had broken the three men’s arms in just a few moves, as easily as swatting a mosquito. However, according to Wei Dongling, who had already taken the middle-aged man as his master at that time, it wasn’t as reliable as imagined. Still, Xiao Ran, as an observer, clearly saw that the middle-aged man had indeed broken the three men’s arms in just three moves, with no fancy techniques involved. This truly shocked Xiao Ran—he had hardly ever heard of someone with such strong combat skills. Even Bruce Lee, who once knocked down street thugs harassing girls on the street with his three kicks, probably wouldn’t have been that fast, nor would the effect have been as severe or effortless. Other than amazement, Xiao Ran was left in awe. To them, this middle-aged man was like a god who had come to rescue them just in time. The three men from Mountain Cat, sweating profusely, barely managed to stand up. They stared at this utterly unremarkable middle-aged man with fearful eyes and left without even uttering a harsh word. Just as they were about to step out, Xiao Ran had an idea and quickly shouted, “Wait!” Passing by the mysterious man who had been smiling the whole time, Xiao Ran glanced at him and saw the same kind smile. He went over to the three defeated men, checked his bag, took out a checkbook, filled out one for 100,000, tore it off, and handed it to Mountain Cat, saying sincerely, “Brother Cat, no matter what you do, you need to follow the rules. As per the rules, I’ll pay the 20,000 for this month now, and you can use the rest to get treated.” The middle-aged man nodded in approval at Xiao Ran’s actions. Even Wei Dongling thought Xiao Ran was trying to win their hearts by showing generosity after punishing them. Only Liang Kun still looked puzzled. In his opinion, since the boss had already taught these guys a lesson, there was no need to be so polite to them. With such a skilled person in charge, even Lian Shengying wouldn’t dare say anything, even if they refused to pay protection money.

The mountain cat and the scarred man showed complex and unreadable expressions. After hesitating for a moment, they still took the check, supported his arm, and left. Xiao Ran watched the three of them leave before turning to look at the mysterious man. He really had no idea who this guy was. A middle-aged man with combat skills that even ten young people didn’t possess—Xiao Ran definitely didn’t think he recognized this person and had forgotten about him.

“Let’s talk outside; it’s too chaotic in here!” the middle-aged man suggested. Naturally, Xiao Ran had no reason to object, so he nodded in agreement. Before leaving, Wei Dongling gave Xiao Ran a subtle signal, telling him to get information about this man at all costs. Xiao Ran nodded in understanding; it was something he was very curious about as well.

The two went to a tea restaurant downstairs. Xiao Ran, who wasn’t paying any attention to eating or drinking, sat down, ordered a drink, and immediately asked, “Who are you? Why help me?”

“Me?” The middle-aged man smiled casually, quite amusingly. “I’m actually curious—how did you offend these gangsters? Otherwise, they wouldn’t have targeted you.”

Seeing that the middle-aged man seemed determined not to reveal anything unless spoken to, Xiao Ran helplessly suppressed his curiosity and repeated the situation. The middle-aged man suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly. “I see. But didn’t you almost get involved in the gang world before? And one of your close friends is currently in Stanley—surely he’s not being extorted!”

“Huh? How do you know about Ah Biao?” Xiao Ran was even more surprised this time, utterly stunned. This guy even knew about Ah Biao in prison—definitely not ordinary. Not only ordinary, but utterly absurd. Unless this guy had been watching him the whole time, there was no way he could know so much.