"Hmph—since it's already happened, there's no point dwelling on it now. You can leave," Zhou Hu snorted, speaking to the middle-aged man.

"Yes, yes!" The middle-aged man quickly nodded and replied in a low voice.

Moments after the middle-aged man departed, a figure suddenly materialized eerily within the room. He was wearing a mask and clad in black attire, giving him the appearance of a ninja from Country R.

"It seems you are on the verge of confronting him?" The voice was somewhat spectral, yet if a student from Class One, Grade Three, Senior High in China were present, they would surely feel a jolt of surprise, as the voice sounded strangely familiar.

"What, even at this stage, you still doubt me?" Zhou Hu narrowed his eyes, staring at the ninja sent by the faction with whom he was currently cooperating.

"I didn't mean it that way; I think you're overthinking things," the masked ninja replied.

"I presume you haven't come here today just to discuss that, have you?" Zhou Hu turned around, showing no hint of goodwill toward the man.

A cold glint flashed in the masked ninja's eyes. He knew very well that the man before him simply looked down on him, but to accomplish his mission, he seemed to endure it. "I have already infiltrated. Regarding that person, though I don't know him well yet, I came here to warn you: do not underestimate him lightly!"

"Rest assured, I, Zhou Hu, never underestimate anyone in my dealings," Zhou Hu maintained his aloof demeanor.

"If that is the case... very well. However, I must remind you of one thing: my master has instructed that Gang Leader Zhou not forget the agreement between us. Otherwise, you should be quite clear on the consequences." With that, the ninja vanished from the room as mysteriously as he arrived.

"Smack!" Zhou Hu slammed his hand heavily onto the desk, followed by a sharp "crack"—one corner of the desk seemed to completely shatter under the force, declared ruined.

"Damn these Country R people! If it weren't for my son, they wouldn't be acting so arrogantly with me."

It turned out that Zhou Hu was collaborating with the people from Country R entirely because of his son. His son, studying abroad, had been seized by the Country R group using despicable means, and they were using him to coerce Zhou Hu into cooperation. As for their ultimate objective, it remained, it seemed, obscure for now.

Just then, there was a sudden knock at the door—"Thump—thump!"

"Come in!" Zhou Hu took a deep breath and called out.

"Gang Leader!" An elderly man entered, holding a file.

"How is the matter progressing?" Zhou Hu inquired.

The old man approached him, handed over the file, and stated, "This matter is indeed connected to the Black God Gang, and deeply so."

"Oh?" Zhou Hu took the file and began to read it slowly.

As for why this elder didn't fear Zhou Hu, the reason was simple: he was the Vice-Leader of this underworld society, named Zhao Qing.

"The Black God Gang is certainly a troublesome faction. In just a few months, they have managed to control the lifeline of City A," Zhao Qing remarked calmly.

"I see, I see. No wonder the Laisai Family has turned against us—it's because of them!" Zhou Hu exclaimed with sudden understanding.

"Yes, I also heard that the Laisai Family unconditionally accepted the demands made by the Black God Gang. There must be some secret behind this!" Zhao Qing said with a solemn expression; his slightly graying hair made his entire demeanor appear somewhat strange.

"That's for certain. If the Black God Gang didn't have something the Laisai Family desired, they wouldn't easily cooperate with them!"

"Indeed. Now the Black God Gang is aggressively recruiting and constantly expanding its strength. Do you think we should launch a decisive strike before they become truly formidable?" Zhao Qing suggested, appearing to have grasped all details concerning the Black God Gang.

"Yes, proceed as you suggest. After all, we don't have much time left. Alas—!" Zhou Hu suddenly sighed.

Zhao Qing, standing nearby, glanced at him, knowing what worried him—his son. "Old Zhou, have they pressured you again to act quickly?"

"Mmm. It seems we have no choice but to eliminate the Black God Gang first, and then we can make our move," Zhou Hu said, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Very well, I'll go prepare. Time is critical for us. Should I gather some key members for a discussion?" Zhao Qing asked.

"A discussion would be wise. After all, the Black God Gang cannot be underestimated; they might turn out to be a tough nut to crack!" Zhou Hu looked visibly relieved, his heavy expression instantly easing.

In truth, his heart was consumed by worry for his son. And it must be said, having Zhao Qing by his side had greatly assisted him, saving him much anxiety. The two men had started out together, brothers who had once lived the harsh life of wielding broadswords.

"Don't worry—I believe they won't harm your son yet. Try not to worry too much," Zhao Qing didn't know how else to comfort him, as he himself felt uncertain.

The people from Country R stopped at nothing to achieve their goals. What exactly they might do now was hard to say...

Meanwhile, in City A.

Yang Yi was in class at school, yet his mind seemed preoccupied with other matters, making it appear as if he wasn't attending the lecture at all, constantly zoning out.

"If my instincts are correct, the underworld organization will make their move these next few days. Fortunately, I was prepared for it. Ah, the life of the underworld is truly difficult!" he sighed inwardly, glancing at Teacher Murong drawing characters on the blackboard, a strange, eerie light flickering in his eyes. "I need to see how long you can keep up the pretense. If you want to play games, I'll play with you."

"Jingle!" The bell for the end of class rang.

As usual, they headed to the cafeteria, but just then, a rather trendy MP3 tune began to play—a song called "Kung Fu Fighting" (Chinese Kung Fu). Yang Yi had recorded it as his phone ringtone after accidentally hearing it once before.

"Boss, your phone!" Xu Ming, walking beside Yang Yi, called out curiously. He sensed that Yang Yi had been distracted all day, unlike his usual self.

"Ah—oh!" Yang Yi pulled out his phone, pressed the answer key, and said, "Hello—!"

"Young Master..." Feng Shi's voice came through the receiver.

Yang Yi's expression immediately changed, and he suddenly spoke into the phone, "Good—come pick me up at school right now!"

Xu Ming, Ye Xiaohou, and Fatty Lin beside him looked at him in confusion, unable to help but ask, "Brother Yi, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Mmm, nothing major. You three go eat first; I need to head back to headquarters," Yang Yi said.

"Boss, let us go with you," Xu Ming quickly offered when he saw Yang Yi intending to slip away alone.

Yang Yi looked at the three of them, said nothing, but just nodded.

In less than five minutes, Feng Shi arrived at the school gate driving Yang Yi's car. The four of them piled into the vehicle.

"Boss, what exactly happened?" Ye Xiaohou asked, seeing Yang Yi's icy expression.

"You'll know soon enough. Don't say anything now; let's get to headquarters first," Yang Yi said with a stern face, inwardly lamenting his carelessness—how could he not have realized? Thankfully, he discovered it in time.

In no time, Feng Shi was driving recklessly, clearly speeding. Yang Yi and the others, accustomed to her spirited driving, weren't particularly shocked.

"Dragon Master!" Han Zhong called out as soon as Feng Shi brought Yang Yi and the others in.

"What is going on?" Yang Yi asked, his face still cold, as he walked towards his office desk.

"It's actually just this..." Han Zhong slowly recounted the entire sequence of events to Yang Yi.

Xu Ming and the others, who had been completely in the dark moments before, all had drastically changed expressions, finally understanding why Yang Yi had suddenly turned cold.

Indeed, in any gang or team, the most taboo thing was the presence of spies; this was the greatest of all transgressions.

The whole affair wasn't complicated: two new employees at the Black God Gang's entertainment headquarters were spies, and they had planted a document highly detrimental to the Black God Gang there. Fortunately, it was discovered in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been severe.

"Where are those two people?" Yang Yi asked coldly.

"They are being guarded outside by the Black Guard members," Han Zhong replied.

"Bring them in to me."

"Yes!"

"Boss, could those two have been directed by someone?" Xu Ming asked, frowning.

"Yes, I think it's a hundred percent certain. Otherwise, why would they sneakily place unfavorable material at the entertainment headquarters?" Ye Xiaohou stated with conviction.

Yang Yi said nothing, sitting in his chair with a cold expression. "Where is Yanran's document?"