Zhou Hu and the driver, Li Bo, led by Feng Shi, arrived at a private room. Before they could utter a word, Feng Shi spoke first, "Please wait here a moment; my young master will be with you shortly."

Zhou Hu nodded, a flicker of surprise in his heart. He had clearly heard the term 'young master,' leading him to suspect the head of the Black God Gang might be a youth.

The intelligence file on the Black God Gang's leader was notably vague—in short, it revealed nothing substantial beyond preliminary data. A figure whom the underworld's intelligence network couldn't trace was surely no ordinary person, a fact that already suggested Zhou Hu's purpose here that day would be quite interesting.

"Sir, this Black God Gang is truly bizarre," driver Li Bo murmured, appearing deeply shaken. "Even the doorman was unfathomable, let alone that little girl from earlier!"

"Indeed—the Black God Gang is strange," Zhou Hu mused after a pause. "Consider this: even our intelligence network cannot ascertain the identity of their leader!"

No sooner had their words faded than the door to the private room slid open.

Yang Yi, Han Zhong, and Feng Shi all walked in. Upon seeing Zhou Hu, a strange, almost predatory gleam flashed in Yang Yi's eyes as he inwardly thought, The real person is far more substantial than their photograph.

"Gentlemen, may I ask the reason for your visit?" Yang Yi asked with a casual smile, seating himself directly, showing no trace of artifice.

Zhou Hu observed this and felt a chill deep in his core. His first impression of this youth was danger; his second was that the surface and the interior were entirely different people. Yet, Zhou Hu was clearly formidable himself, discerning so much from a first encounter. However, what the driver Li Bo said next nearly made Zhou Hu want to strangle him.

"You are the leader of the Black God Gang?" Li Bo asked, his gaze leveled at Yang Yi with a distinct hint of doubt.

"What do you mean by that?" Feng Shi’s voice suddenly turned cold, her eyes piercing Li Bo.

"This—ha! My apologies! My subordinate was out of line," Zhou Hu, a veteran of the underworld, quickly rose and offered a polite apology.

Yang Yi understood the situation and waved a hand, signaling Feng Shi to step back. He smiled faintly and said, "It's nothing, just a minor issue. But I wonder what brings the two of you to visit so late at night?"

Zhou Hu hesitated, then sat down before speaking. "I believe you should already be aware of my identity."

"Zhou Hu, the head of the Dark Society, Mr. Zhou. If I didn't know that, I'd have a hard time surviving in this line of work," Yang Yi replied, a sharp curve forming on his lips.

"The leader of the Black God Gang—no, to be precise, the Dragon Lord. I was privileged enough to hear of that name twenty years ago," Zhou Hu suddenly stated with surprising composure.

"Oh?" Yang Yi couldn't help but show a moment of surprise. Given Zhou Hu's age and when he entered the scene, hearing about the Black God Gang from twenty years ago wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. Smiling naturally, he turned to Han Zhong. "Guests have arrived; we mustn't be discourteous."

"Yes, Dragon Lord!" Han Zhong replied. He immediately understood Yang Yi's meaning and hurried out to order drinks and appetizers.

"Heh heh, it is a great honor to be a guest of the Black God Gang," Zhou Hu chuckled, fully aware of Yang Yi's subtle shift in tone.

They were strangers moments ago; now they were guests. This was clearly a concession, acknowledging that Zhou Hu hadn't stated his purpose yet. It was understandable, and being treated as the guest of the Black God Gang's Dragon Lord was certainly no disgrace.

A short while later, a waiter entered carrying a bottle of expensive red wine and several cold dishes. After setting them down, he departed. Feng Shi also understood Yang Yi's instruction not to slight their guests; even though the man was currently an adversary, he was his young master's guest, so she lowered her stance and poured a glass of red wine for everyone present.

Yang Yi accepted the wine from Feng Shi, took a sip, and then spoke, "Now, perhaps it's time to discuss the real reason behind Chief Zhou's visit tonight?"

"If I told you my purpose in visiting on the eve of a planned engagement between our two factions was simply to meet you, would that count as a purpose?" Zhou Hu retorted, unceremoniously taking a gulp of his wine.

"If Chief Zhou believes walking into the lion's den is a worthy objective, then I have no objection," Yang Yi replied with a faint smile.

Zhou Hu instinctively glanced at Feng Shi and Han Zhong—a movement clearly calculated for Yang Yi's benefit. Yang Yi immediately caught the signal. "Don't mind them. Chief Zhou, please feel free to speak your mind without restraint."

Zhou Hu seemed to brace himself. His expression tightened before he spoke, "Very well. Since I am here, I will state my purpose. I only hope you can lend me a hand!"

"Lend you a hand?" Yang Yi frowned, wondering what complex scheme was brewing beneath the surface. "Then please, Chief Zhou, be direct."

"I wish to merge the Dark Society into your Black God Gang. Does the Dragon Lord dare to accept?" Zhou Hu took a deep breath, staring intently at Yang Yi.

"Merge??" Yang Yi was inwardly stunned. Zhou Hu sought him out tonight, right before a planned battle, to propose a merger? He was deeply perplexed.

"There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. You must have another objective, surely?"

"Yes, in fact... sigh..." Zhou Hu sighed heavily as he spoke, his entire demeanor seeming to age instantly, his eyes flashing with resentment.

Meanwhile, back at the Dark Society headquarters in Jiangsu, Zhao Qing was visibly growing impatient.

"What are you lot good for? You can't even find the Chief! At this hour, where else could he have gone?"

"We beg your pardon, Deputy Chief!" A crowd of burly men in black bowed repeatedly before Zhao Qing, admitting their fault.

Zhao Qing fell into thought for a moment. "Where could he be? I clearly saw him leave the vicinity of the Black Lord's place; he should be here. What in the world is happening?" He silently pondered, then looked at the men before him. "How are the preparations coming along? Have the essential personnel been gathered?"

"Reporting to the Deputy Chief, even with our fastest assembly plan, we’ve only managed to gather the central figures here. Furthermore, they won't mobilize without the Chief’s direct order. What are your instructions?"

"What instructions?" Zhao Qing’s expression turned cold. He knew well that although he was the Deputy Chief of the Dark Society, his authority fell far short of Zhou Hu’s. Zhou Hu could command the entire organization; Zhao Qing could barely manage lower-tier thugs. He genuinely didn't know what to do.

"You all leave for now. Inform me immediately if there is any development."

"Yes, Deputy Chief!" The black-clad men acknowledged and filed out.

Zhao Qing remained, his face deeply shadowed, muttering to himself, "Did he go somewhere... unusual?"

Returning to the private room at the Black God Gang headquarters in City A, Yang Yi now seemed to have grasped the essence of Zhou Hu's purpose for the evening.

"That is the general situation. Of course, if you are willing to help me, I can immediately hand over the entirety of the Dark Society," Zhou Hu stated calmly.

Sometimes, events unfolded entirely unexpectedly, as with Zhou Hu. War was imminent, yet he chose this moment to meet Yang Yi and negotiate terms.

Yang Yi inwardly sneered. He never imagined that Zhou Hu’s Dark Society, which appeared so mighty, was riddled with internal division and infiltrated by so many spies. Most infuriatingly, in all of China, a major gang was actually under the control of the Japanese? It was laughable—no, profoundly ridiculous.

Taking a sip of red wine, Yang Yi paused for thought before speaking, "I can agree to your terms, but why trust me so completely? Aren't you afraid your son might actually be dead?"

"Alas—I am already old. I don't ask for much; I only need formal confirmation that my son is still alive. If he is gone, what use is my lingering presence in the Dark Society?" A look of profound sorrow crossed Zhou Hu's eyes. In truth, he already suspected his son was dead and that the person he recently met was an imposter. However, unwilling to accept it, he intended to leverage the combined strength of the Black God Gang and the Dark Society to fight back against the detestable Japanese Black Dragon Society.

"I understand what you mean, but..." Yang Yi still showed hesitation. He wasn't a fool; such a windfall didn't materialize from thin air.

Before he could finish, Zhou Hu cut him off. "Naturally, as soon as you agree to my terms, I will immediately transfer the Dark Society to you, and then you help me."

"Very well... I agree. But you understand, I know little about the Japanese Black Dragon Society. Therefore, I need the Dark Society's strength transferred under the Black God Gang as swiftly as possible. And to be frank, you will need to handle the transitional diplomacy," Yang Yi said, seemingly having reached a certainty.

Zhou Hu brightened instantly, his face filling with a sudden smile. He raised his wine glass toward Yang Yi. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!"