The car crawled to a stop before a French-style restaurant. Nine figures disembarked, save for Long Wu, who remained seated.

Yang Yi glanced at the foreign establishment, a cold, unreadable smirk touching his lips. While China's economy still lagged behind this nation, the current holder of the world's most valuable currency and the highest cost of living—Britain, second only to the United States economically.

In the twentieth century, Britain's development had been astonishingly rapid. If not for the machinations of Country R and other powers, China would not be in its current state. Yet, it could not be denied that the descendants of China were remarkably industrious in modern times; indeed, China had already ascended to become one of the world's foremost nations. Yang Yi steadfastly believed that the great dragon of China would one day truly awaken.

“Brother Long Lord, what is it?” Feng Jiu, standing beside him, noticed Yang Yi staring blankly at the entrance of the French restaurant and inquired cautiously.

“Heh, nothing at all!” Yang Yi offered a faint smile, his intense gaze entirely veiled beneath his eyelids. “Let’s go in.”

“Yes!” The group responded in unison and followed Yang Yi inside.

The French restaurant, as its name implied, was characterized by décor imported from France—from the attire to the cuisine, even the staff wore French styles; only then could it truly be called a French establishment. But as Yang Yi stepped inside, his internal scorn intensified: though branded French, the service was imbued with uniquely British etiquette.

Undoubtedly, from the perspective of a business expert, this restaurant barely passed muster. Due to the small size of the tables, the nine individuals had to separate into different seating arrangements. It was then that Yang Yi’s expression tightened. He directed his voice toward the empty air beside him and softly called out, “The six of you can come out now. Let’s eat together.”

“Yes!” The air shimmered, and six figures materialized out of thin air. Ten Junjiang and the others at the adjacent table registered a flicker of surprise on their faces, but in moments, they seemed to grasp the situation and remained silent.

When the waiter arrived with the menus, he merely paused briefly at the sudden appearance of several more people, asking nothing. Yang Yi immediately ordered several dishes and then proceeded to quietly sip his plain boiled water. It was worth noting that here, in a foreign land, there was no sign of tea; it was either boiled water or champagne and wine.

Britain was most famous for its ale, so since Yang Yi and his group had matters to attend to later, they had no choice but to opt for simple boiled water. Since sitting down, Yang Yi, who had maintained a somber expression, seemed lost in thought, his eyes constantly alight with a profound, meaningful glint.

“Long Lord, if the Lecce family proceeds exactly according to your plan now, there shouldn’t be any further issues, right?” Long Yi spoke, yet no matter how hard he tried to mask his confusion, Yang Yi perceived it immediately.

The fellow who often favored obscurity curled his lips slightly. “Kid, if you have a question, just ask it directly. Why beat around the bush?”

“Uh!” Long Yi was taken aback at being called ‘kid.’ His face flushed with embarrassment as he pouted slightly. Though Long Yi was twenty-eight, several years Yang Yi’s senior, in Yang Yi’s presence, Long Yi truly felt like a mere boy. In terms of strategy, schemes, and even the scope of their operations, they were clearly not on the same level, which naturally left him feeling sheepish.

“Truthfully, what I aim to do is simply use the Lecce family to probe the strength of the Mafia. There’s no other special reason. And don’t forget, the Mafia has the backing of a British royal noble house in London,” Yang Yi stated calmly.

“Indeed, that is so,” Long Yi nodded, finally gaining some clarity, though moments later he asked with renewed confusion, “But Long Lord, you station the Black God Guard on the periphery of the Lecce estate and demand intelligence on the Crying Blood Assassin Guild—surely you don’t intend to…?”

“Yes, that is precisely what I intend to do.” Yang Yi cut Long Yi off before he could finish the question. “The Crying Blood Assassin Guild has likely received news of their assassins’ demise by now. They will be thrown into chaos, and that chaos will present an opportunity for the Mafia.”

“Long Lord, are you suggesting that when the Mafia moves against the Crying Blood Assassin Guild, we should step in and replace them?”

“I had no intention of engaging the Mafia right now. With our current strength, we are no match for them. Furthermore, if we were to clash with the Mafia at this juncture, there would be only one outcome for us: annihilation!” Yang Yi’s eyes darkened. “The only reason I have the Black God Guard stationed around the Lecce estate is because once the Mafia exploits the Crying Blood Assassin Guild, they will inevitably strike at the Lecce family!”

“Could it be that they know you, Long Lord, are with the Lecce family?” Long Yi was genuinely astonished; he hadn't considered the complexities involved.

“Yes, that cannot be hidden. And even if they didn't receive direct confirmation, the Mafia would find a way to let them know, since they are the ones who posted the bounty,” Yang Yi curled his lip, took a sip of water, and added.

“But I still don’t understand, Long Lord, what is your plan?” Long Yi frowned and inquired.

“In ages past, the Son of Heaven’s sword decreed absolute authority. Now, I will use a stratagem of hidden advancement to sweep away the Crying Blood Assassin Guild!” Yang Yi declared, his eyes sharp, filled with vibrant ambition.

“Does this mean, Long Lord, you plan to…”

“En!” Yang Yi responded with a single affirmation, then fell silent. Just then, a figure entered from the outside—there was no need to guess; it was Long Wu, holding a file and hurrying toward Yang Yi.

“Long Lord, the intelligence on the Crying Blood Assassin Guild is ready,” Long Wu approached Yang Yi and handed him the folder.

Yang Yi nodded, took the file. “You sit down too. Eat first.”

“Yes!” Long Wu acknowledged and withdrew.

Yang Yi opened the file and began flipping through it, his brow furrowed tightly. The Crying Blood Assassin Guild was currently managed by the Chinese national, Xu Ling, overseeing a syndicate of assassins whose ranks reached the Yellow Grade Grandmaster level—placing their strength on par with other world-class assassin organizations. After reviewing the materials for about three minutes, Yang Yi’s expression suddenly became inscrutable.

“So, those six Yellow Grade Grandmasters were their final trump cards. It seems the Crying Blood Assassin Guild is truly in disarray this time,” Yang Yi mused internally, setting the file down without speaking, calmly picking up food with his chopsticks.

#################################

“Father!!!” At this moment, Xu Bin burst in from outside, his face etched with worry.

“What is it?” Xu Ling turned quickly upon hearing his son’s shout and urgently asked, “Is there any news?”

“Yes…” A look of unease flashed across Xu Bin’s face as he continued, “Our very last team has also failed.”

“What?” Xu Ling jolted upon hearing this, his eyes wide as he demanded, “What is going on? Even if that person is a Grandmaster-level expert, we sent six of our own against him!”

“That’s not the issue. If our six Yellow Grade Grandmasters had cornered him, we could have easily eliminated him, but…” The intelligence Xu Bin had gathered from his subordinates made the situation clear: the opponent had seven people and managed to defeat their six, and those opponents didn't seem significantly weaker than their own group.

“You mean…?” Xu Ling asked, his face filled with disbelief.

“Yes, the power he commands might be beyond our ability to handle.”

“Sigh!” Xu Ling sighed quietly. “It seems we’ve taken on a contract we shouldn't have…”

“He is from the underworld, and from the Black God Gang at that. Regret now is pointless. Father, in my opinion, shouldn’t we try to communicate with that mysterious individual who offered the astronomical price?” Xu Bin felt it was unlikely but clung to a sliver of hope, given the extreme danger of their current situation.

Just as Xu Ling was about to reply, a middle-aged man walked in from the doorway, seemingly intent on adding fuel to the fire of their turmoil. “Master, we’ve received new intelligence…”

“What news?” Xu Ling frowned and asked.

“The Black God Gang’s Long Lord has appeared near the Lecce estate, and it’s been confirmed that he seems to have a very close relationship with the Lecce family!” the middle-aged man reported.

“What?” Xu Ling suddenly roared, taking a deep breath as if to suppress his churning emotions. Until he understood the entire situation, he felt he had to restrain his rising anxiety. “What is his objective?”

“It appears to be due to the internal power structure collapsing within the Lecce family,” the middle-aged man replied.

“Lecce family rebellion?” Xu Bin frowned beside him and turned to Xu Ling, “Father, do you think this presents an opportunity?”

“No, no, absolutely not,” Xu Ling immediately rejected the idea. He didn't know why, but a long-unfelt sense of turmoil surged within him, a sudden feeling that left him deeply unsettled.