"Of course, provided you don't try any mischief against me." Seeing Yang Yi's hearty laughter, Xuanyuan Bing immediately regretted the condition she had just laid out.

"Heh heh, is that so?" Yang Yi smiled enigmatically. The fact that she could propose such a condition meant that his own objective was now firmly in sight, though he still had some reservations about how to handle her situation.

As if sensing Yang Yi's unspoken question, Xuanyuan Bing stated, "Naturally, this arrangement can last until the Shangguan family completely withdraws its commercial influence from Shanghai! However, pretending to be my boyfriend isn't an easy task. Do you think you can manage it?"

"It's true that the four families might all become my enemies; I'm certainly aware of that. Which means," Yang Yi looked at the momentary shock on Xuanyuan Bing's face, wondering if he shouldn't secretly be laughing, "I also have a condition."

"What condition?" Xuanyuan Bing asked doubtfully.

"I need the Xuanyuan family to serve as my reserve force. You can, of course, discuss this with your father," Yang Yi said. This statement, he had to admit, carried the perfect amount of leverage. After all, he knew perfectly well that the primary reason Xuanyuan Bing sought him out for this pretense was to evade the proposed marriage alliance with the Shangguan family, and she needed to use the existence of a boyfriend to pressure the Xuanyuan patriarch.

"Can I interpret that as me having absolutely no say within the Xuanyuan family?" Xuanyuan Bing's lips curled into a wry smile.

"Heh heh, I didn't mean it that way. If you choose to interpret it like that, there's nothing I can do!" Yang Yi currently had Xuanyuan Bing completely cornered. In their current predicament, they truly had no other viable option besides this arrangement.

"Fine, I agree to your condition, as long as it doesn't result in catastrophic losses for my Xuanyuan family," Xuanyuan Bing conceded.

"Excellent! It's a deal!" Hearing this, Yang Yi was overjoyed. In truth, he hadn't planned on deploying any actual force from the Xuanyuan family.

Strictly speaking, Yang Yi merely intended to leverage the Xuanyuan family's alignment with him to comprehensively pressure the Shangguan family's commercial interests in Shanghai. He hadn't factored the other three families' movements into his immediate plans; he preferred to handle conflicts as they arose, employing a strategy of 'meet soldiers with generals, meet water with earth.' For now, securing the Black God Gang's complete foothold in Shanghai was a significant enough victory. Thus, hearing Xuanyuan Bing agree to his terms made him more than satisfied.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ye Xiaohou and Fatty Lin sat in the villa with grim expressions. They weren't alone in their sobriety; Feng Shi and Long Yi shared the same mood, only with an added layer of palpable killing intent.

"The Shangguan family has already made a move. They truly can't stand the pressure," Ye Xiaohou stated, his face heavy with concern.

"We can't exactly blame them. We currently hold seventy percent of Shanghai's economic lifeline, and following the upheaval with the Nakagawa Group, the Shangguan family has suffered significant losses recently," Fatty Lin mused thoughtfully.

"Sigh, why isn't the Boss back yet?" Ye Xiaohou sighed listlessly.

"What, are you overwhelmed by just one counterattack? If the several major families launched a pincer attack, would you all flee in disarray?" A familiar voice cut through the air from the doorway. The speaker was none other than Yang Yi. Earlier that afternoon, he had received a call from Feng Shi reporting the Shangguan family's initial retaliation, suggesting he return to take command of the situation.

"Boss, Brother Yi!" As soon as they saw Yang Yi return, the group called out in unison.

"Heh heh, you lot! It's just a small matter. Why the heavy tension?" Yang Yi shook his head, mocking the somber expressions of Ye Xiaohou, Fatty Lin, and the others.

"Um, Boss, what should we do now? The situation in Shanghai..."

Yang Yi raised a hand, motioning for Ye Xiaohou to remain silent. He then turned to Feng Shi and said, "Yanran, tell me exactly what's happening with the Shangguan family right now."

"Yes, Young Master!" Feng Shi acknowledged, quickly flipping through her prepared documents before speaking. "The Shangguan Enterprise, which falls under the Shangguan family's umbrella, announced this afternoon that it will undergo a comprehensive overhaul of Shanghai's economy, declaring an all-out offensive against our Black God Enterprise. This covers stock market trends, development sectors, real estate, and more. They are aggressively suppressing the Black God Enterprise in the stock market specifically."

"What arrogant talk!" Yang Yi couldn't help but sneer upon hearing this.

Since the dismantling of the Nakagawa Group, the Black God Enterprise's commercial momentum in Shanghai had indeed caused massive losses for the Shangguan family. Moreover, influenced by various factors and the Black God Enterprise's continuous suppression of the Shangguan family's peripheral economic assets, this current conflict was, accurately speaking, a localized flare-up ignited entirely by Yang Yi’s actions.

"Has the Shangguan family committed all its economic forces yet?" Yang Yi calmly pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag before asking.

"After issuing that announcement this afternoon, the Shangguan family has only mobilized their economic forces within Shanghai. They have not moved anything else."

"Hmph. A fox remains a fox. He knows the overall situation favors me, yet he insists on one final volley of gunpowder smoke. That old man of the Shangguan family is truly not simple," Yang Yi sneered coldly.

"Boss, should we meet the Shangguan family's attack head-on, or...?" Ye Xiaohou inquired.

"Of course, we meet it head-on. And not just meet it—we must force them to relinquish their economic power in Shanghai in one go," Yang Yi deliberated for a moment, then instructed Feng Shi, "Immediately issue a statement: the Black God Enterprise will launch a full counterattack against the Shangguan family."

"Yes." Feng Shi acknowledged and promptly left.

"Brother Yi, what was that visit from Xuanyuan Bing about today...?"

"Heh heh, nothing much. It just means we'll soon be able to draw a clear line between ourselves and the Eight Great Families," Yang Yi chuckled lightly before heading upstairs.

################################################### Meanwhile, within the Xuanyuan residence, a middle-aged man was reporting several matters to Xuanyuan Hao. Xuanyuan Hao was nodding continuously with an expression of pleasant satisfaction.

"Haha, you did well this time, very well!" Xuanyuan Hao laughed heartily.

"But Patriarch, if the young lady finds out we spread the news that she is linked with the Dragon Lord of the Black God Gang, perhaps...?"

"Relax, it will be fine. Moreover, it was the news you deliberately spread that caused that old dog of the Shangguan family to lose his patience. He already started threatening to strike back against the Black God Gang's enterprises this afternoon. It seems the marriage alliance issue will reach a conclusion now," Xuanyuan Hao commented with a faint smile.

"But Patriarch, I don't understand. Why would the Shangguan family immediately move to suppress the Black God Enterprise after hearing our news, and how does that relate to the marriage alliance, as you mentioned?" the middle-aged man asked, puzzled.

"Heh heh, it's quite simple, really. After the Shangguan family heard that information, given how cunning that old scoundrel Shangguan Qingyun is, no matter how he analyzed it, he would realize the Black God Gang has interfered in our marriage negotiations. From my perspective, I would naturally side with the Black God Gang. Naturally, Shangguan Qingyun cannot swallow that insult, so he will directly target the Black God Gang instead of bothering me," Xuanyuan Hao analyzed.

"I see now. No wonder the Patriarch instructed me to..." The middle-aged man couldn't help but admire Xuanyuan Hao's planning. By doing this, he not only resolved the issue of the Shangguan family becoming troublesome due to the Xuanyuan family's protracted refusal of the alliance but also conveniently shifted all the trouble onto the Black God Gang. It had to be said, the man was cunning indeed.

However, Xuanyuan Hao’s goals extended beyond this. After all, this old man was harboring certain notions regarding Yang Yi; he genuinely felt an urge to have Yang Yi as his son-in-law, not just because of his outstanding business achievements, but because Yang Yi was clearly qualified to inherit everything the Xuanyuan family possessed.

The main reason, perhaps, was that the old man could see his daughter harbored some interest in the Dragon Lord of the Black God Gang. Although she showed nothing outwardly, the intentions of children could never truly be hidden from their parents.

It was at this very moment that Xuanyuan Bing walked in from the doorway. The middle-aged man spotted her arrival and respectfully called out, "Miss!"

"Father, I need to discuss something with you!" Without preamble, Xuanyuan Bing cut straight to the chase.

Xuanyuan Hao blinked in surprise, then waved the middle-aged man away, signaling him to leave. "Bing'er, speak," he said.

"I want you to immediately reject the marriage alliance with the Shangguan family!" Xuanyuan Bing commanded.

"Uh..." Xuanyuan Hao looked at her, puzzled. "Why?"

"Because I have a man now." Xuanyuan Bing spoke without a hint of shyness, stating it plainly.

"Ah... What did you say?" Xuanyuan Hao feigned extreme surprise, though inwardly he was inwardly suppressing a triumphant grin. Whether his daughter was being serious or not, at least his objective had been achieved.

"I said, I already have a man. Therefore, you must reject the Shangguan family marriage alliance!" Xuanyuan Bing's tone was resolute, and there wasn't a shred of artificiality in her expression.

Xuanyuan Hao saw the sincerity in her eyes, yet internally marveled. To make the situation appear less easily resolved, he adopted a look of hesitation.

Seeing this, Xuanyuan Bing declared, "Don't worry. My man said that as long as you terminate the marriage alliance with the Shangguan family immediately, he guarantees that our Xuanyuan family will face no trouble."

"He... your man?" Xuanyuan Hao felt a moment of helplessness; it was true that a daughter who wasn't married off was like water already spilled.

"That's all I have to say." Xuanyuan Bing turned to leave, but just as she reached the doorway, she gave Xuanyuan Hao a smile—the first genuine smile he had seen from her in three years. "My man is the Dragon Lord of the Black God Gang. I'm sure you are already quite familiar with him."

"Damn it! Unbelievable," Xuanyuan Hao felt a sharp jolt internally, yet simultaneously, joy bloomed within him. "The girl is finally smiling, she's finally smiling! The Dragon Lord of the Black God Gang, Yang Yi, you truly have a way about you."