Given the current situation, there was simply no way to confirm whether Yang Yi's assumptions were true, nor could these related matters be entirely dismissed, as all things in the world are unpredictable and variables constantly arise.

The Dragon Gang, upon learning of the incidents at the Century Casino and the dozen or so smaller gambling houses, immediately heightened their alert. Macau is neither vast nor insignificant, and the underworld factions operating within the Dragon Gang's sphere of influence were all on guard, fearing the sudden appearance of a hostile force ready for battle.

Following arrangements made by the professional beauty, the core forces of the Dragon Gang in Macau swiftly converged, forming a protective cordon. This protective circle, naturally, encircled the Dragon Gang headquarters. In Macau, aside from a few casinos owned by ordinary people, the rest were assets of the Dragon Gang, though few remained now.

While they had indeed lost considerable influence in terms of business assets, the Dragon Gang remained one of the two dominant underworld forces in the South. Their true strength had not yet been fully revealed. What Yang Yi had managed to seize was merely a fraction of the Dragon Gang's holdings. To put it accurately, this was only the beginning of a formal provocation against the Dragon Gang—no, more precisely, against the entire South—and they had not yet launched a full-scale assault.

"Young Master Long!"

"How is it? Did you find anything out?" Long Tian approached the professional beauty, noticing the sweat beading on her forehead, and affectionately wiped it away. He said gently, "It's alright, speak slowly, don't rush. Come!"

"En!" The professional beauty took a deep breath and, with Long Tian supporting her arm, sat down on the sofa. She spoke, "Young Master Long, we've identified the people behind this."

"Who are they? Are they connected to the North?" Long Tian immediately asked upon hearing this.

Noticing that Long Tian's apprehension lay with the Northern forces rather than the Black God Gang, the professional beauty asked with curiosity, "Young Master Long, why do you seem so concerned about the North's movements?"

"Didn't I mention it before? If the North gets involved in this matter, then..." Long Tian left his sentence unfinished, merely giving the professional beauty a pointed hint.

Indeed, it wasn't just Long Tian who was wary; even the Green Gang was watching the North covetously. Only that fellow Yang Yi seemed relaxed, although he was already making plans internally, he showed no overt action toward the North.

"This matter isn't related to the North, however, Young Master Long, I must warn you. That Black God Gang Dragon Lord is truly..." Deep down, the professional beauty had developed a profound fear of Yang Yi. Now, whenever his name was mentioned, the image of that young man would flash through her mind, bringing with her a sense of crushing pressure.

This pressure, she didn't understand why it surfaced every time, leaving her feeling utterly powerless. In truth, anyone whose mind had been probed by the Mind Reading technique was akin to a patient whose nervous system had been attacked. While the professional beauty hadn't yet descended into madness, under her current circumstances, it wasn't far off.

"Hmm?"

"Yes, this incident was entirely orchestrated by the Black God Gang Dragon Lord. He used a contingent of people who circled around several times from other locations before arriving here. While we were unable to ascertain their background, they used incredible speed to seize control of almost all the casinos we currently operate in Macau."

"Haha! Haha!" Long Tian suddenly erupted in laughter for no apparent reason.

Yet, within that laughter, one could detect a chilling sarcasm.

Chilling? Where was the chill? Undoubtedly, it was directed at Yang Yi's circuitous route designed to obscure his intentions.

Sarcastic? Where was the irony? If you encountered someone whose strategies and intellect surpassed your own, wouldn't you feel a sense of irony?

Of course, this might not apply to everyone, but Long Tian was precisely such a person.

"Young Master Long, what should we do now? I believe a clash between the two factions is only a matter of moments away."

"What else can we do? From the moment the Black God Gang Dragon Lord dared to pull a stunt like this—no, to be precise, from the moment we sent men to Hong Kong—it signified that my Dragon Gang and his Black God Gang are irreconcilably opposed. And this time, he used a slight trick to make off with my most valuable casinos. What do you expect us to do?" Long Tian stated coldly.

"Then I shall go out and make arrangements!" The professional beauty understood that, regardless of the current situation, Long Tian's attitude made a full-blown war between the two gangs a one-hundred-percent certainty.

"No hurry. Today is New Year's Eve, the night before the Lunar New Year. There is a grand New Year's Eve Gala at the Macau World Capital Hotel. Send someone to deliver an invitation to the Black God Gang Dragon Lord, telling him that Long Tian wishes to make his acquaintance properly tonight and share a drink!" Long Tian said, a strange smile playing on his lips.

"Young Master Long, this might not be appropriate..."

"Don't worry, nothing untoward will happen tonight." Long Tian waved his hand, seemingly unwilling to hear further objections from the professional beauty, and continued, "After arranging that, immediately summon the Thirteen Fiends of Shang Palace and the Eighty-Six Dragon Scale Riders—all Dragon Gang personnel within vicinity of Macau must report here by tomorrow morning!"

"Yes." The professional beauty acknowledged and headed out the door.

And so, in the blink of an eye, the afternoon arrived.

Yang Yi seemed somewhat intoxicated, sitting in his hotel room with the music blasting—the Latin Trilogy playing loudly. He closed his eyes, his fingers lightly tapping the sofa, a smile across his face, as if completely absorbed in the feeling the music provided.

"Young Master!" Suddenly, Feng Shi entered from the doorway, holding a crimson invitation card.

Yang Yi did not respond, still with his eyes closed, but the tapping of his fingers on the sofa had ceased. Coincidentally, the music also stopped.

"What is it?" Yang Yi asked, slightly puzzled.

"The Dragon Gang sent someone with an invitation, requesting your presence at the Macau New Year's Eve Gala."

"New Year's Eve Gala?" Yang Yi paused at the mention, then accepted the invitation and looked at it.

'To the esteemed Dragon Lord, I am Long Tian, the leader of the Dragon Gang. I cordially invite the Dragon Lord to the Macau World Capital Hotel to attend our New Year's Eve Gala and share a drink.'

With such simple wording, it contained volumes of unspoken meaning. At face value, Yang Yi understood that Long Tian was fully aware of his actions; the matter of the casinos had been exposed. Long Tian inviting him to the Gala could only mean one thing: 'We are opponents, and we shall drink as opponents; on the eve of battle, let us know the way of the other!'

"Heh, I didn't realize Long Tian was quite interesting," Yang Yi chuckled, closing the invitation and sighing, "Yes, another year gone, and tomorrow is the first day of the New Year."

"Indeed, Young Master."

"Yanran, do you think I’ve been too irresponsible? I only requested a semester's leave of absence from school. If the situation in the South isn't resolved, I probably won't make it back to school this semester." Yang Yi suddenly brought up school, causing Feng Shi to be momentarily stunned.

"Young Master, are you going to the New Year's Eve Gala tonight?"

"Go, why wouldn't I?"

"But this Gala..."

"Don't worry, nothing special will happen tonight. Instead, tomorrow is very likely the period when we clash with the Dragon Gang." Yang Yi said, standing up. "This is good too; we've been here for almost two weeks. It's time to get down to some serious work."

"Then, Young Master, should we summon our people as well?"

"En, how many people do we have now?" Yang Yi mused.

"From Hainan, we have one thousand Black God Guards and seventy-two Earth Fiends. As for those here, due to later arrivals, we now have no less than four thousand people, including the thirty-six Heavenly Spirits!"

"Good, over four thousand people, that's enough!"

"Young Master, shouldn't we call for more people? The later arrivals are mostly high-ranking gang members; their combat strength isn't that high," Feng Shi inquired.

"Hmm?" Yang Yi frowned. He had almost forgotten that point thanks to Feng Shi's reminder. "Alright, have Feng Shi call Uncle Han and instruct him to mobilize ten thousand people. Divide seven thousand of them into seven groups and have them wait along the border between the South and the North, ensuring they remain hidden."

"The North?"

"En, some things are best arranged in advance; whether I arrange them now or later, the development of events doesn't allow for much deliberation. And by doing this now, I gain an extra layer of security."

"Yes, I understand."

"Go... and while you're at it, have Bing'er and Fatty come in," Yang Yi said with a smile.

"En!" Feng Shi walked toward the door. A moment later, Lin Fatty and Xuanyuan Bing arrived.

"Brother Yi, you were looking for us?" Lin Fatty asked.

"Yes. You and Bing'er go change your clothes. We have an evening meeting to attend tonight."

"Evening meeting?" Lin Fatty and Xuanyuan Bing both looked at Yang Yi with confusion.

The latter smiled faintly, "This invitation comes from the Dragon Gang. Hurry up and change!"

"Uh! Got it."

The New Year's Eve Gala, as the name suggests, is the party on the night of the thirtieth of the lunar month—the final day of the year, the most meaningful night counting down to the New Year.

The Macau World Capital Hotel—this hotel is the largest, most luxurious, and most expensive in all of Macau.

Only the elite and influential, those who possess both wealth and prestige, are able to attend this gathering, which speaks volumes about the caliber of the hotel itself.