RMM -Chapter 175 A Windfall Without Lifting a Finger

Xi Yuechen had known all along that Yanmen would never easily compromise. Having suffered such a huge loss and now facing such a perfect opportunity to swallow up the Zhao family, how could they possibly be willing to give it up?

Unless… Yanmen had obtained benefits of equal value while “compromising.”

Sure enough, Liu Qi soon spoke again, his tone dark and vicious.
“Those old foxes really planned it well. Once they joined forces, Yanmen had no choice—whether we wanted to compromise or not, we had to swallow this loss. The Zhao family still hasn’t made any move; they’re probably watching things closely too. Dream on! Yanmen was almost destroyed at their hands. No matter what, we’re going to take it all back—principal and interest included.”

“When those old foxes came to lobby us again, Big Brother said this was originally a private matter between Yanmen and the Zhao family, and it shouldn’t have troubled so many people. By rights, Yanmen had to seek justice no matter what—otherwise we’d become a laughingstock. Who would’ve thought that everyone would be so united in demanding Yanmen give up? For everyone’s sake, it wasn’t impossible to agree, but there’d be no way to explain it to the brothers below—or to the brothers who lost their lives. I really didn’t dare make that decision alone.”

As Liu Qi spoke, he glanced at Xi Yuechen and saw him listening with keen interest. Amused, Liu Qi shook his head and continued,
“Those people are all shrewd as hell. Once Big Brother put it that way, they immediately understood—compromise was fine, giving up was fine, but Yanmen couldn’t take a loss. The Zhao family had to bleed a little. Naturally, those old foxes all nodded in agreement. After all, it wasn’t their blood being spilled. As long as their own interests weren’t harmed, whether Yanmen and the Zhao family lived or died didn’t matter to them. One by one they bent over backward, promising they’d definitely persuade the Zhao family to give Yanmen an explanation.”

Hearing this, Xi Yuechen couldn’t help laughing.
“This time the Zhao family probably won’t just bleed—they’ll cough up blood. They originally pinned their hopes on those people, but who can you really rely on? In the end, the ball got kicked right back to the Zhao family. They can’t even refuse to catch it.”

“Exactly. But even so, it’s still letting them off too easily,” Liu Qi said, narrowing his eyes, his face filled with unmistakable mockery.
“They launched such a high-profile sneak attack—this ‘explanation’ can’t be half-hearted. Yanmen isn’t the Beggars’ Sect. Do they think tossing us a few benefits will make us grateful and forget everything? Hah—what a dream!”

“That’s why there’s the apology banquet five days from now. We’re going to let everyone see exactly how the Zhao family bows and scrapes before Yanmen. After all these years, what they care about most is their reputation. Giving them an apology banquet hurts them far more than stealing a year’s worth of their business. They’ve always fancied themselves an old aristocratic family—hmph, it’ll be satisfying to disgust them.”

By now, Xi Yuechen understood everything. This so-called apology banquet was something Yanmen had deliberately proposed just to make the Zhao family choke. Just imagine: a powerful family that had dominated the scene for years, now not only having its business and influence snatched away by the upstart Yanmen, but also having to lower its head and admit fault. That was even more nauseating than swallowing a live fly. A truly vicious move.

Once the apology banquet was over, the Zhao family’s status would surely drop a notch. They’d no longer be the boss who could stir up storms in L City.

Thinking about it this way, such a “compromise” no longer felt humiliating at all—it was even more satisfying than directly swallowing up the Zhao family. Didn’t the Zhao family resent Yanmen for taking their business? Fine—this time, let them bleed properly. Didn’t they value their reputation above all else? Fine—this time, strip them of all dignity. Not only would the Zhao family have no room to refuse, they’d even have to smile while Yanmen slapped them in the face.

No wonder Bai Xiong was so happy. This really was something to celebrate. The Zhao family had schemed and calculated every angle, only to end up drawing water with a bamboo basket—and dragging themselves down in the process.

“With conditions like that, the Zhao family agreed so quickly?” Xi Yuechen asked.

By now, he had sorted everything out. Still, he couldn’t just stay silent, so he casually found a topic to continue the conversation.

“What choice did they have but to agree?” Liu Qi said smugly.
“When those old foxes were forcing us, they were incredibly enthusiastic. Now that it’s the Zhao family’s turn, they’re just as relentless. Sure, they protected the Zhao family this time, but that was only because they had no choice. Now, they’re more than happy to watch the Zhao family make a fool of themselves. You have to know, the Zhao family’s arrogance didn’t start just a year or two ago. Besides, they’re not idiots. Yanmen would love nothing more than for them to refuse—then we’d have an even better excuse to wipe them out, and no one would be able to say another word.”

Liu Qi spoke with obvious pride, wearing the expression of a petty villain savoring his success.

Xi Yuechen laughed along, looking as though he were simply mocking the Zhao family together with Liu Qi.

Liu Qi seemed to get carried away, unable to stop talking. He slung an arm over Xi Yuechen’s shoulder and lowered his voice.
“Cheng Yue, do you know how Big Brother plans to really make the Zhao family bleed this time?”

A flicker of darkness passed through Xi Yuechen’s eyes as he lowered his voice as well.
“How?”

Liu Qi let out a long sigh.
“Just thinking about it gets me damn excited! The Zhao family can buy off people inside Yanmen—so can’t Yanmen plant spies in the Zhao family? According to the latest news, the Zhao family just brought in a huge batch of new goods—top-quality stuff you rarely see on the market. No idea where they got so much of it, but that doesn’t matter anymore. Big Brother made it very clear: this entire batch of goods will be taken as compensation. Of course, Yanmen isn’t greedy—if the Zhao family really can’t handle it, Yanmen can even pay half the market price as ‘compensation.’ Heh, heh…”

Tsk. Compensation on top of compensation—only to end with a resounding slap across the Zhao family’s face. Especially that line about paying compensation—it was naked mockery, implying the Zhao family had fallen so low. Given how desperately they clung to appearances, there was no way they’d agree. And so, they could only obediently hand over their best goods to their enemy.

There was no denying it—this time, the Zhao family suffered a catastrophic loss. No matter how they calculated it, they were the only ones losing out. Yanmen, on the other hand, aside from Big Brother being startled and losing a dozen or so bodyguards, had practically struck it rich—like money falling straight from the sky.

When bad luck comes, there’s really no stopping it.

What Liu Qi didn’t know was that his casual revelation had set off a storm inside Xi Yuechen’s heart.

Yanmen using money to take drugs from the Zhao family as “compensation” looked on the surface like nothing more than a vicious trick to toy with them. But dig deeper, and there was far more to it than that.

For Xi Yuechen, this was an opportunity delivered straight to his doorstep.

Yanmen, the Zhao family, and the other factions—all were infamous, steeped in crime. Everyone knew they were illegal criminal organizations, but without concrete evidence, the police couldn’t make arrests. All they could do was watch these parasites roam free, furious yet helpless.

But what if arrests were made during this “transaction” between Yanmen and the Zhao family? With witnesses and physical evidence all present, what excuse would Yanmen or the Zhao family have left?

If they were caught red-handed, what difference was there between this apology banquet and a blatant collusion and drug deal between two major gangs? It was just a matter of wording.

The task force had long prepared everything, waiting for the right moment to act. No one expected the opportunity to arrive so suddenly.

According to Liu Qi, this batch of goods wasn’t just top quality—it was also massive in quantity. With such overwhelming evidence laid out, the crimes of Yanmen and the Zhao family in drug trafficking would be impossible to erase.

Bai Xiong probably never imagined that his spur-of-the-moment desire to humiliate the Zhao family would end up bringing total annihilation upon Yanmen.

Xi Yuechen’s heartbeat suddenly quickened, excitement surging within him. Yes—normally calm and composed, Colonel Xi truly couldn’t remain calm anymore. Things had developed far too dramatically. He’d thought he still had a long road ahead of him. Instead, the opportunity had come looking for him.

It was exactly as the old saying went: You search everywhere without success, and then you find it without any effort at all.

Excited as he was, Xi Yuechen knew he couldn’t show it too openly. Liu Qi was right beside him.

“Big Brother really lives up to his reputation—this is truly satisfying!”

After a moment of silence, Xi Yuechen burst into laughter, though he deliberately kept his voice down. He hadn’t missed Liu Qi’s caution either. After all, this counted as Yanmen’s confidential business—how could it be spread around so casually?

Even though it had already reached the ears of the one person it absolutely shouldn’t have, appearances still had to be maintained.

“Exactly. Just follow Big Brother properly from now on. Don’t harbor any ideas you shouldn’t. There’s a lifetime’s worth of things to learn by staying at his side.”

Liu Qi was clearly pleased with himself, his grin stretched wide, as though he were the one being praised.

Xi Yuechen nodded in agreement. As for the “ideas he shouldn’t harbor,” he knew Liu Qi had only said it casually and didn’t take it to heart.

“When the time comes, I’ll really enjoy seeing the looks on the Zhao family’s faces. That alone will count as revenge for me.”

Xi Yuechen spoke with a hint of viciousness, a mocking expression appearing on his face.

“Don’t worry. You’ll get your revenge thoroughly. Five days from now, just watch closely. But don’t get carried away—you still have to give the Zhao family a little face.”

Liu Qi laughed loudly, though his words expressed the exact opposite, dripping with sarcasm.

Unfortunately for him, his words once again gave Xi Yuechen a crucial piece of information. Seeing that Liu Qi showed no sign of reining himself in, Xi Yuechen pressed on,
“Five days from now? Does that mean the Zhao family will have to formally apologize to us at the banquet?”

He deliberately phrased it gently—but that “apology” was nothing but pure irony.

Still riding his excitement, Liu Qi didn’t feel he was saying too much. In fact, he had his own reasoning. Big Brother already treated Cheng Yue as one of their own, even planning to take him to the Zhao family’s apology banquet. So why bother hiding anything now?

He might as well tell him everything and earn some goodwill. After all, Cheng Yue would find out sooner or later anyway.

What Liu Qi didn’t realize was just how great a “surprise” this early disclosure was giving Xi Yuechen.

“Of course. If you make a mistake, you should have the courage to correct it. With more witnesses, the attitude looks more sincere, right?” Liu Qi sneered coldly.

“Exactly. Letting so many people watch the Zhao family reap the bitter fruit of their own actions—this joke won’t take long to spread all over L City. By then, the Zhao family’s reputation will be completely ruined.”

Liu Qi grinned at Xi Yuechen’s satisfied expression and winked.
“Isn’t that right? Even if we don’t swallow up the Zhao family, it doesn’t matter. Five days from now, L City will have a real show to watch.”

Yes—five days from now, L City really would witness a grand spectacle. Xi Yuechen’s heart turned cold and resolute.