RMM -Chapter 185 Storm Clouds Gathering

White Xiong beamed with a spring-breeze smile. “My subordinate has this one flaw—once he sees me, he forgets about everyone else around him. Boss Zhao, please don’t take it to heart.”

Boss Zhao’s eye twitched slightly. He let out a dry laugh. “Of course not. Mr. Bai has taken in quite a capable little brother.”

Xi Yuechen clearly hadn’t taken Boss Zhao seriously at all. From the very beginning, he hadn’t even spared him a glance. How could Boss Zhao fail to notice? He was choking with anger inside, yet on the surface he still had to act as if he didn’t care—so infuriating it nearly made him grind his silver teeth to dust.

The Zhao family hadn’t fallen yet, and Yan Sect was already so eager to step all over them—this was truly excessive!

But no matter how angry he felt, what could he do? Not only was the Zhao family at fault this time, the overall situation was no longer what it used to be. The Zhao family no longer held the unquestioned authority they once enjoyed. Otherwise, Yan Sect wouldn’t have dared to seize upon this opportunity, clinging to it relentlessly and toying with them in every possible way.

So what could he say about Xi Yuechen’s disrespect now? No matter how much anger he had, he had to swallow it whole. Boss Zhao had come in person this time solely to repair relations with Yan Sect, and by extension to befriend other factions as well, buying the Zhao family a chance to catch their breath.

After being so thoroughly “ransacked in a fire” by Yan Sect this time, the Zhao family no longer had the capital to stand aloof. Even maintaining normal business operations was already a struggle. They could no longer afford to offend any force at all.

White Xiong couldn’t help but feel surprised when he saw Boss Zhao, but after a brief moment of thought, he understood. He sneered inwardly—thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. It was time for the Zhao family to step aside.

“Come, come, let’s go in quickly so we don’t keep everyone waiting too long,” White Xiong said warmly, his smile unchanged.

Boss Zhao nodded and stepped inside, accepting the courtesy with deference.

Seeing that he still carried himself with an air of superiority, Liu Qi couldn’t help but snort coldly.

Xi Yuechen, however, wore his usual mild, shallow smile. Liu Qi turned to look at him, saw that expression, and lightly elbowed him, saying with barely contained excitement, “Cheng Yue, I really have to hand it to you. That move just now was beautiful. When we get back, Big Brother will definitely reward you!”

“The Zhao family has been arrogant for so long, they probably don’t even know what the warmth and coldness of human relations feel like anymore. I just let him get a taste of it in advance,” Xi Yuechen said, narrowing his eyes as he looked ahead at the mighty procession of the Zhao family.

Hearing this, Liu Qi chuckled and repeatedly agreed, smug beyond measure.

In a way, this could be considered White Xiong’s final moment of glory. He had long dreamed of grinding the Zhao family under his heel, but that wish would likely never be fulfilled now. Tonight’s limelight was merely an extra perk Xi Yuechen had thrown his way. Otherwise, once the winds shifted later on, White Xiong would be left with lifelong regret.

Xi Yuechen had already done all he could for Yan Sect.

The stairway leading upstairs was dimly lit. Within the range of one’s vision, unless it was something right beside them, everything else appeared vague and indistinct.

No one noticed that as Xi Yuechen went upstairs, his fingers moved subtly in the shadows.

Almost at the same moment, all members of the operations unit who had already arrived in L City received the same message. Their expressions sharpened as they all turned to look at Gao Yunxiao.

The captain was absent. As the deputy captain, Gao Yunxiao naturally became the highest commander present. All actions would be carried out under his orders.

However, only half of the operations unit was here; no one knew where the rest had gone.

“Move out. Remember—wait for the captain’s instructions. Under no circumstances are you to act on your own,” Gao Yunxiao commanded coldly.

Success or failure hinged on this single move. There could be absolutely no mistakes.

The operations unit had arrived in L City yesterday, quietly and without alerting anyone. After their arrival, they had been making arrangements and deployments for tonight’s action. Of course, these preparations were mainly precautionary; adaptability was still the key. On the battlefield, situations changed in the blink of an eye—who knew what would happen the next second? All preparations were nothing more than a way to steady the mind.

Even Gao Yunxiao hadn’t expected things to progress so smoothly, and that made him uneasy. His attitude grew even more cautious.

“Got it. We’re the cream of the crop, handpicked. How could we drop the ball at a critical moment? Don’t worry,” said Han Zhiyuan, the first to speak, confidence written all over his face.

Xie Haomin glanced at the eager-looking Han Zhiyuan and frowned. “Calm down. When the action starts, follow orders. Don’t think this is a drill.”

Han Zhiyuan immediately bristled, pouting as he snorted. “Tch. Don’t worry, Young Master Xie—even if I heroically sacrifice myself, I won’t drag you down.”

The moment Xie Haomin heard the words heroically sacrifice, his heart skipped a beat. His frown deepened, and he couldn’t help but smack Han Zhiyuan on the head. “Can you say something proper for once? Can’t you say something auspicious? That’s bad luck.”

Seeing that Xie Haomin actually looked annoyed, Han Zhiyuan didn’t dare spout nonsense anymore. Rubbing his head, he muttered inwardly—So Xie Haomin is superstitious? What kind of professionalism is that for an officer!

Seeing that Han Zhiyuan had finally quieted down, Xie Haomin didn’t pursue the matter further. He fell silent and walked into the night.

Although White Xiong wished he could announce the Zhao family’s apology banquet to the entire world, thinking and doing were two different things. In the end, he only invited figures with status in the underworld and didn’t publicize it too widely. Some discretion was still necessary; if things got too big and drew too much attention, then if anything went wrong, even with connections it would be hard to clean up.

Anyone in the underworld knew that in recent years, the government had made cracking down on them a top priority. As a result, they had suffered considerable losses. But policies from above were always met with countermeasures below. Those officials who only issued orders likely never imagined that these people had already bribed certain local officials, paving a convenient path with money. Otherwise, under such harsh circumstances, they wouldn’t have suffered only financial losses without damaging their foundations.

That was why they weren’t particularly worried about the cops showing up tonight. Without orders, why would they come looking for trouble?

Everyone attending the banquet tonight who had backing had already informed their respective patrons. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared swagger in so openly. After all, tonight the Zhao family and Yan Sect were going to conduct a major “transaction.” If the cops swooped in, none of them would escape unscathed.

Most of those present to witness the Zhao family’s apology were prominent figures from D Province’s underworld. The rest might not have been top-tier, but they were far from insignificant—otherwise, they wouldn’t even qualify to watch this spectacle. After so many years in the underworld, how could they possibly not have someone behind them to open doors and smooth the way? Just like Yan Sect, which had long since quietly latched onto a powerful backer—paying substantial tribute each year, but receiving equally substantial benefits in return.

What’s more, Yan Sect was here to reclaim face tonight. How could they possibly allow anything to go wrong? So no one attending even considered the possibility of an accident; they all came eagerly to watch the Zhao family make fools of themselves.

Indeed, how could Yan Sect let anything happen tonight? Even though they were confident the cops wouldn’t show up, they still refused to relax. They stationed large numbers of men around the Imperial City, closing it to outsiders for two days to prepare the venue, determined to fortify it like an iron barrel and ensure absolute security.

It was precisely this kind of caution that had allowed Yan Sect to grow to where it was today.

Everything Xi Yuechen could think of, those above him had no reason not to think of as well. That was exactly why a special operations unit had been formed—otherwise, who knew how long this plan would have been shelved?

Take this time, for example. Even though they knew about tonight’s apology banquet, they couldn’t mobilize the local police, nor could they alert them at all. Instead, the operations unit would quietly move in first. Once the situation was under control, they would bypass the police entirely and have the local armed police step in to close the net.

Wasn’t it more effective to have the military handle the cleanup and follow-up?

If armed police had been dispatched from the start, the commotion would have been impossible to conceal. White Xiong and the others weren’t fools—doing so would have tipped them off. At that point, they could simply destroy the “goods,” deny everything to the death, and what could anyone do to them?

That was why, when the operations unit began its action, the armed police in L City also received orders—an impromptu mission. Everyone was baffled. What kind of mission came out of nowhere late at night?

But when they saw that they were being issued live ammunition, they had no choice but to take things seriously. Even without an explanation, the scale alone told them this was no ordinary task.

Yes—these armed police were completely in the dark about tonight’s operation. This was also a precaution. Although drug trafficking organizations couldn’t reach into the military, with so many people involved, who knew what problems might arise?

They weren’t worried about the armed police failing to complete this sudden mission. As long as the operations unit achieved a decisive victory, the subsequent net-closing would be relatively easy. Once the heads were gone, what could the small fry below possibly do?

And if the operations unit failed, then telling the armed police in advance would have been meaningless anyway. That was why this operation had been kept completely secret from them.

Only after arriving at the assembly point near the Imperial City did the commanding officer finally explain what the mission was and what their main responsibilities would be.

The officer himself felt wronged—he had only learned about it an hour earlier! This was practically toying with them. But since the order came directly from above, he wouldn’t dare question it even with a hundred lives. He acted decisively, passed the orders down, and had them prepare to move out.

Xi Yuechen followed closely behind Liu Qi. Only after everyone had arrived did they enter the second-floor hall, which usually functioned as a bar.

It had already been arranged in the style of a banquet hall. The main event hadn’t begun yet; people stood in small groups, chatting quietly, refined light music drifting through the air. It looked harmonious and lively.

In such a scene, who would think this was a gathering of drug lords? One by one, they were dressed in suits, chatting and laughing. Anyone unaware of the truth would think it was some kind of business gala.

Standing hidden in the dim light, Xi Yuechen watched it all in silence, a thin layer of mockery floating in his eyes.