Driven to Mount Liang

*Crack!* Around three in the afternoon the following day, beside the dining table, Rusty Sister dumped a handful of walnuts she had just crushed onto the tabletop, shells and meat together. A large mound of walnut shells already sat on the table. The rest of them huddled around it, engrossed in picking through the debris for bits of meat to eat. "Han Qingyu." Shen Yixiu had been waiting nearly a full day and night since returning last night, and she finally couldn't help asking for praise. "Hmm?" Han Qingyu looked up at her, simultaneously snatching a large piece of walnut meat right from Wu Xu's fingertips and popping it into his mouth. "You didn't even say thank you to me." "Thank you for what?" "The metal block!" "Oh, but that was mine to begin with. It wouldn't have gotten away without you anyway. Besides, aren't you using it too? You get to use it as well." Han Qingyu lowered his head and went back to pawing through the walnut meat. The color of the meat and the shells was so similar that searching for it himself was exhausting... Fortunately, wherever Wu Xu reached his hand, there was bound to be meat. Huh? Shen Yixiu suddenly felt that what Qingzi said made quite a bit of sense. After thinking it over, she dropped that topic and said instead, "Well, I also helped Boss Dao manifest!" "Oh, that? You got into big trouble with that, you know?!" Han Qingyu replied offhandedly without looking up. "Yeah, you screwed over a whole bunch of people," Wen Jifei chimed in, looking up at her with a grin. Huh? Did I screw people over? I clearly saved people, and I didn't even interact with anyone else... Shen Yixiu was thoroughly confused and was just about to ask why. Outside the door, a sharp screech rang out as the heavy garbage truck dragged to a halt with a long, sudden braking sound. It was working hours right now; normally Ao Yong and Qian Daofeng wouldn't be back. Everyone turned their heads and stood up. "Quick! A'jing, you guys have to run!" Qian Daofeng came sprinting in through the doorway with his apparatus humming, sweating profusely as he shouted. "Boss Hugh, Gu Zhazha... so many gang bosses out there are asking around about you guys today!" Ao Yong ran in after him, helping to explain. The two of them rushed frantically up to the table, skidded to a halt... and stared at A'jing and the others for about five seconds. "Aren't... aren't you guys running? There are so many bosses," Ao Yong ventured hesitantly. "Yeah, it's fine, and besides, it's too late anyway. Sit down and have some walnuts." Han Qingyu smiled, turning his gaze toward the outside. Behind him, Wen Jifei tapped the iron armor. "Your victims have arrived." Outside the courtyard gate, led by Old Hugh, over a dozen gang bosses, including Gu Zhazha and Storm, were marching in together, fully armed. If this lineup were out on the street, it would indeed look rather terrifying, so it was no wonder Ao Yong and Qian Daofeng had been so panicked. The distance closed. With an aggrieved look in his eyes, Old Hugh squinted, carefully scrutinizing the scar on Han Qingyu's face. "It was you yesterday, wasn't it? The one who talked to me. Your name is A'jing?!" "Yeah." Han Qingyu nodded. "We can't find Dao Dali," Old Hugh said, getting straight to the point. "What I mean is, trouble has hit. Twelve people died on top of the mountain last night... but we can't find your boss." "Ah? Then what should we do?" Han Qingyu asked earnestly. "What..." *You have the nerve to ask what we should do?!* Old Hugh flared with fury, seized by an urge to go ballistic. But as his eyes swept past, he abruptly caught sight of Wu Xu's left eye, his eyebrow, and his forehead... *Is it him? That expert who pinned me down with one hand last night—is it him?* Old Hugh badly wanted to jump right up and get a look at the top of Wu Xu's head, but if he really was that expert from last night... His tone weakened slightly as he asked, "Can't you guys find him either?" "Nope." "Oh... Then we're screwed." Old Hugh slumped dejectedly into a seat. Ordinarily, he shouldn't have had any appetite to eat, but the aroma of walnuts was tempting. He unconsciously pinched a piece, popped it into his mouth, chewed... and reached for a second piece. The bosses all sat down. Through their conversation, Rusty Sister finally understood why Qingzi and Plague Chicken had said she caused trouble. Twelve people had died on the mountain last night, and every single one of the bosses sitting here had been taken note of without exception; by morning, people had come knocking on their doors one by one. "The terms they gave us now: each of our gangs has to hand over three people, fifty metal blocks, and five million US dollars... including your Boss Dao Gang. The leaders of each gang must show up and deliver it on their knees. A deadline of three days, non-negotiable." In fact, every possible option had already been considered, and every head that could be lowered had already bowed all the way into the dirt. What Old Hugh didn't mention was that they had spent the entire morning trying to convince those major factions that this had been done by Boss Dao's Gang and had nothing to do with them, but the other side simply didn't believe it. "What happens if we don't comply?" Wen Jifei asked, setting a cup of hot tea before Boss Hugh. Old Hugh looked up at him and said, "Total annihilation." Han Qingyu asked, "If you had to pay, do you guys really have that many—" "Fuck that! We might as well band together and fight them!" He Tangtang cut in heatedly, then paused, his eyes steadying. "Why are you all looking at me like that?!" "Fight!" Beside Old Hugh, bearded leader Storm of the Storm Blood Battle Gang clenched his fists in grief and fury. "There's no way out. Terms like these are no different from total destruction." Old Hugh's gaze shifted toward Wu Xu. "We've discussed it. All we can do is fight..." "All right, then you guys start fighting first, and we'll figure out a way to find Boss Dao," Han Qingyu said, sounding thoroughly "fired up." "..." A surge of blood rushed into Old Hugh's chest, which he forcefully choked down before saying, "The problem is, we lack top-notch experts. We don't lack people, but we lack experts. Do you understand?" Letting his gaze casually brush past Wu Xu once more, Old Hugh said, "Whether Boss Dao is top-tier or not, we don't know, but for this matter, he has to come forward and raise the banner. And I know that besides Boss Dao, your Boss Dao Gang has other experts..." "And then? Then those major factions will all come chop us down first?" Zhu Jiaming asked. Old Hugh glanced at him, looking somewhat confused, but he had no time to dwell on it. In resignation, he said, "Then at least have Boss Dao come out first, and let him say how he wants to handle this." "Boss Dao said for you guys to raise the banner first." When Han Qingyu spoke, he gave Old Hugh and the others a strange yet definite impression that his word was final. ...... Two days later, in the hospital basement, the members of Boss Dao's Gang were huddled together. "They really raised the banner," Filio said numbly. "And the leader is our Boss Dao." Raising the banner meant announcing the establishment of a faction. If they succeeded, they would become regional warlords, commanding their own block and a designated hunting territory. But... if it were that easy to pull off, who wouldn't jump at such a great thing? "Yeah, we're dead meat," a squad member muttered from the corner with a weeping face. "Dead meat? I wouldn't say that's certain." Liu Lang sidled over and said to the man, "Maybe we can hold our ground? Tell you what, how about you and I make a bet—our entire net worths?" In truth, Liu Lang had no confidence either, but he wasn't afraid. His current net worth was negative nine metal blocks plus twenty-six source energy blocks, and that number was growing every day. The man looked up at him, hesitant and confused. "Liu Lang, stop messing around, we're annoyed enough already," Filio said, rubbing his forehead. "He secretly went to see Boss Dao just now... Boss Dao doesn't seem to know a thing yet." Lately, everything had been undergoing bizarre changes. Filio couldn't be sure of other things now, including Boss Dao's actual martial strength, which felt somewhat blurry to him at this point. But there was one thing Filio knew for certain: Boss Dao had indeed undergone surgery, had not recovered to this day, and had never taken part in wild drop hunting. Yet here he was, lying peacefully in a hospital bed, and all of a sudden, he was about to become a regional overlord.