A Grand Show

Chinatown, He'an. A piece of calligraphy hung upon the wall of the classically decorated room. Looking at the ink inscribed with the words "The World Belongs to All," Liu Ren could not help but turn solemn. Rubbing between his brows, Uncle Qing rapped his knuckles against the desk. "I sent you to negotiate, and look how well you handled it! You smashed an entire merchants' association to pieces! Now tell me, how do you plan to clean this mess up?" Hearing Uncle Qing's reprimand, A Chao rose to his feet. "Uncle Qing, it was my failure to handle things properly. The boys only acted because of me..." Just as A Chao stood to apologize, Uncle Qing snapped at him, "Now that trouble has hit, you remember you're the elder brother and step forward to take the heat? Ah Ren! Speak up. Why did you make a move?" Straightening his back, Liu Ren looked Uncle Qing in the eye. "Uncle, you know full well that our He'an never touches opium. Yet those Japanese clearly had no regard for our rules. What is that? It's a blatant provocation! We had to respond with an iron fist. Only then can we show the Irish, the Mexicans, and the other factions around us that we aren't pushovers!" Uncle Qing regarded Liu Ren with a profound look before saying sternly, "Do you know what going to war means? The brothers here will get hurt, and some might even die..." "I will settle this matter myself and guarantee everyone shuts their mouths!" Lifting his chin toward Uncle Qing, Liu Ren's eyes burned with resolve. Seeing Liu Ren's defiant demeanor, Uncle Qing laughed in sheer exasperation. "How do you plan to settle it? With those few flashy moves you picked up? What era do you think this is? If fists could conquer the world, we wouldn't be bullied by foreigners in the first place!" "Give me one night, and I'll give you your answer!" Faced with Uncle Qing's scolding, Liu Ren did not argue further. Deeds, after all, always spoke louder than words. Uncle Qing stared at Liu Ren in silence for a moment before finally speaking: "If I don't see results by tomorrow, go take your punishment yourself!" The moment Liu Ren walked out, Uncle Qing turned to A Chao. "Go tail that kid. Don't let him do anything stupid!" "Huh?" A Chao looked at Uncle Qing in bewilderment, stunned. "'Huh' what? If I can't even protect my own people in He'an, what fellow countryman will ever trust us in the future?" Rebuked by Uncle Qing, whose expression was deadly serious, A Chao lowered his head and immediately agreed. Once A Chao had hurried out, Uncle Qing rubbed his temples in resignation. "Young folks... having too much fire in their bellies isn't always good." As someone who had been through it all, how could Uncle Qing not understand Liu Ren's mindset? But business couldn't be handled like that! Normal men negotiated first, intimidated second, and only came to blows when all else failed. Who swung a two-handed axe straight for someone's skull right off the bat like Liu Ren did? Wasn't the boy a born natural-killer? Still, truth be told, Uncle Qing felt deeply gratified by Liu Ren's boldness. In this current generation, A Chao was good at holding ground but lacked ambition. This rising talent, Liu Ren, satisfied him greatly. After all, in today's Chinatown, it was far from time to sit back and enjoy life! Picking up the landline telephone on the desk, Uncle Qing dialed a number, a broad smile spreading across his face. "Lord Situ? Yes, yes, yes, it's me—Ah Qing from New York. We've got a fine young prospect over here... Hahaha, yes, exactly, I'm testing him right now. When the time comes, I'll have him pay his respects so you can see for yourself!" Hanging up the phone, Uncle Qing could not resist tapping the desk. "If the young aren't hot-blooded, how can you call them young? But this kid is a bit too hot-headed. No good—he needs some tempering first!" *** When night fell, a figure slipped quietly out from a dark corner. Straightening his cheap suit, Liu Ren loosened his tie and muttered to himself, "In the future, I'll wear bespoke suits, ride in luxury cars, and smoke cigars! Then I'll head to Broadway to catch a show..." While daydreaming about his future, Liu Ren had already arrived outside the Japanese General Merchants' Association. Gazing at the three-story building not far off, he pulled his thoughts back to reality. "I squeezed twenty thousand dollars out of their branch during the day. Wonder how much they've got in here?" Stroking his chin, Liu Ren scattered five emerald-green beans from his hand. *Rustle!* With a ferocious surge of growth, the beans burst apart, and five Orc Beastmen materialized before him. Looking at their burly Slavic features, Liu Ren flashed a radiant smile. "Time to put on a grand show!" "Humie, you'd betta let us fight!" "Dat's right, Humie! We hate bein' locked away!" "Fightin' is great! Keep fightin', keep feelin' great!" Roaring in manic excitement, the Orc Beastmen glared at Liu Ren, demanding action. "See that building? Charge in... and slaughter every last one of them!" Liu Ren dragged a finger across his throat, his smile widening. The instant Liu Ren finished speaking, the five Orc Beastmen erupted into an ecstatic bellow: "Ura!" Watching an Orc Lad rip up a nearby trash can to wield as a weapon, Liu Ren froze for a second, realizing he had forgotten to supply them with arms. Then again, considering that an Orc Lad could turn anything he grabbed into a weapon, Liu Ren figured it hardly mattered. Within an Orc's Waaagh! field, as long as they believed something was a weapon, it was a weapon... "Who... who are you people?" Seeing five hulking figures suddenly charge out from the shadows, the bodyguards stationed at the main entrance were caught completely flat-footed. *Smash!* The massive metal can crashed down hard against a bodyguard's skull, instantly splattering blood across the pavement. Looking down at the fallen guard, the Orc Lad roared in elation, "Waaagh!" *Crash!* The front door was kicked wide open. The Orc Lad stormed inside, instantly seizing a man by the throat and slamming him violently against the adjacent wall. When the other bodyguards witnessed the scene, they shouted in terror, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack...!" *Bang! Bang! Bang!* Gunshots rang out, bullets tearing straight through the Orc Lad's torso. Yet gazing at the blood spilling down his body, the Orc Lad's mind only surged with wild ecstasy. "Waaagh! Battle! Hahaha!" Listening to the deranged laughter echoing from the building, Liu Ren broke into a cold sweat. These Orc Lads were starting to look a little too out of control! Fortunately, he could forcibly revert them to their seed state at will; otherwise, things would get completely out of hand. An army of joyous Orcs loose on this side of the free ocean... Liu Ren could hardly bear to imagine just how "happy" life would get. Brutally tearing apart the humie in his grasp, an Orc Lad snatched up a revolver and squeezed the trigger. *Rat-tat, rat-tat-tat!* A tearing storm of lead erupted, instantly reducing the bodyguard ahead into a mist of blood before the limp body collapsed to the floor. Staring wide-eyed at the contraption in his hand, the Orc Lad's eyes gleamed with manic delight. "Waaagh! Me like dis thing! Hahaha!" As the remaining Orc Lads followed suit, snatching up firearms and sweeping through the premises, the entire Japanese General Merchants' Association was treated to the most "joyous" night of its existence. The joy belonged entirely to the Orc Lads, while the men inside were left only with the thrill of being shredded by a storm of metal! Not long after, when Liu Ren strolled into the building, his brow furrowed immediately. "Holy crap... this is way too brutal!" Taking in his surroundings, Liu Ren covered his nose and mouth. A Chao always claimed he was cruel, but compared to these Orc Lads, he was practically a saint! Prying open the safe before him, Liu Ren looked at the towering stacks of cash, his eyes instantly lighting up. "Damn Japanese! How dare they lock my money inside their safe? They truly deserved to die!" "Humie, wot's dis?" Poking his head in with curiosity, an Orc Lad asked in confusion. "This is the greatest thing in the world!" Flashing a brilliant grin, Liu Ren tossed the bundles of cash straight into his Storage Space. His savings had just received a glorious fifty-thousand-dollar boost!