Brooklyn, New York.
Torrential rain poured from the heavens as thunder rumbled and snaked across the sky.
Sunk into a plush sofa, Liu Ren held a cigar between his fingers, chatting and laughing easily with the men around him.
Dressed in a sharp blue suit, Gatsby was now a man of high standing. No longer was he the penniless lieutenant who couldn't even scrape together a hundred dollars. Nowadays, he carried himself with immense respectability, even elegance.
Yet before Liu Ren, Gatsby remained thoroughly humble, knowing full well exactly how he had attained his present stature.
A thick cloud of smoke curled from Liu Ren's lips as he offered a genial smile. "Gatsby, regarding our recent business, is there anything you'd like to tell me?"
Gatsby blinked in confusion, his eyes widening in bewilderment. "Sir, I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean."
Liu Ren didn't say a word. Instead, he pulled open a drawer, drew out a dossier, and slid it in front of him.
The moment Gatsby saw the names and the bootlegging case detailed inside, he froze dead in his tracks.
Watching Gatsby's genuinely oblivious reaction, the smile on Liu Ren's face chilled into absolute frost. "Do you know where that list came from? Fucking Massachusetts! You idiot!"
Staring at Liu Ren in disbelief, Gatsby stammered, "Sir, I had no knowledge of this at all! I don't understand how our goods could have ended up there!"
Liu Ren rose coldly to his feet, stepping right up to him. "One of your bastards swapped out the top-shelf liquor meant for distribution with cheap rotgut, then had the fucking nerve to brag about it in front of his woman. And that loose-lipped bitch turned around and told her lover..."
At this point, Liu Ren actually laughed from sheer fury.
Human nature was greedy, but he had never imagined anyone would dare steal from him.
A batch of high-end liquor was worth a little over a hundred thousand dollars at best, but the potential fallout was immeasurable.
Liu Ren hated standing in the spotlight. He knew all too well that tall trees caught the wind—doubly so for a Chinese man.
Becoming a notorious villain splashed across the newspapers was impossible, not in this lifetime. Only by lying low and working behind the scenes could he preserve his livelihood.
And now? That idiot had let the FBI stumble onto the shipment. If the feds followed the trail, what would they uncover?
That Silver Rock Group was the umbrella shielding Brooklyn's largest Mafia outfit? Or would they expose a Chinese man controlling a defense conglomerate and a bank commanding hundreds of millions in wealth?
What a fucking joke. Those were catastrophic risks, and Liu Ren would never permit a stumbling block to stand in his path.
Gatsby broke into a cold sweat as he stared silently at Liu Ren.
He knew the gravity of the trouble they faced. Massachusetts wasn't New York; authorities there wouldn't give a damn about Silver Rock Group's influence. Once the local distributors were hauled in, they would sing like canaries to save their own skins.
"Sir, if trouble comes, I'll find a way to handle it!" Gatsby spoke up immediately, eager to prove his loyalty.
He understood full well who was supposed to be the first sacrifice once the FBI came knocking.
Liu Ren looked at him with sheer disgust. "If I wanted you behind bars, I wouldn't have handed this file to you, you brainless fool. Is that pig brain of yours completely filled with that woman Daisy? You can't even think straight anymore!"
Liu Ren couldn't hold back his fury as he roared at Gatsby.
At the end of the day, he was a man who valued old ties. Gatsby had helped him establish the Brooklyn business back in the beginning, and he wasn't about to abandon him. A boss who couldn't protect his own people would ultimately end up deserted by all.
Liu Ren could tolerate flaws, even a bit of foolishness, but he despised betrayal—whether it was his subordinates betraying him or him discarding them. Neither was permissible.
He might not possess benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trust, or conventional morals, but he still held onto the most fundamental shred of goodwill.
Reeling from the harsh scolding, Gatsby finally understood.
He had witnessed Liu Ren's methods firsthand—cold, ruthless extermination across the board. The fact that Liu Ren was willing to sit down and talk meant he had no intention of throwing him away.
Moved, Gatsby rose to his feet. "I'm sorry, sir, I..."
"Enough. Now is not the time for repentance. I'm not a goddamn church priest. You need to find a way to take care of everyone who knows. Understand?"
Liu Ren stared at him, a chill creeping into his eyes.
This was the limit of his patience, and Gatsby was among the few who warranted his lenience.
Looking at the paper in his hands, Gatsby asked hesitantly, "All of them?"
"What else?" Liu Ren turned to him, his gaze icy.
Every name on that sheet belonged to a fool who had added to his workload over the past two months. If he didn't deal with them now, was he supposed to wait until New Year's and shoot them off like bottle rockets? He wasn't the ruthless DuPont family, after all!
*DuPont family: Watch your mouth, or we'll blow you sky-high!*
*Liu Ren: ...*
"Can you not do it, or has your heart gone soft?" Liu Ren's expression settled into an eerie calm as he scrutinized Gatsby.
He knew these men had been Gatsby's original crew when he got his start. But now, they had forgotten their place. Only what Liu Ren granted could they take; what he didn't give, they were never allowed to snatch.
"I... I can't bring myself to do it." Gatsby pressed his lips together, lowering his head in torment.
Liu Ren took a deep breath, watching him in silence. "Get your ass back to Long Island and go play your mysterious, money-flinging spendthrift! I'll handle this myself. Got it?"
Gatsby jerked his head up, astonished that Liu Ren would step in personally.
"Smarten up, Gatsby. In this world, anyone might turn on you for money, but the boss won't." A Chao patted Gatsby on the shoulder, sighing helplessly. It was high time this fellow learned a lesson.
After Gatsby departed in his car, A Chao glanced over. "Leave no loose ends?"
"No shit. Either don't do it at all, or do it all the way! First, drown that bitch for me. Who gave her such a long tongue, blabbing about everything?"
Chomping down on his cigar, Liu Ren swept back his jacket and stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out into the torrential downpour.
*Crack-boom!*
A terrifying streak of lightning flashed, briefly casting Liu Ren's reflection onto the glass.
It was a cold, chiseled face, with yellow-brown eyes radiating absolute command over everything.
Having received his orders, A Chao said nothing more. He walked over to the rotary telephone on the desk and dialed a number.
A moment later, he hung up the receiver and stepped up behind Liu Ren. "A Hu says he understands."
Tucking his cigar between his fingers, Liu Ren exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. "In this world, love truly is the most troublesome thing of all."
A Chao cast a doubtful look at him. "Then why do you still love visiting strip clubs?"
"That's fucking art appreciation, what the hell do you know! I'm very devoted!" Liu Ren snapped defensively, looking as indignant as if a dark secret had just been exposed.
"Devoted to fair-skinned, pretty young girls?"
A Chao eyed him with unvarnished disdain. As if he didn't already know exactly what kind of bastard Liu Ren was.
Chapter 40