Hong Kong Movies: I am Hongxing, what the hell is the intelligence king?

Chapter 341 Watching Him Rise to Prominence
"Brother Jin, Brother Chang, the information Lin Sheng gave us should be true, right?"

Inside Master Jin's mansion, Luo Zhiming of Xinliansheng asked the two men with lingering fear.

The three accepted Hung Hing's invitation from Leung Kwan, but Lin Feng and Leung Kwan told them that the matter was too big, so the three of them discussed it and decided to move to Master Kam's place to continue the discussion.

Mr. Jin pointed to the check in his hand:

Is this true or not?

Lin Yaochang smiled and said:

"This is a check personally signed by Mr. Lin."

"Even if he didn't give us a check, he could have verbally promised to give us money."

"Then this banknote is genuine."

Snapped!
Mr. Jin clapped loudly.

"That's the power of Lin Sheng's brand."

"Does Lin Sheng have no reason to ruin his own reputation?"

Lin Yaochang and Luo Zhiming nodded in unison.

In truth, Lin Feng has spent just as much time in the underworld as anyone else here.

He followed Liang Kun into the world at the age of seven, started working on his own ten years later, and has built a golden reputation thirteen years later.

Any martial arts figure who is fortunate enough to receive a promise from Lin Feng has nothing to worry about him breaking it.

In today's ever-changing business world, such a reputation is unbelievable.

"Then what do we do?" Luo Zhiming asked anxiously.

"To protect oneself," Lin Yaochang replied without hesitation.

When Liang Kun hosted banquets, it was mostly Jin Ye and Luo Zhiming who showed up, while Lin Yaochang basically kept quiet.

Firstly, that's just his personality; he's as silent as gold.

Secondly, it was to give Luo Zhiming a reason to perform.

Master Jin is a veteran of the underworld and the biggest name in Xinliansheng. Even though Luo Zhiming is the head of Xinliansheng, most people in the underworld know about Xinliansheng because of Master Jin.

Fat Deng of Heliansheng, Master Jin of Xinliansheng, and Master Shen of Hexingsheng were all equally renowned in the martial arts world.

If Lin Yaochang continued to speak at the banquet, how could Luo Zhiming possibly make a name for himself?

This is the shrewdness of a former guild master.

Now it's different. This is a family matter of Xinliansheng, and Luo Zhiming is seeking their opinions, so naturally he will speak his mind without reservation.

"We were fortunate to participate in this big project, and now we are reaping the rewards."

"To be honest, with this money, we could do a great job even if we didn't expand and just did things the traditional way."

"dont you agree?"

Luo Zhiming nodded in agreement.

“Ah Chang is right.” Jin Ye picked up his jade gall bladder. “We’re just lowly bastards in the underworld, while they’re a legitimate big company.”

"Police officers might not do anything to big companies, and of course, they certainly wouldn't dare."

"But they would never dare to do anything to us."

"We need to know our place and not compare ourselves to the conglomerates of the super-rich."

"That's unrealistic."

“The police dared to wipe out our gang without hesitation, but they would never dare to wipe out the Big Rich Group.”

"That's the gap."

"When you're out in the game, you need to be sharp-eyed, or you won't even know how you died."

Lin Yaochang and Luo Zhiming nodded in unison.

"Ah Luo, now is the time for you to establish your authority." Master Jin was in an exceptionally good mood.

To be honest, when Lin Yaochang wanted to elect Suanbao to the top, Jinye did not agree.

However, the rules of Xinliansheng are such that even if Master Jin was Lin Yaochang's former boss, he cannot change Lin Yaochang's decision.

Who can blame them when they're in charge?
This is completely different from Heliansheng.

He Lianshengdi is just a mascot; who would listen to him?

The former head of the New Union Society had prestige, but that was all.

"To establish authority?" Luo Zhiming asked in surprise!

"Has A Luo already established his authority?" Lin Yaochang asked, puzzled.

"You mean Lin Huai Le's matter?" Master Jin shook his head. "That doesn't count."

“Ah Luo’s sacrifice of Lin Huai Le’s head was a brilliant move to ensure his legal legitimacy.”

"The most important thing for a community to survive is that the succession is orderly."

"After the scandal broke, A-Luo was forced into the position and had to sacrifice Lin Huai-le's head to ensure the legitimacy of his rise to power."

"And this funding and this news are A Luo Liwei's moment."

The jade gall bladder spun incessantly in Master Jin's palm, while Master Jin's eyes gleamed with wisdom.

"We're just lowly mobs in the gang, we never know when we'll get to tomorrow."

"Few people are sober."

"Most of them just get by."

"I'm not saying anything bad about my brothers. To be honest, in this kind of environment, just getting by is the norm for them."

"They also lack the capacity to consider the long term."

"Moreover, in order to maintain the cohesion of the gang, we can only ensure that the brothers at the bottom of the gang have something to do."

At this point, Mr. Jin's expression darkened.

Lin Yaochang remained unmoved.

“Then it’s not our fault, is it?” Luo Zhiming couldn’t help but retort. “If we hadn’t created enemies and conflicts, the gang would have disbanded long ago.”

“Our Xinliansheng has 30,000 people. Once these people leave the gang, I really don’t know what will happen.”

Luo Zhiming's voice grew softer and softer as he spoke.

Unless you're in the upper echelons of the organization, you simply don't know that the bottom and top of the organization are two completely different worlds.

The bottom is in constant fighting, and life is uncertain.

The upper echelons, however, were chatting and laughing, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

To put it bluntly, it's about artificially creating conflict to eliminate a large number of people.

Anyway, these guys don't do any production, so even if they all die, not many people will feel sorry for them.

This is the ecosystem of community organizations.

Luo Zhiming cursed himself inwardly. It had only been a few days, and he had already started talking about the life at the bottom of the gang with a "gentleman keeps away from the kitchen" mentality. He had degenerated!

“There’s no way the two of us can solve this problem.” Jin quickly recovered. “We can’t, but you can, Luo.”

"Me?!" Luo Zhiming exclaimed in surprise. "If neither of you can do it, how can I?"

“Mr. Jin is right. If we can’t do it, you can.” Lin Yaochang also came to help. “Back then, all we could think about was how to keep Xinliansheng from collapsing.”

Lin Yaochang is the most qualified to speak on this matter.

Xinliansheng grew to become one of the top ten companies under his leadership, but it was also during his time that the Golden Club set its sights on it.

In particular, more than three years ago, when he was doing dirty work for the Gold Club, he accidentally killed someone.

In fact, it's normal for someone to die in a gang fight, and no one will feel guilty about it.

They were all short mules after all, so if they died, they died. Who would care?

It's an unspoken agreement that no one should die during a forced demolition.

Gangs can bully ordinary people, but they cannot commit murder.

Most importantly, it was a little girl who died.

This was a deep-seated pain in Lin Yaochang's heart. He never imagined that such an ordinary, dirty job would lead to someone's death, especially a little girl.

Of course, that incident is in the past.

No one would bring it up easily unless they wanted to fall out.

“Things are very different now.” Lin Yaochang steadied himself. “You’re on good terms with Hung Hing. As long as we ensure they’re our allies, we don’t need to worry about the triads collapsing.”

The current Hung Hing Group has that kind of strength.

Under the leadership of Liang Kun, the fifteen leaders of Hung Hing were all renowned figures in the underworld.

What's particularly remarkable is that the various leaders of Hung Hing have no major conflicts, not even minor frictions.

Everyone obeyed Liang Kun's leadership and was running their own business.

We have both manpower and money.

She's practically a hedgehog.

Even before he became the leader of Hung Hing, he was already extremely good. After he became the leader of Hung Hing, he didn't have a single enemy in the underworld.

This is quite a bizarre thing.

Any triad that wants to cause trouble for Hung Hing might as well commit suicide!
"Most importantly, Hung Hing's mind is no longer on the underworld; they want to clean up their image."

“Ah Kun has a long-term vision; they are already considering what will happen after their return.”

"They are role models for us to learn from."

Lin Yaochang felt a complex mix of emotions. He and Liang Kun were close friends; they used to sit side by side. Now, even if Liang Kun wanted to sit next to him, Lin Yaochang would have to sit to his left.

This wasn't something that Liang Kun requested, nor was it something that anyone else requested; it was something that Lin Yaochang himself wanted to do.

The two are no longer on the same level. If it weren't for Master Jin from New Union, they would have to be extremely careful when speaking to Hung Hing.

The levels of involvement are completely different.

Take tonight's news, for example. Is this the kind of information that the mole in the gang should be entitled to?

That's something for the officials of the Three Departments and Thirteen Bureaus to consider.

The important thing that the gangsters are thinking about is how to serve the bosses well and how to make more money; that's the right way.

“That convenience store may look unassuming, but it’s definitely a powerful tool,” Luo Zhiming said earnestly. “I’m planning to introduce this kind of convenience store to Xinliansheng’s territory as well.”

"Making money, investing, and settling down my brothers—it's a win-win situation!"

Luo Zhiming couldn't understand how Hung Hing, who were also involved in triads, came up with this idea.

This sets it apart from the other companies.

While others were fighting tooth and nail over a few dollars, Hung Hing was already raking money out of the pockets of various triad branches.

It was something you gave me willingly!

The difference in levels.

"The convenience store is your means of establishing your authority," Jin said coldly. "Hong Kong is on the verge of chaos. If we want to continue to survive, we can't afford internal strife."

"Purgeing dissidents is a normal procedure."

"Huihuang, Suanbao, and Atian are all gone. Our faction is too weak."

"Ah Luo, now you must train your own five tigers."

"Let's take advantage of this opportunity to train him."

"With the profits from this project in hand, we can get rid of anyone who doesn't listen to us."

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."

"There must be absolutely no leniency."

“Master Jin is right.” Lin Yaochang understands his brother Luo Zhiming best. “Ah Luo, I know you are kind and righteous, but you absolutely cannot be kind to certain people.”

"Being kind to others is being cruel to yourself."

"Brother Chang, what are you saying?" Luo Zhiming quickly replied, "I'll go back right now."

Lin Yaochang patted Luo Zhiming on the shoulder and said gently,

"I'm such a bad boss, I left you with a mess, but thankfully you did a better job than me."

"From now on, I can retire in peace."

"Brother Chang, I'll need your and Master Jin's guidance in the future," Luo Zhiming quickly said.

"Ah Luo, no need for formalities. Rest assured, as long as we both survive, we will fully support you," Jin Ye declared decisively.

After returning to his house, Luo Zhiming lit a cigar and started smoking.

He no longer lives in the pigeon coop.

Even if he wanted to live here, the gang wouldn't allow it.

Xinliansheng is one of the top ten gangsters, yet its leader lives in a pigeon coop?
What will the brothers in the gang think? What will the big shots in the underworld think?
Oh, so Xinliansheng is doing so badly?
The head of the guild doesn't even have a large house?

Who would dare to play with you?

So Lok Chi-ming moved to a thousand-square-foot mansion in the New Territories.

Luo Zhiming remained silent for a while before taking out his phone and making a call.

"Officer Cheng, come out and let's talk."

"Ah Luo?" Cheng Guobin was utterly stunned. He truly hadn't expected Luo Zhiming to call him at this time.

Twenty minutes later, the two arrived at a beach.

Hong Kong is surrounded by the sea, so finding any beach is the most convenient option, and you're guaranteed not to be followed.

"I never expected you to call me." Cheng Guobin was quite surprised. "If I didn't know your character, I definitely wouldn't have come out at this hour."

It's already 3 a.m.

Cheng Guobin was genuinely startled when he received the call.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

Cheng Guobin offered Luo Zhiming a Marlboro. After so much time had passed, his temperament had become much calmer.

Especially after the Thunder Security branch was introduced in Tsim Sha Tsui, I had some free time.

Thunder Security is now gradually taking over one of the most important businesses of the Hung Hing triad – collecting protection money.

This is the largest part of all clubs.

However, incidents of conflicts arising from protection fees are frequent.

There are also some tough merchants who refuse to pay protection money, but these people usually end up in a bad situation.

Thunder Security operates on a hiring model, essentially the same as other security services that collect protection fees, yet merchants are highly accepting of this.

This is similar to purchasing commercial insurance, so they are unlikely to refuse.

As a result, wherever Thunder Security passed through, other gangs dared not attack them.

The battle at Camel's Funeral Hall truly cemented Thunder Security's formidable reputation in the martial arts world.

The other clubs aren't stupid; they're just here to make a living, not to sell salted duck eggs down there.

The head of the Tsim Sha Tsui branch is Prince, a staunch supporter of the Mong Kok faction. After Thunder Security completed its expansion in Mong Kok, it first expanded into Tsim Sha Tsui and Portland Street, since Yau Tsim Mong is a unified entity!

As a result, Cheng Guobin was completely free. He never imagined that his job at the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station's Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) would be so easy.

With Thunder Security guards on duty, Tsim Sha Tsui, a place often embroiled in conflict, is unusually peaceful.

If it weren't for the fact that he recently landed a big order, Cheng Guobin would definitely be living a regular life like anyone else, going to work and leaving on time.

"Unless you're at the top, you really don't know that there's a black-and-white agreement between triads and police stations."

Luo Zhiming let out a long sigh.

“I’m not a high-ranking officer in the police station, and I only found out about this recently.” Cheng Guobin’s expression was grim. Since Luo Zonglun’s murder, he had experienced just as much as Luo Zhiming.

Naturally, I learned many things that I didn't know before.

There is an agreement between the police station and the community.

It's still a major agreement.

As long as the gang doesn't do anything out of the ordinary, the police station always turns a blind eye.

Even if a truly heinous incident occurs, the police will only punish the ringleader and will never do anything unnecessary.

This is a tacit understanding!
After all, Hong Kong's prisons simply can't hold that many people.

"I have received information that the Dafuhao Group will be holding a major strike in the next two days."

"These people are taking to the streets to protest for a salary paid by a small-time rich man."

"Strikes are not their interest, they are their new job."

Cheng Guobin took a deep drag on his cigarette, wanting to say something, but ultimately held back.

"Aren't you curious?" Luo Zhiming looked at Cheng Guobin strangely. "Don't you have anything you want to ask?"

“I’m waiting for you to finish speaking.” This was definitely not Cheng Guobin’s intention.

“...That’s true. A normal strike wouldn’t be a big deal even if it got a bit too big.” Luo Zhiming sighed. “Unfortunately, this isn’t a normal thing.”

"You should know more about the affairs of the super-rich than I do."

"I don't know!" Cheng Guobin denied it outright. "To tell you the truth, the power to decide this matter does not lie with me, nor with the General Administration, nor even with the Security Bureau."

"The city of Fog has issued a document stating that someone else is handling this case."

"Alright, let me tell you the truth. It was handled jointly by George of the Political Department and Brigadier General Cunningham of the garrison, with the full cooperation of the Governor's Office."

"Right now, those people's identities are top secret, and I have no idea about their specific information."

"No wonder!" Luo Zhiming suddenly realized. "No wonder these guys would do such extreme things."

"The march isn't extreme, is it?" Cheng Guobin asked with a puzzled expression.

“Normal demonstrations are certainly not extreme,” Luo Zhiming sighed, “but this demonstration is abnormal.”

"I received information that someone wanted to create some provocative events during the march."

"I also come from a police force, so I'm here specifically to remind you."

"For example?" Cheng Guobin stared intently at Luo Zhiming.

"For example, a few people died or something." Luo Zhiming didn't hide anything. The fact that he could get Cheng Guobin to come out meant that he wasn't hiding anything.

"You're going to make a move?" Cheng Guobin's words startled Luo Zhiming.

"Don't mess with me!" Luo Zhiming quickly declared, "Xinliansheng will not get involved in this kind of thing."

"If we were really going to do something like that, would I be crazy enough to come to you and warn you?"

"During this period, I will strictly control the people of Xinliansheng and they will absolutely not go out on the streets casually."

Luo Zhiming glared fiercely at Cheng Guobin, then suddenly a thought struck him, an unbelievable idea forming in his mind.

"You're not surprised at all?"

"Did you already know about this?"

Luo Zhiming subtly distanced himself from Cheng Guobin.

"I'm not the mole!" Cheng Guobin raised his hands. "You're as sharp as ever."

Luo Zhiming sneered:
"If you're not an inside man, how did you know this information?"

Cheng Guobin sighed.
"The General Administration sent a notice today. As one of the three key figures at the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station, I naturally have the right to know this news."

"I know a little more than you do... Someone wants two of our officers killed."

Luo Zhiming's expression changed drastically!
(End of this chapter)