Hong Kong Island: From a small stall to a global supplier

Chinese people are scattered all over the world, and naturally, Chinese underground forces are also scattered all over the world. There are Chinese underground forces in Argentina and Brazil in South America, and there are also in Colombia. However, because the local area is not wealthy enough, these underground forces are at most smuggling and money laundering gangs, and do not qualify as underground forces.

Their influence wasn't strong enough that even the local police weren't very clear about it, only knowing that they should have some influence.

Of course, it is more likely that the Chinese community is relatively closed off, making it difficult for outside forces to intervene.

The three attacks did not kill many people, but they caused a huge uproar. Other forces would try to retaliate in a low-key manner to avoid causing too much impact, but 'Shengyi' did the opposite this time, which had a strong sense of humiliation and made the Baranquya authorities lose face.

Faced with Mayor Carlos's questioning, Barranquilla Police Chief Javier lowered his head, looking embarrassed. How could he know where this damned 'Sheng Yi' came from? "It must be Chinese influence, but there aren't many Chinese here."

"Aren't Chinese people generally honest?" Mayor Carlos asked, frowning.

Colombia and Laos established diplomatic relations in 80. Barranquilla is the second largest port in the world and also has a consulate. He had met with them and found them to be humble, low-key, gentle, and polite.

"Sir, that's not the case at all. There are too many Chinese. The world's largest underground organization was established by Chinese, and their influence is spread all over the world." Havel didn't know this before; he only learned it from his subordinates during a special meeting before coming.

“Alright.” Carlos shrugged. “I’ll give you a week to find him.”

Javier's expression froze. He had no idea what this 'Victory' was, so where was he supposed to find someone?

But at this point, he had to agree.

What the higher-ups value is the attitude towards getting things done; as for whether they can get things done well, they just need to do their best.

There's no way we'd dismiss him because of this.

He hurriedly took a car back to the police station and immediately inquired about the progress of the investigation, but the officers had just been dispatched and news wouldn't arrive so quickly.

The deputy director said softly, "Javier, don't be so anxious. Since the killer deliberately left the 'Victory' mark, it's not just a simple murder. The purpose must be to make a name for themselves. I guess they will spread the word themselves. Just wait and see."

“Of course I am, I’m afraid they’ll continue to commit crimes!” Javier said irritably.

"No way, they've already killed a lot of people. If they keep committing crimes, do they want to take over Baranquilla?"

"It's best if it isn't."

……

The Honglu Temple in Baranquya.

There aren't many people here; including security personnel, there are only 12. Their daily work mainly involves receiving and consulting for domestic companies. The rest of the time, they organize activities for local Chinese communities and do some outreach and support during holidays. It's a relatively relaxed job.

I hadn't been at work long when I heard about the 'Shengyi' incident, and the atmosphere inside the Honglu Temple was a bit eerie.

It's obviously made by Chinese people, which will inevitably have some impact on their work.

This has nothing to do with whether you have Chinese citizenship or not. Foreigners won't specifically ask what your nationality is; they only know that you are Chinese and treat you as a whole.

Bloodline imprisonment.

“There was definitely no organization called ‘Shengyi’ in Baranquya before. Could it be from another city?” the eighth-rank clerk said in a deep voice.

“I just called Bogotá, and they said there’s no organization called ‘Sheng Yi.’ I also asked Medellín, and they said there isn’t one either. There aren’t any major Chinese underground organizations in Colombia,” said the Ninth-Rank Official.

"I see, then it probably came from America," the clerk said after thinking for a moment.

It is well known that Chinese underground forces exist in most of the slightly larger cities in the United States.

It's also found in South America.

Argentina:
Tiao Lin: Introduced from Hong Kong in the 80s, it was the earliest Chinese underground organization in Argentina, mainly controlling the Chinatown in Buenos Aires, and at its peak had 8 large swathes of swathes.

Fuqing: It was introduced from Hong Kong in the 80s, and almost all of its people are from Fuqing, Fujian.

São Paulo, Brazil:
Biton: Controls the Chinatown area on "25th Street" in São Paulo.

Venezuela:

Enping: Mainly composed of Chinese from Enping, Guangdong, they control the Chinatown in Caracas. In recent years, more than 2 people from Enping have flocked there.

"In that case, inform the local Chinese business owners to keep an eye out for new Chinese faces and be careful," the clerk said with a wry smile.

"Okay, I'll make the call."

The clerk thought that giving instructions would be the end of the matter, since very few local Chinese merchants had Chinese citizenship and they had no legal authority over them. However, he did not expect that the assistant clerk would return an hour later with a strange look on his face.

“I know where Shengyi is from, but you’ll never guess who’s behind him.”

"Not from the US?"

"From Hong Kong."

"Hong Kong's underground forces? How did they come up with the idea of ​​expanding into Barranquilla?"

The magistrate pursed his lips. "Shengyi is no longer an underground force, so it can't be called expansion."

"What do you mean 'not now'? So it used to be?" The registrar raised an eyebrow. "Wait, who did you just say was behind this? Someone very famous?"

"Wang Yaotang".

The registrar paused, the name sounded familiar, then blinked and suddenly remembered, "It's him! That super-rich man from the news a few months ago? Right, he came from the streets!"

"I heard from several Chinese businessmen that Sheng Yi no longer does illegal business on Hong Kong Island."

"No longer doing illegal business?" The registrar pointed out the window. "Wait... what's with those two blood-red characters 'Shengyi'?"

Even though I've committed murder and arson, am I still a good person?

The magistrate said with a smile, "You would never guess the reaction of the local Chinese businessmen I just asked. They seemed very happy and excited. They told me it was probably because of business issues, but they didn't know the specifics yet. The president of the Chamber of Commerce will inform us when he gets the news. The question now is whether we should communicate with the municipal government to avoid any misunderstandings."

The registrar frowned, thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "Since it's confirmed that it's from Hong Kong, then it has nothing to do with us. Let them misunderstand if they want. This tycoon has ill intentions."

The magistrate nodded. "What if Wang Yaotang's people contact us?"

The registrar wiped his face. "We'll see. Hopefully not. By the way, let's try to gather some information about him. Does he really have a fleet and an aircraft carrier, as the newspapers say?"

Both of them looked on with surprise when this was mentioned.

In 89, communication with China was still very inconvenient; it was difficult to get through on the phone, and most information was collected locally.

Before the clerk could leave the office, the secretary knocked on the door. "Chief Clerk, it's the mayor on the phone. Should we transfer you in?"

“Here you are.” The clerk raised his chin. “Hello, Mayor Carlos… No, no, no, this ‘Shengyi’ is not our country… Yes, I can confirm that… I’m sorry, I don’t know the specific information… Yes… No problem… OK, goodbye.”

……

Midnight is when bars are at their busiest.

At the entrance of a bar near the dock area, a pickup truck was parked in front of the bar. The door opened, and Hai Dazhi and another person got out of the truck, opened the back bed, and used a ladder to slide down a standard 200-liter oil drum.

Hai Dazhi knocked him down on the sidewalk, kicked the oil drum and rolled it toward the bar entrance. Hai Dashe quickened his pace and pushed the door open. Hai Dazhi kicked it hard, and the oil drum rolled inside with a gurgling sound.

The commotion was quite loud, immediately attracting the attention of most people in the bar. Seeing the large oil drum rolling in, several tattooed men near the bar suddenly stood up, pointed at Hai Dazhi at the door, and cursed, "What the hell are you doing!"

"If you can't give me an explanation, I'll cut off your head and stuff it into your swallow skin!"

Hai Dazhi couldn't understand Spanish, so he reached into his pocket, pulled out a grenade, and gestured with it.

All eyes immediately turned to his hand. Some stared blankly, mouths agape, while others jumped to their feet in terror. Hai Dazhi grinned, grabbed the safety pin, gripped it tightly, and tossed the grenade away like a bowling ball. He then turned and ran for his life.

Hai Dashe slammed the door shut and ran out to the side.

"No!"

"Run!"

"Fake!"

"Oh my God!"

A gasp rang out in the bar, and those who reacted quickly rushed towards the door, only to bump into each other and create chaos. Before anyone could squeeze out of the door, a grenade exploded with a 'boom'.

The grenade exploded right next to the gasoline can. The shockwave from the explosion instantly blasted a large hole in the metal sheet, and the gasoline inside was sprayed out in all directions and ignited at the same time, causing a secondary explosion when mixed with air.

"boom!"

The massive shockwave from the explosion shoved the people blocking the entrance away. Flames erupted from the doorway and windows, engulfing the entire bar in flames. The agonizing screams could be heard hundreds of meters away.

The explosion shattered all the bottles at the bar, spraying liquor everywhere, which fueled the fire and caused a third explosion.

Suddenly, several humanoid torches engulfed in flames rushed out of the bar entrance. The torches ran into the street, but after only a few steps, they collapsed. Stimulated by the intense burning pain, they rolled around on the ground, and the places they rolled over caught fire, with a strong acrid smell spreading in the wind.

Those who were hit by the blast wave earlier weren't much better off; their backs were splattered with gasoline, and they were screaming and rolling on the ground. Whether they would survive depended on when the ambulance arrived.

If you arrive late, it just means you'll be turned to ashes a little later.

Hai Dashe covered his head with one hand. Not far from the bar, a wave of heat rolled in. He quickly grabbed a paint bottle and sprayed the words "Shengyi" on the ground. Then the two of them jogged a few steps to catch up with the pickup truck parked in front, got in, and sped away.

The smell here is awful.

……

The next morning, Javier glanced at the 'Victory' on the ground, let out a sigh of relief, and his men raised the cordon. The group then entered the bar.

The charred bodies had all been removed, and the ashes had been swept away. Everything that could be burned in the bar had been burned, leaving only a brick and stone frame.

"How many people died?"

"39."

"How can there be so many?" Javier asked irritably.

"I asked two of the survivors, and they said that someone pushed a gasoline drum in and then threw a grenade, and the fire started immediately. They were lucky that they were closest to the door and reacted quickly, rushing to the front. Those who reacted or were farther away from the door were splashed with gasoline."

Havel looked around and turned to leave; the smell here was too awful.

Standing on the street and looking around, I saw that several nearby buildings were also on fire, though to varying degrees. The Barranquilla fire brigade arrived too late; the fire was too intense to carry out any rescue efforts. They could only ensure that it did not spread further.

"Have you found out the reason?" Javier asked in a deep voice.

When the mayor comes to work, he will inevitably be called over again, and he can't continue to pretend he doesn't know anything.

According to local Chinese businessmen, the person behind Sheng Yi is Yao Tang Wang, a wealthy Chinese businessman previously reported in the newspapers. He owns a security company with a fleet, including an aircraft carrier, and has several thousand men with buzz cuts, all of whom are veterans with combat experience.

The deputy director said in a low voice, "According to witnesses, this person was very calm and composed when doing things, and did not seem nervous at all, which shows that he is very experienced."

"Have you found anyone?"

“We are investigating hotels of all sizes in Barranquilla, and it will take some time.”

"You're going to let me just tell the mayor like this?" Javier turned to look at him.

"It's said that the news is still unconfirmed, but it's circulating among Chinese businessmen. Yaotang Wang transported a batch of goods to Barranquilla. I investigated and the goods are still being held by customs."

Javier immediately understood, "He didn't pay?"

"The source says he did give it to them, but you know those guys aren't very bright. They think these Chinese are new to Barranquilla and don't have any connections there, so they think they can squeeze more money out of them."

"I..." Javier choked on his breath, his face turning ashen as he cursed, "A bunch of idiots, mutant monsters born from rats crawling into their mothers' bellies, their brains eaten by ants..."

It's one thing for these people to court death, but what's truly hateful is that they've gotten themselves into big trouble and dragged themselves down with them.

City Hall.

Carlos frowned after hearing this. "So, all of this was an act of revenge?"

"Yes."

"Is that shipment still at the port? What is its value? What do you think they mean? Do they want to continue doing business through customs or take the goods back?" Carlos didn't mention arresting anyone.

With thousands of experienced veterans and a navy stronger than Columbia's, Carlos isn't some old fox; he has no right to look down on them.

Most importantly, this guy named Yaotang is too vengeful; he doesn't want to cause trouble.

As for those who died, he wished their entire families would die!
“This…” Javier shook his head; he wouldn’t say anything.

Saying the right thing brings no benefit, while saying the wrong thing brings only trouble.

Carlos also realized this, "Try to catch them. I want a definite result. We absolutely cannot let something like this happen again."

"Yes!"

After the man left, Carlos instructed the customs officers to come over. While waiting, he frowned and pondered the situation.

His greatest hope is that these people will take the goods and never come back, but if they still want to continue doing business...

Various thoughts flashed through his mind like a slideshow. This guy showed strong violent tendencies, and he dared not use the methods that could restrain foreign businessmen, such as blocking customs, blocking transportation, or warning local businessmen not to do business with him.

What if this guy goes on a rampage of revenge and commits a few major crimes?
In present-day Colombia, local armed groups occupy half of the country. Pablo Escobar was able to enter the Colombian Congress as an alternate member of parliament, storm the Colombian judicial building, kill half of the Supreme Court judges, and frequently attack government officials.

If they can't even handle these lawless forces in China, let alone those abroad.

I'm just a mayor. It's fine for me to scare good people, but when I encounter unreasonable people like this, all I can do is pray that they follow the rules.

When the customs official arrived with the relevant documents, Carlos immediately flipped to the price list, and the figure of $2200 million made his eyes go dark.

He looked up, his eyes red, staring at the customs official. "Tell me what the hell you do every day! Have you even seen this document?!"

"Are all the people in your customs office brains filled with shit? $2200 million worth of goods, do you think the people who can do this kind of big business are easy to bully!"

“We always follow procedures. His goods were labeled as agricultural machinery, but among them…”

"Fuck you!" Carlos threw the file at him.

He doesn't have much jurisdiction over customs, which is why this guy dares to fob off me.

"Get out of here and follow your procedures. I'll lay flowers at your funeral, and you'll definitely get to heaven!" Carlos sneered.

One sentence made the customs official's face turn ashen: "Mayor Carlos, this is a security issue. You are the mayor, and you are responsible for security!"

"Go talk to his gun, you son of a bitch." Carlos pulled out a newspaper and slammed it on the table; the headline read: "World's Largest Private Armed Forces."

The customs official glanced over instinctively, his eyes meeting Wang Yaotang's black-and-white photograph on the newspaper, and a chill ran down his spine. (End of Chapter)