The 18th year of the Da Yong reign: The beginning of the story involves rescuing revolutionaries.

The morning fog was so thick it seemed impossible to dissipate, enveloping Liuzhou County.

As the autumn wind grows cooler, the stilted houses along the river appear and disappear in the mist. This three-story Qingfangzhai is the most respectable place in the entire Liuzhou County. Local gentry, celebrities, and merchants all like to drink tea and read newspapers here to get the latest news.

Inside the most secluded and elegant bamboo garden of Qingfangzhai, the wooden door was half-closed.

Wang Zhi, dressed in a long green robe, was nestled in a recliner, squinting and swaying back and forth. He wore small round gold-rimmed glasses and was playing with a pair of walnuts shaped like official hats in his hands. He wasn't asleep, but was listening to the idle chatter of the merchants coming and going outside the bamboo garden.

"Brother, you came from the north, your journey must have been quite turbulent."

"Who says otherwise? There are all sorts of rebel groups, like the New China Society, the Righteous Faith Group, the Common People Sect, and all sorts of bandits and rebels. I can't even count them all on two hands. If I hadn't hitched a ride with the Weihu Escort Agency, I would have lost my life halfway there. Tsk tsk tsk."

"What a mess this world is like." The speaker shook his head and said in a low voice, "Our Liuzhou County is no better. The Daxing Gang is bullying the poor in the city, seizing fertile land, and charging all kinds of fees. Every merchant, cloth shop, and grain shop has to pay them their monthly allowance."

"Ah, where are the people from the county government? Aren't they going to do anything?" After saying that, the person who asked the question laughed first, full of sarcasm.

"Ha, officials don't care about the lives of ordinary people."

"Haven't you thought of a solution?"

"Of course we thought about it! Everyone pooled together the money to hire several famous boxers from Liuzhou County to set up a challenge for the Daxing Gang. But none of them were a match for Master Fu of the Daxing Gang. They were beaten out of the gate, and the ones who were beaten so badly were turned into bloody gourds, rolling around on the ground. It was a terrible sight."

Now, only the local gentry and powerful families, united in their efforts, can rival the Daxing Gang. As a result, many declining businesses have taken over operations under the patronage of these families, thus paying 10% less in taxes.

Listening to the discussions outside, Wang tapped his fingers on the armrest. He had been in the game "Da Yong 18th Year" for several days now, and he quickly accepted the fact that he had transmigrated.

Every morning, he would come to Qingfangzhai to listen to the merchants from the north and south chatting, hoping to quickly integrate into this world that was completely different from modern society.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Master, it's me." A deep male voice sounded from outside the door.

"Come in." Wang Zhi opened his eyes and saw a man with piercing eyes, wearing a gray long robe, bowing and standing at the door. He nodded and said, "Afu, why are you here so early today?"

"Master, there's news about that matter," Afu replied respectfully.

"Oh? Let's go." Wang Zhi sat up, dusted off his robes, picked up the round-framed black glasses from the small table in front of him and put them on, which added a touch of refined elegance to his demeanor.

The two stepped out of the bamboo garden one after the other, and the guests in the main hall greeted them one after another: "Good morning, Mr. Wang the Great Philanthropist."

"Wang Dashanren is a good person."

"Good... all good." Wang Zhi smiled and nodded to each of them, indicating, "Eat and drink well."

The outsider watched in astonishment as the refined young gentleman led his servant downstairs, then whispered, "Who is this gentleman?"

"Wang Zhi, the great philanthropist of our Liuzhou County," the speaker said, giving a thumbs-up. "Wang Zhi comes from a prominent local family. His ancestors included high-ranking officials. However, by his father's generation, the family had lost interest in officialdom and spent their days writing, painting, or traveling. The family's reputation was entirely supported by Wang Zhi. He is a kind-hearted man who often distributes porridge to the people. He also bought back fertile land from the Daxing gang at a high price and gave it to tenant farmers to cultivate, only charging them 60% rent. Everyone who mentions Wang Zhi gives him a thumbs-up."

"He was the leader of the gentry and powerful clans who joined forces to counter the Daxing Gang, as mentioned earlier."

The outsider clicked his tongue in admiration: "What a good man! By the way, you mean that Master Fu from the Daxing Gang, right? He's the gang leader, isn't he?"

"No, that's not it. Gang leader Wang Luoyun is quite mysterious; he rarely shows his face in the city..."

Downstairs at Qingfangzhai, a black car was parked on the side of the road, its black surface gleaming in the sunlight. There were only two such cars in the entire county.

Afu opened the car door for Wang Zhi and then sat down in the driver's seat.

The car started and drove along the river.

Ah Fu, driving the car, said in a deep voice, "Boss, we've found traces of several members of the New Central Society who the county magistrate ordered us to search the entire county for."

"Ah Fu, don't call me 'boss' in the car anymore."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, continue. Where is it hidden?" Wang Zhi was fiddling with a walnut in his hand, his thoughts wandering. He never imagined that he would transmigrate into the body of a ruthless villain.

Wang Zhi is a very interesting villainous boss in the early stages of the game.

This man has two identities. On the surface, he is Wang Dashanren, a kind-hearted philanthropist who runs his family. In secret, he is the leader of the Daxing Gang. The gang leader is responsible for oppressing the people, and then Wang Dashanren cleans up the mess. He transfers the resources of the prefecture and county from one hand to the other and gains a good reputation. He can be said to have gained both fame and fortune.

Later, the rebel forces of the New China Society, chanting slogans such as "Save the world and help the people, revitalize our divine land," stormed into Liuzhou County, killed the county magistrate, and hung his head in the bustling market.

The Daxing Gang was also wiped out. No matter how well its leader, Wang Zhi, hid himself, he could not escape the fate of death and was wiped out by a group of players.

He didn't want to die. There were still about six months before the New China Society stormed into Liuzhou County. His top priority was to launder his money and go ashore.

"The exact location is still under investigation, but it has been preliminarily identified as being near Wanliu Street," Afu replied.

"Wanliu Street, the Huang family and the Li family, gambling dens and brothels, it's all in that area. There are too many people and too many eyes. Have the officials noticed Wanliu Street?" Wang Zhi asked in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Afu curled his lip and said, "Those useless people in the yamen are like headless flies."

"Sir, should we have the men block off the streets and report to the county government for a direct search?"

If the original plot had continued as it was, Wang Zhi would have joined forces with the county government to blockade Wanliu Street, and later personally tied up the three rebels and handed them over to the imperial court, thus completely binding them to the sinking ship of Dayong.

But now Wang Zhi shook his head, his tone resolute: "No, don't alert them. Have all the brothers withdraw, leaving only the most astute to keep watch. If the county government finds out about Wanliu Street, report back immediately."

"Understood." Afu nodded. He always followed the gang leader's orders without question and never asked why.

"Yes, you've been with me for ten years, I trust you to handle things." Wang Zhi nodded. Afu, also known as Master Fu, was loyal to him without a doubt. He was a top-tier elite monster in the newbie village. When players teamed up to kill Wang Zhi, Master Fu, despite having only one leg, risked his life to take a blow for Wang Zhi.

Master Fu's real name is Li Quanfu. He is a former disciple of Little Lotus Mountain. He is skilled in external martial arts. In the entire Daxing Gang, only he and Wang Zhi are strong in the commoner realm. They are true martial artists.

On his way back home from the mountains, he was besieged, but Wang Zhi, who happened to be passing by, saved his life. From then on, he entrusted his life to Wang Zhi.

While the two were talking, the car stopped in front of the Wang family mansion.

This vast Wang Family Manor is located at the foot of Qingfeng Mountain, nestled against the mountain and beside the water, far from the hustle and bustle of the county town. It was rebuilt by the Wang family on the basis of a former summer resort.

In reality, Wang Zhi had built a secret passage in the backyard that led directly to the territory of the Daxing Gang in order to avoid being noticed. Only he and Afu knew about it.

Before long, the two passed through the secret passage and emerged from an old house near the gang's territory. The secret passage had two exits in the city: one to the old house and the other to the gang leader's study.

At this moment, Wang Zhi had transformed from a handsome young man into a composed middle-aged man, dressed in a neat and capable black outfit; A Fu, on the other hand, had removed his disguise, revealing a angular face, thirty-two years old, a year older than Wang Zhi.

Unexpectedly, trouble broke out in front of the gang's territory today. An old woman was shouting incoherently in front of the gate, "Summon the gang leader!"

"You're looking for me?" Wang Zhi's voice suddenly appeared beside the old woman like a ghost. She was startled, turned around, cupped her hands in a smile, and revealed a set of yellow teeth, saying, "May I ask if it's Chief Wang in person?"

"It's me, what is it?" Wang Zhi looked the old woman up and down. She was not tall, slightly hunched, wearing a thick cotton-padded coat, looking travel-worn, and her face did not look like that of a kind person.

Indeed, even kind-hearted people dare not approach him.

Then he noticed that the old woman was holding the hand of a little girl with blond hair, no more than seven or eight years old, with bright, lively eyes, but a somewhat dazed look. Wang Zhi began to have some doubts.

"Hehe, greetings, Chief. This old woman is named Pei Jing. She brought this girl to the Hundred Flowers Brothel earlier, and that old woman gave me this price." As she spoke, the old woman Pei Jing held up three fingers.

She continued, "It's simply outrageous! But before I came here, I heard from some people in the underworld that the leader of the Daxing Gang is the fairest. So I came here to test the waters. Look at this girl, she clearly has plenty of food and clothing, and she's so pretty. How many do you want to offer? Hehe, hehe." The old woman rubbed her hands together.

Wang Zhi smiled.

Got it, the human traffickers have come knocking. See? That's what reputation is all about!