A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 69 Clubs

Old An didn't sleep all night, and by 10 o'clock, he had already compiled a table and given it to Guan Luoyang.

In the living room, Guan Luoyang put down his book, picked up the form and took a look. It was indeed simple enough that even a layman like him could understand it.

"The biggest source of income is loan sharking, followed by selling drugs and collecting protection money. Investing in movies, the only somewhat legitimate thing, is actually the least profitable?"

Old An nodded: "The film industry in Singapore and Malaysia is not very prosperous to begin with, and it can't compare with Hong Kong. Yan Xiong and his team didn't invest much money in this area to begin with, and some even lost money, so the final profit is naturally the lowest."

Guan Luoyang said, "So, given the gang's current state, if we abandon the previous options, what profession do you think would be the best to switch to?"

Old An was already prepared and advised, "Actually, you don't have to throw away all the previous items. Selling drugs is fine; you don't like it, and the people in charge of that are all dead, so let's just stop. But with the loan sharking, the money has already been lent out. At most, we'll collect the debt at normal interest rates. And then there's the protection money..."

"Protection fees cannot be refused."

Xiao Jiang sat up from the sofa, wiped his mouth, and interjected, "Brother Luo, you don't know, we guys make our living by collecting protection money and guarding the place, taking a cut of the profits. And in a couple of days it'll be time to collect our money this month, we're all looking forward to it."

Guan Luoyang gave him a disapproving look and said sternly, "Aren't you a college student? Has your family really fallen so low that they have to rely on you to make a living through these shady dealings?"

Xiao Jiang looked embarrassed: "That old man didn't have much money to begin with, and all my salary went down the drain. He doesn't care about me at all..."

Old An said, "Actually, the protection fee isn't just about the brothers' livelihood. We really have to provide protection after those people pay. Otherwise, the troublemakers and scoundrels from other gangs will still try to seize territory and charge us extra money."

"Yes, if they ever run into any trouble at their shop, it's always us brothers who go up first to smooth things over."

Xiao Jiang patted his chest and said, "I've helped kick out a few out-of-towners who ate and dashed and spewed nonsense. It was pretty impressive."

Guan Luoyang thought for a moment and said, "Then let's keep this item for now, but we need to change the name. Since we're doing security work, let's be proper security guards."

Xiao Jiang asked in bewilderment, "The security guards are just a bunch of doormen... they have to obey orders and be bossed around. They don't have the same prestige as gang members."

Old An turned around and glared at him: "Whatever the boss says goes. It's just a name change."

Old An turned around and said, "Actually, now that Yan Xiong is gone, our gang needs to change its name. Boss, what do you think is a good name?"

As Guan Luoyang was pondering, Lao An's cell phone rang.

These days, the phone he uses is a slider phone, which, in addition to making calls and sending text messages, also has functions such as listening to music and taking photos.

After receiving the call, Lao An said a few words and then said to Guan Luoyang, "They have already transported the body to the patrol team and completed the formalities. They said it has been more than ten hours and they would like to invite you to have a get-together at Hongyi Food Stall."

It was lunchtime, so Guan Luoyang nodded, locked the door, and took a car to lunch.

Singapore Port is a densely populated area, and the main streets are quite lively during the day. Because of the hot climate, most of the men and women on the streets are wearing short sleeves, and their skin looks like it has been exposed to plenty of sunshine all year round.

On both sides of the road are green belts and sidewalks, followed by all kinds of restaurants, tobacco and liquor stores, grocery stores, barbershops, and foot massage parlors. Large signs are placed on the roof or in front of the door, and the borders of the signs are basically inlaid with small colored light bulbs.

Old An was driving a bit slowly, and Guan Luoyang looked out the car window. All he could see were Chinese faces, and all the signs were in Chinese characters.

Midway through, Guan Luoyang mentioned that he needed to get a haircut.

"Then let's go to Sister Wang's place, it's quick and easy."

Old An recommended a place, so we parked the car there.

The shop is small, with a red, white and blue spiral roller standing in front of the door, which is the barbershop's logo.

There are only two seats and two square mirrors at the entrance. The walls are covered with pictures of hair stylists, with the men's pictures smaller and the women's pictures larger. Their clothing is generally very revealing.

Guan Luoyang glanced inside and realized he could find almost all seven colors of hair, and the female models in the photos were mostly of European and American faces.

The owner of the hair salon, Sister Wang, is around thirty years old. She has an average appearance but knows how to dress well. She wears a dark brown long-sleeved silk shirt, ripped jeans, orange-streaked hair, and full lips. She greets customers with a smile.

"Hey, Old An, which young man is this...?"

Old An pulled her over and whispered a few words in her ear.

Sister Wang's face stiffened slightly. She straightened up a bit and then smiled, "Brother Luo, which hairstyle do you like better?"

Guan Luoyang chose a short, ear-length hairstyle and sat down in the chair.

Sister Wang took a clothes rack, turned on the TV set which was fixed high up in the room with an iron frame, and then took a comb and scissors to fix Guan Luoyang's hair.

The television was playing the midday news.

"It is reported that a gang fight occurred at the Jinli Hotel at around 9:20 pm last night..."

"This morning, a man was taking his girlfriend for a ride on his motorcycle when she was unexpectedly stolen from him..."

"The last news of the day is that Mr. Yandu, the three-time champion of the East Galilean Allies' Martial Arts Tournament, has defeated the challenger from Berlin, Leopold XVII."

It is reported that the True Spirit Mechanism equipped by Leopold XVII was the latest model developed by the Berlin research institute last month, but in this challenge, he lost consciousness in just five minutes and could not get up again.

Three-time champion Yan Du has once again proven his strength, and this glory continues to follow him. Now let's take a look at the on-site report.

Guan Luoyang turned his head slightly and looked at the television screen.

On the television screen appeared a strong man surrounded by more than a dozen microphones. He was wearing a bright red coat, his chest was bare, and his long, slightly curly, tan hair was draped over his broad shoulders.

"The latest model of True Spirit Mechanism? Ha, True Spirit Mechanism has never been the most important thing, or rather, within the next hundred years, mechanical technology is not yet developed enough to become the main body of martial artists."

That resolute face, which looked to be over forty, had large eyes, prominent brow bones, and slowly twitched the muscles in his cheeks, revealing a cold smile.

"I won simply because I am Yandu."

As the midday news ended, Yan Du's smile froze on the screen before the list of news production staff began to scroll.

Old An walked over, bent down, and leaned close to Guan Luoyang, saying, "This Yan Du is a big shot who has connections in both the legal and illegal worlds. I heard he mainly runs underground boxing matches, which is quite lucrative..."

Guan Luoyang seemed to be deep in thought. After getting his hair cut, he washed his hair and went to buy a casual outfit, feeling refreshed.

When Guan Luoyang arrived at the food stall, he walked to the main seat that the group of people had specially reserved, looked around, grabbed a bottle of beer, and snapped the neck of the bottle in half with one palm.

"I'm not good at public speaking, so I just get straight to the point. Since you all called me here, you must have accepted me as the head of the group, and I'll be leading you in your work from now on."

I'm going to drastically change those original rules. Your income might decrease sharply, and you'll be subject to more restrictions in your work. The only thing I can guarantee is that as long as you don't break my rules, I'll help you if you get into trouble in the future.

The food stall quieted down, while people came and went outside. Some would glance over, and the brothers who had been waiting for their new boss looked at each other in bewilderment.

Anyone who becomes a leader, even if they have no real background, will try to save face. How can someone say on their first day in office that there will be more rules for you and less money to collect?

Old An wanted to offer some advice, but when he met Guan Luoyang's gaze out of the corner of his eye, he was suddenly startled and hesitated.

He'd been frustrated for so many years, finally getting a chance to rise to power, but why was this boss acting so unpredictably? What if these people really...

Guan Luoyang ignored all gazes, raised the broken wine bottle in his hand, and said, "Those who are unwilling to accept it can leave now; those who are willing to accept it, raise a glass with me."

The cut glass was so smooth it looked like it had been polished; everyone could see the cut around its edge.

I don't know who was the first to get up.

In just two or three seconds, the sound of chairs moving could be heard everywhere, and everyone stood up and raised their glasses together.

"Listen to the boss," "Absolutely no complaints"...

It would be ridiculous for Guan Luoyang, a new face who had no presence before, to talk about friendship with these people. But he had witnessed the fierce battle a dozen hours earlier and the only figure standing among the corpses.

That scene is something that the twenty-odd people present will never forget.

They couldn't quite pinpoint what they felt deep inside—whether it was awe, envy, fear, worry, or some other random thought. But humans are creatures of their own atmosphere, and seeing everyone else standing up, they felt their blood boiling, and their drinking became increasingly frantic.

He downed glass after glass of wine.

Guan Luoyang also downed that bottle of beer.

Those words did him no good at all, but he just likes to be outspoken in his words and actions.

An empty beer bottle was tossed onto the table and rolled away, bumping into a plate of food.

Ding!

"First of all, from now on, we're not some kind of gang, but a vibrant social group. And let's not call ourselves the Steel Fist Gang anymore. Let's change our name to..."

Guan Luoyang thought about it casually for a moment, and a name he had seen in a novel a long time ago flashed through his mind.

"Let's call it the Divine Land Brotherhood Society."

This chapter is an extra chapter for Alliance Leader Morning Breeze Bell. There were two Alliance Leaders yesterday, and the extra chapter for the other one will be tomorrow.

However, I don't actually have any strict rules about adding more updates. I usually update more whenever I have time.

Regarding tipping, I think it's great if friends can support the official subscription. If you really like certain parts of the story, you can tip a little, but generally speaking, it doesn't need to be so expensive. Just getting some votes is fine! Thank you!

(End of this chapter)