Starting from Hong Kong in 1988!

Hong Kong, Mong Kok, where Xu Guangkun and his elder brother live.

"Brother Yu, we've been sitting here for five days already, how much longer are we going to have to sit here?"

Fei Zai squatted on the curb, poking countless holes in the fish balls in his hand.

The gangster called Brother Yu glanced at him impatiently: "Shut up."

"No, Brother Yu, the new leaders have already been chosen, and there are so many vacancies for hall masters. What's the point of us just sitting here sunbathing every day if we don't go and curry favor with the leaders? How could Xu Guangkun possibly come back? We might as well go and pay our respects to the powerful figures first, and save face for them, don't you think?"

Upon hearing this, the other two underlings both turned their gazes toward Brother Yu.

He didn't say anything, but the meaning was self-evident.

Brother Yu's gaze swept across their faces, he tossed aside his cigarette, and said, "What's the use of showing your face if you want to be a gang leader! Doing things is what matters! We've been squatting here, and whether Xu Guangkun comes or not, we've still done our job. If we catch him, we're the first to attack; if we don't, we've still worked hard, understand?"

He asked rhetorically.

"You're the boss. Do you prefer to bury yourself in your work, or do you prefer someone who fawns over you every day, demanding you to do nothing?"

Fei-zai was taken aback. "That seems to make sense."

"That's bullshit!" another henchman chimed in, frankly. "The head of the gang is the emperor, and who's the most powerful person around the emperor? The eunuchs..."

He stopped abruptly at that point.

A long-haired man wearing a hat got out of a taxi not far away and walked straight towards them.

The group looked at each other for a moment, and then someone said something.

"That's him!"

They've been guarding this place for many days. It's a remote spot, and nobody comes here. They know all the residents, so they don't need to think too much about who this is!

Yu-ge's voice was filled with barely suppressed tension and elation: "Fei-zai, where's the big black star I asked you to buy? Bring it out now!"

He was met with a silent response.

"Hurry up!"

Still silent.

Yu Ge finally realized what was happening and turned around in disbelief, "Where's the gun?"

Fei stammered for a while before finally saying, "Big brother, can't the four of us beat him? So what if he has a gun? If all four of us attack together, how many can he kill?"

Apart from Brother Yu, the rest of their group were all hooligans fresh out of school.

These thugs are heavily influenced by gangster culture; their minds are filled with things like loyalty, climbing the ladder, and glamour...

They were brave and daring, truly willing to shield themselves from gunfire!

They rise to power the fastest, and they die the fastest!

"Stop talking nonsense, I'm asking you where the gun is!" Brother Yu glared at Fei Zai with murderous intent.

"Looking for a girl..."

"Snapped!"

Yu Ge slapped him without any hesitation.

He swung his arms, glanced hesitantly at Xu Guangkun as he drew closer, then looked back at the group of young faces filled with excitement and eagerness. After a two-second silence, he gritted out a few words through clenched teeth: "Retreat, call for backup!"

.....

Xu Guangkun withdrew his gaze from the retreating figures and stared at the dilapidated building in front of him where he had lived for three months.

"Looks like I won't be able to offer incense for you, brother."

After muttering to himself, Xu Guangkun turned and swayed into the depths of the traffic.

But just as he turned his head, Yu-zai poked his head out from around the corner, holding a Motorola phone and saying urgently, "He's gone. He got into a taxi, the license plate..."

Just then, a few cars drove by.

"What's the license plate number?" came the voice on the phone.

Just as Yu-zai was about to answer, his eyes went blank as he lost sight of the taxi.

.....

Hong Kong's economy took off in 1988, a blend of Chinese and Western influences.

Most locals had mixed feelings of anticipation and trepidation about the 97 handover. Of course, there were also some people who, after hearing rumors about the mainland, arrogantly made judgments about mainlanders.

A country bumpkin, ignorant and poor.

Clearly, the driver who carried Xu Guangkun was the same kind of person.

"What exactly are you trying to do? How long have you been wandering around? Where are you going?"

"The money I gave you is enough for you to earn for a few days, brother?" Xu Guangkun replied casually, propping his arm up and looking out at the street.

The driver immediately reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "It's only because of the money, otherwise who would want to give you a ride? You reek of sourness, you stink!"

Xu Guangkun glanced down at the clothes he had just changed into. "I don't need my nose anymore, I can donate it."

The driver snorted twice, snorting, "You mainlanders are all up to no good. Don't argue with me. You know that Xu Guangkun guy, right? He's also from the mainland, and he's made a mess of things here!"

Xu Guangkun was stunned for a moment when he first heard his name.

"Perhaps, he had no other choice."

"No way my ass! Does someone put a knife to his throat and make him kill someone or rob a bank?" The driver spat twice in disdain.

Well, after he said that, Xu Guangkun had no way to refute it.

Seeing that he didn't speak, the driver became even more arrogant, strutting around talking about Hong Kong, one of the Four Asian Tigers, its booming economy, and how the mainlanders could earn in three months what they earned in a week, blah blah blah.

Until Xu Guangkun threw another two hundred yuan at him and pointed to the black car in front.

"Go with the flow."

The driver grunted twice, turned the car around, and said as he pulled over, "It's only because of the money..."

He was only halfway through his sentence.

"Sizzle."

A sound like screws being turned rang out.

The driver glanced at Xu Guangkun and saw him pull out two dark, lumpy things and busily working on them.

"Hurry up and get closer, do you hear me?"

The driver was too preoccupied with driving to continue; he rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked again.

The silencer had completely kissed the black star.

The driver was so frightened he almost screamed.

He sat blankly in the driver's seat, unsure whether he was dreaming or hallucinating.

until.

"What are you standing there for?"

The driver then came to his senses and shivered.

He swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice, "Brother, actually I really want to go to the mainland."

"Really? Then I'll introduce you when I have time." Xu Guangkun glanced at him with a half-smile, rolled down the car window, and stuck his head out to look at the people sitting in the black car.

"What are you looking at? I'll blind you!"

The gangster driving the car noticed Xu Guangkun and immediately shouted.

Xu Guangkun ignored him and continued his inspection. After memorizing everyone's appearance, he finally withdrew his head, satisfied, and took out the information Jiang Lanxin had given him from his pocket, turning to the third page.

"The license plate matches, and the person matches too."

Xu Guangkun put away the photos and asked the person in the back seat of the black car with a smile.

"Your name is Yellow Dog, and you're Master Hesheng, right?"

The yellow dog looked up and saw a hand reaching out from the passenger seat next to it, holding a phone…

Big Black Star!

"Brake!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

.....

Meanwhile, at 323 Zuo Guo Road, Xin Xin Restaurant.

Yin Tao, the new leader of Hesheng, listened to his subordinate's report.

"You mean, Xu Guangkun has reappeared, right?"

"Yes, big brother!" Brother Yu nodded his head like a waterwheel.

"Looks like I'm going to run into him here again." Yin Tao gripped the dragon-headed cane in his hand, his smile twisted into a menacing grin. "He ruined my banquet last time, and now he wants to ruin it again?"

He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Give me all the guns! If he dares to come, I'll take his head! A salute to Guan Yu!"

.....