I chose one of four options at the start, and I chose the number one clan in Lingnan.

Four armored Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans were parked outside the SUV defense line.

The car door opened, and Bai Zongming walked at the front. He was wearing a dark blue Tang suit and holding a sandalwood cane.

Twenty bodyguards followed closely behind. Their trench coats were open, revealing black grips in their arm holsters.

The leader, a bald, burly man, carried a modified steel-pipe rifle with the muzzle pointing downwards as he strode up the steps.

Lin Fei led fifty elite soldiers of the Loyal Hall to block the revolving glass door.

The two groups of people stood three meters apart.

Bai Zongming stopped in his tracks, his gaze passing over Lin Fei and landing on Lin Ting, who was sitting on the sofa in the center of the lobby.

"I've been doing business in the provincial capital for twenty years, and this is the first time I've ever seen someone drive a convoy into the lobby of Buckingham Palace," Bai Zongming said.

Lin Ting sat on the sofa, twirling two dark red walnuts in his hands. The walnuts collided, making a crisp clicking sound.

"Rules are made by people." Lin Ting didn't stand up. "Patriarch Bai, have you brought so many people today to discuss business, or to start a war?"

Bai Zongming leaned on his cane with both hands.

"A 3 billion yuan pie, neither the Bai family nor the Lin family can swallow it up. The Provincial Construction Commission, the Road Administration, the Taxation Bureau, and countless other departments have mouths to feed."

"Old Master Lin overturned the table, and now nobody has anything to eat." Bai Zongming looked at Lin Ting.

"Hasn't the Bai family already smashed my rice bowl once?" Lin Ting stopped holding the walnut in his hand.

"The road administration blocked my car, the stock market crashed my portfolio. Now that the table's overturned, you're talking to me about dinner?"

Bai Zongming's face turned ashen.

"Bai Yu is young and impetuous, and he acts without restraint. The Bai family has redeemed the shares in the South District Logistics Park at double the market price."

"Release Deputy Director Liu, hand over the account books, and this matter ends here." Bai Zongming offered his terms.

"Double the redemption? Patriarch Bai, you've got quite the generosity." Lin Ting put the walnuts in his pocket and stood up.

"How do you plan to repay the 500 million yuan bridge loan from the Mitsui Group? The port mortgage contract has already been signed. What does the Bai family have to offer me to negotiate market value now?"

Bai Zongming's expression changed. The Lin family had even thoroughly investigated the source of Mitsui's funds.

"Grandpa Lin, it's best to be lenient when you can. If you really push the Bai family too far, the floodwaters of the provincial capital could drown everyone in your Tazhai village," Bai Zongming said.

"I'd like to see just how deep the waters are in the provincial capital." Lin Ting stopped five steps away from Bai Zongming.

"How do you want to talk?" Bai Zongming asked.

"Follow the Lin family's rules." Lin Ting pointed to the twenty bodyguards behind Bai Zongming. "No noisy dogs allowed in. Confiscate them all."

Bai Zongming's bodyguards all took a step forward in unison.

The bald, burly man leading the group raised his modified steel-pipe rifle and aimed the muzzle at Lin Ting's chest.

"Who do you think you are, daring to take our guns!" the bald, burly man yelled.

Lin Fei stepped forward and stood in front of Lin Ting.

"Put the gun down." Lin Fei stared at the bald man.

The bald, burly man snorted and put his finger on the trigger.

"Take one more step and I'll blow your head off!" the bald man threatened.

Lin Fei did not stop, and continued walking forward towards the gun barrel.

The bald, burly man hardened his grip and was about to pull the trigger. Lin Fei reached out with his left hand and precisely grabbed the thick steel barrel.

The bald man tried to pull the gun back with all his might, but the barrel didn't budge.

Lin Fei gripped the middle of the gun barrel with his right hand, exerted force from his waist, and flexed the muscles in his arms.

A piercing metallic clanging sound echoed from the lobby.

The thick gun barrel, made from a seamless steel pipe, was bent into an exaggerated ninety-degree right angle by the force exerted by Lin Fei's hands.

The bald, burly man stared wide-eyed, still gripping the gun butt with both hands, frozen in place.

Leng Qiu stood on one side of the lobby, her teacup wobbling, spilling hot water onto the back of her hand, which she didn't even wipe away. Manager Zhang's legs went weak, and he knelt behind the service counter.

Lin Fei raised his foot and kicked the bald man squarely in the chest.

The bald man, weighing over 200 pounds, flew backward, knocking over the three bodyguards behind him, and crashing into the revolving glass door.

Broken glass littered the ground.

"Make your move," Lin Fei uttered.

Fifty elite soldiers from the Loyal Hall drew their steel batons and charged at the Bai family's bodyguards.

Upon hearing the commotion, the remaining 450 Zhongtang men in the square outside the gate surged toward the entrance of the main hall like a tide.

The Bai family's twenty bodyguards didn't even have time to draw their guns.

Zhongtang's men worked in groups of three, smashing riot shields directly into the bodyguards' faces and using batons to target their knees and wrists.

A bodyguard had just drawn his pistol, but before he could even cock it, his right wrist was smashed by a baton, and the pistol fell to the ground.

Another bodyguard tried to resist but was sandwiched between two riot shields. A third person kicked him in the stomach, causing him to vomit bile on the spot.

Screams filled the air.

In less than a minute, all twenty bodyguards were pinned to the floor tiles covered in shards of glass.

Every pistol and submachine gun was searched from their bodies by Zhongtang's men.

"Throw it out," Lin Fei ordered.

Zhongtang's men carried the guns to the edge of the square and lifted the iron gate of the sewer.

More than twenty guns, along with the broken steel-pipe rifle, were all thrown into the stinking ditch.

Bai Zongming stood there, watching his elite troops being unilaterally crushed, the veins on the back of his hand gripping his cane bulging.

He had been a powerful figure in the provincial capital for so many years, and no one had ever dared to fire a bodyguard's gun in front of him.

He turned to look at Lin Ting.

Lin Ting took the two walnuts out of his pocket again and slowly rubbed them in his palm.

Bai Zongming's gaze fell on the walnuts.

Those walnuts were no ordinary collectibles. The bottom of the walnut on the left had a very deep knife mark, while the one on the right was inlaid with a piece of gold the size of a grain of rice.

This was a personal item belonging to "Ninth Master," the now-deceased head of the Jiangnan underworld.

Twenty years ago, Ninth Master used these two walnuts to wipe out the underground forces in the three provinces of Jiangnan.

After Ninth Master died, this thing disappeared without a trace, and now it has fallen into Lin Ting's hands.

Bai Zongming quickly went through his old connections in the provincial capital in his mind.

The Lin family is far more than just a bunch of bumpkins from a remote village; the waters behind Lin Ting are much deeper than he imagined.

If Ninth Master's old subordinates were still around, the Bai family wouldn't be able to play this game at all.

"Master Bai, can we talk now?" Lin Ting asked.

Bai Zongming took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.

"Let them wait outside," Bai Zongming said to the bodyguard groaning on the ground.

Lin Ting turned and walked towards the elevator.

"Top floor, the VIP box," Lin Ting instructed Manager Zhang.

Manager Zhang scrambled over and pressed the elevator button.

The elevator doors closed, taking us straight to the top floor.

The door to the private room opened, and Lin Ting walked to the huge mahogany tea table, pulled out the chair in the main seat, and sat down.

Lin Fu took out a tea set from the cabinet next to him, boiled water, rinsed the tea leaves, and brewed the tea. He didn't say a word the whole time.

A steaming cup of premium Da Hong Pao tea was placed neatly in front of Lin Ting by Lin Fu.

Lin Fu put the teapot back in its original place and stepped back to stand behind Lin Ting.

Bai Zongming walked into the private room alone and stood opposite the tea table.

The table was completely empty.

Lin Ting picked up his teacup and took a sip, skipping the formalities of pouring tea.