Gangster heir? Please call me a legitimate entrepreneur.

With a muffled "bang," the incense ash on the offering table was shaken and scattered in all directions.

Lei Hu's large, copper-bell-like eyes were fixed on the thick, brick-like book on the table.

The dim light from the incandescent bulb shone on the gold-embossed cover, reflecting several glaring large characters.

Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China

The more than two thousand people in the Ancestral Hall fell silent instantly, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The younger students in the front rows craned their necks, and their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when they saw the book title.

Lei Hu rubbed his eyes hard, thinking that he must have been hallucinating from spending too much time at nightclubs the night before.

He pointed at the book, his thick fingers trembling.

"B-Brother... what are you going to do with this thing? We're gangsters, not taking the imperial examination!"

Su Ye tapped the hard cover with his knuckles, making a "thump-thump" sound.

"Get involved in organized crime? Do you think it's still the 1990s?"

He glanced at the bewildered faces below the stage and let out a cold laugh.

"You think you can become a gang leader by hacking your way from one end of the street to the other with a watermelon knife? That's just something you see in movies!"

"From today onwards, the rules of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce will be completely changed."

Su Ye propped himself up on the table with one hand, looking down at everyone.

"In the past, when you went out to kill people, the old man would give you a resettlement allowance and cover your medical expenses."

"Now that I'm in charge, there won't be a single penny of compensation for those who committed murder!"

These words caused an immediate uproar, like a drop of cold water splashed into boiling oil.

"No resettlement allowance? Then what's the point of us risking our lives?"

"Has the new boss suffered some kind of trauma and lost his mind?"

"I'm out here making money, and I'm not allowed to kill people but I have to study this damn book? That's utter bullshit!"

A buzzing sound filled the crowd, a cacophony of vulgar curses mingling together, and the scene looked like it was about to spiral out of control again.

Lei Hu got anxious and slapped his bald head with a crisp sound.

"Young Master! How are we brothers supposed to hold our heads high in the underworld after this?!"

"Going out on business without a settlement allowance and having to deal with criminal charges—those bastards from the Sanlian Gang would laugh their heads off!"

Su Ye completely ignored the noise below. He picked up the criminal law book and opened it to a page.

"Laugh? Wait until they're all in jail, then you can watch them laugh from outside!"

He slammed the book on the table, his voice rising eight octaves, drowning out all the other discussions.

"I've said it before, the Municipal Public Security Bureau's 'Thunderbolt Crackdown on Organized Crime' is no joke!"

"Starting from midnight last night, checkpoints were set up on all the major traffic arteries in Longhai City."

"Riot police patrol the streets armed to the teeth 24 hours a day. Carrying a knife out in this situation is tantamount to suicide!"

Su Ye pointed to the few minor leaders standing at the front, speaking very quickly, like a machine gun.

"You, for instigating a gang fight, at least three years imprisonment! You, for brandishing a knife and causing trouble, five years imprisonment!"

"And you, Lei Hu, have so many messy debts on your back."

Su Ye pointed a finger at Lei Hu's chest.

"If he were arrested as a gang leader, he'd be shot with a single peanut, saving him the money he'd have for a coffin!"

Lei Hu subconsciously shrank his neck and touched the cool back of his neck.

The thugs who were shouting the loudest below were also completely silenced by Su Ye's words.

Nobody really wants to go and die; after all, people in the underworld are just trying to make money to support their families.

One of the more astute leaders in the crowd mustered his courage and shouted.

"Your Highness, even if we don't seek revenge, we still need to keep the business going."

"If we don't give them a resettlement allowance, how will we brothers survive?"

Su Ye saw that the fire was almost done and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Live off the northwest wind? As long as you follow my new rules, I'll start paying your social insurance and housing fund contributions!"

"Five social insurances and one housing fund?" Lei Hu scratched his head, looking bewildered.

"Brother, what kind of new organization is that? Is it even more powerful than our Four Seas Chamber of Commerce?"

Su Ye rolled his eyes, speechless. These people who were ignorant of the law were hopeless.

He didn't bother to explain and simply gave a direct order.

"Never mind all that, this is the first kill order issued in the martial arts world!"

"Everyone, memorize this entire criminal law! If you can't remember the sentence for 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble,' you're fired tomorrow!"

"Anyone who dares to cause trouble at this critical juncture will drag thousands of brothers down with them..."

Su Ye's eyes narrowed, and the murderous aura honed during his undercover career once again emanated from his body.

"I won't need the police to arrest you; I'll cripple you myself, then tie you up and send you to the city police station!"

A heavy, oppressive silence fell over the Ancestral Hall once again.

In the midst of this deathly silence, the side door was suddenly pushed open gently.

A young woman dressed in a black business suit and wearing black-rimmed glasses walked in.

She was carrying a mahogany tray with a cup of freshly brewed premium Da Hong Pao tea on it.

This woman's name is Shen Qinghan, and she is a top-notch undercover agent recently planted by the provincial department through special channels.

In name, she was a senior secretary whom the old man had just hired before his death, and she had only been officially hired yesterday.

Shen Qinghan lowered her head, wearing a pair of black flat leather shoes.

She moved silently past the group of menacing, tattooed men, her steps steady and without the slightest sign of panic.

But when she walked to the offering table, her peripheral vision caught sight of the booklet that Su Ye was pressing down on.

Shen Qinghan's usually calm and collected eyes widened uncontrollably.

What's going on?

The son of the biggest gangster in the province is giving a legal talk to his top-ranking members?

Shen Qinghan felt a strong sense of absurdity rush to her head.

She had learned countless criminal psychology cases at the police academy, but she had never learned about a gang leader forcing his underlings to memorize criminal law.

Before coming to Longhai City, his superiors repeatedly warned him that Su Ye was a dangerous gang leader.

But what's going on here? Is this a new kind of slang and code? Or is someone planning an even more clandestine criminal activity?

Shen Qinghan took a deep breath of the sandalwood-scented air, forcefully suppressing the turmoil in his heart.

She placed the tray on the corner of the table without making a sound, her right hand hanging naturally at her side.

With a flick of his finger, he quietly pressed the switch on the miniature voice recorder in his suit pocket.

Su Ye glanced at the steaming cup of tea, then at the aloof-looking female secretary.

Although he remembered this person, he had no interest in dealing with him now.

He picked up his teacup, blew on the floating leaves, and suddenly turned to look at Lei Hu.

"Lei Hu, go to the book wholesale market this afternoon."

Lei Hu tensed up and quickly stood up straight: "Big brother, are we going to collect protection money from that street?"

"Screw you!" Su Ye was so angry she almost splashed hot tea on his face.

"I want to see two thousand genuine copies of the Criminal Law piled up in this ancestral hall before eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

Lei Hu's facial features instantly contorted, as if he had eaten a pound of unripe bitter melon.

"Brother, what am I supposed to say if the bookstore owner asks me why I bought so many books? Should I say our gang is having a team-building event?"

Su Ye took a sip of hot tea, not even lifting his eyelids, and spoke in a nonchalant tone.

"Tell him that starting tomorrow, all members of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce will prepare for the civil service exam and pass the exam."

"Take...take the civil service exam?!" Lei Hu's jaw dropped to his chest.

Shen Qinghan's hand holding the tray trembled violently, almost crushing the mahogany plate.

"Yes." Su Ye put down his teacup, a playful sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Also, let the guys outside know that there will be an extra test on the Labor Law at tomorrow morning's 8 a.m. meeting."