Chapter 1973: The Reason for the Rise of Hongmen
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lin Yi came out of the meeting room and rejected Mo Hongshan’s offer to escort him.

Then, he drove towards the airport.

But on the way there, Lin Yi received a WeChat video call from Liang Jinming.

“Why are you looking for me?”

Lin Yi looked at the screen and continued driving.

Behind Liang Jinming was an abstract painting. Coupled with the light around him, it didn’t look like he was at home.

“Brother Lin, are you going out?”

“How do you know that?”

“The manager at the airport called me. He said you asked them to prepare the plane. He said you were going to Aomen.”

“I’m going over to do something. I’ll be back in a few days.”

Lin Yi didn’t hide anything. At this point, there was no need to hide anything.

“Are you going to deal with those people?”

“Yes, there are still some issues I need to deal with,” Lin Yi said expressionlessly.

“Brother Lin, President Ji has something to tell you.”

As he spoke, Liang Jinming turned the camera around. Lin Yi realized that Ji Qingyan was sitting opposite him.

He Yuanyuan was also beside her. They looked like they were eating together.

Facing Lin Yi again, Ji Qingyan’s expression was clearly a little uneasy. In the end, she mustered her courage and said,

“This matter ends here. Don’t go.”

“No way.”

Lin Yi refused decisively. “Don’t worry about this. I know what I’m doing.”

“Is it worth it to work for them like this?!”

Ji Qingyan said excitedly.

Ever since the first incident, she had a very strong opinion of the Central Guards Brigade and even resented them!

If it weren’t for them, Lin Yi wouldn’t have fallen into the trap.

Now that she saw Lin Yi working for the Central Guards Brigade again, she could not control her emotions.

“This has nothing to do with the Central Guards Brigade,” Lin Yi said faintly.

“No matter what, since someone had dared to come for me, I won’t let them live. I’ll make them pay the price!”

With that, Lin Yi hung up.

After that, Liang Jinming sent two more WeChat videos, but Lin Yi didn’t pick up.

At night, Zhonghai was brightly lit.

Some were working overtime at the company.

Some were rushing to catch the subway.

Some brought their wives and children and enjoyed the rare peace of the night.

There were also some who were driving to kill!

After driving to the airport, Lin Yi got on the plane immediately and arrived at Aomen Airport two hours later.

When they arrived at the airport, Xiao Bing and Zhang Chaoyue were already waiting for Lin Yi outside.

“Brother Lin.”

Seeing Lin Yi coming out of the terminal, the two of them went forward and welcomed him.

“Let’s go. Let’s talk on the way.”

“Okay.”

The three of them got into the car and drove towards the Guangdong-Shianggang-Aomen Bridge.

“What about the others?” Lin Yi asked.

“Sister Ying and Brother Qiang have already arrived in Shianggang and are ready to receive us,” Xiao Bing said.

“Qiqi, Brother Shao and Brother Zhao are already on their way. According to the time, they should be able to reach Shianggang before us.”

Xiao Bing combed her hair and continued,

“About half an hour ago, Sister Qiu prepared some information about Hongmen for me.”

“Hongmen’s president, Fang Dezong, took over the position of Hongmen’s leader 10 years ago. In these 10 years, Hongmen has been growing day by day. Back then, the Sun Yee On and 14K were in the limelight. Now, they’re nothing compared to Hongmen.”

“I remember that in the past, Sun Yee On and 14K were organizations on par with Hongmen, and in terms of momentum, they even slightly overshadowed Hongmen. How did they develop back then?”

Due to the urgency of the situation, Lin Yi hadn’t been able to gather much information about Hongmen.

But he did know a bit about their history.

A few decades ago, Shianggang was in a state of a tripartite division.

The three major powers would not yield to each other; they were enemies as well as friends.

Whenever one side grew stronger, the other two would unite to attack it.

As a result, Shianggang was in constant turmoil over two decades ago.

Ten years ago, for Hongmen to rise to prominence, they must have suppressed the other two major powers single-handedly.

The question was, how did Hongmen manage to suppress Sun Yee On and 14K with just their own strength?

Without overwhelming power, it seemed impossible to achieve this.

“The exact reasons haven’t been clarified yet,” Xiao Bing said.

“But according to the Central Guards Brigade’s informants, ten years ago, Hongmen took less than three months to suppress Sun Yee On and 14K, and they rose to become the top power in Shianggang. This situation has remained unchanged for many years.”

“Less than three months to deal with Sun Yee On and 14K?”

Lin Yi was taken aback by this news.

He even found it unbelievable.

Sun Yee On and 14K were not small-time organizations.

They were more like the Yamaguchi-gumi of Shianggang.

For Hongmen to deal with them all within three months, they must have used extraordinary tactics.

“There’s something very strange here,” said Zhang Chaoyue, who was driving.

“When Hongmen suppressed the two organizations, why didn’t they seize the opportunity to eliminate them completely?”

“To divert attention,” Lin Yi said.

“Huaxia is a socialist country. Allowing a tripartite division was already a legal concession. If Hongmen became too dominant, the authorities would certainly intervene. Leaving Sun Yee On and 14K would create the illusion of a balance of power, distracting the authorities.”

“Brother Lin makes sense. I think the same,” Xiao Bing agreed.

“This Fang Dezhong is quite smart. Not everyone has such foresight,” Zhang Chaoyue said.

“If he didn’t have some skills, he wouldn’t have become the leader of Hongmen. His abilities are evident. But the current question is, why did Hongmen suddenly rise to prominence? This point is very unusual.”

“Sister Qiu told me about Hongmen over the phone.”

“She said that there might be a bigger organization behind Hongmen, so I’m guessing that ten years ago, these people helped Hongmen claim the throne of the number one organization in Shianggang.”

“It’s very possible,” Lin Yi said.

“Then, will we find the organization hiding behind this operation?”

“No.” Lin Yi said after a moment of silence.

“The organization that’s hiding behind the scenes must be a world-class organization. Their plans are spread all over the world. To them, Shianggang and Hongmen are just pawns. They wouldn’t leave behind any clues. It’d be difficult to find them.”

Lin Yi leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head as he looked ahead.

“With the current situation of the Central Guards Brigade, if we really encounter that large organization hiding behind the scenes, the consequences would be bad.”

With that, Lin Yi paused and said to himself,

“But these people must be dealt with.”