Era of Mist

Chapter 229 -228: In a Chaotic World, Power Reigns Supreme (Part 2)

Shi Tiexin remained silent.

A cool stream of mental energy swirled in his mind as he thought it over. With his experience, knowledge, and age, it would have been difficult for him to see through a cunning veteran like Wang Dafu. But perhaps it was because of the improvement in his Insight and Reasoning stats, or maybe his counterpart in this timeline really did possess such an ability. After careful consideration, he slowly figured out Wang Dafu’s purpose in bringing him here today.

On the one hand, it was an obvious attempt to win him over and bring him into the fold.

On the other hand, it was probably also meant as a warning.

Perhaps Wang Dafu had found out about him acting on his own, which prompted today’s little outing. But at this critical juncture, when everything needed to be rebuilt from the ground up, they couldn’t do without Shi Tiexin’s help. So, Wang Dafu was using a soft approach to both appease and discipline him.

But regardless of Wang Dafu’s intentions, one thing he said resonated deeply with Shi Tiexin’s current thoughts.

‘In a chaotic world, power is king.’

‘And how does one obtain power?’

He didn’t know how others did it. He only knew one way: to be strong enough himself.

The beauty pageant progressed quickly. After the various powerful figures carved up these beautiful bodies among themselves, the competition swiftly came to an end. Wang Dafu generously told Shi Tiexin to pick one as well. But as Shi Tiexin looked at the smiling beauties, the image of a striking, peerless figure in a red dress suddenly flashed through his mind. Instantly, all the women before him seemed dull and uninteresting.

“No, thank you, Brother Fa.” Shi Tiexin politely declined. “You’re right. I should keep working hard. Besides, I’m still young.”

“You…” Shi Tiexin’s words left Wang Dafu stunned.

Over the next few days, Shi Tiexin was indeed incredibly diligent. He led his men to strike out in all directions, conquering territory and systematically gobbling up the Hongshun Society’s turf. With Brother Ouyang captured, the Hongshun Society still had many mid-level leaders who represented a formidable force.

However, amidst the chaos, they couldn’t unite. Several of them were even scheming to take the Hongshun Society’s top spot for themselves, not hesitating to start fights with their former comrades. A group that was busy with infighting even as a major enemy stood at their gates couldn’t bring their full strength to bear. Shi Tiexin went after them one by one, scoring victory after victory within a few days.

Officer Gao’s intelligence played a crucial role.

Those with no significant black marks on their records were captured.

Those with a long list of evil deeds were killed!

Of course, after careful screening, it turned out that most of these mid-level leaders had long rap sheets. So, Shi Tiexin let loose. Kill, kill, kill. He killed until heads rolled and his name inspired awe and terror.

The boy from the Tumu Castle Orphanage was, without a doubt, beginning to undergo a psychological transformation in this turbulent timeline. He was changing from a complete nobody into someone different.

A week later, as the smoke of battle began to settle, the Squad Leader convened a meeting.

“Regarding the Hongshun Society… let’s not dwell on it. Overall, annexing the Hongshun Society has certainly helped our Da Xing expand its influence and deepen its roots in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.” The Squad Leader sat at the head of the table, with Wang Dafu seated below him, still maintaining the posture of a subordinate.

The Squad Leader glanced at Wang Dafu, then announced, “Therefore, I believe we should reward those who have distinguished themselves! Uh… Ah Zun.”

“Here.” Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but smile. ‘My underworld moniker has been solidified as Black Venerable. Even the Squad Leader has gone from calling me ‘that guy’ to ‘Ah Zun’.’

Shi Tiexin was undisputedly the one who had contributed the most and deserved a heavy reward.

“When Brother Ouyang ambushed us, you distinguished yourself by protecting your superior!”

With a single sentence, the Squad Leader changed the architect of the ambush from Wang Dafu to Brother Ouyang. Of course, rumors about the truth were already circulating in the underworld. But in the official narrative, they had to present a united front and claim it was a trap set by Brother Ouyang.

History is written by the victors. As long as Brother Ouyang remained a prisoner with no chance of a comeback, no one would dare bring up the matter.

The Squad Leader smiled, looking as though he were bestowing a great honor. “I am now promoting you to Da Xing Incense Master. You must continue to work diligently and contribute to Da Xing.”

Shi Tiexin said nothing, waiting for the rest.

But there was nothing more. That was it.

Shi Tiexin had long accumulated enough merits to be promoted to Incense Master; it was just a matter of a day or two sooner or later. Now, after capturing Brother Ouyang, protecting all his superiors, and making immense contributions in the cleanup operation, all of that was being brushed aside with a promotion he was already owed?

‘Are you taking me for a fool?’

Shi Tiexin stared at the Squad Leader, who still wore the expression of someone who had just granted him a heavenly favor and expected eternal gratitude.

‘Hmph, playing dumb!’

“Hey, the Squad Leader is talking to you. Don’t you know how to respond?” Ah Hui spoke up, his expression growing more hostile. In the past few days, Shi Tiexin had been leading his men to conquer territory with even greater efficiency than him, which made Ah Hui feel like he’d lost out on a fortune.

Shi Tiexin ignored him.

“Squad Leader, I have a proposal!” Ah Hui said, turning to him. “I believe we need to centralize our power to accomplish great things. We did indeed take down the Hongshun Society, but its assets don’t belong to any one person—they belong to all of Da Xing. For the prosperity of our entire organization, I think we should conduct a unified audit of the Hongshun Society’s property. Then, the Squad Leader can distribute it, putting each business into the hands of the people best suited to manage it.”

“Right, right, that’s a good point. What Ah Hui said is very reasonable, very reasonable indeed!”

“Therefore, I’ve taken the liberty of preparing an account book, detailing all the Hongshun assets I’ve uncovered these past few days, which I now present to the Squad Leader.” Ah Hui produced a thick ledger. He shot a smug glance at Shi Tiexin, then announced loudly, “I propose that we first conduct a unified inventory to see exactly how many of Hongshun’s assets we’ve taken over, and then we can handle distribution. What does everyone think?”

“Well now, that’s a good proposal. Very constructive. Ah Fa, having a capable man like Ah Hui under you is truly enviable.” The Squad Leader looked from side to side, then pointed at Ah Fan. “Ah Fan, what do you think of Ah Hui’s idea?”

“I…” Ah Fan hesitated for a moment before lowering his head. “I think Brother Hui’s idea is excellent and will benefit Da Xing’s development.”

Shi Tiexin almost scoffed out loud.

‘What a clumsy performance. In the end, it’s just Ah Hui feeling short-changed and the Squad Leader wanting to reap the fruits of our labor. So they put on this little act, using the good of the organization as a pretext to claw back the benefits from Wang Dafu’s and my pockets.’

‘Not only are they denying me the rewards I deserve, but they’re also trying to take what’s already mine?’

‘The sheer audacity. Where do people like you even find the nerve?’

Fortunately, it seemed Wang Dafu had long seen through the Squad Leader and had anticipated this. Shi Tiexin himself was also sufficiently prepared.

“Ah Zun, they’ve both agreed. What about you?”

“I agree as well,” Shi Tiexin said. “We should indeed take a proper inventory.”

“Good, then it’s decided!” The Squad Leader rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Ah Fa, you’ve been busy with other matters lately, so we won’t trouble you with the inventory. I’ll send some people over tomorrow to help you get things sorted out as soon as possible.”

‘His haste to gobble everything up is truly ugly.’

“Of course,” Wang Dafu replied, his expression calm and his smile deep. “I will cooperate fully.”

DING-A-LING. Amidst a sound like a wind chime, text popped up in Shi Tiexin’s vision.

[Destiny Mission 2, Stage Complete]

‘Heh, that’s the best news to come out of this whole farce.’