Chapter 147: Defiance

By this time, Yang Jiekai finally realized that He Yuan had recognized him long ago and was simply looking for an opportunity to humiliate him.

Since Yang Jiekai was a man who refused to take the slightest disadvantage, seeing the other party deliberately insulting him, he stood up, looked straight at He Yuan, and said calmly, "Long time no see, President He."

He Yuan let out a cold snort in response to Yang Jiekai and ignored him entirely. Instead, he turned his gaze to Chen Peifeng and said, "Brother Chen, this gathering is of the utmost importance. We cannot have just any stray cat or dog participating."

Cold sweat broke out on Chen Peifeng's forehead. He had never expected that Yang Jiekai would dare to talk back to He Yuan in public, and he quickly interjected, "President He, actually..."

"Say no more!"

He Yuan raised a hand to cut Chen Peifeng off, pointed at Yang Jiekai, and said, "Everything we discuss today is strictly confidential and must never be leaked. Now that this person knows everything, I believe the seniors sitting here should know what to do."

Chen Peifeng grew anxious upon hearing this. He Yuan's words were clearly a death sentence for Yang Jiekai!

Of course, no matter how clever Chen Peifeng was, he could not guess why He Yuan was targeting Yang Jiekai with such animosity, because he had no idea that the two had already crossed paths previously.

Seeing that He Yuan had given the order, one of the men stood up and said, "President He is right. Everything we discuss today is top secret and not a single word can be allowed to leak."

With that, he shouted toward the doorway, "Come in!"

The door suddenly flew open, and several burly bodyguards in black rushed inside. The man pointed at Yang Jiekai and commanded, "Kill him!"

Without a second word, the bodyguards drew daggers and lunged at Yang Jiekai. Chen Peifeng turned green with anxiety, completely at a loss as to what to do.

Long Xiaoman, on the other hand, remained entirely calm, sipping her red wine with casual enjoyment.

It was not that she didn't care about Yang Jiekai, but rather that she knew him far too well. Yang Jiekai's temper was crystal clear to her; given He Yuan's insulting remarks just moments ago, it would have been a miracle if Yang Jiekai hadn't talked back.

Furthermore, Long Xiaoman was well aware that a few bodyguards like these stood no chance of harming Yang Jiekai.

True to form, with a flurry of punches and kicks too fast for anyone present to follow, Yang Jiekai laid all the black-clad bodyguards flat on the floor in a matter of seconds.

"Impudent!"

The table full of underworld bosses was instantly displeased by this sight and hastily drew their pistols, aiming them straight at Yang Jiekai.

In truth, they didn't take Yang Jiekai seriously at all. Their talk of leaked secrets was merely a pretext; they were seasoned men who instantly saw that He Yuan was deliberately trying to fix this kid, so they had seized the chance to take a stand and curry favor.

"You'd all better put those pieces of junk away, or I'll make sure you don't even have the chance to regret it!"

Yang Jiekai cared little for these people. A single glance at the way they drew their guns told him they were just a mob of amateurs. At such close range, he had a hundred percent certainty of wiping every single one of them out before they could pull the trigger.

"Put your guns away."

Seeing the situation escalate, Zhou Dongcheng quickly raised a hand to stop them. Having risen through the ranks in his youth by virtue of his own combat prowess, he had taken careful note of Yang Jiekai's movements just now.

"Little brother, judging by the moves you just pulled, I doubt you're just some insignificant nobody."

Having reached his current position, Zhou Dongcheng possessed extremely sharp discernment. A single look at Yang Jiekai's stance and aura told him the young man was definitely not to be underestimated.

Yet, as it turned out, he was mistaken this time, because Yang Jiekai truly was just an ordinary foot soldier in the Dragon Hall.

Meeting Zhou Dongcheng's gaze, Yang Jiekai replied, "Brother Zhou, is it? To be honest with you, I really am just the most inconspicuous little soldier in the Dragon Hall."

Naturally, Zhou Dongcheng did not take Yang Jiekai's words literally. He looked at the young man and said, "You really are a young hero, little brother. I'll make the executive decision—at this alliance meeting, there will be a seat for you."

Since Zhou Dongcheng had spoken, the surrounding underworld bosses naturally dared not voice any objections and promptly put their firearms away.

Zhou Dongcheng's motivation in saying this wasn't out of genuine fear for Yang Jiekai. As noted earlier, he was a deeply calculating man, and a plan had already formed in his mind.

"Little brother, please forgive the offense caused by these brothers of mine just now. Let me toast you with this cup." Zhou Dongcheng raised his glass and drained it in one go.

Yang Jiekai didn't pick up his glass. Instead, he waved a hand impatiently and said, "Alright, cut the beating around the bush. Say what you have to say."

"Very well. Since my brother is so straightforward, I'll be direct."

Zhou Dongcheng swept his gaze across the room and said, "The purpose of this alliance is to jointly deal with external enemies, so we cannot afford to engage in infighting before the battle even begins. This brother here..."

Zhou Dongcheng paused, smiled at Yang Jiekai, and added, "By the way, I still don't know your esteemed surname."

"My surname is Yang," Yang Jiekai replied without a trace of politeness. He could see right through it—while Zhou Dongcheng appeared amicable on the surface, he was actually harboring a stomach full of malicious schemes. He had already guessed roughly what Zhou Dongcheng was going to say next.

"Ah, Brother Yang."

Zhou Dongcheng continued, "Brother Yang is a young hero whom I truly admire. Regarding our joint defense against the external enemy, I wonder if Brother Yang has any good suggestions?"

Without batting an eye, Zhou Dongcheng kicked the ball right back to Yang Jiekai's court.

Although an alliance had been reached today, the most critical question remained: who would lead the vanguard? Zhou Dongcheng certainly wouldn't do it, neither would He Yuan, and none of the underworld bosses present would volunteer either. Therefore, they desperately needed to find a scapegoat to stick their neck out first.

And the Dragon Hall sitting right before them made an ideal candidate. The Dragon Hall was considered mere small fry locally; using them as cannon fodder to ignite the conflict couldn't be more convenient.

However, the words Yang Jiekai uttered next completely exceeded Zhou Dongcheng's expectations.

Yang Jiekai scanned the crowd and said, "I won't waste time with idle chatter. Since I'm sitting here today, I don't want to beat around the bush either. How about this—I'll present you all with a generous gift first."

"A generous gift?" Zhou Dongcheng asked, a look of confusion crossing his face.

Casually grabbing a banana from the table, Yang Jiekai peeled it and replied offhandedly while taking a bite, "You guys don't need to rack your brains over dealing with this external enemy. Leave it entirely to us at the Dragon Hall."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed drastically. What they had just heard wasn't an offer to lead the vanguard; rather, he had said the entire matter would be handled by the Dragon Hall alone. This implied that none of them even needed to show their faces. Wasn't this... simply too arrogant?

Even He Yuan's expression froze slightly. He never imagined Yang Jiekai would say something like that.

Chen Peifeng's face was a masterpiece of shock, his mouth hanging wide open in utter disbelief, completely devoid of anything to say.

Tossing the banana peel aside, Yang Jiekai continued, "Stop staring at me like that, there are no flowers on my face."

With that, he stood up, rubbed his hands together, and yawned. "Alright, I'm sleepy. You gentlemen carry on with your drinks. Once I've wiped out the foreign faction, I'll come back and have a proper chat with you."

Having said his piece, Yang Jiekai strutted out of the private room with his head held high, accompanied by Long Xiaoman.

Chen Peifeng stood frozen for a moment before hurriedly chasing after them.

"Brother Yang, have you lost your mind!"

Catching up to Yang Jiekai with beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolling down his forehead, Chen Peifeng exclaimed, "Do you think this is a child's game where you can just fight whenever you feel like it? Do you have any idea who this foreign faction is? They are Wu Lianhai, one of the ten sharp blades under the Kaixuan Group from Beihai City!"

"No idea, never heard of them," Yang Jiekai replied dismissively, wrapping one arm around Long Xiaoman's slender waist with a look of complete indifference.

Drivin himself crazy with anxiety and finding nothing to say to such an indifferent attitude, Chen Peifeng ground his teeth and snapped, "Then tell me, why do you think all those heavyweight underworld bosses in Anhai City didn't take a stand today, and why not a single person volunteered to lead the vanguard?"

"Because they're a bunch of morons," Yang Jiekai muttered casually.

Chen Peifeng was completely baffled, utterly at a loss for words. At that moment, he genuinely wanted to grab a thermometer and check the temperature of this brain-damaged fellow to see if his fever had fried his intellect.

"Nobody here is an idiot; those people are extremely clever. What kind of entity is the Kaixuan Group? They are a colossal behemoth whose mere stamp of a foot makes the entire provincial capital tremble. Besides, the ones who came this time are their elite—one of their ten sharp blades! If you dare to provoke them, destruction is not far off."

Seeing Chen Peifeng far more agitated than he was, Yang Jiekai smiled and said, "Brother Chen, I appreciate your good intentions. I'm no fool; I have my own plans for this."

He then added, "Brother Chen, the reason you brought me to this gathering today was undoubtedly to help me gain some exposure. But you saw it for yourself—those people didn't take me seriously at all. If I want to establish a firm foothold in Anhai City, I have to take a risk."

In truth, Yang Jiekai wasn't stupid. He could tell from everyone's conversation that this situation was extremely thorny. His seemingly hot-headed declaration earlier had actually been the result of careful consideration.

What kind of place was Beihai City? It was the provincial capital. Anhai City itself was already a complex melting pot of various factions whose interests had long been carved up and divided, and now a powerful foreign force had suddenly thrust itself into the mix.

Moreover, this foreign faction hadn't arrived in Anhai just a day or two ago. The fact that they could gradually expand in Anhai and pose a threat to the local underworld spoke volumes about their strength.

Yang Jiekai wanted to snatch chestnuts from the fire, seeking wealth and glory through danger by seizing this opportunity to gamble.

Calming down a bit, Chen Peifeng realized there was some logic to Yang Jiekai's words. He sighed softly and said, "What you say makes sense. Wealth is found in danger. If you can pull off this victory and survive, I believe you'll make a huge splash in Anhai. It's just that you're still a bit too reckless."

"Oh?" Yang Jiekai looked at Chen Peifeng with amused interest. "How am I being reckless?"

Chen Peifeng explained, "You saw it yourself just now—even for simply agreeing to become the alliance leader, they attached so many lucrative conditions. Yet you went ahead and shouldered the entire burden all by yourself. Actually, you could have asked for the moon from those people. As long as you didn't cross their bottom line, they would have satisfied your demands. After all, in their eyes, you're just cannon fodder; no one bargains with cannon fodder."

Yang Jiekai understood the logic behind Chen Peifeng's words perfectly well. He nodded and replied, "I appreciate Brother Chen's good intentions, but I just didn't feel it was appropriate to negotiate terms under those circumstances."

"Then when do you think it's appropriate to negotiate?"

A flash of subtle cunning crossed Yang Jiekai's eyes as he smiled and said, "It will be appropriate when He Yuan calls me."