Chapter 40: Sincere Expectations
"100 million!"
"300 million!"
"500 million!"
"One billion!"
Soon came the main event the charity auction. A crowd of gang leaders competed, raising their paddles and shouting higher and higher bids, as the prices kept climbing. Each winner drew attention and applause from the audience, basking in vanity.
Events like this were held several times a year by the Ten Donss. Some, driven by pride or perhaps simply overestimating their wealth spent beyond their means for the sake of reputation, only to find themselves bankrupt soon after.
"Five billion!"
Haze glanced at David, who understood immediately and raised his paddle.
"Oh! The Shield Family our esteemed boss, Mr. Haze, bids five billion!" announced the host, and with that, a spotlight illuminated Haze.
The surrounding gang leaders were momentarily shocked; Haze's bid was outrageous.
The auction had barely started, and before it even reached its climax, the price had soared to five billion.
For a moment, all other bids went silent.
"Six billion!"
Suddenly, a cold voice echoed.
Haze turned to look it was the same middle-aged man who had been sitting with Badim earlier in the hotel lobby, the one who had looked at him with a lustful gaze.
"Ten billion!"
Haze remained silent, but David understood and raised the paddle again.
"My god!"
Even the host was stunned this time.
Although everyone knew that the Shield Family was involved in the casino business, such extravagant spending was beyond belief!
The big shot beside Badim frowned, gritted his teeth, and ultimately didn't dare bid again.
Haze had won one of the auction items
a plain white porcelain vase… perfect for holding flowers.
Haze's goal was to become one of the Ten Donss, so he didn't care how much he spent. Once he achieved it, this sum would mean nothing.
For the truly wealthy in this world take Bartra, for instance, the man who later bought Greed Island for his loved ones.
He spent tens of billions on a single game and even offered a 50-billion bonus for anyone who could complete it.
He collected 32 copies of the game, seven of which he had purchased at the Southern Piss auction, spending half his total fortune.
Meanwhile, Feitan and Phinks simply stole one.
In short, the truly rich were worth at least a trillion.
Even though the Shield Family had absorbed the assets of the Kenny and Mac families, ten billion was still a massive sum for an organization of their scale and that was just the first bid.
Time passed slowly.
That night, the Shield Family became the absolute center of attention.
Haze claimed ten auction items in total, spending nearly 100 billion
equivalent to the combined assets of the Kenny and Mac families, plus extra capital.
They weren't bankrupt yet, but they were on the brink.
The Shield Family and Haze himself were now the talk of the underworld.
After the party, gangsters exited the venue, casting glances at Haze and David, who had already left.
Among them were those same leaders who had earlier wanted to humiliate him.
"He's stolen all the spotlight," one muttered coldly, crushing his cigarette underfoot.
"You think this will make the Ten Donss treat him any differently?"
Badim said nothing.
Hundreds of billions… everyone knew the auction was just a racket, a way for the Ten Donss to extort money.
Even the far-removed Elders would surely be impressed by such a massive donation
but few were willing to admit it.
Sure, they could all raise hundreds of billions,
but not without crippling their foundations.
It was just a yearly auction, after all.
"Spending that much, the Shield Family must be tearing itself apart."
"There won't be a Shield Family soon..."
…
"Let's split up," Haze said later as he and David exited the hotel.
"Yes,"
the old butler replied quietly.
He already had a bad feeling
being too visible was dangerous, especially among so many gangs, large and small.
"Everything's arranged as I said, right?"
"Yes. I've warned our people over there."
"Good."
Haze was satisfied with the butler's efficiency.
People were still stopping to greet him as luxury cars rolled away one after another.
Haze got into his own car and disappeared into the night with his convoy.
Inside the vehicle, there was silence only Haze and the driver.
They sped out of the city and onto the main highway back to Cork.
Then, suddenly
the escort vehicles ahead screeched to a halt.
Haze's car also slowed, then stopped completely.
"So, you plan to dump my body in the desert?"
Haze's tone was calm.
They had already killed his relatives before. The attackers had disguised themselves and erased all traces quickly.
It all looked perfect.
A group of armed men stepped out of their cars, guns trained on the back seat where Haze sat quietly.
"This is a gift from our boss, Li Fu,"
the driver in front said coldly through the mirror.
The next second, gunfire erupted.
Moments later, Haze stood alone on a deserted suburban highway, removing his tattered coat as he spoke on his phone.
Behind him lay several corpses
the driver's head slumped lifelessly against the wheel.
Beep, beep…
The call connected.
"Did you find them?" Haze asked casually.
"We found them, but they're moving too fast… At your current distance, I'm afraid "
"It's fine. I can catch up."
After confirming David's location, he hung up.
Then, standing on the road, Haze stretched his limbs.
"When was the last time I ran a marathon?"
He raised an eyebrow. Was it back in school?
He couldn't remember.
He went up on his toes
and in the next instant, his entire figure shot off the road.
A faint crack of air pressure and a rush of wind came seconds after he was gone.
…
Meanwhile, Elder Brown received the event report.
The biggest donor that night
was Haze, the boss of the Shield Family.
He had spent hundreds of billions!
Such a sum inevitably piqued Brown's interest in the young man.
He sat alone in his room, sipping coffee, watching the footage from the event.
Haze's demeanor and appearance caught his attention. He didn't look like a typical gangster lacking the vicious aura or brute masculinity.
Instead, he seemed detached, composed almost serene.
Of course, Haze's actions told a very different story.
The light from the television flickered in Brown's eyes, masking his expression.
After a while, he switched off the recording.
Without a word, he stood and left the room.
Hours later, just as he was preparing for bed,
his subordinate called.
"What is it?"
"Sir… River is dead."
"Who did it?"
"Haze of the Shield Family."
Brown fell silent.
The River Family, like Badim's, was one of the most powerful groups in the region still under his authority.
After a pause, Brown merely said,
"I understand."
His subordinate understood perfectly.
The underworld was a small web of power, and news especially blood spread fast.
The next day, chaos erupted.
War had broken out between the Shield and River Families!
The River boss was dead.
Even more shocking
the Ten Donss said nothing.
No orders, no punishment
as if they had tacitly approved.
No one was naïve.
After some thought, everyone realized what was happening.
The conflict shook the entire region.
Battles broke out across the two families' industrial holdings in multiple cities
bloody street warfare.
Another major family, the Chib Family, soon got involved.
For a newcomer to rise in the mafia was never easy it meant challenging the old guard.
The rise of a new power meant restructuring, and the veterans wouldn't stand for it.
The River Family alone wasn't enough,
but once the Chibs joined in, the tide shifted.
Within a week, rumors spread
many of the Shield Family's factories and casinos had been destroyed or shut down.
Everyone thought the Shield Family was doomed
unless the Ten Donss intervened.
But change always comes suddenly.
After only a month, the entire mafia upheaval abruptly ended.
The River and Chib Families changed their names and merged into the former Shield Family.
A new giant had risen in the underworld.
…
One day, Haze received a personal call from the Ten Donss requesting a meeting.
Sitting in the car on his way to the destination, he gazed out the window, deep in thought.
With the three-family conflict resolved, the Shield Family was at its peak.
Brown's summons could only mean one thing
a warning, an explanation of the "rules."
In other words,
a reminder for the Shield Family to know their place.
Haze knew that the gang war he had orchestrated wasn't just against the River and Chib Families
others, like Badim's faction, had also been drawn in but refrained from action after receiving subtle hints from the Ten Donss.
Only the Chibs, due to their alliance with the Rivers, had defied the Elders' will.
Even so, the Ten Donss wouldn't punish them immediately
because this, too, was a test.
Whether the Shield Family perished or triumphed, the Elders didn't care who won.
Still, the Chibs' defiance would surely be settled later.
Yet what concerned Haze wasn't Brown himself
but whether he had strong Nen users around him… like Yin Beasts.
After all, more than thirty Nen users had already died by his hand over the past few months.
His combat experience, Nen awareness, and reaction to danger had all evolved far beyond his Heavens Arena days.
Especially after facing multiple Nen users at once
he had learned something crucial.
Nen users in the mafia possessed greater willpower and conviction.
They had survived countless life-and-death battles.
Their Nen wasn't refined in peace it was forged through carnage.
This raw, violent strength was unlike the gentle precision of arena fighters.
Recently, Haze had also realized something:
the "heart" that Biscuit spoke of was purely mental
the inner self.
Mafia Nen users possessed stronger Nen quality.
Not necessarily more quantity, but a purer, denser essence of power
the difference between earth and diamond.
Unfortunately, as Biscuit had said, true understanding required experience.
Though Haze had grown, he still hadn't faced a true life-or-death crisis.
That's why he Hazeed for one.
He hoped Brown had someone strong
someone truly dangerous.
Because after all
he was meant to replace him.
He knew nothing of Brown's forces yet,
only that those who guarded the Ten Donss were seasoned Nen veterans
their battle experience likely many times greater than his own.
Still, despite knowing how the meeting would unfold,
Haze couldn't help but feel excited.
"Don't disappoint me…"
His tone was heavy with anticipation.
(End of Chapter 40)