"What do you need my help with?"
Instead of answering immediately, Sitou Meixin glanced at Hu Qing, then at the baby in her arms.
"Today is your little family's reunion day. Business can wait. Tomorrow noon, meet me at the Grand China Restaurant in Chinatown."
Cao Yang watched her leave, fists unconsciously tightening.
She said she came to ask for help—more like a warning, a veiled threat.
He could see it, and so could Hu Qing. She grabbed his ear the moment the door closed.
"You trouble magnet! Everywhere you go, disaster follows. Why the hell did you provoke that woman?"
"Let go! It hurts!" Cao Yang protested, then shot back, "You still have the nerve to blame me? Weren't you the one who lied to me, saying I had to come to the U.S. to find her? If you didn't push me, would I even go? All this trouble started with YOU!"
Hu Qing was rendered speechless.But of course, she wouldn't admit fault. She pinched his waist instead."Oh? You think you've grown some wings after a few years? You dare yell at me?!"
After their brief scuffle, the two finally calmed down.
"What do you think she wants from you?" Hu Qing asked.
"Killing someone," she concluded after a moment.
Cao Yang shook his head."She's been rooted in the U.S. for years. She's survived countless challenges. With their manpower, why would she need me to kill someone? The world won't stop spinning without me."
"That's true…" Hu Qing frowned. "But other than fighting, you have no real skill. What else could she want?"
"I think she's attracted to me," Cao Yang said seriously. "She's trying to get close and devour me."
Hu Qing burst into laughter.
"Stop daydreaming. So? Are you going tomorrow or not?""I don't want to, but I'm worried she might trouble you two.""Then let's run tonight. Another country. Forget everything—just the three of us, living a peaceful life."
Cao Yang shook his head."It took me so long to reach the U.S., and I haven't even started handling my business. I can't leave. You and the baby can go first—I'll catch up after I'm done."
Hu Qing kicked him.
The next day at noon, Cao Yang arrived at the Grand China Restaurant in Chinatown with two handguns tucked at his waist.
The past six months hadn't just been about babysitting. Whenever he had free time, he trained at a shooting range.
Handguns, rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles—even mortars and rockets.
His talent was frightening.In half a year, he destroyed over a hundred guns, fired hundreds of thousands of rounds, and burned through a few million U.S. dollars.His muscle memory was sharp.Even the instructors admired him like a god of guns.
He also monitored information about the Han family's overseas members.The two sisters in New York had already returned.He didn't touch them.
His real target was Su Yuanshan.But Su's headquarters were in China, not America.The U.S. branch rarely saw him.
"Mr. Cao, right? Miss Sitou has been waiting. This way, please."
Cao Yang followed a long-legged waitress in a cheongsam upstairs.Inside a private room, Sitou Meixin was already seated.
"I thought you'd run away in the middle of the night," she teased.
Cao Yang sat down, face cold."Say it. What do you want?"
"No need to act so tense. It's a good thing."
Cao Yang sneered internally.There was no such thing as "good things" for him.
"I intend to form a new organization. I'm inviting you to be its leader. What do you think?"
"You're going independent?" Cao Yang asked, surprised.
"No. Not independent. A subsidiary group. Like the branches under Yi He Society or Liansheng."
"And what does that have to do with me?""You'll be the boss.""Why?""No need for reasons. Just tell me—yes or no."
"No."
The air froze instantly.
Sitou Meixin stared at him, fists trembling.This guy—he didn't budge for money, beauty, or intimidation. He was infuriating.
People said all men were slaves to wealth and lust.Cao Yang was no exception in the past.
But now?Money—he didn't care.He never said it, but the women around him were rich enough for several lifetimes.
Lust—his lower half had been "retired" for a long time.Not because he lacked desire.Whenever passion surged, he would think of Bai Xue locked in prison and stop himself, feeling guilty.
Sitou Meixin had investigated him thoroughly.Money didn't tempt him.Beauty didn't tempt him.So she tried offering power.
Even that failed.
She wanted to form this new branch because managing tens of thousands of Hongmen members was too troublesome.Only the Sitou family still involved themselves in the underworld; the other three Chinese clans in America had withdrawn.
Yet these people, though troublesome, were extremely useful.
Even U.S. presidential candidates sought their support—one word from the Sitou family could influence hundreds of thousands of Chinese-American votes.
Hongmen members came from four categories.The most problematic were the last group—people like Cao Yang, who fled overseas after committing crimes back home.
This group was small but dangerous.They wouldn't wash dishes or do honest labor.They'd gather, start schemes, form gangs, run illegal businesses, clash with existing groups.
Conflicts inside Chinatown, conflicts with other races—it was endless.
Sitou Meixin's brilliant idea was to gather these troublemakers, form a new faction, and let them fight outside.
Win?Expand territory.
Lose?Go wash dishes.
But choosing a leader was impossible—none of them obeyed anyone.
Until she thought of Cao Yang.Strong.Fearless.Connected to Yi He Society.
He was the perfect candidate.
But the bastard rejected her straight to her face.
She was furious enough to explode.