Chapter 497: The Green Dragon Society’s Lair!
After successfully taking over Cloud Peak No. 1, a cheerful Li Yi didn’t linger long in the mansion and quickly left with his entourage.
After descending from Victoria Peak, Li Yi immediately instructed Tie Ying to drive to Wan Chai Pier—he intended to pay a visit to the Green Dragon Society’s headquarters!
Of course, Li Yi wasn’t going there out of idle curiosity, nor was it simply for the sake of it.
Rather, he felt it was time to discuss the new company with Huang Lixing, and while he was at it, Li Yi also wanted to see Huang Lixing’s business operations on Hong Kong Island.
Tie Ying had received his instructions from Huang Lixing: Li Yi’s orders were his own. Even if Li Yi had asked him to take them to the Green Dragon Society’s headquarters, he wouldn’t have hesitated.
The convoy drove slowly through the crowded city for nearly an hour before finally arriving at a rather quiet pier.
Contrary to his expectations of towering skyscrapers, all he saw were low, dilapidated, old-fashioned houses—it felt as if he had stepped into a slum.
The dilapidation was one thing, but what left Li Yi even more speechless was that the vessels moored at the pier weren’t warships or cruise liners—they were all rickety fishing boats, none of which appeared to be even a thousand-ton class.
The desolation and dilapidation here stood in stark contrast to Victoria Harbour, which Li Yi had visited before.
After winding through the streets, the car finally came to a stop in front of a dilapidated industrial building.
Immediately, Iron Eagle honked the car horn!
Instantly, a piercing beeping sound rang out at the entrance.
Seeing the convoy approach, more than a dozen henchmen poured out from the factory.
Each of these henchmen wore tight black vests, their heads either shaved bald or dyed yellow, green, or an even brighter red.
Just seeing these guys standing on the street, you didn’t even need them to say a word to know what they were up to!
But this was a common sight in Hong Kong during the 70s and 80s, so it wasn’t exactly surprising.
As soon as he saw the henchmen approaching, Iron Eagle rolled down his car window and said, “It’s me!”
“We were blind not to recognize Brother Eagle, huh!”
With that, the leader of the henchmen pushed open the gate and let Tie Ying and his crew in.
Once the car pulled into the factory, Li Yi realized there was a whole other world inside.
From the outside, the entire factory appeared to be a single, unified structure, but once inside, it became clear that it was actually divided into several distinct sections.
Although there were many people bustling about inside—both men and women—their uniforms varied.
Some wore black vests, some wore white vests, and others wore orange vests; from a distance, they looked just like the sanitation workers on the streets of later times.
As far as Li Yi knew, although the Qinglong Society—to which Old Huang belonged—was nominally a gang, it was actually composed of three branches. These three branches operated independently, their relationship more akin to a cooperative arrangement.
As expected, the different uniforms represented the different branches!
Under Tie Ying’s control, the car drove all the way to the front of a large warehouse at the very back of the compound before coming to a stop.
“Mr. Li, we’re here!”
Li Yi nodded and got out immediately.
Seeing Li Yi get out, Lan Xinyi and the others also stepped out of the car, their hearts filled with a touch of trepidation.
“Mr. Li, the boss is inside. I’ll take you to him!” said Tie Ying.
“Alright!”
Led by Tie Ying, Li Yi and the others walked through the warehouse area and arrived at the section behind the factory building.
After passing through these makeshift warehouses, the space opened up before them, and a small four-story building came into view.
There were guards stationed at the entrance, but upon seeing Tie Ying leading the group, they did not stop them.
Once they had entered the building without incident, Li Yi noticed that the first floor was actually filled with people dressed in shirts and slacks. If it weren’t for the henchmen outside wielding knives and clubs, Li Yi would have thought he’d walked into a modern corporation!
Tie Ying didn’t take Lan Xinyi and the others upstairs; instead, he found an empty conference room on the first floor and settled them in there!
Only after that did he take Li Yi up to the fourth floor.
When he reached the door to Huang Lixing’s office, Li Yi saw A Biao standing outside with two bodyguards, while the sound of Huang Lixing arguing with someone could be heard from inside.
Even through the closed door, Li Yi could sense Old Huang’s anger.
Upon seeing Li Yi, A-Biao hurried over and said, “Mr. Li, what brings you here?”
“I had some business with Old Huang, but it looks like he’s a bit busy!”
“Right, the boss is in the middle of negotiations. Why don’t you wait in the reception room next door?”
“Alright!”
After arriving at the reception room A-Biao had mentioned, a henchman soon brought him some coffee.
Bored, Li Yi walked over to the window with his coffee.
Looking out the window, Li Yi discovered that the building was right on the waterfront. Not only was there a pier behind it, but several well-maintained speedboats were moored alongside it.
At that moment, Li Yi seemed to understand. Clearly, the Qinglong Society used this dock to transport smuggled goods to Hong Kong Island, then distributed them through various channels.
The fact that the Qinglong Society controlled such a large dock here clearly meant their power was not to be underestimated.
Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, a sudden loud crash came from outside—it sounded like a door slamming.
This was immediately followed by Huang Lixing’s furious roar…
A moment later, the door to the reception room where Li Yi was sitting swung open, and Huang Lixing walked in.
“Brother Li Yi, I got into a bit of a long argument with those bastards. Sorry to keep you waiting!”
“No problem, I haven’t been here that long anyway!”
“Come on, let’s talk in my office!”
“Alright!”
The two then walked one after the other into Huang Lixing’s office!
The office wasn’t very large, but it was nicely decorated.
After sitting down across from each other at a small round table, Huang Lixing immediately asked, “Brother Li Yi, what brings you here?”
“I’d like to talk to you about our new company!”
“Sure, I happen to have some time. What do you want to talk about?” Huang Lixing asked right away.
“How many people have we recruited for the security company so far?”
“Not many—just over ten, but I’m not sure how many will stick around in the end,” Huang Lixing replied.
“No problem. Just recruit people according to my specifications for now. Later, I’ll bring in a group of elite personnel from the mainland to take charge of operations!”
As he spoke, Li Yi thought of his brother-in-law. From what he knew, his brother-in-law wasn’t just an ordinary soldier. Although he’d never seen him in action, he had witnessed him lose his temper—and a single glare from him was enough to silence a whole gang of thugs.
So Li Yi planned to ask his brother-in-law when he got back, to see if he could help connect him with a group of retired comrades-in-arms.
If these men were willing to come to Hong Kong, their skills combined with their discipline would surely get the security company he and Old Huang owned up and running.
“Brother Li Yi, to be honest, I’ve never quite understood how this security company you’re talking about actually operates, or how it would benefit us,” Huang Lixing said.
Li Yi took a moment to gather his thoughts before replying, “I told you before I came here: I can help you get out of the underworld. Even if you truly wash your hands of it, you won’t have to worry about ending up dead on the streets—and this security firm is the key!”
“Just with this company?”
“Exactly. Most people who retire from the underworld only to meet a tragic end share two things in common: first, they lack the power to deter their enemies after leaving the scene; second, their retirement threatens the interests of too many people!”
Li Yi continued, “As long as we address these two issues, you can retire from the underworld whenever you want!”
“Can this security firm solve both of those problems?”
“Of course it can. Once this security firm is up and running, you’ll not only have the firepower to intimidate your opponents, but you’ll be even stronger. You have to understand that members of a legitimate security firm are authorized to carry firearms. With a gun in your hand, what is there to fear?”
Li Yi added, “Furthermore, once the company is established, you can recruit all your trusted brothers into the security firm. That way, the men who’ve fought alongside you through thick and thin can not only quickly clean up their records but also secure a well-paying job!”
“As long as these brothers of yours still genuinely support you, who could possibly touch you—whether it’s your enemies or your former partners?”
After hearing Li Yi’s analysis, Huang Lixing’s eyes were filled with excitement.
Having been in the underworld for so many years, he could naturally tell whether what Li Yi was saying was feasible.
Of course, if he had to do it on his own, it clearly wouldn’t work.
But now that Li Yi was stepping in to take charge, it would naturally be no problem. He could finally wash his hands of the underworld and retire in triumph!
However, Li Yi’s next words left him completely speechless!