Hong Kong Island. Victoria Harbour!
When Yang Wenguang and his team disembarked from the ferry and saw the rows of skyscrapers lining the harbor, they were all stunned!
Although they had all traveled south from Beijing and had witnessed the city’s prosperity,
They had assumed the skyscrapers in the capital were already tall, massive, and numerous enough, but they never expected to be so overwhelmed the moment they arrived here.
Even the buildings along the harbor alone left them in awe.
Compared to the buildings back in the capital… never mind, let’s not even compare them—there’s simply no comparison!
Just as everyone was utterly stunned by the scene before them, Zhang Ziqiang spotted them too.
Although Yang Wenguang and the others were now dressed in brand-new black suits and wearing shiny new leather shoes, Zhang Ziqiang recognized them at a glance.
After all, the way they were looking around in all directions, their faces filled with astonishment—looking just like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden—was almost exactly the same as when he first came here!
Without hesitation, he strode toward them.
Yang Wenguang also spotted Zhang Ziqiang. They had met before in Nianzishan Village, so he immediately greeted him: “Comrade Zhang, it’s good to see you again!”
“Hello, Brother Yang. Brother Yi asked me to come here to pick you up. Please follow me!” Zhang Ziqiang said.
Yang Wenguang and the others didn’t linger on pleasantries; they immediately followed Zhang Ziqiang, striding out to the parking lot outside the port.
After driving along the Ring Road for nearly half an hour, they arrived at the foot of Taiping Mountain. They then wound their way up the mountain road and finally entered the Yunding Villa District a little after five o’clock, eventually pulling up in front of Yunding No. 1.
When these exceptionally capable veterans entered Cloud Peak No. 1, everyone was once again left speechless.
As Hong Kong’s most prestigious villa, the opulence of Cloudtop No. 1 would leave even the wealthy elite of Hong Kong’s high society speechless—let alone these men who had just arrived from the mainland.
In the villa’s living room, Li Yi, dressed in his finest, was already waiting for them.
Knowing that these men were either the Big Sister’s husband’s comrades-in-arms or veterans selected by State Security who were about to retire, Li Yi held them in high regard and treated them with great respect!
As Zhang Ziqiang led the group into the villa’s foyer, Li Yi immediately stood up to greet them!
“Hello everyone, I’m Li Yi. Welcome to Hong Kong Island. Please, make yourselves at home!”
Hearing this, the veterans realized that this was the man who had hired them, and they were once again stunned.
Mainly because the man before them was simply too young!
Although they had known before arriving that the big boss, Li Yi, was Yang Wenguang’s brother-in-law and was reportedly not very old, they never imagined he would be a young man in his twenties.
For a moment, everyone was speechless, unsure of what to say.
Seeing this, Yang Wenguang immediately said, “Everyone, please sit down. Don’t be shy!”
At Yang Wenguang’s invitation, the group quickly took their seats on the two rows of sofas in the living room.
But with so many people, there simply weren’t enough seats in the living room, so more than half of them had to stand.
It was at this moment that the exceptional discipline of these men became evident.
Without needing to be told, everyone standing stood with their backs straight, forming a neat, orderly line, as straight as javelins.
This single, unplanned moment was enough to make Li Yi look at them with newfound respect.
After all, the vast majority of the people before him, just like his brother-in-law, had been retired for several years.
Yet, when gathered together, they still maintained such a high standard—proof that these movements and postures had become second nature, ingrained as muscle memory.
There was no doubt about the combat effectiveness of such soldiers; they only needed to resume training for a short while to reach a very high level of combat readiness.
With that in mind, Li Yi immediately said, “Brother-in-law, please introduce everyone to me!”
Yang Wenguang didn’t beat around the bush. He stood up and pointed to a middle-aged man standing nearby who exuded an extraordinary presence. “Xiao Yi, this is my old squad leader, Yan Guangming. He’s from Pingcheng. During his time in the army, he was awarded one First-Class Merit, two Second-Class Merits, and four Third-Class Merits. He’s a renowned combat hero throughout our entire army group!”
Li Yi was deeply impressed. He quickly stood up and said, “Hello, Sergeant Yan!”
He knew full well just how difficult it was to earn a First-Class Merit these days—especially one earned while still alive.
There is an unwritten rule in the military that, in most cases, the First-Class Merit Award is given to martyrs—after all, the dead are held in the highest regard.
Consequently, among the living, very few are ever awarded the First Class Merit.
Sergeant Yan not only received one First-Class Merit Award but also two Second-Class Merit Awards, which shows just how many times he’s had a brush with death—he’s definitely someone so resilient that even the King of Hell would be at a loss.
“Comrade Li… Li Yi, hello. I’m Yan Guangming!”
Then my brother-in-law pointed to a middle-aged man standing nearby and said, “This is Jin Junze, a member of the Korean ethnic group. Before enlisting, he was a renowned hunter in the Yanbian region of Northeast China; after joining the military, he became the unit’s sharpshooter!”
“Huang Zhan, a master of close-quarters combat. He won first place in the Army-wide martial arts competition and was discharged just two days ago!”
“Liang Cang, from eastern Shandong, a machine gunner. He once held off an entire enemy platoon with a single machine gun, killing 19 enemies single-handedly and earning a Second-Class Merit Award!”
“Cui Jianying, from Cangzhou in North Ji Province, comes from a family of martial artists. He excels in both close combat and firearms and was renowned in the unit as a master at capturing enemy prisoners!”
“Zhang Hanjing, from Guizhou Province, of Miao ethnicity…”
As his sister’s husband introduced each of the men before him one by one, Li Yi was stunned once again. He had originally thought that Squad Leader Yan was already a top-tier soldier, but he never expected that every single one of these 26 men was a master in their own right. This was clearly a squad composed entirely of elite soldiers.
At the same time, Li Yi couldn’t help but look at his brother-in-law with newfound respect. After all, anyone who could keep up with a lion had to be at least a cheetah.
However, he didn’t say much. There would be plenty of time to ask about such matters in private later.
He cleared his throat and said, “Thank you all so much for your trust in leaving your families and livelihoods behind to follow my brother-in-law to Hong Kong. For that alone, you’re all my brothers from now on!”
“As a token of my gratitude, and as an employee benefit, everyone here will receive a settlement allowance of 10,000 dollars each!”
“Whoa!”
The announcement left everyone present speechless.
They’d heard from Yang Wenguang before coming that his brother-in-law was wealthy, but they never imagined he’d be this generous—handing out a 10,000-dollar settlement allowance right off the bat.
Wow, that’s ten thousand dollars!
By domestic standards—where 36 yuan a day is considered a fortune—that was an astronomical sum. Many people might not earn that much in a lifetime!
Amidst the shock, Squad Leader Yan immediately asked, “Comrade Li Yi, before we came, Wenguang only told us to come here to work for you, but he didn’t specify what exactly we’d be doing. Surely you can tell us now why you’ve hired us!”
Li Yi understood what Squad Leader Yan meant and replied immediately, “Everyone, please rest assured. I’m in a legitimate business, and bringing you all here is a standard employment arrangement. I absolutely won’t have any of you involved in any criminal activities!”
“Then what exactly will our job entail?”
“Have any of you heard of a security company?” Li Yi asked.
“We have a rough idea. It’s probably similar to security guards or airport security, right?” Huang Zhan said.
Li Yi shook his head and said, “Not entirely. A security company is a firm that specializes in providing security services to clients. Our services include security protection, guard services, patrols, armed escorts, personal security, security technology consulting, and more. What you mentioned—security guards or airport security checks—is just one aspect of our services!”
“Also, I specifically invited you all here from the mainland mainly to serve as instructors!”
“Instructors?”
“That’s right. I’ve set up a security company here—we’ve got the staff and the facilities—but those guys are too unskilled. Plus, they used to be gang members, so they’re undisciplined. Your main task is to train them into qualified security personnel first!”
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
If that was all the job entailed, it would be a piece of cake. After all, they were all veterans who had trained countless rookies over the years and had plenty of experience.
However, what Li Yi said next threw them off balance.
“Of course, while security work is your main job, you may have been contacted by higher-ups before coming here. They’ll occasionally assign you other tasks as well!”
Li Yi continued, “So now you’re not just my employees—you’re also unofficial members of the State Security Bureau. You need to be mentally prepared for that!”
The moment those words were spoken, everyone in the room instantly felt a weight settle on their shoulders, as if they’d been saddled with a thousand-pound burden…
……..