Hong Kong Island. Castle Manor!
News of Li Yi’s high-profile return to Hong Kong quickly spread throughout the island. Upon hearing the news, the top executives of the British-owned conglomerate immediately gathered.
It was still the same Castle Manor, still the same conference room, but the people inside had changed significantly.
Not only were many familiar faces missing, but more importantly, the person in the seat of honor had changed.
The爵士, who should have occupied the center seat, now sat in a secondary seat to one side, while a young man in his thirties occupied the head seat.
“Smith, is everyone here yet?”
“Sir, everyone is here except Powell from the Jardine group, who couldn’t make it due to prior commitments,” Smith replied respectfully.
He certainly didn’t dare to underestimate the man before him just because of his youth. As far as he knew, as the strongest contender for the position of current head of the Sassoon family, Dolsen was formidable in both his own capabilities and the power behind him.
Never mind a small fry like himself—even a爵士 would have to toe the line in the presence of this nephew.
“Powell, Jardine Matheson! Hmm, it seems they’re determined to cut ties with us!” Dolsen said with a half-smile.
At that moment, a middle-aged man seated in the lower right corner of the conference room suddenly stood up and said, “I’m truly sorry. Powell said he has an important engagement this evening. He asked me to explain the situation to you. Please forgive him, Mr. Dolsen!”
Dorson snorted coldly. “What important engagement could possibly be so urgent that he doesn’t even have time to attend an Alliance meeting? I think Powell just wants to break away from the Alliance and make peace with that young man!”
“He’s just forgotten that he’s merely a professional manager at Jardine Matheson—not its true owner. Whether Jardine Matheson leaves the Alliance isn’t up to him.”
The Baron chimed in, “Ever since the New Territories Warehouse incident, the entire Jardine group’s attitude toward the Alliance has become rather peculiar. And in the end, they actually disregarded our objections and insisted on selling over twenty million shares of New Territories Warehouse stock on credit to that mainland Chinese.”
“Therefore, we have reason to suspect that Powell has already struck some secret deal with that mainland guy. We must be cautious!”
Hearing the uncle and nephew’s words, the room fell silent. They simply couldn’t believe that Powell—or the entire Jardine Matheson Group—would betray the Alliance.
Whether it was the previous gold war or the New Territories Warehouse battle, everyone had witnessed the performance of the Jardine Group and Powell firsthand.
To counter the enemy’s frenzied assault, the Jardine Group had staked everything they had, engaging in a bloody battle with Li Yi and his men. Although they were ultimately defeated, they had severely depleted the enemy’s funds—a loss that could truly be called honorable.
In fact, after Jardine made the difficult decision to sell the final 20% of New Territories Warehouse to Star Company, the attacks on the entire British-owned group ceased. For this reason alone, both Jardine and Powell deserved credit.
Moreover, Jardine Matheson had already notified the Alliance of the planned equity sale beforehand. How could their actions be deemed a betrayal of the Alliance after just a few days?
Dawson paid no heed to what the others were thinking. He scanned the room and said coldly, “I will deal with the Jardine matter later. For now, let’s discuss the situation with that young man!”
At this point, Dolsen paused, shifting his gaze to Smith.
Smith immediately caught on and stood up. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “we’ve just received word that the Mainlander has returned to Hong Kong from the mainland in a very high-profile manner. Huang Lixing of the Green Dragon Society and Li Futiao’s precious son were personally at the port to greet him!”
“Unlike before, that mainland guy was accompanied by quite a few women and children this time—presumably his wife and children. He likely went back to bring them over!”
“Whoosh!”
The moment Smith finished speaking, the entire conference room erupted in commotion.
Everyone began voicing their opinions on the matter:
“That young man actually brought his wife and kids over? Does he plan to settle down here on Hong Kong Island?”
“No way. If he settles here permanently, we’re in for a rough time!”
“This isn’t good news. Every time he comes over, he causes all sorts of trouble. If he settles here in Hong Kong, what’s left for us?”
“We have to stop him from settling here…”
Just as everyone was chattering away, Dolsen spoke up: “Enough already. He’s just a nobody, a mere gopher—I could make him vanish with a wave of my hand. Is there really any need for you all to be so afraid?”
“Sir, that young man is no nobody. Only those who’ve faced him know just how terrifying he is!”
“That’s right. We’ve faced him four times in a row, but we’ve been soundly defeated every single time. That young man is truly terrifying!”
Even the Duke sighed and said, “Dawson, you mustn’t underestimate him. That mainland guy is downright eerie. We’ve been defeated several times without even knowing why—it’s truly frustrating.”
Dawson gave a dismissive look and said, “Every powerful opponent has vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Some crave money, some crave women, and others are loyal to their own hearts and principles.”
“In short, there’s no such thing as a perfectly flawless person in this world. No matter how powerful an opponent is, if you strike at their weakness, you can defeat them!”
He continued, “The reason that young man strikes fear into you is that you haven’t found his weaknesses. That’s why he appears invincible in your eyes!”
“But I’m different. After studying him for some time, I’ve identified several of his weaknesses. Next, I’ll launch a full-scale attack on them. I’m curious to see just how long he can hold out!”
At these words, everyone in the conference room widened their eyes, and all eyes turned to him.
“Dawson, have you really found that mainland guy’s weaknesses? Are you truly confident you can bring him down?” the Duke asked, his voice tinged with excitement.
“Yes. Through my investigation and analysis, I’ve discovered he’s a very emotional person. His first move against the league was because you went after his friends…”
Before Dolsen could finish, the Jazz executive interrupted urgently, “Right… right, that’s exactly it!”
“Heh, for an ordinary person, being sentimental is a good thing. But for someone like him, being overly sentimental is a burden—it’s a weakness!”
Dawson continued, “Besides that, his greatest weakness is his identity!”
“Identity?”
“Right. Although his official background serves as a protective charm—preventing anyone in official circles, including the British Hong Kong government, from daring to touch him—that very charm can also turn into a death warrant!” Dolsen said coldly.
“A death warrant?”
“Exactly. We’re not the only ones at odds with them right now. There’s also the Southern Monkey, fresh off a defeat, and the restless Polar Bear. They’re seething with hatred for that red regime across the strait. Once they find out about this young man’s existence, what do you think they’ll do?”
At those words, the eyes of everyone present lit up instantly.
What a brilliant move—using others’ hands to do the killing!
They couldn’t act directly, but someone else could do the dirty work for them. As long as that young man was dead, the threat would be eliminated—and they didn’t care which faction carried out the deed.
“Dawson, are you planning to leak this information to the Southern Monkey Kingdom and the Bear Alliance?” the Duke asked, his voice tinged with excitement.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. I don’t intend to do that—at least not for now!” Dolsen replied coolly.
“Why?”
“That guy has caused such devastating losses to the Alliance—how could we let him die so easily? Before we finish him off, we have to make him spit out every last bit of the profits he’s swallowed!” Dolsen said with a cold laugh.
“That… that’s easier said than done…”
Before Jazz could finish, Dolsen said with confidence, “I’ve already worked this out with the Governor’s Office. You’ll just have to wait for the good news!”
With that, a look of three parts confidence and seven parts smugness spread across Dolsen’s face, instilling a vague sense of hope in everyone present…
……..
PS: At 5 p.m. today, Lao Cang’s grandfather passed away. Five years ago, the old man had already brushed with death—at the time, no hospital would even admit him. After a 17-day hospital stay, he was sent home to prepare for his funeral, but later, after being administered some banned anti-inflammatory drugs, he miraculously recovered.
Later, when the pandemic hit, we thought he wouldn’t make it, but to our surprise, he remained completely healthy for over three years.
But just when we thought everything was fine, he suddenly fell ill. And the tragic news came just a few days after he was admitted to the hospital. Life is truly unpredictable!