Siheyuan: With the system in hand, the world is mine

At night, the starry sky of the old city is like a colorful painting, with numerous stars shining brightly and magnificently.

Under this beautiful starry sky, there is a strange silence, as if the whole city is asleep.

In sharp contrast to this silence is the noise and prosperity of the streets of the old city.

People were coming and going, shoulder to shoulder, and it was very lively. The shops on both sides of the street were brightly lit, and various signs were flashing colorful lights, attracting people's attention.

On the busy street, no less than a hundred people gathered in front of Quanjude.

These men were all tall and strong, with bare chests, revealing their bronze skin, and cigarettes dangling from their mouths, looking quite ruffian-like.

They were either standing or sitting, squatting or leaning, chatting loudly with each other, and from time to time they burst into laughter, the sound echoing throughout the street.

As time went by, more and more people gathered at the entrance of Quanjude, but the strange thing was that they all seemed to have some kind of tacit understanding and all stayed where they were, with no one walking into the empty Quanjude.

On the contrary, they stood in groups of three or five on the street, whispering to each other, looking left and right, and scanning their eyes from time to time, as if waiting for someone.

The sudden influx of crowds made the already narrow streets even more crowded. People had to move carefully among them, for fear of accidentally bumping into these ferocious-looking people and causing unnecessary trouble.

Some timid people were even more timid, like frightened birds, walking hurriedly, wishing they could escape from this place immediately.

There were also some brave people who couldn't suppress their curiosity and stood at a distance to watch.

At the entrance of Quanjude, there were a few people whose moods were completely different from others.

They stood there, their bodies trembling slightly, staring with horror at the group of burly, strong men in front of them.

One of the waiters was as pale as paper, and his voice was trembling with fear: "Boss, what kind of people are taking orders today! If I had known it would be like this, I would rather quit than do this job! I don't want to be alive to make money and die to spend it!"

His words resonated with another chef, who also echoed: "That's right, boss, how can you push us into the fire pit just to make money!"

"Look at these people, they are so ferocious. If they get drunk and go crazy, won't we all be torn to pieces by them?"

Standing in the middle of the crowd was a middle-aged man in gorgeous clothes with a plump figure. He had a bitter smile on his face, looking at the men around him, and then at the staff standing next to him who kept complaining, his heart filled with helplessness and regret.

He smiled bitterly and said, "How would I know who these people are? In the afternoon, they came over and asked to book the entire place. I saw that they were generous and looked like a gentleman, so I readily agreed."

"Who could have thought it would turn out like this? If I had known it would be like this, I would never have agreed to it even if I were beaten to death!"

When several people heard this, expressions of suspicion and distrust appeared on their faces. They looked at the boss as if to say, "We don't believe you!" After all, the boss often exploited them, and now he suddenly made such a request. How could people not be suspicious?

The boss saw their reaction and knew that no matter how much he explained, it would be useless, so he pretended to be calm and comforted them: "Don't worry too much, this is the Forty-Nine City, I don't believe they dare to mess around under the feet of the emperor."

Then the boss added: "Just concentrate on your own work. After the end, each of you will receive an extra ten dollars. Just consider it as my compensation to you."

After hearing what the boss said, the complaints subsided a little after a few days.

At the same time, at the Dongsi Police Station, Chief Liu was working overtime to handle some difficult cases.

He was concentrating on his work when suddenly a loud voice came from outside, "Director, something bad has happened! Something bad has happened!"

The sound was like thunder, echoing throughout the police station and making all the police officers feel nervous.

Boom... A dull crash sounded in Director Liu's office, as if the whole room was shaking.

Then, the door was slammed open by a powerful force, making a creaking sound, as if it could not bear the weight.

As the door opened, a figure rushed in like the wind, staggering and looking extremely anxious.

Director Liu was originally busy dealing with a bunch of tedious cases and was already feeling a little depressed. He was interrupted by this sudden intruder and the anger in his heart was instantly ignited like a blazing flame.

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes wide open, staring at the reckless police officer, and said sternly: "As a police officer, where have you forgotten your usual discipline? Is your house on fire? Why are you rushing in so hastily?"

Faced with Chief Liu's scolding, the police officer was obviously caught off guard. His body trembled slightly and a look of fear appeared on his face.

The words that he originally wanted to explain suddenly became stammering under the angry glare of Director Liu: "I... my house is not on fire... it's just... it's just..."

"Just what?" Director Liu didn't give the police officer a chance to breathe. His voice became increasingly severe, exploding in the office like thunder. "If you can't explain it today, you'll have to stand on the street tomorrow!"

The police officer's face became even paler, and a thin layer of sweat even appeared on his forehead.

He was just about to speak,... Ding... Ding... Ding... A phone rang... The police officer shut up instantly.

Director Liu picked up the phone on his desk and said, "I'm Liu Yaotian, who are you..."

"Liu Yaotian, I see you don't want to do this anymore, right? The reporting calls have all come to me. If you don't want to do this, there are people eyeing your position, and you will be left standing there doing nothing." The angry curses from the other end of the phone made Director Liu completely stunned.

When Director Liu heard this familiar voice and felt the anger on the other end of the phone, he was stunned for a moment. He didn't even know what was going on when he was scolded.

He asked cautiously: "Director Zhang, I haven't done anything wrong recently! You called me and scolded me, what's wrong with me..." Director Liu said with a look of grievance.

Director Zhang on the other end of the phone was even more angry when he saw that Director Liu knew nothing about it. He roared, "You have done nothing wrong. Did you know that someone in your jurisdiction has reported that a large number of people are gathering to join the underworld? You, the director, still don't know about it."

"What do you want to do, or have you been in the position of director for too long and don't want to do it anymore?"

When Director Liu heard the word "gangster", he was struck by lightning, his body trembled violently, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead like a flood. His voice was trembling, and he hurriedly shouted: "Director Zhang, wait a minute..."

After saying this, Chief Liu slowly turned his gaze to the police officer standing nearby.

The police officer looked a little timid, as if frightened by Chief Liu's reaction.

Director Liu suppressed his fear and anger, took a deep breath, tried to keep his voice steady, and asked, "What did you want to say just now?"

Seeing the grim expression on Liu's face, the police officer was even more frightened, but he still answered with gritted teeth: "Director, we just received a report that someone was gathering in front of Quanjude and was involved in a gang. According to preliminary estimates, there may be as many as 100 to 200 members involved in the gang."

After hearing this, Director Liu felt a black screen before his eyes and almost fainted.

He knew very well that the country's crackdown on the underworld was very strong. As long as there was any sign of the underworld, the country would adopt a zero-tolerance attitude and immediately nip it in the bud.

And now, someone has organized such a huge underworld in his jurisdiction, with as many as one or two hundred members. This is simply a nightmare!

Chief Liu's mind kept racing with dire consequences that could ruin his career and leave him eating peanuts.

Thinking of this, Captain Liu's legs felt a little weak and he couldn't help but groan inwardly.

Soon after, Director Liu was seen holding on to his body, looking at the police officer and yelling, "Why didn't you say so earlier!"

After saying this, Director Liu completely ignored the police officer's reaction, nodded and bowed to the person on the other end of the phone, and kept saying nice things.

The police officer stood by and watched Chief Liu behave so humbly, feeling aggrieved.

He couldn't help but mutter, "This isn't my fault. It's obviously you who didn't let me speak!"

However, Director Liu was concentrating on dealing with the person on the other end of the phone at the moment and had no time to pay attention to the police officers' complaints.

The person on the other end of the phone was obviously dissatisfied with Director Liu's attitude and continued to scold him.

Director Liu could only listen silently, not daring to refute at all.

After cursing for a while, the person on the other end of the phone paused for a moment.

Director Liu finally got the chance and hurriedly explained, "Director Zhang, please don't get yourself hurt by being angry. I promise I will take care of this matter."

Director Zhang on the other end of the phone didn't buy it and sternly warned: "I'm afraid a lot of big shots have already known about this tonight. You'd better deal with it cleanly for me!"

"If you fail to do this, you will definitely step down before me, and your fate will definitely be worse than mine!"

After saying that, the person on the other end of the phone didn't even give Director Liu a chance to reply, and simply hung up the phone with a "click".

When Director Liu heard the "beep...beep..." sound coming from the phone, he knew that the other party had hung up, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He slowly put down the phone in his hand, his palms already soaked with sweat.

While wiping the sweat off his forehead, Director Liu secretly complained in his heart. Then he looked at the police officer next to him with an angry face and said, "You will go to the street tomorrow and come back when you have solved a few cases."

When the police officer heard this, he stood there with a look of grievance on his face, and was stunned for a moment.

Seeing the police standing there, Director Liu became even more furious: "What else can we do? Notify everyone, including those on leave, to come fully armed and follow me to Quanjude. I want to see who is so bold as to organize a gang under my nose."

"If I don't skin him alive today, I won't be named Liu."

The police officer woke up from the roar, and stupidly replied "Oh...", then rushed out in a hurry...