"Giving up already?" Qin Fan taunted, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched Bao Qiudong lower his head in submission. He loved seeing such a drastic change in attitude.

"My father always taught me that a wise man submits to the circumstances! Mr. Qin, I concede!"

With everyone watching, including Chang Yuanyi, Bao Qiudong felt a wave of profound humiliation wash over him as he spoke the words. But he had no choice. He had to say them.

"An excellent saying, ’A wise man submits to the circumstances.’ You’re right. Compared to a moth flying into a flame, giving in is absolutely the best choice," Qin Fan said, removing his foot from Li Guofu’s chest with a thin smile. "Now, the money. Once the funds are transferred, I’ll let him go."

"Of course! Mr. Qin, please give me an account number. I’ll arrange for the funds to be transferred immediately!" Bao Qiudong said slowly after a few deep breaths, struggling to suppress the feeling of his dignity being trampled into the dust.

"Baldy, give him the account details," Qin Fan said with a nod.

"Oh, right, right!" Baldy quickly agreed, the whole situation still feeling surreal to him. The great Young Master Bao, a tier above even Young Master Chang, just gave in? Over a single phone call? Holy hell! At this rate, won’t all of Jinling become a place where only Boss Qin’s word is law? The two top young masters, recognized by both legitimate society and the underworld... one has submitted, and the other has conceded defeat. This... this is too damn unbelievable!

Gripped by an indescribable shock, Baldy tremulously pulled out a business card used for collecting payments. Prompted by a look from Qin Fan, he fearfully handed it to Bao Qiudong. "Young Master Bao, here you go."

Silently, Bao Qiudong took the card. He photographed the account number and name with his phone and sent the picture off. There was no need for confirmation. Less than three minutes later, a DING rang from Baldy’s pocket. Without needing a prompt from Qin Fan, he immediately whipped out his phone.

"Boss Qin, the money has arrived! Six million, seven hundred eighty-nine thousand!" Baldy announced, his eyes widening in a daze as he stared at the long string of numbers in the text message.

"Good. Let’s go." Qin Fan clapped his hands together once, then nonchalantly stuck one hand in his trouser pocket and started to walk away.

Seeing this, Baldy, Li Qiuzhe, and the others quickly followed.

The moment Qin Fan left, Chang Yuanyi strode forward, teasingly patting Bao Qiudong’s arm. He chuckled, "Young Master Bao, we’ve had our squabbles over the years, but I never really held a grudge. Why didn’t you listen when I advised you to think thrice? Look at you now. Did you really have to force yourself into such a state? Was it worth it?"

"Chang Yuanyi, I admit I lost. You’ve had your laugh, so can you get lost now?" Bao Qiudong said, turning his head away. His face was a dark mask of resentment, but he didn’t dare lash out. He knew that from this moment on, he had lost all leverage over Chang Yuanyi.

"See? Good intentions are so often misunderstood," Chang Yuanyi said, shaking his head with a delighted grin. "Fine, I’ll get lost. As long as you’re happy! Oh, right, one more thing about your maternal uncle. I know—in fact, anyone with any standing in Jinling knows—that your Bo family is very loyal to Li Guofu. But I’ve also heard that old bastard’s actions are utterly despicable! You’d better be careful. Don’t let that old wreck drag the entire Bo family down with him!"

"Are you finished? If so, then disappear, now!" Bao Qiudong said, his teeth gritting so hard they audibly scraped together as he suppressed the urge to lash out with his fists and feet.

"Hmm, alright then! Young Master Bao, take care now!" Patting Bao Qiudong’s shoulder one last time, Chang Yuanyi roared with laughter and swaggered out with the young men from Beijing. Even though he wasn’t the one who had taken Bao Qiudong down, he still felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

"Goddammit, what are you all gawking at?! Call an ambulance, now!" Unable to vent his pent-up fury, Bao Qiudong whirled on his stunned lackeys and roared.

「Outside the card room.」

When they got back to their cars, Baldy, who was walking behind Qin Fan, suddenly asked, "Boss Qin, how should I get this money to you? Do you want it in cash, or should I transfer it?"

"Give it to my eldest brother," Qin Fan replied. Six or seven million was nothing to him.

Hearing this, Li Qiuzhe’s eyes widened in shock. "Fourth Brother, no way!" he exclaimed. "You’re the one who got the money back. Without you, we would have been lucky to get even five hundred thousand. How can I take it? No, absolutely not!" As he spoke, Li Qiuzhe shook his head so vigorously it looked like a bobblehead.

"Just take it. Think of it as your operating funds," Qin Fan said with a nod. "This is as much support as I can give you."

Operating funds? Over six million in operating funds? Forget six million, I’ve never even seen sixty thousand! At Qin Fan’s words, Li Qiuzhe froze in a stupor.

"Yeah, Brother Zhe! Just listen to Boss Qin," Baldy added from the side.

"But... but this isn’t six thousand or even sixty thousand! It’s over six million! Over six million... what kind of concept is that? For me to just... accept several million yuan out of nowhere... Is that really okay?" Li Qiuzhe wasn’t greedy, but faced with both Qin Fan and Baldy’s insistence, his lips began to tremble.

"Eldest Brother, do you really think you can establish a foothold without any money?" Qin Fan asked, smiling in a relaxed, soothing manner. He knew that over six million would be a psychological shock for Li Qiuzhe.

"That—!" Li Qiuzhe was struck speechless.

"Stop hemming and hawing. You know where this money came from. It was easy money, not hard-earned cash, so just take it. Consider it the startup capital for your empire. Don’t feel any psychological burden. Between us brothers, no one owes anyone anything. If anyone’s in debt, it’s me who owes you all."

A look of profound, wistful nostalgia filled Qin Fan’s eyes as he spoke the last sentence. Unfortunately, the others couldn’t possibly perceive the nostalgic sentiment in his eyes and simply treated his words as a joke.

Qin Fan owes us? Is he joking? That’s impossible, not now, not ever!

"Alright! It’s not like I could ever repay you anyway, so what’s one more debt? Fourth Brother, trust me, I won’t let you down!" Li Qiuzhe said, clenching his jaw and meeting Qin Fan’s gaze with determination.

"I never doubted you!" Qin Fan replied with a hearty laugh.

At that moment, Chang Yuanyi came jogging over. "Boss Qin! Boss Qin!" he called out.

"What is it?" Qin Fan glanced over.

"Uh, Boss Qin, it’s so rare that I get to see you. Could you give me the chance to host you? There’s a ’human banquet’ at a private club later. Are you interested, Boss Qin?" Chang Yuanyi asked obsequiously.

A human banquet? Hearing this, Qin Fan initially frowned. Then, as if remembering something, a smile curled his lips. He recalled that around this time in his past life, the young woman he hadn’t seen in two or three years had shown him a series of photos from a human banquet when they were reunited. An avid photographer, she had told him she completed the series at the risk of being violated.

"By the way, Young Master Chang, we also invited a few girls this time. Would it be alright to bring them along?" one of the dandies from Beijing suddenly asked after seeing Chang Yuanyi invite Qin Fan.

"Girls? What girls?" Chang Yuanyi asked, blinking.

"You know, the one named Ji Yi. You saw her at that bar near the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing. She slipped away last time. I know she wants to shoot a photo series of a human banquet, so I used that to lure her over. This time, I’m going to have my way with her! She got away once, but I won’t let her escape again!" As he finished, the young dandy’s eyes gleamed with lechery.

However, no one noticed that when the name "Ji Yi" was mentioned, Qin Fan’s expression instantly darkened. It was a chilling, frightening change.