Crescent Grand Hotel was the landmark hotel of Brightsea City, its entire building shaped like a crescent moon, with a massive fountain in front.
The hotel parking lot was packed with luxury cars.
As the only five-star hotel in Brightsea City, Crescent Grand Hotel was frequented by the city's most prominent figures.
"So, Mr. Long, are we settling this deal today?"
A Porsche rolled up to the hotel entrance, and the doorman hurried over to open the door.
Haiyang Sheng stepped out of the car, followed by a fat man.
The fat man was burly, but his face was full of arrogance. He glanced at Haiyang Sheng and said, "We'll see. Even though Wansheng Real Estate is pretty strong, there are several companies competing for my business. The Long family doesn't do small-time deals, so let's talk again later."
The doorman took the car keys and drove the vehicle off to the parking lot.
Haiyang Sheng felt a surge of irritation at Mr. Long's words but kept it hidden.
The man in front of him was Terry Long. His father, Victor Long, was known as the 'Dragon King' in River City, and the Long family's business empire was vast.
Although Terry Long wasn't exactly favored within the Long family, he was still one of them. Even Haiyang Sheng had to show him some respect.
"Of course, Mr. Long, please give it some more thought. I'm confident that Wansheng Real Estate is your best partner." Haiyang Sheng nodded, knowing Terry Long was a tough customer and not expecting much.
After a few days of contact, Haiyang Sheng found that Terry Long was full of swagger—and had close ties with Imperial Grand.
"Yu Weida said the same thing before, but business is business." Terry Long waved impatiently.
Last time at Imperial Grand, he got absolutely wrecked—he still hadn’t recovered from the trauma.
Haiyang Sheng frowned, just as he was thinking how to push the deal, he noticed Terry Long's expression suddenly change.
The once-arrogant Terry Long now had a trembling, stiff face, his beady eyes wide, staring at something behind Haiyang Sheng.
Haiyang Sheng turned around in confusion and saw a thin figure walking slowly from the street.
He was dressed simply, head slightly lowered, giving off a strange, cold and solitary vibe.
Haiyang Sheng thought the person looked familiar. In the moment it took him to process, he glanced back at Terry Long—who was now shaking all over, hiding behind Haiyang like a mouse seeing a cat. That made Haiyang even more curious: just who was this guy?
Who could possibly scare Terry Long like that?
But when the young man got closer, Haiyang Sheng finally saw his face and froze. "Evan Lin? What are you doing here?"
"Hm?" Evan Lin heard someone call his name, lifted his head, and glanced calmly at Haiyang Sheng. "Just here to handle something."
After speaking, Evan Lin's gaze swept lightly over Terry Long. It was subtle, but Haiyang Sheng could clearly feel Terry Long, pressed up behind him, shudder under Evan's eyes.
While Haiyang Sheng was still surprised, Evan Lin had already pushed through the revolving door and headed straight for the hotel front desk.
"Mr. Long, what's wrong?"
Once Evan Lin had walked away, Haiyang Sheng turned to look at Terry Long.
Terry Long's face was pale, his fat cheeks trembling, and his beady eyes held a strange, unreadable look.
He swallowed nervously. "Manager Sheng, do you... do you know him? That, uh, Evan Lin?"
That night had left a huge mark on Terry Long's psyche.
A kid who looked barely grown had actually fought his way through Imperial Grand all by himself—his combat strength was terrifying!
For the past few days, Terry Long had been hoping Victor Yu's men would finally beat up the punk who humiliated him, but all he heard was that Victor Yu had arranged for a fight at the underground boxing hall.
Just a few more days—then he'd get to see that kid get thrashed!
Just thinking about it made Terry Long's heart burn with anticipation.
But running into him here made Terry Long's heart clench, terrified he'd get wrecked again.
"I guess... you could say I know him."
Haiyang Sheng nodded slightly. By now, Terry Long was already striding toward the parking lot, insisting on switching hotels. Haiyang was left scratching his head, but after glancing at Evan Lin talking at the front desk, he hurried to catch up.
"I'm looking for Leo Lewis."
At the front desk, Evan Lin stood there, looking at two young women in professional attire.
Both women were stylishly dressed, with striking figures. As soon as they heard his voice, they flashed bright smiles, showing off their looks.
Anyone who could afford a room at Crescent Grand Hotel had to be rich or powerful.
As front desk clerks, their biggest hope was to meet a wealthy patron. Even if they couldn't snag a CEO for a whirlwind romance, becoming someone's mistress could still mean escaping a life of hardship.
But when they saw Evan Lin standing there, dressed plainly and looking ordinary, their warm smiles instantly turned cold.
"Sorry, we can't give out guest information," one of the young women said, then started playing with her phone, clearly not taking Evan seriously.
"I'm looking for Leo Lewis, from the Lewis family. He shouldn't count as a guest," Evan replied, his gaze calm.
"I said, we can't give out guest information..." the young woman repeated, frowning. "Are you looking for the general manager? Sorry, that's definitely not allowed."
"Yeah, who do you think you are? You think you can just see the general manager whenever you want?" the other woman scoffed, muttering under her breath and ignoring Evan.
Evan Lin nodded slightly, then walked straight toward the security guard standing in the lobby.
"Hey, what are you doing?" one of the clerks called out, confused as she watched Evan.
"Kid, you’d better know what kind of place this is. You trying to start trouble here?" The security guard eyed Evan, picked up a baton, and swung it at him without hesitation.
But the swing missed.
In the split second the guard froze, Evan Lin was already in front of him, expressionless, and knocked him flat with a single punch.
Then Evan crouched down and fished a lighter out of the guard's pocket.
Click.
A flame instantly flared up in Evan Lin's hand.
It lit up Evan's face, which was cold as ice.
Evan crushed the lighter in his hand. At the same moment, a ball of fire blazed in his palm, shocking everyone in the lobby.