Charlie Liang walked ahead, leading the way for Evan Lin.
When they reached the fifth floor, Charlie Liang pushed open a door.
Inside, Victor Yu happened to be rising from his seat.
"Hello."
Victor Yu saw Evan Lin standing at the door, nodded slightly to him, then glanced at Charlie Liang. Charlie got the hint, turned, and left, closing the door behind him.
Evan looked around the room. The decor was tasteful and refined, none of the flashy, gaudy vibe from the KTV downstairs—here, everything felt much more calm and understated.
"We met a few days ago. I’m sure you still remember."
Victor Yu stood not far from Evan Lin, sizing up the teenager in front of him, his eyes flickering.
That night, Evan Lin fought his way from the second floor down to the first, teaching all of Imperial Grand Karaoke Club’s enforcers a harsh lesson. That kind of skill was enough to earn Victor Yu’s respect.
Back then, Victor Yu hadn’t gotten a close look at Evan. Now, seeing him up close, Evan seemed a bit thin and frail—something that genuinely surprised Victor.
"So, you called me here to settle the score? If that’s the case, we can start right now." Evan strolled forward, pulled out a chair, sat down, crossed his leg, and looked at Victor Yu with interest.
"Not at all. Last time, I failed to recognize your abilities. Maybe there were some misunderstandings in the past, but let’s just leave all that behind, shall we?"
Victor Yu poured Evan a cup of tea, his gaze never leaving Evan’s face, wearing a faint smile.
Evan didn’t reply. He just reached out, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table as he watched Victor Yu, looking thoughtful. "You didn’t call me up here just to say all that, did you? If there’s nothing else, I’ll head out."
"Originally, I thought you might be tough to handle and considered trying again, but now—never mind. You know when to back off."
As Evan spoke, a flash of light flickered deep in Victor Yu’s eyes, though he quickly hid his emotions.
"Of course not. Actually, I have a favor to ask." Victor Yu hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
"A favor?"
"Yeah. Recently, a top fighter showed up at our underground boxing arena and has already racked up ten straight wins. I suspect someone sent him to target Imperial Grand, but right now we don’t have anyone who can stand up to him. So, I want to ask you to fight one match for us."
Victor Yu’s expression turned serious, as if he was recalling that person’s ruthless methods. His eyebrows twitched involuntarily.
"Underground boxing arena? Where’s that?"
Evan Lin glanced at Victor Yu, a little puzzled.
"It’s a secret underground boxing market, part of Imperial Grand’s operations. There’s a minor event every week, and a big one every month. All the fighters inside are ranked by a strict grading system."
"Imperial Grand sends its own people to compete, but we’ve already lost ten matches in a row. Altogether, we’ve lost over ten million yuan. If this keeps up, it’ll be bad for us. But right now, no one on our side can beat that guy."
At this point, Victor Yu’s voice grew heavier.
"So you’re hoping I’ll take him on?" Evan spun the cup in his hand.
"Exactly. I saw your moves last night—maybe only you can help us beat that guy. And with the next round of Brightsea City power re-division coming up, we can’t afford any slip-ups. It’s crucial for Imperial Grand right now."
After speaking, Victor Yu looked at Evan, his heart pounding with nerves.
Evan swept a calm glance at Victor Yu’s face. "Tell me—why should I help?"
"I’m not one of your Imperial Grand people. What’s important to you means nothing to me. So, give me a reason to get involved."
Victor Yu listened to Evan’s words, slowly stretched out his hand, and opened his palm. "Five hundred thousand. If you win this fight, I can personally guarantee you five hundred thousand yuan."
"Five hundred thousand?"
Evan let out a dry laugh, shook his head, gripped his cup by the rim, and took a sip.
"Five hundred thousand for one match is already a hefty sum. Most fighters only get a few tens of thousands per win, maybe a hundred thousand at most."
Victor Yu racked his brain, trying to come up with a better reason to convince Evan. He explained that the match was crucial to all of Imperial Grand’s finances.
Imperial Grand, as the house, had to pay out not just their own losses of over ten million, but with all the outside bettors, the real payout was already close to thirty million.
Thirty million was no small hit for Imperial Grand’s bosses, and if they lost one more match, the payout could double again—sixty million.
Victor Yu had originally thought that, even if the teenager could fight, judging by his clothes, his family probably wasn’t rich.
So maybe Evan was just some martial arts prodigy trained by a reclusive master. That’s why Victor felt confident that offering five hundred thousand would move him. But looking at Evan now, it was clear the money didn’t tempt him at all.
"How about this—if five hundred thousand isn’t enough, I’ll personally guarantee you one million."
Victor Yu saw that Evan Lin wasn’t moved at all, and his eyes flashed.
One million—an ordinary office worker in Brightsea City would have to work their whole life to earn that much.
Anyone else, if they heard 'one million,' would probably be jumping for joy already.
But Evan gently set his cup down on the table, shook his head, and let out a faint sigh. "Not sincere at all."
"Forget it. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading out."
Evan waved his hand and stood up from his seat.
The only reason he’d come to see Victor Yu was to warn him not to mess with the people around him.
If Victor Yu had shown even a hint of arrogance, Evan wouldn’t have hesitated to wipe him out on the spot.
"Wait—did you just get into a fight downstairs?"
Seeing Evan about to leave, Victor Yu’s face grew tense. He lowered his voice and called out to Evan’s back.
"Hmm? Are you trying to settle the score with me?"
Evan turned his head slightly, his eyes narrowing, a flash of killing intent passing through them.
That killing intent was almost tangible, making Victor Yu’s heart freeze and his whole body shudder.
He quickly recovered, shook his head, and forced down his shock. "It’s not that I want to settle the score with you, but do you know who you beat up?"
"I think his name was Shawn Young." Evan recalled, remembering Lily Zhong had shouted that name a few times.
"Right. Shawn Young is the only son of Barry Shaw—the ‘Dongting Tiger’ of Eastcourt District. Barry Shaw only has one son, and you broke his leg. You really think he’ll just let that go?"
"If you agree to help me, I can step in and mediate with the Shaw family. After all, it’s just a misunderstanding between our two sides." Victor Yu smiled slightly at Evan.
The Shaws and Imperial Grand are half enemies, half allies. In reality, Brightsea City is controlled by four major forces: the Shaw family in Eastcourt District, Imperial Grand ruling the KTVs and bars of Nanyang and Peaceview Districts, the Niu family in Tideshore District, and the Liu family in Linlu District.
Every year, when power is redistributed, it’s all about who has the biggest fist. The strongest gets the biggest slice of the cake. Imperial Grand has always been the top dog, so their influence in Brightsea City is the widest.
Next in line are the Liu family and the Niu family, with the Shaw family at the bottom. But even so, the Shaw family’s power isn’t something a single person can take on.
Victor Yu watched Evan’s back, realizing Evan hadn’t said a word the whole time, and couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
After a long moment, Victor saw the teenager in front of him slowly turn around, shake his head, and sigh.
"So you’re threatening me?"
His voice was cold, like it came from the far north, chilling Victor Yu to the bone.
In the next instant—
Victor Yu couldn’t even react in time.
He suddenly realized that the teenager, who’d been standing a short distance away, had already blurred forward.
Evan Lin’s left hand was already at Victor Yu’s throat, his whole face frosty and cold.