Leaning against the street-facing window, Shawn Young and Leon Longhair chatted over dinner while watching the nightscape outside. Shawn was gradually getting familiar with the area. After finishing their meal and resting for a bit, Shawn decided to head out for a walk to get some fresh air and learn more about the surroundings—helpful for his next move. After all, except for Rainie Cheng, no one else knew about his plan to rendezvous with Yannie Jade, not even Leon Longhair!
The two of them walked out of the restaurant and strolled down the street toward the New Orient Casino. They hadn't gone far when they spotted a Mitsubishi military jeep approaching from a distance, followed by a Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury sedan, and another Mitsubishi jeep bringing up the rear. It looked like the people in the Mercedes were being heavily protected.
The three vehicles quickly stopped near the entrance of the New Orient Casino, not far from Shawn and Leon Longhair. The two Mitsubishi jeeps opened first, and a group of men got out. They looked wild, dressed mostly in dark gray, with tanned skin and fierce expressions—clearly not the friendly type. Even more intimidating, they carried guns on their backs! Shawn glanced over and felt a sense of déjà vu. On closer look, he realized those guns were AK-47s, the favorites of Afghan resistance fighters and tribal warriors!
A few of the men stood guard at the Mercedes, forming a protective circle with their submachine guns. Only then did the luxury sedan's door slowly open, and out stepped a middle-aged man—short, stout, but impeccably groomed, with pale skin and a bald head, dressed in a crisp white Tang suit. Instantly, his entourage surrounded him, and the bodyguards crowded around as they all headed into the New Orient Casino. The distance wasn't far, so two of the bodyguards even shot Shawn and Leon Longhair a threatening glare before swaggering inside with the man!
“Wow—look at that entourage! Who is that guy?” Shawn quickly asked Leon Longhair beside him.
"Heh—That’s Martin Yang! He’s just as powerful as Nick Carter in the Mai Zayan Special Economic Zone. A Hong Kong big shot and the secret owner of New Orient Casino! Just like Nick Carter, he’s one of the real heavyweights around here," Leon Longhair explained.
“Oh? He’s from Hong Kong, but he has so much pull here in the East?” Shawn found it pretty strange.
“Yeah, Martin Yang’s different from Nick Carter. He’s tight with the Kachin Chief who runs the Special Economic Zone—they’re practically brothers! Nick Carter, on the other hand, is a warlord and a notorious drug lord with his own private army. He’s even fought turf wars with the Kachin tribe over territory and drug business! But neither side came out on top, and since their strength is pretty evenly matched, fighting endlessly doesn’t do anyone any good. So, they called a truce and put business first—profit is what matters! The Kachin tribe teamed up with the wealthy Martin Yang. I don’t know much about Martin’s background, but rumor has it he comes from a major gang. Nick Carter has his own connections, like Goldtooth and other mainland bosses, plus various local powers joining forces!” Leon Longhair explained patiently.
“Ah, I see! So these two are all smiles on the surface but at odds underneath!” Shawn caught on to the tension.
"Heh—That's just how it is! Let those big bosses worry about their own turf wars. All these hustlers, when things go south, they bail, but if there's profit to be made, you bet they'll stick around. People are just that practical—haha!" Leon Longhair laughed, then casually sat down at a fruit stand, grabbing a few pieces to munch on. "Around here, you can't survive without a gun—unless you're just an honest businessman, then you don't need to worry."
“Myanmar sure is chaotic! Doing legit business here must be tough!” Shawn sighed.
"Exactly! Myanmar now is like our country's old turbulent days. Besides the government, there are four independent powers—it's like the country's split into five regions. Those four are autonomous zones, and only the rest is run by the Myanmar government. The Mai Zayan Special Economic Zone isn't managed by the government either, but by the Kachin tribe, who send their own troops to oversee the casinos," Leon Longhair nodded.
“So, is this area run by Nick Carter or the Kachin tribe?” Shawn really wanted to get this straight.
Leon Longhair replied, "This is the northern Kachin region, originally managed by the Kachin tribe. But with Nick Carter the warlord in the mix, the area split in two—Golden Mountain Casino is Nick Carter's turf, while New Orient Casino is controlled by the Kachin tribe. There's no open fighting, but plenty of secret rivalry. Around here, you don't need to be afraid of much, except one thing—never mess with the Kachin soldiers. They're nothing like our country's army or police. If you piss them off, they really will shoot to kill."
“Are those guys just now Kachin soldiers? They looked more like bandits!” Shawn asked curiously.
"Oh, those were Martin Yang’s private mercenaries! Most of the Kachin soldiers stay in their barracks," Leon Longhair replied.
Then Leon Longhair changed the subject: “But we don’t have to be scared of them! Nick Carter protects this side, and his influence here is second to none. Half the people rely on Nick Carter’s protection just to get by! As for Martin Yang’s side, their casino basically feeds the Kachin tribe’s army.”
“Wow! Anyone who can support an entire army is no ordinary person!” Shawn’s eyelids twitched in surprise.
Leon Longhair chomped on some fruit, looking a bit awestruck. "Exactly! Boss Martin Yang is loaded—he’s a real kingpin! Besides New Orient, I hear he runs casinos in Hong Kong, Macau, and all across Southeast Asia, and none of them are small-time! That’s a fortune rolling in every day—the kind of money you and I can’t even imagine!"
Leon Longhair’s words piqued Shawn’s interest. He was curious about what kind of person Martin Yang really was, so he pressed further: “If Martin Yang’s got so many connections, why did he choose to open a casino here?”
Leon Longhair shook his head. "There’s a reason for that. When the Mai Zayan Special Economic Zone first started up casinos, it drew a ton of gamblers. One time, a Hong Kong high roller came and won millions of dollars. That night, he and his buddies were having barbecue at the night market, when suddenly, maybe the casino folks or Nick Carter’s men targeted them. About thirty guys picked a fight, and in the chaos, that Hong Kong guy got killed. Normally, a few deaths here isn’t a big deal, but this gambler happened to be one of Martin Yang’s trusted men. So Martin Yang’s crew got involved, and he quickly got tight with the Kachin Chief. They had common interests and enemies, and after two years of power plays, things settled into the way they are now!"
“Wow! To climb that high in just two years—Martin Yang really is something!” Shawn thought to himself. When he first arrived, he didn’t think much of this backward little town, with not even a proper high-rise. But now, seeing its strange kind of prosperity and all the hustlers it supports, he had to admit—it takes real skill to pull that off!