Evan Lin didn’t return to class; instead, he strolled a few laps around the school.
The events of last night had stirred up a hidden storm across all of Brightsea City.
News that Barry Shaw, the 'Dongting Tiger,' had been taken out spread rapidly through Brightsea. Immediately after, Big Tank moved in and took over all the venues Barry left behind.
On the other side, Leo Lewis from the Lewis family fell to his death from the eighteenth floor. When you put these two incidents together, anyone paying attention could sense something very unusual was going on.
Both the Lewis family and the Shaw family were old-school powers in Brightsea City, with deep roots in the area. But in a single night, both took heavy damage. On top of that, the Jade Orchid Bar—which belonged to the Lewis family—was forcibly shut down by Victor Yu from Imperial Grand. When you look at everything together, it’s impossible not to start thinking deeper.
Even more puzzling was the Lewis family's response—they didn’t seem interested in investigating Leo Lewis’s death. As general manager of the Crescent Grand Hotel, Leo held real weight in Brightsea’s business world, but the police ruled it an accidental fall and the Lewis family just kept silent.
"Brother Vic, everything’s handled."
Inside the Imperial Grand Karaoke Club office, Charlie Liang pushed open the door and walked in.
Victor Yu sat in his chair, rubbing his temples. "Mm. You didn’t leave any traces, right?"
"Don’t worry. The people who died with Barry Shaw were just a bunch of drifters—fugitives from other places. Their disappearance hasn’t raised any suspicion or attention. As for the Shaw family, I spread the word that it was some old enemies from years back who did it. With a guy like Barry, who doesn’t have enemies?"
"What about the Lewis family? Any news?" Victor Yu looked up, his gaze deep and thoughtful.
Now that Barry Shaw is gone, only three powers remain: the Niu family, the Lewis family, and Imperial Grand.
"Nothing from the Lewis family at all. Even when the police ruled Leo Lewis’s fall as accidental, nobody from the family objected—they’ve probably given up on him. As for what happened at Jade Orchid last night, it’s all been cleaned up." Charlie Liang shivered inwardly, recalling the scene at Jade Orchid.
He’d never imagined someone could die so cleanly. If he hadn’t checked up close, Charlie Liang wouldn’t have realized at first glance that the guys lying on the floor were dead, not just knocked out.
After speaking, Charlie Liang tapped the table lightly, closed his eyes, and seemed lost in thought.
"Brother Vic, that Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin—he’s way too ruthless. Does he have some kind of background? How could a regular high-schooler be so cold-blooded?" Charlie Liang asked Victor Yu carefully.
Charlie Liang had been in the game for years, seen plenty following Victor Yu around, but in all of Brightsea, he’d never met anyone as ruthless as Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin.
"Mm. Go check his background info. And notify him—no, I’ll go see him myself later. The guy at Grand Fist Gym just won another match; we need Evan to step up now."
At this point, Victor Yu felt a headache coming on—things were getting more and more complicated.
At first, Victor Yu only saw Evan Lin as a guy who could fight—a brawler, nothing more. He planned to use him in the ring against whoever was disrupting the Grand Fist Gym.
If Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin lost, Boss Long would be satisfied. With the guy nicknamed Tiger, if Evan was defeated, he’d either be dead or crippled.
But if Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin won, the crisis at the gym would be temporarily solved. Once Victor Yu was done using him, there’d be plenty of ways to make Evan disappear for good.
But everything that happened last night forced Victor Yu to see Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin differently. With the way Evan fought, he was clearly a super dangerous guy.
Not only that, but Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin was far stronger than Victor Yu had ever imagined!
"What’s behind you, anyway? What kind of family or person could raise someone as terrifying as you?" Victor Yu muttered, his gaze landing on the bank card on the table.
Victor Yu sat there for a long time, hesitated, then finally picked up the phone and dialed a number. It rang three times.
"Spit it out if you’ve got something—Imperial Grand’s boss is eating."
The voice on the other end was gruff, with no hint of respect for Victor Yu.
"Chef, tell Imperial Grand’s boss: the Shaw family’s been wiped out, Leo Lewis is dead, but the Lewis family’s staying quiet. The Niu family isn’t moving either. Looks like both sides are gearing up for the next round of turf division."
"Also, I’ve heard Titan Niu is back with the Niu family, and Clinton Lewis from the Lewis family is acting restless. Ten years ago, Clinton’s third son, Frank Lewis, vanished mysteriously—now it seems he’s been spotted in Brightsea, but my people haven’t confirmed it yet." Victor Yu thought for a moment, then added, "And now, Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin is way beyond what I expected. I might not be able to control him."
The guy called Chef listened and paused for a moment, then said, "I just asked Imperial Grand’s boss. He says let things take their course until he gets back to Brightsea. As for that Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin, we’ll see how it goes. If he’s a problem, just kill him. If you can’t handle it, Imperial Grand’s boss will take care of it himself."
"Alright."
Victor Yu hung up and took a deep breath.
Last night, Evan 'Nine Mysteries' Lin had threatened him so decisively that Victor Yu couldn’t even think of resisting. In the past, he’d have rounded up a crew and crushed Evan without a second thought.
So what if you’re tough? You’re still just one person.
A flurry of wild punches can take down a master—can you really survive a swarm?
But this time, Victor Yu didn’t even consider sending a mob. He’d seen that teenager fight his way out of Imperial Grand single-handed, and witnessed the carnage at Barry Shaw’s venue and Jade Orchid Bar. Now, Victor Yu felt a kind of unspeakable frustration.
After sitting in the office for a while, Victor Yu grabbed his jacket, slipped the bank card from the table into his pocket, and walked out.
Meanwhile, Evan Lin walked a few laps around the track before heading back to the classroom.
When he returned, Mia Chen still hadn’t come back.
It had only been sixty minutes since the exam started, even though the test was supposed to last a hundred and twenty.
With no teacher in the classroom, things were noisy—students chatted and whispered to each other.
When Evan Lin walked in, the whole classroom went quiet for a moment.
All eyes turned to Evan Lin, with confusion and bewilderment.