Chapter 147: Striking at Japan (Part 3)

Realizing that the key to success was right beside Xiao Tianci, Legis felt that agreeing to this demand was not a big deal, as it would at least allow him to legally plant people around him.

Thinking of this, Legis paused for a moment and said, "Boss Xiao, I can agree to this request, but I also hope you will keep your word."

"Ha... ha... no problem, Mr. President, rest assured. My word as Xiao Tianci is absolute. Alright, send them over quickly," he said, already hanging up the communicator.

Seeing him end the call, Fatty hurriedly asked, "Quick, tell me, who were you just talking to?"

Xiao Tianci looked at Fatty with a "You've got to be kidding me" expression and said, "Fatty, is there something wrong with your ears? Didn't I just call Legis? President Legis!"

Fatty had certainly heard it, but he still wanted to hear it from his own mouth: "I'll be damned... you... you actually spoke to the President like that just now."

"That was already me being polite. What, am I not allowed to talk to him?"

"Allowed... allowed, you're a legend." Fatty gave a thumbs-up and nodded wildly in admiration.

Xiao Tianci smiled and said, "Alright, enough fooling around. Let's talk business now. Since you, you dead fatty, insist on going to Japan, I have no choice but to risk my life to accompany you."

"Haha, you really are a brother!" After laughing, Fatty's expression turned serious. "Number Five, my goal this trip to Japan is to throw their situation into chaos, raid their headquarters, assassinate some of their key members, and then make a swift retreat. According to my intelligence, most of their forces are currently deployed in Europe. If we can cause enough chaos in their homeland, it will buy us time and space. We are brothers, not outsiders, so I won't stand on ceremony with you, but you can't go yourself. Lend me your men."

"Who was just talking about brothers going into battle together? Dead fatty, if you've truly decided to go, I'm backing you. Unless you call it off, we go together—there's no room for negotiation on that. Besides, didn't I just borrow men from the President? These people might as well be put to use."

Hearing this, Fatty frowned. After all, he was deeply entrenched in the underworld and remained very sensitive to government forces, especially since these people were sent by the President himself.

Seeing his reaction, Xiao Tianci knew what he was worried about. "Actually, I think you don't need to worry at all. If you really want to go far down this path and grow big, do you think you can avoid crossing paths with the government? If you didn't have a tacit understanding with them, or if it wasn't a form of official indulgence, you wouldn't even be able to survive in this business. Even your current status exists by government connivance, and sometimes they even rely on you to maintain a stable underground order—though of course, you have to control the boundaries. I may not know much about the underworld, nor am I particularly interested in it, but I do understand this kind of political scheming and backstabbing. So, you don't need to fear these people at all. Just try to keep yourself detached in the future, let Regar handle the dirty work so people know you exist but can't pin any trouble on you. Combine that with your formidable strength and a cooperative attitude, and they will naturally tolerate your existence."

Fatty thought about it, nodded, and said, "That's true. No matter how big you get, you can't go to war with the government. But isn't it still risky having these people with us? What if they find out too much?"

Xiao Tianci laughed and spread his hands. "What could they possibly find out? They won't know a thing. I'm just taking my people to Japan for a vacation, and if we happen to get attacked, they'll be protecting me and will naturally have to fight back. It's as simple as that."

"You mean we split up?"

"Exactly," Xiao Tianci nodded. "We enter separately and rendezvous there. We need to plan this carefully. I think we should do it like this..."

***

Ivanov's call came a bit later, but Xiao Tianci certainly wasn't going to let him off the hook—he managed to extract some men from him as well. Ivanov's attitude at first was much firmer than Legis's, so Xiao Tianci told him, "Look, everyone is deeply concerned about my safety, considering that the terrorist organization Ghost is quite rampant. Therefore, Country Z has sent their undefeated battle god of the military, and Legis even brought a whole team of 'special personnel'."

Despite Ivanov's extreme dislike of official posturing regarding Xiao Tianci's exaggerated claims, he was well aware of the situation involving success. Furthermore, it was highly likely that Legis had indeed dispatched men; as for Xiao Tianci's talk of entire teams, that was pure nonsense. After some deliberation, Ivanov finally agreed to send men as well.

Xiao Tianci knew that there were many things happening around him and that trying to hide them was futile. Rather than failing to conceal them, it was better to lay everything out on the table right from the start. Doing so might actually achieve a completely different effect.

Fatty began letting Tong Lei manage the gang's affairs, which made things much easier for him. Of course, he didn't completely trust Tong Lei yet, but for now, the gang's major factions were keeping each other in check, achieving a delicate balance—which was precisely the effect Fatty desired.

Over the past few days, he and Xiao Tianci continuously brainstormed how to strike Japan. The operatives sent by Ivanov and Legis had also arrived: Ivanov sent two superpower wielders and four physical combat experts, while Legis dispatched four superpower wielders, four physical combat experts, and two martial arts masters.

Xiao Tianci tested these individuals as well. Aside from the two team leaders who were passable, the rest were merely average, and even the two leaders fell short compared to Tang Bing and Huofeng. This left Xiao Tianci quite displeased, prompting him to make a sarcastic phone call to Ivanov and Legis to mock them. By that point, both men were already on edge with Xiao Tianci, and after he uttered just a few sentences, they coldly told him there was nothing else and hung up.

Xiao Tianci's private jet landed in Japan with supreme arrogance. Fatty had already infiltrated the country ahead of him with his men. Although Xiao Tianci hadn't issued any formal notice to the Japanese government and claimed to be visiting purely for a private vacation, the moment he stepped off the plane, he still couldn't help cursing, "Those bastard little Japs are actually ignoring me." Aside from a few airport staff members, not a single government representative was there to greet them.

The Chief Steward murmured nearby, "Boss, if we issue an official notice to the Japanese government, they'll respond. Their relations with the Old Master back in the day were even more strained. Besides, unlike the United States—where the Xiao family eventually reconciled—relations with them have always been rather cold."

"Forget it. Ignore them. We'll play our own game."

Xiao Tianci's motorcade, now bolstered by the newly arrived personnel, looked exceptionally grand, drawing the gazes of countless passersby. They drove aggressively straight to the hotel, which happened to be a branch property of the Xiao family. Having received advance notice, the hotel had begun preparations two days prior and would not accept any other guests during Xiao Tianci's stay.

"Tap... tap..." Xiao Tianci was reviewing documents. The recent integration progress of Xiao Family One and Xiao Family Two was moving at a rapid pace, continuously drawing the world's attention. To be fair, they had always been the center of attention, and endless speculative stories about him, the mysterious head of the Xiao family, filled the air, boosting the incomes of tabloids and freelance writers alike. However, his true identity and any photographic evidence of him remained strictly under wraps.

"Tap... tap... tap..." The knocking sounded again before Xiao Tianci even noticed it.

"Come in."

The person pushing the door open turned out to be Huofeng. Xiao Tianci was slightly startled, because during this recent period he had deliberately kept his distance and tried to avoid interacting with Huofeng; sometimes the two of them barely exchanged a few words all day. Huofeng had naturally noticed this. Though she didn't know why, Xiao Tianci's attitude left her powerless to talk back to him anymore.

"Oh... Huofeng, it's you. Is something the matter?"

Huofeng walked over and looked at Xiao Tianci. In her heart, she truly didn't understand why things had suddenly changed so much. That chilling indifference made her heart feel heavy. Was he treating her this way simply because he had grown to despise her so much?

"Ah... I wanted to ask, since it's little Gege's first time in Japan, I'd like to take her out... to look around... is that alright?" At first, Huofeng tried to appear nonchalant, but towards the end, her voice faltered slightly, knowing full well what the purpose of this trip truly was.

Seeing that Xiao Tianci didn't respond, she quickly explained, "Little Gege is always following us around, and she rarely gets to go out. Plus, since we arrived openly, I thought it would be completely normal to go out for some sightseeing, as long as it doesn't interfere with our actual business..."

Seeing Huofeng's hesitant demeanor, Xiao Tianci said, "Of course that's fine. We came out here to enjoy ourselves in the first place." He smiled, patted his own forehead, and said, "Hehe, look at me, letting work make me lose track of time the moment we arrived. I'm not very familiar with Japan myself. Why don't you and little Gege discuss where you'd like to go? I hear the shopping and sightseeing here are quite good, so let's use this chance to unwind."

Huofeng thought she had misheard. She stared at Xiao Tianci, and seeing her bewildered expression, he nodded once more to confirm that this was indeed what he meant. A smile finally broke across Huofeng's face as she couldn't help asking, "I really thought you wouldn't agree."

"Why would you think that? Didn't you just say it yourself? We arrived right out in the open; if we didn't step outside at all after coming here, it would only make people suspicious!"

Huofeng nodded and said, "That's true, but seeing the way you and Fatty were talking these past few days, I thought you both harbored a deep hatred for Japan and wouldn't even..."

Xiao Tianci understood what was going on. Discussing how to strike the place alongside Fatty naturally involved intense rhetoric, and anti-Japanese sentiments were bound to come up. Hearing all that from the sidelines must have made Huofeng feel as though expressing any fondness for Japanese culture or buying local goods would brand her an unforgivable sinner.

She had visited a few times before—mostly for shopping, though once on a mission—so when chatting with little Gege, she had talked up how nice various places were. Little Gege had begged her to be the guide, but remembering the hostile atmosphere of the past two days had left Huofeng feeling completely insecure.

Xiao Tianci explained, "You probably don't know or feel the weight of these things, because you aren't familiar with certain aspects of Country Z's history. That's why you can't understand why Fatty acts that way. I must admit, I don't harbor warm feelings for Japan either, though I'm not as extreme as Fatty. As for Japan itself—as the existence of an ethnic group, they have undoubtedly created some exceptional things, and that cannot be denied. Since we're here, you two should enjoy yourselves however you like. When there's time, I'll explain the underlying causes to you and little Gege so you can understand the essence of the matter. It's just like having basic moral and social perspectives—these foundations are necessary."

Huofeng listened like an attentive student. Hearing that Xiao Tianci was willing to explain it to them, she said happily, "Alright! I'll go tell little Gege right now. Actually, why don't you tell us all about it tonight when we get back?"

Why was she so happy about this? Xiao Tianci didn't quite understand, but seeing Huofeng so delighted, he smiled and nodded, "Alright. If you two still have the energy after all your sightseeing, I'll tell you all about it."

"Great! That's wonderful! Little Gege will be so happy when she hears this. Wait for me, I'm going to find little Gege and I'll be right back..." With that, Huofeng turned and hurried off, looking far less like a hardened mercenary commander and much more like an excited young girl.

Xiao Tianci found it rather odd—Huofeng's mood seemed exceptionally bright today! Puzzled, he sat back down in front of his computer and resumed reading his documents.

Merely exchanging a few more words, merely agreeing to go out shopping together, and merely promising to talk to them that evening had made Huofeng's heart overflow with joy. She didn't even care to analyze why; she only knew that her chest felt wonderfully light today. If her heart had previously felt like a spring blocked by debris, today it felt as though the blockage had vanished, allowing clear water to flow freely once more. Her spirits were lifted, and her mind felt energized and happy.

She dashed into little Gege's room and suddenly lifted her up into the air, spinning her around: "Heh... heh... little Gege, we can go out and play now..."

Little Gege spun in the air, completely unbothered, resting her chin on her hands as she looked down at the joyfully spinning Huofeng. She couldn't help wondering: did Sister Huofeng really want to go out that badly? Going out was nice, of course, but was she really *this* happy? It suddenly felt as though their roles had reversed—why did Sister Huofeng act more like a child than she did?! Ah, it must be because Sister Huofeng hadn't been able to go out, fight, or gamble lately, leaving her feeling terribly stifled, which explained why she was acting so giddy today. Hmm, should she ask Big Brother to give Sister Huofeng a day off every week to go out and relax?