Over the course of a single night, all the guards in Brunson's vast estate were silently wiped out.
Xiang Nan abducted Brunson and performed a craniotomy on him, extracting a trove of confidential information.
"His family's forces will soon realize something is wrong… so before they can react, the Zatobi family has to move first: carry out a beheading strike on every key figure tied to Brunson's organization across his entire territory."
In a makeshift hospital room, Xiang Nan removed his bloody rubber gloves and set down his surgical tools while speaking to the woman beside him, whose eyes were wide with shock.
Mia had watched the entire operation.
As family head, she needed to know everything Brunson divulged so she could make arrangements.
"Move quickly—before the Ten Dons act," Xiang Nan warned.
"Should we hide first?" Mia took a deep breath.
"Hide? You underestimate the Ten Dons. Wherever you run, they can find you. What you must do now is survive this period. The Ten Dons will definitely send people to kill you, but with me here you're safe. As long as you live, the Zatobi operation continues. Once they realize you're hard to eliminate, you just need a chance to negotiate—offer them the right incentives and there's a good chance you'll take Brunson's place."
Xiang Nan lit a cigarette.
"But… killing all his confidants, the Ten Dons' anger won't cool quickly. What if they refuse to give me that chance?"
"If they won't play ball, we'll just have to eliminate them. But only after the whole underworld knows you enraged the Ten Dons—that way, when a Don dies everyone will silently understand it was the Zatobi family's doing.
"That's the worst‑case option. The Zatobi family would become a target for the entire underworld; the other Dons wouldn't stand by. Avoid that step unless absolutely necessary.
"Still, if they really refuse to yield… then so be it."
Challenge the entire underworld? Stand against every Don?
Mia's hands went numb—she could hardly believe what she was hearing.
"All fear comes from inadequate firepower," Xiang Nan chuckled. "The best way to demonstrate strength is muscle. If your power is overwhelming enough, even the fiercest beast will bow its proud head. The order the Ten Dons built is stout, but nothing in this world is permanent—only waiting for its time to change."
With that, Xiang Nan led Manman out of the room.
…
News exploded through the underworld: a mid‑tier mafia family from Zerta City had toppled Brunson, the West‑District kingpin. Word was the Zatobi boss had once been Brunson's lover.
No one knew what had happened between them, but Brunson's Dentora City residence was cleansed overnight. Across the West District, the Brunson family's core managers in every city were assassinated in quick succession.
Everyone knew—it was the Zatobi family's doing.
Underworld circles were stunned by their efficiency: they clearly had intimate knowledge of Brunson's operations to execute such a pinpoint decapitation.
Then the Ten Dons sent word: the Zatobi family must disappear.
Instantly chaos engulfed the republic. Gangs saw an opportunity—if they could kill Zatobi, they might win the Dons' favor. Mobs converged on Zerta City, striking the Zatobi strongholds.
But Zatobi's leadership had already slipped away. Those killed or captured were mostly low‑level members who knew nothing of the boss's whereabouts. Daylight gunfights filled Zerta City's streets, disrupting national order—an illustration of the Ten Dons' terrifying reach. Even government warnings had little effect.
Thanks to the expendable assassins hired from Meteor City, the Zatobi core survived in "safe houses," while Brunson's hierarchy lay in ruins. For a small family, crippling a syndicate of Brunson's scale was an impressive feat.
Throughout this period, Xiang Nan kept Manman glued to Mia for protection.
He himself went on the offensive—hunting the loudest gang leaders answering the Dons' call.
In a lavish office
A mafia boss had just hung up the phone when a stranger entered.
"Loudmuir?" Xiang Nan read the name aloud. The boss's face changed.
"This is a greeting from the Zatobi family," Xiang Nan smiled—and thud! A throwing knife pierced the man's forehead. Xiang Nan strolled out.
Days later—in a private hot‑spring club
A kingpin lounging with beauties in a steaming pool received the same "greeting" and floated lifeless on the water.
One boss, then two, then three… In barely half a month, underworld circles noticed that many leaders spear‑heading the hunt for Zatobi were dying mysteriously. Fear spread. If a "dead" Zatobi family still had such reach, who was safe? Pursuit of Zatobi slackened.
In a seaside hotel—one of Zatobi's secret properties—Xiang Nan rejoined Mia and Manman. The family, battered and scattered, could no longer gather intelligence; Xiang Nan had bought his targets' locations from the Zoldyck clan, letting Illumi take a generous cut.
Illumi's phone call was the first he'd heard Xiang Nan was the root of Padokea's turmoil.
Xiang Nan wasn't worried the Ten Dons would hire the Zoldycks: it would wound their pride to bring in outsiders unless things got truly out of hand—and so far not a single Don had personally stepped in.
"Still no contact…" Mia, gaunt after two weeks of stress, put down her phone—Meteor City's assassins and the hidden elders were all dead.
"Looks like a Don moved personally," Xiang Nan nodded, smiling slightly. "His troops will find you soon."
Mia's eyes filled with terror. Only now did she feel the full dread of angering a Don—one word from him and the Zatobi family was almost wiped from existence.
"If he's coming… will he come here?" Her voice trembled. This hotel was supposedly a safe house.
"Of course," Xiang Nan replied, raising an eyebrow.
"The Don's Nen‑user shock troops. Wiping out those Meteor City killers in twenty‑four hours—including skilled Nen users—only the Shadow Beasts fit that bill. But a full Beast squad forms only when all Ten Dons act together; a single Don should have just one Beast. Even so, a Don commands plenty of Nen users.
Now Mia felt truly helpless; the Zatobi family might be reduced to her alone. She trusted Xiang Nan, but with only him and Manman—could they really stand against a Don's private army?
She had no other choice.
~~~
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