Chapter 189 Demanding an Explanation
Throughout the night, Lin Haoran was completely unaffected by what had happened earlier.
As for the 13K side, he wasn't in the slightest bit anxious.
Even the lowliest street thugs knew that no matter how powerful a gang was, it still had to respect the truly powerful figures.
Someone like Lin Haoran, a tycoon worth tens of billions, was already among the top tier of those powerful figures.
Thus, Lin Haoran naturally was in no hurry. In fact, he was planning to leverage the fact that right was on his side and intended to call Mr. Ge directly to demand an explanation. It all depended on how the other side would handle it.
In any case, what he wanted was a clear attitude from them—and afterward, no further trouble. Lin Haoran had no interest in having any dealings with these triads; they were not people he wanted to associate with.
As for 13K's leader, Ge Zhixiong, his legendary story was well known to Hong Kongers, and Lin Haoran also knew it from his memories.
Ge Zhixiong was the son of Ge Zhaohuang, founder of 13K. When his father was still alive, Ge Zhixiong was already considered the crown prince of the 13K society.
After Ge Zhaohuang's death, Ge Zhixiong naturally inherited the leadership of 13K, further expanding and strengthening the organization.
Over twenty years ago, under Ge Zhixiong's leadership, the 13K society initiated a large-scale riot, gathering over two thousand people to protest in the streets and even clashing directly with Hong Kong police.
Following their lead, other gangs joined in, resulting in widespread destruction of public property, looting, arson, and chaos throughout society.
This event became historically known as the "Double Tenth Riot."
In response, the Hong Kong government implemented harsh measures and deported the 13K leadership, including Ge Zhixiong, forcing him to seek refuge in Macau.
Several years later, as the impact of the "Double Tenth Riot" subsided, Ge Zhixiong was allowed to return to Hong Kong.
After going through these ordeals, Ge Zhixiong realized deeply that no matter how powerful a gang was, it was insignificant compared to the government.
Thus, after returning to Hong Kong, Ge Zhixiong lost interest in managing the society's affairs and chose to live a low-profile life.
Since then, the thirty-six subgroups under 13K started to act independently, losing their former cohesion and becoming fragmented.
Although Ge Zhixiong no longer directly participated in the society's operations, he remained a spiritual leader within 13K, and no matter how arrogant the subgroups became, they all had to give him face.
Therefore, Lin Haoran decided that finding him to resolve the matter was the best approach.
The next morning, Lin Haoran had Li Weiguo take Guan Jiahui back to Kowloon Bay.
This wasn't Lin Haoran's idea—it was Guan Jiahui's own request.
She was afraid that her father, Guan Shan, would return home after celebrating Valentine's Day elsewhere and find that she wasn't home, which would cause trouble. So she chose to return early.
After Guan Jiahui left, Lin Haoran spent some time reading newspapers at home.
Around ten o'clock in the morning, he dialed Ge Zhixiong's number.
Since retiring from gang life, Ge Zhixiong had lived a very low-key life as an ordinary businessman.
It was said that at home, Ge Zhixiong portrayed himself as a kind father to his son. His own son had never realized that this kindly figure was once the leader of 13K and a dominant force in Hong Kong's underworld.
Ge Zhixiong had meticulously protected his family, deeply hoping his son would not follow his footsteps into the perilous world of gangs.
Thus, throughout his childhood, his son believed his father was just a simple businessman.
It wasn't until an accident that the truth emerged—his son, while helping a friend by co-signing a loan, got into trouble when the friend disappeared with the money. In desperation, his son called the police.
Afterward, people were shocked to discover that the young man involved was none other than the son of 13K's "Dragon Head" Ge Zhixiong—a revelation that stunned everyone.
Upon hearing the news, 13K quickly mobilized, stormed the debtor's hideout, and resolved the issue.
Only then did Ge Zhixiong's son finally learn his father's true identity, highlighting just how extremely low-profile Ge Zhixiong had remained after retiring.
Today was Chinese New Year's Eve, a day for family reunions.
As usual, Ge Zhixiong was sitting on the sofa watching TV, enjoying a relaxed life.
Living behind the scenes had indeed been peaceful—no more worrying about street fights or gang wars. He paid no attention to the internal affairs of 13K anymore, living quietly.
Since the establishment of the ICAC, triads had lost their protective umbrellas, and corrupt police no longer dared associate with them.
Thus, although 13K still appeared impressive on the surface, Ge Zhixiong knew very well that neither 13K nor other big societies like Hop Sing Tong or New Yi On had the same strength as before. Confronting the government now would only end in disaster.
This was also why he had chosen to retire.
As he was watching TV, the phone next to him rang.
"Hello, who is this?" he answered.
Now 53 years old, Ge Zhixiong, despite having been retired for a long time, still carried the demeanor of a boss. Within Hong Kong's gang world, almost everyone gave him due respect and avoided provoking him.
"Mr. Ge? I'm Lin Haoran from Hong Kong Electric Group. I'm sure you've heard of me," said a young voice on the other end.
Lin Haoran?
Ge Zhixiong immediately knew who it was—the young boss of Hong Kong Electric Group, a company worth over two billion Hong Kong dollars. Although young, Lin Haoran was already ranked among the top figures in the Chinese business world.
In business, it wasn't about age—it was about wealth. The richer you were, the more respect you commanded.
Lin Haoran, with just Hong Kong Electric Group and Cheung Chau Cement Company under his belt, already overshadowed most Hong Kong aristocratic families.
Moreover, the Lin family itself was one of Hong Kong's traditional elite families—no easy feat.
Such a figure was not someone he could afford to offend.
Though he wasn't sure why Lin Haoran was calling, Ge Zhixiong quickly responded, "Mr. Lin, hello. Who in Hong Kong hasn't heard of you? What can I do for you?"
Originally, he had intended to address him respectfully, but thinking that Lin Haoran was about the same age as his own son, he found himself unable to say it.
"Last night, in Mong Kok, I was randomly attacked and robbed by your 13K members. Fortunately, my bodyguards had some skills and handled them. Otherwise, I would have been the one lying down. To be clear, I have never offended you or your group. Yet your people attacked me. I'm calling now just to demand an explanation. You are the head of 13K, so naturally, I can only come to you," Lin Haoran said directly.
With the strength of 13K, investigating someone's background should not be difficult; sooner or later, they would have found out it was him anyway. So he didn't bother hiding it and instead chose to demand an explanation openly.
Even though Ge Zhixiong had publicly claimed to have retired, he was still the official head of 13K.
At that moment, Ge Zhixiong was stunned. He had heard about some society members being beaten up last night but hadn't paid much attention. Such things were too common.
What he hadn't expected was that the person they had provoked was Lin Haoran?
No wonder one person alone had managed to lay out six of their guys.
Although Ge Zhixiong had long stopped meddling in 13K's affairs, he still received daily reports about major events within the society.
The incident from last night had been reported to him within half an hour.
But he had simply ignored it, thinking it was irrelevant to him.
He hadn't anticipated that the person the Yi branch had been searching for all night was none other than Lin Haoran, the famous business tycoon.
At this moment, even someone who had been a gang boss for decades like him was sweating in February.
He already knew exactly what had happened last night and was aware that Lin Haoran wasn't lying. It was indeed their 13K members who had provoked Lin Haoran, who was just casually strolling around and ended up being extorted and harassed.
Such an incident would infuriate anyone—let alone a business magnate like Lin Haoran.
"Trouble," was all Ge Zhixiong could think.
Because Ge Zhixiong knew that Lin Haoran was absolutely not someone they could afford to offend.
Since 1956, when 13K's senior leaders were forced to flee Hong Kong, their power had been in serious decline.
Even though the number of members kept increasing, without their old connections in the police force and under government scrutiny, they were no longer as powerful. Bullying ordinary people might still work—but bullying a business tycoon?
That was suicide.
Nowadays, triad societies were often just tools for the rich and powerful. Even major triad organizations like 13K often ended up doing the dirty work that aristocratic families couldn't do openly.
If they offended a wealthy family, even 13K wouldn't have an easy time surviving.
"Mr. Lin, this might be a misunderstanding. I will first look into the details. Tomorrow night, I personally invite you to a banquet to give you a full explanation. Would that be acceptable?" Ge Zhixiong said quickly.
Even though he had long since retreated from managing 13K, he was still its nominal leader. If the society offended Lin Haoran and it wasn't handled properly, the consequences would be disastrous.
He had seen it before—when the wealthy moved against someone, it only took a word to have the Hong Kong government take down a major triad society.
"No need. Governor MacLehose has invited me to a banquet at the Governor's Mansion tomorrow night, so I'll have to decline your banquet. I just hope you can give me a reasonable explanation. I'm not an unreasonable person, but I won't allow myself to be bullied either. Mr. Ge, wouldn't you agree?" Lin Haoran said, judging from Ge Zhixiong's attitude that he would most likely settle the matter properly.
Hearing that Lin Haoran had been invited to the Governor's banquet only deepened Ge Zhixiong's shock at the young tycoon's high status.
Very few people in Hong Kong could receive an invitation from the Governor. This was not simply a rich man—this was someone who had influence even at the highest government levels.
Was this someone they could afford to mess with?
At that moment, he wished he could run over and personally curse out those six thugs. Of all the people they could have provoked, they just had to mess with someone entirely beyond their league.
Ge Zhixiong was fully aware of the extortion, protection rackets, and other practices carried out by triad members at the street level.
In his view, this was the basic survival model of any triad society.
Otherwise, what was the point of fighting and dying over territory?
It was precisely to exploit the people within those territories.
Because of this, the various subgroups had always turned a blind eye to such activities—as long as they weren't too excessive.
After all, the income submitted by these street-level members formed an important source of the society's revenue.
With 13K supposedly boasting over a hundred thousand members, if each contributed even just a thousand Hong Kong dollars a year, it would amount to over a billion Hong Kong dollars annually!
But even extortion needed to be selective about targets.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Lin. I will definitely give you a satisfactory response. This matter was unknown to us and was entirely the result of some individuals acting on their own. It does not represent 13K as a whole," Ge Zhixiong said solemnly.
Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored it, continuing his low-profile lifestyle.
But now, he had no choice but to step in.
No matter what, 13K was still the legacy of his father.
This incident might seem minor, but if they completely offended Lin Haoran, it would spell disaster.
Going up against the Lin family?
Ge Zhixiong didn't even dare entertain such a thought.
The network of relationships among Hong Kong's powerful families was intricate and deeply intertwined.
For example, Lin Haoning from the Lin family was married to a daughter of the prominent Cao family.
The Cao family itself was connected to many other influential families.
Furthermore, Lin Haoran's two elder sisters had also married into similarly powerful families.
These complex networks meant that while Hong Kong's tycoons appeared to compete fiercely in business, if a triad dared provoke even one of them, they would be courting death.
Moreover, the Lin family was no longer an ordinary wealthy family.
The ability to seize control of a British-run conglomerate and the honor of being invited to the Governor's banquet were not achievements that ordinary aristocrats could attain.
Those accomplishments alone placed the Lin family firmly among Hong Kong's top elite.
"Good. I hope you won't disappoint me," Lin Haoran said, then hung up the phone.
(This chapter ends.)
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