Faced with Chen Ye's relentless reforms, the crime lords were unwilling to give up any of their profits. Chen Ye was like a beast that could never be fully fed. Ever since he returned to Hell's Kitchen and seized control of the eastern district—his personal territory—all the other gangs had suffered heavy losses. Now he was reaching for even more, under the guise of opening a school and competing for recruits with them.
If this went through, over time the gangs would have no fresh blood. Eventually, would they need to fight turf wars with fifty- or sixty-year-old veterans? For them, this would mean a slow death. They had to stop this from happening.
Gust's plan, though seemingly idealistic and a little far-fetched, was actually not a bad approach.
If Chen Ye ignored the advice of the gang leaders and insisted on opening the school, they could rise in resistance.
First, they'd let the government intervene. If law enforcement succeeded, everyone would be happy.
If the government didn't act, there would be no evidence linking the gang leaders to any wrongdoing.
In that way, whether Chen Ye clashed with the authorities or not, they would remain unaffected.
In a matter of seconds, everyone clarified the stakes. Their tone shifted from ridicule to flattery toward Gust.
"So, the Mexican leader can actually think things through, huh?"
Seeing the change in their attitude, Gust laughed heartily. He had another reason for not revealing everything. After all, none of these people were saints, and one always needed to keep a hidden card.
As the top drug lord in Mexico, Gust had grown up accustomed to bribing government officials and police officers, ensuring protection from the authorities. Otherwise, he would have been executed long ago.
After arriving in America, Gust continued this fine tradition, with countless officials under his influence. His biggest coup was the mayor of New York City.
According to the intelligence from the Gust family, this mayor was extravagant and maintained shady relations with many local businessmen, even accepting bribes from the likes of Jin Bin.
Others might have abandoned such a line of action, but Gust was no ordinary man. He believed that with enough money, even Jin Bin's people could become his allies.
He immediately sent envoys to the mayor, spending massive amounts to provide luxury cars and mansions. After spending $300 million, Gust successfully "wooed" the mayor, making him the family's local backer in New York.
Gust knew clearly that ordinary people posed no real threat to Chen Ye and Jin Bin—they were easy prey.
So Gust planned to call the mayor after the video conference, arranging military and special forces support.
After all, when you take someone's money, you provide protection.
Meanwhile, Tom, the leader of the Irish gang, chimed in:
"We don't need to fear Chen Ye and Jin Bin. Even if the government doesn't intervene, others will. So I think we should attend the meeting."
Hearing this, the other leaders stopped flattering Gust. Gust frowned at Tom on the screen for interrupting his moment of glory but asked curiously,
"I wonder which force wants to deal with Chen Ye's crew?"
Tom played coy.
"Have you all heard how Jin Bin rose to power?"
The gang leaders shook their heads. They knew Jin Bin had powerful backers—otherwise he could never have risen so quickly in Hell's Kitchen—but they didn't know who exactly. They looked at Tom expectantly.
"Have you heard of the Te-Ho Society?" Tom asked.
Suddenly everyone understood. No wonder Jin Bin rose so quickly—he had the support of the Te-Ho Society, an organization of ninjas, thieves, and assassins with a history spanning over a hundred years.
Gust immediately grasped Tom's point:
"So you're saying the Te-Ho Society is about to move against Chen Ye?"
Tom nodded.
"One member, Madam Gao, oversees illegal drug and pharmaceutical operations in America. She is extremely displeased with Chen Ye's ban on drug trafficking in Hell's Kitchen. Recently, she will send someone to assassinate Chen Ye and his allies."
Tom didn't reveal everything. He only said Madam Gao targeted Chen Ye, not Jin Bin, and he promised support for becoming the ruler of Hell's Kitchen.
Hearing this, the crime lords became very excited, asking Tom if he personally knew Madam Gao—they wanted a piece of the drug trade.
Gust, the Mexican drug lord, saw their reactions and immediately scowled. Just moments ago they had been flattering him, but now, hearing about Madam Gao, they ignored him completely.
Unable to bear it, Gust ended the video call. Grabbing a girl nearby, he vented his anger on her.
Tom, the Irish gang leader, smiled subtly. These leaders were still too naive. He had just used a small tactic to shift their attention to him.
He then addressed the group:
"Everyone, don't rush. As long as we work together, Chen Ye and Jin Bin are no threat at all."
"So we don't need to fear them—just attend the meeting and watch their performance. If we don't go, outsiders will assume we fear Chen Ye and Jin Bin."
"Once the Te-Ho Society eliminates Chen Ye and his allies, I will share my channels with everyone. Naturally, the higher the price, the bigger the share." Tom knew that holding back too much meant catching nothing. Compared to becoming the ruler of Hell's Kitchen, these profits were trivial.
Besides, once they were eliminated, the money they earned would ultimately belong to Tom anyway.
The meeting atmosphere became lively.
"Don't worry—we'll definitely contribute to taking down Chen Ye!"
"There's no opponent in front of us!"
"Go! We must attend this meeting and show Chen Ye the might of Hell's Kitchen's gangs!"
All the crime lords began boasting recklessly in the conference.
Tom quietly signed off, leaving the others to celebrate blindly on the video call.
"Humph. I wonder how many unlucky fools will die in this event," he muttered. Tom didn't want to deal with these idiots—they were too easy to manipulate.
But his objective had been achieved: he had provoked a hatred between the gang leaders and Chen Ye, giving them both incentive and courage to oppose him. That was all he needed for now.
-----------------------
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