Best Young Master
Chapter 221 - 197 [Stick and Carrot]

Chapter 221: Chapter 197 [Stick and Carrot]

As mid-level members of the Dong hai Gang, their understanding of Ye Fan was no less than that of Feng Dong, the top dog of Dong hai’s Police.

They knew that Ye Fan, an Innate Martial Artist, had killed Situ Haotian and Huang Qi to avenge Situ Chen.

They also knew of the exploits of Ye Fan, bloodbathing the Nanqinghong Hanghu branch, slaying Nanqinghong Crown Prince Lin Ao Feng, and the Hongwu Sect genius Yang Qing in Hanghu.

They were aware, too, that Ye Fan was the nephew of Demon Queen Chu Ji, the illegitimate son of Ye Wenhao!

Because of all this knowledge, because Ye Fan’s identity was too dazzling and his background too powerful, they subconsciously believed that Ye Fan would not covet the petty gains of the Dong hai Gang—in their view, with the support of Chu Ji and Ye Wenhao, Ye Fan could definitely join the ranks of Huaxia’s wealthy in a short time!

This judgment led them, after Pan Jueming started the trend of grabbing territories and cutting the cake, to follow suit without hesitation, and to unanimously call Jin Ye to intimidate him into dividing the assets of the Dong hai Gang!

Now, having learned that Ye Fan was convening a meeting under the guise of Jin Ye’s name, after their initial shock, they were filled with doubt: How could Ye Fan possibly care about the little money of the Dong hai Gang?

As doubt emerged, aside from Pan Jueming, the other eight mid-level members of the Dong hai Gang looked at each other, seemingly asking for the opinions of one another, all with bewildered expressions.

Creak!

Shortly thereafter, before the eight mid-level members of the Dong hai Gang could figure anything out, the door to the meeting room was pushed open again, and Ye Fan, followed by Jin Ye, slowly entered the meeting room.

Clang—

As Ye Fan entered, including Pan Jueming, all nine mid-level members of the Dong hai Gang unanimously stood up from their chairs and sofas, the collision of furniture ringing in the air.

"Mr. Ye!"

After standing up, Pan Jueming was the first to bow and greet Ye Fan.

"Mr. Ye!"

The other eight mid-level Dong hai Gang members, originally pale with fright at Ye Fan’s arrival, heard Pan Jueming’s words and, as if awakening from a dream, promptly followed suit, bowing to greet Ye Fan.

Without replying, Ye Fan looked thoughtfully at Pan Jueming and walked straight to the conference area.

"Have your men all leave, within ten seconds!"

Soon, upon reaching the front of the conference area, Ye Fan stood firm, his gaze as sharp as a knife, directed at the nine mid-level Dong hai Gang members, speaking in an unquestionable tone.

"Whoosh—"

The moment Ye Fan’s command was issued, before Ma Liu and the other eight mid-level Dong hai Gang members could give an order, their underlings scattered like ancient servants upon receiving an imperial decree, and without a word, they darted out as if they feared staying a second over ten seconds.

Watching this scene unfold, not a trace of dissatisfaction could be seen on the faces of Ma Liu and the others—they might disregard Jin Ye and even bully him for money, but Ye Fan was someone they could not afford to offend!

"My name is Ye Fan, and I believe you all should know me,"

After Ma Liu and the others’ subordinates had left the meeting room, Ye Fan, with a thick stack of documents in hand, threw them onto the damaged conference table, "On the way back to the villa, I looked over your files. Once, you were all core members of the Dong hai Gang, playing significant roles in various business domains of the Gang. Now, you’ve replaced the former elders who were in charge of these businesses, and each of you has become a big brother, imposing in every aspect."

"Hiss~"

Upon hearing Ye Fan’s low voice, aside from Pan Jueming, Ma Liu and the others couldn’t help but twitch their mouths and inhale sharply, their fear climbing ever higher.

"Turnover of the new or the old is inevitable for any organization. It’s quite normal for you to take over the positions of the former big brothers after the mishap within the Dong hai Gang,"

At this point, Ye Fan suddenly changed his tone, releasing the aura of an Early Innate Realm strong person, "But after you rose to power, shouldn’t you think about how to avenge Uncle Situ? Even if you’re not capable of that, the least you could do is go to Ao Xiang Villa to bow and offer incense, right?"

"Gulp—"

Facing Ye Fan’s interrogation, and feeling the terrifying aura emanating from him, Pan Jueming and the nine others felt as if they were dragged to the coldest place in the world, chilled to the bone, and frightened to even breathe.

"Not at all!"

Ye Fan answered his own question, his tone so cold it was suffocating, "Not only did you not go to Ao Xiang Villa to bow and offer incense to Uncle Situ, but you also took advantage of the chaos within Dong hai Gang to fight over territories, leading to the Gang being torn into pieces! What’s more, you even intimidated Jin Ye, demanding that he divide the Dong hai Group’s assets with you!"

"Slap—"

As he spoke, Ye Fan suddenly exerted force beneath his feet, and the floor beneath him instantly crumbled, turning into dust, even leaving a deep footprint in the concrete below.

Crack!

This sudden event made Pan Jueming and the nine members shudder in fear, losing even the courage to meet Ye Fan’s gaze.

"Originally, I was an outsider and should not meddle in the affairs of the Dong hai Gang, but if it weren’t for my taking down Situ Haotian and Huang Qi, the Dong hai Gang would have ceased to exist by now, transformed into a part of Nanqinghong! Thus, I believe I have some right to speak, don’t I?" Ye Fan suddenly asked.

"Yes... yes!" The crowd nodded in terror.

"I don’t want to see Uncle Situ’s lifelong efforts go to ruin in the blink of an eye, and even less do I want Ruoshui’s safety to be threatened because of your bullshit!"

Ye Fan spoke again, his tone leaving no room for doubt, "To avenge Uncle Situ, I will reorganize and strengthen the Dong hai Gang, driving Nanqinghong out of Huaxia step by step! If you wish to join me, you are most welcome, If you don’t, I won’t make things difficult for you!"

"I am willing!"

"I’m willing too!"

...

As Ye Fan’s words concluded, apart from Pan Jueming, Ma Liu and the other eight people hurried to state their willingness, as if they were ready to show their hearts to Ye Fan.

Clearly, they all knew that since Ye Fan was taking over the Dong hai Gang, they had to obey him, or else they would be obliterated by Ye Fan!

"I am willing to follow Mr. Ye to avenge Mr. Situ!"

After Ma Liu and the eight others had expressed their willingness, Pan Jueming finally spoke up, and as he did so, he met Ye Fan’s gaze without fear, his expression neither overbearing nor servile.

Upon seeing this, Ye Fan’s eyebrows lifted thoughtfully.

"Since you all are willing, let me be plain before we end this meeting—if I find out that any of you kill each other to rise to power, or collude with other organizations and damage the unity of the Dong hai Gang, I will be the first to make him disappear from this world!"

Despite knowing that everyone had been coerced into submission out of intimidation, Ye Fan continued to adopt a hard-line stance, and while speaking, he deliberately employed the ’Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound,’ a martial arts technique that carries a Mind Power Attack.

Unlike the previous use of Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound in this meeting room, this time, Ye Fan carefully controlled its power to ensure it wouldn’t hurt anyone present.

Still, with just his words, everyone’s eardrums vibrated, their blood churned disorderly, their faces turned pale, and they even struggled to stay on their feet, their gazes towards Ye Fan filled with awe and reverence!

"As I said before, you are all the backbone of the Dong hai Gang, now even more so as leaders of various domains; the growth of the Dong hai Gang requires your joint efforts!"

After experiencing the trials of the mundane world for so long, Ye Fan was aware of the ’stick and carrot’ policy; seeing that everyone was thoroughly intimidated, he immediately presented the carrot, "Of course, you should all receive the treatment you deserve—Uncle Situ’s inheritance will all go to Ruoshui, the assets of Fei Si and Liu Tianjun will be inherited by their descendants, and the assets of other Dong hai Gang veterans will all be used for the gang’s operations."

Uh?

As expected, upon hearing Ye Fan’s statement, everyone but Pan Jueming’s faces lit up with joy.

After the internal strife within the Dong hai Gang, they not only took over the positions of the previous business leaders but also emptied the funds of the domains they managed into their own pockets.

Now, Ye Fan mentioning that the assets of other Dong hai Gang veterans would act as capital for business operations meant he had no intention of reclaiming the previous operational funds.

"Previously, the operational funds from various business domains, you take out a part to settle the gang members who were injured or killed in the chaos over the last few days, the rest is at your discretion."

As if to confirm their speculation, Ye Fan spoke again, "Moreover, from now on, you will, like the former veterans of the Dong hai Gang, hold shares in the gang—you will be able to take dividends from the gang’s earnings each year based on your shareholding proportion!"

"Thank you, Mr. Ye!"

With Ye Fan’s final words, all but Pan Jueming heaved a sigh of relief secretly, bowing and thanking Ye Fan.

From the moment he entered the meeting room, Ye Fan had sensed that Pan Jueming didn’t fit in with the others, and he also knew that Pan Jueming was the instigator of the Dong hai Gang’s infighting, yet, he was the only one who didn’t make a call to blackmail Jin Ye for money.

This puzzled him to some degree.

Now, seeing Pan Jueming remain unmoved, Ye Fan asked in a deep voice, "Boss Pan, are you unwilling?"

"Mr. Ye, I..." Pan Jueming tried to say something.

However—

Before he could explain himself, Liu Kui, who bore a grudge against him, hastily accused, "Mr. Ye, the infighting within the gang happened because Pan Jueming led the way! He was the first one to send people to attack my turf, seizing my territorial control and business! He likely did this to ascend during the chaos, wanting to become the boss!"

"I’ve heard about this issue too, Boss Pan, is there any truth to it?" Ye Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, staring motionlessly at Pan Jueming as he asked.

Sensing the chill in Ye Fan’s gaze, Pan Jueming felt somewhat fearful, but still, he set his jaw determinedly, meeting Ye Fan’s stare, and spoke word by word, "Mr. Ye, regarding these matters, I wish to explain them to you alone."

"Explain alone?" Ye Fan’s eyebrows raised.

"Mr. Ye, Pan Jueming is probably planning to concoct lies to deceive you..." Hearing Pan Jueming’s request for a private explanation, Liu Kui instinctively thought Pan Jueming intended to fool Ye Fan.

"Liu Kui, do you think you’re wiser than Mr. Ye?" Jin Ye, who had remained silent until now, glared at Liu Kui and coldly cut him off.

Liu Kui hurriedly shut his mouth, while Pan Jueming looked resolutely at Ye Fan, his demeanor like that of a gambler who had gone all-in at the casino, convinced in his choice, "Mr. Ye, after I’ve made my explanation, you’re free to kill or mutilate me as you please."

"All right."

Feeling the confidence and resolve within Pan Jueming’s gaze, and considering Pan Jueming’s dossier, Ye Fan thought briefly before agreeing to Pan Jueming’s request. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket, monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)