Chapter 3

Suddenly, shouts could be heard outside of the room where the Crime Lords were discussing their plans. This was so unexpected that it caused all three men to stand up in a defensive position. This was a reaction that all three of them had, because such reactions were needed in order survive in the underworld of the Flower Continent.

However, even before the three men could gesture for their bodyguards to take a look at what was going on, the shouting slowly died down which confused everyone in the room. It was as if after only a breath of time, that what they heard could have been imagined by them.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Ren Tian was the first to react. There should have been no Crime Lord in the city who would dare to attack the three allies in the middle of the night, especially on the day of the new year. Since two of the three Crime Lords in this room had domineering backgrounds, this made even less sense.

Plus, if there was a reason where the government would finally start to crack down on what was happening inside the borders of the Flower Continent, the Ren and Shi family would have reported it to their young masters immediately. This was a common practice when it came to heirs of massive families such as the ones they were part of!

Without hesitating any longer, Shi Heng was the first to react by giving an order to his bodyguards before backing away from the door where the shouts died down from. Being the one in the room who was considered the strategist of the group, the other two could have given orders to their men first, but still waited to follow Shi Heng's lead.

"You two, go and check on what the situation is. You three, I will be relying on you if the situation turns ugly." Shi Heng told his five bodyguards in the room before looking at his two allies to see what they would do.

Each member of this alliance had five bodyguards in the room with them while they each had roughly twenty more protecting this particular building. What was confusing, is that they chose to meet in Ren Tian's district this time so an enemy attack would have been known even sooner.

If an invading force entered into Ren Tian's territory, it was possible that they would know almost at the exact moment. This was the power and influence of a Crime Lord who dictated everything in their respective districts.

After seeing Shi Heng's quick response to the potential threatening situation, Ghost Face and Ren Tian chose to split their bodyguards up the same way before Ren Tian started to speak. Both felt that Shi Heng had made the right choice, and with Ghost Face having experience with escaping, it was clear what Shi Heng was planning even with no information on the situation.

"The other two Crime Lords of this city are mostly afraid of our alliance and there is no reason for them to have suddenly become trigger happy for starting a war with us. If they had a plan like this, they would have possibly even chose to strike before tonight while if victory was achieved, they could peacefully enjoy their celebration."

"Plus, given Ghost Face's report tonight, even if they combined forces, they only have roughly one third of the men available that we have in our ranks. It would be the same as committing suicide if they chose to act against us even with the help of another outside force." Ren Tian told the group as they nodded in agreement.

The bodyguards chosen to check on what was happening, all quickly rushed towards the door without any hesitation. These individuals were hand picked by these three Crime Lords because they were not just the most loyal to them, but also because they had no real backgrounds.

This was a tactic that all the Crime Lords if they were able to, would use to their advantage, including those with powerful backgrounds. If their men were not afraid of them personally, they would at least be afraid for their families if they had a small family.

In recent years, this would still backfire on certain Crime Lords who did not have a powerful backer but became Crime Lords due to their wealth. The reason was that being a Crime Lord and controlling an entire district, would make anyone wealthy over time. So those with no background, were still able to act against them if they knew it would be possible to replace them as the new district's Crime Lord.

Right as the bodyguard who made it to the door first reached for the door, it actually started to slowly open on its own. The three Crime Lords not knowing what to expect quickly used all of their strength to run behind their respective remaining three bodyguards who were still close to them and ready to sacrifice themselves.

"Master, I have some news that I was told to deliver to you." hearing this voice, Ren Tian's face started to become calm as he responded.

"Come in then and tell us all this piece of news that caused shouting throughout the entire building." Ren Tian replied as he made his way back to the table along with the other two Crime Lords.

An older man walked into the room before kneeling before Ren Tian. This older man was Ren Tian's recruiting officer for his group who also handled important news.

"First I must apologize for the other's outbursts earlier which I hope you three could forgive me for. Though I have the final say of who joins our group as grunts, I am not publicly recognized which made your groups hesitate to allow me entry into this building."

"However, I brought quite a few men along with me to deliver this message so it was fairly obvious that once your men knew who I was along with the help of our own organization's men, I was finally allowed through."

"The message this time comes from the Ren family. It turns out that the rookie I told you about the other day who was able to become a new Crime Lord within a week of time, had announced that he would be marrying into the Peng family." the older man told the group before quickly rushing towards the door behind him in order to leave.

The atmosphere within the room became extremely gloomy and the remaining bodyguards who had to remain by their leader's sides, all felt a sense of dread themselves hearing such news. "Who gave you permission to leave after giving us such great news?" Ren Tian with a deathly aura shouted out as the older man halted his movements.