France, on the streets of Lyon.

A car chase is unfolding, with three Chevrolet Suburbans furiously pursuing two sedans ahead, the roar of engines startling the pedestrians on the roadside.

In the leading silver car, Old Hei grips the steering wheel tightly, sweat trickling down his temples, his expression extremely tense.

In the passenger seat, Ah Jiao's gaze is also a bit anxious, but she remains calm, her fingers swiftly sliding on the tablet screen, checking the map routes.

"Damn it, these guys are like bloodhounds. We just switched locations, and they've already found us." Ajie cursed angrily.

"Turn right ahead, there's an alley on 23rd Avenue. We'll park the car at the alley entrance and escape on foot!" Ah Jiao quickly made a decision, shouting to Old Hei.

"Got it!" Old Hei sharply turned the steering wheel, the tires screeching against the pavement, and the car darted into the side street like an arrow.

Niu Da, following closely behind, was about to follow when he suddenly heard a loud "bang."

The left front tire of his car burst abruptly, causing the vehicle to lurch to the left, sparking on the road, narrowly missing the roadside guardrail.

"Shit!" Niu Da cursed, slamming on the brakes, causing the car to skid sideways in the middle of the road.

"Brother Niu! What happened!" Ah Jiao's anxious inquiry came through the Bluetooth earpiece.

Niu Da glanced at the rearview mirror, quickly pushed open the door, and sprinted towards the pavement: "You guys go on first! Don't worry about me!"

Ah Jiao turned her head to look through the car window and saw that one of the three Chevrolets had stopped, with four people getting out to chase after Niu Da, while the other two rammed the car blocking the road and continued toward their direction.

Old Hei hesitated a bit when he heard the shouting in the earpiece.

"Keep going!" Ah Jiao shouted with a stern face, "Stopping now will only drag him down!"

Old Hei, hearing this, gritted his teeth, slammed on the accelerator again, and the silver car quickly disappeared around the street corner...

...

Outside a hotel in Shanghai, in the parking lot.

Qi Yun glanced at two crew-cut young men, noting from their expressions that they were clearly not friendly.

"Who's your boss?" Qi Yun asked, expressionless.

"Brother Xiong," one of the young men replied.

Qi Yun showed no reaction to the name. He didn't know anyone in Shanghai, especially not any Brother Xiong, but Old Wai's face turned tense.

"I don't know your boss, if he wants to see me, he should come himself." Qi Yun said in a deep voice, casually opened the car door, and got in.

Shi Feng and Chen Wei also got in the car, while Old Wai gave the two young men a smile and opened the driver's seat door.

Once the car was on the main road, Old Wai said with a wry smile, "Brother Qi Yun, if you're done here, you might want to leave Shanghai."

"Why? Because of this Brother Xiong?" Shi Feng asked with a frown.

Old Wai nodded, "Yes, he's very powerful in the Puxin District. He pretty much has a monopoly on the earthworks and steel business, and even the big bosses have to give him some face."

"Plus, his men have a bit of a gangster vibe, and people who cross him usually don't end well."

"My new place is in Puxin District, so I've heard of him."

This wasn't hard to understand, anyone dealing in earthworks and steel is quite influential.

Shi Feng's expression turned a bit awkward, "A place like Shanghai still allows people like that to exist?"

Old Wai gave a cryptic smile, "There are always places the sun doesn't shine. Rumor has it Brother Xiong is actually working for Mr. Ji, the guy who bought that Bronze Cauldron at the auction."

"Apart from what I've told you about Mr. Ji, he's got a huge business and very strong connections, in some complex ways too."

Shi Feng clicked his tongue, "A white glove then?"

Old Wai nodded silently.

"Old Qi doesn't know this Brother Xiong at all, why would he come looking for trouble?" Shi Feng asked, testing the waters, "Could it be because Old Qi grabbed that Buddha Head from Mr. Ji at the auction?"

"My guess is that's probably it..." Old Wai sighed, "That's why I suggest Brother Qi Yun leave first. If they come looking for trouble, it won't be easy to handle."

Shi Feng felt a bit irritated, "Fair competition at the auction, what kind of white glove has such little tolerance? That's pretty damn tyrannical, isn't it?"

Old Wai said nothing more, and a short silence fell inside the car.

"It's fine, let's go eat first," Qi Yun finally spoke, his tone calm, "If he wants trouble, he can come himself."

Even if the other person seemed powerful, Qi Yun didn't see why he should bow down just because of a name.

If he were alone, Qi Yun might consider fleeing to save his skin, but with Chen Wei beside him, he felt much more assured.

As long as they couldn't quietly take him out, even if Brother Xiong or even Lord Xiong couldn't handle it once it got noisy.

This was the mainland, and Qi Yun was not just some small fry to be easily dealt with.

"Alright, let's go eat first." Seeing Qi Yun's composure, Old Wai didn't try to persuade him further, knowing that given the lack of a big conflict, it was just about saving face.

Half an hour later, a group of four arrived at the restaurant for dinner.

"Wow, this place doesn't come cheap, does it?" Shi Feng said, fiddling with the silverware on the table while taking in the restaurant's decor.

The environment here is quite nice, with no private rooms, only widely spaced window seats separated by screens.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the river glimmered under the lights, and the skyscrapers on the opposite shore began to illuminate in the twilight.

Restaurants located in such prime areas even charge for the external scenery, though it's included in the price of the dishes.

Lao Wai handed over the menu with a smile: "Since you all seldom come here, I made sure to reserve a good spot for you. This place is not easy to book; try their signature braised pork, which is stewed with ten-year aged Shaoxing wine..."

"I'm treating today, and there's more to come after dinner!"

Meanwhile, outside on the street, a black Mercedes was slowly pulling over.

In the back seat of the Mercedes, a burly middle-aged man with a bearish build and a face full of flesh, puffed on a cigar and leisurely rolled down the window.

Nearby, a young man with a crew cut, who had appeared in the hotel parking lot earlier, ran over and leaned in to speak: "Brother Xiong, they've gone inside."

Brother Xiong shook his head side to side, his neck cracking audibly.

The crew-cut youth outside saw this and quickly opened the car door.

Brother Xiong stepped out, looked up at the restaurant's sign, instinctively furrowing his brows, but still walked in with strides.

On the ground floor of the restaurant, the reception manager came up, politely inquiring: "Good evening gentlemen, do you have a reservation?"

Brother Xiong remained silent, while his sidekick responded: "We're meeting a friend."

The manager intended to say more, but Brother Xiong had already bypassed him, heading straight for the stairs.

On the second floor, since the peak dining hours had passed, there weren't many customers, leaving several open seats.

The manager's insistence on asking about reservations was because the restaurant limits their daily food supply, preparing only a certain number of servings each day.

Qi Yun and his party's table was not too far from the stairs. Upon hearing the approaching footsteps, Chen Wei immediately looked over.

When Chen Wei saw Brother Xiong leading some young men appear at the staircase, he instinctively moved closer to Qi Yun, discreetly gripping a dining knife on the table.

The other three also heard the approaching footsteps and looked over.

Lao Wai, who had been smiling, became serious upon seeing Brother Xiong's sudden appearance.

Brother Xiong led four young men with crew cuts directly to the table, scanned the faces of everyone, and finally fixed his gaze on Qi Yun, speaking calmly: "You're Qi Yun, right?"

Qi Yun glimpsed the two crew-cut youths behind him and roughly guessed the identity of the newcomers.

He stared at Brother Xiong expressionlessly, his voice steady: "Yes."

A sidekick brought over a chair, and Brother Xiong sat down with a chuckle: "It's quite tricky to meet you; I had to come personally."

This sentence was full of arrogance, indicating Brother Xiong's usual swagger.

Qi Yun remained unbothered, his demeanor calm.

Brother Xiong sensed he was being ignored, his face still smiling, but his eyes gradually turned cold.

The tension around the table began to rise.

Lao Wai, who had been silent, glanced at Qi Yun and then at Shi Feng, before gritting his teeth, stood up, and poured a cup of tea, handing it to Brother Xiong with a forced smile: "Brother Xiong, we didn't know you were coming, so we didn't prepare in advance. How about joining us for a simple dinner?"

Brother Xiong glanced at Lao Wai, remaining silent.

His trusted aide beside him, evidently understanding Brother Xiong's intentions, picked up the cup and splashed it in Lao Wai's face: "Who the hell are you? Did anyone ask you to speak?"

"This isn't your business, stay out of the way!"

This blatant display was undoubtedly a warning for Qi Yun and his group to acknowledge their place.

Rage appeared on Qi Yun's face as he coldly stared at Brother Xiong, ready to react.

Clearly, Lao Wai knew Brother Xiong wasn't someone to mess with and tried to speak up to resolve the situation peacefully.

Sitting next to Qi Yun, Chen Wei's left hand's veins bulged in readiness, awaiting Qi Yun's signal to act.

By logic, he was just Qi Yun's bodyguard, not a henchman.

Without a threat to Qi Yun's safety, he could choose not to intervene.

However, after spending so much time together, their relationship had transformed, no longer a mere employer-employee bond.

Qi Yun was generally generous with them, only recently giving bonuses of over a million after a maritime venture, and never treated him as just subordinates, always showing respect.

Therefore, because of their relationship, he'd willingly take risks should Qi Yun ask.

Claiming they could kill Brother Xiong and his men here would be an exaggeration, but giving them a thorough beating wouldn't be a problem.

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