Era of Mist

When the five of them emerged from the entertainment complex, they all wore the most peculiar expressions. They were hard to pinpoint, impossible to describe, but a glance at their faces suggested that their revolutionary bond had deepened just a tad.

The car started up, with Ah D at the wheel again. This time, he didn’t drive so aggressively. His foot on the gas pedal seemed to lack its usual force, and his mind was clearly elsewhere.

Amid the silence, a sudden CLICK was heard, and the faint sound of music began to drift through the car.

The four men turned in unison to see their big boss in the back seat, a pair of headphones on his head, bobbing along to the music.

Seeing his carefree, oblivious head-bobbing, the four underlings were all a little stunned.

"Hm?" Seeing four pairs of eyes fixed on him, Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but take off his headphones. "What’s wrong?"

’Why are they all looking at me so strangely?’

"Nothing, nothing."

"It’s nothing!"

’It’s just that your vibe is a little different than usual...’

Ah Fei was about to ask if their boss had some sort of lucky break after leaving them halfway through, but Shi Tiexin had already anticipated his underlings’ thoughts.

"You guys want to listen, too?" Shi Tiexin began looking for a way to play the music on the car’s speakers.

"No, no, that’s okay!"

"That’s not it!"

’We don’t want to listen to music, we want to gossip about whether a seemingly straight-laced guy like you had a romantic encounter! As for listening to music, is that something hardened men of the underworld like us should be doing?’

But Shi Tiexin had already found the cable. Without another word, he connected it to the car’s audio system and adjusted the volume.

CLICK. He hit the play button.

「Five minutes later...」

Inside the car, five heads were bobbing in perfect unison. Shi Tiexin’s movements were still somewhat reserved, but his four underlings were on another level. Not only were they bobbing, but their movements were wide, their postures wild, and their expressions twisted, primal, and completely unrestrained.

Shi Tiexin had gone back to find that hard-skinned black man, but the guy had a concussion and couldn’t be woken up, so he hadn’t learned anything. Still, the lack of results didn’t matter. ’He was in the queue now,’ and that was enough to make Shi Tiexin grin.

How could such a joyous moment be without music?

’Everybody get hyped to the beat!’

Joy was like a chain reaction, infectious and self-reinforcing. All thoughts of gossip were tossed aside as the four underlings felt the call of their cervical vertebrae, discovering the ultimate pleasure of headbanging. One moment they were all howling along with the music, the next they were throwing hand signs left and right, their bodies twisting to the rhythm.

It was stupid and fun. The simple joys of men could be no greater than this!

Amid the dynamic music, the four underlings gradually devolved into happy idiots. In the back, Shi Tiexin, bobbing his own head, was also having the time of his life. Even the pitch-black road ahead seemed to brighten, and the oncoming assholes with their high beams on didn’t seem quite so hateful.

’A high-quality player with attributes is just the best~’

He felt like his entire life had just shifted into the fast lane.

As the saying goes, good fortune lifts the spirit. Just as he’d hoped, things started going smoothly.

「Two days later.」

The gang completed the acquisition and expansion of the old bar. The young bikers finally had a permanent base and had successfully become one of the TOP 15 most well-known Biker Gangs in all of Tokyo. His newly-trained underlings were all fired up. Standing at attention in their new headquarters, they finally looked like a troop of elite soldiers.

How could such a joyous moment be without music?

Crank up the music! Turn on the lights! Let the Four Headbanging Kings do their thing!

After a round of joyous celebration, Shi Tiexin took the stage. Facing his hundred-strong crew, he was suddenly filled with an overwhelming sense of mission and decided to share a life lesson with them. "Recently, I had an epiphany. It’s that attitude... determines... everything—"

「Another two days later.」

Late at night, at Tokyo Port, a convoy of large trucks carrying shipping containers pulled out of the port area, heading for the city under the cover of night.

Normally, the cargo run would require an escort from the Dead Fire Gang to avoid trouble from the streets. But the Dead Fire Gang was finished. They couldn’t find suitable replacement bikers in time, and this shipment was too urgent to be delayed. Their only option was to add a couple more guards and go in unprepared.

Still, the convoy leader was reasonably confident. They were the Hongshun Society’s men; few factions would dare to provoke them. More importantly, very few people knew they were moving cargo tonight.

He didn’t let his guard down completely, but he wasn’t overly paranoid either. And he certainly didn’t have the night vision to notice the pairs of eyes in the distance, watching them like hungry wolves stalking their prey.

"Are you sure it’s the Hongshun Society’s cargo?"

"Boss, it’s intel from Brother Fa. No mistake. It’s Hongshun’s people."

"Excellent." Shi Tiexin snapped his helmet on and waved a hand forward. "Proceed as planned!"

Suddenly, a Hummer swerved out and cut in front of the lead truck, its rear end skidding to a stop just inches ahead. A massive, custom-mounted light bar was fixed to its rugged frame, aimed directly at the truck’s cab.

Behind the wheel, Ah D grinned viciously and hit the switch. The light bar erupted with the blinding intensity of a stadium’s floodlights. The light hit him full in the face, and the truck driver let out a pained cry, instinctively raising a hand to shield his eyes as he slammed on the brakes.

The large truck immediately decelerated, skidding sideways.

’Shit! We can’t stop!’ The convoy leader’s heart leaped in alarm. In his panic, just as he was about to give the order, the truck screeched to a halt. The rest of the convoy had no choice but to stop as well, piling up behind it. A series of muffled thuds indicated rear-end collisions.

They weren’t given a single second to react. A swarm of motorcycles, like a pack of hunting wolves, roared out from both sides of the road, descending upon the entire convoy like a tidal wave.

The entire gang had been deployed. A hundred men charging in with terrifying momentum, enough to chill one to the bone.

"Damn it!" The convoy leader pulled the gun from his waist and stuck his hand out, trying to fire. But with a WHOOSH, a grappling hook immediately snagged his wrist. A motorcycle sped past, the other end of the line tied to its frame.

A sharp CRACK echoed in the distance, followed by a piercing scream that was swallowed by the overwhelming roar of motorcycle engines.

With the prepared attacking the unprepared, the hijack was over in a flash.

All twelve drivers were squatting in a circle, their heads bowed obediently, not daring to make a move. The sixteen guards were in a much sorrier state—some squatting, some kneeling, some lying on the ground. Not a single one was left standing. The leader, his arm dangling uselessly, was cursing furiously, showing none of the self-awareness of a loser.

"Do you have any idea whose convoy this is? You’re finished! No one in this city can protect you!"

"You talk too damn much!" BAM! Ah D dropped the leader with a high kick, then reached out and took a heavy angle grinder from one of his men.