Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 616: Chapter 619: Dumbfounded

As soon as Yang Chen answered the phone, before he could say anything, Rose's excited voice came through like a rapid-fire string of fireworks, "Honey, I love you so much! How did you do it?! Even the army and special forces are willing to listen to you? This is going to be great!"

Yang Chen moved the phone away from his ear a bit. Rose was usually quite reserved, so for something to get her this excited, it must be something big in the underworld.

"Calm down. You're a grown woman now. Don't say such exaggerated things in public; it's not ladylike. Now, slowly, what's going on?" Yang Chen frowned, smiling wryly.

Rose hummed a few times before asking in confusion, "Wait, you don't know? Wasn't it you who did the White Wolf Society thing?"

"White Wolf Society?" Yang Chen thought for a moment, then chuckled, "So, something happened to the White Wolf Society?"

Rose assumed Yang Chen truly didn't know, so she quickly explained everything.

It turned out that earlier that morning, the headquarters of the White Wolf Society in Su Province was unexpectedly besieged by the military, including the special forces stationed in Su Province. The core members of the White Wolf Society were caught completely off guard and swiftly apprehended without any chance to react.

The Su Province government was further shaken when the national supervisory authorities arrested over a dozen high-ranking officials from the province, listing numerous crimes that had never been made public before.

Originally, the White Wolf Society had many experts and wouldn't easily surrender. However, the special forces dispatched this time were far beyond their expectations, and the sudden attack left them utterly defeated.

"The White Wolf Society is finished. They thrived because the Zhu family and many officials in Su Province were in cahoots with them. Now that the Zhu family has fallen and the military has intervened, the White Wolf Society has no chance of recovery," Rose laughed. "Su Province is going to be in chaos for a while, making it easier for me to clean up the small fry."

Yang Chen wasn't too surprised but was impressed by the efficiency of the Yanhuang Iron Brigade. His half-threat, half-negotiation to have them take down the White Wolf Society had clearly paid off. The Yanhuang Iron Brigade must have realized that his request wasn't unreasonable. After all, dealing with a local underworld organization wasn't the worst outcome, even though it would cause temporary chaos, it would ultimately benefit the people and improve the government's image.

Rose was thrilled, not just because she could expand her territory into Su Province, but also because she felt a sense of revenge. The White Wolf Society had once injured her, and although she had said it was no big deal, she had definitely harbored some resentment. After all, being injured in front of her subordinates was a blow to her pride.

Yang Chen listened to Rose excitedly sharing her thoughts for a while before he laughed and said, "You do what you think is right. No need to report to me."

"But what if I make a mistake and things go wrong? The situation in Su Province is tense," Rose hesitated.

"If something happens, I'll take care of it," Yang Chen said straightforwardly.

Rose was silent for a moment, then chuckled, "Honey, you're spoiling me. That's not right."

"I like it. You can't stop me," Yang Chen replied.

Zhao Hongyan, who had been watching Yang Chen take the call, couldn't quite understand what he was saying, but it was clear the other person was a close female friend. Hearing Yang Chen speak like this made her feel a little sad.

If she hadn't had that painful marriage, maybe she could have found a man who loved her as much.

After chatting with Rose for a bit, she remembered Yang Chen had asked her to investigate something. Speaking of Jiao Yanyan, Rose couldn't hide her amusement.

"Honey, the girl you asked me to look into, Jiao Yanyan, turns out to be quite the coincidence. Guess which organization she's from?" Rose teased.

"Could it be the White Wolf Society?" Yang Chen laughed.

"Yes, she is," Rose replied. "The White Wolf Society's leader is an old man named Jiao Baiyang. He has many lovers, but they don't all get along, so he keeps them separated. Jiao Yanyan is his youngest daughter, studying in Zhonghai. Many outsiders don't know she's his daughter. Jiao Baiyang, being in the underworld, takes precautions to ensure his lineage survives, keeping his children scattered. Even if he were to fall, his descendants wouldn't be wiped out."

Yang Chen hadn't expected this twist. No wonder Jiao Yanyan was so arrogant yet hadn't achieved much. Though her father was the leader of the White Wolf Society, she was just one of his illegitimate children, living outside their jurisdiction.

"Jiao Yanyan left school immediately after getting the news today. A few of Jiao Baiyang's trusted aides took her and her mother away. I've been monitoring their movements, waiting to see if you want to catch them," Rose said.

Yang Chen thought for a moment and said, "Forget it. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Even if we don't go after them, do you think they'll have good days ahead? Let someone else deal with the bad guys."

Rose had no objections. There were many things to handle, and it wasn't necessary to go after a mother and daughter with nowhere to go.

After finishing his conversation with Rose, Yang Chen noticed that dinner at Zhao Hongyan's house was about to begin. Zhao Hongyan seemed preoccupied and didn't talk much, while Yang Chen, feeling quite at ease, chatted and drank with Zhao Lao and Zhao Hongyan's younger brother.

Zhao Lao, looking much healthier and glowing with vitality, lamented that his illness had caused his daughter to have an unfortunate marriage. If he hadn't fallen ill and his daughter hadn't married that man named Yu, how great would it be if she could be with someone like Yang Chen! However, upon learning that Yang Chen was already married, Zhao Lao dismissed any such thoughts. For him, a married man, no matter how good, was off-limits.

After finishing the meal, Zhao Lao personally brewed a pot of green tea. Yang Chen had heard from Lin Ruoxi that the old man's tea-making skills were extraordinary. Watching Zhao Lao handle the ordinary Yixing teapot with deft and graceful movements, Yang Chen was deeply impressed when a cup of rich, fragrant tea was placed before him.

The old man's tea-making seemed simple, but Yang Chen, not an ordinary person himself, with his deep understanding of martial arts, could sense the profound immersion in a specific domain during the tea-making process.

In ancient times, there was a saying, "Practice makes perfect." Anything, when reached a profound level, connects to a deeper state of being.

"Three thousand paths lead to the same destination," Yang Chen murmured as he gazed at the teacup.

Zhao Hongyan frowned and asked, "Why aren't you drinking? My dad rarely makes tea for others."

Yang Chen snapped out of his reverie, smiled, and slowly sipped the tea, its sweet taste prompting his praise.

"Uncle Zhao, your glutinous rice meatballs and tea are extraordinary. Isn't it a bit of a waste to only run a small shop here? Have you thought about expanding?" Yang Chen suddenly had an idea and suggested.

Zhao Lao sighed and said, "Yang Chen, I've thought about it too, but our meatballs are a family recipe passed down through generations. Selling them would be disrespectful to our ancestors. And to expand, we'd need to hire people and open new shops, which requires a lot of money. We don't have that kind of capital."

Zhao Hongyan, feeling a bit melancholy, said, "When my dad was in good health, some companies wanted to buy our meatball recipe and fund new shops. But our unique recipe can't be sold, and they weren't willing to just invest and take dividends, so nothing ever came of it."

Yang Chen thought to himself, ordinary people wouldn't go all out to open new branches just for glutinous rice meatballs without the core recipe. But some people, like Lin Ruoxi, who loved the meatballs, might think differently.

He didn't voice this thought and, after chatting a bit more with the Zhao family, bid them farewell. Of course, he didn't forget to take the special "customized meatballs" that Zhao Lao had made.

By the time Yang Chen got home, it was almost 10 PM. He was contemplating how to use the meatballs to apologize to Lin Ruoxi and also thinking about discussing the expansion of Zhao Hongyan's family business with her.

Upon entering the living room, he found Guo Xuehua and Wang Ma watching a new Korean drama but didn't see Lin Ruoxi. Curious, he asked, "Mom, why isn't Ruoxi watching with you?"

Without turning her head, Guo Xuehua replied, "You're still thinking about your wife. Ruoxi didn't come home for dinner and is still working overtime at the office."

Yang Chen was taken aback and sighed. It seemed Lin Ruoxi didn't want to come home and see him, even though he hadn't been home for dinner either. He decided to personally deliver the meatballs to her office, thinking it would show more sincerity.

Feeling a bit dirty from being out all day, Yang Chen hurried upstairs to take a shower and change into clean clothes before heading out to see Lin Ruoxi.

As he passed by Zhenxiu's room, he noticed the light was still on, indicating she was still studying. He decided not to disturb her.

Entering his room, Yang Chen took off his clothes and opened his large wardrobe. What he saw left him dumbfounded.