Chapter 153: Dismantling the Carriage

"Damn it! You're fucking looking for death!"

The moment Lin Yu successfully landed his strike and simultaneously subdued Guan Fei, the man's subordinates instantly flew into a rage. For their boss to be restrained by a single teenage boy—how humiliating would that look if word got out?

"Looking for death? When I slapped Jia Quan across the face back then, everyone in the city thought I was looking for death. But look at me now, safe and sound, while he's locked up behind bars."

Facing the surrounding threat, Lin Yu sneered and made an arrogant declaration. He knew that without resorting to extraordinary measures, it would be impossible to secure an audience with Wu Laosan, the legendary figure of Binhai City.

"What exactly do you want?" Guan Fei asked through a wheeze, his windpipe still tightly clutched by the sudden ambush.

"I said, I want to talk to your boss, Wu Laosan. Now, have them send word inside, or else I'll snap your neck." Lin Yu spoke in a tone thick with underworld bravado.

At this moment, an intense aura of a wealthy prodigal heir exuded from him, striking a chilling, terrified dread into the hearts of the people secretly watching from across the street.

In the BMW, Qi Yue and the others, who had been chatting casually, grew anxious when the situation suddenly deteriorated. With so many men surrounding him, they were terrified that Lin Yu would come out on the losing end.

Yet Lin Yu, the person directly involved, showed not the slightest bit of such apprehension. Seeing that Guan Fei remained silent after his threat, Lin Yu spoke in a chilling tone once more: "You have ten seconds. Otherwise, a single word: death!"

By this time, Guan Fei's face and neck were flushed red from a lack of oxygen. He nodded with great difficulty, and the pressure on his neck instantly eased significantly. Only then did he manage to reply: "Since you're so eager to court death yourself, don't blame me."

"Just go pass the message. Is our level something a minor thug like you can meddle in?" Lin Yu's tone grew increasingly arrogant, contrasting sharply with his usual low profile.

"I don't know where you get your confidence! You'll be crying soon enough." Guan Fei muttered in a low voice, then ordered one of his men: "Go inside and report to the boss that Lin Yu is here to see him."

After the sharp-looking punk hurried inside to deliver the message, Lin Yu immediately released Guan Fei, granting him his freedom.

Freed from the hold, Guan Fei greedily gulped down several deep breaths before asking suspiciously, "Aren't you afraid I'll order my brothers to beat you to a pulp?"

"Heh, what is there to be afraid of? Civilians don't fight officials. Right now, Jia Quan's case is still under investigation. If you lot don't want any trouble, you'd better behave." Lin Yu smiled and offered the man a cigarette.

"You've got guts. No wonder you dared to go up against the municipal party secretary in public." After taking the cigarette, Guan Fei offered a playful, cold smirk and remarked.

There are a few lines in *The Art of Blackmail* that go: To save face, you must first lose face. If you want to have face, you must learn to lose face. It follows the general law of things; to gain something, you must lose something. Face is the same way—you can't always have it, so don't mind losing it occasionally, and wait for your comeback.

Though Guan Fei had read his fair share of books, the reason he didn't immediately erupt was precisely because he understood this logic. He wanted to gauge his boss Wu Laosan's attitude first. If Wu Laosan detested this kid, he would reclaim his lost face instantly!

"I wouldn't call it guts, just a bit of a young man's temper." Smoking his cigarette and speaking, Lin Yu glanced across the street.

With that look, he noticed faint, occasional flashes appearing across the street—someone must be taking photographs. Based on this, he deduced that these people trailing him were likely not Liang Tian's men, but reporters from some newspaper or television station.

"What, are those people acquaintances?" Though lacking the grand ambition of an overlord, Guan Fei was still a man who wielded some power; his observational skills were sharp enough to notice the focus of Lin Yu's gaze.

"Just a bunch of annoying flies. They trail me all day long, though I have no idea what a good-for-nothing like me has that's worth wasting their film on." Lin Yu replied indifferently, yet his tone carried a subtle, quiet pride.

It felt very much like the way Yang Zhihan usually spoke—sounding extremely modest on the surface, but with an underlying, irrepressible trace of youthful arrogance.

Observing the youthful bravado Lin Yu displayed, Guan Fei couldn't help but feel that this teenager was somewhat all show on the outside. As for whether he possessed any genuine substance within, he felt it remained to be observed.

Meanwhile, the punk who had gone inside to report still hadn't emerged. During this time, quite a few patrons who had finished enjoying themselves walked out of the Grand Emperor. Upon seeing Guan Fei standing outside with a large group of brothers chatting with a teenager, they all wore expressions of extreme astonishment and instinctively cast a few extra glances at Lin Yu.

Among them was an official from the Development and Reform Commission who had attended the government banquet that day, and he recognized Lin Yu at a glance.

After confirming it was Lin Yu, he exchanged a few words with a businessman beside him, then walked over alone to the white BMW, flashing a wide, smiling greeting: "Isn't this little Yu from the old Lin family? My, what brings you all the way out here? I'm your father's colleague, Zhang Xinhua."

"Hello, Uncle Zhang! I often hear my father mention you!" Seeing a mid-level government official come over to greet him, Lin Yu straightened his posture and shook hands with the man.

"Well then, I have guests to attend to over there, so I won't chat long. Drop by my place for a visit when you have time. My daughter has been bringing you up quite a bit lately. Heh, girls really can't be kept at home once they grow up." Zhang Xinhua laughed with what appeared to be honest warmth, looking every bit like an adult who greatly admired Lin Yu.

"Alright, once I have some time, I'll visit with my father." After exchanging polite pleasantries, Lin Yu instantly reverted to an expression of calm indifference, neither warm nor cold.

After the Departure of Development and Reform Commission official Zhang Xinhua, Guan Fei's gaze toward Lin Yu changed completely. From Zhang Xinhua's deliberate attempt to curry favor, he could sense that this young man must be a rare commodity, a figure of immense value.

Pondering for a moment, he smiled and said, "That Zhang Xinhua is considered a man of genuine power within the government. I didn't expect him to be so polite to you."

"It's nothing, just casual politeness. These seasoned old foxes in officialdom handle everything with absolute smoothness, making sure nobody ever feels the slightest bit uncomfortable," Lin Yu explained, clearly not holding the incident in high regard.

After waiting for about an hour, the setting sun had already dipped halfway down, its seductive twilight gently caressing everything in sight, when the punk who had gone inside finally sauntered out of the Grand Emperor.

"Brother Fei, the boss says to let him in!" Having faced immense pressure inside under Wu Laosan's gaze, the punk stepped out and said with a heavy sigh of relief, his back completely soaked in cold sweat. After whispering a few words to Guan Fei, he retreated to the side.

"Alright, I get it," Guan Fei acknowledged, then turned to Lin Yu and said, "After you, little brother."

"Hold on, there's still a bit of business left undone. Once that's settled, we'll go in. But this favor requires Brother Guan's help." Lin Yu offered a polite smile before looking at the other man.

Seeing him ask for assistance, Guan Fei asked curiously, "What is it? Name it."

"Straightforward." Lin Yu sneered as he looked at the jeep across the street and said, "Send some men to help me take off all the wheels of that car. Also, destroy all the film in their cameras."

"Just that? A piece of cake." Guan Fei said with a smile, then ordered his subordinates to carry out the malicious task.

Watching the group of thugs swagger across the street, snatching tools to dismantle every single wheel from the jeep and rolling them hundreds of meters away, Qi Yue and the other women sitting inside the BMW could not help but burst into laughter.

Having watched these men neatly teach the trailing paparazzi a lesson, Lin Yu left behind a final instruction: "Help me keep an eye on my wife."

With that, he waved goodbye to the three women and followed Guan Fei into the Grand Emperor Nightclub to meet Wu Laosan, the legendary underworld figure of Binhai City.