Douluo: A Century-old Legend I Am the Second Uncle Chenxin

Chapter 1830 Ultimatum and Schemes

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Tan Yashuang raised her delicate eyebrows, her phoenix eyes darkening with even more gloom.

She quickly calculated that neither option would be particularly advantageous to their sorority.

As for Band of Brothers, none of these three points are particularly good:

The first point is to join the new order (while retaining some autonomy): the so-called "inspection power" is a sword hanging over our heads, which is equivalent to being put on the back of an emperor emeritus!

Most importantly, the Huagai District, along with the adjacent Huading District and Huaguang District, has been completely taken over by the allied forces of the major families of the Douhun City system.

These three areas occupy more than 70% of the most important passages in the underground network. In the future, the majority of personnel exchanges and goods transactions will inevitably be within or between the various families of the Fighting Soul City system.

Once these large-scale transactions are absorbed internally by the coalition forces or explicitly exempted from toll fees, the largest source of income that the Brotherhood relied on for survival in the past—toll fees and protection fees—will be gone in large part!

The toll fees collected from the remaining small caravans and minor factions were a drop in the ocean and simply couldn't support so many brothers.

The second option is to recruit them into your ranks. There's not much to say about that; they'll become pure henchmen. The only advantage is that you don't have to bother supporting them yourself, which is the most unacceptable outcome for a proud, old-timer like Tang Hengyu.

Thirdly, regarding the so-called deep cooperation, Chen Zhang made it clear that the dominant power is still firmly in the hands of the coalition led by the Chen family. They are just subordinates, and the Chen family has also made no secret of the fact that they will occupy a larger share of the profits in the "new territory".

While there may be a promise to expand the pie, there is a risk that the coalition could take advantage of the situation and seize control.

Hahn, on the other hand, was more straightforward and practical in his thinking:
He used to pay the Bone Digging Gang about 20% of the illegal transactions and laundering fees. Now the Chen family is demanding 30%. Although it's an increase of 10%, considering the Bone Digging Gang's demise and the change to a more assertive new owner, this increase is still above his bottom line, and he can barely grit his teeth and accept it.

His only concern now is how the "joint inspection team" will operate and to what extent it will supervise him. Will it interfere with the specific details of his transactions and money laundering channels, thus affecting his core business model? This requires further discussion and refinement.

However, he did not rush to express his opinion at this moment.

Because Tang Hengyu and Tan Yashuang, the two stronger "allies," have not yet made a clear choice.

Hahn was well aware that while controlling the channels was important, without the Bone Digging Gang, his own strength and territory were the weakest points.

If Tang Hengyu and Tan Yashuang choose other options, if Haen stays behind alone to accept the Chen family's conditions, he will appear too weak and powerless, with no bargaining power, and could be devoured without a trace at any time.

He could only wait and see, awaiting the decisions of the two bigwigs ahead of him.

Tan Yashuang suddenly sat up straight, her phoenix eyes darting sideways as she stared directly at Chen Zhang: "What if we don't choose either?!"

Her words instantly lowered the temperature in the council chamber.

Those beautiful eyes burned with resentment and stubbornness, as well as a hint of wildness when cornered.

How could she be forced to completely relinquish the business she had built up over many years and become a pawn on someone else's chessboard?

Ma Zhibin merely glanced at her indifferently, then leisurely picked up the bottle of Wupinjiu Zhijiu beside him, poured himself another glass, and gently swirled the amber-colored liquid in the glass. The rich aroma of Zhijiu blended strangely with his carefree and lazy temperament.

He tilted his head back, his Adam's apple bobbing, and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Heh..." Chen Zhang chuckled, his smile still gentle. "Ms. Ya Shuang is straightforward, that's good. Then that's the fourth option—"

He leaned forward slightly, crossed his hands on the long table in front of him, and calmly met Tan Yashuang's gaze. "That is to leave." "Leave?" Tan Yashuang's pupils contracted slightly.

“That’s right,” Chen Zhang said slowly and deliberately. “Of course, there are several ways to leave.”

He held up one finger: "First, you take everyone and leave on your own, leave the Huagai District, leave Tiandou City, and even leave the Tiandou Empire, go wherever you want. We will not ask you where you go or what you do. From now on, we will have nothing to do with each other."

He paused, then added, "However, before you leave, the industries, intelligence nodes, and access keys belonging to the Huagai District... need to be left behind."

Then, he raised his second finger: "Second, you lead those who are willing to follow you away, and we will take over the rest."

"As for those sisterhood members, resources, territories, and peripheral networks that were left behind or chose to stay... they will be taken over, reorganized, and transformed by our coalition forces; they can choose to join our new order system, which may be a new beginning?"

Finally, he raised his third finger, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of generosity: "Third, we can choose a 'decent' place for you to stay."

"The Chen family has some influence throughout the Heaven Dou Empire. We can 'recommend' a suitable location for you, so you can bring those who are willing to follow you and start afresh in a different place."

"Of course, you'll need to put in some effort to build this business and establish a firm foothold. As the 'recommenders,' we can also offer some... official benefits."

Tan Yashuang's body tensed almost imperceptibly, and she asked through gritted teeth, "Where?"

She needed to know what Chen Zhang meant by "decency".

Chen Zhang seemed to have a plan in mind, and without hesitation, he named a place: "For example, An County, Wushan City, where Fasino is a high-ranking official. This city guards the important passage between Chang'an and Tiandou, and there is a constant stream of merchants and travelers. It is indeed a prosperous place."

"That place is a complex mix of forces, with numerous factions, and so far there is no leader who can truly control the situation. With Ms. Ya Shuang and the sorority's methods, and even Brother Tang's brotherhood, it is not impossible for them to truly establish themselves there and carve out their own niche."

"At that time, we can provide some necessary support for your 'legitimate' operations at the local official level."

He shrugged, his smile unchanged: "Of course, this is just one of the options. Our Chen family also has some 'recommended' locations to choose from in other provinces and prefectures."

Tan Yashuang: "..."

The color seemed to have faded slightly from her delicate face.

Those beautiful phoenix eyes were fixed on Chen Zhang, her long eyelashes trembling violently, revealing the turmoil in her heart.

Leaving the Huagai District? Abandoning the underground kingdom built up over many years? Going to a completely unfamiliar, chaotic "Five Mountains City" where you need to start from scratch?
Chen Zhang spoke so casually, talking about the bustling official road, the lack of a leader, and official support... but what does all this mean?
This means the foundation has been completely lost!

It means that we must fight again in a quagmire full of unknown dangers and bloody battles!

This means that the vast intelligence network, secret passage network, and identity cover system that they rely on for survival, built upon the complex terrain of Huagai District and through years of effort, will almost all be rendered useless!
Without this familiar and ubiquitous underground labyrinth and vast network as their foundation, the Sisterhood of Shadows' core survival ability will be severely crippled.

She could even imagine how much blood and lives her beautiful yet ruthless sisters would have to pay to fight for limited living space and resources, and to gain a foothold among those local bullies, once they left Huagai District and set foot on that unfamiliar territory. It might be a pipe dream if even half of them could survive!
"Damn it..." Tan Yashuang cursed inwardly, a strong sense of powerlessness and anger at being fooled welling up in her heart.

This isn't a choice at all; it's clearly poison disguised as sugar!
Regardless of which way you choose to leave, you either give up everything or take your broken body to a gamble where life and death are equally at stake.

Moreover, whether it's Wushan City or the other so-called alternatives mentioned by Chen Zhang, if you think about it carefully, which one isn't on the edge of or within the influence of the Chen family's power?
This is nothing compared to the fact that it hasn't even escaped the grasp of the Chen family yet!

The so-called departure is nothing more than moving from one cage to another, a bigger and farther cage!

Tan Yashuang closed her eyes wearily and raised her hand to rub her throbbing temples.

(End of this chapter)