Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

At seven o'clock in the morning, the newsstand was the first to be in an uproar.

The front pages of almost all mainstream newspapers, including the Hong Kong Daily, Oriental Morning Post, and Sing Tao Daily, were dominated by shocking headlines and content.

"Multiple officials and bureaucrats, including those in the legislative and executive branches, are involved in the transfer of huge sums of money, with foreign funds manipulating local politics!"

"High-ranking officials in the government departments of finance, law, and civil service have been infiltrated, and spies are hidden within the civil service system."

"A deal between a gang and foreign powers has been exposed, involving manipulation of public opinion and the creation of trouble!"

"Full text of the plan for a series of sabotage operations in Hong Kong by the intelligence agencies of Country Y has been disclosed!"

Below the front page are processed photos of document copies, including account statements, signed agreements, meeting minutes, personnel lists, and action plans, with information such as the organizations, names, positions, amounts, and dates clearly displayed.

The radio's morning news also broadcast related content on a loop, with a sharper tone than the newspapers.

In tea restaurants, office building elevators, ferries, and trams, almost everyone is talking about the same topic.

Ordinary citizens were shocked by how despicable the councilors and high-ranking officials were, and how the city was being manipulated in such a clandestine way.

Businesses are deeply worried that political instability will affect their operations.

There was an undercurrent of tension within the civil service system, with everyone feeling insecure, as the list hung over their heads like the sword of Damocles.

Reporters gathered early in the morning in front of the Legislative Council and Executive Council buildings. The lawmakers and officials who were named either claimed to be ill or hurriedly entered and exited the buildings surrounded by bodyguards.

They refuse to comment on anything shown on camera, deem it defamatory, and will take legal action.

Key departments such as the Chief Secretary's Office and the Financial Secretary's Office were urgently summoned to a meeting. In the meeting room, there was debate, buck-passing, and probing, but no effective solution could be found.

The list was so detailed that it was impossible to dismiss it as mere slander.

On the gang side, the big bosses who were named immediately cut off all contact, and all their subordinates went into hiding.

The thugs who used to be so arrogant on the streets have disappeared. They know better than anyone that the Hong Kong police might turn a blind eye, but once things are brought to the forefront, especially if they are associated with foreign forces or undermining stability, anyone who touches them will be doomed.

The joint management committee office of Country Y, located in the hillside, was inundated with calls. Inquiries from the LD, requests for help from local pro-Y forces, and persistent questioning from the media left Country Y officials overwhelmed.

They attempted to control media coverage, accusing the documents of being forgeries intended to undermine Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, and even implying a conspiracy by another side. However, faced with the evidence, their rebuttal appeared utterly weak.

At 9 a.m., just as all parties were in chaos, a certain force attempted to exert pressure on several media outlets to retract their reports and issue apologies.

The troops moved, traveling in military jeeps, and drove directly to the buildings of several major media outlets, including the Hong Kong Daily and the Oriental Morning Post.

The soldiers, impeccably dressed and fully armed, controlled entrances and key locations. The officer in charge presented the newspaper's director with a "Temporary Security Order" signed by the representative of the joint management agency, based on the emergency provisions, ostensibly to ensure the absolute safety of this important media organization during this special period and to prevent any possible sabotage or interference.

Almost simultaneously, troops also appeared at radio and television stations and other surrounding locations.

Want to pressure the media into silence? Now, the military is personally on guard. This move directly silences all restless forces.

Gangs? They wouldn't dare attack a military-protected institution even if they had ten times the courage.

Local pro-Y councilors and officials? Their private phone calls have decreased by more than half.

As for Country Y? Aside from raising concerns and protests through diplomatic channels, they found that their previously infallible methods of infiltration and manipulation in Hong Kong were almost ineffective in the face of gleaming gun barrels and iron will.

The entire city of Hong Kong seemed to have been silenced, with only whispers in the streets and alleys and news reports constantly repeated in newspapers and on the radio.

It was 3 p.m. in the hillside, at a villa.

Heavy curtains covered all the windows completely, and seven or eight people sat around an expensive mahogany coffee table in the spacious living room.

A local Chinese tycoon in a custom-made suit, three Legislative and Executive Council members, a cigar-smoking gangster tycoon, a female lawyer, and two foreigners from country Y.

In one corner of the living room stood four bodyguards, vigilantly watching their surroundings.

"The army has moved directly into the newspaper office! This is a blatant threat! What do they want? To take over Hong Kong?" a legislator roared in a low voice, but dared not raise his voice too much.

"Our list has been leaked, and several key personnel under us were called in for questioning by the internal investigation department this morning!" The female lawyer rubbed her temples. "Many things can no longer be covered up."

"All my money-making channels have been cut off!" The gangster tyrant angrily stubbed out his cigar. "The docks, casinos, nightclubs—they were all raided today! They said it was a surprise inspection, but damn it, they clearly got wind of it!"

A representative from Country Y stated coldly, "The most urgent task is to unify our narrative. All the exposed documents are meticulously planned forgeries. We must retaliate, using the channels we can still influence, to expose this as a propaganda trap created by the other side to completely control Hong Kong!"

"How do we expose them?" another foreigner asked irritably. "The radio and newspapers are under close surveillance! Our people are being watched every time they go out! Richard died last night, and his bodyguards didn't hear a thing. They're more powerful than we thought."

"Could it be a national treasure?"

"It doesn't seem like it." The representative from Country Y shook his head. "Zhenguo's style of doing things isn't like that; it's more like..."

"Like what?"

A male voice suddenly rang out in the center of the living room, and everyone turned their heads sharply.

On the single sofa facing away from the fireplace, someone was sitting there, dressed casually in simple black clothes, seemingly having been listening for an unknown amount of time. What was most unsettling was that no one had seen how he had entered.

The doors and windows were tightly shut, and a bodyguard stood guard in the corner. Was he a ghost?

"Stand up!" The four bodyguards reacted quickly, drawing their guns instantly and pointing them at the uninvited guest on the sofa.

Li Feng, sitting on the sofa, seemed oblivious to the gun barrels.

"Like what?" he asked again, this time addressing the representative from Country Y, "More like me, right?"

Li Feng stood up from the sofa. The four bodyguards pulled the triggers without hesitation.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The gunshots were deafening in the confined space.

All the bullets had been fired, embedding themselves in the wall. Li Feng had already appeared beside the first bodyguard, his left hand like a knife, slashing at the man's neck. Crack! The skull fractured, the gun slipped from his hand, and Li Feng caught the falling pistol, then smashed it into the second bodyguard's temple.

He slid close to the third bodyguard and struck him hard in the ribs with his right elbow, causing the bodyguard to spit out blood and collapse.

The gun that Li Feng had snatched was already pointed at the fourth bodyguard's forehead.

boom!

From the moment Li Feng stood up to the moment he subdued the four bodyguards, the entire process took less than five seconds. Fast, ruthless, and precise, with not a single unnecessary movement, as if he had rehearsed it a thousand times.

The living room was deathly silent. The wealthy businessman and congressman slumped in his chair, the female lawyer covered her mouth, the cigar in the hand of the gangster tycoon fell onto the carpet, and the two representatives from Country Y were ashen-faced.

Li Feng casually tossed the gun onto the floor with a dull thud. He walked back to the center of the living room, pulled up a chair, and sat down in front of the still-shaken crowd.

"Alright, now we can talk."

"Regarding what you were just discussing, who is the opponent?"

The voice wasn't loud, but it had a penetrating quality, striking everyone's heart.

Let me introduce myself.

"To ward off evil spirits."