Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

Quiet.

still.

Since ancient times, no one has escaped death; from the age of three, one has listened to stillness.

"Why are you all silent? Speak freely!" Li Feng said.

Seeing that the other side still wouldn't speak, I said, "Fine, I'll be a gentleman and take the initiative. What are you all discussing here?"

No one dared to speak. Li Feng leaned back, adopting a more casual sitting posture, and finally his gaze fell on a young man in the corner.

"This guy looks familiar," Li Feng said, raising his chin. "You Wang, the second young master of the You family."

Yuwang's body stiffened visibly, his face feigning composure, but a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"How...how did you know?"

"I know more than you think," Li Feng laughed, but there was no warmth in his smile. "Old You, your grandfather is still quite healthy? Still thinking of catching a few big fish in Hong Kong and making a comeback?"

"What nonsense are you spouting! We, the Yu family, are legitimate businessmen who have always operated within the law and support Hong Kong's prosperity and stability!"

"A legitimate businessman?" Li Feng scoffed, tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair. "A legitimate businessman getting involved in this kind of situation? Sitting with these shady characters. Supporting stability? Stirring up trouble and fishing in troubled waters?"

Seeing Youwang's increasingly unpleasant expression, he said, "Alright, I'm too lazy to delve into your family's little schemes. Considering that Old Man You did contribute in some way, I'll let you go."

"When you go back to see your old man, please give him a message for me, and by the way," he said, a strange smile playing on his lips, "bring him a clean pair of underwear."

"What?" Yuwang was stunned, thinking he had misheard.

"Tell him the ghost is coming, and don't forget to bring your underwear," Li Feng repeated.

Exorcising ghosts?

Pale turned deathly pale, and Youwang's eyes were filled with fear as he looked at Li Feng.

"Now," Li Feng stopped looking at him, waved his hand as if shooing away a fly, "Get lost!"

Yuwang felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He scrambled towards the door, unlocked it, and quickly disappeared.

The others remaining in the living room watched Youwang's retreating figure, their hearts pounding even harder.

Who exactly is this man who claims to be a ghost suppressor? Li Feng's gaze returned to the remaining people, his expression now cold and indifferent.

"As for you," he slowly stood up, "there's no need to send a message."

With a wave of his hand, everyone except the two representatives from Country Y had their necks rotated 720 degrees. Li Feng grabbed the two Country Y representatives by the throats with both hands, lifted them up, and took their feet off the ground. The two struggled in vain, their faces quickly turning red and then purple.

"In your next life, remember not to come to places you shouldn't be." Li Feng's voice was icy as he gradually increased the pressure in his hands.

It's not scary to die quickly like others; what's scary is that the two representatives from Country Y could clearly feel their lives slipping away, the cracking of bones conveying their emotions little by little, their eyes losing their luster, and their limbs falling limply.

Li Feng released his grip, and the two corpses fell to the ground like broken sacks.

With a snap of his fingers, the God of Deception was activated, turning the scene into a firestorm. Other supporting evidence was also laid out in the open. After that, Li Feng teleported away.

The next day, Hong Kong was in an uproar again.

The news of the fire at a luxury villa in the Mid-Levels area, intertwined with the document leak from the previous day, has stirred up an even bigger storm.

Preliminary investigations indicate that intelligence officials from Country Y clashed with a local gang leader and a corrupt legislator in order to silence witnesses. The ensuing shootout resulted in multiple deaths, and sensitive documents were discovered at the scene.

The bloody infighting and murders allowed fear and disgust to take over. Who would want their city to be secretly controlled by such a group of ruthless wolves who would kill without any scruples?

Public discontent reached its peak, with calls for a thorough investigation and expulsion of corrupt officials and strengthened local governance growing louder and louder.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Z-side representative of the joint management agency, which had been preparing for some time, quickly and forcefully introduced measures.

Citing the need to protect the safety of Hong Kong officials and institutions and prevent similar incidents from occurring, the government announced a further increase in troop deployments, openly expanding the troop deployment area to the perimeter of important government buildings such as the Legislative Council and the Executive Council, as well as near more critical infrastructure.

At the same time, emergency procedures were initiated to detain dozens of mid- to high-ranking officials named on suspicion of serious violations of discipline and law, and reliable, rigorously vetted officials were selected from both domestic and local sources.

Many of them were secretly cultivated and reserved, and were replaced in the emergency to take over key positions.

Country Y protested, accusing the country of using this as a pretext to undermine the joint management agreement. However, the representative from Country Z simply slammed the report on the villa murder and copies of leaked documents onto the negotiating table.

"Is this what you call civilized management? Are these the professionals you have left in Hong Kong? Faced with irrefutable evidence and bloodshed, we have the right to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and stability of Hong Kong and protect the interests of its citizens!"

We're in the wrong!

With the military already in place, the representatives of Country Y were unable to retaliate beyond feeble verbal protests and complaints to the LD. Internally, the country was also in chaos and filled with mutual accusations due to successive blows and scandals.

Across the ocean, the United States couldn't sit still any longer.

Some people from the Black House and the Hong Kong government issued a strongly worded statement expressing serious concern about the situation in Hong Kong, condemning unilateral attempts to change the status quo through military deterrence, and hinting at possible corresponding measures.

The statement appeared in the media the following morning, and that afternoon Xinhua News Agency was authorized to release a very brief message.

"Our country will conduct a live-fire test of a new long-range strategic missile tomorrow. The missile will fly towards a designated area in the Pacific Ocean. We hope that ships and aircraft from all countries will take precautions to avoid the relevant airspace and waters."