Dragon Raja: Oh no! Lu Mingfei has been diagnosed with depression!

The black Alto roared to life, and Hiroshi Inoue skillfully shifted gears, humming a soft love song as he slowly drove through the streets of Shinjuku late at night.

Lu Mingfei sat in the back seat, wearing a seatbelt… This was something Inoue Hiroshi had insisted he wear before the trip; the high-achieving graduate from the University of Tokyo had declared emphatically:

"Even though we're gangsters, we still have to respect the law. Although that thing is basically useless most of the time, we still have to do the formalities to avoid giving the Metropolitan Police Department any excuse."

To be honest, the seatbelt in this car is really just for show. No matter how fiercely the engine roars, it doesn't change the fact that it's just a cheap little car. Even if you floor the accelerator, the speed it can produce is surprisingly slow.

Lu Mingfei was used to fast cars, so he was a little unaccustomed to suddenly getting into a slow-moving old car.

"What are we supposed to do?"

Lu Mingfei asked, "A few hours ago, Inoue Hiroshi sent me a text message, telling me that I absolutely had to report to the nightclub tonight. He said mysteriously that he would show me how gangs handle conflicts tonight."

Looking at the rickety car door, Lu Mingfei couldn't imagine how to connect this trip with dealing with gang conflicts.

"Don't think this car is old and worn out. It's the fastest car in the group! I have to thank you for this. The boss asked me to explain tonight's events to you, which is why he let me drive this car. Otherwise, he would have given me a good scolding if I wanted to borrow it."

Inoue Hiroshi said, "Didn't you see that we've left everyone else behind? We have to wait for them up ahead, otherwise, if it's just the two of us, we probably won't even be able to wait for the battle to start before we're turned into human stakes and thrown into the sea."

Lu Mingfei was speechless, because the other members of the Fujiwara group were in cars that were even older than this Alto. They hadn't gone far when several of their cars broke down on the side of the road, forcing them to get out and take out tools from the trunk to start repairing them.

Hiroshi Inoue parked his car on the side of the road, opened the car door and rushed into the convenience store. When he came out, he had two cans of chilled beer in his hand.

"Have a drink, it'll give you courage. I reckon a real conflict is going to break out tonight."

He shoved one of the cans into Lu Mingfei's arms, pulled open the metal ring, took two big gulps, and whistled heartily.

"You mean we're heading to another gang's hideout? Should we just go in and start fighting everyone we see?"

Lu Mingfei understood somewhat. "It finally sounds like it has something in common with the yakuza I remember. Don't worry that I'll be scared. I joined the Fujiwara Group to experience the violence of the yakuza."

"Actually, the real underworld is quite different from what you see in comics. Nobody in the underworld wants to easily clash with other gangs. Usually, everyone is very restrained. They will sit down at the table first to negotiate, analyze the pros and cons, and then discuss with each other. If a consensus is reached, everyone will shake hands and exchange pleasantries at this time. The host will be responsible for all the food and drink expenses for the night."

Inoue Hiroshi sighed, "But this time the Blackfire Gang went too far and broke the rules of the underworld, so the boss led us to cause them trouble."

"What did they do? Drug trafficking? Arms smuggling?"

"It's even worse than that; they force some women in the neighborhood to work in nightclubs in exchange for a head fee paid by the nightclubs."

Hiroshi Inoue explained, "Actually, drug trafficking and arms smuggling aren't considered big deals in the underworld because they involve other people's interests. If things get out of hand, someone will step in to resolve it. But those women who are being forced into prostitution have little power to begin with. Many of them are single mothers or girls abandoned by their families. Even if they stand on the streets of Shibuya and shout that they have been forced into prostitution, no one will help them. They will probably be arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department for disturbing the peace."

"It certainly sounds worse."

Lu Mingfei said, "This kind of thing is looked down upon in the underworld, right? So why is it that only the Fujiwara Group went to negotiate with them tonight?"

"Because this is a world where people survive by nibbling away at the interests of others. Everyone talks about loyalty and integrity, but in reality, it's just because doing so brings them benefits. Although the Blackfire Gang broke the rules, they were only doing it on their own territory and didn't interfere with other gangs. Those women didn't bring them any benefit, so naturally, those gangs didn't want to get involved."

Inoue Hiroshi took out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled white smoke. "Normally, this kind of thing shouldn't be our business. We should just report it to the main family. But when the main family deals with this kind of thing, they will at most give a warning. Because they are the leaders of the underworld, they are in a higher position and see things differently from us. They are more concerned with balance and don't care whether those women are willing or not."

Lu Mingfei remained silent for a moment:

"Then why are you interfering?"

"Fujiwara is actually an aristocratic surname. Don't be fooled by the boss's unreliable appearance now. His background is much more prestigious than mine, a graduate of Tokyo University. Before founding the Fujiwara Group, he was the director."

Hiroshi Inoue smiled:

"You didn't expect that, did you? That middle-aged man who likes to sit in nightclubs drinking cheap beer and barely speaks is actually the bureau chief? Actually, many of the young people who just joined don't believe it either, but when they go back and check the news and see the boss's face on TV, they start shouting and yelling."

Lu Mingfei didn't say anything. Since he had decided to push Inoue Hiroshi to the position of prime minister, he made a point of learning about the hierarchy of Japanese government officials. Above the bureau chief is the administrative vice minister, who oversees the daily administration of the entire province and is the highest-ranking Japanese bureaucrat.

Fujiwara was just one step away from reaching that position, but he suddenly resigned from his post as bureau chief and went to Shinjuku Ward to start a gang that made a living by collecting protection money from nightclubs.

"The eldest brother was actually a man with a tragic past. He originally had a beautiful wife and a lovely daughter. He had the potential to become the most dazzling star in Japanese politics; he was practically a complete winner in life!"

Inoue Hiroshi's voice lowered, "But all of that is ruined. My daughter was very beautiful and had many suitors in her class. One of them was the son of the vice minister. After being rejected many times, he killed the girl in a fit of rage. That guy's father was just one rank higher than the boss. They say that rank can crush you, so none of his drinking buddies dared to help him. They could only advise him and his wife to have another child."

"Damn it! Those bastards are all beasts! If my daughter was murdered, would she be the same person even if she were reborn?"

Inoue Hiroshi slammed his fist on the steering wheel. "When will I go and kill their daughter too, and then tell them, 'You're still young, you can have another one with your wife, and we'll call it even!'"

The car fell silent. Inoue Hiroshi smoked a cigarette in quiet contemplation. The others, who had lagged behind, finally caught up slowly and honked their horns at them.

Inoue Hiroshi let out a long sigh, stubbed out his cigarette and threw it out the window, then restarted the car.

"And you? Why did you join the Fujiwara Group?"

Lu Mingfei suddenly asked.

Inoue Hiroshi paused for a moment, then turned to look at him:

"Because the eldest son's daughter used to be in my class."