Ye Xiao and Niu Chuang hustled up the stairs, while the tenants renting Niu Chuang's rooms downstairs hurried in to gawk at the bright red Ferrari after Ye Xiao left. However, they didn't know what a Ferrari was. Some guessed it was a BMW, others a Mercedes-Benz. In any case, there was a lot of chatter about the car downstairs!

"Brother Xiao, why don't you introduce me to your job? Your boss is so cool to let you drive his car. I think I'm pretty great too, and maybe he would take good care of me too," Niu Chuang said, his face slightly flushed from drinking—though he could hold his liquor pretty well, so it wasn't a big deal. It was just the alcohol talking; the guy was acting like a bull that had been poked in the wrong spot.

At that moment, Ye Xiao's mind wasn't on Niu Chuang but rather on that man who claimed to be his second uncle.

It didn't take long for Ye Xiao and Niu Chuang to walk into Niu Chuang's residence, which was the largest and best laid-out in the entire building.

"Brother Xiao, your second uncle is in there," Niu Chuang said cheerfully to Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao immediately scolded Niu Chuang, "I told you, he's not my second uncle. I don't have a second uncle, and if you keep spouting nonsense, I'll beat you up even if you are the landlord."

"Ye Xiao, why are you so hot-tempered?" A voice came from inside, possibly having heard Ye Xiao's words, and at the same time, a figure walked out.

"Ouyang Hua?" Ye Xiao exclaimed upon seeing the person.

Indeed, it was Ouyang Hua, the leader of the Flame Dragon Team and the impostor of Ye Xiao's second uncle.

Ouyang Hua grinned and said, "Ye Xiao, what brings you to Bird City without telling me first?"

"If I had told you, I wouldn't have been left in peace," Ye Xiao glared at Ouyang Hua and immediately said, pointing at him with no courtesy, "If you dare to pretend to be my uncle again, don't blame me for turning my back on you."

"If I didn't pretend to be your uncle, Brother Niu wouldn't have had drinks with me here," Ouyang Hua was unperturbed by Ye Xiao pointing fingers in his face, and instead chuckled.

Upon hearing Ouyang Hua's words, Niu Chuang finally realized he had been played by this man called Ouyang Hua.

"You're not Brother Xiao's second uncle?" Niu Chuang stared at Ouyang Hua.

Ouyang Hua immediately apologized to Niu Chuang, "Brother Niu, I didn't mean to deceive you. It was just to find Ye Xiao. Please forgive me. But it's true that Ye Xiao and I are friends; if you don't believe me, you can ask Ye Xiao."

Niu Chuang then looked at Ye Xiao for confirmation.

Ye Xiao had no choice but to nod slightly.

Niu Chuang burst into laughter and said, "It's all good; as long as you're Brother Xiao's friend, you're my friend too. It doesn't matter whether you're his real uncle—I'll just think of you as if you were!"

"What are you talking about?" Ye Xiao glared at Niu Chuang when he heard his words.

Realizing he had said something wrong, Niu Chuang quickly laughed and said, "I'm drunk, I'm drunk. Let's go in, Brother Xiao. Inside there's Wuliangye that your friend brought. It's much better than what we usually drink."

Then, the three of them went into the inner room. There was a table laid out with plenty of snacks and drinks, including three bottles of Wuliangye, though two were now empty. It seemed the two of them had been drinking quite a bit. No wonder Niu Chuang, who claimed to be able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, was a bit tipsy. But judging by his look, he wasn't completely drunk yet. When the alcohol fully kicked in, it would be a different story.

However, Ouyang Hua seemed completely unfazed, without even a hint of alcohol on his breath. He must have used his Inner Power True Qi to force all the alcohol out of his system, which, for a Martial Artist, is not a difficult feat.

As the three sat down, Niu Chuang, being the host, naturally took the role of pouring drinks. He was a regular at drinking parties, so he knew all the etiquette of the drinking table inside out. However, all his knowledge couldn't save him from Ouyang Hua's tricky provocations, which is how half of the remaining bottle of Wuliangye ended up in Niu Chuang's stomach.

"I... I told you, I can drink a thousand... a thousand cups without getting drunk, haha, you don't believe me. Brother Ouyang, go get some more alcohol. Bring another ten or eight bottles, I can finish them all by myself!" Niu Chuang was now beet-red, clearly at the peak of his drunkenness.

Ouyang Hua laughed heartily and replied, "Brother Niu, I'll go get it right away. Don't be hasty. Let me help you sit down first. Today, we won't go home unless we're drunk."

"Haha, good buddy." Niu Chuang roared with laughter.

Ouyang Hua helped Niu Chuang to the edge of the bed and as soon as he touched the bed, Niu Chuang collapsed into a deep slumber.

Ye Xiao stood by, watching Niu Chuang, then turned to Ouyang Hua and said, "He's asleep."

"Yeah, he's asleep!" Ouyang Hua said with a smile, looking at Ye Xiao. Seeing Ye Xiao's displeased face, he once again chuckled and said, "What? Are you still upset over me pretending to be your uncle?"

Ye Xiao gave Ouyang Hua a glare and said, "How could I dare? After all, you are my boss."

"Ha ha, you rascal, let's sit down and have a chat," Ouyang Hua said with a laugh as he entered Niu Chuang's living room and spoke to Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao still had a frown on his face as he walked over to an individual sofa and sat down.

Ouyang Hua also sat down, pulled out a pack of Soft Star Sea cigarettes, offered one to Ye Xiao, and lit one for himself.

"You rascal, coming to Bird City without even saying a word, have you forgotten that you're still a member of the Flame Dragon Team? Movement of Flame Dragon Team members from one place to another must be recorded," Ouyang Hua said with a smile.

Upon hearing Ouyang Hua's words, Ye Xiao immediately raised his eyebrows and said, "Then I quit!"

Ouyang Hua was somewhat helpless. If it weren't for Ye Xiao being a talent he discovered, and because he had a close relationship with that person, Ouyang Hua really would have considered letting Ye Xiao go.

However, Ye Xiao's methods were not bad. At least, he maintained order in Minghai City rather well, which satisfied Ouyang Hua.

"Look at you, I didn't say that. Why get angry? After all, I am the leader of group Z. Don't you think I deserve some respect?" Ouyang Hua continued with a chuckle.

As the saying goes, you don't strike a smiling face.

Ouyang Hua always had that smile, making it difficult for Ye Xiao to say anything unpleasant.

"What do you want from me? Chu City is such a large place; you can't possibly expect me to protect the peace by myself. I'm a person, not a machine," Ye Xiao complained about his troubles.

Ouyang Hua, still smiling, flicked the ash off his cigarette and said to Ye Xiao, "You know the Flame Dragon Team has twenty-four groups, and group Z was the last to be established. Initially, I did not plan to work you so hard after you handled Bird City, but I received news that within the Flame Dragon Team, three separate groups have each sent a member here. Their goals are simple: Bird City might also become as peaceful as Minghai City, but they do not wish for us to take all the credit."

"That's it? Group Leader Ouyang, shouldn't we be more harmonious? As you said, the Flame Dragon Team is an organization meant to protect the nation. Why not let everyone work together to make the country more harmonious? That would even help achieve societal harmony faster. Your approach is, well, not very good," Ye Xiao confronted Ouyang Hua.

Ye Xiao was puzzled. If other group members wanted to strive for harmony, why would Ouyang Hua prevent it?

Ouyang Hua did not respond immediately, but smoked his cigarette vigorously.

Until he finished the cigarette.

"Do you know what my identity was before?" Ouyang Hua snuffed out the cigarette butt and suddenly looked up at Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao shook his head immediately, saying, "How could I possibly know?"

Ouyang Hua said, "I used to be the secretary of the overall group leader of the Flame Dragon Team, or you could say, his trusted aide."

"So is that a promotion or a demotion?" Ye Xiao asked, looking at Ouyang Hua with a smile.

"The Flame Dragon Team is not as harmonious as I told you before!" Ouyang Hua ignored Ye Xiao's jesting and spoke earnestly.

Ye Xiao became serious too upon seeing Ouyang Hua's earnestness, and inquired, "What do you mean? Are you saying those people didn't come here for societal harmony?"

"Ha ha, societal harmony. If everyone in the Flame Dragon Team thought about societal harmony, there would've been no need to establish group Z," Ouyang Hua declared, seeming a bit angry.

Ye Xiao grew even more curious, so he watched Ouyang Hua more intently, knowing that there must be more to come.

Ouyang Hua indeed continued, "There's an old saying: 'when the birds are gone, the bow is put away; the rabbit is cooked when the hound is no longer needed.' Have you heard of it?"

"Yes!"

Ouyang Hua said, "This saying is widely known within the Flame Dragon Team, and over time, it has made the members of its various groups understand a truth they should not have realized. That is, the country cannot be completely harmonious, because if it really achieved harmony, there would be no need for the existence of the Flame Dragon Team. And if there's no need for the team, then the members' special privileges would also vanish. Therefore, for their own interests, members of the Flame Dragon Team suppress some dark forces while indulging others, resulting in an endless cycle of suppression."

Ye Xiao was surprised upon hearing Ouyang Hua's words; no wonder, despite the establishment of the twenty-fourth group, some dark forces still existed.

"Doesn't the higher leadership care?"

"Of course, they do, or else the Z group of the Flame Dragon Team wouldn't have been formed!" Ouyang Hua looked at Ye Xiao, speaking earnestly, "Ye Xiao, right now, there's just you and me in group Z. I need to observe the movements of other groups frequently in the capital, and you, I hope you can work hard to truly achieve harmony in the area assigned to you. Naturally, you will face threats from dark forces and also covert threats from members of other groups within the Flame Dragon Team."

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