Chapter 001: A Dream of Nanke (1) Smashing the Arena
November 1935
Shanghai.
Bailu Men Grand Ballroom.
High-society bigwigs are dancing in the ballroom, doing what they call a social dance, while burly men in black suits patrol the area from time to time.
Under the dim light, on the steps at the end of the stage, there was a woman with a slender figure in a red cheongsam, singing a classic old song from Shanghai.
"Golden Shanghai, Night Shanghai, you are a city that never sleeps..."
Beautiful singing voices kept echoing in this space, while at this moment outside the Bailu Men Dance Hall on a street side alley, there were two men wearing linen clothes with solemn expressions. At their waist, surprisingly, something was bulging out, apparently hiding something inside.
"Brother Tian, we rushed from Shandong to Shanghai by train. Today's battle relies solely on the two of us. Is it too hasty to take down Bailianmen?"
The person speaking had a worried look on his face, his eyes scanning the street back and forth, what he said would surely shock anyone who overheard it.
The man known as Tian Ge stretched his neck at this moment, and after a "hiss" sound, he lit a cigarette, took two light puffs, and after exhaling the smoke, a hint of ferocity appeared on his face!
"Lin Chen, the Bailian Gate is now Xue Changchun's territory. There must be high-ranking officials from various concessions inside. Such a grand place, I reckon even Xue Changchun wouldn't dare order his men to open fire. As for martial arts, you and I are well aware of our own abilities. Let's wait for the right moment to kill Xue Changchun, then the Bailian Gate will be leaderless. After that, we can use Wu Guanjia to bribe the leaders of various concessions with a large sum of money, and from then on, the Bailian Gate will be our domain!"
Tian Ge, full name Lin Tian, from Weifang, Shandong Province.
Lin Tian has been practicing martial arts since he was a child, and Lin Chen is his childhood friend. As Shandong Province had fallen into the hands of the Japanese, they fled to Shanghai by train to escape the war.
A month ago, the two arrived in Shanghai and were doing hard labor at the Sixteen Wharf, not only suffering from oppression but also earning very little. After learning that their fellow Shandong native Ma Yongzhen had become a subordinate of Xue Changchun, they felt quite humiliated. As the saying goes, "A good bird chooses a tree to perch on," for people from Shandong, it means that one's fist is the biggest voice. You can be tough, you can be arrogant, fine! I'll beat you to death! You have guns, you have men, fine! I'll assassinate you, defeat each of your subordinates one by one, and leave you alone and helpless!
"Brother Tian, how can you be so calm? Don't you fear death?" Lin Chen looked at Lin Tian with some oddness.
"In my eyes, death is not scary, I'd rather die than live a cowardly life!" Lin Tian extinguished the cigarette in his hand and said coldly.
Lin Chen also nodded slightly at this moment, his face suddenly turning cold.
"Go!"
With a loud explosion, the two of them took several steps directly towards the Ballroom of the Bailemen.
Outside the grand entrance of the Ballroom, four men in black suits are standing at this moment. These four people are actually underlings of Xue Changchun, the boss of the Ballroom.
The four of them were chatting enthusiastically, but suddenly furrowed their brows, because they found Lin Tian and Lin Chen walking towards this side with unpleasant faces.
"You two little country bumpkins, what are you doing here? Is Bailemen a place for people like you to come?" One of the big-nosed men saw Lin Tian and Lin Chen wearing cloth clothes and knew they had no status, so he sneered.
As soon as this was said, people on the street couldn't help but notice Lin Tian and Lin Chen. The gazes that fell upon them were tinged with disdain. Just then, a handsome young man who was pulling a rickshaw near the Bailemen Dance Hall looked Lin Tian and Lin Chen up and down with one glance.
A handsome young man also wore a linen garment, and on this yellow linen garment, there were several patches. However, between his eyes, there was a murderous intent, as if waiting for something.
"Hahaha! Get out!"
The other three henchmen burst out laughing upon hearing their companion's words. In their opinion, Lin Tian and Lin Chen were clearly inferior and not on the same level as them. After all, they were Henchmen of Xue Chang Chun, and although they only served as doormen, they still earned a hundred taels per month!
Lin Tian's eyes narrowed slightly at the words, and then he exchanged a glance with Lin Chen.
Whoosh!
Two figures suddenly shot out, Lin Tian and Lin Chen surprisingly emerged at the same time. In an instant, they stretched their right hands forward, and a swirling cold light flashed in the center of their palms!
"Not good!"
One of the horsemen saw this and hurriedly stretched out his hand to his waist, but before he could pull out his pistol, a cold gleam flashed towards his neck!
Pfft
A flash of blood light, and Lin Tian saw a horizontal movement, a bloody knife flying away from the big-nosed man's throat. He turned around to look at what was behind him, his face suddenly tense, and with one kick, he launched himself in the direction of one of the thugs who had drawn a gun on him!
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and at this moment, the thug who drew his gun was suddenly kicked by Lin Tian, causing his revolver to fall from his hand. Meanwhile, Lin Chen swiftly slit the throats of the other two thugs!
"Don't kill me!"
Kneeling on both knees, the last typist looked at the three companions who died in a pool of blood and was so scared that his crotch was wet with urine.
The crowd on both sides of the street finally came to their senses and suddenly fled in all directions in horror!
"Murder! Murder!"
"Run away!"
At this moment, Lin Tian and Lin Chen did not have a single thread of fear, but instead, the corners of their mouths curled up into an eerie smile.
"Die!"
Between muttering to himself, Lin Tian suddenly made a backhand slash forward, and after a burst of blood splattered out, he heard the dense footsteps inside the gate.
"Up!"
Lin Tian kicked the last security guard who was dying out of the way, about 7 or 8 meters away. Then Lin Tian and Lin Chen jumped up together and kicked sideways, shattering the glass door of the Bailemen nightclub!
Crack
A string of glass fell to the ground, at this moment in the Ballroom of the Pailoumen, music stopped suddenly, and on the broken glass fragments on the floor inside the gate, stood two men wearing white robes.
"Little Wolf and his men have been killed!" A burly man with a scarred face saw through the shattered glass that Little Wolf and several of his henchmen were lying dead outside the door.
"Ah! Murder!"
"What?!"
“what‘s－－happening？”“My－god！I－never－see－any－thing－like－this!”
Some people in the upper class inside the ballroom heard this and immediately became chaotic, while the foreigners in the concession area retreated neatly, with a hint of surprise on their faces.
A dozen or so men in black suits looked at Lin Tian and Lin Chen, who were holding daggers, and immediately surrounded them.
Just then, a man in a gold suit walked out of the stairs beside the dance pool, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He adjusted his glasses with one hand and burst into laughter.
"Haha! You dare to ruin Xue Changchun's event! Not bad, not bad!"
A dozen or so stallions saw that the person who came was their own boss, and immediately parted to both sides. At this time, one of the white-clothed men sitting at the bar also stepped forward a few steps.
"Mr Xue!" The man in white nodded slightly.
Lin Tian glanced at Xue Changchun, but his expression when looking at the man in white was somewhat strange. He then pointed a finger at Xue Changchun with one hand!
"Xue Changchun, from today on, I'm taking over your Bailemen!"
As soon as this remark came out, the whole scene was in an uproar.
