"Hello, President! You're really beautiful! I'm the guild's main tank, Ding the Handsome! My real name—Yuanzi must have told you already—is Ding Ye!" Ding Ye acted like an old friend, even standing up and bowing to Hamster Pudding!
After Ding Ye's introduction, it was the turn of Hundred Flowers Guild's president, Hua Qian'gu. But his self-introduction stunned everyone. "Hello, President. I'm He Xinyuan, a Juris Doctor from Columbia University in the US. I currently run a private legal firm and also serve as one of the legal advisors for Hengyun Group." None of those present expected that the president of Hundred Flowers Guild was actually a legal advisor for Hengyun Group!
"So you're Lawyer He! My father has mentioned you—said you handled several disputes for Hengyun Group with excellent results!" After Hua Qian'gu finished speaking, Hamster Pudding, rare as it was, stood up and shook hands with him.
"Old Hua, a PhD? You really can't judge a book by its cover! I'm way behind! Hello, President! I'm Zhang Ergou. My family was poor when I was a kid, so I was sent to Tianlong Temple to be a martial monk for over a decade. Now I run a martial arts school in Yukang, and business is pretty good, haha!" Cloudrise Guild's president, Zhang Ergou, had everyone laughing the moment he opened his mouth. No one expected his real name to actually be Zhang Ergou.
What intrigued everyone even more was that Zhang Ergou had been a martial monk at Tianlong Temple! Tianlong Temple is the center of Buddhism in the entire Dragon Kingdom. Many of the country's action movie stars had trained there as martial monks, and some had even won awards in international mixed martial arts competitions! In a word, every martial monk from Tianlong Temple had real skills!
After the circle finished introducing themselves, only Jiang Yuan was left, so all eyes turned to him. "Jiang Yuan, senior year in the Literature Department at Songjiang University." Jiang Yuan stood up and introduced himself with a single brief sentence.
With introductions done, Hamster Pudding nodded to Manager Xu, who had been standing outside the door, signaling the servers to start bringing out the dishes. Before long, a series of exquisite dishes were laid out on the table: classic steamed coral trout, lucky sweet-glazed roast lamb leg, imperial Buddha-jumping-over-the-wall soup, braised shark fin with abalone shreds—all top-tier cuisine! Servers bustled back and forth, delivering a total of twenty-two dishes, filling the entire table to the brim!
"This is red wine air-shipped from Château Lafite in France. It has a decent flavor—everyone, give it a try." As Hamster Pudding spoke, a server came around with a decanter holding already-aerated premium red wine, pouring a glass for each person.
"President, if I'm not mistaken, this should be a 2014 Lafite. You're really generous! This bottle must cost about twenty thousand Dragon Kingdom dollars, right?" Hundred Flowers Guild's president, Hua Qian'gu—the PhD named He Xinyuan—lifted his glass, took a small sip, and smiled at Heng Yuwei.
At his words, everyone present widened their eyes! "As expected of Lawyer He—you have good taste. Since we rarely all gather, I specially prepared this bottle of 2014 Lafite." Heng Yuwei gave a faint smile, looking utterly unconcerned, as if the wine in the glasses were just ordinary table wine.
"To thank the president, I suggest we all raise our glasses and toast her!" The slightly older Chuangshi Yongge immediately started stirring up the atmosphere. Everyone stood up and raised their glasses to Hamster Pudding, thanking her for such a lavish reception!
After downing the first glass, Hamster Pudding gestured to everyone: "It's rare for the guild members to gather like this. Don't be shy—dig in." And so, in a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, the first offline gathering of Chuangshi Guild kicked off.
During the meal, the guild's top members chatted and laughed, clinking glasses and filling the private room with joy. Just as everyone was having a great time, the door to the room suddenly burst open with a loud "bang" as a powerful kick sent it flying. Over a dozen men in black suits and sunglasses, all with crew cuts, stormed into the room where Jiang Yuan and the others were seated!
"Who are you people? How dare you barge in without a word?" Ding Ye, sitting near the door, had just raised his glass to clink with Hua Qian'gu when the sudden noise startled him. His hand jerked, spilling fine wine all over himself. Furious, he turned and shouted at the uninvited guests.
"Slap!" A crisp sound rang through the room. Ding Ye was sent flying by a backhand from one of the crew-cut men, crashing heavily to the floor.
"Clang, clang, clang!" The sound of metal striking echoed as the intruders pulled two short metal rods from their jackets, twisted and turned them into meter-long batons, gripping them tightly!
"Hey, hey, hey, brothers, let's talk this out. Do me a favor—let's sit down and discuss this calmly!" Ding Ye, despite being slapped, didn't seem angry. He scrambled up with a forced smile, bowing and scraping before the dozen crew-cut men. His pathetic demeanor drew looks of disgust from the two women present!
"None of your business—get lost!" The lead crew-cut man stepped forward and kicked Ding Ye, who had just gotten up, spitting on him before glaring fiercely at the group. "Which one of you is Jiang Yuan?"
In an instant, everyone's gaze fell on Jiang Yuan, who was sitting beside Heng Yuwei.
"Who are you? Who allowed you in here?" Heng Yuwei, the heiress of Hengyun Group, saw the banquet disrupted and her face turned icy cold as she stared at the lead suit-wearing man.
"You must be Miss Heng from Hengyun Group. We're only here for Jiang Yuan today. Sorry to spoil your fun! If this kid comes with us, my master will personally apologize to you afterward!" The leader grinned at Heng Yuwei, revealing two gold teeth.
"Gentlemen, your actions just now constitute affray. According to relevant laws..." He Xinyuan, the Hundred Flowers Guild president and law student, stood up, ready to use legal means to stop them. But before he could finish, one of the suit-wearing men grabbed him, smacked him over the head with a baton, and blood immediately sprayed out!
"Ah! Blood!" He Xinyuan's blood splattered onto Ouyang Xuan's face across the table. She froze for half a second before letting out a piercing scream!
In less than two seconds since the intruders burst in, someone on Jiang Yuan's side was already bleeding!
Just then, Zhang Ergou, the former martial monk and Cloudrise Guild president, stepped up. He stomped on a chair for leverage, leaped into the air, and kicked the suit-wearing man who had attacked He Xinyuan square in the chest. The man immediately dropped his baton, fell to the ground, and writhed in pain, clutching his chest.
"Damn it, beat them!" That kick from Zhang Ergou enraged the other side. The lead crew-cut man cursed loudly and signaled his men to charge at Jiang Yuan and the others!
In an instant, the already cramped private room descended into chaos!