Futile Devices Scans

1989, Hong Kong, Gaau Lung Walled City.

This was a city shrouded in mysterious darkness. Seen from above, the entire Walled City was perfectly square, its tightly packed high-rises layered one atop another like a giant Rubik’s Cube built from reinforced concrete and steel. It stood abruptly in Hong Kong’s Kowloon District, utterly out of place beside the spacious modern buildings and elevated highways surrounding it. Though this giant concrete maze covered less than three square kilometers, it contained over five hundred high-rise buildings and nearly thirty thousand residents. The dense architecture blocked out even the fiercest summer sunlight, leaving ninety-five percent of the city in perpetual darkness year-round.

Its infamy had spread overseas long ago. Due to historical issues left over from the Qing Dynasty, this tiny city had become a “lawless” black zone. Neither Beijing, Hong Kong, nor the British government had jurisdiction over it, turning it into a peculiar sort of autonomous region. Hidden within this endless darkness were countless drug dens, gambling houses, brothels, dog-meat restaurants, unlicensed clinics, and more. It was the largest “white powder” distribution hub in the Asia-Pacific region at the time, as well as a hiding place and gathering ground for gangs and criminal syndicates.

Xia Liu Yi was the number one ace enforcer in Gaau Lung Walled City, the Red Pole of Xiao Qi Hall, famed for wielding a pair of Azure Dragon Twin Blades.

The title Red Pole, put simply, meant chief thug—the one responsible for beating people up and leading others to beat people up. Within a gang, the position ranked only below the Dragon Head Boss/Mountain Master and the Deputy Hall Master/Deputy Mountain Master, while standing equal to the White Paper Fan, who managed finances, and the Straw Sandal, who handled communications.

In terms of martial skill alone, Xia Liu Yi was not the absolute strongest in Gaau Lung Walled City. The place was packed with hidden dragons and crouching tigers, containing more than a dozen gangs of all kinds. Even within Xiao Qi Hall itself, his fighting ability ranked below Deputy Hall Master Xu Ying—said to be a direct descendant of the Twenty-Eight Dragon Subduing Palms lineage—leaving Xia Liu Yi firmly in second place.

But when it came to being an ace enforcer, across all of Gaau Lung Walled City, if Xia Liu Yi claimed second place, nobody dared claim first.

The reason was simple—when lives were on the line in a fight to the death, who cared about martial arts styles or lineage? What mattered was having a black heart and ruthless hands, ruthless enough not to care even about your own life! That was the true essence of gang warfare.

When Xia Liu Yi was eighteen, during one massive gang war, he fought his way alone through more than forty men with twin blades to rescue the trapped Dragon Head Boss Hao Cheng Qing, carving out a blood-soaked path stretching across three alleyways. Afterward, nearby residents spent two days and two nights scraping bits of flesh off the walls and streets.

That battle became known throughout the underworld as “Black Children’s Day.” More than six years had passed, yet people still spoke of it endlessly. Hong Kong traditionally had no “Children’s Day”; celebrating it on June 1st was a mainland custom. Many residents of Gaau Lung Walled City had fled from mainland China, and thanks to Xia Liu Yi’s reputation, the phrase “June 1st Children’s Day” became widely known throughout the city. Small-time crooks turned pale whenever they heard the word “Liu Yi.” What they feared most was being invited by Boss Liu Yi to “celebrate Children’s Day.”

Fortunately, despite his ruthlessness, Boss Liu Yi still had a sense of honor. He neither bullied others nor acted tyrannically. His attitude was basically “if nobody provokes me, I won’t provoke them.” Furthermore, he was fiercely loyal to his boss Hao Cheng Qing, obeying him absolutely. Among the various Dragon Head Bosses in the city, Hao Cheng Qing—known in the underworld as Azure Dragon Boss—was considered relatively mild-tempered and cautious. As a result, Xia Liu Yi, this deadly blade, usually stayed sheathed and rarely unleashed full-scale slaughter.

Not only was Boss Liu Yi too lazy to fight most of the time, he was often too lazy even to carry his beloved blades himself. On this day, when he arrived at the newly opened Xiao Qi Film Company under Xiao Qi Hall, trailing behind him was Lai Quan, a junkie forced to carry his blades for him.

Lai Quan had lost twenty thousand dollars at one of Xiao Qi Hall’s gambling dens and tried to flee without paying. He had been “honored” by being personally hunted down by Boss Liu Yi himself. At this point, he had already foreseen his own gruesome death, hacked into a bloody mess with no intact corpse remaining. As he walked, he sobbed uncontrollably, his face covered in tears and mucus. He even remembered to wipe his nose constantly so the snot would not drip onto Boss Liu Yi’s blade.

“Boss Liu Yi!” A lackey guarding the door straightened his chest and stood ramrod stiff.

Xia Liu Yi accepted the cigarette the man handed him and tilted his head to let him light it.

“Brother Xiao Ma is waiting for you inside,” the lackey reported seriously.

Xia Liu Yi glanced at him and tilted his chin in instruction. “Take him to the studio and keep an eye on him.”

“Yes!” the lackey replied energetically before kicking Lai Quan. “What are you staring at? Move!”

“Come back.”

“Boss Liu Yi has more orders?”

“The blades.”

The lackey kicked Lai Quan again. “Hurry up and return Boss Liu Yi’s blades already!”

Xia Liu Yi entered the room, shut the door, sat down directly on the desk, and lowered his head to smoke.

His trusted subordinate Xiao Ma, the scar-faced young thug with a fashionable slicked-back hairstyle, was kneeling on the floor alongside several vicious enforcers in a “tiger-pounce landing stance.” After waiting a long time without hearing Xia Liu Yi speak, Xiao Ma cautiously peeked up.

“That guy at the door—I haven’t seen him before,” Xia Liu Yi said.

“Brother Xu transferred him over yesterday. Said he was clever. If Boss Liu Yi doesn’t like him, I’ll find an excuse to replace him tomorrow!” Xiao Ma replied smoothly, his sycophantic expression completely at odds with his fierce appearance.

“Fucking Xu Ying…” Xia Liu Yi muttered thoughtfully, exhaling smoke slowly. “Reserve a private room at Lotus Fragrance House tomorrow night. I’m taking Eldest to dinner.”

The “Eldest” he referred to was none other than Xiao Qi Hall’s Dragon Head Boss Hao Cheng Qing.

“Yes! I’ll reserve it right away!” Xiao Ma leapt up immediately.

Xia Liu Yi flicked ash from his cigarette. “Get back down.”

With a miserable expression, Xiao Ma dropped back to the floor.

Xia Liu Yi tapped his foot lightly.

Looking utterly dejected, Xiao Ma raised a thick wooden rod with both hands. The other thugs instinctively lowered their heads, stuck their asses up high, and bit down on their sleeves.

Xia Liu Yi leisurely stubbed out his cigarette, tossed both the blade sheath at his waist and the one on his back onto the desk, rolled up his sleeves, and took the rod.

Then came a brutal round of merciless beatings across heads and asses!

Smack smack smack smack!

He used only about half his strength, yet within moments he had beaten the entire group until their asses looked like baboons’ backsides. The burly men’s faces bulged with veins from the pain, yet none dared cry out loud. They bit their sleeves desperately and only screamed inwardly for their ancestors. Eventually, Xia Liu Yi decided the beating was enough and casually tossed the rod aside before sitting back down at the desk. Xiao Ma struggled shakily to his feet and limped over to light another cigarette for him.

“Know what you did wrong?” Xia Liu Yi asked.

“Yes yes!” Xiao Ma answered quickly, while the others nodded frantically behind him.

“What was wrong?”

“Uh… hehe…”

With the cigarette dangling from his lips, Xia Liu Yi turned and reached for the rod again.

Realizing danger was imminent, Xiao Ma lunged forward and hugged Xia Liu Yi’s leg, crying out tragically, “Boss Liu Yi! You can’t hit us anymore! Another beating and I’ll be crippled!”

Without mercy, Xia Liu Yi slapped his swollen backside again with a loud smack! Xiao Ma let out a miserable howl while the other thugs turned their heads away in pity.

“What the fuck do I keep a bunch of useless trash like you for?” Xia Liu Yi finally exploded. “You couldn’t even catch Lai Quan and needed me to do it myself?”

“Boss Liu Yi…” Xiao Ma whimpered, clutching his ass. “I don’t understand. Lai Quan only owed twenty thousand. Why make such a huge deal out of catching him…”

“You don’t understand!” Smack! Xia Liu Yi slapped the back of Xiao Ma’s ruined hairstyle. “Your fucking brain grew in your ass! Of course you don’t understand!”

Xiao Ma squatted there holding the growing lump on his head, both hurt and aggrieved.

With a cold face, Xia Liu Yi sat back down. “Lai Quan has a younger sister. You know that?”

“Yeah. Third Sister Lai. Famous slut.”

“What’s she been up to lately?”

“Uh, I heard she hooked up with Fat Seven, one of the bosses from He Sheng Society.”

“Eldest wants to open a nightclub on Portland Street in Mong Kok, right next to Yau Ma Tei. Yau Ma Tei is He Sheng Society territory, so trouble is unavoidable. Now that I’ve caught Lai Quan, Fat Seven has to call Eldest to ask for his little brother-in-law back. I always listen to Eldest, so of course I’ll give face and release him immediately. Then Fat Seven owes Eldest a favor. When the nightclub opens later, won’t he have to smooth things over for us?”

“Oh! Ohhhhhh!” Xiao Ma cried in sudden realization, this time truly understanding.

Xia Liu Yi smacked his ass again. “Grow a brain already!”

“I definitely will! Immediately! After following Boss Liu Yi for three years, my brain grows every day, really really!” Xiao Ma hurried to flatter him while clutching his backside.

“Scram!”

Xiao Ma scampered away happily with the wooden rod, preparing to flee, but after reaching the door he remembered something and came back tearfully. “Boss Liu Yi, there’s one more thing about the new movie.”

At the beginning of the year, Xia Liu Yi and Cui Dong Dong, the gang’s White Paper Fan, had been ordered to establish Xiao Qi Film Company. Its purpose was to launder money for the “head office.” Cui Dong Dong handled the accounts, while Xia Liu Yi, acting as the company’s chief steward, had to organize actual movie productions to maintain appearances. So he occasionally came by to oversee things personally. They had already filmed several Category III movies, with mediocre profits. But now Azure Dragon Boss wanted to shift markets and make a proper gangster romance film.

Xia Liu Yi shot Xiao Ma a deadly glare, immediately making him tremble. “N-no no, it’s not a big issue! The director’s already arranged! I found a popular actor, Liu Xiao De, for the male lead. He lost five hundred thousand gambling at Boss Xu’s club. As for the female lead, Boss said Sister-in-law should play her. But the director only knows how to film Category III movies—stuff like Fiery Women, Midnight Canteen, and Dusty Mistress… He says we need a screenwriter who can write a proper story, and I—I don’t know any screenwriters…”

“Fuck, just grab someone literate! If that fails, you write it!”

Xiao Ma’s face collapsed. “I didn’t even graduate middle school, Boss Liu Yi!”

“Then find someone who did!” Xia Liu Yi kicked him.

Screaming and clutching his ass, Xiao Ma fled—only to be called back two steps later.

Smoking calmly again in his lazy pose, Xia Liu Yi recalled, “Two years ago, a university student came out of the Walled City. They even set off firecrackers for him. Find him.”

“Understood!”

……

At 10:35 that night, a gang of vicious thugs with swollen asses blocked He Chu San on his way home from self-study. A sack came down over his head, and fifteen minutes later he was carried straight back to the “company.”

Who exactly was He Chu San? He was the very first modern university student in Gaau Lung Walled City’s history—the equivalent of producing a top imperial scholar from some remote ancient mountain village. His mother Shen Pei Pei had once been one of the greatest beauties in the Walled City. Unfortunately, she had been blind enough to fall for a poor, powerless gang underling. She called it true love, though really it was just because he was handsome. The two loved each other passionately. Shen Pei Pei became pregnant before marriage, and by the fourth month, her gangster lover had been hacked to pieces in a dark alley. Fortunately, his head remained intact enough for identification, which served as their only consolation.

Shen Pei Pei refused to accept consolation. That very night, unable to bear it, she jumped into the sea while heavily pregnant. Not long after sinking, she was rescued by a passing unlicensed dentist. The dentist’s surname was He. He was unattractive but honest. His wife had run away with someone else, so he did not mind becoming a bargain father for someone else’s child. Shen Pei Pei spent six miserable months lying in his clinic before dying the very day she gave birth. Before passing away, she grabbed Dentist He’s hand and said, “Let the child take your surname He. Never let him join the underworld.”

Dentist He never even remarried. He diligently raised little He all by himself. Since the boy had been born on the third day of Lunar New Year, he was named He Chu San, nicknamed A’San, and mockingly called Indian A’San. Little Indian A’San was obedient, sensible, and well-behaved. No matter how much people mocked, teased, provoked, flirted with, or beat him growing up, he never once fought back. Gradually, he became a bizarre anomaly within Gaau Lung Walled City—pure, gentle, academically excellent, and impeccably behaved. This strange flower survived all the way through elementary and secondary school on scholarships, eventually earning admission to Lung Gong Polytechnic University, bringing a bizarre glimmer of light to the perpetually dark Walled City.

When Dentist He heard the acceptance news, he became so excited he set off a string of firecrackers right there in the street, ensuring the entire Walled City knew about it. It certainly glorified the family name—but unfortunately, his son’s entire life would ultimately be ruined because of those firecrackers.

On this disastrous night, He Chu San had just spent an entire day cramming his brain full of densely packed English formulas. Carrying his little schoolbag, he was walking through the familiar dim alleyways when suddenly a hand clamped over his mouth and nose. In an instant, everything went black before his eyes! Dazed and confused, he found himself being carried off horizontally through the air!

He bounced up and down for who knew how long before—whoosh!—the sack was ripped away and bright light flooded his vision.

The first thing he saw was a handsome young man sitting ahead of him. The man wore a tight black tank top that revealed healthy bronze-toned skin and beautifully defined arms and shoulders. Two long legs wrapped snugly in jeans were crossed and propped up on the table. His features were strikingly handsome and cool, his eyes bright as stars. Though his natural appearance carried an aloof chill, his expression was completely relaxed and lazy. He was eating a skewer of beef offal while watching television with complete concentration.

On the black-and-white TV, The Godfather was playing. Marlon Brando stood beside a bed smoking a cigar, mumbling indistinct English dialogue. For He Chu San, who had grown up in the slums and had only ever seen televisions displayed in department store windows, this was an astonishingly novel experience. His attention immediately locked onto the screen as well.

The two of them watched silently together for a while. Finally, Xia Liu Yi—who could not read quickly enough to keep up with the subtitles—could not take it anymore.

“Xiao Ma!”

From the next room limped in the scar-faced young thug with the greasy slicked-back hair. “Yeah! Boss Liu Yi!”

“Where’s the Chinese dubbing?”

“Uh… this film only comes like this. No dubbing!”

“……”

“Hehehe.” Xiao Ma gave an ingratiating grin.

“Get lost!”

“Yes!” Xiao Ma scampered out immediately.

“Come back.”

“Yes!” He scampered right back.

“Who’s this?” Xia Liu Yi lifted his chin toward He Chu San.

“The screenwriter. The one you told me to grab this afternoon,” Xiao Ma answered proudly, puffing out his chest.

Xia Liu Yi frowned as he looked He Chu San up and down. “This… is he even an adult?”

“Tell Boss Liu Yi your age already!” Xiao Ma instantly changed expression and barked viciously.

“Twenty-one,” He Chu San answered obediently.

Xiao Ma kicked him hard behind the knee. He Chu San cried out in pain and crashed to his knees. “Bullshit twenty-one! Sixteen at most! Talk properly!”

He Chu San lowered his head and reached for his schoolbag. Thinking he was pulling out a weapon, Xiao Ma kicked him flying two meters away and grabbed him to continue beating him, only to be stopped by Xia Liu Yi raising a hand.

Coughing desperately while clutching his chest, He Chu San shakily pulled out his ID card from his bag. Xiao Ma snatched it away, checked the birthdate, and confirmed he really was twenty-one.

“Fuck!” Xiao Ma cursed. The kid was all skinny arms and legs like a baby chick, with such a youthful face—and he was twenty-one?

He Chu San stayed silent while holding his chest. Gangsters never reasoned fairly—he understood that much. Since he still had no idea why they had kidnapped him, silence was golden.

Xia Liu Yi waved Xiao Ma away completely, then gestured for He Chu San to sit. Turning back around, he resumed watching the television with full concentration.

After silently enduring the ache in his chest for a while, He Chu San’s attention was gradually drawn back to the TV.

The two continued watching wordlessly for around ten more minutes. Once again missing the subtitles, Xia Liu Yi frowned.

“What did he say?”

“He said, ‘I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.’”

Xia Liu Yi whistled approvingly, clearly impressed.

“And this line?”

“Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”

This time Xia Liu Yi raised his eyebrows.

After watching a little longer, he picked up another skewer of beef offal and continued eating while pushing the plate toward He Chu San.

“No thanks,” He Chu San said politely.

“Bastard! If Boss Liu Yi tells you to eat, then eat!” one of the hulking men guarding the doorway suddenly roared like thunder.

In response, Xia Liu Yi swung out a long leg and kicked the entire plate of beef offal straight at him. “Too fucking loud. Get lost!”

The thug rolled away instantly.

Xia Liu Yi turned back to the television and casually handed the surviving half-skewer to He Chu San. He Chu San hesitated, afraid to accept it, but Xia Liu Yi kept his eyes on the TV and merely shook the skewer lightly in his hand.

“Eat,” he said gently.

He Chu San was like a stray puppy that had wandered into a mansion—first viciously scolded by the servants, then gently petted by the master of the house. Obediently, he accepted the skewer and took a bite, only to realize it was from Fat Sister’s snack shop beside his father’s clinic.

The sheltered and inexperienced He Chu San immediately felt that this gang boss was completely different from every gangster he had previously seen or heard about—young, handsome, mild-mannered, approachable. Someone who seemed capable of reasoning things out.

He secretly shifted his butt a little and relaxed slightly, feeling that there was actually a chance he might leave alive tonight.

After finishing the skewer and reading the final subtitles, he turned off the television at Xia Liu Yi’s instruction. Then this “mild-mannered” gang boss finally began discussing business in a lazy tone.

“Know why I brought you here?”

He Chu San obediently shook his head.

“You heard of a ‘screenwriter’ before?”

He shook his head again.

With surprising patience, Xia Liu Yi explained, “I’m making a movie. I need you to write a story for it. You’ve got three days.”

He Chu San blinked, finally understanding. But as a colonial-era youth whose brain was stuffed full of English financial formulas, he had absolutely no idea how to write a story.

“I study finance…” he began.

—I don’t know how to write stories.

Before he could finish the second sentence, Xiao Ma stormed back in cursing loudly.

“Boss Liu Yi! I called Third Sister Lai to demand money, and she said she already cut ties with her brother! Whether Lai Quan lives or dies has nothing to do with her!”

Xia Liu Yi raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Fuck, that bitch even dared hang up on me!” Xiao Ma added furiously.

Xia Liu Yi, however, showed no urgency at all. Tilting his head, he lit another cigarette, looking completely relaxed.

“Bring him in.”

Less than ten seconds later, the bruised and battered Lai Quan was dragged inside by several thugs.

Cold sweat instantly drenched He Chu San’s back as he watched Xia Liu Yi casually hold a cigarette between his lips while smashing a stool into Lai Quan until he no longer looked human! Afterward, they pinned Lai Quan onto the table, shoved his own socks into his mouth, and used pliers to pull out his fingernails one by one!

“Don’t know what to do? Want Boss Liu Yi to think for you?” Xia Liu Yi pressed the burning tip of his cigarette against Lai Quan’s mangled fingers. “If you think for yourself, you lose one finger. If Boss Liu Yi thinks for you, you lose three.”

“Mmmmmmghhhhh!” Lai Quan sobbed hysterically around the filthy sock, shaking his head so hard it looked ready to fly off.

Xia Liu Yi waved his hand. Xiao Ma immediately stepped forward and yanked the sock out.

“I—I’ll call my mother! I’ll ask my mother to beg her!” Lai Quan cried weakly through tears.

“Good boy,” Xia Liu Yi praised, patting his head approvingly. “One finger.”

At once, Xiao Ma stepped forward and—crack!—cleanly severed one finger!

A bloodcurdling scream instantly exploded through the room.

“AAAAGHHHHHHHHH—!”

He Chu San’s fragile young heart—and perhaps all seven souls and six spirits inside him—were utterly blasted apart by that final scream. Stunned senseless, he watched Lai Quan collapse limply as the thugs dragged him away. Xiao Ma wrapped up the severed finger, instructed someone to deliver it to Lai Quan’s mother, personally cleaned the blood off the table with great diligence, then rolled away at top speed.

Xia Liu Yi sat back down at the desk and propped up his long legs again.

“What were you saying just now?”

He Chu San blankly smacked his lips once. “I… study finance…”

“Hm?”

“I can write stories.”

“Very good. Good boy.”

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