Chu Chen rode his motorcycle back to the school at top speed.
In his past life, after leaving the Chu Family, he had no idea what expression Chu Jixiong wore after they dug up an ancient tomb on the project site in the Western Suburbs, but this time he would likely get to see it.
Back at the dorm, Chu Chen found that his roommates and underlings were already there, lazily lying on their beds playing mobile mini-games one by one.
"Yo, Big Brother is back!" Blondie, a dyed-blonde underling, spotted Chu Chen first, jumped down from his bed, and asked with a hint of surprise, "Didn't you go home? Why are you back at school again?"
Another underling slapped the first on the back of the head. "Big Brother, given the situation at home, it's totally normal that he didn't want to stay there."
Blondie tossed his phone aside, hurried over to take the helmet from Chu Chen's hands, hung it on a hook nearby, and after carefully studying Chu Chen's expression, asked tentatively, "Big Brother, did you get into another fight with your family?"
"I've never kept those little scraps of family drama a secret from you guys," Chu Chen said casually. "How did the notifications go?"
Blondie immediately straightened up and said respectfully, "Big Brother, the word has been passed down. The guys said they'll notify their own subordinates one by one."
Chu Chen nodded. In his past life, he had been framed by Chu Hao and Luan Mengya working together, betrayed by his own people, and ultimately thrown into prison. All of these underlings had been implicated as well, either arrested or driven into a dead end.
In this life, since he was going to change his own destiny, he would naturally take them along to change theirs too.
Most importantly, Chu Chen also wanted to know which underling had betrayed him in his past life, leading to his arrest and execution.
Though he was grateful to that person for giving him a second chance at life, Chu Chen didn't plan on letting him off the hook, either.
Some scores still needed to be settled, one by one.
"Biaozi, you always have the best ear for news," Chu Chen said, his voice dropping as he looked at a stout underling with a fierce face who didn't look like a college junior at all. "Tell me, what's been moving in the streets lately?"
Zhou Hongbiao, who liked to call himself Savage Biao, was the best fighter among these underlings and the most loyal. In his past life, to avenge Chu Chen, he had three of his fingers chopped off by enemies and ended up permanently disabled.
In this life, Chu Chen would never let such a tragedy happen again.
Zhou Hongbiao scratched his head and said in a muffled voice, "Big Brother, those bastards from the Azure Dragon Gang next door haven't been acting right lately. I heard they've even stretched their hands into our territory."
"The Azure Dragon Gang?" Chu Chen frowned. He vaguely remembered that in his past life, the Azure Dragon Gang was a small gang from the neighboring school that later grew and expanded by swallowing up quite a few factions.
"Their boss, He Wanglong, must have taken the wrong medicine lately. He's acting like a rabid dog, biting whoever he sees," Zhou Hongbiao said with indignation. "They haven't even sorted out the gangs in their own school yet, and they dare to come running over here to act wild. They simply don't take us seriously!"
Chu Chen tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, quickly analyzing the current situation in his mind.
He Wanglong—he had some impression of him. He was a ruthless character who seemed to have been involved in dealing with him in his past life as well.
"Tell me the details. What's going on?"
Zhou Hongbiao immediately spilled everything he had found out in detail, including the Azure Dragon Gang's recent movements, He Wanglong's personality traits, and the strength comparison between their side and his own.
"Big Brother, we can't just let this slide!" another underling said with righteous indignation. "Why don't we just march over there and wipe out those bastards from the Azure Dragon Gang!"
"Yeah, let's screw 'em up!" the other underlings chimed in, their youthful faces full of eager anticipation.
"Big Brother, let's knock the Azure Dragon Gang flat and then take the neighboring school under our wing too!" one underling suggested excitedly, a desire for conquest flashing in his eyes. "The Azure Dragon Gang has a hundred or so people, right? By then, our crew will be even bigger!"
Another underling echoed, "Yeah, yeah! There is strength in numbers, and then we'll be the strongest force in this whole area!"
Chu Chen looked at this group of underlings, feeling both exasperated and amused.
"We're definitely going to fight them," he tapped the desk, a hint of helplessness in his tone. "As for absorbing people, we'll talk about that later."
"Why is that, Big Brother?" the underlings asked, confused. "If we have more people and a bigger force, we can take over more territory..."
"And then?" Chu Chen countered. "Are we just going to keep fighting like this forever? What, are you planning to start your own country?"
The underlings were left speechless by the question, looking at one another in dismay.
"Worrying about the two hundred plus of you is already enough to give me a headache!" Chu Chen rubbed his temples, feeling a wave of a headache coming on. "As for taking in anyone else, let's wait until everyone gets settled down first."
The underlings still didn't quite understand, looking at Chu Chen with puzzled expressions.
"We can't just spend our whole lives going around brawling like this!" Chu Chen sighed, his tone turning serious. "We're in college now. What happens two or three years from now when we graduate? Your parents sent you to school—even if they don't expect you to amount to much, they surely don't want to watch you stray onto the wrong path."
The underlings were completely dumbfounded, utterly failing to understand how Chu Chen had managed to spout such "righteous and lofty" words.
How did they remember it? Wasn't their main gig being street thugs, with college just a side hobby?
"Big Brother, why has your ideological awareness suddenly gotten so high?" one underling couldn't help asking. "Aren't we supposed to be heading down the underworld path?"
*Smack!*
Chu Chen raised his hand and flicked the underling right on the forehead, saying with a mix of exasperation and disappointment, "Underworld path my foot! We need to walk the straight and narrow."
The underling covered his forehead, looking aggrieved.
Seeing that his underlings still didn't understand, Chu Chen knew he had to explain things to them clearly. "How many people who walk the underworld path ever end up with a good ending? When you were young, you watched *Young and Dangerous*, but our general environment is different now, so we have to find another way out."
His tone softened a bit. "Don't worry. Back when you guys first decided to follow me, I promised to lead you to make big money and live the good life. I'm saying the exact same thing now—only the route has changed. I can still lead you toward glory!"
His tone was firm, and his eyes flashed with a confident radiance.
"The route has changed?" The underlings were even more puzzled.
Chu Chen didn't explain directly; he just smiled mysteriously.
Inwardly, though, he let out a quiet sigh.
How could they not change? In just a few years, the crackdown on gangs and crime would become fiercely strict. In his past life, he had also led his underlings to lay low for several years before finally sneaking around to launder their dirty pasts and wash ashore.
"Anyway, you just need to trust me," Chu Chen clapped his hands to draw the underlings' attention back. "Right now, I need you guys to go do something for me."
"Just give the order, Big Brother!" The underlings immediately straightened their backs and answered in unison.
"I want you to go gather intelligence on the Azure Dragon Gang, the more detailed the better," Chu Chen said. "Especially their boss, He Wanglong—I want to know everything about him."
"No problem, leave it to us!" The underlings patted their chests in guarantee.
Chu Chen nodded with satisfaction and watched as the underlings left the dorm.
After the dorm door closed, the smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by a solemn expression.
He walked over to the computer, sat down, turned it on, and began to ponder how he should develop his future.
He knew that since he had been reborn, he could never walk the old path again.
He was going to lead his brothers down a righteous path—a path leading to success!