chapter 1 Jinghai Zhou Family

Jinghai Airport.
A commercial plane descended slowly, the gangway connected, and passengers orderly disembarked under the guidance of flight attendants.
Fernando Ye stepped onto the ground, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Seven years away, the air of his hometown tugged at his soul in dreams.
The arrivals area was bustling. A woman with a child on her back walked alongside him. The baby in the basket seemed less than a year old, with a runny nose, blissfully sucking on its fingers.
Fernando didn't recognize the mother and child, but what she cradled in her arms caught his attention.
A square box covered with black cloth—likely an urn. That was ordinary, but a hint of red peeked out from under the black fabric.
"Move aside! Move aside!"
Shouts came from behind.
A group of people escorted a young man in sunglasses who strode purposefully. Pedestrians were pushed aside, their eyes holding anger, yet none dared to speak.
"You blind fool, get lost!" A bodyguard forcefully shoved the woman.
She stumbled and fell to the ground. The baby behind her wailed in fright. The urn fell, the black cloth scattered, revealing a red fabric underneath—a flag with a golden dragon embroidered on it.
"Ugh... What a bad luck!"
The sunglass-wearing man glanced at the urn on the ground with disdain. He spat on it, perfectly hitting the urn with his phlegm.
The woman looked up, then hurriedly lowered her head, biting her lip. She quickly wiped the drool off with her sleeve, inspected from all angles to ensure no damage, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. She put down the basket and comforted the baby inside.
"Stop!"
A cold shout, not loud but filled with anger.
The group halted, and the sunglass-wearing man turned, adjusting his glasses. "Are you talking to me?"
"You! Close the urn, pick it up!" Fernando pointed at him, his tone uncompromising.
People around lowered their heads and quickened their pace, their eyes filled with worry.
Fernando had been away for seven years, so he didn't know the sunglass-wearing man. But the locals did.
He was Axel Zhou, the elder young master of the Zhou Group in Jinghai and the future successor of the Zhou family.
In Jinghai, even the other prominent families hesitated to provoke the Zhou family, especially this arrogant young master. Unexpectedly, he had foolishly initiated trouble.
"Damn, what did you say?" A bodyguard rushed forward and threw a punch at Fernando, displaying some skill.
In Jinghai, no one dared to speak to their elder young master like that.
Seeing the bodyguard make a move, onlookers sneered, observing with cold eyes.
If you wanted to be strong, you had to assess whether you had the capability. Provoking the Zhou family was like seeking trouble, a clash of a fragile egg against an unyielding rock.
The first wind roared toward Fernando, who remained motionless. His right hand lifted lightly and then came down suddenly.
"Bang!"
The bodyguard couldn't even see how the other person made a move. He soared into the air, flew backward for over ten meters, and crashed heavily in the aisle. Blood sprayed out with each breath.
Pedestrians stood frozen in place, their mouths agape in disbelief at the scene before them.
Axel's eyes widened in horror. He was well aware of the quality of the Zhou family's bodyguards. Each one had undergone rigorous selection, and dealing with seven or eight people at once was routine for them.
"Who are you?" Axel trembled with fear. The opponent was terrifying, and his bodyguards had no defense whatsoever.
Ignoring Axel, Fernando, with a solemn expression, bent down, covered the flag once again, tidied up, and handed it to the woman.
He knew its significance when someone used a flag on the urn. The totem on the flag was all too familiar.
Countless times, he had personally handed this item to his family. The heart-wrenching cries still echoed in his ears.
Each of them was a reliance in their parents' hearts, a beloved in their wives' eyes, a hero in their children's minds!
Numerous brave heroes sacrificed themselves, exchanging blood and life for the current peace. Each one was a hero, worthy of being remembered by the world.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, they were subjected to the humiliation of someone like Axel.
"Do you know who is inside this?" Fernando took a step forward, standing out prominently. His sharply defined face was like a carved blade.
"Who is it? Just a dead person, right?" Axel sneered, full of disdain.
Seeing Axel's expression, Fernando's gaze gradually turned cold. "He is a border warrior, defending the land of Huaxia with his life. A hero protecting the people in that area. How dare you insult him? I'll give you a chance. Kneel, bow three times in apology!"
The woman hesitated for a moment, then waved her hand, "No, no need." She whispered, "Thank you, little brother. You've offended someone you shouldn't have. Hurry, go."
Having lived in Jinghai for many years, the woman naturally knew the elder young master of the Zhou family. Offending him meant no peaceful days in the future.
"Me? Kowtow to him? Is he worthy?" Axel showed a look of disdain. He had never knelt or kowtowed in his life, let alone to someone else.
So what if the border warriors were heroes? Just a dead person. The dominance of the Zhou family had long made him fearless.
In recent years, the Zhou family had indeed been powerful in Jinghai. However, in Fernando's eyes, they were nothing more than arrogant upstarts.
"If that's the case..."
Fernando spoke, and an intense killing intent and a terrifying aura of despair burst forth instantly. The people around felt a sudden vibration, as if on the brink of an abyss, finding it difficult to breathe.
"You! You dare to touch me?" Axel naturally sensed the bloodthirsty atmosphere emanating from the other party, feeling a bit scared. He gritted his teeth and continued, "In Jinghai, no one dares to touch me. Zhou family, you'll offend..."
"Bang!"
Before the words could settle, Axel suddenly felt a suffocating sensation, as if his neck were tightly clamped, lifting his entire body off the ground.
Several bodyguards were shocked. They hadn't seen how Fernando made his move. Just a moment ago, there was a distance of over ten meters, and this speed was simply abnormal.
They hesitated, looking at each other, reluctant to approach.
The opponent's speed had already terrified them.
In the face of overwhelming strength, anyone who insisted on resisting was undoubtedly foolish, even suicidal. Their meager monthly wages weren't worth risking their lives for the Zhou family.
"Ugh... Ugh..."
Axel's face turned red from the lack of air. Veins bulged on his forehead, and he struggled desperately, making only muffled sounds.
"Roll over and bow!" Fernando tossed him aside by the neck.
Axel, like a thrown chick, landed over ten meters away, coughing violently on the ground. This was the first time in his life that he had come so close to death, and he was thoroughly frightened.
"Sorry, sorry." Axel knelt on both knees and knocked his head against the urn in the woman's hands with a "thud."
The woman took two steps back, looking shocked and somewhat at a loss.
Onlookers were also dumbfounded. The older young master of the Zhou family in Jinghai was threatened to kneel and bow to someone!?
Pedestrians pulled out their phones one after another. This was sensational news; the click-through rate was bound to be sky-high. In this era of self-media popularity, clicks meant money.
"Who dares to be so bold?"
A roar filled with anger echoed, exuding authority.
In an instant, dozens of people filled the aisle. Uniformly dressed, the elderly man at the forefront had flowing white hair and a face full of anger.
This person was Maxwell Zhou, the patriarch of the Zhou family in Jinghai. He had been waiting at the airport exit to pick up his grandson and hurried over upon receiving a distress call from the bodyguards.
In Jinghai, there were people daring to bully the Zhou family; this was undoubtedly seeking death.
Seeing the aisle blocked by the Zhou family, onlookers retreated one after another, afraid of getting involved.
Even so, their phones were ruthlessly snatched by the Zhou family's bodyguards.
"Smack!"
"Smack! Smack!!"
Without hesitation, phones were forcefully thrown to the ground.
The embarrassment of his grandson being beaten was undoubtedly a shameful incident. If this got out, how would they face the other major families in the future?
People looked at the shattered phones on the ground, but no one dared to resist. They all bowed their heads in silent submission.
Everyone was well aware that if they resisted, it wouldn't be as simple as losing a cell phone.
"Grandpa! Boohoo..."
As soon as Axel saw his grandfather, he, a young man in his twenties, burst into tears, crawling towards Maxwell.
"Did I allow you to leave?" Fernando lightly scolded, his sharp gaze sweeping over Axel, who was crouched on the ground.
Axel looked at Fernando, then turned to his grandfather. "Grandpa, save me! Kill him, quickly kill him!"
"Young man, your courage is commendable, but unfortunately, you've provoked someone you shouldn't have." Maxwell's eyes gradually turned cold. He pointed with two fingers, and dozens of bodyguards behind him surged forward.
Feeling the movement of the bodyguards, Fernando stood firm, calmly asking, "Don't you want to know the reason?"
"The reason? Haha!" Maxwell sneered. "Does an ant like you deserve to know the reason?"
"All you need to know is that by offending my Zhou family, you'll die today! Take him down!"