Traveling back to 1966, starting by living in a cowshed.

Chapter 28 Kun's Fury

Lin Zhou stood at the newspaper office entrance, watching several policemen handcuff the group of bruised and battered thugs and escort them into police cars one by one. These thugs, who had been so arrogant just moments before, were now crestfallen, some clutching their bleeding arms, others rubbing their aching knees, their eyes filled with fear and resentment. The conflict hadn't lasted long; Lin Zhou, with his thirty-odd security personnel, had easily subdued this rabble. After all, these thugs were only acting tough because of their numbers; if they encountered a real opponent, they would be utterly helpless.

"Mr. Lin, are you alright?" A young reporter ran over, still looking shaken, with a bandage on his forehead, where he had been hit by a folder thrown by thugs during the chaos.

Lin Zhou shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic newspaper office before calming down. "Don't panic." He turned to his editor-in-chief, Chen Jingzhi, behind him. The gray-haired editor was currently tenderly stroking the smashed typewriter, his brows furrowed in worry. "Old Chen, thank you for your trouble. Take everyone to assess the damage. List out everything—desks, chairs, equipment, office supplies, and the damaged manuscripts—make a detailed inventory for future use."

"Okay, Mr. Lin, I'll get on it right away." Chen Jingzhi nodded, took a deep breath to suppress his anger, and turned to the newspaper staff, shouting, "Everyone, get moving! First, put away what you can use, register what's damaged, make sure to protect the scene, and get the photographer to take the pictures first."

The employees responded enthusiastically, and the initially chaotic scene gradually became orderly. Some bent down to pick up the scattered documents, some carefully righted the fallen equipment, and others took notes with paper and pen. Everyone's face was filled with indignation. The Zhonghua Daily has always upheld fair reporting, and they never expected to suffer such a disaster.

Lin Zhou didn't participate in the cleanup. He quickly went upstairs to his office. His office was no exception; a large hole had been smashed in the window, and a draft carrying the smell of the sea rushed in, rustling the documents on his desk. He sat down behind his desk, ignoring the dust and minor scratches, picked up the telephone from the floor, checked it for damage, found a number, and dialed.

The call connected quickly, and a gentle, steady voice came through the receiver: "Hello! This is Attorney Zhou."

"Hello, Attorney Zhou, it's been a long time. This is Lin Zhou. I'm sorry to bother you, but something urgent has come up." Lin Zhou's voice carried a hint of fatigue, but more so a firmness. "My newspaper, Zhonghua Daily, was just vandalized by a group of thugs."

"What?" Attorney Zhou on the other end of the phone was taken aback, his tone instantly turning serious. "Mr. Lin, are you alright? Is it serious?"

"I'm fine, and the employees only suffered minor injuries. The main damage was to the newspaper's equipment and offices," Lin Zhou briefly described the situation. "Fortunately, we managed to control the situation in time. The police arrived just now and took those thugs away. I'm calling you now to ask you to handle the subsequent legal matters for the newspaper. We need to sue those thugs and pursue their criminal and civil liabilities. We can't just let this go."

Attorney Zhou is a senior lawyer at Zhonghuan Law Firm. Lin Zhou's security company previously hired him, and the two had a very pleasant working relationship. Attorney Zhou is not only highly professional but also very reliable.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lin, I will definitely handle this matter properly for you." Attorney Zhou agreed without hesitation. "Have your employees compile a list of losses, photos of the scene, and the police's case filing receipt. I'll give them to you when I get there. I'll prepare the lawsuit materials to try to get these people punished as they deserve, and at the same time, strive for the maximum compensation for the newspaper."

"Okay, thank you very much, Attorney Zhou. You've worked hard." Lin Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. With Attorney Zhou's intervention, he felt much more at ease.

"Of course, Mr. Lin. I'll let you know as soon as there's any progress." After hanging up the phone, Lin Zhou leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. He knew very well that these thugs must have been instigated by someone; otherwise, no one would come and vandalize the newspaper office for no reason. The newspaper office had suffered a similar attack before, but that time he managed to resolve the problem using the computer and printer in his spatial storage, preventing the newspaper from ceasing publication. He never expected that just over ten days later, they would return with the same vicious methods as before.

Lin Zhou's eyes gradually sharpened. He vaguely guessed that the Oriental Daily and Sing Tao Evening Post were probably behind this. Lately, the circulation of the Zhonghua Daily had been steadily increasing, especially with the novel *A Step into the Past* nearing its finale, which had seriously threatened the Oriental Daily's position.

Lin Zhou had been inquiring about any recent developments in the newspaper industry. The information he received indicated that Zhou Qiyuan, the editor-in-chief of the Oriental Daily, along with staff from the Sing Tao Evening News and several other newspaper executives, had met several times. His informants said that Zhou Qiyuan was known for his narrow-mindedness and ruthless methods. He suspected Zhou Qiyuan was behind the last vandalism of the newspaper office, but lacked concrete evidence.

Meanwhile, in the fraternity's headquarters bar, in a luxuriously decorated office, the fraternity's leader, Raquin, was raging on the phone.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" Lei Kun slammed his cigar on the ground and stomped on it, his face contorted with rage. "Dozens of brothers went to smash up a small newspaper office, and not only did you fail, you got wiped out, and then the police arrested you all? Have you all lost your minds?!"

A hesitant voice came from the other end of the phone; it was Scarface Chen, the one who led the team to smash the newspaper office: "Brother Kun, I'm sorry, it's my fault. Who knew the people from Zhonghua Daily were so good at fighting, and their boss, Lin Zhou, was too ruthless..."

"Stop making excuses!" Lei Kun roared. "Who the hell told you to vandalize the newspaper office? You've offended reporters, what kind of gang are you? You're just waiting to be exposed, aren't you? Is your brain full of shit?! You've been with me for so many years, and you didn't even tell me about something this big. Am I still the leader of the Brotherhood? What use are you to me?"

Scarface Chen was so frightened he didn't dare breathe, and could only keep apologizing: "Brother Kun, I was wrong, I was really wrong. Please give me another chance, I promise..."

"Opportunity? What's the use of talking about opportunity now?" Lei Kun interrupted him, his tone icy. "Dozens of brothers have been arrested. Even if we can bail them out, it'll cost a fortune and we'll owe a lot of favors. Tell me, how are we going to settle this?"