A heavy silence descended upon the grand hall, the weight of Zhang Wenlan's words seeming to bear down upon those assembled with a suffocating intensity. Each crime lord processed the implications of his words, their minds racing with the potential consequences – and rewards – that such a daring move would entail.
It was Chen Jingfei, the cunning scion of the Chen family, who broke the silence this time. His eyes burned with a primal intensity as he regarded Zhang Wenlan with a scrutiny that sent a shiver racing down the spines of those assembled.
"You speak of open defiance against the masked kingpin," he murmured, his voice laced with a deadly promise that seemed to hang in the air like a shroud. "But do you truly believe that we have the resources, the manpower, to withstand the retribution that would inevitably come raining down upon us?"
