Chapter Sixty-One: The Old Foreign Devil and His Daughter

Central, a French restaurant.

Two European-style four-wheeled carriages stopped in front of the restaurant. Hua Shi'er and his mixed-race disciple, Williamson, came out of the restaurant to welcome their guests.

Four white bodyguards stepped down from the first carriage and secured the carriage trailing behind it.

A tall, middle-aged white man in formal evening wear emerged from the second carriage.

Upon seeing Williamson, the white man smiled and nodded first, then turned back and extended his right hand. A pretty and youthful Chinese girl took his hand and stepped down from the carriage.

At this moment, Williamson stepped forward and bowed slightly: "Good evening, Uncle May, Miss Regina."

This middle-aged white man was the guest Hua Shi'er had invited today, Francis Henry May—the Police Captain of Hong Kong in this world, commonly known as Chief May of the Hong Kong Police Force.

Before entering the mission world, Hua Shi'er had reviewed information about the era around 1900 in this world, and a real historical figure named Chief May certainly existed. This person was extraordinary and later even became the Governor of Hong Kong, the only Governor who had ever served as the head of the police force. He was a genuine, high-value connection.

Francis Henry May smiled: "Hey, little Williamson, you've grown up so much in just a few years!"

The Chinese girl also curtsied to Williamson in the aristocratic manner: "Hello, Williamson!"

Williamson stepped aside to reveal Hua Shi'er standing behind him, and introduced them:

"Uncle May, this is my master, Shen Chongyang, and he is the one who invited you to the banquet today!"

Then Williamson said to Hua Shi'er, "Master, I suppose this lady needs no introduction from me. The beautiful young lady beside you is Uncle May's daughter, Regina!"

"Hello, Mr. May!"

Hua Shi'er stepped forward. He had no intention of bowing to a Westerner, so he instead used the handshake greeting that was just beginning to become popular.

The two white bodyguards immediately stepped forward to block him upon seeing this, while Francis Henry May merely glanced at Hua Shi'er with zero intention of shaking his hand, saying indifferently:

"My daughter has been playing tennis with her friends all afternoon, and I believe she must be hungry by now. Let's head inside and discuss whatever business you have!"

"Daddy!"

Being spoken of by her father as being hungry in front of two young men made Regina feel rather self-conscious. A shy expression appeared on her face as she playfully shook Francis Henry May's arm in protest.

Hua Shi'er found this Regina looking somewhat familiar; she seemed to be the high official's daughter from *Project A Part II*. Now that the pieces fit together, she should indeed be Chief May's beloved daughter.

Seeing that the man hadn't shaken his hand, Hua Shi'er wasn't the least bit embarrassed. He smoothly turned his extended hand into a polite gesture of invitation:

"Mr. May, Miss Regina, please come in!"

With a smile on his face, he cursed inwardly, "What an old foreign devil!"

Francis Henry May had his daughter take his arm and walked straight into the restaurant. Unlike the arrogant and rude foreigner, his daughter cast an apologetic nod toward Hua Shi'er before entering.

The four white bodyguards did not follow them into the restaurant, remaining outside to guard the carriages.

Once the father and daughter had entered the restaurant, Hua Shi'er lowered his voice and asked Williamson:

"How come this foreign devil has a Chinese daughter?"

Williamson was left speechless, lines of exasperation crossing his brow:

"Master, I'm mixed-race myself. When you call him a foreign devil, did you even consider my feelings?"

Hua Shi'er chuckled dryly: "We're our own people, how could your master mean you? I was talking about old May!"

Williamson smiled bitterly and shook his head, explaining:

"Regina is in the same situation as me; we're both of mixed heritage. But she takes after her mother, showing no prominent European features, and she grew up right here in Hong Kong. You can essentially think of her as Chinese."

Hua Shi'er nodded and entered the restaurant alongside Williamson.

Williamson had already ordered the meal. Once everyone was seated, the restaurant manager began directing the waiters to serve the courses. The aperitif was French sparkling wine—namely champagne—the appetizer was pan-seared French foie gras, and the main course was coq au vin (red wine-braised chicken).

As each gourmet dish was served, the hosts and guests found their appetites thoroughly stimulated.

Francis Henry May and Williamson chatted and laughed together, paying very little attention to Hua Shi'er, who was footing the bill.

Interestingly, Hua Shi'er paid no attention to him either, content to savor the fine cuisine of this era all by himself.

At first, Regina had merely felt apologetic for her father's arrogance, which was why she kept glancing at Hua Shi'er. However, she noticed that the man seemed entirely unfazed by her father's rudeness, nor did he care about his own somewhat awkward predicament.

It wasn't the indifference born of sycophantic flattery, but rather a genuine casualness, as if he simply didn't care at all.

Furthermore, ever since Hua Shi'er had become a multi-millionaire in his previous world, he had been treated to Western dining on countless occasions. Though not a formal skill, the memory was completely retained, meaning his table manners for French cuisine were impeccably standard, almost as if he possessed an innate aristocratic elegance.

If one ignored his facial features, Regina might have suspected he was a young nobleman from a European royal house.

Having heard about the man's background from her father beforehand, she found this quite intriguing and rare.

Therefore, she decided to do Hua Shi'er a small favor, leaning close to her father and whispering, "Daddy, out of politeness, don't you think you should ask Mr. Shen the purpose of his invitation?"

Once Francis Henry May had finished eating, he used a napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth and then said to Hua Shi'er:

"Shen Chongyang, right? Since little Williamson brought you to me, I'll give him some face. State your purpose!"

Hua Shi'er also put down his cutlery, similarly wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then said with a smile:

"Chief May, I'm sure you must have investigated my background beforehand. Technically speaking, I'm still your subordinate—a Chinese patrolman in the Central District, as well as a three-time consecutive champion of the police force martial arts tournament. I heard the police training school intends to introduce a combat training course. I believe I am fully qualified to shoulder the duties of instructor for that course."

A trace of a smile appeared at the corner of Francis Henry May's mouth—not a polite smile, but a contemptuous smirk born of amusement.

"Shen Chongyang, I know you!"

"I also know that you recently opened a martial arts gym and caused quite a ridiculous stir. The Chinese-language newspaper *The Chinese Times* even ran a commentary calling you a sensationalist!"

"As your superior, I expect you to abide by police discipline and refrain from stirring up so much trouble, even during your off-duty hours!"

"As for the instructor position at the police training school, Deputy Superintendent Qi of the Police Department has already recommended Officer Hong Tianci, who has just returned from training at Scotland Yard. I trust that the boxing he learned in our glorious British Empire is far more useful than those sensationalist kung fu tricks of yours!"

As mentioned earlier, in the Hong Kong police force, a "Deputy Superintendent" (Bangban) equates to an Inspector. Currently, there were three Chinese Inspectors in the force: the two land police inspectors, Inspector Qi and Inspector Smith, and the water police inspector, Inspector Shi, who was Ma Ruhong's immediate superior.

The reason Hua Shi'er coveted the position of combat instructor at the police training school was because instructors held the rank of probationary inspector, and barring accidents, promotion to full inspector was virtually guaranteed. As long as he could become the combat instructor at the police training school, it would undoubtedly serve as a magnificent shortcut to advancement within the police hierarchy.

Hearing Francis Henry May flatly refuse didn't surprise Hua Shi'er in the slightest. What did cause him to frown slightly, however, was the other man's distinctly unfriendly attitude toward him.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a faint smile:

"Chief May, don't be in such a hurry to refuse. That boxing you mentioned is, I dare say, vastly inferior to our Chinese martial arts. Besides, I believe that in this world, everything has its price, including this instructor position. Am I right?"

Are you kidding? The foreign devils of this era were practically robbing people in broad daylight; let alone police positions, plenty of municipal posts were openly priced this year. Hua Shi'er had asked Williamson to help arrange this meeting with Chief May, the head of the police force, precisely because he wanted to spend some money to secure the promotion in one single step and avoid the tedious trouble of climbing the ranks tier by tier.

Sure enough, seeing that Hua Shi'er understood the "rules of the game," a trace of an imperceptible smile replaced the arrogant expression on Francis Henry May's face.

Unexpectedly, however, Regina—who had previously felt somewhat interested in Hua Shi'er—now wore an expression of disgust and said to Francis Henry May beside her:

"Daddy, I'm a bit tired. Let's leave right now!"

Francis Henry May shrugged at Williamson: "I'm sorry, I need to take my daughter back. As for this matter... I apologize, but I've already promised Deputy Superintendent Qi. Let's leave it at that!"

With that, he stood up, nodded to Hua Shi'er and Williamson, and led his daughter toward the exit.

Williamson stood up to see them off, while Hua Shi'er remained seated with no intention of bidding them farewell, continuing to eat instead. This meal was exorbitantly expensive and paid for with his hard-earned money—it would be a waste not to eat it. As for the instructor position, he had already dismissed the thought; judging by the old foreign devil's attitude, it was clear someone else had obviously spent money there as well. He would just have to think of another way later.

Williamson escorted Francis Henry May and his daughter to the door, and once the two of them boarded the carriage, he turned back to Hua Shi'er and apologized:

"I'm really sorry, Master. I had no idea Uncle May would bring Regina along; she despises these kinds of transactional favors the most!"

Hua Shi'er shook his head indifferently: "No worries. When one path is blocked, there are others. Come on, eat!"

With that, he snapped his fingers at a waiter, ordering two lobsters—one for each disciple and master.

Bang! Bang! Bang! ......

A burst of intense gunfire erupted from outside the restaurant. Hua Shi'er and Williamson turned their heads to look, and through the restaurant glass, they saw the two carriages that had just turned around being ambushed. Several horses had already been shot and had overturned onto the ground, dragging the carriage bodies down with them.

Among Francis Henry May's four bodyguards, two had already collapsed in pools of blood.

The remaining two bodyguards were firing back while desperately pulling Francis Henry May out of the overturned carriage, scrambling to rush back inside the restaurant.

Meanwhile, Francis Henry May was shouting at the top of his lungs: "Regina! My Regina is still outside!"