Chapter 165: Rick Tang Jr, Prison Break, and Star Wars!

Chapter 165: Rick Tang Jr, Prison Break, and Star Wars!

After finally securing a dominant twenty-five percent share of Eurasia's entire Syndicate underworld, I chose to step back and let Tina handle her new domain. If you are wondering exactly what that choice looks like in practice, the reality is quite dramatic.

Tina and Cat have officially dropped out of the University to dedicate themselves entirely to running the Fire Birds on a full-time basis. Tina laid it out for me clearly, explaining that she will handle the heavy business bookkeeping alongside Jenifer, making a collection of four random academic degrees completely pointless for her future. Her role is defined now; Tina will act as the ultimate bad cop and the designated enforcer for our group. This cutthroat territory is what she has truly trained for her entire life, and she even confessed that I was the single, solitary reason she had bothered enrolling in school in the first place.

Consequently, I found myself sitting in our regular Business Management class with only Linda occupying the seat to my left, and Jenifer taking up the space immediately to my right. Jenifer looked absolutely ecstatic about this sudden promotion in our daily seating arrangement, while Linda cast a slightly melancholic look at the empty chairs, missing the chance to rub her superior academic grades right in her rival's face.

Right in the middle of the lecture, my smartphone began to vibrate silently with an incoming call from Lucy. Recognizing the urgency, I held the glowing screen up toward Victoria to silently signal that I needed to step out into the hallway to handle the disruption.

The heavy classroom door clicked shut behind me as I walked a few paces down the quiet corridor and answered the line, greeting her casually, "Hiya there Lucy, what is so important that you are calling during lectures?"

Lucy didn't waste any time on pleasantries, her voice echoing clearly through the speaker, [This call is mainly for Victoria on a critical business and Long family matter. It is currently splashing all over the mainstream news networks, and I want you to be the one to break it to her directly.]

A sudden knot formed in my stomach, prompting me to ask, "Is Vicky alright? Is she in danger?"

[She is in absolutely no physical danger, but she is about to be deeply betrayed in her heart, so that is precisely where you come in to support her, my love.]

I leaned my shoulder against the corridor wall, letting out a sharp breath as I countered, "Alright, let me have it. What did you find?"

[Kimberly had taken an extensive business trip overseas exactly eighteen years ago. While she was stationed there, she reportedly became pregnant and gave birth to her son, Nick Long. Her husband, Rex Long, had been accompanying her on the trip alongside his personal maid, Andrea Yang. Are you following the timeline so far, dear?]

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, mapping out the family tree in my head before replying, "Based on all the stupid daytime soap operas I have been watching with the girls lately, are you trying to tell me that Nick Long is actually the biological son of Andrea, and not Kimberly?"

A melodic laugh rippled through the receiver, [My Rick is such an incredibly good guesser, I will absolutely love you to pieces later tonight as a reward for the right deduction! Yes, Kimberly has spent years hiding her official medical history, and she is in fact a sterile woman, completely incapable of bearing children. Kimberly Long is just as barren as her empty brain, ufufufu.]

I shook my head at her dark amusement, focusing on the tactical fallout as I replied, "As for the loving, we both know I have no choice in the matter and you will just do whatever you want to my body anyway. As for her fertility, what is the actual point here, and what does it have to do with Victoria's standing?"

[Kim cannot produce any genuine heirs for the Long bloodline. That means Nick is only a Long by name, and he is legally barred from becoming the next Head of the Long Clan! By all rights, Kimberly wasn't even supposed to assume the Headship herself due to this exact disqualification. Normally, the next person in line would have been Laura Long, but Kimberly used her political leverage to force her to marry into the Hidden Dragons Syndicate and the Mountain Temple, effectively stripping her of her birthright. So, who does that leave as the next fertile, rightful main branch family Head, my lovely man?]

The pieces of the puzzle slammed together instantly in my mind, making me realize the depth of her planning as I asked, "You knew about this historical mess all along, didn't you? You knew Victoria was the rightful Head of the family, right? And this is the real reason you have been aggressively supporting our relationship, our marriage, and her current pregnancy? Because Victoria is the true Head of Long?"

[Monopoly, kudos, and bingo, my beautiful man! You guessed the entire board perfectly. Now, before you let your mood drop or get angry with me, listen closely to how it happened.]

In all honesty, I wasn't even upset by the revelation, so I simply remained quiet to listen to her explanation. The playful, teasing tone vanished from Lucy's voice, replaced instantly by the icy, ruthless cadence of May Lee.

[That night at the Hospital Ball, my original plan was to simply execute Kimberly Long on the spot. However, I stumbled upon some incredibly interesting financial facts as I dug into her assets. When you were preparing to eliminate her on the night of that first Monk attack, I utilized the chaos to completely ransack her estate, seizing all of her hidden evidence while my operatives had her thoroughly interrogated. I even ran secret DNA tests on everyone involved to confirm my theory. Kimberly is piece of fecal matter who will die the moment she poses a true threat to you. Do you honestly think I would just sit on my hands and do nothing while she plotted?]

The terrifying aura vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and Lucy's voice melted back into her familiar, affectionate purr.

[I cleared Victoria of all alleged crimes against your network, and I found her to be incredibly pleasing to my senses. The moment I realized you were developing genuine feelings for her, I happily played the role of your past-life Cupid to help push things along. Victoria always wanted to know exactly what you liked, so I taught her everything, even down to your deep craving for a Big Burger, which was the one comfort food you and I shared. I want you to eventually own absolutely everything—the four great families, the entire Underworld, the most beautiful lovers on the planet, and most importantly, my heart, fufu. So yes, I gave you exactly what you wanted and needed. Are you mad at your Lucy?]

The sheer scale of her devotion left me exhaling a long, defeated breath, and I answered honestly, "May Lee, thank you. And I love you."

A sharp gasp came through the line, followed by a flurry of embarrassed giggles, [Hmm?! Ah, Rick, please don't say something so incredibly sweet out in the open like that, fufu! You just made my panties damp, fufu. Hah hah hah!]

"All right, Lucy, I am heading back into the classroom. I will see you tonight for some official computer maintenance. Bye."

A short click signaled the end of the call, followed by the dull dial tone bouncing in my ear. I slid the phone back into my pocket, letting out a heavy sigh as I walked back toward the lecture hall. I couldn't help but feel a bit perplexed by my own reaction; her chaotic nature was clearly rubbing off on me, and I was just naturally accepting her crazy mind at this point. Still, she had intentionally cleared the path for me to fall completely in love with Victoria, Mei, and probably the rest of my expanding household to some degree.

The moment the final lecture concluded for the afternoon, I pulled Vicky directly into her private administrative office and locked the heavy door securely behind us. I laid out the entire situation in meticulous detail, maintaining a calm and reassuring tone while placing my hand over her stomach to remind her of the baby growing inside her. The grounding reality of our child instantly made her look much more rational and focused as my explanation unfolded.

I cracked open my laptop on her desk, bringing up the breaking news alerts regarding the escalating scandal. The entire Long estate was completely surrounded by aggressive packs of reporters, and the central government was already launching an official investigation into their fraudulent lineage. Even Victoria's father was currently being aggressively questioned by agents at his retirement community, caught totally flat-footed by the sudden exposure.

Victoria squeezed my fingers tightly, her eyes reflecting a mixture of shock and vulnerability as she asked, "Rick, what do I do? I am a bit confused and deeply hurt by all of this."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her against my chest as I advised, "For now, you do absolutely nothing. Technically, you are not even recognized as a member of the Long clan on their active rosters, at least for the time being. If any rogue reporter manages to corner you with a question, just tell them directly that you were officially kicked out of the family by Kimberly, so they should go ask her. Simple, right?"

She leaned into my warmth, nodding slowly as she countered, "I understand. So, what is going to happen to the future of the Long Clan now?"

I pulled up the specific legal statutes established by the Central Government along with the original treaty binding the four great head clans, pointing at the text as I explained, "Kimberly completely ruined the Long family's standing. Look right here. If the main branch is entirely unable to produce a legitimate heir to take the Headship, the title would normally descend to a side branch to establish a new main lineage. However, because you are still alive and carrying the bloodline, your existence completely voids that possibility unless you explicitly choose to decline the role. If the Long clan reaches a deadlock where they cannot seat you and refuse a side branch, the laws dictate that one of the four sub-branches will be promoted to the new main family, and the Longs will be demoted to a subordinate role."

Victoria's eyes widened slightly as she parsed the legal trap, summarizing, "So a side branch can only step up if I decline the position? And if I am not seated, we are forced to swap places with either the Ben, Sun, Jia, or Yang families to determine the new Guardian of the great four? My father can't step back in to fix this because the rules state he would still have to pass the ultimate succession down to me, even if he somehow fathered another child, right?"

I nodded grimly, scrolling further down the text to show her the full stakes, adding, "Central is already deeply involved in the audit. If any of those four sub-families gets promoted to the main tier, the existing Hidden Dragons Syndicate will be legally disbanded, and a brand-new Syndicate of Azure will be born to replace them. So yes, Kimberly truly face-slapped the entire Long family legacy with her absolute greed, stealing your birthright and removing your name from the registry just to cover up her own sterile medical history."

Vicky rested her head heavily against my shoulder, closing her eyes for a long moment as she processed the massive shift in our political landscape before requesting softly, "I am canceling the rest of my classes for the day. Take me to the Velvet Tower right now, Rick. I need to sit down and formulate our counter-strategy."

"Mei's personal car is parked right down in the private lot, so let's use that to slip away quietly. Let me make a few security calls while we walk."

With our plan set, I focused entirely on supporting my wife through the public storm, knowing full well that I would gladly reward my dedicated lover once we were safely behind closed doors.

A couple of days later, in the quiet hours of April 7th, the clock had drifted just past midnight. Linda and I had just finished a session of slow, gentle lovemaking followed by a warm shower, and we had fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep with her curled tightly in my arms.

A sharp series of knocks suddenly echoed through the dark bedroom, and the door swung open to reveal Mei stepping into the room, instantly waking both Linda and me. We blinked against the dim light, looking completely confused as to why she would be invading our quarters in the middle of the night, prompting her to deliver the news quickly.

"Master, sister Hana's water just broke. She is currently packing her bags for the hospital right now. I assume you will want to come along immediately?"

I sat bolt upright in the bed, my bright-blue eyes flying wide awake as a wave of sudden fatherly panic washed over me, making me blurting out, "I am not prepared for this yet!"

Mei let out a soft chuckle, stepping toward the wardrobe as she directed, "Sister Linda, please go right back to sleep. I will take care of getting Master changed and out the door. The main limo will bring the rest of the women over later in the morning when the timeline is closer to the actual delivery. Now come along, silly Master."

Linda, having already experienced the absolute chaos of hospital deliveries with the twins, simply offered me a warm, encouraging smile before rolling back over to get some much-needed rest for her own baby. Mei quickly handled getting me dressed, taking charge of the situation before escorting me out to the vehicle alongside Hinata, keeping a watchful guard at Hana's side as we began our long, anxious wait for the arrival of Rick Jr.

The hours dragged on until we finally reached around 7:07 PM the following evening inside the bright delivery room.

I held Hana's hand tightly, leaning close to her ear to offer my loud encouragement, shouting, "One last push Hana, my dear! You can absolutely do it!"

Hana threw her head back against the pillows, letting out a strained cry, "Haaaah!"

An instant later, a sharp, healthy wail echoed through the room, "Waaaah!"

The delivering doctor, who happened to be one of Hana's close professional friends from her time working at the hospital, let out a cheerful laugh as she held up the squirming infant, announcing, "Congratulations Dr. Lee, and congratulations Mr. Tang! He is a beautiful, perfectly healthy baby boy. Incredible job, Hana, ha-ha!"

Because of their close working relationship, the entire atmosphere of the birth felt much more informal and relaxed, and my newborn boy officially made his grand entry into this world tonight.

"Thanks for your hard work, my wife," I whispered, leaning over the delivery bed to look down at the bundle. "He is handsome. He might have my eyes and hair, but he definitely has your cuteness, he-he."

While Hana cradled Rick Jr. against her chest, she looked down at his tiny face with a proud, tired smile.

"Now that you, my little troublemaker, are finally out of mommy, I can get back into my normal clothing in a little while," she murmured, her voice filled with a playful purr. "And your daddy can take mommy out driving to reward me for all of this hard work, ufufu."

I could easily tell that Hana was absolutely bursting with pride to be the first mother in our household to deliver a boy. In Eurasia, where the gender ratio was so skewed that only one in three births resulted in a male, having a son made them incredibly special within any family line. Personally, I didn't care about the traditional status symbols; as long as my babies were born completely healthy, that was all that mattered to me.

Two days later, we were all safely back at the mansion. It was a rare, peaceful moment to have the entire household gathered in one place, including Kate and Lucy, who was currently taking her turn to give Rick Tang Jr. his afternoon feeding.

We were hosting a relaxed backyard barbecue to celebrate, and I was stationed outside tending the grill while the women unwound inside watching television.

Mei was standing right by my side helping me flip the meat, and the two of us were just quietly enjoying the pleasant April weather when the glass backdoor slid open with a sharp click.

"Rick, you need to come inside right now and see the news," Victoria called out, her face pale as she gripped the doorframe. "Have one of the assistant maids take over the grill. Come quick."

I traded a sharp look with Mei, nodding instantly as one of our assistant maids stepped in to take the tongs from my hand. Mei and I hurried through the door and straight into the main living room.

The entire space had erupted into instant panic. All of the women had their laptops open, smartphones flashing with notifications, and the massive television screen broadcasting breaking coverage as absolute chaos spilled out into the streets of Star City.

On the main television display, a live field interview was taking place. A breathless reporter was aggressively questioning a man whose face I knew all too well—Alex Renaldo. He was completely covered in grey concrete debris, looking like he had just sprinted headfirst through a burning building. In fact, directly behind his shoulder, the main corporate headquarters of his Floppy-Tech company was actively engulfed in massive sheets of fire.

[Mr. Renaldo, you are claiming it was the radical terrorist faction known as the Southern Cross that launched this coordinated assault on your company?] the reporter shouted over the roar of sirens. [What exactly was their primary objective inside the facility?]

Alex coughed into his hand, shaking his head in a mix of rage and shock as he replied into the microphone, [They breached our security grid and killed many of my good people just to steal a highly classified satellite prototype our company was actively building alongside Victoria Long Inc. It was an orbital defense laser platform code-named Star Wars, designed specifically for shooting down Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.]

[What?!] the anchor back in the main studio gasped as the audio feed cut in. [Audience, I have just received urgent confirmation that the Star City Maximum Security Penitentiary has just been simultaneously attacked while this corporate raid was being committed! Let us switch live to our airborne reporter, Fay!]

The camera feed shifted immediately to a shaky, high-altitude view from a news helicopter hovering directly over the prison complex. The traffic reporter, who just happened to be navigating the airspace near the facility when the breach occurred, was broadcasting real-time footage of massive waves of convicts dressed in black-and-white uniforms pouring out over the smashed gates.

[As you can see, Max, the local police forces are completely outgunned and outnumbered on the ground,] Fay reported frantically over the thrumming roar of the helicopter blades. [The Southern Cross, the Wizards of Oz, and the Mad Hatters have completely combined their militant forces to break out every single prisoner in the facility, and they are actively arming them with military-grade weapons. The local authorities cannot contain this many heavily armed convicts, and a massive national emergency alert is currently being issued across the province!]

A loud, piercing tone echoed from every smartphone in the room simultaneously as the emergency broadcast took over the TV screen: [ALERT: All citizens must take immediate shelter and lock all external doors due to a massive, ongoing prison break. Do not open your doors for anyone other than verified police personnel. Take immediate shelter if you are located in the Northeast sector of Star City! ALERT!]

Seeing the deeply worried and vulnerable expressions spreading across the faces of my women, I stood up from the center of the room and immediately began passing down tactical orders.

"Mary, your primary directive is to protect the children, so you and the rest of the mothers are absolutely not leaving the estate during this crisis. Lucy, please move to my computer room and support our perimeter from the main terminal; I highly suspect these criminals have high-level hackers backing their play. Hinata, you are the only one coming out with me. We are going to clear the streets for a bit. Mei, go to the armory and retrieve my fifty-caliber sniper rifle along with every loaded magazine we have for it. Mercy, help me gear up right now; I am taking the Demon out for this run. Tina, mobilize every active Fire Birds unit for immediate urban combat, and do not let a single person wearing black-and-white uniform lines live."

I could see the immediate protest forming in the eyes of several of my wives, but even Mary clamped her mouth shut, knowing better than to argue when my face shifted into its completely expressionless, lethal mask. I offered them a small, reassuring smile to settle their nerves before turning away. "Don't worry, I am not going to get a single scratch on me," I promised them, my voice smooth and absolute. "I am just going out to whack a few weeds before they have a chance to grow into our private garden. My wives and babies need absolute assurance that the most vile criminals in this city don't make it past our neighborhood blocks. It is now or never. Just watch your husband on the news."

Mercy quickly followed me down the hidden corridor into my personal bodyguard room, standing by my side as I unlocked the heavy biometric safes to gear up. I pulled out a tactical loadout and handed Zoe the specific firearms she would need to secure the mansion's grounds in case the chaos drifted toward our home. Mercy stepped in close, pulling my heavy tactical vest tight against my torso and fastening the straps before patting the front plate with a brave smile.

"This exact strength is the reason I fell in love with you, Rick," she whispered, her eyes locking onto mine. "Just make sure you stay safe for the sake of our newborn son. Now go."

I gave her a quick, firm kiss on the lips, grabbed my primary gear, and ran straight for the underground garage.

Mei was already inside the garage, carefully loading my high-powered sniper rifle into the back seat of the vehicle, securing the fully assembled weapon inside a thick cloth wrap. She turned around to slide my encrypted communications earpiece into my ear, pinning the miniature body camera to my vest for our standard covert operations tracking.

"I will stay behind to protect Lucy and the rest of the girls," she stated seriously, her brown eyes burning with absolute devotion. "Just kill until you are completely satisfied, and remember, you are legally barred from dying before I do."

The moment I slid into the driver's seat of my high-performance Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, the passenger door flew open. Hinata vaulted into the cabin, wearing a sleek, midnight-black shinobi outfit and carrying both her traditional blade and my personal sword across her lap.

She turned her gaze toward me, her jaw set as she announced, "Criminals do not deserve honorable deaths. Master, I will execute the target myself."I let out a heavy sigh, adjusting my grip on the steering wheel as I replied, "Sigh, I really don't want you stepping onto that path, Hinata. I want you to maintain a completely clear heart."

"My heart is only filled with the honor that he actively tainted," she countered instantly, her voice echoing with the ancient authority of her lineage. "This execution is not for you, Sensei, but for the total restoration of my Kyusho clan's honor. Please do not leave your student behind."

VROOOOOOOOM! VVVVRRRROOOOM!

The monstrous engine of the Demon roared to life inside the enclosed garage, vibrating like a caged beast as my cold, emotionless eyes locked onto the exit gate. My voice hit her with absolute authority over the rumble of the exhaust.

"I would be a completely useless teacher if I chose to shelter my best student. Let us go bloody our blades."

SCREEEEECH! SCREEEEECH!

The moment the security garage door cleared the roofline, my heavy performance tires tore onto the asphalt, leaving thick black streaks of rubber on the pavement as I launched the vehicle forward. I pushed the throttle to the floor, weaving us through the incoming traffic at a terrifying, hyper-focused speed that caused several oncoming drivers to lose their breath.

Hinata, feeling the massive, crushing force of the acceleration pinning her body deep into the leather passenger seat, looked sideways at my rigid, expressionless profile and smiled.

My advanced driving skills instantly pushed past their limits, elevating my proficiency from a standard Advanced Driver straight into a legendary Master Driver.