(TL/N: Xu Wenwu is the Mandarin's real name, and since he's Chinese, his name is also written in Chinese, it's not a mistranslation)
A plane marked "Air Force One" landed slowly at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong.
"Sir, we're almost there. You should get ready to disembark," Jiaying, dressed in a sharp and modern flight attendant uniform, gracefully walked over and pressed the call button outside the lounge to remind Josh inside.
Within two minutes, the door opened and Josh, now formally dressed, stepped out.
"Sir, the airport general manager is waiting below. Would you like to meet him?" Jiaying asked as she tidied up his clothes a bit.
Before acquiring Sulawesi, Hong Kong had been Continental Airlines' most important investment area in Asia.
Under Josh's orders, company executives negotiated with the city's governor and bought a large area of land around Kai Tak Airport. They expanded the airport and obtained the rights to operate it. In Josh's previous life, Kai Tak Airport was used from the 1920s to the late 1990s. But due to various problems, it was very small, with only one runway for large planes. That's why it was eventually moved.
But in the mid-1940s, Hong Kong wasn't very crowded. There was still a lot of empty land around the airport, and it was cheap.
So Continental Airlines bought a big chunk of land early on and turned the airport into a larger one with two runways.
They were sure they'd make a profit in the future, whether from operations or rising land values.
Because of this, the airport leaders were also from Continental Airlines—Josh's own people.
"Just send someone else to meet him," Josh said casually.
"Understood," Jiaying nodded without surprise.
Even though the airport manager worked under Josh, he was only a regional manager, far below Josh. A meeting with him wasn't really necessary.
Even if the city governor came, it would still depend on Josh's mood.
But this trip to Hong Kong was a semi-private visit, so it wasn't meant to draw attention.
As they stepped off the plane, a luxury convoy led by Vito was waiting.
"Has the other party arrived?" Josh asked as he got into the car and sat in the front seat.
"They said they'd be here by noon tomorrow," Vito answered immediately.
Josh came to Hong Kong this time for one reason—to meet a very unique person.
An ancient monster who had lived for over a thousand years. A feared figure in the dark world.
The main villain from the movie "Shang-Chi"—father of the main character, Xu Shang-Chi. The man who held the Ten Rings. The founder of the Ten Rings organization.
Xu Wenwu.
But every time Josh thought about him, he also remembered the hidden place from the movie—Ta Lo.
Should he destroy Ta Lo first and take care of the sisters Ying Nan and Ying Li? That way, the unlucky child Shang-Chi would never be born.
The only problem was, Ta Lo was most likely located inside the big eastern country, which made it hard to take action.
While Josh was deep in thought, the convoy had already entered the city.
By 1949, the situation in the eastern country was clear, and many warlords and rich families had fled south. This made the already crowded city of Hong Kong feel even more crowded.
Hearing the shouting outside, Josh didn't feel any sense of closeness—after all, most of the voices outside were speaking different Cantonese dialects, and as someone from the Yangtze River Delta, he couldn't really understand much.
The convoy soon arrived at the Peninsula Hotel near Victoria Harbor.
Like Kai Tak Airport, the Peninsula Hotel had retained its original name, but a few years earlier the Continental Hotel Group had bought it—along with the Ho Man Tin power plant that supplied it with electricity—from the Kadoorie family.
Of course, the Jewish business tycoon wasn't too eager to sell at first.
With his status as a knight and close ties to the British government, most outsiders couldn't easily take anything from this local powerhouse.
Unfortunately for him, this time he ran into the Continental Group—a force so powerful that even the British government had to be careful around it.
As Britain became more and more dependent on the U.S. for its economy and military, a single Jewish business family had no real power to fight back.
So now the full name of the hotel had become the Continental Group Peninsula Hotel. It was not only part of the group's business, but also one of Ouroboros' main bases in Asia.
Of course, since Josh was visiting Hong Kong, he would be staying at his own hotel.
But once he arrived, he didn't stay long. He took Vito and Jiaying for a walk.
After all, this was the closest he'd been to home since he'd traveled to this world.
Still, they didn't go far—just strolled around the Victoria Harbour area.
Although the city was a bit chaotic at the moment, the area around the Peninsula Hotel was clearly a wealthy district. It was busy, but still clean and well maintained.
In this era where social classes were still very strict, poor people weren't even allowed to enter the rich areas of Victoria Harbour. Even wearing clothes that looked too cheap could get you questioned by the police on patrol.
This wasn't unique to Hong Kong. Most large cities were like this in those days.
But not long into their walk, the three of them spotted a well-dressed middle-aged man with a sophisticated look standing not far ahead.
At the sight of the man, Vito's face immediately turned dark.
Josh's expression turned cold as well.
"...So this is what you meant by 'he hasn't arrived yet'?" Josh looked at Vito in obvious displeasure.
"...I'm sorry, boss. I failed to do my job," Vito lowered his head and apologized without making excuses.
"Hmph, forget it. He's a local power here after all. It's normal to be at a disadvantage. But once we return, we need to do some serious cleaning up. I don't want something like this to happen again," Josh said with a sharp tone.
To be honest, things had gone too smoothly. The backing of Hydra had made Ouroboros—and even Josh himself—a little too relaxed and overconfident.
That was a bad sign.
He didn't want Ouroboros to end up like Hydra.
Maybe Xu Wenwu and the Ten Rings—a group even older than Hydra—could teach the newly formed Ouroboros an important lesson.
"Yes, boss. I understand," Vito said with a firm nod.
Although Ouroboros was officially led by Ophelia, not Vito, he was the one Josh had personally assigned to handle this special meeting. This meant that for the time being, Vito was in charge of Ouroboros' operations in Asia.
So now that something had gone wrong, the blame naturally fell on him.
After giving Vito a quick scolding, Josh stepped forward to greet the sophisticated-looking middle-aged man who had appeared before him.
That man was none other than the leader of the Ten Rings, Xu Wenwu—the very person Vito had claimed wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.
Josh recognized him not because they had met before, but because the man had the face of the famous actor Leung. It would be hard not to recognize him.
"Mr. Xu Wenwu, it's an honor to finally meet you," Josh said, extending his hand with a fluent Chinese greeting.
"Hahaha, Mr. Josh Kahn—the legendary banker behind the CIA. I've heard a lot about you, too," Xu Wenwu replied with a calm smile as he shook Josh's hand. "Frankly, your people have set up very tight security. It wasn't easy to get here without alerting them."
As he spoke, Josh could feel the quiet but overwhelming confidence emanating from the man. Clearly, Xu Wenwu wasn't the least bit intimidated by Josh's preparations.
That confidence didn't seem to come from the vast size or reach of the Ten Rings organization. It came from Xu Wenwu's own strength—and the terrifying power of the rings he wore.
However, even though he had casually revealed Josh's role as the real power behind the CIA, Xu Wenwu hadn't mentioned Hydra or Ouroboros at all.
Was it because he didn't know? Or was he just pretending not to know?
Josh couldn't be sure.
"You're thinking too much, Mr. Xu," Josh replied with a smile. "My men should have made things clear. This is a private visit. It has nothing to do with the CIA. As for the security arrangements—well, unused power is wasted power."
"Of course," Xu Wenwu said with a smile. "But I am still curious—how exactly did you find out about me, Mr. Kahn?"
As he spoke, he studied Josh closely.
This was one of the main reasons why Xu Wenwu had agreed to meet him.
There had been whispers about the Ten Rings in the underworld for over a thousand years. But in all those stories, his real name had almost never been mentioned.
That's why in Iron Man 3, when Killian made up a fake leader for the Ten Rings, he named him "Mandarin"—a name which, in Chinese, sounds like a serious title but actually comes from an English word meaning "orange chicken."
The fact that this joke name had spread around the world and become associated with the Ten Rings had seriously annoyed Xu Wenwu.
He definitely didn't like someone turning his legacy into a punchline.
Even though Vito had tracked him down step by step through the Ten Rings' outer network, Xu Wenwu wasn't surprised.
What did surprise him was that Josh had called him by his real name from the beginning.
Josh was well known, and with the Ten Rings' massive intelligence network, Xu Wenwu had certainly heard of him.
But as far as he could recall, they'd never had any contact—so how did Josh know?
As he studied Josh, Xu Wenwu glanced at Jiaying, who was quietly following behind.
"There's a teahouse over there. How about we sit down and have a chat over some tea?" Josh said, not noticing Xu Wenwu's subtle glances as he looked around and pointed to a nearby teahouse. After all, Xu Wenwu was over a thousand years old—he was very good at hiding his thoughts.
"Sure," Xu Wenwu agreed, giving the place a quick glance before nodding.
If this had been the Xu Wenwu of a thousand years ago, he would've pinned Josh to the ground and demanded answers by now. But after living so long, he had developed a patience and self-control beyond that of any noble or tycoon, so he wasn't in a hurry.
The two of them walked slowly to the teahouse without saying much on the way.
It wasn't a fancy place, just an ordinary little restaurant—actually a bit outside the wealthy district. But because it was close to that area, people rarely came here to cause trouble, which meant that business was pretty good.
Still, the customers inside were clearly surprised when they saw the elegant Xu Wenwu and the obviously rich foreigner Josh walk in. They didn't look like the kind of people who would come to a place like this.
Especially since Josh was followed by Vito, who had a bulge on his waist that showed he was obviously carrying a gun, and Jiaying, who was dressed in stylish, eye-catching clothes.
But neither Josh nor Xu Wenwu cared about the stares. They picked a quiet table, sat down, and casually ordered some dim sum and tea—this place didn't have private rooms. (TL/N: Dim sum, a traditional Chinese meal consisting of small plates of dumplings and other snack dishes, is typically enjoyed during brunch and often accompanied by tea)
"So, Mr. Kahn, can you answer my question now?" Xu Wenwu asked, taking a small sip of the tea he was served. He frowned slightly and put down the cup.
The tea wasn't very good—cheap and rough. Xu Wenwu was used to drinking only the finest teas, so it wasn't to his taste. However, he didn't complain and got right to the point.
"The reputation of the Ten Rings once spread all over Eurasia. I think you already know, Mr. Xu, that there are beings other than humans in this world, right?" Josh said as he took a sip. Compared to Xu Wenwu, who had lived in wealth for centuries, Josh wasn't fussy about tea.
"Vampires? Werewolves?" Xu Wenwu guessed, associating Josh's foreign background with those kinds of dark creatures. But if Josh knew his real name, then the creature he'd met must have been a high-ranking one.
"The one from Transylvania," Josh nodded.
Xu Wenwu immediately understood—he was talking about Dracula.
So it was that guy. No wonder Josh knew his name.
Xu Wenwu had also participated in the great war between humans and dark creatures five hundred years ago. He'd even shared a drink with Dracula once.
"How is he?" Xu Wenwu asked casually.
"I don't know. He left Earth a year ago," Josh replied.
"What? Left Earth?" Xu Wenwu was truly surprised this time.
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