In the 1990s, Chen Xudong left the countryside of Hunan for an electronics factory in Guangdong, where he worked on an assembly line and was bullied by coworkers demanding protection money. Chen Xudong fought back with all his might and took Xiao Ma and Xiao Liu under his wing. Seizing opportunities as they came, he founded the gang known as the Xudong Society. After several pivotal battles, the Xudong Society established itself in the industrial district north of the city, setting Chen Xudong on a one-way road into the criminal underworld.
