RED DRAGONS TONG (Chendiuria Chapter)

Internal BuCol Intelligence Division Brief — FI-7 CLASSIFICATION (RESTRICTED)

File Code: BUCOL/INT/CHEN-ORG/RD-01
Primary Subject: Red Dragons Tong (Chendiuria Chapter)

Current Matriarch: Zoya Mbeki Wei
Estimated Membership (Chendiuria Only): ~31,500 active members
Influence Level: Dominant Syndicate — Total Sphere Penetration

1. ORIGIN & HISTORY

1.1 Old Earth Roots — Macau, Old Earth (Mid 1900s)

The Red Dragons trace their ancestry to the Triad diaspora in Macau, originally a splinter faction formed after the 2097 CE People's Republic of China crackdowns.

While initially small, they adapted faster than older Triads to:

• cyber-currency laundering
• biotech contraband
• gambling automation
• early orbital trafficking

Their motto originates from this era:

“Loyalty Before Breath.”

1.2 Migration to Mars (2200s)

As Earth destabilized during the early Machine War tensions, the Red Dragons evacuated key family lines to Mars, embedding themselves in:

• hydroponics black markets
• fusion-refinery labor rackets
• illegal VR dens in New Cydonia

They grew substantially during the chaos preceding Machine War I (MWI) by selling protection to unaugmented workers who feared automated replacement.

1.3 Galactic Spread (2300s–2330s)

By leveraging:

• smuggling lanes
• off-world nanotech
• lunar crucible-metals
• the massive migration waves after MWI

The Red Dragons seeded chapters throughout the explored galaxy. With the stargate network, expansion is expected to be exponential.
Chendiuria, though originally overlooked, became their prized crown jewel within fifty years.

2. RISE OF Zoya Mbeki Wei

Name: Zoya Mbeki Wei

Age: ~61 (looks 40 because of aggressive rejuvenation protocols)

Augments:

• Subdermal armored weft
• Augmented endocrine dampers (for cold emotional control)
• Quantum-encrypted neural lace (Tong-only mod)
• Dual-vision IOLs with facial micro expression analysis

Origin:

Born in the Martian Tharsis Free Zones, Zoya was the first man to climb the tong hierarchy without a sponsor or marriage tie.

He was known as:

• a prodigy in tong logistics
• a terrifyingly precise strategist
• the architect behind the “Red Silk Consolidation” that unified the scattered Chendiurian Red Dragon splinter groups under one banner

Under Zoya’s leadership, the Red Dragons have become Chendiuria’s most powerful criminal enterprise—larger than the Tong of the Iron Orchid, richer than the Basalt Cartel, and more entrenched than the independent syndicates.

He rules through:

• debts
• honor
• mathematical violence
• immaculate reputation for keeping promises

3. HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE (CHENDIURIA BRANCH)

TOTAL ESTIMATED MEMBERSHIP: ~131,500 (Not including allied crews or dependents)

TIER 1 — INNER DRAGON COUNCIL (“The Five Flames”)

Members: 5

• Zoya Mbeki Wei (Patriarch)
• three Bloodline Elders
• one “Cold Flame” — a non-blood outsider elevated solely on merit

Role:

Strategic decisions, alliances, assassinations, war declarations, interplanetary expansion.

TIER 2 — RED JADE MINISTERS

Members: 14

Overseers for major sectors:

• narcotics
• cybernetics
• prostitution and companionship guilds
• trafficking
• gambling
• debt markets
• heavy protection
• weapons trade
• corporate infiltration
• blackmail networks
• biotech research
• artifact trade
• star gate smuggling (developing sector)
• political influence

Each Minister commands 3–6 Prefects.

TIER 3 — PREFECTS (“Red Claws”)

Members: ~75

District commanders who oversee entire neighborhoods, sectors, or industries.

Typical Prefect commands 150–700 soldiers.

TIER 4 — CLOUD SOLDIERS (“Yún-Bīng”)

Members: ~7,500

Street-level enforcers, smugglers, escorts, net-runners, data-runners, extortion specialists.

TIER 5 — GHOSTS (“Guǐ-Rén”)

Members: ~20,000

Unaffiliated contractors, debt-bonded labor, gray-zone allies.

They do the dirty work, from body disposal to courier duty to infiltration.

4. INCOME SOURCES

The Red Dragons dominate nearly every illicit (and half the “legitimate”) economy on Chendiuria.

Major Revenue Streams

Narcotics (42% of revenue)

• Blue Lotus Elixir competitors
• psychoactive powders and inhalants
• designer empathy drugs
• long-shift industrial amphetamines
• hyperfocus nanite blends
• “ghost dream” neuro-VR dens

Unlike the Iron Orchid (who focus on guided rituals), the Dragons focus on volume and distribution networks.

Prostitution and Companionship Guilds (11%)

Well-regulated, highly taxed, surprisingly safe, often preferred over independent operators.

They offer:

• augmented companions (on Chendiuria over 90% of prostitutes have augments)
• non-augmented companions (can carry a premium price for their uniqueness)
• emotional surrogates
• submissive/dominant role and other role-play specialists
• empathic linkers (illegal on many worlds but legal on Chendiuria)

Gambling (10%)

• Pachinko dens*
• VR and Interactive VR (IVR) casinos
• underground dueling arenas
• gene-roulette pits

Protection Rackets (8%)

The Red Dragons offer “insurance”:

• fire protection
• anti-theft
• anti-extortion
• anti-street-crew coverage

If you’re not paying the Dragons, you’re paying someone weaker.

Star Gate Smuggling (14%)

Rapidly becoming their most profitable off world venture:

• rare metals
• biotech seeds
• xeno-artifacts (rumored)
• illegal nanites
• NARs (rare but enormously profitable)
• cloned organs and augment components

Information & Blackmail Markets (6%)

They run:

• loyalty databases
• memory leaks
• VR extortion
• clerical fraud rings
• holo-shadowing

Corporate Infiltration (5%)

Best-known silent service placing Dragon sleepers in companies, research labs, or political offices.

Miscellaneous (4%)

• cargo theft
• counterfeit grav plates
• forged permits
• water rights manipulation

5. MOTTOS AND CULTURE

Mottos:

“Loyalty Before Breath.”

“Honor in Blood. Power in Silence.”

Secondary expressions include:

• “A Dragon bends, never breaks.”
• “The fire waits.”
• “Every debt is a chain.”

The tong culture emphasizes:

• multi-generational loyalty
• calculated violence
• elegant cruelty
• subtle social control
• personal obligations

And most importantly:

Once your debt is sealed in Red, your life is not your own.

6. KEY TRADITIONS

The Red Ink Oath (Chendiurian Variant)

New initiates sign their oath in a mixture of:

• their own blood
• red lotus dye
• powdered Ruthenium

Symbolizing:

“life pledged, beauty stained, metal unyielding.”

The Jade Oracle

A semi-mythical figure—rumored AI, rumored augmented human, rumored ritual mask—provides predictions, economic forecasts, and strategic insight to Zoya’s Five Flames.

The Seven Silks

Elite enforcers (approx. 35 individuals total) who serve as:

• bodyguards
• assassins
• hostage extractors
• ritual executioners

Recognizable by their black-silk coats lined in red.

7. TERRITORY AND OPERATIONS ON CHENDIURIA

The Red Dragons control:

• First City’s industrial under levels
• the Night Market rings
• the old, abandoned monorail tunnels
• six major districts around the Central Spire
• a majority of black-market imports

Their strongholds include:

• The Vermilion House (administrative center)
• The Ruthenium Pagoda (ritual and execution hall)
• Seven Streets of Silk (high-end businesses)
• Iron Dog Warrens (low-end vertical slum, violent, unregulated)
• The Ember Vault (illegal bio- and cybertech repository)

8. RELATIONSHIP TO ADI

Adi’s Status, in regards to the Red Dragons:

• Known
• Watched
• Not owned
• Not trusted
• Not crossed lightly

The Dragons view her as:

• exceptionally dangerous
• incorruptible
• unpredictable
• too principled to recruit
• too powerful to antagonize casually

Zoya Mbeki Wei views Adi as:

“A storm you cannot leash. But you can watch its direction.”

Adi has never worked for them, but she’s killed people who did.

9. DIRECTORATE COMMENT

“The Iron Orchid owns the spirit.
The Basalt Cartel owns the ground.
But the Red Dragons…
They own everything else.”

— R. Jao, BuCol Intelligence Analyst