hooklinebooks Chapter 39 The Lame Tiger
Chapter 39 The Lame Tiger
The middle-aged man left.
Bai Yuze silently chose to follow.
During this period,
The middle-aged man seemed to have sensed something and subconsciously glanced at Bai Yuze, but the latter remained completely unfazed.
They even stared at each other in bewilderment.
Bai Yuze was confident to come alone because normal humans have a knowledge filter and cannot see the Abyss Beast.
Unless the Ashes Gang has magical girls guarding the place.
The middle-aged man glanced in the direction of Bai Yuze a few times, then suddenly asked his henchman beside him:
"What's that Scarface been up to lately? How's he doing with the things I asked him to do?"
The young man in the black jacket pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "It seems that Scarface's progress isn't going very smoothly. I heard from the people over there that all the girls Scarface likes have disappeared, which has made him furious. He seems to be preparing to find someone to take revenge."
"Hmph, good for nothing but causing trouble. He'll die on a woman's belly sooner or later. You keep an eye on him then. You can teach him a lesson, but don't kill or maim the people from Dongqing University, or things will get messy later."
"clear."
Bai Yuze glanced at the middle-aged man in front of him with his pale purple eyes.
Yoho!
He's actually a pretty nice person.
Bai Yuze remained silent, the menacing and terrifying dark blue figure quietly following behind him, like his loyal bodyguard.
......
The glass door at the far end of the third floor opened and closed again. The middle-aged man straightened his collar and strode towards the stairs.
"Where are we?"
"In the backyard, next to the truck."
"How many people?"
"Three. Driving a gray van with the Containment Division's logo."
The middle-aged man paused, his eyes flickering slightly.
Custody Department.
One of the subordinate agencies of the Security Bureau, with a legitimate official status, it holds the right to dispose of all hazardous waste in the entire Holly City, such as the remains of fake humans, the remnants of abyssal beasts, and other things that cannot be exposed to the light.
For local bullies like them, that was someone they couldn't afford to offend.
"Where's the goods?"
"It's already been unloaded and placed in the designated location according to regulations."
The middle-aged man nodded, took a deep breath, and quickly put on a practiced, obsequious expression, as if it had become an instinct.
backyard.
A gray van was parked in the corner, with dark green markings on its side: a triangular logo at the top and the words "Department of Containment" at the bottom.
Three people were standing next to the car.
Two young men in gray overalls leaned against the tailgate, smoking and occasionally exchanging a few words in hushed tones. Another middle-aged man in a dark blue uniform stood next to the driver's seat, holding a tablet and looking at something.
Their work clothes were excessively clean.
The middle-aged man greeted him with a smile, his waist slightly bent, his steps quick and light, like a dog eager to please its master.
"Officers, you've worked hard! You've come all this way, was the journey smooth?"
The three men's eyes fell on him.
But there was no change in his facial expression.
The two young men standing by the car didn't even look at him directly; they just continued smoking, their gazes passing over him and landing on some empty space in the distance.
The middle-aged man in the dark blue uniform raised his eyelids and glanced at him indifferently.
"Lame Tiger?"
"Yes, yes, it is I."
Lame Tiger nodded repeatedly, "Just call me Little Tiger, that's what everyone calls me."
The other party did not respond to this form of address.
He simply waved to the two young men.
The two stubbed out their cigarettes.
He picked up the few silver-white sealed boxes from beside the truck and walked straight to the backyard warehouse.
Lame Tiger's gaze followed the boxes, his smile deepening. The boxes contained the remains of the fake humans and abyssal beasts, which were sources of miasma pollution for others, but for him, they represented wealth and glory.
at this time,
The two young men came out of the warehouse, their sealed boxes empty.
They walked back to the truck, leaned against the tailgate again, and continued smoking, never once glancing at Lame Tiger.
The man in the dark blue uniform glanced down at the tablet, his tone as flat as if he were reading a menu:
"The payment from last week."
Lame Tiger quickly pulled a bulging envelope from his pocket and handed it over with both hands:
"Everything is ready, please make your selection."
The man in the dark blue uniform took the envelope, casually stuffed it into his pocket, and didn't even look at it.
His gaze never fell on the lame tiger's face, but instead swept past him to the windows with lights on deep in the backyard.
"I heard your business has been doing well lately?"
Lame Tiger was taken aback for a moment, then his smile deepened: "Thanks to the commander, thanks to the commander! It's just a small business, enough to make a living."
"Um."
The man in the dark blue uniform withdrew his gaze, turned, and prepared to leave.
"Next Sunday, same time as always."
"Sir, is that all? Would you like to come in for a cup of tea? We may be run-down here, but we still have tea, genuine Maple Leaf District tea..."
"No need, just prepare the money you need."
The man in the dark blue uniform didn't even glance at him, as if he were rejecting a fly.
"Okay, okay, next Sunday, same time, I'll be ready in advance!" Lame Tiger nodded repeatedly at his back, bending even lower.
From beginning to end,
The three men didn't even glance at Lame Tiger.
Lame Tiger stood there, watching the truck slowly drive out of the gate and disappear into the dilapidated streets of Parrot District.
He straightened up.
The smile on his face slowly faded.
"Yuan Chu, send these raw materials to those doctors in white coats and tell them to work overtime to produce the finished products."
The young man in the black jacket nodded, then lowered his voice and asked:
"Tiger, weren't those Containment Bureau employees a bit too..."
"Shut up."
Lame Tiger interrupted him, his gaze still fixed on the direction the truck had disappeared in. "They're the legitimate world, we're the underworld. It's normal for good to triumph over evil, but..."
"In a few years, when our technology matures, we'll be able to launder our money and go ashore. Who knows who will be begging whom then?"
He went from being a penniless hoodlum to becoming the leader of the Ashes Gang.
It wasn't all obtained through flattery.
Bai Yuzhe didn't care about the Ash Gang leader's ambitions. While they were talking, Bai Yuzhe had already toured the small factory inside and out, including the middle-aged man's office.
In general,
The harvest was decent.
Not only did they learn a lot about the production process of "ash", they also learned about the network of relationships behind the Ash Gang, its smuggling channels, and the time and place when the Ash Gang usually shipped goods to other gangs.
With this information, the Ashes Gang will definitely not be able to stay at ease from now on.
at this time,
A commotion arose downstairs.
"Let me in! I'm fucking rich!"
"Get out, we're not open today."
"I know Brother Tiger! Let me see Brother Tiger!"
hoarse voice
With a trembling voice on the verge of collapse.
He's obviously an addict.
For this,
Bai Yuze frowned slightly, but didn't pay attention to the other party. Instead, he turned into a clump of mud and disappeared into the shadows of the lamplight.
Outside the iron gate on the first floor,
A thin young man was clinging tightly to the door frame, trembling like a withered leaf in the wind.
His eyes were sunken, with a murky grayish-white hue characteristic of those who suck dust; drool hung from the corners of his mouth, and his fingernails were full of dirt.
At the entrance,
Two Ash Gang thugs were shoving him out, saying, "We're closed every Sunday, can't you understand human language?"
"I...I really do know Tiger! Last time, I gave you directions on the street, and you gave me a bag of cigarettes and said I could come if I needed anything!"
Upon hearing this, the thug immediately sneered:
"You think you can just give me directions for free? Do you think we're a charity?"
at this time,
The lame tiger's voice came from the stairwell:
"What's all the noise about?"
The thugs immediately fell silent.
The thin young man, as if grasping at a straw, knelt down with a thud and crawled forward on his hands and feet:
"Brother Tiger! Brother Tiger! I'm begging you! Give me a little! Just a little! I have money, I really have money!"
He pulled a handful of crumpled coins from his pocket, which rolled all over the ground, but he didn't bother to pick them up. He just looked up, his eyes filled with longing.
Lame Tiger stood on the steps.
Looking down at him.
That gaze was complex; it contained neither disgust nor sympathy, but rather a scrutiny.
"What's your name?"
"Chi...Chiba...Hayato Chiba."
"Where are you staying?"
"Over there on Eighth Street, in that tenement building, on the third floor..."
Lame Tiger walked down the steps, squatted down in front of him, and his tone suddenly softened:
Who else is in your family?
Hayato Chiba's eyes darted around; clearly, his addiction to gray was eroding his reason. But for that small bag of things, he was willing to say anything:
"Yes, I have a father... who works on a construction site. And I have an older sister..."
"Sister? What do you do?"
"Read, read books... from Holly University..."
The lame tiger's eyes lit up.
The gaze he gave Chiba Hayato was completely different from the one he gave him; it was more like the light of someone who had discovered a top-secret treasure.
"Holly University?"
His voice softened, "What's your sister's name?"
"Chiba...Chiba Yumeyu..."
Lame Tiger stood up, his smile suddenly becoming incredibly bright. He patted Chiba Hayato on the shoulder and said to the thug beside him:
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and help him up! He's one of our own!"
The thug was stunned.
But I did it anyway.
They pulled the trembling young man up from the ground.
Lame Tiger pulled a small bag of ash from his pocket, stuffed it into Chiba Hayato's hand, and patted the back of his hand:
"Here, this is for you. If you need it again, just come find me and tell me your name."
Hayato Chiba clutched the bag of ash, his whole body trembling as if struck by lightning, tears of gratitude welling up in his eyes:
"Thank you, Brother Tiger! Thank you, Brother Tiger!"
Lame Tiger waved his hand with a smile and said to the thugs, "Take him downstairs, get him some food, and treat him well."
When the homeless people around saw the young man being helped inside, they quickly gathered around.
"Brother Tiger, Brother Tiger, I even bought you cigarettes before, can you give me some ash too?"
"Brother Tiger, Brother Tiger, I gave you directions back then too."
......
Lame Tiger didn't look down on them, and instead asked about their families one by one with a smile. But after asking around and learning that there wasn't a single capable person in their family, his face immediately turned cold, and he ordered:
"Send all these people to the funeral home and let them get some rest."
".....yes."
The thugs around him trembled involuntarily when they heard the word "funeral parlor".
Although they haven't been members of the Ashes Gang for long...
However, he had heard of the Funeral Parlor's reputation; they specialized in dealing with tough guys for the Ash Gang and were extremely loyal to Lame Tiger, but there was only one thing about them... that they ate people.
Before the homeless people around them could react to what was happening, they were pushed and shoved by several thugs and led deep into the backyard of the building.
The lame tiger stood still.
He stared blankly at the direction they were being taken away.
At this time,
The young man in the black jacket emerged from the shadows and asked in a low voice, "Tiger, are we really going to provide that kid with free ash from now on?"
"That kid won't smoke much even when he dies; that's called playing the long game. By the way, send someone to find out which construction site that old man Chiba works at, and who his subordinates are. Have Scarface look after him and give him a raise, a bigger wage."
finished,
He turned and walked into the workshop.
The young man in the black jacket quickly followed, asking with some confusion, "Brother Tiger, does this mean... you're trying to recruit him?"
"Join?"
Lame Tiger smiled, looking at the rising sun outside the window, and chuckled softly:
"Why should he join? That kind of good-for-nothing only does drugs and manual labor, what good is he? But his sister is different, she went to Dongqing University, she's a real talent."
"But boss, haven't you already recruited more than a dozen people? Why do you need to...?"
"What do you know?"
Lame Tiger interrupted him.
"I can never have too much talent. I'll take those rejected by Maple Leaf District, I'll take students from Holly University, I'll even take retired Secret Service personnel. I'm not looking for a few thugs, I'm looking for talent! Talented people! People who can do technical work! People who can help me grow the Ash Gang!"
"Although Scarface is a womanizer, there is one thing he does well: he is willing to spend energy on talented people. It would be better if he could be more magnanimous. There is a story in the Xia Federation: Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage three times to invite him."
The young man in the black jacket followed behind him, nodding as if he understood but not quite.
"Have Scarface deal with that old man Chiba personally. Be polite and give him plenty of face. Make him feel that our Ash Gang values loyalty and is trustworthy. Then it will be easier to talk to his daughter."
Lame Tiger patted the young man in the black jacket with a look of "you're a promising student," and said, "Wan Xuewen, you're quick-witted. I'm even thinking of sending you to school."
"Ah, no!"
The young man in the black jacket's face immediately fell. "Boss, if you want me to chop someone up, I'll rush in without hesitation, but asking me to go back to school? That's like asking me to die!"
"Oh, you!"
Lame Tiger glared at the young man in the black jacket, "In this respect, you really are not as good as your brother."
The young man in the black jacket fell silent.
His brother was sent to study at the Dongqing City Defense and Security Academy by Lame Tiger with a lot of money.
later,
It looks like we've entered the Secret Service.