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墨書 Inktalez
Zhong Kui's Diary
One of the Horse-Faced Men pointed at us, his face full of anger.
Oh no, this guy is the Motorcycle Driver I slapped earlier today. How could I forget about that?
In addition to the Horse-Faced Man, there were five other Muscular Men, all bare-chested with tattoos of dragons and tigers, crew cuts, and thick gold chains, looking every bit like a Mafia.
"Shitou, you can't be mistaken, right?" The leader, a big guy with a tattoo of an Azure Dragon on his left chest, coldly stared at us.
"That's right, Brother Long! It's them!" Shitou's horse-like face twisted in anger, looking particularly ferocious.
Seeing Brother Long about to wave his hand to signal the big men to attack, I quickly stood up and smiled at Brother Long, saying, "Misunderstanding! Absolutely a misunderstanding! Brother Long, right? Can we talk over there?"
Brother Long first looked at me with disdain, then gradually shifted to surprise, followed by fear and anger, and finally forced a smile as if he understood: "Yes, yes, it could be a misunderstanding. You all sit down; I'll talk to this brother over there."
Clearly, I had drawn my gun once again.
The big men beside him showed expressions of indifference. They surely had guns too; in a chaotic environment like Sun City, every gang would have firearms to some extent. Shotguns, replica guns, air guns—there were plenty around. They didn't seem particularly surprised when I pulled out my weapon; instead, they looked somewhat annoyed. Well deserved! Who told you not to carry a gun while having late-night snacks?
I didn't want to complicate things further. I called Brother Long aside and explained the whole situation clearly again, emphasizing that we meant no offense. Brother Long nodded with a smile and repeatedly said, "I understand; it's just a misunderstanding." However, from his cunning eyes, I could tell he definitely didn't want to let this go easily. As long as I put my gun away, he would surely strike back.
"Actually, we're from the Iron Blood Gang!" Finally, I patted Brother Long on the shoulder.
"The Iron Blood Gang was wiped out last night along with the Red Wolf Hall, wasn't it?" Brother Long looked at me suspiciously.
"We're the remnants... cough! We came back from out of town to support!" I chuckled.
"Are you being followed?" Brother Long squinted at me, and even though his eyes were nearly closed, I could still see the glimmer in his gaze.
"Yeah! I just had a fight with someone from the Underworld at the Foreign Trade Hotel!" I pointed to the bruise on my arm, which was a mark left from blocking Wang Chuan's attack.
"The Underworld?" Brother Long exclaimed softly.
"What’s wrong?" I was surprised to see Brother Long react this way. Isn't the Underworld a fictional organization?
"The Underworld is looking for you too?" Brother Long's tone suddenly became urgent.
"Are you saying the Underworld has also come after you?" I asked in shock.
Under Brother Long's questioning, I recounted what happened at the Foreign Trade Hotel. After listening, he gasped and shared everything he knew in detail.
Brother Long is the third in command of Lion's Hall. There are three leaders in Lion's Hall: the first is Zhou Yaodong, the second is Liu Jinhang, and the third is Chen Weilong. Each leader has over ten brothers under them. This gang, like Iron Blood Gang and Red Wolf Hall, is considered a medium-sized gang in Sun City.
The power dynamics in Sun City are clearly divided, but that doesn't mean there are no allies among them. Lion's Hall and Red Wolf Hall have a relatively decent alliance. However, due to the strict prohibitions from their leader Zhou Yaodong, Lion's Hall did not get involved in the disputes between Red Wolf Hall and Iron Blood Gang.
In last night's battle, Red Wolf Hall was nearly wiped out, with only one Vice Hall Master and three members remaining. Earlier today, an incident similar to what happened at the Foreign Trade Hotel occurred: a handsome man led a group to take over Red Wolf Hall's headquarters, Eastern Club. The Vice Hall Master was severely injured on the spot, and the other three members were also badly hurt.
When Chen Weilong rushed over after hearing the news, the Vice Hall Master had already bled to death after explaining what had happened to him. Meanwhile, Eastern Club was completely deserted; it seemed that the handsome man took over Eastern Club just to drive everyone away.
"This won't do; I need to report this to the boss. Brother, leave me your number, and I'll contact you if anything comes up! Let me treat you to a pole dance show; it's a specialty of Sun City. The only fabric on the girls is their short socks! In Sun City, I'm a VIP at any place that has pole dancing; I can watch up close. Hahaha." Chen Weilong patted my shoulder and laughed heartily. His laughter indicated that our previous conflict was now resolved, and I felt relieved as I put away my gun.
While Chen Weilong called his boss, I also made a call to Tian Zhiyong to ask about Xiao Yuan's situation and informed him about Chen Weilong's matter as well.
Tian Zhiyong was mumbling something to someone over there and asked me to hurry to the People's Hospital, as Boss Xiao wanted to see me. Oh, Xiao Yuan's condition is pretty good; he woke up so quickly.
After exchanging phone numbers with Chen Weilong, Fatty and I took our leave and headed to the People's Hospital to find Tian Zhiyong. After asking about the situation, Tian Zhiyong led us to a hospital room and opened the door for us to enter.
Upon entering the room, we saw a Round-Faced Man lying on the bed, completely wrapped in bandages. When he saw us come in, the Round-Faced Man managed a weak smile, and I immediately thought of a big-faced Garfield.
No wonder people called him "Baozi" (steamed bun); if that face shape isn't called Baozi, it would be a huge loss for nicknames.
Tian Zhiyong closed the door behind him but did not enter. Fatty and I exchanged glances, and I cleared my throat: "Bao... Boss Xiao, can you talk?"
Xiao Yuan grinned: "I'm okay!"
I didn't hold back and directly explained our purpose for coming. I added at the end: "I can buy that Fire Spirit Pearl from you, or you can propose other conditions; I'll do what I can!"
Ever since I merged with the four pages of the Book of Life and Death, Lou Wei treated me like Doraemon from the series. He took on the role of Doraemon himself, always thinking of ways to fulfill my requests whenever I made one. So my words to Xiao Yuan weren't deceiving him.
Xiao Yuan chuckled softly: "What if I ask for one billion euros? Would you want me to change my request?"
I smiled but remained silent. I knew he was joking; although it was a joke, it was also a psychological tactic—starting with an outrageous demand knowing I couldn't meet it, then retreating to propose another request that would be his actual goal.
Xiao Yuan cleared his throat: "I understand today's situation. I can give you the Fire Spirit Pearl, but you need to help me defend my territory and prevent the Underworld from taking over my headquarters!"
"How about we stick with one billion euros? Can we lower it a bit? I currently have one hundred thousand RMB." I quickly changed the subject. Damn it! You want me to single-handedly defend your headquarters? They could send just one Wang Chuan, and I'd be in trouble. According to Chen Weilong's information, there's another thug similar to Wang Chuan over at Red Wolf Hall; if both came at me together, I'd be done for even faster.
"Then you guys should head back; I'm going to sleep!" Xiao Yuan closed his eyes, looking as if he was ready to give up.
"Dammit, can't we change the conditions?" I gritted my teeth.
Xiao Yuan remained silent, but his eyes moved left and right a few times to indicate refusal.
"Alright, I agree to your terms." I forced a smile at Fatty, who also shrugged with a bitter smile. We could see a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes; this guy had us cornered.
"Okay, three, at most three hours, and countless reinforcements will appear on the horizon." Xiao Yuan opened his eyes, wearing a smile reminiscent of Maitreya: "At that time, no matter what the situation is, I will give you the Fire Spirit Pearl."
"Great, it's settled then. Come on, give me five, let's high-five!"
"How about a foot five?"
……
Back at the Foreign Trade Hotel, the Receptionist looked at us with disdain: "So you're coming back soon? What about the Chicken Wings?"
Chicken Wings? Damn it, we're going to lose credibility. But it's Fatty who will lose credibility, not me. I turned my gaze to Fatty, who was seriously rambling: "You know what? When I was having a late-night snack earlier, I asked for a receipt with a scratch-off lottery ticket. I scratched it off and guess what? I won first prize—a real leather sofa set..."
Seeing that Fatty was getting carried away with his story, I couldn't be bothered and went upstairs to rest.
When I woke up, it was already ten in the morning. Fatty still hadn't returned, which surprised me. Could it be that he had become so charming all of a sudden? Did that Receptionist really go off with him?
I picked up my phone to call Fatty, but it prompted that the phone was off. It seemed he was indeed busy; he only turned off his phone when he was doing something like this.
After freshening up, I walked down to the lobby where the front desk had been taken over by Zhao Ting. Upon seeing me, Zhao Ting smiled brightly: "Good morning, Zheng Nan!”
"Uh, you can just call me Ghost Brother or Zheng Nan!" I smiled as I walked up to her.
"Zheng Nan? Ghost Brother? What's the connection?" Zhao Ting looked at me in confusion.
"Haha, it's like this. In ancient times, there was a ghost catcher named Zhong Kui, you know?" I stretched out my palm, curling my fingers as if grabbing something.
"Yeah!" Zhao Ting nodded.
"Ancient people's names often have a character. For example, Guan Yu's name is Yun Chang, Liu Bei's name is Xuande, and Zhong Kui's name is Zheng Nan. My name is Zhong Zhengnan, so my friends in the field jokingly call me Zhong Kui!" I explained with a laugh.
"Zhong Kui catches ghosts, so he's the big brother of ghosts? That's why others call you Ghost Brother?" Zhao Ting asked, puzzled.
"Haha, it's not quite like that. It's because the character 'Kui' is often pronounced as 'Ghost' by many people!" I laughed heartily.
Zhao Ting paused for a moment before bursting into laughter: "So that's how it is."
"By the way, how many of you are on shift?" I casually asked.
"There are three people in two shifts, rotating between morning and evening." Zhao Ting organized her stationery and looked up at me: "Oh, where's Fat Brother?"
"You didn't see him this morning?" A sudden jolt ran through my mind. I guessed that Fatty must have gone to take over after the beautiful colleague from last night’s shift. How could Zhao Ting not have seen him?
"No, when I was handing over with Zhou Li in the morning, there was no one else in the lobby!" Zhao Ting looked at me in surprise.
Motherfucker, did that guy sneak off to Health Treatment in the middle of the night?
"Is there no health treatment or massage in the hotel?"
"Only the karaoke rooms, but they are all closed now because of some incidents!"
Hearing Zhao Ting say this, my unease intensified. I quickly asked Zhao Ting for Zhou Li's number, and without caring whether she was resting or not, I dialed it directly. Fortunately, the phone wasn't turned off; it just took a while for someone to pick up. After several attempts, an angry voice came through: "Who is this?"
I explained the situation and asked, "When did Fatty go upstairs?"
Zhou Li on the other end paused, seemingly trying to gather her thoughts. Finally, she said, "He went to help me buy chicken wings after chatting for about half an hour, then he left. At that time, a customer needed a room, so I didn't pay much attention to him. Later, when I noticed he hadn't come back, I thought he had gone upstairs!"
After hanging up, I felt anxious. Could it be that he got into a conflict with Chen Weilong at the late-night food stall? Given Fatty's personality, that was quite possible. Just as I was about to dial Chen Weilong's number, my phone rang. Looking at the number, I realized it was the one Amin had given me—the mysterious person's phone.
When I answered, a very charismatic male voice said, "Hello, is this Zhong Zhengnan?"
"That's me!"
"I caught a Fatty last night; he seems to have a good relationship with you. Do you have anything you want to say to him?" The magnetic voice spoke lightly, as if telling a bedtime story to a child.
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