章 26: Chapter 26: Slay the Prophet
"Arbiter" Chak, the southern city's most powerful boss, a gangster patriarch.
A refined brown suit, a thick tweed overcoat, a low-domed hat pressed down tightly, a thick, burly beard... Despite not being very tall, his arms were muscular enough, and his facial features were as sharply cut as a knife and as profound as a wolf's gaze—his demeanor as steady as a mountain.
This chairman of the "Steel Cross Society" fulfilled all the images of a gang boss that Su Lun had imagined.
...
Seeing the chairman approaching, a chorus of society members greeted, "Chairman!"
"You all have worked hard."
Chak nodded to everyone, then turned his attention to the unconscious captive on the ground.
By his side, Thousand Threads took the initiative to explain: "This guy tried to kill himself after realizing he couldn't escape, but I stopped him. He looks unfamiliar; he must be a mercenary from the north of the city."
In Old Lington's outer city, three major gangs dominated the east, west, and south districts. The north district, being close to the inner city, was still managed by the city's security forces; no major gang could reach there.
As a buffer zone between the slums and the inner city district, the north district's forces were complex and gathered various neutral organizations such as the "Mercenary Guild," the "Alchemist Guild," the "Wilderness Hunter Guild," and the "Professionals Guild"...
Apart from the three major gangs, the majority of the "professionals" in the outer city mingled in the north, where there were also many experts.
And it seemed that the people who attacked the Cross Society headquarters this time were mercenaries from the north district.
Hearing this, Chak thought for a moment and nodded, "Hmm."
He went on to say indifferently, "These guys used a black scythe to break open the vault door before; it must be the same 'sealing item' that could break anything, the 'Night Black Scythe of Xiupunos', which appeared in the inner city auction a few years ago."
At this revelation, several captains furrowed their brows slightly, but they also seemed to realize something.
Indeed, only that sealed item could have breached the vault door in such a short time.
At this moment, Chak spoke with a serious frown, "A 'sealing item' cannot be put into a storage ring, the target is quite large. The people may leave, but we absolutely cannot let the item leave the south city! Notify the brothers to immediately block off the district; we can't let the person escape."
The group of captains responded in unison, "Yes, Chairman!"
....
Green Street's support team initially had no right to hear these high-level gang decisions, but because they arrived too early, they just happened to be in front of this headquarters building.
Hearing Chairman Chak's command, they immediately took action, preparing to return to Green Street to set up defenses.
The motorcycles started, turning around to leave.
At that moment, Thousand Threads seemed to remember something and threw the unconscious captive onto one of the open-top motorcycles, saying, "Kai, take this guy to the interrogation place."
"Okay!"
Kai nodded, signaling a few men to tie up the captive.
The gang's interrogation location was just three blocks away, conveniently on the way.
After Green Street's people left, several captains also departed, each heading to their own patrol district.
Chairman Chak alone remained standing there, his gaze deep as he looked toward the fog-enshrouded district afar, seemingly lost in thought.
Shortly after, a middle-aged man with a cigarette in his mouth came over and reported, "Chairman, the investigation is clear now. Of the seven people who entered the vault, we killed four and captured one. The 'item' is lost though, likely taken by that individual with the scythe. As for the last person, it's possible that..."
Before he could finish, Chak waved his hand and said in a low voice, "I know."
Nobody saw it, but at these words, a glint of sullenness passed through the eyes of the notorious gangster patriarch.
....
The Green Street convoy was on their way back.
Unlike the tense atmosphere on the way there, the mood now was full of joy.
Captain Kai also announced some good news, "Brothers, Smokey Boss just said, everyone involved in the mission gets a reward of fifty grand; since we from Green Street arrived the fastest, there's an extra fifty grand bonus!"
"Hahaha, Smokey Boss is mighty! Captain is mighty!"
Laughter like the howling of ghosts and wolves erupted in the vehicles.
One hundred thousand lisos was equivalent to a five-month salary for them. For these ordinary gang members, that was definitely a large sum of money.
Although six members died and more than a dozen were injured in the previous encounter on the bridge, to these gangsters who had long been desensitized to death and bloodshed, it seemed not to be a big deal.
The lives of most people in the outer city, including their own, weren't worth a hundred grand.
If you're alive, then continue to indulge in pleasures.
For the lightly injured, a shot of Healing Medicine will suffice, and even for those with severed limbs, a hundred grand reward is enough to get a prosthetic mechanical limb and enjoy the pleasures of wine and lavish festivities in Green Street for several months...
Su Lun, hearing the cheers and shouts from the crowd, also showed a smile on his face.
Joining a gang on his first day, he hadn't expected to experience so much.
Indeed...
The high risk and high casualty rate of gangs were not for nothing.
But the reward was commensurate.
However, Su Lun felt that this kind of life was not bad at all.
It gave him the thrill he had missed for so long.
In his previous life, he spent years in a juvenile detention center's mental facility until he was released when he could perfectly control his emotions.
The "sickness" seemed to be cured, but it was rare for him to experience that adrenaline-pumping exhilaration anymore. Even the scariest movies and video games seldom made his heart flutter, and this sense of boredom intensified over time, with less and less joy in life.
Instead, the cruel underworld felt just right to his taste.
...
As he thought, his thoughts began to drift.
"A raid against the headquarters of the Cross Society, only to be anticipated and ambushed by the President and execs. The gang leaders are not lacking in tactics..."
Su Lun reflected with a sense of admiration, thinking of the several "Big Shots" he had encountered.
President "Arbitrator" Chak, executives "Four-Armed Rakshasa" Thousand Stripes, "Smoke Ghost" Sambu Kachinsky, "Night Angel" Goethe Amato...
Each of them was a second-tier professional or above, not only incredibly powerful but also, as they appeared now, full of life and character.
Not something that could simply be summed up with the word "gang."
However, suddenly.
Without knowing what he thought of, Su Lun's eyes landed on the captives from the raid, and his mind instinctively started playing a game of deduction.
Who could the enemy be?
The "Crow Gang," an old rival, or perhaps the "Steam Party"?
But from what it looked like, almost all of those involved in this action were mercenaries from the North City, making it unlikely that the two big gangs had much direct involvement.
Whoever hired these mercenaries had to be one of the wealthy power players in the inner city.
And what were they after, attacking the headquarters' warehouse?
Just to rob wealth? It wouldn't be worth the trouble.
It would be much easier to rob wealthy businessmen than gangs.
The mercenaries' target must be one very important special item in the warehouse...
With the limited clues pieced together, Su Lun quickly deduced some truths in his mind.
But he wasn't interested in delving any deeper.
After all, he did not want to, nor had the power to meddle in the high-level gang schemes.
"But speaking of which, knowing very well that the Cross Society leaders are formidable, why would the mercenaries choose to go head-on against them?"
Su Lun pondered over some intriguing points.
Judging by the composure of the executives earlier, it seemed that taking out that group of mercenaries hadn't been much trouble.
So, where did their confidence come from?
"Oh, wrong, that guy said earlier that the President and his team had just returned... which means the enemy took advantage of the time when the gang leaders were not in town. However, were the President and his execs actually lying in wait inside the city, ready to trap them in the pot?"
Su Lun felt the situation was becoming increasingly complicated.
Nobody would play such a risky game and take a beating for nothing.
After all, having the gang's headquarters breached was like a slap in the face. Even if the loss could be recovered, it was not a glorious matter for the reputable "Steel Cross Society," one of the top three gangs.
Therefore, Su Lun concluded, "If the gang leaders were using a trap for trap strategy, it must be to achieve a certain purpose..."
For instance:
Establishing power?
Or perhaps to catch a traitor within?
A major invasion event like this one must mean there's someone inside the Cross Society in collusion...
As Su Lun thought, he further questioned, "Hey.. that's not right."
Suddenly, as he looked again at one of the unconscious captives, a random thought inexplicably popped into his head: "If there really was a traitor within the gang, according to the usual script, shouldn't someone come to kill the person to silence them right now? The plot doesn't feel quite perfect..."
The interrogation site was just three blocks away. If they didn't kill this captive on the road, it would be harder once inside. By then, it would be impossible to hide the traitor's identity.
It was as if "Where there's a will, there's a way."
No sooner had the thought occurred to Su Lun than the next second a sniper rifle shot rang out like thunder.
On closer inspection, the captive's head in the car ahead exploded like a blossom.
"..."
Watching the bloody scene unfold before him, Su Lun's face twitched violently.
He immediately realized that he might have guessed right.
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