8mi End of Chapter 88
End of Chapter 88
The following morning, in Gaoyang County.
The private room on the top floor of Chengxiang Restaurant has a unique window position. The entire large floor is occupied by this private room, and under the floor-to-ceiling window, you can see half of the scenery of Neixian County and the distant scenery.
In the luxurious and exquisite penthouse, a mottled mahogany table stands out out of place, covered with red stains that have not yet been removed.
The floor was covered with leather carpets, pure black without a single blemish, all pieced together seamlessly with superb sewing techniques.
Nearly ten people sat at the mahogany table, all of them prison chiefs from various families and gangs. Dozens more people were standing or sitting on chairs around them, all of them deputy chiefs or advisors. There were no low-ranking officials present.
There are two types of gangs operating in Gaoyang County.
This is because merchants are divided into two types: those who are willing to spend money to hire guards and buy weapons, and those who are self-reliant and make a living through small businesses.
So, a gang would just gather a dozen or so people, teach them a few tricks, buy some scrap metal, and exploit self-reliant merchants, collecting protection money, management fees, and the like.
It's basically the same kind of broken-down gang that Han Qian used to be in, and even slightly worse, since Fu Que combined several small gangs into one.
There was another group of gangs whose members were all skilled fighters who had seen blood. They were organized, had some code of conduct, were well-equipped, and had a strong army. They colluded with local gentry and powerful families to monopolize various aspects of people's livelihood in Gaoyang County.
Even if offerings are required, the profits are extremely substantial, the kind of money that's practically gold.
Those who can hold a gathering of heroes here are clearly the latter.
On this side, there's also a hierarchy of positions, with a focus on saving face. The position facing the door is the most prestigious, reserved for the person in charge.
The tattooed burly man and the hook-nosed man were also present.
According to the default rules, the strongest force sits in the position of leader. In previous terms, this position was held by Qi Tianfang, the head of the Qi family. However, Qi Tianfang, who should have been sitting in the main seat, was sitting on the left with his eyes closed, resting.
The head seat is currently empty; no one dares to sit there, waiting for someone to arrive so they can be roasted on it.
"It's... exactly nine o'clock now."
The luxurious, single-level private rooms were shrouded in mist, and everyone there was a desperate criminal who had been living on the edge of death; none of them were afraid of dying.
Most people wouldn't even dare to breathe in this situation.
The oppressive aura of ferocity and malevolence—this kind of thing is related to strength, but not so much. It mainly depends on the performance, whether one truly disregards life and death.
"President Fu Que, you're really impressive. You don't take us seriously at all. No wonder you can take a few of you as your pawns."
The Green Gang's prison guard stared coldly at the tattooed giant with his arms crossed and legs crossed, along with the hook-nosed man and others: "They robbed me of my life, cut off my connections, and killed my men."
The tattooed burly man and the hook-nosed man seemed oblivious; they were just there to reserve the space, and the real leaders hadn't arrived yet.
Besides, the other side is basically dead now. Let them be sarcastic if they want. Before they die, can't they even have a say?
The Green Gang's prison guards were not particularly burly.
His hair was shaved off, revealing his bare scalp, and half of his face was tattooed with a dripping iris, but the color was black, making it quite flamboyant. However, his expression ruined the flamboyance.
It looked somewhat out of place, but there was still a cold-blooded indifference to life and death in his eyes.
His main business was smuggling blood offerings and trafficking people; you couldn't do this kind of business without being cold-blooded.
"Didn't you tell Fu Que that 'it won't be available again if it's too late'?"
Seeing that the tattooed giant and the hook-nosed man remained silent, he asked the man who had gone to deliver the message earlier.
Previously, although he was slightly wary of the tattooed giant and the hook-nosed man, it was nothing special. But things are different now. With the backing of the Dragon Tiger Cavalry and the support of a group of people, they are now no less powerful than the Dragon Tiger Cavalry.
He only vented his frustrations at this point.
The messenger, who was crouching in the corner, heard the question and quickly ran over in small steps. He had heard the question, but he dared not answer it. He was in a luxurious flat, but it was filled with blood and murderous intent. The area was basically divided into two factions, and tensions were high. If anyone sitting there was pulled out, killing him would be no different than killing a chicken.
"I told you, no exceptions, and I said it was exactly nine o'clock this morning, but..."
The messenger didn't think for long before answering, forcing himself to do so.
The tattooed man glanced at the messenger, whose forehead was beaded with cold sweat, gave a cold laugh, and didn't expose him, pondering what to do next.
I will definitely kill people, but I have to prioritize them. I need to figure out which ones must be killed and which ones don't need to be killed yet. Killing the right people is a skill.
"Is that so? I hope so."
Lao Da, a member of the Green Gang, withdrew his gaze and stopped looking at the messenger.
The latter was so frightened that he could barely stand. These human traffickers were the most terrifying. Others would at most kill someone with a single slash, but they would also dismember people and sell them separately. They were extremely beastly.
Fu Que had left everyone at the table waiting for a full five minutes.
"Since Fu Que isn't coming and doesn't want to participate in this Heroes' Gathering, there's nothing more to say. Let's start dividing up the territory."
The head of the Li family said.
"Our entire prison squad isn't even here, and you're already planning a meeting? Isn't that inappropriate?"
"It's hook-nosed," he said coldly.
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is, if we don't want to see bloodshed and end up with blood splattered in the streets, and everyone being taken to the execution ground by the county soldiers and beheaded, it's best to wait a bit longer."
Just as the head of the Li family was about to lash out, Qi Tianfang stopped him.
"Since you're the leader of the fishermen's mutual aid association and this is your first time participating in the Heroes' Gathering, it's understandable that you're a little late. Please wait another five minutes, if..."
Before the old man could finish speaking, a man kicked open the door to the private room and walked in. It was Mo Dao, followed by Fu Que and Lao Xu.
Dozens of cold and indifferent gazes fell upon them, scrutinizing the three of them. However, Mo Dao and Lao Xu were also gang leaders, their lives stained with blood on the streets. They were quite familiar with such scenes and showed no fear whatsoever.
As for Fu Que, once the real world opened, all he saw were chickens and dogs, their black and white lines clumsily laughable, offering no sense of oppression whatsoever.
As soon as Fu Que arrived, the deputies and staff officers standing around him, who had been whispering amongst themselves, fell completely silent.
The atmosphere was eerily quiet.
Although everyone knew that a tough guy had defeated the fishing gang, the butcher gang, and others, and even brought them together to form a fishermen's mutual aid association, no one expected that this tough guy was so young and didn't have the tough, ruthless demeanor of a desperate criminal.
Putting aside his true vision, Fu Que scanned the people sitting at the table, the weapons on the table, and the empty seat in the main seat.
Two classic pieces of news, one good and one bad.