Chapter 51: Another Small Windfall
Fatty and Huang Ming were bickering in the car, completely oblivious to the approaching danger.
The car had been on the road for over half an hour and was now very close to Xie Village.
It was already past seven in the evening.
A sudden incident startled Huang Ming, a second-grade martial artist. Rural roads were never very wide—barely enough for two cars to pass side by side. The van ahead abruptly blocked the road, and if Huang Ming hadn't reacted quickly, they would have crashed straight into it.
“Damn!”
“Brother Huang, did you jerk off so much your legs are trembling?”
Fatty, sitting in the back without a seatbelt, was thrown forward by the sudden brake and hit the front seat.
“Stop talking nonsense!”
“It’s obviously trouble from the people ahead. You stay in the car and call Er Long and the others.”
Huang Ming wasted no time and pushed open the car door to get out.
Fatty took the hint, glanced out the window, and immediately pulled out his brand-new smartphone.
...
“Hey, buddy—”
Huang Ming had just stepped out and called softly toward the van’s driver’s seat.
But the people inside weren’t interested in pretense. The van doors swung open, and seven or eight burly men poured out.
Anyone would feel uneasy seeing such a scene late at night.
But as a second-grade martial artist, Huang Ming kept his composure and forced a smile. “What’s all this about? Is it really necessary to make such a fuss?”
The leader, a middle-aged man with a walrus mustache, was also a second-grade martial artist.
“Heh—”
“You don’t know who we are?”
“Do you know who’s allowed to sell pills around here?”
No more words were wasted; after saying this, the mustached man waved his hand at his group.
Jia Yao, knowing Huang Ming’s rank, had brought eight men—apart from the mustached leader, the rest were all first-grade martial artists!
...
Meanwhile.
“Damn—”
“Is this plan even going to work?”
“I feel like if I go inside and shout, I’ll just get knocked flat.”
Outside a nightclub in Heyue City, Zhang Ze and Peng Fei crouched by the entrance, muttering to each other.
Seeing Zhang Ze still doubting, Peng Fei puffed up with pride. “Ze, you don’t know the ropes.”
“A third of Heyue’s nightclubs belong to my dear sister’s family. Whatever we do, there are people watching our backs, both overtly and covertly. What are you afraid of?”
With a cold laugh, Zhang Ze wondered if Peng Fei’s brain had gotten waterlogged.
“If you’re not convinced, I’ll go first. If it works, you follow suit. Deal?”
With that assurance, Zhang Ze nodded without hesitation.
...
After all the back and forth, Peng Fei decided to take the lead.
As soon as he appeared at the nightclub entrance, he drew the attention of everyone nearby.
No wonder, in his uniform he stuck out like a sore thumb.
Ignoring the stares, Peng Fei strode inside and headed straight to the second floor.
He glanced around, picked a room at random, and knocked.
The moaning inside stopped at once; after the second knock, a roar erupted from the room.
“Damn it!”
“Who’s there?”
“Don’t you know any manners?”
With a loud thud, Peng Fei, brimming with confidence, kicked the door forcefully.
“Open up!”
“Police! Vice squad!”
...
When Peng Fei returned to Zhang Ze with two bundles of red bills, the latter couldn’t help cursing inwardly, “This guy’s a real genius!”
With precedent set, Zhang Ze no longer hesitated.
In just one night, he and Peng Fei raided several nightclubs.
At dawn, they looked at the pile of cash before them, grinning wide.
But they had no idea their actions had sent shockwaves through all of Heyue City.
...
“Hello—”
“Is this Captain Li?”
“I heard you stopped a vice squad raid last night?”
A portly middle-aged man questioned the person on the other end of the phone.
The other was baffled, taking a while before replying, “When did this happen? I don’t recall anyone in our team conducting a vice raid.”
“If there was such an operation, I’d have notified you in advance. Where did you hear this?”
The answer surprised the middle-aged man.
“You mean Captain Li doesn’t know about it?”
“Damn—”
“If I knew, would I hide it from you?”
Similar conversations happened repeatedly throughout the morning.
...
Tongtong Club.
“Sister Ping, seven or eight of our venues were hit by the vice squad last night.”
“A lot of customers suffered losses. I think you should contact Captain Li.”
A stylishly made-up woman sat beside Xie Ping, her voice anxious.
“I’ve already asked about it, but Captain Li said he had no knowledge of any raid last night.”
As Xie Ping finished, the woman paused thoughtfully, then ventured, “Could it be Captain Li himself—”
She was cut off by Xie Ping, “Captain Li has no beef with us, and last night’s events didn’t just affect our club.”
“Pull up the surveillance from those venues.”
...
“This trick can only be used once. If we get recognized next time, we’re done for.”
Though Peng Fei’s idea was risky, Zhang Ze was very satisfied with the outcome as he looked at the pile of money.
The phone rang suddenly.
“Damn—”
“They found us this fast?”
Seeing the caller ID “Sister Ping,” Peng Fei muttered nervously.
“Hello—”
With something weighing on his mind, Peng Fei couldn’t help but sound uneasy, his voice a little lower.
“Heh—”
“Why didn’t you come see me last night?”
...
After some idle chatter, Xie Ping never mentioned the previous night’s events.
But after hanging up, Peng Fei wiped his brow and muttered, “Come see you? Hell, you probably want to kill me now!”
“Still pretending with me!”
Peng Fei continued grumbling, but Zhang Ze said nothing.
“Count it up—one point eight million. I’ll take one million, the rest is yours.”
Peng Fei was a bit dissatisfied with Zhang Ze’s split.
“If it weren’t for me being a second-grade martial artist, would those people have handed over the money so easily?”
In the end, Peng Fei had to accept the fair and reasonable split.
“Ze, do you remember how many people we caught online yesterday?”
Prompted by Peng Fei, Zhang Ze frowned and pondered, “How would I know? It was a lot, anyway.”
With that, he reminded himself, “Looks like we’ll have to keep a low profile and focus on training.”
...
As they chatted, Er Long called Zhang Ze.
“Xiao Ze, Huang Ming and Fatty were cornered by Jia Yao’s men last night. They’re pretty badly hurt.”