Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 129 Fishing
"Shall we come inside and have a proper chat?"

The boss flashed a business-like smile and opened his arms as if to give the messenger a hug, but was refused.

"If you're going to talk, then talk quickly. Don't waste my time."

"Alright, alright, let's get down to business first."

As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. After receiving the money, the boss's attitude towards the two men completely changed.

Jin Ping'an was so enthusiastic that he thought he was dreaming.

The two followed the boss into the back room and down the stairs to the basement.

"Sorry, bro, I don't have anything good here, just make do with this."

The boss poured the messenger a glass of beer, and then poured one for Jin Ping'an as well.

Jin Ping'an looked conflicted. He hadn't expected to have this problem himself. Not long ago, when he came here, his boss had someone beat him up, but now he acted as if nothing had happened.

This is the reality of the black market: as long as there's money to be made, even the biggest grudges can be temporarily set aside.

Especially when the boss's business isn't doing well, giving him money is like having a loving father.

Most people would assume that opening a tattoo shop in the black market must be very profitable, given the large number of people who need tattoos.

If you have such thoughts, you're being incredibly naive.

Don't assume that just because he owns a tattoo shop, he's not short of money.

Admittedly, tattooing is very profitable, with a single job earning anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars.

Doing just one or two orders a day can make you a fortune in a month.

But what is the real situation?
To open a shop in a place like this, you can't survive without paying respects to the local patrons, unless you have a really strong idea.

Otherwise, what can you do if the person doesn't pay the balance after the tattoo is done?
Even if you've already sworn allegiance to a faction, there will still be people coming to you with IOUs, and the vast majority of them are subordinates of the faction you've sworn allegiance to. You're all 'family,' so you can't be too formal, right?

They can't get cash by issuing IOUs, and they still have to pay protection money to their backers every month.

Sometimes, when they're so poor they can't even afford to eat, they'll go to their backers with IOUs to ask for money, only to be told they don't need to pay protection money this month, just consider it as offsetting the cost of their men's tattoos. In the end, it's like they've worked for nothing.

If the amount is too large, even protection money can't cover it, so don't expect people to pay up easily.

Your powerful backer will make you do a bunch of 'odd jobs' before he'll 'reluctantly' help you collect debts.

In the end, you'll find that not only have you not made a penny in the six months since you opened your tattoo shop, but you've also been exploited as free labor.

Want to resist?
When a dozen burly men stood there, my confidence instantly plummeted by ninety percent. If they had any guts, they wouldn't have come to pay homage to the mountain in the first place. They knew exactly that.

So some people appear to be tattoo artists, but in reality, they beg for food in the outer city of Jiuhua by doing odd jobs for others.

This applies not only to the tattoo industry, but to many other industries as well.

This is the reality of the underworld. Don't expect to find the brotherhood or chivalrous spirit of the movies here; all you'll find is the harsh reality of the survival of the fittest.

Furthermore, the rise of new types of temporary tattoos has further squeezed the survival space of tattoo shops.

The real veterans already have tattoos on their bodies, while newcomers mostly prefer temporary tattoos that are easy to remove. They get tattoos just for fun.

This has indirectly led to tattoo shops' business getting worse and worse.

So when the boss saw the banknotes in the envelope, he rushed the two men to the basement to discuss the matter in detail without saying a word.

There was no other way; we were poor.

"Since you're in such a hurry, brother, why don't you tell me what kind of business it is?"

The boss picked up his beer, raised his glass to the two of them, and then took a sip himself.

Jin Ping'an saw the other party offering a toast and was about to pick up his glass when the messenger stopped him: "I've heard that quite a few people come here to get tattoos. I just wanted to ask if you've seen this person before."

The messenger took out Jin Ping'an's sketch from before and pushed it over.

"Brother, you can't ask about this. You know what happens if you don't keep your mouth shut in our line of work."

The boss only glanced at it before looking away.

He took another swig of wine and said mysteriously, "But for the sake of the deposit, I'll make an exception and tell you something: this person did come to the store, but I don't know him."

The messenger sneered, "Do you still want this money or not?"

Judging from the boss's micro-expression reaction when he saw the portrait and tattoo, the boss definitely knew this person.

Without systematic training, it is difficult for humans to control the neural responses of their facial muscles.

For example, when the police are interrogating a criminal, if the police guess something wrong, the criminal will subconsciously show a mocking expression. This expression is very short, sometimes less than 0.5 seconds.

Only those with exceptional observation and memory skills can capture it.

Upon hearing that the messenger mentioned a deposit, the boss immediately became displeased: "Would I lie to you? I really don't know this person."

"I don't know this person."

The messenger leaned forward, clasping his hands together: "Then you must know the people around him, right?"

The boss claimed he didn't know the person, but his expression when he saw the photo was clearly off. Even if he really didn't know him, he must have known something about him; it's impossible for him to be completely unaware.

"Brother, you're putting me in a difficult position. I really don't know anything about this person."

The boss picked up his glass and took a sip of his drink: "However, I can introduce you to two people who might know him."

"Tell me," the messenger said calmly.

"I can say that, but they're not exactly easy to deal with either. If they come after me, I won't be able to handle it."

The shopkeeper put down his cup and stared directly at the messenger: "So... you'll have to pay more."

"Fine then. If you don't want to do this business, then give me back my deposit."

Upon hearing that more money was required, the messenger made a gesture as if he wanted to refund the money immediately.

Upon hearing that the messenger wanted to take back the deposit, the boss immediately turned hostile.

He rummaged through the sofa under his backside and pulled out a machete, pointing it at the messenger: "What do you take this place for? You think you can just come and go as you please? You think you're so great?!"

Hooked.

The messenger remained expressionless.

Jin Ping'an, who was sitting next to him, couldn't sit still any longer. He jumped up and said, holding his phone, "Put down the knife, or else..."

"What else? Call the police? Go ahead and try! Don't think I won't touch you just because you're some damn consultant!"

The boss pointed a knife at Jin Ping'an and walked around from the other side of the table.

However, Jin Ping'an was no coward. He actually took out his phone to make a call and also grabbed a broom, intending to fight back.

But before the call could go through, the messenger snatched the phone and hung up.

He was about to say something when the messenger pressed his shoulder and said, "Calm down, we're not here to cause trouble."

The messenger, pressing on Jin Ping'an's shoulder, slowly backed away, distancing himself from the knife-wielding boss as he headed towards the stairs.

Upon seeing this, the boss spat and yelled, "Pah! Get out of here! Don't let me see you again!"

Once the two had retreated to the stairwell and disappeared from his sight, the boss grinned and sat back down on the sofa to count the money in the envelope.

The messenger dragged Jin Ping'an to the stairwell.

Click.

He turned around and locked the door leading to the ground, then coldly ordered, "You stay here and block the door. Don't let those two people upstairs come down."

"In the dark zone, you have to use dark methods to solve problems."

The messenger pulled out a pistol from his waist, released the safety, and sneered, "Since he broke the rules and forfeited the deposit, then don't blame me for being impolite."

After saying that, he left Jin Pingan, who was dumbfounded, downstairs.

Meanwhile, the boss was still happily counting his money on the sofa, completely unaware that danger was approaching.

(End of this chapter)