Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 132 Social People Are Really Complex
The tattoo shop owner was very cautious; you could also say he was afraid of dying.

His identity as a messenger, combined with some information he had gathered, led him to some unfavorable assumptions.

The fact that the higher-ups have adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards Jiuhua in the past two years is very likely because they are preparing to make a big move and plan to pull off a major heist.

It is widely known that the high-profile and active criminals in Qianhua City are mostly from Neva City.

The officials of Qianhua City are very troubled by this, but the actual rectification actions are few and far between, as if they are deliberately letting them develop. This kind of leniency is not something that has just started today.

They seem to think that as long as you don't cause trouble outside of Jiuhua, you can do whatever you want.

This attitude initially stunned not only the local forces in Thousand Flower City, but also intimidated the lawless thugs in Neva City, making them wonder if Thousand Flower City was plotting something.

After lying low for half a year, they discovered that as long as the trouble didn't spread beyond Jiuhua, the locals really didn't want to get involved.

Thus began the decadent journey of the city of Chika.

But will the higher-ups really not care?
It's important to understand that Qianhua City is a tourist destination. If the social atmosphere deteriorates, tourism revenue will definitely plummet. Based on this alone, the authorities cannot simply sit idly by.

The bounty hunter from Nevada was like a signal, heralding the beginning of chaos.

As the saying goes, evil people need evil people to deal with them. The best way to deal with criminals from Nevada is to find bounty hunters from Nevada.

Of course, all of this is just the boss's own speculation, without any actual basis.

But it's an undeniable fact that this messenger contacted him. A ruthless person like him coming to Qianhua City is definitely not going to do anything small; he might even be here to take away a fugitive from Neva City in exchange for a bounty.

The boss knew very well that he would inevitably be interrogated by various bigwigs afterward, so he might as well pack up and leave as soon as possible.

The clue the messenger sought pointed to a trusted subordinate of his own backer, Boss Ma.

When the two sides start fighting, they will inevitably have no time to pay attention to him, a nobody who runs a tattoo shop, which gives him a chance to break free from Boss Ma's control.

Big shots have their strategies, and small shots have their ways of surviving; everyone has their own little schemes.

…………

After leaving the tattoo shop, the messenger and Jin Ping'an returned to their car.

Although it's unclear where Jin Ping'an's clues came from, judging from the results alone, none of them were based on in-depth investigation.

Now, with the help of the messenger, the clues that Jin Ping'an has collected over the past month are finally beginning to slowly penetrate deeper.

The most crucial aspect of intelligence gathering is extracting credible information from the person being investigated; this is the most difficult part of the investigation process.

Jin Ping'an is neither good at verbal negotiation nor capable of physical negotiation. If it weren't for his status as a consultant for the criminal investigation team, no one would bother with him.

Fortunately, he had this identity, otherwise he would have been completely deceived by others long ago.

At this moment, Jin Ping'an sat in the passenger seat, looking extremely bitter and resentful.

The messenger glanced at him and said, "Just say what you want to say."

Jin Ping'an said worriedly, "No... I'm just worried that the tattoo shop owner might be lying..."

Before they left, the two apprentices were still trying to ambush them from behind the door, which really left a bad impression on him.

I used to trust the shop owner about 80%, but now that trust has instantly halved.

The messenger drove without looking at him: "That boss's brute appearance is all an act for others; he's very clever."

"If someone is clever, wouldn't they be even more likely to lie?"

Jin Ping'an became even more anxious after hearing the messenger's evaluation of the tattoo shop owner.

The messenger did not refute, but patiently explained, "On the contrary, it is precisely because he is intelligent that he should tell the truth at this time."

Jin Ping'an promptly provided the comedic relief: "Why?"

"Whether what he said is true or false, he still betrayed his backer and led us there. Afterwards, that Boss Ma will not let him off easily."

The messenger drove slowly, observing the street layout as he made his way towards the Xuanlong Bar.

"If you seek out people in the black market as your backers, you're bound to be exploited, and you'll have to pay all sorts of tributes. He definitely doesn't have a good impression of Boss Ma and his ilk."

Jin Ping'an hurriedly said, "Wouldn't it be exactly what he wants if we went to confront Zhang Yan?"

"Otherwise, why would he tell us these things?"

The messenger looked at Jin Ping'an as if he were an idiot: "You went to see him alone before. You had neither ability nor power. Even if you gave him 20,000 yuan, what good would it do? In the end, when Zhang Yan went to see him, wouldn't he still have to obediently hand over the 20,000 yuan you gave him?"

"You should be glad you have the title of consultant to the criminal investigation team, which made him hesitate to take the money. Otherwise, you would have been swindled out of everything long ago."

Jin Ping'an frowned; he still couldn't quite understand it.

However, before he could ask, the messenger explained.

"Are you suggesting that the tattoo shop owner might only tell us half the story, not all the information, so that when Zhang Yan comes looking for him later, he can just apologize and let it go?"

Jin Ping'an blushed and nodded; that was indeed what he thought.

"You can't please both sides. Loyalty is not absolute, and betrayal is betrayal. A thug won't care whether you were forced into it or whether you completely betrayed them."

"Even if he's worried about Zhang Yan's retaliation and is hiding something, does that mean I'm someone to be trifled with?"

The messenger's tone was flat, but this flat tone unconsciously brought back the image of him breaking the tattoo shop owner's finger in Jin Ping'an's mind.

"On one hand, he could completely betray Zhang Yan and invite retaliation; on the other hand, he could conceal some information and not betray him completely, which would invite retaliation from both Zhang Yan and me. He's not stupid; he knows which choice to make."

Jin Ping'an pursed his lips and finally sighed softly, saying nothing.

He only helped provide clues to the criminal investigation team; as a sketch artist, he had basically no real contact with society.

This was the umpteenth time this month that he had sighed inwardly, realizing just how complex society truly was.

…………

Xuanlong Bar is located in the bustling downtown area of ​​Jiuhua Outer City.

It's called a bar, but it's also kind of like a disco.

I wonder if the boss wants to develop multiple industries in a comprehensive way.

Besides the disco and bar, the bar also has a small restaurant, a small billiards room, two card rooms, and a small hotel on the third floor. It's a whole mixed bag of businesses.

Fortunately, the people who frequented the outer city of Jiuhua did not care about the chaos of the industry; rather, this just happened to meet the needs of a certain group of people.

I wake up from a nap on the third floor at noon, go downstairs for lunch, play cards and billiards in the afternoon until dark, then go clubbing until the early hours of the morning before going to sleep.

When they run out of money, they borrow it, gamble, or go to a large shopping mall and do free shopping with their backs to the cameras, or even help people recycle second-hand mobile phones for free on the bus.

They lived this kind of life, repeating itself endlessly.

The messenger led Jin Ping'an into the bar, and the dance floor was just to the left of the entrance.

Jin Ping'an was clearly visiting a place like this for the first time. Under the neon lights and dazzling LED lights, the bar looked bizarre and surreal.

On the stage, three scantily clad and sexy women danced seductively to deafening music, their thighs glistening under the lights.

This scene made Jin Ping'an, the fledgling bird, blush with embarrassment.

(End of this chapter)