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Chapter 333 The Underworld Boss's Overtures, A Carefree Path
Chen Chen enthusiastically introduced his resources and strengths, speaking with great passion and eloquence.

It's as if I can already see the bright future after the cooperation is successful.

Fang Cheng, through his elegant words, subtly conveyed that he was of extraordinary origin, commanded a high price, and would not easily make a move.

The two sides exchanged barbs, engaging in verbal sparring and probing each other.

During this process, Xiao Sa's dashing performance also impressed Fang Cheng, who was secretly observing.

Although this guy is an ignorant and incompetent hoodlum, he has spent many years on the streets and has developed a knack for reading people and adapting to changing situations.

With Fang Cheng backing him up, the leader of the Red Tiger Gang, whose reputation resounded throughout the underworld of Dongdu, not only showed no fear but also spoke eloquently and held his own.

Ultimately, through Xiaosa's mediation, Fang Cheng gave an ambiguous answer.

Both parties agreed that Chen Chen would first provide detailed information about the "Poisonous Scorpion".

After Xiaosai relayed the message to Mr. Killer, who is Fang Cheng, and after the mission assessment and deposit collection, everyone sat down to discuss the specific details of the cooperation.

Seeing that a matter of life and death was about to be settled, the solemnity on Chen Chen's face finally melted away, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He immediately instructed Secretary Liu to prepare some wine and dishes.

At the same time, they invited in the person who had been sent to get the medicine, as well as the "gentle and considerate nurse," to treat Xiaosa's injuries.

Secretary Liu and Awei's attitudes also underwent a complete 180-degree turn, becoming extremely enthusiastic towards Xiaosai and showering him with compliments as if they were free.

Secretary Liu even personally brought over exquisite snacks and drinks.

Seeing that Xiao Sa's faded shirt was tattered, she specially took out a brand-new designer casual jacket from her spare clothes and put it on him.

Xiao Sa had never received such treatment before, and was momentarily flattered, unsure of what to do with his hands and feet.

After treating the wound, changing into new clothes, and finishing the hospitality, Chen Chen personally got up to send Xiao Sa back in a private car.

Although Xiao Sa did not receive any instructions from the mysterious master, he regained some of his carefree and unruly nature.

He waved his hand, grinned, and showed his teeth:

"No need to trouble yourself, Chairman Chen, I can go back by myself."

However, as he reached the door, he suddenly remembered something, turned around, and scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly:

"Um... Mr. Chen, could you... lend me two yuan for a bus ride?"

Chen Chen and Secretary Liu were both taken aback for a moment, then exchanged a smile.

Secretary Liu immediately pulled out a large wad of crisp new banknotes from his briefcase and stuffed them into Xiaosai's pocket without a word.

"Brother Xiaosai, this is just a small token of our appreciation. We hope you'll accept it with a smile."

Chen Chen stepped forward and patted Xiaosai's shoulder affectionately:

"From now on, we're all on the same side. If you need anything, just let us know. We also hope that Brother Xiaosai can put in a good word for us with Mr. Killer."

After a moment's hesitation, Xiao Sa finally succumbed to his empty pockets and reluctantly accepted the stack of money.

He imitated the manner of a江湖人 (jianghu person, someone from the martial arts world), clasped his hands in a fist salute, and then took his leave from the chairman's office.

Watching the dashing, swaggering figure disappear at the end of the corridor, Chen Chen's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile, and a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes.

He then nodded slightly to Secretary Liu.

Secretary Liu understood immediately, took out his phone, and started making calls.

....................................

The night was as dark as ink, but the lights were dazzling.

The neon signs in the heart of Dongdu City, like countless twinkling stars, illuminate this city that never sleeps.

The enormous logo of the Yuanchen Group building shines brightly on the rooftop, showcasing the wealth and ambition of its owner.

And a few hundred meters away, on the top of another skyscraper.

A tall, imposing figure stood silently on the edge of the rooftop, like a sculpture blending into the night.

The biting night wind blew the hem of his black hooded sweatshirt and ruffled the stray hairs falling across his forehead.

The person standing here is Fang Cheng.

His eyes were bright as he gazed at the brightly lit office on the 97th floor of the Yuanchen Group building, a hundred meters away.

With superhuman eyesight and information gained through a mental link, he can clearly see everything happening in the office.

While meditating at home in the afternoon, Fang Cheng unexpectedly sensed a strange, emotionally charged wave of thought.

After some investigation, he successfully established a mental link with the hoodlum he had taught a lesson to before.

He witnessed the entire process of Xiao Sa being kidnapped by the Red Tiger Gang, and through Xiao Sa's eyes, he also memorized the route the van took.

As night fell, under the cover of darkness, they followed the route from memory and tracked themselves all the way here.

This seemingly glamorous Yuanchen Group building is actually the headquarters of the Red Tiger Gang's top brass.

Fang Cheng's original plan was to first observe the situation inside the building, determine the distribution and strength of the enemy, and then sneak in.

Find an opportunity to eliminate the two loose ends—the Xiaosai Gang and the Chihu Gang—that could potentially expose our information.

But after he saw Chen Chen's unusual behavior in the office and his conversation with Xiao Sa...

So he temporarily changed his mind.

I want to see what kind of tricks Chief Chen of the Red Tiger Gang is up to.

"Looking for a collaboration?"

Fang Cheng muttered to himself, a slight smile curving his lips.

This underworld tyrant doesn't seem to be as arrogant and domineering as rumored, only knowing how to fight and kill.

Instead, he's more like a cunning old fox, exuding treachery and treachery.

While pondering, my gaze then shifted and landed on the street below.

Seeing Xiao Sa's limping figure walk out of the Yuanchen Group building, flag down a taxi on the roadside, and drive away.

And just after the taxi he was in drove away.

Several more men wearing masks and baseball caps came out of the building, nimbly got into another car, and quietly followed.

Fang Cheng's eyes flickered slightly. Without lingering, he quickly turned around and headed towards the fire escape exit on the top floor.

....................................

As night falls, the city's hustle and bustle gradually fades into silence.

The urban villages are shrouded in gloom.

There wasn't a single streetlamp in the narrow alley.

Only the sparse light filtering through the windows of the residential buildings illuminated the blurry outlines of the piles of garbage and sewage on the ground.

Above their heads, a dense web of wires tangled together and hung low, as if they might fall down at any moment.

Together with the layers of small advertisements on the walls for document processing, locksmith services, and sewer unclogging, they form a unique landscape in this area.

He walked with a limp, carrying a net bag of fruit.

The old injury on my left leg had long since healed, but after being beaten today, it seems to be starting to ache again.

He subconsciously reached out and touched his pocket, finding a thick wad of banknotes inside.

He had secretly counted the money in the car; it was exactly ten thousand yuan, no more, no less.

This unexpected windfall lightened Xiao Sa's heavy heart slightly, and he even started humming a tuneless little tune.

However, the thought of that mysterious master, whose voice was always heard but whose face was never seen, cast a shadow over my heart that had just cleared up.

After leaving the Yuanchen Group building, the other party never contacted him again, as if they had simply vanished completely.

He raised his head and looked at the dark end of the alley.

In the distance, skyscrapers are faintly visible, their neon lights flashing, like another world that is far beyond our reach.

Where will the road ahead lead?

His eyes looked somewhat blank.

Although he managed to escape danger temporarily by using clever words and flattery in front of Chen Chen.

But what if the person who secretly relayed the message wasn't that extraordinary, mysterious master?

Or perhaps the Red Tiger Gang has no real intention of cooperating with the other party.

Wouldn't I have been happy for nothing, and might even lose my life?
He dared not think any further.

The consequences would be truly terrifying...

Xiao Sa sighed heavily, feeling that his luck had truly run out. His life seemed to have been filled with the word "unlucky" from the very beginning.

When I was seven years old, my father went out to sea to fish and encountered a storm. Even his whole body could not be found.

When my son turned twelve, his mother, who worked long hours at the textile factory, developed acute glaucoma due to long night shifts.

At the time, his family was extremely poor and had no money for timely medical treatment, which eventually led to his blindness.

He had to drop out of school and take on the responsibility of caring for his mother.

In those years, all the relatives watched coldly and avoided him like the plague.

To survive, he struggled at the bottom of society at a young age, doing all sorts of dirty and hard work. When he was starving, he even abandoned his dignity to beg for food.

Last year, the Red Tiger Gang opened a new branch and recruited many people.

He thought that this gang had only recently risen to prominence, yet its momentum was so strong.

Perhaps he could seize the opportunity and make a name for himself, so he excitedly joined.

To his surprise, once inside, he was assigned to look after the young ladies and became a lowly groom.

It was precisely because of this identity that he subsequently encountered a series of extremely unlucky and troublesome events.

First, he was severely punished and almost lost his life.

In a sorry state, they had no choice but to obey and betray the Red Tiger Gang, joining the Three Wolves Gang instead.

I thought that even if I became a traitor and moved to a new place, as long as I performed well, I could make something of myself.

Little did they know that their good days would last only a few days before the Three Wolves Gang was wiped out by the Red Tiger Gang.

He quickly became a stray dog ​​again, and was caught on the spot by the police in the chaos.

After spending three months in detention and the Lunar New Year there, I was ready to turn over a new leaf and stay away from all the trouble in the underworld.

Who would have thought that he had just been released today, and before he could even get back on his feet, he was kidnapped again and dragged into an even bigger mess.

It's like bad luck has opened the door for bad luck—it's incredibly unlucky!
Xiao Sa couldn't help but grin, mocking his own bad luck.

"Wang Wang Wang!"

A skinny black dog suddenly darted out from the shadows and barked wildly at him.

"Fuck your mother, you charcoal head!"

Xiao Sa was startled, recognized the dog as the neighbor's, and immediately scolded it angrily:
"You don't recognize me after just a few months? You ingrate!"

He immediately bent down, picked up half a brick from beside his feet, and made a move to throw it.

"Hey, who made our charcoal guy angry?"

A woman with a thick waist came out of a low house next door carrying a basin of water and splashed it on the ground.

She recognized Xiaosai by the light coming from inside the room and raised an eyebrow in surprise:
"Hey, isn't this Ah Ren? When did you get back?"

Then, her gaze fell on the obviously ill-fitting new clothes and the lingering bruises on his face, and she said sarcastically:

"Dressed so smartly, with all those colorful things on his face, where did he make his fortune?"

He grinned casually, revealing a few white teeth:

"Sister Zhang, please stop making fun of me. I'm just trying to make a living."

He gave a vague answer and quickly walked deeper into the alley.

Finally, he stopped in front of his own crooked wooden door.

The door panels have warped due to years of exposure to sun and rain, revealing several cracks.

Xiao Sa adjusted his expression and raised his hand to knock on the door, only to find that the door was not locked and was ajar.

With a gentle push, the wooden door creaked open.

The room was pitch black.

He casually reached out and touched the light cord on the wall, pulled it, and with a "click," the light didn't turn on.

That's true. I wasn't here, and my mother's eyesight isn't good, so she probably didn't have time to pay the electricity bill. There must be a power outage.

At this time, Mother should be asleep in the inner room.

"Mom, I'm back!"

Xiaosai raised his voice and shouted.

A soft cough came from the inner room, followed by rustling sounds of fumbling.

A moment later, a hunched woman emerged from the inner room, groping with her hands.

It was none other than the elegant and graceful mother, Li Guifen.

Her skin was sallow, and the years had etched a vicissitude on her face that far exceeded her actual age.

The eyes are sunken and lack any luster, clearly indicating a vision problem.

"Is that Ah Ren? You're back!"

Following the sound, Li Guifen smiled with joy and reached out her withered hand to touch her son.

He kept his imprisonment a secret from his mother, only sending a message through someone that he was going to another place to work on a ship and make big money.

At that moment, seeing her mother walking shakily towards her, she worried that her mother would fall, and she was also afraid that the injury on her face would be discovered.

So he quickly stepped forward and supported her arm.

"Mom, I'm back."

He repeated the phrase over and over, then handed over the fruit, feigning excitement, and said:
"I passed a fruit stand on the way and saw that the bananas and apples looked pretty fresh, so I bought some for you."

Li Guifen took the rather heavy net bag, feeling its weight in her hand, and complained:

"Why are you wasting money again? These things can't be eaten."

As she spoke, she carefully touched her son's arms and waist, asking repeatedly with concern:

"Was it tough on the ship? You seem to have lost a lot of weight. Have you eaten yet? Mom will make you something right now."

As she spoke, she began to grope her way toward the stove, but then stopped, somewhat troubled, remembering that there were only a few wilted vegetable leaves left in the house.

Then he turned around and said:

"I'll go to Li's shop at the street corner and get you some cold dishes to properly welcome you back."

As he spoke, he groped his way into the inner room to get the money.

Xiao Sa did eat some food and drinks in Chen Chen's office, but he was preoccupied with his own thoughts and didn't eat much. Now he was actually quite hungry.

Seeing her mother in this state, she quickly pulled her aside and tried to dissuade her:

"Mom, no need to trouble yourself. I ate on the boat and I'm full."

He helped his mother sit down on a dilapidated stool propped up with bricks, its leg twisted.

"Sit down and rest for a while. Just talk to me. I'm not hungry, I'm just a little thirsty after walking so much."

He reached for the enamel mug on the table, poured in some cooled boiled water, and gulped down several mouthfuls.

Then, he smacked his lips contentedly and said:

"The water at home tastes the sweetest!"

Upon hearing this, Li Guifen smiled with relief.
"Of course, the water on the boat is probably salty and bitter, nothing like the cool and refreshing water we boil at home."

"Mom, you're absolutely right, that's exactly the taste. I was on the ship back then..."

He gave a casual reply and started making up various experiences of sailing to distract his mother.

Meanwhile, his gaze casually swept across his home, which he had left long ago, and inadvertently caught sight of the dining table.

There, a worn-out porcelain bowl was covered with a gauze cover, containing a small half-bowl of blackened pickled vegetables.

There was also half a hard, dry steamed bun next to it, which faintly smelled of rancidity.

Upon seeing this scene, Xiao Sa's gaze seemed to be fixed on something, and he froze in place for a moment.

A surge of bitterness suddenly rushed from the bottom of my heart to my nasal cavity.

Immediately afterwards, his nose tingled and his eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"........."

Xiao Sa hurriedly turned his head away, pretending to choke and tightly covering his mouth.

His Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably, forcing back the sob that was about to escape his lips.

(End of this chapter)