America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 156 The Sugar Daddy

Old Hei couldn't understand the leader's actions, but he was deeply shocked.

Seeing Zhang Ailun's tough attitude and fearless demeanor, Lao Hei, sensing something was wrong, quickly got up and tried to leave.

But with guns pointed at their faces by Pele and Richie, they had no choice but to back down, saying, "Guys, we didn't want a fight with you. We really came here with good intentions! Wouldn't it be better to work together and make money?"

"We can make our own money, why would we need to cooperate with you? You dare to sell drugs and leaflets in bars today, who knows what you'll dare to do tomorrow! Just stay put, the police will be here soon." Zhang Ailun scolded them impatiently.

Mary and Geese have already called the police, and the operator who received the notification reported the situation to the dispatch center, which then dispatched patrol officers from nearby blocks to investigate. Any incident involving a shooting is at least a two-star mission.

Seeing that there was no room for maneuver, the black men, driven to desperation, decided to fight to the death. The leader threw the package to his companion and turned to escape through the back door. Zhang Ailun opened fire without hesitation.

A gunshot rang out!

This time, the leader's aim finally paid off. He hit Old Black's buttocks precisely from about ten meters away, and the man let out a scream of pain, clutching his buttocks and collapsing to the ground.

The black man next to him was also startled. Someone tried to pull out a gun from his bag, but Bailey, quick-witted and agile, pounced on him, pinned him to the ground, and knocked the gun out of the black man's hand.

Bailey pressed the pistol twice against the old black man's forehead, immediately breaking his skull and drawing blood. Richie, standing nearby with only one hand, couldn't offer much help; he could only point his gun at the other black men, issuing a warning to keep them from moving.

Zhang Ailun and his team quickly brought the situation under control. They picked up the guns from the ground, removed the magazines, and found that there were no bullets. He was immediately amused.

"What's the use of having so many of you? To survive in this world, you need connections and firepower! Is this all you're trying to scare people with? Who on the streets can be scared by you?" Zhang Ailun pointed at them and cursed.

Old Black, lying on the ground, was still clutching his buttocks, letting out screams and howls of pain. "Quick! Call an ambulance! I've been shot in the butt! I'm going to die!"

"Just bear with it, the police will be here soon." Zhang Ailun completely ignored him.

He simply turned to look at the frightened Mary and her companion, and asked, "Are you alright?"

Mary and Keith were used to this kind of scene and quickly calmed down. "It's okay, but what about the money and drugs?"

"Of course, we handed them over to the police to handle. They tried to sell drugs in our store and committed armed robbery, so we fought back from inside. It was self-defense." Zhang Ailun explained the law to the two men, indicating that they didn't need to worry. He then put away his submachine gun and prepared his identification and business license.

Police officers arrived at the scene shortly afterward. The sound of brakes and hurried footsteps could be heard outside the door, indicating that quite a few people had arrived.

With a loud bang, the bar door was kicked open, and four or five police officers rushed in, immediately brandishing their guns and shouting, "Officers, this is an investigation!! Hands up!! Let us see your hands!"

Mary and Geese also recognized some of the officers; they were all familiar faces.

They were also puzzled. Why were there shootings at this bar every few days? It seems the crackdown on organized crime wasn't thorough enough!

We must carry out Officer MiG's will to the very end!

Zhang Ailun and his companions raised their hands in unison, indicating they posed no threat. "Hey officers, good afternoon! We're the ones who called the police! I'm the owner of this bar, and these men are my employees. These black men lying on the ground are terrorists!"

Place the prepared identification documents on the table for the police officers to see.

The lead officer, a Level 3 officer, stared sternly at the black man lying on the ground, his hands covering his head, the black briefcase beside him, and the bloodstains on the ground. He immediately understood what had happened.

He waved for someone to go over and restrain the group of men in black, then came over to ask what had happened. "Hello, did you call the police? What happened here?"

Zhang Ailun immediately recounted what had happened, innocently stating, "Clearly, these black men were trying to threaten us and force us to sell drugs here. When I disagreed, they tried to rob me at gunpoint, and I couldn't take it anymore, so I fought back. This is my CCW ID, and my buddies are all veterans. This is a newly opened veterans' bar."

The third-level police officer checked his identification, found nothing wrong, and thought he looked familiar. He asked suspiciously, "Aren't you the Asian man who participated in the last operation to apprehend drug dealers and wanted criminals? What's your relationship with Sig Comprey?"

"Sig is my friend, and I also know your superior, Officer Miguel, and we often see each other privately. My friend, Attorney Dave, also works at the courthouse," Zhang Ailun said.

Hearing him say that, the third-level police officer understood.

Turns out it was a sugar daddy.

He has connections.

The officer's expression softened considerably, and he said with emotion, "I'm very sorry this happened here. God bless you that you weren't harmed or suffered any property loss. I'll take the person back for questioning. Mr. Jin, you also need to have your employee come over to give a statement. Don't worry, it won't interfere with your normal business operations. Does your bar have security cameras?"

Upon hearing the officer's question, Zhang Ailun figured that even if there were any, he should say no. He immediately replied regretfully, "I'm sorry, this bar was just auctioned off from the court a few days ago, and the security cameras haven't been installed yet."

"I see. So, these black men are here on a mission to commit armed robbery and drug trafficking. They're carrying $2000? And a bag of leaves containing a COP pistol, right?" the third-level officer asked.

"I'm not entirely sure about the specifics either. I didn't notice what was in those bags, but I think it's what you're describing," Zhang Ailun replied cooperatively.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Kim. You helped us catch these drug trafficking gangs." The officer shook hands with him and then happily waved for his colleagues to pull the man into the car and drive away.

Even the smallest ant is still meat.

Zhang Ailun also instructed Bailey and Richie to cooperate with the police officers to go to the police station to give statements. He watched the police car leave from the doorway, and upon returning, he told Mary and Geese, "Delete all the surveillance videos from today and yesterday."

"There was clearly over ten thousand dollars in that bag, along with cocoa and leaves. How come in the end there's only a packet of leaves and $2000 left? How many years will they get in prison? They'll probably be out in a while," Mary said with some worry.

They were even more dissatisfied with the rampant corruption among Los Angeles police officers, who, in broad daylight, turned black into white.

Is there no law anymore? Is there no justice?

"Isn't there Attorney Dave? My friend works at the court; he's the law! If he handles this case, you definitely won't see them alive. Unless they're really clean and haven't done anything wrong, but if they have clean records, they wouldn't have been reported and sent to jail by us."

Zhang Ailun wasn't worried at all. "In order to reduce their sentences, they'd just say whatever they were told during the police's statement taking. If the officer said they only sold one pack of leaves, would they really refuse to cooperate and say they sold two packs of leaves? Or a few extra packs of cocoa?"

Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?

After dealing with the Black people, Zhang Ailun told Geese to quickly clean up the area, wipe away the bloodstains on the floor, and spray some perfume so as not to affect the bar's business.

We were supposed to open around 10 p.m. tonight. Although we didn't recruit enough people for the show, we could still sell alcohol. But these black guys have made a mess of things. We need to wait for the police to notify us and then we have to readjust everything before we can officially open for business tomorrow.

Zhang Ailun received another message from Dominic. He, David, and Gates had picked up a batch of goods, a motley collection of all sorts, which he needed to handle and sell personally.

After saying goodbye to Mary and Geese, Zhang Allen went out and drove to Alfred Recycling Station.

Upon arriving, we got out of the car and entered the recycling station, where we saw a batch of goods piled up in the yard. Yesterday's Apple computers were also there, and several customers were queuing up with bags to have them weighed. Gate and David were helping out.

Zhang Ailun went into the room, waited for a while, and then took out the project list to take a look.

The net profit from the can was approximately $840.

The net profit from the cardboard box was $66.

Other discarded electrical appliances are worth about $300.

Zhang Ailun also picked up a 1:1 scale replica of a 1960 Christmas special edition bazooka rocket launcher, and an 1805 American ship registration document.

The toy looked pretty good. Zhang Ailun didn't know much about the ship's license documents, but they had an official stamp and the president's signature, so he figured they should be worth something.

After Dominic and his two companions finished their work, they went inside and added another profit to the project.

"David, help me move that Apple computer to the car. I'm going to the pawn shop to sell it." Zhang Ailun instructed David to do the moving, while he packed up the toys and documents.

"OK".

After saying hello to Dominic, Zhang Ailun drove to Old George's pawn shop.

Upon entering, one finds the shop completely empty. Old George is fiddling with an old 50s gramophone, playing an unknown female vocal piece to soothe his soul.

His girlfriend is cleaning.

"Hey! Customer, you're here again! Do you have something good to sell me this time?"

Looking up, he saw Zhang Ailun walking in carrying large and small bags. Old George immediately perked up and gave him a warm welcome.

Zhang Ailun didn't waste any time. He placed the Apple computer and a box of well-preserved pixel-style game cartridges on the table, along with a mouse and keyboard. He explained its origin: "This is an 1988 LLGS Apple computer, and it's still in pretty good condition. It can still be started and played. How much do you think it's worth?"

"Apple computer? This thing might not seem impressive now, but it was very popular back then." Old George was very knowledgeable and could almost immediately identify the anti-counterfeiting mark on the computer and whether the goods were genuine.

I took out the game card, plugged in the power, and started the computer. After a three-minute blue screen, the old machine finally booted up perfectly.

Fiddled with the longboard mouse, old George said with a smile, "I used to own one, but the accessories and the magnetic card were damaged, and the keyboard and mouse are long gone. Although these kinds of things are rare on the market now, there should be someone who would like to collect them. I would be inclined to buy it for $60."

"Goodbye." Zhang Ailun immediately made a move to carry it away.

"Hey! We can talk about the price if you're not satisfied! We're old friends, why are you pulling this stunt?" Old George immediately intervened.

Zhang Ailun placed the computer on the counter again. "I'll give you one more chance. How much for a 1988 Apple computer with a magnetic card?"

"150 dollars," old George thought to himself.

"This kind of thing is considered a nostalgic antique. I also gave you a game cartridge and a keyboard and mouse as a gift. With this set, $300 is really not expensive, right?" Zhang Ailun retorted.

"These things are valuable, but not many. If you dump them on the street, the fine would be more than $300. The only options are to take them to a recycling center or mine," Old George explained.

"How did you know I own a waste recycling station?" Zhang Ailun asked in surprise.

"..." No, you're serious.

Old George immediately felt a little numb.

Zhang Ailun laughed and said, "I suggest you carefully consider its price. Otherwise, I'll just have to keep it and put it on the recycling board to sell to someone else. There's always someone willing to pay a higher price for it!"

"$300. I can take it, if your other offerings can entice me." Old George then looked at the other items.

"OK".

Zhang Ailun immediately took out the rocket launcher toy and placed it on the counter.

Old George's eyes lit up. He took the toy out of the box and examined it carefully. "This thing is exactly the same as the real thing in terms of appearance and size. It's made based on the bazooka rocket launcher, which is a very famous light anti-tank rocket launcher developed in 1942. It's also the world's earliest anti-tank weapon, a true classic! This is clearly a special Christmas version, a must-have toy that almost every family buys for their children."

He tried loading a toy cannonball, aimed at the counter not far away, pulled the trigger, and fired. With a snap, the missile flew out like a spring, hitting his girlfriend's butt precisely.

"Whoosh!" Old George gave a thumbs-up. "I hit a tank!"

"..." The girlfriend gasped and rubbed her buttocks.

You really know how to have fun.

Zhang Ailun exclaimed with emotion, "So, at what price do you plan to buy it?"

"I think a price of $400 is reasonable, after all, even the most classic toy is still just a toy."

"Okay. This Bazooka rocket launcher replica toy is $400, and the Apple computer is $300." Zhang Ailun nodded, then took out the piece of paper and asked Old George to appraise it.

"This is an 1805 American Passport document, bearing official approval and the President's signature!"

Old George instantly perked up, seriously putting on his glasses. "You're not kidding me, are you?"

After examining it carefully for a while, he took out his phone and sent the license plate to a professional for authentication. It took him half a day to relax his serious expression.

With a broad smile, he said, "That's right! This is indeed a genuine ship's license document made of parchment, and a maritime protection order issued in 1805. It mandated that the United States protect the safety of merchant ships. However, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the United States' naval power was not strong, and it lacked sufficient defense capabilities to support merchant trade. It was merely a facade. The only valuable aspect of this protection order is that it bears the signature and seal of President James, and also the signature of Thomas Jefferson!"

"So how much is it worth?" Zhang Ailun didn't care about or care much about the past troubles; all he cared about was the value of this protection order. After all, it had the signatures of two presidents on it!

Old George inquired for a moment. He said earnestly, "Sir, if you'd like to sell it, I'm willing to offer $4500 for it."

(End of this chapter)