America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 258 Torture and Filming

Suburbs, a rocky beach.

Zorro parked the Wrangler on the side of the road. Zhang Ailun got out of the car and looked at the scenery. Zorro took out a black box from his pocket, opened it, and took out some gun parts, and began to carefully maintain and assemble them.

After waiting for a while, they saw the bread truck driving up from a distance. Bailey and Melvin got out of the truck and greeted their leader, "Boss, the person is right here."

"Yes, thank you for your hard work." Zhang Ailun smiled slightly and looked at the scavengers in the car.

The Beggars' Sect disciples immediately got out of the car, took out some shovels and cloth bags from the trunk, and began digging a pit on site.

Magee and his fellow scavengers got out of the car with suspicion. They saw Zorro, who had assembled a pistol and loaded it, looking like someone not to be trifled with. They also noticed that the Beggar Clan disciples digging a hole with shovels were nearby. They immediately realized that something was wrong.

He quickly said, "Boss Bailey, didn't we agree to work in the suburbs? What's the meaning of coming here?"

"Ask our boss. Don't you admire Mr. Kim? My boss is right here, and this is Mr. Kim," Melvin said, pointing to the Grand Master.

Seeing their panicked expressions, Zhang Ailun calmly asked, "I heard you admire me a lot and want to join me?"

"You're right, Mr. Kim. I do admire you and want to become a big shot like you." Magee glanced at Zorro, who had an unfriendly expression, and felt a chill run down his spine, but he still braced himself and said.

"Then tell me, what is it about me that you admire?" Zhang Ailun asked.

"Because you always think about the homeless at the bottom of society, teach people to be good, never bully others, not only do you not lead people astray, but you also try your best to give everyone the opportunity to make money in a positive way. Others only give their subordinates a tiny bit of profit when they take a cut, but you only take 20%, and you often stand up for your underlings." Magee racked his brains to organize his thoughts, piecing together all the rumors he had heard on the street.

"Anything else?" Zhang Ailun asked again.

"Anyone with talent will be given important positions under your tutelage. You are not only wise and capable, but also generous. Mr. Jin's kindness can never be repaid."

"Anything else?" the Grand Master asked with interest.

"..." Magee was truly speechless this time.

"Why did you choose to come with me? If you've caused trouble, wouldn't it be better to go to San Francisco or the countryside? You have many choices, why do you want to stay in Los Angeles?" Zhang Ailun asked in a calm tone.

Magee paused for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "Mr. Kim, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do I need to remind you? The Parker Recycling Company factory fire was your doing, wasn't it?"

Zhang Ailun smiled slightly, and Maggie and his younger brother were also taken aback when they heard this.

"Who doesn't know that the homeless people on the streets of District 5 never cause trouble and just want to focus on working and making money? Are you trying to hide here from the storm, using my team as a scapegoat, and causing me some trouble?" Zhang Ailun's smile faded.

Magee gasped, surprised that his group's whereabouts had been exposed so quickly. But he continued to resist stubbornly, saying with a look of grief and indignation, "Mr. Kim, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Stubborn to the end?"

Zhang Ailun wasn't surprised by this. "Okay, let's see if your mouth is harder or the ground is harder."

He waved his hand. "Bury them alive."

The Beggars' Sect disciples immediately rolled up their sleeves and surrounded the group of scavengers. Upon seeing this, the group panicked instantly.

"Boss, we're doomed."

Magee was both shocked and furious. "Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! We really don't know anything!"

Zorro pointed the gun at his forehead and sneered, "When you're lying in the ground, you'll remember everything."

The Beggars' Sect disciples swarmed forward, pinned the men to the ground, and with guns pointed at them, they dared not struggle. They were quickly bound hand and foot, had cloth bags placed over their heads, and were pushed into a grave that had been dug nearby.

"Damn it! I challenge you to a one-on-one fight! If you're still a man, come and fight me one-on-one!" Maggie was a bit out of control, barking wildly at Zorro and the Beggar Clan disciples present.

"I've never heard of such an unreasonable request in my entire life. Are you living in the last century?"

Zhang Ailun was amused and sat on the hood of the car, taking out a revolver and playing with it.

"Just bury him."

The Beggars' Sect disciple kicked Maggie into the pit, cursing, "Young man, you think you're worthy to fight us one-on-one? Do you think this is the streets of Texas? A cowboy duel? Learn your lesson in your next life!!"

After saying that, he picked up a shovel and started burying the soil.

Feeling the cold mud splashing on his face, his skin stung and turned red. Maggie completely panicked. Seeing that they were serious, he shouted, "Wait! I was wrong! I remember! I remember everything! It really happened!"

Zhang Ailun gave Melvin a wink, and Melvin took out a camera and set it up next to him. He pulled the man out of the pit, untied the ropes binding him, tidied his makeup, and even moved a stool for him to sit on.

I also slipped him a boxed lunch and a bottle of Dr. Pepper liquor.

"..."

Magee sat there dumbfounded, not quite able to process what had happened; the difference between before and after was just too great.

He was lying in the pit yelling and screaming just a moment ago, and the next second everything was ready for him.

"If you had done this earlier, we wouldn't have gotten rough with you, would we? People are just like that, they always have to suffer a bit before they'll give in," Melvin muttered after adjusting the camera.

Maggie glanced at the boxed lunch in his hand, which had the green logo of the shelter on it. It was a standard newbie meal for joining the Beggars' Sect: three dishes and a soup. You're doing pretty well.

Zhang Ailun sat down in a chair, crossed his arms, and asked with a serious expression, "Let's begin to confess."

Maji glanced at his underlings who had been pulled from the pit by the Beggars' Sect disciples, then collapsed to the ground, his legs trembling, panting heavily. They were both terrified. They had almost been buried alive.

This isn't a scavenger team at all, it's a complete shady operation... whatever!

Now that things had come to this, Magee, despite his reluctance, had no choice but to compromise. He fiddled with his lunchbox, saying hesitantly, "It all started a week ago. My friends and I were picking up trash on the streets of District Seven..."

"Stop!" Zhang Ailun, Zorro, and a group of Beggar Clan disciples were listening to his story with great interest when Melvin suddenly called for a halt.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Ailun asked.

"Boss, my camera isn't focused. This position isn't good. We should move it to the side a bit, otherwise it'll be prone to overexposure," Melvin said apologetically.

"Okay." Zhang Ailun nodded and immediately signaled the Beggars' Sect disciples to move the other person to another place. Maggie, looking completely bewildered, was sitting on the bench and was carried to the shade of a tree. "Alright, now we can continue." Melvin glanced at the camera and nodded in satisfaction.

"..." Magee felt like he wasn't being interrogated, but rather like he was filming a documentary, with himself as the main character.

Fortunately, he had worked on film sets before. Although he wasn't chosen by the director of erotic films because of his small size, he knew how to present a relaxed demeanor in front of the camera.

Suppressing his resentment and humiliation, he took a deep breath and continued, "A week ago, my friends and I were collecting cans on the streets of District 7. It was around 10 p.m., and we were about to leave to find some fun on the streets. We had just bought some near-expiry beer and fried chicken from a convenience store, planning to have a late-night snack, when a middle-aged white man driving a Cadillac got out and approached us. He immediately said he wanted to find us some work..."

"Stop!!" Melvin called out again.

"What's wrong now?" Magee asked, puzzled.

"Can't you have a bit of emotion? A bit of street style? Do you usually just recite lines with a blank expression? Let me tell you! This video is for the judges in court! It's not just for us to keep! You have to show a relaxed feeling."

Melvin roared, "You burned millions of dollars and killed over a dozen people! You're a murderous monster! You should feel remorse!!"

Zhang Ailun glanced at the footage; the other person's hands were trembling like a sieve, clearly indicating they were being coerced. This kind of thing couldn't be used as evidence in court.

"Where am I not relaxed? I feel like I'm about to poop..." Magee couldn't hold back any longer and couldn't bear the humiliation.

You can say I'm no good at anything else, that I've accomplished nothing, that I'm still picking up trash on the streets to make a living in my thirties, that I am indeed a complete failure.

But you say my acting is bad? I don't agree!!

"Continue," Zhang Ailun said expressionlessly.

When Magee saw that the Grand Master had spoken, he had no choice but to bite the bullet, take a few deep breaths, and start performing seriously. However, he was stopped by Melvin after only a few lines.

"Can't you use some body language?! Can't you talk while you eat? Are those lunchboxes and Dr. Pepper props? They're for you to eat! You were hungry, so we gave you food and asked you some questions before you were willing to tell the truth! Understand?"

Magee nodded indifferently.

"Understood."

"A guy got out of the Cadillac and said he had something to do for me, a big job. He gave us $60,000 and asked us to process the goods and sell them to Parker Recycling. We bribed the Cadillac truck driver, smack smack..."

"Say your story!"

"Words?" Magee asked, puzzled.

"Fxxk you!" Melvin cursed.

"..."

Zhang Ailun watched speechlessly as the filming was constantly being stopped midway, realizing for the first time how difficult it was to make a documentary.

The problem is that you can't let people see that you're coercing someone; you have to tell the truth voluntarily. Otherwise, unless the opposing defendant's lawyer is Mr. Dave, there are definitely a million ways to argue against it.

"If you hadn't pointed a gun at me and had given me a leaf, I think I would have told the truth. They gave me $60,000, and you just treated me to a meal, and I would have confessed? That's not fair!!" Magee said indignantly.

"He makes sense!" Melvin suddenly realized.

Zhang Ailun looked at him and said, "Forget about the leaves. Nobody here smokes that stuff, but we have alcohol. And regular cigarettes too."

He glanced at Zorro.

"..."

Zorro's lips twitched. He pulled out his Zero lighter and a box of Marlboro cigarettes, tossed them to them, and cursed, "Smoke them sparingly, damn it, this box of Marlboro costs $36."

"That'll do," Magee reluctantly agreed.

Zhang Ailun then had the Beggars' Sect disciples release several of his good brothers. The group sat on the ground with their boxed lunches and chugged down half a bottle of vodka. They instantly felt relaxed, and Melvin resumed filming.

"A middle-aged white man in a Cadillac got out and approached us. He was dressed in a suit and looked like some kind of upper-class elite, while we were just insignificant sewer rats on the street, forced to fight and get bullied even when collecting cans. This arrogant guy came right up to us and said he'd find us some work. He offered us $60,000!" Magee sat in a chair, smoking and cursing, exuding a strong street vibe.

"That's $60,000! We couldn't collect that much money even if we picked up cans for a year."

The underlings next to him took turns drinking and smoking cigarettes, saying, "That guy also gave us a batch of flammable and explosive frozen white phosphorus to process into cans and sell to Parker Corporation. We took the money, but we didn't plan to do anything right away. Since it was too late, we decided to find some fun."

"I know Manny quite well. Oh, Manny's a streetwalker, she's been in this business since she was 16. I've had dozens of friendly matches with her. She's very feisty and sexy. She has special skills, like being able to fit a fist in her mouth and blow smoke rings. But then she accidentally got sick and started doing drugs, so I lost contact with her. Later, I heard she went to Las Vegas with a black guy, but he dumped her and she's not doing well. She contacted me and asked for my help, saying she wanted to get back together with him."

"Get to the point," Melvin reminded him.

Who the hell cares if your ex-girlfriend can fit a fist in your pants?

Blowing smoke rings, are you showing off your skills?

Hmm... this thing is indeed a bit difficult.

Magee paused for a moment, then sighed, "We were quite familiar with the truck driver that Parker outsourced. We treated him to a meal, helped him load some cargo, and delivered the cans to the factory as well. It was that simple; we got it done easily. But we never expected this to happen! We were terrified! If we had known it would lead to someone's death, we would never have agreed to that guy's offer! They are the real murderers! We just wanted to make some money; I wanted to save up to go to Las Vegas to find Manny."

"Is that person from Azure Corporation?" Melvin asked.

"Yes, he seemed to be some kind of department head, but we weren't interested in that, so we didn't pay much attention. Afterwards, he told us to lay low for a while, so we left District 7. The outsourced truck driver can also testify that he was the one who delivered the goods to the factory," Magee said.

"Okay, filming complete." Melvin turned off the camera.

Magee readily admitted everything, then asked, "We won't go to jail for this, will we? What if Azure retaliates against us?"

Zhang Ailun watched the whole thing, and seeing the group's bewildered expressions, he said, "As long as you cooperate with me obediently, even if the people from Azure Company try to retaliate against you, I can handle it for you. Your incident caused tens of millions in losses and people died, so it's impossible to avoid jail time. I can only guarantee that you'll have a comfortable time in there. Don't worry, if you behave well, you can get several sentence reductions and be out in a few years."

"I will also send your Manny a sum of money every month to arrange her drug rehabilitation, housing and work, and ensure her quality of life. After she gets out, you can go see her."

Zhang Ailun demonstrated his benevolence and righteousness. As a leader of the sect, he believes in returning kindness tenfold.

"Then I'm relieved." Magee breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that his group was out of danger.

Let him go to jail; it's better than being robbed and beaten to death in retaliation outside. After all, he did do bad things and was used as a pawn for money.

(End of this chapter)