Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

Vina confidently raised her head. That hit the nail on the head. A month ago, in preparation for the meeting the next day regarding the nationalization of Victoria General Medical Company, she had spent an entire night studying the question: "Why is the financial exchange in the core city of Londinium so important, yet its buildings are so low?" She wanted to be able to give a fluent answer to Londinium the next day and impress Londinium.

Of course, Vina couldn't have only looked at the Lontinem Financial Exchange in one evening. To prevent Theresa from asking about the other two well-known exchanges, Vina also carefully researched the New York Financial Exchange and the Lontinem Financial Exchange in front of her.

Unexpectedly, a month later, she actually used this information again!

I really should thank Theresa for remembering this and reminding her, which gave her this opportunity to show off in front of her brother.

Vina explained earnestly:

"Stock trading is legal gambling. Everyone who participates in this gambling has a gambler's mentality to varying degrees. But what happens when the gambler's mentality is amplified to the extreme?"

Vina paused slightly, then said seriously:

"It's the mentality of believing that you can control everything, that you are omnipotent, and that you look down on everyone!"

"Commander Wei built this building so tall, and even put the financial exchange on the top floor, precisely to amplify this mentality. Brother, imagine if you were a stock investor who had accidentally made a fortune in the stock market, and you were standing on the top floor of the towering China World Trade Center, looking down at the entire Longmen area through the wide floor-to-ceiling windows with an excellent view. What would you be thinking at that moment?"

Wayne understood.

Frankly speaking, if he were an ordinary person, and he encountered the situation Vina described, it would be hard for him not to feel that he was in control of everything and could turn the world upside down.

Although he may have only earned a hundred or a thousand dollars, the amount of money did not affect his smug and self-satisfied attitude, which seemed to soar into the clouds along with the building.

At that time, what he would do, is there even a question?

Buy, buy more, and buy even more! Turn your hand to make clouds and rain! Become the god of this city! The stock market guru!

Wei Yanwu is a master manipulator. His psychological manipulation is incredibly dirty. He's like a cunning dealer. Although he seems to do nothing, he has a firm grasp on the gambler's mentality of the winning stock market investors.

But what about those who lost the bet?

Chen suddenly asked.

Vina answered instantly:

"See you on the rooftop. At the Longmen International Trade Building, a jump will solve all your worries."

After saying that, she suddenly covered her mouth and looked at Chen apologetically.

Oops, I said the wrong thing.

Although Wayne and Theresa, including Chen, knew that what Vina had just blurted out was probably the truth, sometimes the truth is the one that should never be spoken carelessly.

The stock market is a legal form of gambling. People place their money on the exchange's table, playing the oldest form of gambling—big or small—in a digital way. Some win and some lose, but no one can win indefinitely.

Wei Yanwu subtly suggested that those who gaze down at Longmen from the floor-to-ceiling windows always fantasize about becoming gods above the city. But humans are just humans; they can never become gods. The two main characteristics of a gambler's mentality are, firstly, the arrogant state of believing they have everything under control, and secondly, the desperate, relentless mentality of betting everything on the table even when losing madly.

The more dashing you felt when you climbed this building, ascended the stock exchange, and looked down upon the Dragon Gate, the more desolate you felt when you jumped off. The higher you climb, the harder you fall.

Perhaps describing this as a form of psychological suggestion is a bit of an exaggeration, but if even one in a hundred people is influenced by it, there's no doubt that transaction volume will increase. After all, aren't all those who can get in incredibly wealthy?

"Chen, don't overthink it."

Wayne gently patted Chen on the shoulder, wanting to offer some words of comfort. He'd come all this way and quietly thwarted Wei Yanwu's plans, even slapping the face of the Longmen capitalist. Knowing the truth, Chen was probably not too happy.

But this kind of thing is actually quite normal. Lungmen does it, Columbia does it, and Lentinium does it. What's the fundamental difference between the China World Trade Center, Wall Street, and the core city of Lentinium? The buildings in Lentinium are built short, really just so people won't fall and die, giving them another chance to walk into the stock exchange.

So, let's hang the capitalists together, Chen!

Chen shrugged, signaling Wayne to let go.

She wasn't that fragile; she wouldn't get angry or sad over something like this. So what if she knew the truth? So what if she knew Wei Yanwu had used such petty tricks? Was she going to confront Wei Yanwu? Impossible.

This is similar to how shopping malls use advertising and attractive packaging for promotions. The person who decides to enter the mall and buy such goods is the customer themselves. If they don't feel greed, Wei Yanwu's methods will be completely ineffective. This has nothing to do with the height of the building.

"It's alright. Please excuse me for seeing something unpleasant. Let's keep going; the food street is just ahead. The food in Longmen will surely impress you..."

Chen stopped abruptly mid-sentence. Her gaze swept across the crowd, locking onto a girl in purple. The little girl seemed to be jostled about in the throng, yet she kept bumping into people, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally.

"Damn it, you little brat, you're a pickpocket again!"

Chen cursed under his breath, said "Sorry, please wait a moment" to Wayne and the others, and then ran ahead.

Vina was about to ask what had happened when Wayne stopped her. Vina followed Wayne's gaze with suspicion and saw another group of people silently approaching Chen's target, the girl with purple bunny ears.

"This is going to be interesting."

Chapter Thirty-One: I wouldn't even want to get my hands dirty if I hit her.

Hidden ropes are a specialty of Longmen and a must-try. It seems that whenever tourists visit Longmen, hidden ropes inexplicably appear in the sight of tourists and police, often in a less-than-honorable way. One wonders what suffering this poor little rabbit has endured.

But to An Suo's surprise, this encounter today actually saved her life.

"What a great day! A few more and I'll head home!"

While patting her bulging belly, she revealed a collection of wallets of various colors hidden beneath her loose, flowing dress. As a skilled pickpocket, the commercial streets of Longmen City were undoubtedly her favorite place; whenever she came here to "work," she always managed to earn a large sum of money.

This sum of money was equivalent to a month's income from "working" in the slums. However, danger and reward often go hand in hand. Coming to Lungmen Commercial Street, a bustling commercial area, meant the possibility of running into the Lungmen Guard Police, who frequently patrolled the area. One wrong move, and you could end up in jail.

Although being imprisoned can provide for a month without worrying about food and drink, for a petty thief like An Suo, who aspires to become a legendary thief, being locked up behind bars and deprived of her freedom is worse than being killed.

However, before her good mood could last long, a familiar scolding voice rang in her ears. The little rabbit's ears perked up, and she instinctively turned around, wanting to dart into the crowd to escape. But before she could even lift her foot, a pair of strong hands landed on her shoulders.

"Damn it! You damn bastard! What are you doing here again!"

"Ah, it's Chen... Chen sir. I didn't do anything. I was just strolling around here, just browsing."

While chuckling, An Suo kept glancing around, seemingly planning her escape route. But Chen wasn't about to give her that chance. He'd already caught her; if he let her go, he'd be a useless cop.

"Stop talking nonsense. What's under your clothes? Don't tell me you have such a big belly at such a young age. Elbow! Come back to the Guard Bureau with me!"

"No, no..." An Su was about to cry. She knew it wasn't a good day to go out, but she had no choice. A group of thugs had come to the fourth district of the slums, demanding protection money relentlessly and showing no mercy. The Rat King couldn't be found for the time being, and An Su, who had no money, had no choice but to go out on the street.

She never considered calling the police. She was a thief, easily caught; if she called the police, whether that gang of thugs could be eliminated was another matter, but she would be the first to go to jail. And if they weren't eliminated, or not completely eliminated, then once the secret rope was exposed, there would inevitably be even more severe retaliation.

The little rabbit is only a teenager, and I'm really scared.

Wei Yanwu refused to carry out a crackdown on organized crime and even ignored the slum areas, leaving the residents living in fear and suffering immensely. The Konoe Bureau's Kyu and Hoshiguma, relying solely on covert operations, could only achieve limited results.

However, just as Chen was about to tell Wayne and the others that he would drag the rope back to the Guard Bureau first, an apologetic voice suddenly came from not far away:

"This must be Inspector Chan."

Chen turned his head and saw a young woman from Carter's. Her clothes looked dirty; while not ugly, they were certainly not presentable. A rose tattoo was etched under her eye, giving her a strikingly seductive appearance.

"you are?"

"I am An Suo's mother. I am very sorry that my child has caused you trouble. I will definitely take her home and discipline her properly. Please be lenient and don't..."

The woman seemed genuinely sincere as she spoke. But An Suo abruptly shook his head, unusually shrinking behind Chen to avoid the woman's gaze, and said:

"No, she's not my mom!"

Chen glanced suspiciously at An Suo, then looked at the woman in front of him, Carter's, and shook his head seriously, saying:

“I’m sorry, ma’am, regardless of whether you are Ansuo’s mother or not, I cannot grant your request. Ansuo has broken the law and must come with me to the Guard Bureau for investigation and punishment. Until then, no one can take her away.”

Inspector Chen paused, looked at the woman in front of him who claimed to be the current head of the secret service, Carter, and said coldly:

"Besides, if you really are Ansuo's mother, why have I never seen you?"

This wasn't the first time Ansuo had been caught; he'd been caught red-handed by Chen at least four times. The young woman's skills were quite mismatched with her ideals. It was even said that within the Lungmen Guard Bureau, catching Ansuo wasn't considered part of performance evaluations.

But in all those previous arrests, An Suo was always alone. She claimed to be an orphan with no parents. She did everything herself, from giving statements to signing documents. Even when she was in jail, no one ever came to visit her.

If the woman before him was indeed An Suo's mother, then she was undoubtedly utterly negligent. She failed to correct her child's wrongdoing in time, and even when the child was in jail, she didn't visit or comfort him. Chen felt it would be better to revoke her guardianship rights!

The woman who claimed to be An Suo's mother had a somewhat stiff smile on her face.

She hadn't expected this policeman to be so unyielding. Since that was the case, she had no choice but to activate Plan B. No matter what, she had to take them away.

This little girl has something that Master [Rattlesnake] is very interested in.

Last night, Lord Rattlesnake ordered the entire organization to mobilize and intercept the Penguin Logistics team, which was engaged in life-and-death logistics in the dark side of Lungmen. The purpose was to obtain the gift that was supposedly prepared by Wei Yanwu for a distinguished guest.

The pursuit was fraught with difficulties. Penguin Logistics, true to their reputation as a powerful force in Lungmen's underworld, possessed an understanding of the slums and surrounding areas that surpassed even some of the thugs who had lived there for generations. Despite deploying all their forces, Rattlesnake could only manage to trap the Penguin Logistics members within blocks 3-5 of the slums.

Blocks 2-4 are Rattlesnake's territory, but Block 5 is under the Rat King's jurisdiction. Even if Rattlesnake is audacious, it hasn't yet reached the point of openly challenging the Rat King. Behind the Rat King is Wei Yanwu; who knows if Rattlesnake's actions will backfire and cause bigger problems? If it affects Snake Scale and Lord Kosch's plans, then it would be a huge loss.

Fortunately, according to a report from an informant planted in Block 5, it was discovered that members of Penguin Logistics appeared in Block 4 in the early morning and handed the "gift" to the undercover agent in Block 4.

Catching a petty thief is much easier than catching Penguin Logistics. Their men had already surrounded the area from all sides, but then a surprise attack occurred – An Suo was arrested by a cop who suddenly appeared. This forced the Carter women to intervene.

Unfortunately, the maneuvering failed.

The woman from Carter's eyes winked at her accomplice who was approaching from behind Chen. The next second, she suddenly reached out and grabbed Chen's hand. Then, to Chen's surprise, there was a loud snap...

He knelt on the ground.

"The police are beating people!"

With a barely audible wail, the bustling crowd on the commercial street suddenly came to a standstill, and countless onlookers quickly gathered around Chen and Carter's woman.

Chen's expression changed; he immediately realized he was in trouble. This woman in front of him was definitely suspicious. But just as he was about to break free, his accomplices, who were lurking in the crowd, immediately started jeering:

"The police are about to take action! The police have taken action!"

Chen's hand, which he had been struggling to break free from, loosened again. His angry gaze fixed on the kneeling woman, Carter's, as if to say:

You're trying to scam me. There are security cameras here; who are you going to scam?

To everyone's surprise, Carter's daughter wasn't afraid at all and returned a glance:

Policeman, there are so many people here. Whether the surveillance cameras can capture it clearly is another matter. Do you think my purpose is to extort you?

Chen suddenly realized something, turned around, and saw that An Suo had disappeared.

"you!"

"You're still glaring at me? Waaaaah—slap!"

With a crisp sound, the woman stared in disbelief at her hand moving uncontrollably, feeling a red mark appear on her face. She wanted to scream, but couldn't utter a single word.

Then, one slap, two slaps, three slaps, four slaps...

His face was red from the slaps, and even his nose was bleeding, but the slaps didn't stop. Wayne, mingling in the crowd, did what the woman's accomplices had done earlier, and egged them on:

"Turns out he's a lunatic, hitting himself and trying to extort money from people here? This is pointless, let's go!"

It wasn't the police beating people, but a mentally ill person going crazy. My interest was immediately halved, and the crowd scattered.

Wayne stood there with his arms crossed, looking at Chen's puzzled gaze with a faint smile.

You're too impulsive about this. Can't you learn from me?

Forget about reasoning with someone like that; I wouldn't even want to get my hands dirty if I hit her.