Madman!

Chapter 64: Distributing Rewards

"I actually underestimated the old coot!" Shark Jiu tossed her cigarette butt onto Master Bing's corpse and ground it in with her heel.

Old Ghost Bing had spent years maneuvering between various factions. He had negotiated so often that he became accustomed to that way of doing things, neglecting the most fundamental logic of the underworld—naked violence.

Furthermore, he hadn't taken a junior like Shark Jiu seriously, never expecting she would disregard all consequences just to beat him to death.

After all, big bosses usually cared somewhat about face and followed certain rules when conducting business.

Yet, even at death's door, this old dog was full of insidious schemes.

Shark Jiu had killed him instantly for one reason: she didn't want Chen Wujun to hear what he had to say.

She could choose not to suspect Chen Wujun, but she couldn't prevent him from doubting whether she trusted him.

"That old dog tried to sow discord right before he died. Wasn't he afraid we'd take it out on his family?" Chen Wujun looked at Master Bing's corpse on the floor, his expression grim.

Did this old guy really not care if his family lived or died?

"They've probably already run for it! He revealed those locations earlier just to distract us and buy time for his family to escape."Shark Jiu picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Find out where Old Ghost Bing's family is."

Less than ten minutes later, the call came back.

"His house is empty. Looks like they just left, but we didn't see anyone outside. They're likely still hiding in one of the units." The voice on the other end was female, but it wasn't Karen.

"I thought so. Forget it, don't bother searching. Let's have tea later," Shark Jiu said.

Old Ghost Bing lived in Taikoo Li, which was similar to Mei Foo Sun Chuen—densely populated with middle-class residents.

She couldn't have her people searching everywhere in a place like that.

They had probably already alarmed quite a few people.

She was merely verifying her own conjecture.

After hanging up, Shark Jiu glanced at Chen Wujun. "As expected, they ran."

"Senior Sister, what did Master Xin say on the phone?" Chen Wujun asked about the call Shark Jiu had received earlier.

"The old man said that the outside world isn't the Walled City. The outside has its own rules." Shark Jiu picked up a pack of cigarettes, placed one in her mouth, and tossed the pack to Chen Wujun.

"Master Bing didn't have his own territory, which is why he could move between factions. He had agreements with various gangs to pay a monthly fee, and in return, they allowed him to offer loans on their turf. This was something the gangs needed, too."

"Otherwise, if someone lives in Four Stripes' territory but borrows from loan sharks in Heyong or Heyi, how do they collect the debt? Do Heyong and Heyi go into Four Stripes' turf to chop people up?"

"This was the value of Master Bing's existence. But while he could do it, we cannot! Because we are backed by Hetu. If we go to other gangs' territories to issue loans, we're crossing the line."

Shark Jiu explained the twists and turns of the situation, her tone containing a hint of mentorship.

"So, regarding the loan shark companies we seized this time, we have to spit out the majority of them. We need to shut everyone's mouths and avoid escalating the conflict."

Chen Wujun sat on the sofa, smoking and thinking.

He hadn't thought about these things before, nor did he have access to such information in the past.

Only now did he understand the complexities and unwritten rules hidden within.

"That's probably it for today. We'll handle the rest after the old man and I meet with the people from the other gangs tomorrow."

"I'll head back, then," Chen Wujun said, standing up.

Some of his subordinates had been injured at the teahouse, and he needed to check on them.

Before leaving, he glanced at Master Bing's corpse again. Although he didn't know what Master Bing would have said to Shark Jiu after he left...

But the discrepancy between the 13 million and 14 million allowed him to appreciate the insidious calculations of these old veterans. Like a venomous snake, the man hadn't forgotten to dig a pit for revenge even at death's door.

'Just by understating one million, he dug a pit for me.'

'If Senior Sister hadn't cut the knot quickly, who knows how much trouble an old dog like that could have caused.'

'I can't underestimate anyone. I must think more carefully when I encounter problems in the future!'

'What did the old dog want to say at the end? Senior Sister suddenly acted to kill him, cutting off his words...'

Upon returning to the gambling den, everything was normal. Curry was waiting there with some men.

"Brother Jun!"

"Are the injured settled?" Chen Wujun asked.

"They've all been sent to the clinic."

"Cover the expenses from the gambling den's accounts. Let them focus on recovering. We'll talk about the rest after this business concludes," Chen Wujun instructed.

After staying at the gambling den for a while, he got up to go to Ah Yue's place.

He had gone through a lot today and was mentally exhausted. He wanted to rest.

When he arrived at Ah Yue's place, she hugged his waist from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder.

Feeling the softness pressed against his back, Chen Wujun felt a stirring in his heart. He reached back to hold Ah Yue's waist...

...

The next day, at the warehouse. Chen Wujun turned slowly on the ground, then suddenly squatted and glided outward. It was the Swallow Skimming Water move he had used yesterday.

'I can only use this move...' Chen Wujun stopped.

He had replayed the fight several times in his mind; this had been the only viable counter yesterday.

Although Cleft Lip Snake was heavily injured, his strength and reaction speed were still a cut above Chen Wujun's.

While Python Turning Body was good for both offense and defense, it wasn't as light and agile as Swallow Skimming Water, making it easy for the opponent to seize an opening.

"So, I didn't make a mistake. It's just that I wasn't fast enough or strong enough! If I had sufficient strength and speed, I could have used other moves to counter him. I could have even used Python Turning Body to continue attacking his injured armpit."

Chen Wujun exhaled a long breath.

In the evening, as Chen Wujun was putting on his clothes to leave, he received a call from Shark Jiu.

"If you're not busy, come to Jindi Finance."

Chen Wujun threw on his jacket and went to Jindi Finance.

"Brother Jun!"

"Brother Jun!"

This time, Ji Xiang's minions took the initiative to greet Chen Wujun warmly.

Chen Wujun knew that his prestige had risen again after yesterday's events.

Even Ji Xiang's subordinates had to admit that he had firmly secured his current position, and they began to treat him seriously.

Chen Wujun ignored them and knocked on the door of Shark Jiu's office. He saw the same group from the day before inside.

Ji Xiang was sitting there solemnly.

Ah Hao had both legs propped up on the coffee table, sprawling carelessly.

Flower Boy Rong was reading an erotic magazine.

Cun Bao was relentlessly squeezing a hand gripper with a spring as thick as a finger.

"Sister Shark Jiu!" Chen Wujun greeted her and sat down next to Flower Boy Rong.

"This body isn't bad!"

"Of the recent newcomers, she's the most outstanding. Maybe I should start my own erotic magazine one day; all new recruits would have to audition with me first," Flower Boy Rong clicked him tongue.

"Remember to invite me. I'll come to observe too!" Chen Wujun grinned.

"Ah Yue has such a great figure—you didn't even want her when I offered her to you back then. Have you acquired a taste for it now?" Shark Jiu teased with a laugh, then changed her tone. "Everyone's here. Let's talk business."

"I met with the talkers from the various gangs today. We have a solution."

"Old Ghost Bing had agreements with every gang, and some had even invested money with him. Now that we've taken him out, their money has gone down the drain."

"So the final result of the negotiation is this: the matter of Old Ghost Bing ends here. The other gangs won't seek revenge for him, but we have to use a portion of his assets to compensate them."

"Master Bing's cash and IOUs belong to us. Later, we'll package those IOUs and let others collect on them."

"Of the sixteen loan shark companies, twelve will be used to compensate them. Four will belong to us."

"We're the ones out there chopping people, while they do nothing and get twelve loan companies!" Cun Bao grumbled, the muscles on his arm bulging as he squeezed the gripper all the way shut. He looked unhappy.

"This was negotiated by Master Xin!" Shark Jiu said.

Cun Bao immediately fell silent, looking resentful but subdued.

"We still have to listen to Master Xin. After all, we are part of Hetu," Shark Jiu continued with a narrow smile.

"Furthermore, out of the money we took from Master Bing, I have to turn over five million to the company."

"Yesterday, Jun accompanied me to see Master Bing and held off Cleft Lip Snake. You take 1.2 million." Shark Jiu picked up a bag from her feet and tossed it onto the floor.

With a heavy thud, the bag landed, igniting a fire in Chen Wujun's heart.

"Thank you, Sister Shark Jiu!"

"These are yours. You guys had it easier and faced less danger, so 800,000 each!" Shark Jiu kicked the other bags nearby.

"As for those few loan shark companies, I'll hand them over to someone else to manage. On the surface, they won't look much related to us. That was also a condition Master Xin negotiated with them."

Shark Jiu's words made Ji Xiang stiffen for a moment; he had thought those loan companies would be handed over to him.

However, he quickly relaxed again.