The Fun of Cricket Fighting (Please Follow and Vote)

After it was over, even Bai Xing felt somewhat exhausted.

Even with his World-Shaking Wisdom, which had allowed him to develop these little tricks through study and research,

putting them into practice was far from easy.

The body was like a highly sophisticated machine. Making it carry out one's ideas and controlling it according to one's will was truly a test of fine control.

Fortunately, Bai Xing had a solid foundation. He had not neglected training his strength during this time, and he could also share in the nourishment whenever Sato grew stronger.

Together with his unyielding will, that was how he completed this entire set of fine manipulations.

"Bai-chan."

After catching his breath twice, he looked up to see Takahashi Hitomi gazing at him with deep affection.

It was the kind of gaze that said she could offer everything she had to Bai Xing at any time.

That evening.

Iketani had already booked Bai Xing a flight to Kobe City.

Since he had already verified the feasibility of his little trick on Takahashi Hitomi,

it was time to resolve the problem once and for all.

And while he was at it, he could bring the entire Yamaguchi-gumi under his control.

There were still around ten minutes before boarding in the waiting lounge.

Iketani had already left, leaving Bai Xing alone.

Suddenly, a man sat down beside him.

His skin was very pale. He wore a white shirt, tan trousers, brown leather shoes, and a dark green baseball cap.

His eyes were half-lidded, and he always wore a smile.

"We meet again."

"Mm."

"I investigated you. Two months ago, there was absolutely no record of you. It was as though you had appeared out of thin air.

A month and a half ago, you were collecting debts under Iketani Masahiro, a cadre of the Takahashi Syndicate, a criminal organization. Your results were outstanding, and your methods exceptional.

Then, when the Takahashi Syndicate fell into internal rebellion, you strongly supported Takahashi Kenichiro's daughter, Takahashi Hitomi, in taking power. Though you held no actual title within the Takahashi Syndicate, your status was no lower than that of the newly installed Syndicate leader.

And all of this was because you made no effort whatsoever to conceal your use of that miraculous power!"

"Mm."

As Sato continued exposing his past, Bai Xing merely responded along with him, utterly unconcerned.

"You should know what happens when an Ajin is discovered. The power you possess is no less attractive to those people than an Ajin, and more importantly, you can freely grant this ability to others. Are you really not worried at all?"

"If you have something to say, say it. If you need to fart, then fart. Since when did even you, Sato, become so long-winded?"

He checked his watch. It was nearly time to board.

Bai Xing turned toward him impatiently.

Sato seemed not to notice Bai Xing's impatience and continued smiling. "It's like this. I think you're an interesting person, so I'd like to invite you to do something interesting with me."

"No."

Sato was somewhat surprised by Bai Xing's outright refusal.

"I thought you gave me that power because you were interested in what I was doing."

Bai Xing did not answer.

Two seconds later, he said flatly, "You have some Han Chinese blood. You should have heard of cricket fighting, right?"

Even Sato could not help but be taken aback.

Bai Xing continued, "Cricket fighting is also called fighting crickets.

This game began during the Tianbao Era of the Tang Dynasty. Officials of the Song Dynasty and wealthy clans of the Ming Dynasty all treated cricket fighting as entertainment, to the point that 'the noble squandered themselves on it, the wealthy exhausted their fortunes on it, and scholars neglected their work because of it.'

By the Qing Dynasty, its popularity had only continued to grow. Princes and nobles became even more obsessed with this form of amusement. Even children in the alleys would gather in groups of three or five around a single pot to have a match.

Cricket fighting may look simple, but there is actually a great deal to it.

To ensure their crickets won in battle, owners often chose different foods—such as rice, crab roe, chestnut yolk, rice worms, and eel—according to whether the weather was sunny or overcast, hot or cold, wet or dry.

Some went even further. To make their crickets fiercer, they fed them hormones, fly larvae, and sometimes even illegal drugs such as hallucinogens.

Watching those tiny crickets slaughter each other in a jar not only won their owners gambling money, but also brought them genuine joy."

As he spoke, Bai Xing rose to his feet.

He patted Sato on the shoulder.

"I'm boarding now. Let's talk again next time."

Sato said nothing and made no move.

He simply sat there and watched Bai Xing disappear through the boarding gate.

How could he fail to understand Bai Xing's meaning?

By Bai Xing's account, he was the cricket being raised. Giving him power was merely meant to make him stronger.

And Bai Xing was the owner. He did all this only to enjoy watching the crickets fight one another.

Sato also gained another piece of information from Bai Xing's words.

There could never be only one cricket in a jar!

The heart that had swelled slightly from his increased power immediately tightened.

Yet the emotion that rose up afterward was not fear.

It was excitement!

"Not bad. It sounds like a fun game."

Shinohara Honmachi, Nada Ward, Kobe City.

The headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi, renowned throughout Japan and even the entire world, was located here.

It was a white three-story building. It was hard to imagine that the Yamaguchi-gumi, which had over three hundred thousand members at its peak and still had tens of thousands today, had such an inconspicuous headquarters.

Even a middling organization like the Takahashi Syndicate, neither here nor there, had a heavily guarded building for its headquarters.

The Yamaguchi-gumi's defenses were not particularly strong. Or perhaps they simply never believed anyone would dare attack their headquarters.

That was only natural. The Yamaguchi-gumi was entangled with too many interests. No one would truly dare lay a hand on their leader.

After all, one move would affect the whole body.

As for hotheaded fools who knew nothing, they would never be able to enter the headquarters in the first place.

Yet today, someone like Bai Xing, who never played by the rules, had arrived.

Before long, Bai Xing found Yamaguchi Kazuo, the Sixth Generation, fast asleep.

Bai Xing placed his palm on the man's head and repeated his old trick.

But this time, what he twisted and controlled in Yamaguchi Kazuo's mind was his loyalty.

When Yamaguchi Kazuo opened his eyes again, he was not at all surprised to see Bai Xing before him.

Because in his understanding, Bai Xing was the person to whom he had sworn loyalty unto death.

"Mr. Bai!"

Bai Xing waved a hand.

A wave of exhaustion washed over him.

Controlling Yamaguchi Kazuo's mind was far more difficult than controlling Takahashi Hitomi's.

He needed a good rest.

"Arrange a room for me."

"Sir!"

Now that he had dealt with the Yamaguchi-gumi, not only had the Takahashi Syndicate's crisis been resolved, Bai Xing could also make use of the Yamaguchi-gumi's vast resources.

The Yamaguchi-gumi operated in both the underworld and legitimate business, earning hundreds of billions of dollars in profit every year.

That was almost equal to Thailand's entire annual budget!

Although controlling only Yamaguchi Kazuo meant he could not mobilize one hundred percent of the Yamaguchi-gumi's resources,

it was enough for Bai Xing for the time being.

Besides, apart from its criminal operations, the Yamaguchi-gumi's business interests extended into every industry.

Naturally, it had quite a few high-tech companies among them.

He could leave the matter of producing the Electric Chair Device to Yamaguchi Kazuo as well.