We Lost a Title, Has Anyone Seen It?

Newspaper Boss returned to his residence, suspicious and uneasy. It was quite a sizable place.

It had originally been a derelict factory, which he had bought at a low price and converted into his own base.

There was a courtyard and a two-story building where he lived, as well as a four-story building where the Newspaper Boys lived.

There was also a warehouse, piled with unsold newspapers and recyclable junk the Newspaper Boys had picked up from the streets.

Yes, the Newspaper Boys appeared on the streets in the mornings and evenings to sell papers, but where did they go the rest of the time? People like Newspaper Boss were, at heart, low-level businessmen. They still made profits by squeezing and exploiting others. They would not waste a single minute of the Newspaper Boys' time, so the children spent the rest of it picking through trash in the streets.

There were even rumors in some neighborhoods about child thieves breaking into homes. In short, they never had a moment's peace, except for the girls and when they rested at night.

In the warehouse, Newspaper Boss found the five Newspaper Boys. They looked miserable too.

Fear and pain showed on every face. Losing more than two thousand dollars of Newspaper Boss's money had terrified the children, yet they themselves had no idea where things had gone wrong.

When they saw Newspaper Boss return without a smile on his face, they realized that his trip had not brought the result he wanted. That was terrifying, because it meant they might be beaten again.

The youngest had already lost control of his bladder and bowels. Now he did it again, liquid dripping down his legs. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, these children had reached their limits.

Newspaper Boss stared darkly at them. There was none of the timidity he had shown before Michael, nor the inexplicable fear he had felt when alone in a room with Lin Qi. His face held only the viciousness of someone who believed he controlled everything, along with a trace of malice.

"Tell me, after you left that house, who else did you meet? What happened? This concerns your fate from here on out, so think carefully before you answer!" He stood aside with a whip in hand, making the children shudder in terror.

They stared wide-eyed at one another, communicating through their eyes. The oldest child seemed to sense something in Newspaper Boss's words and immediately said, "We went to see Mr. Michael..."

According to the child's account, when they went to see Mr. Michael, they had placed the leather bag on a hook by the door in order to appear polite before meeting him.

If there was a problem with the money, then it had happened there.

To these children, who had taken the money was no longer important. What mattered was biting someone else first to escape the terrible situation awaiting them.

Once the first child spoke up, the others immediately followed his lead. In an instant, Michael's suspicion was magnified.

This happened to fit Newspaper Boss's inner "needs." He did not believe that a young man like Lin Qi could have pocketed his money, because the cash had been counted twice in front of several pairs of eyes. Nothing should have gone wrong, and he did not want to believe Lin Qi was capable of it.

If he believed it, it would mean admitting that he was inferior to Lin Qi. That was hard for someone like Newspaper Boss to accept. They could be inferior to someone like Michael, but they would never believe they were worse than a poor kid like Lin Qi.

At the same time, he was more convinced that if there was a problem, it had to be Michael. That was why he had gone to Michael the moment he discovered the missing money. He believed Michael had taken it.

Their relationship was not merely one of cooperation. Michael had leverage over him, and he was clearly the weaker party. If anything happened, he would naturally assume Michael was responsible. It was a latent need to believe himself persecuted.

His conversation with Lin Qi further confirmed this belief. To a large extent, he had gone to Lin Qi for the money because he sought a sense of being "fellow victims," which made him feel less alone.

Michael was now undoubtedly the prime suspect. It was both the outcome Newspaper Boss most wanted to see and the one he least wanted to see. Even he did not understand why he felt that way.

He let one child go and had him untie the others. If it really was Michael, and that bastard refused to admit it... there was truly nothing he could do.

But it was not a small sum, after all. He could not pretend nothing had happened.

After sending the children to buy food and a bottle of liquor, he sat in the courtyard, eating sliced ham from a deli and drinking as he plotted how to get his money back.

The relationship between Newspaper Boss and Michael could not even be described as hostile. It was pure hatred. Yet Michael held his weakness in his hands, leaving him unable to resist and trapped in a position of submission.

That only made him want more desperately to escape his predicament. Sometimes, during private meetings with Michael, murderous intent would rise within him. He wanted to throw himself at the bastard without regard for his life and stab him, make him understand the pain he had endured all these years.

Drunk and burdened by his pent-up resentment, he staggered into the children's dormitory building with his whip. Before long, cries, pleas for mercy, and Newspaper Boss's roars echoed through the building.

The next day, before Lin Qi had even had time to leave, Newspaper Boss came knocking again.

"Friend Lin Qi, this time I just want to talk!" Standing outside, Newspaper Boss looked at Lin Qi inside the doorway. For some reason, fear naturally rose in his heart. He did not want to enter the room, so he suggested, "Why don't we take a walk nearby?"

Lin Qi paused briefly, then nodded. He had thought Newspaper Boss would swallow the loss and accept it, ending the matter there. But now it seemed Newspaper Boss was unwilling to give up on the money.

In that instant, new plans appeared in Lin Qi's mind.

He changed clothes, took his keys and wallet, and left the room. With no particular destination in mind, he and Newspaper Boss walked toward the City Center.

"Listen, I lost a large sum of money, and you lost a large sum too. Do you think we should just let it go?"

After they had walked for two or three minutes, Newspaper Boss spoke first. He turned his face toward Lin Qi. "That wasn't three or five hundred dollars. We have to get it back!"

Lin Qi nodded without betraying any emotion. "You're right. My money can't just be taken by him without explanation either. But the question is, how do we get it back?"

"If we go to Michael, he won't admit it. He might even make us lose more. But if we don't go to him, are we supposed to go to his family?"

Lin Qi stopped slightly. "That wouldn't be following the Rules. We have to do things according to his Rules!" As he spoke, he added, "I heard his wife is young and beautiful, and his child is adorable too."

He quietly guided Newspaper Boss. If Newspaper Boss could do everything Lin Qi wanted done, it would save him a great deal of trouble and keep himself from being implicated.

He noticed that Newspaper Boss's expression, even his eyes, had changed. That was the result of his hint.

They truly were no match for Michael, but Michael's family did not possess Michael's intimidating power. Dealing with them would obviously be much easier.

Newspaper Boss's expression twisted as he recalled the many times Michael had beaten and humiliated him without mercy.

His dignity, self-respect, and personhood had all been thrown to the ground and crushed beneath Michael's feet. That was why he had become increasingly violent. He desperately wanted to reclaim those lost things from children who might be innocent, through the same methods.

His breathing gradually quickened, and his gaze became frightening. Lin Qi stood quietly beside him, watching the man, while continuing to add fuel to the fire.

"A piece of trash like Michael gets to have a respectable job, a young and beautiful wife, an adorable child, and a family everyone envies. God truly is unfair!"

"Why does he get to plunder everything we have without restraint while we can only suffer in silence?"

Lin Qi reached out and grabbed Newspaper Boss's arm. "If we get the chance, we must strike back. Even if we can't recover anything, we have to make him regret everything he has done!"

His voice became gentler, yet even more bewitching, as though it could speak straight into one's heart. "Make him feel our pain too. Make him cry!!"