After several days had passed, the hatred still had not easily left Newspaper Boss's heart. Instead, the passage of time had only made him hate even more deeply.
Whenever he got drunk, he always remembered the humiliation, harm, and control Michael had inflicted on him that night.
He had only wanted to have a soul mate like most normal people. He had not actually done anything, and the girl herself had not objected. Yet Michael had suddenly appeared.
He had kicked Newspaper Boss and stepped on his most precious possession. He had even refused to let him wear clothes, all in front of his adopted daughter.
Later, his adopted daughter disappeared to who knew where, while he had finally left a mountain of leverage in Michael's hands. Whenever he remembered how Michael had either beaten or cursed him, and had even taken the money from him, his hatred grew stronger.
Especially this time. Losing several thousand dollars had made him feel brutally humiliated again, and it had already touched upon his control over the children.
Now all the children in the entire building knew that someone named Michael had taken Newspaper Boss's money. He had been put over a fire, and even the older children had begun looking at him differently.
He was gradually losing control over these children. Especially last night, when he had gotten drunk and planned to beat a child to vent the emotions bottled up inside him, the two oldest children had actually snatched away his whip and pushed him out the door.
The increasingly uncontrollable situation frightened him even more. Everything he had was built on absolute control over these children. If he did not change something, he would soon become one of the failures in his eyes, a speck of dust in the garbage heap of history.
"Will it fire?" Newspaper Boss asked. The man hiding in the dark corner opposite him was counting the bills in his hand and showed no reaction to the question.
After quite some time, he finished counting one roll and nodded. "No problem. I've already tested it. You can try it too. There are four bullets inside. If you want more..." He pulled some from his pocket. "Two dollars apiece."
The skin on Newspaper Boss's face twitched. He silently stuffed the pistol into his pocket. This pistol, modified from a starting pistol, had no serial number, so even if something went wrong, it would be difficult to trace it back to its source.
Many underground arms dealers liked this kind of weapon. At least they could ensure that they would not be dragged into any cases.
"That's enough. The money's fine. Anything else?" the young man in the shadows asked. Newspaper Boss shook his head. After exchanging a greeting with him, the young man quickly disappeared into the alley.
As the sky grew darker, Newspaper Boss, the pistol tucked in his pocket, felt something called "power" for the first time. It was completely different from the power he had felt before.
His former power had been built on the difference between adults and children as individuals. He was stronger and had greater physical strength than the children, so he could control them.
But the power he now possessed allowed him to directly deprive others of their lives at will, according to his own wishes. This sublimated control over other people's lives made him feel as though he were God.
Anyone who displeased him would end their ugly lives when he pulled the trigger. That wanton sense of taking life thrilled his entire being.
Carrying the sliced ham and the complimentary bread rolls he had brought back from the deli—the deli offered customers a small bag of four fist-sized whole-wheat rolls when they bought enough of certain meats in order to compete for business—
This business model was gradually spreading from the big cities to the small ones. People might not have realized it yet, but those who specialized in finance and economics had already noticed these problems.
Slowing economic growth had made social competition more intense and more brutal. Financial and economic development at the national level had also slowed. It was a phenomenon that indicated certain problems, yet was perfectly reasonable.
Eating the salty, savory ham with the bread rolls and cheap liquor, he successfully got himself woozy again. At the same time, an impulse from who knew where began to invade his mind.
He remembered what had happened in the dormitory the night before. The children he had treated like dogs and ordered around had driven him out. With a feral grin on his face, whip and liquor bottle in hand, he staggered into the dormitory.
A few minutes later, a not-so-sharp gunshot rang out. The noise and commotion in front of the entire dormitory building instantly turned into silence, followed by the sound of a leather whip striking flesh.
But this time, unlike before, no one cried. Everyone clenched their teeth, which twisted Newspaper Boss's impulse even further.
Not crying?
I'll beat you until you cry!
The night passed without incident.
After a day of experience, Vera had become thoroughly familiar with the specifics of the job. After Lin Qi finished handling a deal, he said goodbye to her and left first. He still had other things to do.
For example, he needed to commission a lawyer to register some patents, find a factory to manufacture his Coin Sorter, and investigate Newspaper Boss's strange behavior, which had aroused his curiosity when he saw it while having dinner with Vera the previous night. He wondered whether Newspaper Boss was planning to make a move. He had to finish his own affairs first, such as putting his ring in Michael's room.
There were quite a few things to do, and they had to be handled one step at a time.
Around noon, Lin Qi first went to a relatively ordinary law firm in Sabine City. It was neither the most famous nor the one with the highest success rate in court, but he did not need those qualifications just to register a patent.
The main reason he chose this firm was that it was cheap.
If a professional accountant could make you wince once every month, a lawyer could make you wince for a month or even longer.
The consultation fee was only part of the overall cost. The moment they left the office, they began calculating travel expenses. If they took a briefcase with them when they left, there would also be a materials fee.
Not to mention all sorts of additional expenses if they happened to become thirsty or hungry. Since none of these fees could be avoided, Lin Qi only needed an ordinary lawyer.
"Hello..." Lin Qi had just entered when the lawyer courteously invited him to sit down. Then, right in front of him, he pressed a button on a small double-sided carriage clock, and the clock immediately began timing.
Only then did the lawyer speak. "If the secretary wasn't slacking off, she should have told you that our conversation costs twenty-five dollars per hour. Anything under an hour is charged as a full hour, correct?"
Lin Qi nodded, and the smile on the lawyer's face grew wider. "Then, what can I help you with?"
"I want to register a patent."
"Register a patent?" The lawyer was slightly stunned. He looked Lin Qi over again. Given Lin Qi's current age, he felt that Lin Qi was more likely to discuss possible criminal activities with him, such as assault, battery, or robbery, rather than patent registration. So he confirmed it again.
Lin Qi nodded once more, and the lawyer began his work. "All right. To be honest, our firm doesn't have a patent lawyer, but we can still—"
Before he could finish, Lin Qi stood up. The lawyer immediately stood as well and tried desperately to secure the business. "We can give you a discount. Believe me, registering a patent doesn't require very specialized knowledge!"
Because the laws varied from state to state and region to region, certain legal documents that could pass approval in one state might not pass the Department of Justice's review in another.
No lawyer dared to claim that he was an expert in everything. They usually specialized in a single field. For example, criminal lawyers focused only on criminal cases, as well as the standards for conviction and sentencing in criminal cases across the various states.
Likewise, there were marital lawyers who handled marriages and divorces, economic lawyers who handled wealth disputes, and patent lawyers who specialized in patent services.
The primary work of patent lawyers was not actually registration. It was helping employers establish patent barriers more effectively, resolving technological monopolies, and handling various infringement cases.
But sometimes people were simply stubborn. Even though they could go out wearing either slippers or leather shoes, they would always choose leather shoes over slippers. In a certain sense, the two were essentially the same.
Trying their best to win over every customer and generate profits for the firm was also part of every lawyer's job.
Votes, recommendation votes
The contract has already been signed; I was just too lazy to post it.