Few people could summon determination out of thin air unless they were pushed to the brink.
Newspaper Boss's gunshot last night had made these children from all over realize that the situation was spiraling out of control.
Before this, no matter what they did, Newspaper Boss would at most hang them up and beat them, or starve them for a day or two. After all, they had been sent to "work" by welfare homes or poor families, and Newspaper Boss had never dared to be too heavy-handed with them.
But yesterday, Newspaper Boss had shot one of them, the bullet lodging in the child's thigh. He had not sent the child to the hospital. Instead, he had casually found a piece of wire and dug out the bullet.
The bleeding had stopped, but the child had started running a fever in the latter half of the night. He had burned all day today, and still had not recovered. In fact, his condition was getting worse.
The children in the dormitory all believed that he had to be taken to the hospital, but they had no money. They pooled what they had "saved" over the years, but it amounted to less than five hundred yuan. That was nowhere near enough for medical treatment.
Several of the oldest children in the dormitory finally began to harbor murderous intent in the face of this situation.
"He seems to have gotten himself into trouble..." one child trailing behind Newspaper Boss whispered to his companion. These children were not necessarily more immature than adults who had only just entered society. On the contrary, they were more mature—or rather, more crafty.
Judging from Newspaper Boss's panicked expression, and the fact that he had not brought his whip into the dormitory to seek the pleasure of controlling them, he had definitely gotten into trouble. It also looked as though he was planning to flee with all his belongings.
At first, these children had planned to talk things over with him when he entered the dormitory. If he was willing to pay for their companion's medical treatment, everything could remain as it had been.
But if he refused, tonight would be the night he went to meet God.
They simply had not expected an accident like this to happen.
Another child gave a soft hum. "That works out perfectly. We'll make our move once we're a little farther away."
After that, the children said nothing more. They followed closely behind Newspaper Boss, who had no idea—and certainly never would have imagined—that the children he had freely beaten, cursed, and humiliated would follow him at a time like this and develop murderous intent.
The surroundings also grew increasingly deserted, and the buildings became fewer and farther between. They had already left Sabine City's urban area. Beyond it lay boundless wilderness, intercity roads, and interstate highways.
Long-distance buses heading to other cities passed along these roads every day, and they would always encounter some kindhearted people. Newspaper Boss was not worried about ending up helpless if he ran into the wilderness alone.
At that moment, the murderous intent in the children's eyes could no longer be restrained. They lowered their bodies and charged rapidly toward Newspaper Boss.
The footsteps coming from behind immediately startled Newspaper Boss, whose nerves were already extremely sensitive. When he turned around, he could see nothing but darkness and vague, indistinct shadows. He was so frightened that his entire body jolted.
He shouted threats at the owners of the footsteps behind him while running as fast as he could. But he was carrying so many things, and he was already old. After spending too many years living in comfort, his stamina could not compare to that of these children, who scraped by outdoors every day.
Seeing the silent shadows drawing closer and closer, Newspaper Boss hurriedly pulled out his pistol and aimed at one of them before pulling the trigger.
With a bang, a fleeting flash of light streaked through the pitch-black night. The fear on Newspaper Boss's face formed a stark contrast with the coldness on the children's faces.
The bullet scraped across the ground, sending up a few sparks before flying off somewhere unknown. It had missed. This weapon, converted from a flare gun, had many flaws. Even when fired at close range, its accuracy was terrible.
Newspaper Boss cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger again, but this time the pistol misfired. This was the second flaw of the modified flare gun: the hammer was not synchronized with the revolving magazine, and sometimes it had to be adjusted manually before the hammer could strike the primer correctly.
No bullet came out. Newspaper Boss's expression, hidden in the darkness, became even more terrifying. He fired again, but it still did not go off. He immediately threw away the pistol and ran forward like mad, while the shadows behind him pursued him even faster.
A minute or two later, one of the shadows had caught up with Newspaper Boss. He shoved hard against Newspaper Boss's back. Newspaper Boss's center of gravity was already unstable, and the push sent his upper body pitching forward. He staggered several steps before falling to the ground, rolling twice, and coming to a stop.
The shadows silently caught up. Without a word, they raised the kitchen knives or sharpened steel rods in their hands and stabbed them into Newspaper Boss's body. They did not know how many times they stabbed him. They only stopped once he lay completely motionless.
Perhaps it was because the tension in their minds eased after the killing, but the children's bodies began to tremble, and they started sweating profusely. After resting for a while, they picked up everything on Newspaper Boss and carried it all away without leaving anything behind.
About five minutes later, Lin Qi emerged from the small woods beside the road. He walked up to Newspaper Boss, crouched down, and felt his pulse with a gloved hand. Only after confirming that he was thoroughly dead did he leave.
He did not follow the children. He simply found it somewhat interesting. Perhaps this was what they called reincarnation?
After glancing back at Newspaper Boss's body on the road, Lin Qi returned to the small woods and wheeled out his bicycle. He leisurely rode toward the city.
Once daylight came, someone would eventually pass by and discover Newspaper Boss lying dead beside the road.
Perhaps they would call the police, but more likely, they would act as though they had seen nothing, pass by the corpse, and leave.
Calling the police meant being questioned by them and becoming a criminal suspect oneself. They might even be restricted from leaving Sabine City at will. For many people who needed to travel between different cities, that was not a good thing.
All the scant evidence that remained would be thoroughly destroyed by the indifference of passersby. The police might not even learn that someone had died on the road outside the city.
After returning home, Lin Qi took a shower and calmly considered what came next: development, expansion, and taking the first step.
In fact, the business between Lin Qi and Mr. Fox had alarmed more than just Michael, the ambitious Tax Bureau Investigation Team Leader. Several other finance companies in Sabine City had also heard more or less about the matter.
That was simply how transparent this line of work was. It was difficult to keep too much information hidden. Once people discovered—or heard from somewhere—that Mr. Fox had deposited a large amount of cash in the bank, they began paying attention to the matter.
After several days of observation and study, some people had already figured out how Mr. Fox deposited the money in the bank.
To be honest, there was nothing praiseworthy about it. The method required no skill whatsoever, and Lin Qi had never considered using some less-than-honorable means to stop these people.
He did not consider himself a gambler, an executioner, or a villain. He was merely a businessman. Perhaps he was occasionally not entirely within the bounds of the law, but more often than not, he was a defender of law and order.
The business was right there. If others wanted to do it, then let them.
Lin Qi climbed up the fire escape from behind the small tavern, pushed open the half-latched window, and returned to his room. After tidying up briefly, he lay down on the bed. Another fulfilling day!