Act.4 You Know You Like It · As You Wish

[Part 1: Covering Up the Sky]

Mr. Ishimura was very nervous--

He only knew that gunsmiths were very wealthy, and based on his experience in the industry and his risk-taking calculations, he quoted Linden Van Persie 1.6 billion, which was only because he owed the Mercy Society a favor. Whether he could complete the task was another matter; he might even lose his own life.

But what he didn't expect was that if the gunsmith couldn't be harmed, did that mean his student and sister couldn't be killed either?

Eureka Volcano City is an international port city in the underground world, bringing immeasurable wealth and effectively becoming a small country outside the railway system.

Ming De is a calamity beast from the East. It has experienced various eras, such as the ancient dynasties exchanging hostages or making peace through marriage. Mr. Ishimura's initial idea was to kidnap these students and sell them as commodities to powerful figures in the feudal lords or to investors. He believed that ancient and wealthy merchants like the Van Persie family would offer a very high price.

As for what to do with it after buying it—whether to act first and inform later, to marry it as a concubine under the guise of a marriage alliance, or simply to turn it into a product of White Lady to avenge their daughter and son-in-law, to bring glory to the family and regain face—that's all a matter for later.

Ishimura didn't believe that Ming De would fight to the bitter end against Eureka Volcano City and the tycoon behind it for the sake of a gunsmith.

However, when Chairman Kang Que saw Jiang Bailu's photo, he vented all the anger he had held back for the past few years at once, which puzzled Mr. Shicun.

That being said, Mr. Ishimura still followed the instructions of President Mercy, to take Jiang Bailu out of [KINGDOM·Kingdom], and the other students were used as hostages in the negotiations, temporarily staying in Soul Power.

To accomplish this, Mr. Ishimura had to travel to the elite soldiers' encampment and select a few suitable helpers to capture the person.

The precision of [KINGDOM · KINGDOM] is very low. It cannot select a specific person to freely enter and exit this alien space. Every time it is activated and deactivated, the entrances and exits are fixed at several locations in the theme park. Just in case, force is needed to coerce this group of disobedient students.

He hitched a ride to a nightclub along the seaside scenic area, intending to find a few good brothers who could fight, and take them to [KINGDOM] to bring Jiang Bailu out unharmed.

The Armadillo Hunters in the theme park aren't as polite and well-behaved as these security personnel. If they injure this VIP, physical injuries are manageable and can be healed with White Lady's products, but psychological damage is much more difficult to deal with.

Thinking like this--

--Mr. Ishimura became increasingly agitated.

"First they told me to kill them! Then they told me to betray them! And now look what's happened! The whole plan has to be scrapped and started all over again! Linden! What's so great about you? Why did the chairman agree to your demands so readily?! He didn't even think about it carefully! Are you that important to him?"

He pounded on the steering wheel, his eyes filled with tears of grievance.

"And the gunsmith! Is your gunsmith skill really that good? The chairman was completely taken aback when he heard your name! He actually agreed to hit me! Good heavens. I can't believe it. Kang Que would slap me for your sister—he hasn't laid a hand on anyone in six years. What's so great about you that makes the chairman so concerned and attentive?"

After venting his emotions, Mr. Ishimura took out a tissue, wiped the snot and tears from his face, and parked his car in front of the nightclub.

He tidied himself up and arrived at the Mercy Society's territory as usual, his demeanor elegant, like an emperor's hound descending to earth.

Ordinary citizens on both sides of the road all looked at Mr. Ishimura with eyes full of respect and admiration.

Three waiters rushed out of the nightclub, one carrying a towel, one carrying fruit wine, and the last carrying a menu, greeting everyone warmly.

Mr. Ishimura didn't say anything. He went straight to the nightclub's front desk, ordered a few names from the menu, and then went to sit on the sofa in the lobby, quietly waiting for his godson to arrive.

The nightclub is called New Paris.

--The manager was an Asian man, and he was promoted by Mr. Ishimura himself; his name was Lan Yinglong.

When Mr. Ishimura sat down on the sofa in the lobby, the employees' faces turned grim. They dared not speak, waiting for Mr. Ishimura to make another request.

But the most frightening thing is that the honored guest refuses to speak or make any requests.

When Manager Lan rushed out of the elevator, speaking in a perfect Kyoto accent, she took three steps in two and slid down to kneel before Mr. Ishimura.

"Godfather! Godfather, what brings you here, Godfather?"

Mr. Ishimura: "I've come to find the judging panel."

The jury here refers to the elite soldiers of the Charity Society, and they are also the private armed forces raised by Mr. Ishimura. Compared with the armadillo hunters who work in the human flesh factory in [KINGDOM·Kingdom], these elite soldiers are the prey caught by the Guangling cessation attack team, and have been transformed into the warriors of the Crazy Butterfly Holy Cult through corruption, and they need special treatment.

Manager Lan said anxiously, "Why are we just waiting here? Didn't these bastards treat you well? I'll teach them a lesson right now!"

Before the words were even finished, the faces of the receptionists and waiters in the lobby all turned ugly.

Mr. Ishimura stepped on his good-for-nothing godson's face.

"Shut up! Shut up! I want you to greet me personally! What are you trying to do, sending these useless people to block my way at the door? From the moment I stepped through this door until you came and knelt down in front of me! A full five minutes have passed!"

Enraged, Shi Cun repeatedly stomped on his godson's mouth until Manager Lan's mouth was full of blood, several teeth were broken, and he awkwardly raised his head with a forced smile.

"I'm so sorry, Godfather, I'm so sorry."

The manager kept kowtowing in response to Mr. Ishimura's angry curses.

"It was my fault. I should have come to greet you personally. I'm so sorry."

Mr. Ishimura: "Why did it take you so long to come? Who were you receiving?"

Manager Lan: "It's His Excellency the Governor."

Mr. Ishimura cursed, "The governor is nothing! The entire Eureka Volcano City belongs to our the Mercy of Eros! It belongs to our Kang Que Concord!"

With that, Mr. Ishimura waved to the waiter, who expertly retrieved some of White Lady's products, poured a towel over them, and covered his godson's face to treat his injuries.

"Yinglong, was it because this governor said a few nice words to you, and you were pleased, so you stayed in the private room and lingered for a couple more drinks, and then you forgot about me, your father?"

Lan Yinglong shook his head repeatedly. "No! No! I will never forget my godfather's great kindness!"

"You need to think this through." Ishimura patted his godson's face. "We owe everything we have today to Kang Que —it's the chairman who led us to make money, buy houses, and chase girls. The girl in your arms, the money in your pocket, your immense power—all of that was bestowed upon you by the chairman."

Lan Yinglong: "Yes, yes!"

Shicun grabbed his godson's ear.

"If the club president ever comes to the nightclub and you're still sitting in the same private room as the governor, having these lackeys pick you up and drop you off—then it won't be me coming to slap you in the face, understand?"

Lan Yinglong: "Understood, understood!"

After finishing his business with Lan Yinglong, Shicun told his godson to quickly contact a few reliable elite soldiers on the judging panel and arrange a meeting time. He was about to head to the next location to see another godson.

As a key member of the Mercy of Eros, Shi Cun Tuozhen's time is extremely valuable. He is one of the top-performing employees in the organization. Putting aside this Japanese corporate slave, Kang Que Connor himself is also a money-making angel favored by many conglomerates. He works extremely hard all day long. It is almost as if the business owners have led their employees to compete in the same way in order to take over the entire Eureka Volcano City.

In this city, the governor is probably not even as powerful as the county magistrate.

The underworld doesn't care about legitimacy; making money doesn't require concocting elaborate schemes or splitting profits 30/70.

Lawrence Madison's lifelong goal was to establish his own empire in Forty-Eight District, bypass Luo Ben Van Persie, and directly engage with the financial magnates to become the architect of order and rules.

Kang Que Johnny did it, and he did it very well.

The leader of the Madness Butterfly Sect is shrewd and ruthless, a trait stemming from his background.

He broke down in tears during a roadshow presentation of the [KINGDOM] theme park; it wasn't acting skills he relied on, but pure emotion.

Because he himself was once a member of the Guangling Zhixi assault team, suffered similar hardships, participated in a real survival game, and survived by eating his companions, he understands the misfortune and fortune of carnivores better than most people.

He still refers to Ming De as the BOSS.

--I highly approve of the BOSS's management philosophy; a group that relies on financial interests will not go far.

Only love, only Cupid, can unite countless people together.

When Kang Que Johnny received the offer from the Madness Butterfly Sect from the executives of the Immortals Alliance, he had finally arrived at the center of power in Eureka Volcano City, an international port, after more than forty years.

He knew better than anyone that breaking order was far easier than establishing it.

This is why Mr. Kang Que was so wary of gunsmiths.

There are some people in this world who are not to be trifled with; once the two sides reach a duel, the result is always a lose-lose situation.

Business is not about forced buying and selling; this is the ironclad rule that Mr. Kang Que follows.

There's a unique interpretation to this "forced buying and selling": business can only be discussed when both parties are in the same ecological niche and both possess the qualifications to be human.

Mr. Kang Que was very clear about his strengths.

His team can transform living people into commodities, thus achieving a "dimensional reduction attack" and conducting highly profitable transactions at zero cost.

The two parties in the transaction are not people to people, but people to things—kidnappers will not negotiate with their hostages.

Knowing who can be bought and sold and who cannot is a remarkable talent of the Mercy of Eros.

Mr. Kang Que had done special research on the deeds of gunsmiths.

According to Mr. Kang Que's logic, the anonymous person's special skill...

--The gunsmith's team can turn the living into the cold, thus achieving a dimensional reduction attack. They don't care about costs; the rich can launch saturation bombardments, and the poor can use tactical infiltration.

There were no opportunities for transactions; everything revolved around Ming De's needs.

Although Mr. Kang Que knew who could be killed and who couldn't, it was meaningless to the Nameless One. These madmen would never consider profit; they only cared about right and wrong.

Skull and Bones Society, the Rose Sect, Heaven's Ladder, the Little Brotherhood, and the Hand of Omnipotence; Blackland Prison and John Berger's next-generation art business—learn from these numerous precedents to make judgments.

--The Nameless Ones are the BOSS's elite guards, the most lawless and unethical group in the underworld.

Kang Que Connor had spent so much time and effort establishing himself in Eureka Volcano City and gaining his current status and power. He didn't want to be enemies with the gunsmith, and he didn't want to create a lose-lose situation over such a small grudge.

To put it simply, the moment he learned that Jiang Bailu had been kidnapped, his first thought was, "Why did you, you idiot, provoke him in the first place?"

Of course, this cannot be said outright. In front of his subordinates and investors, the Mercy Society always presents himself as an innocent and harmless little angel.

He only regretted being blinded by Linden van Van Persie's legal and administrative abilities, and for a moment using the leverage of personal connections to bestow favors a little too much—a moment of carelessness and negligence, but unfortunately there is no Regret Pill.

The best course of action now is to remove Princess Jiang Bailu from [KINGDOM] unharmed, using the other students as hostages, and wait for the gunsmith to come to us. Only then will we have the right to negotiate and play a cat-and-mouse game.

All of this was the conceived plan of the Mercy Society, a very rational and calm judgment. Two months ago, he even collaborated with the Governor to orchestrate a scene, completely clearing out Zero Platform and bringing the Governor to the forefront to deal with the Nine Realms Station's investigation in order to deal with the investigation by the Anonymous and Guangling Zhixi.

[Part ②: Jianghu People]

In a VIP box at the New Paris nightclub, Lan Yinglong returned to his room, covered in cold sweat, as if he had just been executed.

Faced with his godfather's ruthless spiritual pressure, he dared not resist in the slightest, and he showed no kindness to the governor. If it weren't for the need to cultivate a relationship and build goodwill, how could he have forgotten his godfather's kindness?

At that moment, he channeled all his humiliation into anger, took off his belt and used it as a whip to lash the prostitutes who were serving him drinks.

Upon seeing this, the fat, big-eared governor immediately said, "General Manager Lan! What happened? You come back and immediately start hitting people. If you hurt them and leave scars, these beauties won't be easy to sell!"

With a gloomy face, Lan Yinglong ordered the twelve scantily clad young women in the room to squat in a row. Without giving a reason, he slapped them along their white backs, and a strange pleasure immediately welled up in his heart.

"Ouch! Ouch!" The lecherous governor cried out in pain, "Please be gentle! Please be gentle! You're bleeding!"

The sharp belt buckles left scars on the women's bodies, leaving raw, bleeding wounds.

Lan Yinglong retorted, "Mind your own business! This is my money! I can afford it!"

The consul dared not speak out against his anger.

This anger isn't about [standing up for prostitutes].

The anger stemmed from the fact that a nightclub owner didn't even give the governor any face.

They never treated these prostitutes as human beings; they fought over them as if they were dealing with goods and deciding who owned them and how to use them.

The shouts, rising and falling like a symphony, sounded so pleasant to Lan Yinglong.

After he had vented his anger, he ordered his henchmen to take this batch of injured women to the dressing room to heal their wounds so they could receive the next group of customers.

Only then did the governor dare to speak, "Manager Lan."

Lan Yinglong immediately said, "My godfather is here. He was a few minutes late because he was entertaining you."

The governor immediately understood. "Oh! So it was because we neglected Mr. Ishimura."

Lan Yinglong wiped the blood off his hands, tossed the tattered belt aside, and revealed a terrifying smile. He said to the governor in a sinister tone, "My godfather doesn't have a good impression of me. This is putting me in a difficult position."

"No problem! Leave this to me." The governor flattered, "I have connections with several mining owners from the Tom family. I just made contact and will introduce you to them next week. I'll ask you to arrange a dinner for us to discuss business."

Lan Yinglong extended his hand, his worry turning to joy. "No problem."

The governor grasped Manager Lan's hand, his delight evident. "Hehehe..."

The atmosphere was completely different from the cheerful and festive atmosphere in the VIP rooms.

The backstage dressing room at New Paris is Human Hell.

The pimp stood to the side, studying the training manual handed over by Linden Van Persie, along with the menacing-looking security personnel.

Since Attorney General Linden stepped down and moved to Eureka Volcano City, the Mercy Society's businesses have undergone a systemic upgrade.

Kang Que was right about Linden; he was a talent. He knew how to make people submit and obey, especially in self-exploitation, which he mastered to an extreme.

The head madam ordered the twelve girls to strip naked, completely abandoning the last shred of human shame, and stand before a group of security guards to display their ugly, wounded bodies.

"Do you know why Manager Lan hit you?"

The madam's expression was fierce, her eyes wide open.

The girls dared not speak; they couldn't articulate their thoughts.

--They had no idea about the conflict between their superiors, nor what was happening inside or outside the store.

"This is so disappointing! Can't you find any reason or excuse?! You can't even come up with a reason why the manager hit you?!"

The madam cursed angrily.

"Did I pay you too little? You look down on this little bit of money?! You think you're something special? That you can hook up with a rich guy and rise to the top overnight? Today, the governor and Manager Lan came in person to test your work ability, and what was the result? It ended before it even started!"

The pimp chimed in from the side.

"Who was touched by the governor today? Step forward and set an example for everyone."

Two little girls stood in front, their faces and bodies covered in bloody scars, looking listless.

The madam continued, "You two are the only two among this bunch of trash who have some looks and some skills. Show us a way to make money and share your secrets to getting rich."

The prostitute to my left spoke hesitantly, "I think the governor must particularly like... especially fair-skinned, and rather thin women."

The prostitute on the right interrupted, "He likes to see me laugh."

"Well said!" The madam's eyes flashed fiercely as she addressed the workers, getting to the point. "Whether your skin is fair or not is a matter of your parents' genes! Don't expect Manager Lan to give you skin grafts to whiten your skin! The cost of the surgery would be enough to buy your whole body! This one understands things better; come and learn how she smiles! Just by opening her mouth and smiling, she can win the governor's favor. That smile must have a hidden meaning!"

Within a minute, the other women joined the girl on the right in laughing.

They clumsily imitated, enduring insults and ridicule, yet forced smiles, fearing their smiles wouldn't be convincing enough or pleasing enough.

Nine of the girls had imitated the characters perfectly, but the last girl, who was not up to par, was repeatedly slapped by the security guard, but she just couldn't get it right.

"Damn it!" the pimp roared, his anger blazing. "Even a child would cry from that smile! You're worse than a Haidilao employee! What do you mean by 'smiling service'? Do you even know what sales tactics are? I'm so disappointed in you. So very disappointed!"

The younger sister kept apologizing, saying, "I'm sorry."

The pimp said, "How many people knelt at the gates of New Paris to beg for this job opportunity? Do you know how lucky you are? If you marry into a wealthy family one day, it will be a great honor for your ancestors."

The young woman's legs went weak, and she knelt down, kowtowing. "Thank you. Thank you, it's my fault, I'm not good enough, I'm sorry. It's my fault."

That's all for now, it's time to rest.

The madam ordered the security guards to apply medicine and repair the girls' wounds.

--At this point, the pimp was heard shouting loudly.

"These women are the company's sacred and inviolable property! If you have any improper thoughts about them, you will be fired immediately!"

An eerie and terrifying atmosphere filled the air.

Most of the security guards are young men full of vigor and vitality; they're not monks who only chant Buddhist scriptures, and they wouldn't be touching young women's bodies.

After they finished applying the medicine to the prostitute with their bare hands, several loud shouts immediately followed.

"I saw him foul!"

"He crossed the line! He reacted!"

Two weak-willed security guards were identified by their colleagues and led to the pimp.

The two young men blushed, as if they had committed a heinous crime, their eyes filled with terror and their bodies trembling.

The madam grinned coldly, then kicked one of the henchmen hard in the groin, causing the two young men to bend over and kneel in pain.

"Go to the solitary confinement room to be punished."

The other ten security guards were like eunuchs, their humanity eroded by the system, devoid of even the most basic physiological responses. They were the most formidable figures in the workplace, all striving to earn over 30,000 Hui Stone Currency each month and keep their lucrative jobs.

The pimp said, "Very good!"

The security team followed along with the shouts, as if they had accomplished something extraordinary, a result of breaking through their own limits and persevering in their efforts.

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd as everyone embraced each other, celebrating the extraordinary team achievement.

Just then, a person walked in from the side door of the kitchen.

That was the delivery guy who was specifically assigned to take orders at the New Paris nightclub. He was carrying more than twenty boxed meals, his back bent under the weight of the insulated box and his daily life.

The culinary team at New Paris has been swept away by a team primarily engaged in the meat business. The manager's business philosophy is to let professionals handle professional tasks and not to expand into other areas; just focus on doing a good job in the service industry.

The deliveryman put down the food and began to speak kindly to the madam.

"Boss, I've saved up 40,000 yuan. Can I use that to buy Mayuko's freedom?"

The madam had just opened the lunchbox when she heard those words and suddenly looked up.

In an instant, all the security guards around seemed to be electrocuted, shrinking back and ceasing their idle chatter, their eyes fixed intently on the errand runner.

His curly, sallow hair and haggard expression made him look like a bonded laborer from the old days, who had worked hard for a very long time and finally saved enough money to regain his freedom for his beloved.

The madam said, "We don't have that kind of person here."

Deliveryman: "How could there not be any?"

The madam said impatiently, "No means no!"

The deliveryman tried to rush backstage but was stopped by security.

The pimp shouted, "That's rude! That's rude!"

"Mayuko! Mayuko!" The deliveryman broke free from the security guard's grasp, feeling a profound sense of powerlessness. He didn't know where this immense resistance came from; it was invisible and intangible, and ultimately turned into bitter regret and self-blame.

"I didn't work! I didn't work at all!"

"Mayuko, please don't dislike me. Please!"

"I can't earn that much money."

He slowly knelt down, but clasped his hands in pleading with his well-dressed brothers beside him. Because he had not been treated roughly, he did not want to take the initiative to cause trouble. He was still neatly dressed and had not been beaten.

She was just staring at the cat's eye peephole on the dressing room door, trying to find her beloved.

He looked around, then suddenly his eyes went vacant, and he walked blankly to the madam.

"Is it really not possible? Is it because I don't have enough money? Or am I not qualified?"

The madam was silent for a moment--

--Finally spoke.

"After Boss Linden came, Mayuko's business acumen improved significantly. She was promoted to the top courtesan; she's very clever, she raised her price. Your 40,000 yuan is only enough to buy her for two days."

"Two days?" The deliveryman paused for a moment, his throat dry and lips cracked. "Two days... two days! Is Manager Lan here? Manager Lan, is Manager Lan here?"

"Why are you talking to him so much?" the pimp said impatiently. "Even if Manager Lan were here, she wouldn't see you!"

The errand boy grabbed the pimp's clothes. "Is Manager Lan here? I want to see him! I want to see him! I..."

Hearing the commotion backstage, Lan Yinglong made a phone call to the judging panel and then rushed over to check on the situation.

"What's up?"

"Manager Lan! I want to see Mayuko!" The deliveryman was about to rush forward when he opened his small briefcase and handed over 40,000 yuan. "Didn't we agree? As long as I earn 40,000 yuan, as long as I can earn this much money, didn't we agree?"

In the blink of an eye, security personnel kicked the troublemaking freak out the back door.

Lan Yinglong cursed, "Has he gone mad?! Change the food delivery guy, damn it!"

The madam said with a fawning smile, "Doesn't this make you look more capable, Manager?"

The pimp said, "Yes, yes, only you, manager, could train such a stunning girl who has completely bewitched this guy."

Before the words had even finished --

--There was another knock on the door behind the manager.

Just as the top-performing sales team in the sex trade inside the house was getting increasingly frustrated by the errand runner's persistence.

The door opened by itself.

Specifically, it was 9527 who used two toothpicks to pry it open.

Xiao Qi held the 40,000 yuan in her hand and spoke to the manager.

"I originally only wanted to talk to your godfather about something, and asked this young man to inquire whether your manager was available, but I've changed my mind at the last minute."

Security guards tried to block the way.

Xiao Qi squeezed through the narrow doorway and casually snatched the gun from the young man's waist.

No sooner said than done, the chin of the most vicious and ruthless lackey who was walking at the front and couldn't wait to steal the credit and die felt a chill.

The cold gun barrel became scorching hot, and with the fierce sound of bullets exploding, the ceiling was covered with skulls and brains.

Xiao Qi, holding the headless corpse of the security guard, pointed a gun at him as a threat.

"You should accept this money, and you should keep your word."