Those Who Court Death Will Die

The moment Richard spoke, Viper lost his composure.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

I have no objection to Adder and those idiots under him being morons, but why does it sound like you're saying I'm the king of morons?

Viper's face immediately darkened. "Don't get too smug. I'm not that idiot Adder. The Green Snake Gang isn't like the other small fry you've dealt with before. If I were you, Mr. Li, I'd know better than to refuse and seriously consider the terms we're offering."

Richard put on a surprised expression. "There are other small fry? Who? Those street racers?"

Viper's expression became even uglier. Richard's words practically implied, What? I thought you were already the lowest-tier gang in the city. There are gangs even more pathetic than you?

Viper slammed a hand loudly onto the table, nearly leaning into Richard's face as he snarled, "Listen, Asian kid. I don't know who has your back, and I don't give a damn. You might not understand the rules, so I'll be merciful and explain them to you today. You've heard of Silver Mane, right? He's a real big shot. Even in the current situation, not many people's words carry more weight than his. And the Green Snake Gang works for that gentleman... surely you understand now?"

Richard nodded thoughtfully.

Oh, so you work for that old man. You should've said so earlier. Would you believe me if I told you I'd already had tea with your boss and talked about life?

Richard did not mock him this time, and Viper took it as a sign that he had been intimidated. Viper nodded in satisfaction. Good. This was exactly the effect he wanted.

"Good. It seems Mr. Li has heard of our boss's reputation, so things will be easier from here," Viper said, regaining his rhythm and his confidence. "To be honest, not many people in this city dare to provoke us. Lately, there have been some ridiculous rumors saying that some Kingpin can replace our boss's former position and become New York's new ruler. What utter nonsense! I don't care who this Kingpin is, but even if he were sitting across from me right now, I'd still slap him across the face and tell him who really calls the shots in this city!"

Viper was nothing more than a lackey's lackey under Silver Mane, yet he spoke as though he were the big shot preparing to fight Kingpin for control of the city.

He was certainly putting on quite a show, except...

From the corner of his eye, Richard glanced at Wilson Fisk and found that the fat man was still calmly drinking red wine and eating steak, acting as though none of this concerned him, like a mere spectator enjoying the drama.

After all, Viper had come for Richard, not him. Besides, Fisk genuinely wanted to see what methods this young Chinese American had that made even Silver Mane himself wary.

Still, Fisk truly had the bearing of one of New York's foremost crime bosses. A minor thug was openly disregarding Kingpin's authority right in front of him, yet he remained completely unmoved. That self-control was worthy of praise.

Richard had not expected the tiny Green Snake Gang to be so relentless. They had only made the headlines because of him. Did they really need to hound him this stubbornly? Plenty of people wanted to get into the headlines and never got the chance.

Richard was already considering taking a detour through Hell's Kitchen on his way home that night and uprooting the Green Snake Gang entirely. Otherwise, having them hanging around and harassing him nonstop would be a real nuisance.

"All right, Mr. Viper..." Richard found the title genuinely strange to say, but he had no idea what this guy's real name was. "I know we've had some conflicts, and I'm sure we can work out an arrangement both sides can accept. But you see, I'm having dinner with Mr. Fisk right now, and it wouldn't be good for our business to disturb him. So perhaps we could pick another time..."

Before he could finish, Viper looked at Fisk with utter contempt and disdain. "Who the hell is this fat bastard? What does he have to do with me?"

Richard was stunned, so stunned that he could not speak for a long while.

...Brother, isn't living a good thing?

Are people in this line of work really this ruthless toward themselves these days? Do they have to drive themselves straight into the grave?

Richard glanced at Fisk again. Impressive, truly impressive. Even after being mocked like that, his expression had not changed in the slightest. That patience was genuinely admirable.

As Richard remembered it, Fisk was supposed to have an explosive temper. He was the kind of ruthless man who could crush someone's head with a car door just because he did not like the look of them. Yet he could endure being humiliated to his face by some unknown little thug?

And if Richard remembered correctly, "fatty" and "fat bastard" were also taboo words to Fisk. He especially hated people commenting on his figure, and anyone who dared bring it up usually died horribly.

But even if Fisk could tolerate it, he had been dragged into the conversation now, so it was no longer appropriate for him to keep pretending to be a spectator. Thus, Fisk smiled at Viper and said, "Sir, I don't know what grievance you have with Mr. Li, but I believe there is nothing that cannot be resolved peacefully. After all, we're all New Yorkers. Whatever the matter is, it should be settled in a more civilized way..."

"This has nothing to do with you, fat bastard." Viper sneered. "Resolve it peacefully? You're so naïve it's laughable. I can see you know absolutely nothing about this city. You'd better hurry up and lick that fat mouth clean, move your big ass, and get the hell out before I... Hm? What?"

Viper turned toward the thug tapping his shoulder in annoyance. What terrible timing. Couldn't he see Viper was in the middle of showing off?

The thug handed him a phone and said quietly, "It's Boss Thornhead. He's looking for you."

Viper froze. Thornhead was his direct superior, and it had been Thornhead who had chewed him out after the Green Snake Gang reported the incident. He did not dare ignore a call from that boss.

So he had no choice but to stop for the moment and answer it.

"Boss Thornhead? Me? I'm at the Mishadi Restaurant, dealing with... yeah, I'm with that kid surnamed Li, and there's also some fat bastard named Fisk... huh?"

As if struck by lightning, Viper suddenly went rigid.

The arrogant expression vanished from his face. In an instant, Viper's entire face turned deathly pale, then became remarkably expressive over the next few seconds. Fear, despair, regret... no single word seemed capable of accurately describing how Viper felt at that moment.

This underworld big shot—at least, that was what he called himself—looked as though he had lost his soul in the blink of an eye. He muttered a few "mm-hm"s and "oh"s, then hung up, mechanically and stiffly handing the phone back to his underling. Then, head hanging low, he walked over to Fisk. "S-sir, I'm sorry, I..."

Fisk magnanimously waved a hand. "It's fine. You may leave."

"Thank you, thank you, sir. I'll leave right now... disappear immediately, get the hell out immediately..."

Viper truly practiced what he preached. The moment he said he would get lost, he got lost, without the slightest hesitation. Within ten seconds, he and his underlings had vanished from the restaurant without a trace.

Richard watched the direction they had disappeared in with pity, as though he were looking at a group of dead men.

If nothing unexpected happened, they would not live to see tomorrow's sun.

Sigh, why do some people insist on courting death? Haven't they heard the timeless saying that those who court death will die?