Chapter 123

"What are we going to do today, Zuo Jian?"

Narcissa and Zuo Jian walked down the street, observing the bustling streets of Columbia, even in the dead of night. Or perhaps this was the norm for this city?

"Let me think... Oh, right, haven't you had breakfast yet?"

"But it seems to be nighttime now?"

Narcissa pointed to the Twin Moons in the sky.

"Did you just wake up?"

Hearing Zuo Jian's question, she nodded.

Because Zuo Jian was sleeping Zuo Jian the day, she slept along with him, so in a sense, she was adjusting to the time difference.

"If I say it's morning, then it's morning. Subordinates are not allowed to contradict me, understand?"

"Oh."

Then, Zuo Jian squinted, looked around, and after finding a fast food restaurant, led Narcissa inside.

"Listen carefully, don't leave my side until I get back, understand? Otherwise, your fate will be..."

"Yes, I won't leave."

Even before Zuo Jian could finish speaking, Narcissa had already obediently nodded while sitting still.

"... Just tell the staff what you'd like to eat."

After Zuo Jian finished speaking, he turned to give the shop assistant some instructions. Still not entirely at ease, he raised his hand, secretly dug out a pupil from his palm, and placed it in a corner of the shop.

After finishing everything, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, and could finally do some things... that he deemed necessary.

Stepping onto the street, ignoring the strange figure with a paper bag over his Zuo Jian quickly turned into the city's alleyways and began searching for his "prey."

After wandering around the quiet streets for a while, I have to say, it truly lives up to its name as Columbia —it's like a vibrant, thriving land where everything is flourishing.

Zuo Jian found his target with almost no effort.

Several thugs dressed in strange clothes, with various nails and rings stuck in their bodies, leaned against the abandoned pipe covered in graffiti.

He squinted, looked around them again, and found the various stick-like objects they had placed in the corner.

There was a faint smell of blood on it.

Obviously, it can't be wrong.

He was at least fairly certain that these men were probably the "old hands" of the area.

After straightening his clothes slightly, Zuo Jian strode towards the group of people.

The other party had clearly also noticed Zuo Jian, or rather, noticed the figure in the black suit with the comical paper bag on his head.

After all, with that strangely dressed person standing there, it was hard not to notice them.

However, I didn't expect that this person would actually take the initiative to move forward.

The thugs tossed aside their cigarettes and headed straight for the Zuo Jian.

"Hey buddy, what's this? What's up? We're not exactly fried chicken fans, but if you want to recommend something good, how about handing over your wallet first..."

A thug walked up to Zuo Jian and was about to say something when a powerful shockwave swept over them!

Zuo Jian raised his arm as if swatting away mosquitoes, and the nearest thug was sent flying backward, crashing into the trash can.

"Columbia swear words, you..."

Before the remaining thugs could even finish speaking, the guy who had just been mocked for carrying the ridiculous paper bag moved.

Like swift and ferocious beasts, within a few breaths, almost everyone who was nearby was sent flying backward with screams.

The remaining thugs finally realized the threat and were about to raise their weapons when they only felt a few cold gusts of wind brush against their chests.

With a few cracking sounds, they stared in disbelief at the baseball bat and steel pipe broken in two in their hands, and at the clothes cut open on their chests, with some fine bloodstains on their exposed skin. If they had been just a little deeper, they would have been killed on the spot!

Behind the Zuo Jian, a slender, long tail covered in a multi-segmented, jet-black carapace, with a tip resembling a blade, swayed casually out.

Just a moment ago, this thing severed their weapons.

Who exactly are you...?

Swipe!!

The dark figure charged at them once again like a bullet fired from a gun. After a few muffled groans, only one of the last thugs remained standing, while the rest were thrown to the ground like trash.

"Don't worry, I mean no harm. I just... want to ask you for a small favor."

Zuo Jian's deep voice, filled with fear and a chilling aura, almost made the thug collapse to the ground.

"You have too many friends. I don't like noisy environments, so I'll let them take a nap. Okay, let me ask you—which gang are you from?"

"... Lame... Lame Gang..."

Do you know where your eldest child is?

"I... no, no, I don't know..."

"Um?"

Zuo Jian's voice trailed off, and then the blade's tail silently crept up the gang member's neck.

"No, no, no, I know! I know!"

"Very good."

Looking at the thug in front of him, whose legs were trembling, Zuo Jian sighed.

Sigh, as expected, I'm just an art student; I can't handle many things.

For example, how should a gangster behave?

Although there are some memories I have of my body in Victoria that I can refer to, there are still many things that cannot be reconstructed from memory alone.

For example, one's own expression.

After a moment's thought, he suddenly remembered that he already had the best textbook examples at Columbia.

Since they're all gangs, their behavior should be similar to that of Columbia gang leaders...

Perhaps...

Zuo Jian stopped in his tracks, then looked up at the unfinished building in front of him, which resembled a garbage dump...

"This is... your boss's residence?"

"Oh yes, really!"

(Fun fact: Ami's gangster life is really not that great; she has successfully evolved from a member of the Mafia to a street thug.)

Chapter 80, Good Evening

"... Sir... is there anything else you need...?"

Inside the dirty, damp building, a shirtless man knelt on the ground, his grotesque tattoos appearing somewhat comical under the flickering lights.

At this moment, almost everyone in the gang turned their gaze with some fear to the figure in the black suit with a paper bag over his head.

Zuo Jian sat casually on a tattered leather sofa, his lazy demeanor mixed with a hint of threat.

"Phew, what a rare sight!"

He leaned back on the sofa, then picked up the exquisite tin box that was placed on the table beside him with some curiosity.

Click, the tin box opens, revealing neatly arranged cigarettes inside.

The gang leader, kneeling at the front, seemed to realize something and quickly crawled forward to the side of the Zuo Jian, taking out a lighter to light it...

Before the former could say anything, the tobacco between his fingers had already been lit.

Zuo Jian glanced helplessly at the gang leader beside Zuo Jian. He had only been curious whether the tobacco used by gangsters was laced with some kind of "ingredient," so he took it out to check. But the guy just climbed up and lit it for him.

The key point is that the movement looks strangely practiced.

"Phew, you're quite good at assessing situations, aren't you?"

"That's... that's... ahhh..."

Before the other person could finish speaking, he felt a burning sensation on the back of his hand. Looking up, he saw that a pair of dark hands were pressing the lit cigarette butt against the back of his hand to extinguish it.

"However, I don't like guys who take the initiative. Don't come at me with that arrogant attitude—"

His voice grew colder and colder, and before he could even utter the word "get out," the thug leader had already instinctively rolled away in a physical sense.

However, before making intimate contact with the ground, the other person looked at the cigarette that had just been lit and violently extinguished, which had fallen to the ground, and revealed a look of heartache.

... tsk.

"Listen up, from now on, I'll ask questions, and you answer. I don't like listening to nonsense, so think before you speak, unless you don't need brains—"

"Understand?"

"We understand! We understand!"

"Very well, so you're the leader, right? Come up here and let me see how you usually act like a gang leader."

Zuo Jian stood Zuo Jian, and through the paper bag, pointed at the guy from before with a murderous look in his eyes.

"Huh?!? What, what are you saying..."

Bang!!!!

Before he could finish speaking, the other person's entire body flew out like a cannonball and slammed into the wall!

To everyone's astonishment, Zuo Jian slowly retracted his kicking leg, then used the slender blade to pull the opponent back from the wall.

"I've said it before, I don't want to hear nonsense, understand?"

"Cough cough... Understood! Understood!"

"Very good."

Zuo Jian grabbed the man by the collar and threw him onto the sofa next to him.

He then slowly sat down in a corner, his aura so intense that it made it difficult for people to even breathe.

"Then, let's go."

Let me see what a gang leader should look like.

"Yes... yes..."

The difference is quite large.

Half an hour later, Zuo Jian leaned against a corner of the alley, took out a notebook, and then quietly wrote something down on it.

The level of Columbia gangs is vastly different from that of Victoria... no, it should be said that they are only comparable to the gangs of Londinium.

Although I had expected it, I didn't anticipate such a large gap.

First of all, the gang ecosystem here is almost entirely composed of unemployed people, violent elements, or criminals, and without exception, they are engaged in standard... or rather, fundamentalist gangster activities.

This includes, but is not limited to, highway robbery, extortion of protection money, and smuggling of contraband such as drugs...

Although it doesn't sound like a good thing, but... I just feel...

It's far inferior to the gangsters of Londinium.

The latter owns fixed assets, and when they participate in territorial disputes or suppress other gangs, the police don't even dare to interfere.

Furthermore, the black market activities they engage in are more sophisticated... or rather... more unscrupulous.

The gangs here... First of all, their fixed assets... First of all, the junk in the garbage dumps and streets can definitely be considered assets. Secondly, whether it's a historical issue or because gangsters are mostly inclined to associate with various heroes, they are extremely at odds with the local law enforcement agencies or police.

Even the higher-ranking local gangs maintain a stalemate with the police, rather than developing a cooperative relationship in any aspect.

"After all, they are two different countries, with different cultural, political, and ecological environments... However, at least it wasn't a complete loss..."

Zuo Jian looked down at the black box placed at his feet.