Old Ninth's Methods 1

Black Mud Mountain.

With Earthworm leading the way, Little White Tiger raced there at breakneck speed, arriving before dark.

On the rough mountain road, a man with two braids squatted in the middle of the road, slurping noodles.

His flashy look and bizarre behavior made Little White Tiger ask uneasily, "Is your cousin reliable?"

"Not usually, but when it comes to fighting, absolutely."

Earthworm kicked the car door open and waved at the man eating dinner in the road. "Cousin!"

Footsteps rustled through the brush.

The braided man slowly stood up, and dozens of armed bandits rushed out of the roadside bushes behind him.

These men had a completely different air from the street thugs in the city. Every one of them had dead eyes, almost like walking corpses.

Little White Tiger had seen that look in the eyes of wanted criminals on television-the look of someone who had killed so often they had gone numb.

The two sides sized each other up for a moment before the man spoke first. "You the one hiring us?"

Little White Tiger strode forward and glanced at the burly men behind him.

Every one of them wore a ragged padded coat, but their weapons were polished to a shine.

"I already gave the money to the Old Man." Little White Tiger held out his hand.

Braided Hair tossed his bowl onto the road in satisfaction and shook Little White Tiger's hand.

"I don't care who you want taken out, and I won't ask you for a settlement fee. But let's get one thing straight first: is that nine hundred thousand the full payment or a deposit?"

"What's the difference?" Little White Tiger's expression changed, thinking the man was trying to screw him over.

"If it's a deposit, I'll put together a three-million job for you."

"Make it fucking five million." Little White Tiger went all in.

He couldn't get through to Old Ninth now. Knowing him, Little White Tiger figured he was probably already lying in wait outside Old Ding's place.

Once the fighting started, one side had to be beaten into complete submission.

If they lost, there would be no need to worry about the balance. They probably wouldn't even survive.

If they won, someone would naturally be willing to pay to clean up Little White Tiger's mess.

Braided Hair grinned at that.

"Now that's a generous boss. Come on, say hello to the boss."

"Hello, boss!"

Over a hundred men roared in unison.

These bandits dressed like paupers, but their presence was nothing the city's petty thugs could match.

"You have a way into the city, right?"

Without a Permanent City Residence Permit, anyone from outside had to apply half a month in advance to enter the city.

Most outsiders used unofficial routes to get in.

For example, some city residents had dug tunnels beneath the city walls specifically to let people come and go-for a fee.

"Yeah." Braided Hair calmly lit a cigarette. "We kidnapped a South Garden District councilman's kid. I'll call him later and have him open the fucking gates himself."

"Fuck."

That made Little White Tiger even more uneasy.

Braided Hair waved casually. "You head back into the city first."

"We're going after Old Ding," Little White Tiger specifically added, giving them fair warning.

After all, Old Ding was a prominent figure in the city's underworld.

"Like I give a fuck who he is." Braided Hair sneered. "Ask Old Ding if he dares use my road without paying the toll."

"All right."

Inside the city.

Mr. Li stood anxiously in front of his desk. The ashtray was already overflowing with cigarette butts.

After who knew how many calls, Mr. Li finally got through to Old Ninth.

"Hello?"

"Yeah?"

"Fuck, you finally picked up. We can't rush into a showdown with Old Ding. Can you wait until Little Tiger gets back so we can talk it over?" Mr. Li could still reason with Little White Tiger, but facing Old Ninth filled him with helplessness.

The biggest difference between Old Ninth and Little White Tiger was that Old Ninth was genuinely mentally ill, with hospital records to prove it.

Ordinary people simply couldn't fathom how his mind worked.

"My brother's in the hospital. I can't let this go." Old Ninth hesitated for a long moment. "I can leave Old Ding alone, but that A Lang has to die."

Mr. Li dug at his ear, suddenly realizing he couldn't understand Old Ninth's thinking.

"Buddy, I called because I'm afraid you won't make it back out, not because I'm afraid you'll kill Old Ding."

Old Ding was at the fourth awakening, and A Lang was at the peak second awakening. Who could Old Ninth, a rookie who had only just awakened, possibly beat?

But in Old Ninth's mind, the only question was whether he wanted to kill someone. Whether he could beat them never entered into it.

"Mr. Li, Little White Tiger trusted you and held his fire for half a month. What happened? Piglet ended up in the hospital, and he got attacked outside the city too. People on the streets don't follow all those rules. If you don't beat them into submission, everyone will think they can bare their teeth at you. Once I mail A Lang's head to Old Ding, they'll fall in line."

"Can you fucking come back?"

Mr. Li roared in fury, "Both sides are still laying out their cards, and you're flipping the fucking table?"

Neither Mr. Li nor the people behind Old Ding were ready to go to war yet.

Both sides were probing each other's hidden cards, but Old Ninth had thrown down his biggest trump card right out of the gate.

A Lang was Old Ding's second-in-command. If they touched him, the other side would have to fight whether they wanted to or not.

"Too late," Old Ninth said calmly. "You keep laying out your cards. A Lang's getting on his fucking knees today."

"Fuck."

Mr. Li hung up and ordered the man in black beside him, "Find Old Ninth before he makes his move."

The man in black held a tablet, his hands trembling slightly. "It really is too late, sir..."

With that, he handed the tablet to Mr. Li.

A video-calling app was open on the tablet. In the footage... Old Ninth's men were already outside the KTV.

The Joyful Mansion.

As the largest KTV in the West Garden District, it was also Old Ding's most profitable business.

It was also the turf of A Lang, Old Ding's strongest fighter.

Night had barely fallen, and traffic was already streaming past the KTV entrance.

Its customers were either rich or powerful.

There were seven or eight lackeys handling parking alone, a clear sign of how well business was doing.

Precisely because of that, nobody noticed the youths squatting outside, smoking.

"Brother Nine."

The youth by the roadside glanced at the van behind him.

"There aren't any special precautions nearby. They probably think we wouldn't dare come."

In fact, A Lang really did think Old Ninth wouldn't dare come. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't bring men here to cause trouble.

This was A Lang's home turf. With one phone call, he could gather every thug on the street within five minutes.

"Bone, you move first. Once it's done, pull out according to plan."

A cigarette ember inside the van glowed and dimmed.

"Sure thing."

The five youths squatting outside the van exchanged glances, then stood together and headed toward the KTV with their heads lowered.

"Third-anniversary special! Third-anniversary special! Spend five thousand and get a free bottle of red wine!"

The lackey at the entrance worked hard handing flyers to passersby. Nobody noticed the five teenage boys slipping up to the doors.

"Hey!"

As they entered the lobby, several security guards reached out to stop the plainly dressed youths.

"What are you here for?"

The Joyful Mansion's security guards had sharp eyes. From their clothes alone, they could tell these boys couldn't afford anything inside.

"To spend money."

The youth in front had dreadlocks and wore a white hoodie, with a large canvas bag on his back.

"Fuck, the minimum spend here is ten thousand a night. Just touching one of the girls costs over three thousand. Can you afford that? Go on, get lost. Go home and jerk off."

"What kind of girl costs over three thousand? Is she studded with diamonds?" the dreadlocked youth asked innocently.

"Three hundred. Give me the full package." Another youth pulled out three hundred and tossed it on the floor.

The security captain looked baffled. "You here to fucking start trouble? Get out now, or you won't be leaving."

"Look where you are, you little punks," a passing rich young man sneered.

"Sure is fancy."

"Tsk, tsk."

The youths gazed around the glittering lobby with longing on their faces. "Look at that light. Looks like it's made of gold."

"Captain Zhou, don't let this riffraff in. Who do they think they are, partying at the same place as us?"

The young man in the expensive suit had his arm around a gaudily dressed girl as he sneered, "Broke bastards. One glass of my liquor could buy your lives. Stop embarrassing yourselves here. Ha!"

With that, the rich young man sauntered toward a private room, one hand on the girl's waist and a cigarette between the fingers of the other.

"Get the hell out. Fuck, someone come and-"

The security captain stopped midsentence.

The boys unzipped the large canvas bag. The assortment of long guns and handguns inside made the security captain break out in a cold sweat.

Whoosh!

The dreadlocked youth pulled out the Shotgun, jogged a couple of steps, and called after the rich young man.

"Hey."

"What do you-"

The rich young man turned and found himself staring straight down the boy's gun barrel.

"You've got plenty of money, but only one life, right? Come on, tell me. What class are you, and what class am I?"

Bang!

The gun fired, and the rich young man clutched his thigh and dropped to his knees in agony.

"Lots of money? Is it bulletproof? Huh? Answer me."

The rich young man had never imagined these kids could be so vicious. Terrified, he frantically waved his hands.

The dreadlocked youth raised the stock and smashed it into the rich young man's face more than a dozen times, then turned to the girl beside him. "You studded with diamonds or something, charging that much? I'll come spend some money on you next time. If you're not worth three thousand, I'll fucking kill you..."