Chapter 48

"S, it's up ahead, where that crowd is gathered."

The branch manager sat in the front passenger seat. He was a bespectacled man of around thirty, and he was covered in cold sweat, constantly wiping his face with his sleeve.

"Feeling hot?" GS remarked casually. He looked ahead and saw a crowd standing or squatting around a shop.

Several uniformed patrol officers were nearby as well.

This was Causeway Bay, after all, a bustling district full of pedestrians.

With so many triad punks gathering in broad daylight, how could the police ignore it? Reinforcements might already be on their way.

"Fuck!" GS punched the back of the driver's seat, his anger mounting.

Kong Sang held GS's arm, afraid he might do something rash.

"S, what do we do?" Ah Tung asked.

The police were already here. What else could they do?

"You. Get out and take a taxi back." GS pointed at the manager, who scrambled out as though he had been granted a pardon and ran a good distance away to hail a cab.

"Ah Tung, go find Shark Yan. Ask if any of his men want a job. A hundred thousand for his family, and I'll get him the best lawyer. Three years inside, tops. When he gets out, I'll personally hold his Initiation Ceremony."

"Then get everyone out of the last van and cut its brake line."

"Have Mantis fetch a hundred thousand and bring our people back."

"Consider that hundred thousand their funeral expenses."

Ah Tung nodded. He understood GS's plan immediately. A boss was a boss. Nobody was more ruthless.

He got out at once and went to find Shark Yan in the vehicles behind them.

Before long, Shark Yan brought one of his men over. He was around twenty, with messy hair, and quite tall-even taller than GS.

"LS, this is Tall Guy Keung," Shark Yan said.

"S. Ma'am." Tall Guy Keung bowed.

"Good. Don't worry. I'll look after you from now on." GS raised a hand and pointed at him.

GS waved Tall Guy Keung away, then told Shark Yan, "Give him some booze. Mantis will go get our people in a minute. Have him identify the leader and floor it."

"Make sure he aims properly. Don't hit the cops too."

"Quite a bold move," Shark Yan said with a smile. Several uniformed officers were standing right there.

GS really had some nerve.

"You call this a bold move?" GS scoffed and waved him off. Shark Yan left.

"Will everything be okay?" Only after Shark Yan had gone did Kong Sang take GS's hand and ask worriedly.

"What could happen? The brake line snapped. Who knows which rotten bastard cut it? And he's been drinking too. I've stacked every buff on him."

The Hongxing vehicles had stopped only a few dozen yards from the shop. Axehead Tung's men had spotted them long ago.

Axehead Tung stepped outside for a look and saw that the Hongxing vehicles were parked in the distance, making no move to approach.

He immediately sneered. "Fuck, wasn't Hongxing's new Causeway Bay Boss supposed to be a big shot? Why's he such a coward? This handful of men is enough to scare him off?"

Axehead Tung's men burst into laughter and jeers.

"Hey, what are you doing? I'm warning you, don't cause trouble." A uniformed officer pushed through the crowd.

"Officer, is just standing here a crime now?" Axehead Tung asked smugly.

He turned and walked back inside, swaying all over as though he had no bones.

"Hongxing? Pah!"

"Almost had me scared."

"Who knew they were such cowards?"

"Of course they are. With Tung here, what does Hongxing matter?" Ah Wah came over with a grin.

"Tung, what do we do next?"

"What else? Wait for them to pay up and collect their men. Look what he did to you! A hundred thousand in medical expenses, not a cent less." Axehead Tung pointed at Ah Wah, swaggering.

He had been a little worried at first, but the sight of Hongxing backing down had instantly emboldened him.

After another short wait, one of his men came in. "Tung, Hongxing's people are here."

"Fuck, took them long enough! It's only a hundred thousand. Is scraping that much together really so hard? Let them in."

Mantis and Silly Fook entered and scanned the room. They immediately spotted Axehead Tung sitting in the middle, surrounded by a dozen or so men.

A bespectacled middle-aged man stood farther away.

Two men were tied up in a corner, their faces battered and swollen, their bodies covered in blood.

Mantis tossed a paper bag onto the floor.

"Let them go."

Ah Wah immediately picked up the bag, checked inside, and handed it to Axehead Tung.

"Tung, it's all there."

The sight of the hundred thousand put Axehead Tung in an excellent mood.

With the matter settled so quickly, he could take his men out for a meal later and pocket the rest.

Even Hongxing's Causeway Bay Boss had been forced to pay a ransom. Once word got out, he would be able to brag about this for ages.

It made him look good.

"Give them their men."

Mantis and Silly Fook wasted no words. They cut the ropes binding the two men, then turned and left.

"Come by for tea sometime! I've always liked making friends," Axehead Tung called after them.

"Hey, what happened to your faces? Did they beat you?"

As Mantis and Silly Fook led the men out of the shop, a uniformed officer stopped them to ask.

"They fell. None of your business, officer," Mantis snapped.

They had barely walked any distance when one of the battered men asked indignantly, "Mantis, are we just letting this go?"

Not only had they lost tens of thousands in commission, but they had been beaten too. Anyone would have found that hard to swallow.

"Heh." Mantis gave a cold laugh.

"Stand farther back, unless you want blood splashing on you."

He had barely finished speaking when a van drove over from across the road, swung in an arc, and charged straight at the shop.

"Hey! Hey!" Axehead Tung's men had yet to disperse. Many saw what was happening and scrambled to either side in terror.

Even so, several failed to get out of the way and were sent flying.

Crash!

The shop entrance shattered as the van plowed straight inside.

Only then did GS open his car door. He adjusted his collar and walked across the road, while the other Hongxing men hurried out to follow him.

Looking at the injured men groaning on the ground and Axehead Tung's shaken followers, GS clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. What a tragedy! That's why you have to be careful when driving, and even more careful when walking. Which bastard was behind the wheel?"

"Officers, are you all right? That was dangerous. Even watching from across the road scared me."

"I wonder if everyone inside is dead."

"If they are... that would be terribly unfortunate. I'll definitely have my boys set off a few extra strings of firecrackers for them when I get back."

GS craned his neck to look inside. The van had struck a wall, and there seemed to be someone underneath it.

Axehead Tung stood to one side, still shaken and drenched in cold sweat. If he had not dodged fast enough, he would have been fucking killed.

"You bastard! That was definitely one of your men!" Axehead Tung started cursing the moment he saw GS.

"Hongxing scum! Beat them to death!" Axehead Tung's men shoved their way over, ready to attack.

"Hey, watch what comes out of your mouth." GS pointed at Axehead Tung.

"The officers are right here. I want to report him for slander! And they're trying to assault us!"

With that, GS beckoned to the men behind him.

Mantis immediately brought the two battered employees over.

"S."

"Who was it? I'm really curious who had the balls to screw me over." GS narrowed his eyes at the bespectacled middle-aged man, whose lips were pale and whose head was covered in cold sweat.

He could hardly help noticing him. The man stood out more than anyone else.

"S, he's the landlord. And that guy too." The beaten employee pointed at the middle-aged man and Ah Wah.

"Good!" GS flashed them both a broad grin.

"Traffic on Hong Kong Island has been getting worse lately. Be careful you don't get run over walking home at night!"

Both men felt their hair stand on end. The middle-aged man's legs went weak.

"Pretty Boy S, are you pretending I don't exist?" Axehead Tung snarled. "This isn't over!"

Looking at his men still sprawled outside, groaning, and remembering the van charging into the shop, Axehead Tung felt ready to explode with rage.

"Who are you?" GS scoffed and turned to leave. He dug his little finger into his ear and muttered:

"How am I supposed to know every stray cat and dog on the street?"

Axehead Tung cursed and tried to charge after him, but a man built like an iron tower appeared in his path. One shove sent him stumbling back several steps.

Silly Fook lowered his head slightly to look at Axehead Tung, curling his lip in open contempt.

Though GS had left, the others stayed until Tall Guy Keung climbed out of the van and staggered toward the uniformed officers.

"Officer, the brakes suddenly failed! I don't know what happened!"