It was almost noon when Gu Sheng finally woke up in the big bed.
He lay there for a while, recalling what had happened yesterday, then opened the Wheel and started with ten draws.
"Beginner English? Fuck, what the hell do I need this shit for? I'm a gangster!" Gu Sheng looked disgruntled, feeling he had been ripped off again.
A hundred thousand bucks!
At least he had gotten three experience books.
Seeing that he only needed one more book to raise his Muay Thai to LV4, Gu Sheng immediately did another ten draws.
This time, he got a copy of "Introduction to Boxing," two experience books, and a fully loaded magazine for the Big Black Star.
"Not bad." Gu Sheng was much more familiar with boxing than Muay Thai. He had trained in it for several years in his previous life.
Boxing had nimble footwork and excellent distance control. Muay Thai fell far short in those areas, but it was more vicious.
Besides, Muay Thai was all the rage on Hong Kong Island these days.
A few years earlier, several traditional martial arts masters had gone to Thailand to issue challenges. One ended up dead and another crippled, and Muay Thai had taken off on Hong Kong Island afterward.
Gu Sheng had plenty of contempt for certain traditional martial arts masters, though that was directed at the people, not Chinese martial arts themselves.
After all, boxing and Muay Thai involved years of professional, modern training and constant sparring. Who could those so-called traditional martial arts masters beat if all they did was practice without ever fighting?
Still, as far as he knew, Chinese martial arts did have genuine experts. Almost all of them had undergone intense scientific training and sparring to develop real skills.
In his previous life, he had met a Bajiquan practitioner at a boxing gym in America. The man had also trained in sanda, and his strikes were blindingly fast and explosive. One punch had left Gu Sheng reeling for ages.
Gu Sheng wanted to draw a Chinese martial art, especially one that used weapons, but unfortunately, he had yet to get one.
He learned from "Introduction to Boxing," then used a skill book to raise boxing to LV2 before raising Muay Thai to LV4.
His personal stats immediately changed to:
Physique: 6.6 Muay Thai LV4 (800/1600) Boxing LV2 (100/400) Shooting LV2 (100/400) English LV1 (0/100)
Reaching LV2 in boxing had only increased his physique by 0.1, while raising Muay Thai from LV3 to LV4 had increased it by 0.5.
The calluses on his fists, knees, elbows, and shins had thickened a little, too. Gu Sheng reckoned he was about on par with an ordinary fighter who had trained hard for several years.
Looking at the two hundred thousand he had left, Gu Sheng decided to wash his hands before trying any more draws.
He showered first, dressed at a leisurely pace, and clipped his pager to his waist. Only then did he consider whether he should return his superior's calls.
After all, he was an undercover cop. He needed to keep that identity in reserve; it might come in handy someday.
One glance at the pager showed that his superior had practically blown it up with calls.
Gu Sheng went downstairs and found a pay phone to call him back. The moment the call connected, an angry roar came from the other end. "You didn't return my calls all night! I thought you were dead!"
"Everyone was there last night, and you wanted me to run out and call you back? Am I crazy, or are you?" Gu Sheng drawled.
"We need to meet. I'll be waiting at the usual place." The man hung up immediately.
Gu Sheng recalled where their usual meeting spot was. It wasn't far, just two streets away.
Why do undercover meetings always have to be on rooftops? Aren't they worried a gust of wind will send them falling to their deaths? Gu Sheng grumbled inwardly. He found a dim sum restaurant and ordered some food, pondering as he ate whether he had forgotten something.
He kept feeling as though something had slipped his mind.
What was it?
It took him quite a while before he slapped his forehead. "Right, I forgot about Kong Sang."
"Whatever. She's probably still asleep." Gu Sheng figured it would have taken her until well past midnight to clean the place. If she hadn't run away, she was probably still sleeping.
With that thought, he decided forgetting her was no big deal.
Only after eating and drinking his fill did he head two streets over. On the rooftop, he found a man in a suit and sunglasses, his face radiating righteousness, leaning against the wall and smoking.
"So you finally remembered to show up? Look at you. Have you really started thinking of yourself as some punk?" The sight of Gu Sheng's languid demeanor immediately infuriated the man.
"What else should I do? Act like you? Wow, one look and everyone knows I'm one of the police force's finest! Then they dump me in the sea, right?" Gu Sheng sneered.
"You..." The man choked with anger. "Forget it. Tell me what happened."
"Seriously, Officer Wei? Gangsters killing each other? A few more dead would be a contribution to public safety on Hong Kong Island. You want to get involved in that, too?"
The man's surname was Wei. He was a superintendent with the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, responsible for organized crime. He had talked the original Gu Sheng into dropping out of the police academy to become an undercover officer.
"Don't forget who you are. You're supposed to report everything to me. Something this big happens, and I have to keep calling you?" Officer Wei frowned in displeasure.
"There was gunfire in the street! The station's phones have been ringing off the hook! And who's the killer? What is Hongxing planning to do?"
"No idea, but it probably has something to do with Thunderclap Tiger and Ah Sin's wife." Gu Sheng repeated the same story, then told him that Big B had been brought in from outside to take over.
Officer Wei considered it, then said, "There has to be an answer for what happened. It could easily turn into a gang war. Seize this opportunity to move up. Once you're higher up, you'll have access to much more evidence of their crimes."
After all, one of Hongxing's bosses had been killed. They had to give an answer, or they wouldn't be able to hold their heads up outside.
If they really couldn't find the killer, Hongxing would have to pin it on Thunderclap Tiger.
Whether Thunderclap Tiger had actually done it didn't matter. What mattered was that other people thought he had. That would make him the killer.
And judging by the evidence so far, Thunderclap Tiger really was the prime suspect.
"You have to seize this opportunity."
Officer Wei suddenly grew a little excited. They had sent out quite a few undercover officers this time to crack down on the increasingly rampant gangs, with the leaders and bosses of the various societies as their primary targets.
If Gu Sheng could seize this chance to climb the ranks, it would be a tremendous help in completing the mission.
"Move up... Maybe if you locked up Mad Dog, Chui Gai, and Four-Eyed Kid for a few days." Gu Sheng was only half joking. If Officer Wei really did lock those men up, it would make things much easier.
"What are you daydreaming about?" Officer Wei scoffed.
"Tch. Are we done? If we are, I'm leaving. I still need to go check how things are going. You won't do this, you won't do that, but you want me to move up. How the fuck am I supposed to manage that?" Gu Sheng turned and walked away.
"Take down Hongxing, and you'll get a promotion when you come back. Otherwise, you can spend the rest of your life as a gangster!" Officer Wei called after him.
Gu Sheng entered the elevator, rubbed his face, curled his lip, and muttered:
"Fuck you! You want the horse to run but won't give it any feed. You won't lift a finger to help. All you fucking do is make empty promises."
He took a taxi home. After getting out and opening the door, he found the place spotless. The garbage covering the floor was finally gone, and the room smelled considerably better.
The windows were open to air the place out, and Kong Sang was curled up on the sofa, dozing.
She had spent most of the night cleaning up the roomful of garbage. She was exhausted both physically and mentally, and worried about herself, with no idea what awaited her.
She had curled up there and only fallen asleep near dawn.
The moment she heard the door open, she nearly jumped up like a startled rabbit.
She watched Gu Sheng walk through the door with a complicated expression.
Gu Sheng inspected the whole place. It really was much cleaner. She had even washed the sheets, duvet cover, and sofa covers, though they were all piled in the washbasin. Apparently, she hadn't found anywhere to hang them.
Even the years of built-up grease in the kitchen had mostly been cleaned away.
"Not bad. You're pretty good at cleaning." Gu Sheng nodded, feeling much more satisfied. At least the place was fit for someone to stay in now.
"Wash your face. I'll take you out to buy an outfit. Those clothes are tacky as hell. Then we'll get something to eat," Gu Sheng said bluntly.
Kong Sang hesitated for a moment, then obediently went to wash her face.
She really was terribly hungry.
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