Chapter 64: Complete
“You asked to see me?”
Fu Shouxin observed Ren Xiaotian and Chen Chuan. When he heard that two agents wanted to see him, he told his subordinate to bring them over.
The underground fighting ring was located near the downtown area, so he had to interact with all sorts of people, and the gang’s rules did not help him solve the problems with them. This was especially so when it came to agents, who were strong and had a lot of connections. He could not afford to disrespect them and get on their bad side. Unless something major happened, it would be a terrible deal.
Chen Chuan sized Fu Shouxin up. He was also a leader in the Blood Scars Gang, but he looked completely different from the savage and rowdy Big Guo.
Fu Shouxin was a well-dressed, middle-aged man. He had combed his hair neatly and shaved himself clean while having put on a casual suit, a checkered tie, and a pair of glossy, black leather shoes. He looked every bit an upper-class member of society.
Fu Shouxin beckoned them to sit before asking his subordinate to pour them a glass of wine. He leaned back against the sofa and gestured for them to speak. “Why did you ask to see me?”
“We’d like to take An Qingqing with us,” Ren Xiaotian answered.
“It’s about that. If you can make her leave with you, I won’t stop you. I’m running a business here, so obeying the rules is really important to me.”
“She won’t leave, so I’m hoping that you’ll make her,” Ren Xiaotian said.
Fu Shouxin laughed and sat up straighter as he looked them in the eye. “I’ll be frank with you. You aren’t the first batch of people who came looking for An Qingqing, but she’s my customer, since she gave me money. How could I drive away a paying customer? I want her to stay here forever, you know?” He leaned back against his seat and shrugged. “I can’t fulfill your request.”
Ren Xiaotian took out his revolver and placed it on the table. The security guards and gang members instantly tensed up. Some of them even got ready to pull out their own weapons.
Fu Shouxin raised a hand to signal for them not to move. He seemed curious and amused. “What’s this? Are you threatening me? You’re an agent, so you should know what sort of place this is. You think you can scare me with a gun? Are you here to make me laugh?”
“If you won’t chase her out, I’ll fire a shot skyward once I step out of this room,” Ren Xiaotian declared flatly.
Fu Shouxin’s expression changed, and his unbothered demeanor disappeared.
“Someone will call the Constabulary once they hear the gunshot, and the constables will come,” Ren Xiaotian continued.
“Damn it!” Fu Shouxin cursed. “You’re serious?”
He knew full well how the constables operated. The Constabulary got their money straight from the government’s treasury, not from the Department of Administrative Affairs. The constables were also a united group, so they would not show any respect or mercy to the Blood Scars Gang.
If they came, they would not care about what had happened or who fired the shot. They would extort a huge amount of money from him on the excuse of searching for the gun’s owner or shut down the fighting ring for a few days. Even if Fu Shouxin called some favors to lift the ban, he would have to pay a hefty sum for it.
The most important thing, though, was that his hands were not clean, so he could not have the constables investigating him. If they did, he would lose way too much.
Chen Chuan figured out what Ren Xiaotian was thinking at this point. He understood how the Constabulary worked, so he chimed in and said in a calm, even tone, “Mr. Fu, the fighting ring is located between two districts. You might have usually made use of this fact to avoid the Constabulary’s supervision, but the moment my senior brother fires his gun, the constables from both districts will be mobilized.
“The Great Plain District’s Constabulary is about ten minutes away, while the Sealed District’s is even closer at only around eight. The constables will arrive within ten minutes. You wouldn’t be able to empty out the place in time, would you? After all, you’re running a huge operation here.
“I’m sure you know the rules of the Constabulary. Besides, the Sealed District’s Captain Wei is known as the Tiger. He has a strong sense of justice, acts decisively, and stands by his actions. I believe that you wouldn’t want to see him, would you, Mr. Fu?”
Fu Shouxin’s expression changed repeatedly. He was wondering whether he should just lock them up, but if they had the courage to come see him, it meant that they had backup outside. The problem would then blow out of scale, and he would have an even harder time talking his way out.
Those who could run around with guns were either outlaws or had a weapons permit, and the latter were much more troublesome. It meant that they were graduates from Martial Valor University, and there were just too many complications from going up against someone like that.
Fu Shouxin had never encountered a situation like this before. This was mainly because those who were good enough did not come knocking on his door for trouble, while those who were not good enough did not dare to knock on the Blood Scars Gang’s door for trouble.
After a good deal of thinking, he beckoned a subordinate over and said glumly, “Clear out Room Seven and send the customer out.”
His subordinate nodded and left with some goons.
Ren Xiaotian picked up the revolver from the table and stuffed it back into his gun holster.
“Until next time, Mr. Fu,” he said while standing up.
“How about never? My doors will never be open to you again,” Fu Shouxin said darkly.
“I won’t come again,” Ren Xiaotian replied.
“I hope you keep your word.” Fu Shouxin sneered. He then barked an order to his remaining subordinates, “Why are you still standing around? Send our guests out!”
Numerous Blood Scars Gang members immediately surrounded them. Once they got up, they were escorted out like prisoners.
Ren Xiaotian and Chen Chuan did not mind. They knew that this was just for show. After all, they got what they came here for, so, at the very least, they should show the owner of the place some respect and let him have this.
When they got outside, they met up with Lin Xiaodi. Chen Chuan caught a faint whiff of algae oil from Lin Xiaodi and immediately knew what she had been doing outside.
An Qingqing had not come out yet, so they started waiting.
Chen Chuan did a mental review of the entire mission and decided that Ren Xiaotian was a genius for turning the Blood Scars Gang against An Qingqing. In the end, he did not even need to lift a finger. He got the mission completed by using the Blood Scars Gang.
It looked easy, but Ren Xiaotian needed an understanding of Fu Shouxin’s psyche, the Constabulary’s manner of operations, and a lot of confidence in his own abilities to pull it off.
“I’ve learned a lesson, Senior Brother Ren,” he said to Ren Xiaotian.
“You must fight rules with rules,” Ren Xiaotian said seriously. Then, after some thinking, he added, “Your own safety is of utmost importance, though.”
Chen Chuan nodded.
“You can’t go wrong listening to Martial Uncle Ren,” Lin Xiaodi chirped in energetically.
They talked for a while before An Qingqing and Xiao Zhen walked out. An Qingqing’s cheeks were puffed out, and she looked furious.
Lin Xiaodi walked over and said, “We meet again, Miss An. Come with us.”
An Qingqing crossed her arms and huffed. “Did you do this? If you win against Xiao Zhen, I’ll leave with you.”
The moment Xiao Zhen stepped forward, Ren Xiaotian pulled out his revolver and pointed it at her. She immediately stopped and raised her hands with suspicious familiarity. “Miss Qingqing...”
An Qingqing cast a glance at Ren Xiaotian, who held a revolver, then at Xiao Zhen’s pleading eyes. She grumbled under her breath before saying, “How boring. Fine. I’ll leave with you, but I’m not getting into your car. Xiao Zhen, send me back.”
The weapons permit is seriously useful, Chen Chuan thought.
With An Qingqing’s permission, Xiao Zhen immediately ran over to retrieve the car. After a while, a red Maple came over. Qingqing went over to the car and got in.
“You tampered with it?” Ren Xiaotian asked.
“I checked it. I wanted to put some stuff inside, but there was only enough algae fuel to send her back home. She can’t go anywhere else,” Lin Xiaodi said with a grin.
Ren Xiaotian said nothing else. He motioned for Chen Chuan and Lin Xiaodi to get into the SUV, then got on the road and headed south.
They did not run into any trouble along the way and simply escorted An Qingqing back to the residential area where Mr. An lived. Ren Xiaotian asked Lin Xiaodi to make a call. Soon, someone who looked like a butler came out to sign the receipt.
Ren Xiaotian gave Chen Chuan a copy, and the mission was officially over. As for whether An Qingqing would run away from home again, that was none of their business.
On the way back to Martial Valor University, Chen Chuan learned through his conversation with Lin Xiaodi that she was younger than he was by a year, and she had been learning martial arts from her master since she was a child. She was going to take the Martial Valor University’s entrance exam the year after. Considering Lin Xiaodi’s personal connections and skills, they were going to be university mates next year.
When they reached the dormitory’s entrance, Chen Chuan bid goodbye to Ren Xiaotian and Lin Xiaodi and called Cheng Zitong, just like he did last time.
Once the call went through and Cheng Zitong heard that things went smoothly, he said, “I checked your file. You went out on a mission on the first day of university, for which you got an outstanding evaluation too. Once you get another outstanding evaluation for this one, you’ll have completed your goal of doing three missions with outstanding evaluations. Now, you’ll need to pick up your refined force as soon as possible.”
“I’ll do that, Mr. Cheng,” Chen Chuan answered calmly.