Fanatic!

Chapter 51 Beast
After finishing his meal, Chen Wujun strolled back, intending to have another meal at A Yue's place.

When I got downstairs, I saw Shufen doing her homework at the door.

It's already January, and the daytime temperature is less than 20 degrees Celsius, only 12 or 13 degrees now. Yet Shufen is wearing a thin coat that looks quite old.

"You're still doing your homework outside in this cold weather?" Chen Wujun asked casually.

Shufen turned her head to look inside the room, then lowered her head to continue doing her homework.

Chen Wujun thought there were guests inside, but then a sharp, cursing voice came from the room: "Are you even human? You haven't gotten a single penny back, and you're gambling away the money I got from being raped every day. Now you're even trying to sell your daughter?"

"You beast!"

"I'm doing this to make a lot of money... I'm doing this for her own good..." A man's weak voice rang out, followed by the sound of a fight breaking out.

It seems something has been overturned.

"You crazy woman! I'm doing this so you can have a better life!" the man's voice rang out repeatedly.

Chen Wujun was wondering whether he should go in and take a look, since he knew Shufen's family.

Before he could even go inside, he saw a man storming out.

He wanted to say something when he saw Shufen, but before he could open his mouth, Chen Wujun took a step forward and slapped him across the face.

Snapped!
The man was knocked over and fell to the ground, dizzy and disoriented. He covered his face and looked up, only then recognizing Chen Wujun.

He still remembered Chen Wujun and was somewhat afraid of him.

"This is our family matter, it has nothing to do with you."

After saying that, he got up and ran away.

Chen Wujun's gaze was unfriendly, and he wondered whether he should follow up and beat him up again.

"Don't hit Daddy..." Shufen whispered.

"If he's upset, he'll go home and beat my mom and me!"

Chen Wujun walked away, hands in his pockets, swaying unsteadily.

He felt that Shufen might be better off without her gambling father.

Then he thought of his own eldest son.

"Gamblers deserve to die."

Although Chen Wujun had two gambling dens, what he hated most were gambling addicts.

Those gambling addicts are no longer human.

Fortunately, he had his boss's legs broken, so he wouldn't go out gambling again.

Soon, Chen Wujun put the matter aside.

The next evening, when Chen Wujun returned home for dinner, he found several strong young men smoking outside Shufen's house. Shufen was huddled to one side, clutching her schoolbag, her eyes vacant, her face streaked with black and white smears.

Like an abandoned kitten, it looks so pitiful.

There were also a few gossipy women upstairs talking about something.

"Where are you from?" Chen Wujun stretched out his hand, then clenched it into a fist.

This is the gesture for combining images.

“Our boss is Elephant, and this area is under our jurisdiction. Who are you with?” one of the henchmen asked as he approached.

"I live here! What are you doing here?" Chen Wujun asked, still thinking that, just like he had heard yesterday, Shufen's gambling-addicted father had sold her.

"There's a gambling addict in this house who beat his wife to death. We're here to deal with it!" the young man said.

"The man died last night, but a customer came in this afternoon and discovered him. That's when we finally found that gambling addict."

Chen Wujun paused for a moment, his gaze falling on Shufen in the corner.

"How are you going to deal with this?"

“If anyone from his wife’s family stands up for him, he’ll pay with his life and hang himself on the rooftop. If no one stands up for him, he’ll just get a beating.” The young man handed Chen Wujun a cigarette.

Chen Wujun paused for a moment.

He understood what the other party meant.

When such things happen in the Walled City, the police are never notified; instead, the two major gangs are responsible for maintaining order.

If the woman's family has some influence and causes trouble, the gang will hang her; murderers must pay with their lives and debts must be repaid.

But what kind of power does a prostitute's family have?
The final result was that Shufen's gambling-addicted father was beaten up.

"My surname is Chen, my name is Chen Wujun, and my boss is Shark Nine." Chen Wujun lit a cigarette, took a puff, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"That name sounds familiar." The young man was initially puzzled, then suddenly remembered the person many people had been talking about lately, and it dawned on him:
"Oh it's you."

Do you know this place?

"Yes, I know this place. Hand the man over to me, I'll have him beaten to death. What about the kids?" Chen Wujun casually decided the fate of the gambling addict.

The walled city was only so big, and the population density was high, so the neighbors had very close relationships—except when it came to borrowing money.

He originally didn't want to meddle in other people's family affairs, but the current situation was that if he kept that gambling addict around, he might sell Shufen one day.
Why not just beat the gambling addict to death and then send Shufen to an orphanage?

"See if any relatives are willing to adopt it, or if any neighbors are willing to contribute some money to raise it. If none of these are available, then the gang will contribute money to raise it."

Chen Wujun nodded, took out his phone and called Afei: "Bring a few people to Building 42, Dongming, Guangming Street."

He spoke a few more words to the young man, then walked to the alley entrance in the distance to wait for others.

A dozen minutes later, Afei arrived with several men, carrying weapons.

"Brother Jun, what's wrong? Who upset you?"

“There’s a gambling addict who beat his wife to death. I know his house. Take him to the rooftop and hang him,” Chen Wujun said, leaning against the wall.

"So that's what it was about. I thought they were going to chop someone up!" Afei exclaimed in realization.

This kind of thing happens every month in the walled city, and it's not the first time Ah Fei and his gang have dealt with it.

This time, however, it wasn't on Shark Nine's territory.

“But, Brother Jun, this is Elephant’s territory, it’s not under our jurisdiction.” “I’ve already spoken to the people at Elephant. Nobody really stands up for that gambling addict, so they’re giving him some face.”

“This man is a beast. His wife working as a prostitute isn’t enough for him, so he’s going to sell his daughter too,” Chen Wujun said.

"That bad? He's definitely not human! I, Afei, have seen plenty of scum, but there aren't many like him! Don't worry, Brother Jun, leave this to me!" Afei immediately patted his chest and said.

"I, Afei, despise this kind of scum the most."

"You guys handle this, I'm going home for dinner," Chen Wujun said, pointing to the location before strolling home.

When he got home, a meal was already laid out on the table, just waiting for him to eat.

While eating at the dinner table, Huang Meizhen said with pity:
"Shufen has a hard life. She was already having a hard time, but at least she had a mother to take care of her. Now she doesn't even have a mother anymore!"

"Her gambling-addicted father doesn't care whether she lives or dies."

“If you feel sorry for her, just adopt her,” Chen Wujun interjected from the side.

"How can we raise them? We couldn't even keep all three of you alive!" Chen Hanliang glared at Chen Wujun, then muttered:

"If she didn't have a father, a few dozen yuan a month from her family would be enough to support her. But she does have a father, so why should anyone else take care of her?"

Chen Wujun thought to herself, she'll soon be fatherless.

As soon as this thought crossed my mind, I heard a commotion outside, and I could vaguely make out some sounds:

"Let me go! I didn't mean to! I have a daughter, and I'm her only father!"

"It sounds like Shufen's gambling-addicted father's voice. I'll go check it out." Huang Meizhen immediately put down her chopsticks and opened the door a crack to look outside.

Shufen's gambling-addicted father was seen being dragged upstairs by several people, looking terrified, and kept begging along the way.

A moment later, he closed the door and whispered with a gossipy look on his face, "They dragged Shufen's gambling father upstairs."

"It would be best to break his hand!" Chen Hanliang said, his voice loud enough to be directed at Chen Wuhong in the room.

“Breaking his hand won’t help, Shufen still has to take care of her gambling father.” Huang Meizhen sat back down at the table and started sighing and complaining about poor Shufen again.

Such a young child, stuck with such an old father, has never enjoyed a single day of happiness.

Shufen's mother also had a hard life.

……

When Chen Wujun finished eating and went downstairs, he saw several gossipy women peeking out and gossiping about what would happen to Shufen's father.

Shufen remained huddled there, her eyes lifeless.

The elephant's henchmen have all left, and now that someone has taken over, they can finally relax.

Chen Wujun thought for a moment, then turned around and went to Longjin Street, entering the convenience store.

There were two boxes with lollipops stuck in them on the counter.

Chen Wujun glanced at the lollipops and saw that there were only two kinds. One of them was a generic brand made in a small workshop in the city, costing 0.5 yuan each.

Another type is the jewel, which costs one yuan each.

He had stolen some from others at school, and they tasted pretty good.

“Take five precious pearls.”

He put the lollipop in his pocket and walked back to Shufen.

Shufen was only a second-grade student, and at this moment she looked like a fool, staring blankly, unable to see the person in front of her.

Chen Wujun patted her head: "From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself. If you don't want to be bullied, you'll have to be ruthless."

After saying that, he stuffed several lollipops into her hand.

Shufen then looked up at him with lifeless eyes, and then tears streamed down her face.

Chen Wujun walked to the side, and soon after, Afei and his group dragged Shufen's father down. When the gossipy women saw what Shufen's father looked like, they were immediately startled.

"Is this person dead?"

"A life for a life, that's the rule of the stronghold!" Ah Fei shouted.

"Besides, this is a beast; he even wants to sell his own daughter to gamble!"

"They deserved to die!"

Chen Wujun watched for a moment, then turned and left to go back to A Yue's place for dinner. However, he was now full of anger and wanted to eat A Yue's food even more.

　Some readers have objections to the section on vigilante justice.

　　Every place has its own order, and there are people who enforce that order.

　　In the early days, Kowloon Walled City was a place where vigilante justice was the norm, and the police never went in. Calling the police meant inviting government power into the Walled City, which was a betrayal of the Walled City's autonomy.

　　Not to mention the gangs, even the residents disagree. Whoever calls the police will become the target of everyone's anger.

　　Let alone these lawless areas, even twenty or thirty years ago, many clans in the south also engaged in vigilante justice.

　　Many people, having lived in modern, peaceful societies for a long time, have forgotten that not all places are governed by the rule of law.

　　The Walled City in the book is the same. It was a no-man's-land. There was no police station, and the police never came in. There were a lot of illegal immigrants and fugitive criminals in the Walled City. Who would call the police?

　　Whoever calls the police will become the target of everyone's hatred and will be killed without the gang even having to say a word.

　　Without clear orders and a large mobilization of police, they simply won't come in.

　　In such an environment, it is inevitable that gangs will maintain order and carry out vigilante justice.

　　And gangs will not harass ordinary people.

　　This is also the basis for the tacit understanding that has been formed in the operating rules.

　　As for why gangs are so powerful, they don't collect taxes...aren't protection fees a form of tax?

　　Shops and factories in the walled city did not pay for water and electricity or business tax, but protection fees were considered a tax.

　　This is a complete set of rules.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)