Tomb raiding: Trying to become a little painter

Listening to the conversation between Hei Xiazi and Qin Henian, Zhang Qilin guessed that something had happened in Changsha. Given Fatty's current situation, it was probably related to him. Moreover, Fatty had been so good to him, and he considered Fatty a friend, or perhaps even a brother, as Fatty had mentioned. In any case, he held a special place in his heart, so he couldn't just ignore it.

Since regaining his memories, Zhang Qilin originally planned to go to Tibet first and then to Changbai Mountain, but things kept happening one after another. He had promised He Nian that he would take the blind man with him to that place, so now he could only wait until things were settled here before leaving.

"Condition?"

Zhang Qilin spoke directly to the point. Although he had previously thought about meeting this black-hearted guy and sparring with him, helping the fat man was naturally more important now.

"Ugh!"

"Dumb guy, how can you be so heartless... We just met, and instead of showing any concern, you... Hey! Don't hit me!... I'll talk, I'll talk..."

Hei Xiazi originally wanted to talk to Qiao and then tell the two of them what Fatty had just said on the phone, but before he could say two words, a fist the size of a sandbag came straight at his chest. Hei Xiazi quickly stepped back and bent over to dodge the punch, and immediately changed the subject of his words.

The one who threw that punch was Zhang Qilin. He didn't like listening to nonsense, and he especially disliked listening to the blind man's nonsense. Having heard it too many times over the decades, Zhang Qilin understood what kind of person Hei Xiazi was. Therefore, Zhang Qilin had developed a brutal method for dealing with Hei Xiazi: if you can fight, don't talk; if you can cripple him, don't hesitate...

"Say!"

A calm, cool voice answered Black Bear's roundabout plea for mercy.

"Sigh...really, Zhang the Mute's temper is getting worse and worse..."

"This is what happened on the other end of the phone. The blind man heard the breathing of about seven or eight people. The person speaking had a gruff voice, and the gist of their words was that they had kidnapped Fatty's mistress and her father, who were far away in Banna, and had now moved their location. They probably figured we wouldn't be able to find them..."

"What they're asking for is Wu Sanxing's several gambling dens in Changsha. They want Wu Xie to sign an agreement to unconditionally transfer the dens to their group. They say they've helped Wu Sanxing guard his territory for so many years, and even if they haven't done anything meritorious, they've still put in the effort. Asking for the dens isn't unreasonable..."

"After the agreement is signed, we are not allowed to interfere in any way, which means they want to use Third Master's betting odds to make this unfair deal! Otherwise, they'll kill him and fight us again. Anyway, they have more people, so they don't care. They're just taking a gamble and hoping to win big! That's the gist of it..."

Black Bear rambled on, stating the other side's meaning in a general way. It reflected the mentality of some rabble in the underworld; they were just desperate thugs.

Neither Hei Xiazi nor Zhang Qilin took the deal seriously.

The two exchanged a glance and understood each other's decision.

"People die for wealth, birds die for food; humans are truly complex creatures..."

Qin Henian gave his evaluation without even blinking, then strode into the house, wanting to hear Wu Xie's opinion and see how capable the other party was now.

Having grown up for so long, one should have made some progress.

The other two followed Qin Henian into the house. They met the intense gazes of the other three, found a place to sit down, and closed the door.

"Wang Meng, did you find it? You're usually pretty good at using computers!"

Fatty Wang's eagerness was evident on his face, his large, round eyes fixed on Wang Meng, who was typing away furiously on the computer.

Watching the search and location displayed on the screen, the layout of the gambling dens in Changsha was shown one by one on the computer. Through the network cable, the nearby surveillance footage was tampered with, and everyone in the room watched the moving images on the computer screen...

"Alright, boss! These are the security cameras for Third Master's shop and the entrance to the gambling den. Not every other shop on the street can afford to install new security cameras, so these are all we have for now..."

Because surveillance cameras are not yet very advanced, Wang Meng can only access the ones he can see. He can't access the ones that are incompatible with older models or equipment. After all, he's not omnipotent.

"understood!"

"Keep an eye on things for now. Blind Man, go and contact those who are willing to follow us again. Have them patrol the area from time to time to find out the situation and the location. Uncle Pan, you can contact some people to check our meeting point, warehouse, and some black markets here. See if anyone has been seen with a man and a woman in the last two days..."

"First, use the process of elimination, then screen them one by one. Wang Meng will watch the surveillance here, while Fatty and I will contact those who want to operate their own gambling dens. Xiao Ge and He Nian will accompany us. This way, we can ensure our maximum safety."

Wu Xie quickly came up with a solution.

"You and Little Qilin will act together, while I stay in the shadows!"

Qin Henian raised his hand and pointed at Wu Xie, then explained that the three of them should act separately, since they shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket and they should at least have a hidden piece in the mix.

...................................................

Night fell, and stars of varying brightness adorned the deep blue canvas of the city, their shimmering light creating a picturesque scene. Beneath this backdrop, the city streets were ablaze with countless bright lights, proclaiming the warmth of home. On the black and white roads, several cars, some heading in the same direction and others in different directions, weaved through the city, their headlights echoing each other in a continuous stream...

An elbow extended from a car window, a large palm curled up, long fingertips holding a brown and white cigarette, the bright embers at the end of the cigarette and wisps of smoke drifting away in the wind...

"Buzz buzz buzz... Buzz buzz... Report, inspection number one has passed!"

"Buzz... Number Two approved!"

"Buzz buzz buzz... Number three...passed..."

"...Sizzle..."

"Buzz... There's a problem at Warehouse Seven!"

The walkie-talkie crackled to life inside the car, and a pair of chubby hands grabbed it.

Fatty Wang stretched the signal cable on the walkie-talkie to its maximum length and opened the communication channel.

"Buzz... Warehouse No. 7, that area on Jianxing Road, is closest to Henian's car... Buzz... Henian, go check it out!"

Wang Pangzi's voice came through the walkie-talkie to the other side, where Qin Henian was admiring the scenery of the street alone in a flashy red sports car.

"understood!"

I stopped the car, took out a map of Changsha from my long sleeve, looked at the red seven on the screen, and then looked around at the surrounding buildings. I estimated that the target warehouse was still 1.7 kilometers away.

Qin Henian calculated the distance, closed the car door, and walked towards a quiet alleyway in the nearby night...