Chapter 351 - Chapter 351: 272. Business Poacher

Chapter 351: 272. Business Poacher

In the snow-covered Inner World, Qing Chen sat in a hover car parked in front of the Begonia Boxing Gym, quietly waiting for something.

He looked through the car window at the crowd coming and going outside, not even the heavy snow could stop people from enjoying the bustling nightlife.

The dancers, clad in gauzy fabrics, stood in the windows of the clubs, graceful and alluring like the luxurious display windows at the entrance of commercial centers in the Outer World, with their expensive goods.

On the street, there were already drunken men stumbling out of nightclubs, clutching their beer glasses, and collapsing onto the snowy ground.

Then, the nightclub security would haul them away with carts, ensuring their patrons weren’t robbed of their kidneys.

At this time, the outside world did not know that Zhang Chengze had already encountered danger,

but three hours had passed since his crossover, and the other party had neither contacted Liu Dezhu nor appeared in the Fourth District.

“You really plan on using this clumsy method to wait for Zhang Cheng to show up? Even though Hu Xiaoniu said his favorite place is the Fourth District, he might not come tonight,” Yi curiously asked, “but you don’t have that much time left, you know, you must return to Ban Mountain Estate in two days.”

Qing Chen replied calmly, “The key is you can’t find him either; I’ve already agreed to pay you, and yet you can’t locate him.”

“I’m also surprised,” Yi said, “I can confirm from my side that he has a record with the Federal Public Security Management Committee and is affiliated with the Evil Ghost Society, previously one of the members who helped besiege the Heng Society. But now, I simply cannot track his whereabouts; someone very professional must have hidden him.”

“Very professional? So professional that even you can’t find him?” Qing Chen questioned.

“Yes, the cameras in the third area below have been smashed by the gangs, more than twenty times, and the Federation, looking to save on expenditures, no longer wants to repair them. Even if fixed, they would just be trashed again,” Yi explained, “So once Zhang Chengze was taken to the third area below for protection, finding him would cost a lot of effort.”

Qing Chen felt speechless, in a world so advanced technologically, how could the third area below turn into a lawless land akin to the slums of Brazil and Mexico.

Yi said, “Of course, if it was just ordinary protection, I could still find him within my means. But this time, the people protecting him are very professional, and all the leads have been severed.”

“So in the entire No. 18 City, how many people are capable of doing this?” Qing Chen asked.

“About a dozen, basically all big dealers in the black market,” Yi answered.

“Big dealers in the black market…” Qing Chen suddenly remembered something, “Su Xingzhi is also a big dealer in the black market of No. 18 City, right?”

“Yes, he is quite reputable there,” Yi said, “So, are you thinking of asking Su Xingzhi? I advise against it because it’s hard to judge the character of a black market dealer. They are humans without bottom lines and extremely vicious.”

Qing Chen always felt something was off; if it was a person without a bottom line, would Uncle Li Dong entrust Bei Qin Tong, Qin Cheng, and Qin Yiyi, the family of his close friend, to someone like that?

Go find Su Xingzhi? Qing Chen pondered.

Yi suddenly said, “If Zhang Chengze has fallen into their hands, he might not be intact by now… The darkness there is beyond the imagination of the outside world.”

Qing Chen was unmoved, “There’s nothing I can do if I can’t find him. I can only hope he’s smart enough to survive the initial seven days if he truly encounters danger.”

“Actually, I’ve made it very clear, he’s very likely already in danger and won’t appear in the Fourth District,” Yi said, “There’s no need for you to keep waiting in the snow.”

“I might not necessarily be waiting for Zhang Chengze,” Qing Chen calmly closed his eyes and began recalling every scene his eyes had covered in the past three hours.

Suddenly, Qing Chen noticed something unusual.

He spotted four young men in leather jackets in the snow, who had been walking back and forth seven or eight times within the Fourth District during the last three hours.

The four did not group together, but kept crisscrossing each other, only making a slight head shake when they met each other.

The four men were cautious, looking around, seemingly in search of something.

After careful thought, Qing Chen straightened his suit, suddenly opened the car door, and changed his face to that of Zhang Chengze.

He discreetly approached one of them and asked in a low voice, “What are you loitering around here for?”

The young man’s eyes lit up, “Finally found you. Why didn’t you contact us after crossing over?”

Qing Chen boldly said, “Isn’t it normal for me not to trust you, plus I need to observe and see if you’re qualified to protect me. Where are the others?”

The young man made a phone call, convening the other three together.

Inside the hover car, Yi muttered, “This works too, playing tricks with the Taboo ACE-005 in your hands…”

She didn’t expect that Qing Chen, after squatting here for three hours without finding Zhang Chengze, had instead found those who were stealing business in broad daylight!

Yi also roughly understood Qing Chen’s intent now. While it was somewhat regrettable not to find Zhang Chengze, punishing those who stole business was also among the goals of the daylight.

At that moment, Qing Chen stood in the cold wind looking at the three men, “Why do you four look so flustered? That’s not what you said initially. Had I known, I would have switched to another organization.”

One of the young men responded anxiously, “Who isn’t flustered in this heavy snow? You can’t switch to someone else though, we already told you that other organization can barely protect themselves now, what more can they do for you?”

Another young man added, “Moreover, Liu Dezhu is still in prison. He said protecting you was merely a scam, perhaps even an attempt to kidnap you and sell you to organ dealers in the black market.”

“Right, they even demand you not contact the outside world, completely cutting off communication and social interactions, I guess they’re up to no good!”

“In contrast, we don’t have so many rules on our side. You are absolutely free with us, the four of us are just here to provide you the best service. Wherever you want to go, we’ll follow; if you say east, we dare not go west!”

“Our prices are cheaper too; a trial period for one week is just 200,000!”

The four never doubted Qing Chen’s identity, after all, the other organization hadn’t seen them either, and people of the Inner World wouldn’t usually invoke Zhang Chengze’s name out of the blue.

Meanwhile, Qing Chen thought to himself, annoyed, so you guys are just playing this tune, stealing business from the daylight with such a mud-slinging approach…

“If it were legitimate competition, that would be one thing, but slandering is unacceptable!”

“Nor is hostile price undercutting acceptable!”

Qing Chen thought for a moment and pointed at one of them, asking, “Alright, let’s not talk about replacing anyone for now. By the way, what’s your name again?”

“Boss, I’ve told you my name before,” the young man said weakly.

Qing Chen raised his eyebrows: “I’m such a busy boss, with piles of things waiting for me to handle every day, how could I remember your names?”

The Time Travelers thought about it and indeed that was the case. Isn’t there an old saying, important people are forgetful?

It had to be said, these Time Travelers really did cherish this business opportunity. With a trial period of one week at 200,000 and a regular period of one week at 500,000, this money was too easy to earn!

The young man thought for a moment and said, “Boss, my surname is Gu, I’m called Gu Huozi. You can just call me Zi Zi.”

“Zi Zi?” Qing Chen thought about it, the name seemed quite polite: “Are you guys carrying guns? It’s strictly controlled in the Outer World, I haven’t even owned a pistol all my life.”

Gu Huozi pulled out a handgun: “Boss, how could we protect you without any serious hardware?”

“Just this one?” Qing Chen’s tone was somewhat skeptical.

Gu Huozi braced himself: “Uh, just this one…”

“Alright, I’ll keep this handgun with me to play around with for now,” Qing Chen casually confiscated the other’s gun, “I am going to the Begonia Boxing Gym to watch a match. That place looks chaotic, remember to protect me well.”

The young man chuckled and patted his chest: “Don’t worry, Boss! We’re very familiar with the Begonia Boxing Gym! I’m especially good friends with the owner there!”

Qing Chen gave him a peculiar look, you may know them well, but are you as well acquainted as I am?

However, he had never seen this fellow at the Begonia Boxing Gym before; he likely was just boasting.

Qing Chen suspected that these four were all Ordinary People, none of them a Genetic Warrior.

These must be the ones who truly intended to cheat Boss Zhang Chengze out of his money.

Qing Chen led the way to the Begonia Boxing Gym, where people were bustling. His eyes constantly scanned the crowd.

The next moment, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Yan Yu, the former Lightweight Boxing King whom he had defeated, was approaching in casual clothes.

Yan Yu had a well-proportioned physique; when dressed, one couldn’t tell his strength at all.

However, Qing Chen recognized Yan Yu; the four behind him might not, though.

Qing Chen charged forward without dodging and then glared furiously, “Don’t you watch where you’re going?”

The Lightweight Boxing King, Yan Yu, was taken aback for a moment. He assessed the five people in front of him: “It was you who bumped into me!”

“Bullshit,” Qing Chen fumed, “It was clearly you who bumped into me first. Do you know who I am? Beat him up!”

The business-stealing quartet: “…”

They hadn’t expected that Boss Zhang Chengze, who seemed so genteel on the surface, could cause so much trouble behind the scenes.

This was completely different from what they had expected!

Wasn’t it agreed that there would be no deliberate troublemaking?

Boss, if you’re going to act like this, the price is going to have to go up.

The business-stealing quartet assessed Yan Yu and noticed he didn’t seem very big, so they temporarily relaxed.

Just then, Yan Yu was about to burst out laughing in the corridor: “Beat me up? You guys?”

Qing Chen looked back at the four, eyes narrowing dangerously, “What are you waiting for? Beat him up! Do you still want your salaries?”

Upon hearing this, the business-stealing quartet realized this was definitely not a moment to back down and immediately rushed forward.

However, although the Lightweight Boxing King was still just within the range of Ordinary People and not at a supernatural level, fighting was his profession. You should never challenge someone’s livelihood with your amateur hobby.

Just as Gu Huozi lunged forward to throw a punch, Yan Yu had already stepped back, making his punch miss entirely.

Then, Yan Yu counterpunched, landing a blow on his nose, stunning Gu Huozi right there and then!

Seeing this, the other three Time Travelers wanted to run, but Yan Yu wouldn’t have it and chased after them, knocking each one down.

Leaving them lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

One of the Time Travelers squinted looking for the figure of ‘Zhang Chengze’, only to find that the boss had long since fled the scene!

What bad luck!

…

Another chapter tonight

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