Era of Mist

Chapter 230 -229: Pleased and Self-satisfied, and a Sudden Calm (Part 1)

The next day, as expected, the Squad Leader dispatched men to conduct an audit. The person in charge of this audit was an Incense Master from Osaka, a young up-and-comer who was rumored to be on the verge of a promotion to Hall Master.

The Squad Leader’s intentions in sending this man to launch an internal investigation were perfectly clear. He definitely wanted to use the audit to sideline Wang Dafu, or even ruin him, so his own cronies could monopolize the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

No one is unafraid of an audit, and Wang Dafu surely had plenty of skeletons in his closet. After all, during that night of staking claims, it was hard to say how much of the manpower and strength Wang Dafu had revealed belonged to the organization, and how much was his own private army, funded by his personal slush fund.

This young up-and-comer obviously knew his opportunity had arrived. He worked at a frantic pace, and his words were sharp and vicious. He acted like he was here to wipe everyone out.

However, for every scheme, there’s a counter-scheme. Shi Tiexin had his own way of dealing with this auditor. Of course, he couldn’t just go over and beat the guy to death himself. The man would be sent packing, but it couldn’t be because of Shi Tiexin, and especially not because of Wang Dafu.

Brother Fa had said the guy had to be sent packing with style, sent packing at lightning speed, sent packing so thoroughly it would be like he’d never even existed.

Any fancy method of getting rid of him would do, as long as the reason for his departure was clear and had no overt connection to Wang Dafu or Shi Tiexin. At least for now, they couldn’t give the Squad Leader any excuse to use this as an opportunity to make trouble.

Shi Tiexin thought this would be easy to handle, so he sought out a certain police officer with whom he had a good working relationship.

“I want to report the dark and evil forces to the state,” Shi Tiexin said with a solemn expression. “It is every citizen’s duty to sweep away the black and eradicate the evil.”

“You…” Officer Gao was at a loss for words. He was speechless for a long moment, then finally took a deep breath and nodded in understanding. He held up a finger. “Let’s make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“You give me the intel, and I’ll take away your target. But in return, I want the Ouyang brothers.” Officer Gao was very serious. “I want to bring the Ouyang brothers back to our home country alive, so they can face the judgment and punishment of the law.”

The last time they’d discussed cooperating, Shi Tiexin had promised to deal with the Ouyang brothers, but he’d never said he would hand the two of them over to Officer Gao alive. Working together to take down an enemy and taking the risk of letting a live captive go were two completely different things.

Officer Gao knew this perfectly well, which was why he was bringing up the deal again.

“Aren’t you one of the people’s fearless police officers? A citizen is reporting dark and evil forces, and you want to negotiate terms?”

“Dark and evil forces? Then please dial the local emergency number. Whether the Police Headquarters dispatches officers or not has nothing to do with me, a tax investigator with no law enforcement authority.”

Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but laugh. This stony-faced Officer Gao had gotten cheeky now that the Ouyang brothers had fallen.

“It’s risky and difficult,” Shi Tiexin said after a moment’s consideration. Then he asked curiously, “I’d like to know why. After all, you know the two of them have a powerful backer. If they’re tried back home, the outcome is far from certain.”

“The reason is simple. Killing them would just be for my own personal revenge. Making them stand trial is the only way to truly fulfill my daughter’s wish. Of course, while their backer may exist, I doubt they’ll continue to protect two worthless drug traffickers.” Officer Gao looked at Shi Tiexin seriously. “So, are you in or not?”

“Hmm… Alright. As long as you can guarantee those two won’t just pop up again and make a comeback, I agree.”

“Then it’s a deal!” Officer Gao immediately extended his hand.

Shi Tiexin reached out his hand as well, but he suddenly thought of something and paused before shaking.

“By the way, didn’t you say you don’t make deals with criminals?”

“Cut the damn crap. Theoretically speaking, in a lawless land, there are no criminals.” SLAP. Officer Gao grabbed Shi Tiexin’s hand and shook it firmly. “I get your guy out of the picture, you get my guys here. Don’t screw me over, and I won’t screw you over!”

“Deal.”

And so, very quickly, the parachuted-in Incense Master who’d come to audit the books found himself bogged down with troubles, and his investigation immediately ground to a halt.

Officer Gao was very effective; a sharp and capable veteran detective. If that weren’t the case, he never would have been able to gather such detailed information on the Ouyang brothers. Now that he had his sights set on the young up-and-comer, and with both overt and covert help from street-level forces, the chances of him failing were slim to none.

Once everything was arranged, Shi Tiexin left it alone, letting Officer Gao handle things his own way.

Shi Tiexin had his own business to attend to.

Namely, expanding his forces.

On that night of staking claims, Shi Tiexin had clearly felt that his own forces were still too weak. If he’d had the kind of manpower Wang Dafu had, or even Ah Hui, his gains would have been far greater.

But it wasn’t too late.

The Squad Leader had officially promoted him to Incense Master, giving him sufficient status to build his own power base. Wang Dafu’s support, combined with the territory he had carved out for himself, loosened the economic shackles on the Biker Gang.

Expanding his forces was imperative. Every day, his influence swelled. Many people, drawn by his reputation, flocked to join him, only to be put through a rigorous process of training and screening that separated the wheat from the chaff.

According to Shi Tiexin’s plan, he needed three hundred elite underlings and over four hundred reserves. Some of the unaligned Liberal Gangs and freelance bikers were within his recruitment scope. At the same time, a group of gang leaders who were close to him, such as Tokyo Wolf and Lady Pe, were also cheering him on.

For a time, the name Black Venerable resounded through the streets. He was no longer a mere biker, but a street boss with money, power, and prestige.

This boss status was limited to the streets, but having it was better than not.

On another note, besides fighters, what Shi Tiexin actually needed more were people who knew how to make money.

He needed people to manage his businesses and generate a steady stream of profit for him.

He was completely clueless when it came to business management. As someone who came from the Orphanage, a man of the streets, he simply lacked the perspective and common knowledge for it. He could, of course, just make an open call and find all sorts of business talent. But among those people, it was hard to say how many had real skills versus how many were just full of hot air, or how many would stick with him through thick and thin versus how many harbored ill intentions.

‘I don’t have the eye to spot a highly intelligent backstabber.’

But then, a new thought occurred to Shi Tiexin, and he suddenly remembered someone.

「Evening. Smile Comprehensive Entertainment City.」

“Welcome, Brother Zuuuun~!”

The doors opened to reveal two long lines of girls forming an aisle to welcome him, their sweet voices crying out in unison and turning every head in the place. As his power, influence, and prestige grew, so too did the pomp and ceremony that greeted him.

“Well now, Brother Zun~~ You’ve come again~~” The madam was the first to sidle up to him. “Which girl will you be requesting today?”

“Is Xiaowei available?”

“Of course, of course! Xiaowei’s been waiting for Brother D!” the madam said, shooting a teasing glance at Ah D, who actually looked away, a little embarrassed.

“Good. Have Xiaowei come over; I have something to discuss with her.” Shi Tiexin thought for a moment. “Oh, and I’ll need to borrow your office. I need somewhere quiet.”

“No problem, no problem at all~~!” The madam patted her chest, making it bounce.