Chapter Fifty-One: The Second Time

“Is it really necessary to go this far... It’s only been just over a week; should he still be sending out resumes everywhere by now?”

On either side of the long table cluttered with open pizza boxes and cans of beer, a burly man with a fully prosthetic left arm picked at his teeth with a toothpick, glancing over to the other end. “No wonder the boss put you in charge of lending money—you really go all out, huh.”

“Hmph, what do you know?”

Jared hung up the call, casually grabbing a slice of slightly cold fast-food pizza and stuffing it into his mouth, mumbling indistinctly, “People like that need to be pushed. Isn’t there a saying that potential is always forced out of someone? I’m actually helping him.”

“Better be careful you don’t push him to his death and turn this loan into a bad debt.”

“Anyone in my line of work has bad debts; that’s a given.”

Jared snorted twice. “But don’t worry, I’ve checked his file—he’s a model ‘good student.’ He won’t die anytime soon.”

“Fair enough. As long as you know what you’re doing. Anyway, this isn’t my responsibility.”

The burly man shrugged, preparing to get up. “We’ve eaten and drunk enough. I should head back. I recently took on some good prospects, but they need patience to deal with. What a headache.”

“Patience?”

Jared scoffed. “Give them a couple of sugar shots, toss them into solitary confinement without food or water for a few days, and when you let them out, they’ll beg us to get on top of them again! To get their sugar fix! Do I really have to teach you how to handle this?”

“What do you know?”

The burly man shook his head, shooting back, “I already told you, these are rare ‘good prospects.’ Not like the streetwalkers you’re used to.”

“Some people don’t like implants with everything programmed; they want the real, natural thing.” He pointed upward. “Besides, sending those needle-riddled, sugar-addicted women over to those guys—what is that? Provocation?”

“What’s the point of playing with the original?”

But Jared’s focus was elsewhere. He sneered, patting himself below. “Fully artificial nerve sensations! Simulated silicone! Motor-driven! Twelve times a second! I’m telling you—”

The burly man twisted his lips, tired of the nonsense, and turned to push the door open and leave.

...

At the same time.

“...Repay the debt?”

After hanging up, Song Shi muttered to himself, “Yeah, debts must be repaid—that’s only right... Cross Tiger Gang, huh? Wait for me a moment.”

Song Shi opened another chat window named “Cotton Warehouse Hamster.”

There were already some messages there.

[Cotton Warehouse Hamster]: “Hello, hello, how may I assist you?”

[Glacial Ice Dragon King]: “I need traffic surveillance footage from the main roads between Rota District and White Gate District within this month. What’s the price?”

[Cotton Warehouse Hamster]: “Well, since it’s ‘within this month’ and ‘main roads,’ the price can be a bit cheaper... But just a heads-up, there’s no footage from the past four days yet—it hasn’t circulated.”

[Glacial Ice Dragon King]: “Alright.”

[Cotton Warehouse Hamster]: “Considering you’re a new client, I can offer a discount—ten thousand credit points.”

[Glacial Ice Dragon King]: “Acceptable. Is the transaction through a dark web account?”

[Cotton Warehouse Hamster]: “Sure! I’ll send you a temporary link for the account transfer shortly! Thanks for your support! Hope to see you again soon—”

The chat records were from the night before last.

“Cotton Warehouse Hamster” was an intelligence dealer Song Shi had found on the “Paroser Industry Elite Talent Exchange Forum.” The dealer was somewhat well-known but not famous, with a good reputation.

This surveillance footage was a crucial key to locating Keng.

Using his network skills, Song Shi had identified Keng’s address and license plate number, but Keng lived in White Gate District, a middle-class neighborhood, quite unlike the chaotic and impoverished Deep Moss District.

White Gate District had many security bureau patrol officers maintaining daytime order, as well as drones conducting round-the-clock surveillance. These drones could scan implants and verify identities of suspects at any time.

Armed with rapid-fire machine guns, these drones had the authority to open fire.

Moreover, given Keng’s identity and temperament, his home surely had a security system. Even if Song Shi successfully bypassed it, any delay would summon a large police force, making it difficult to escape White Gate District.

Under these circumstances, storming the place was unrealistic.

So Song Shi chose to intercept Keng on the road.

He stayed in a hotel for a day, watching all the footage at 32 times speed to trace Keng’s commute route.

Though some local cameras were missing and shortcuts existed, preventing a complete itinerary, knowing Keng’s “home address” and “research institute address” gave a general idea of his route.

All that remained was to buy a second-hand rocket launcher and stake out a section of mountain road without surveillance.

Song Shi put away these memories and refocused on the chat window.

He typed a message.

[Glacial Ice Dragon King]: “How much do you know about the ‘Cross Tiger Gang’?”

The reply came quickly.

[Cotton Warehouse Hamster]: “A gang from Deep Moss District, not very large, emerged in recent years.”

[Glacial Ice Dragon King]: “And?”

[Cotton Warehouse Hamster]: “That would be a paid service—”

[Glacial Ice Dragon King]: “Run a tab?”

[Cotton Warehouse Hamster]: “Huh?”

[Cotton Warehouse Hamster]: “That’s a bit... [Naing_Chiya’s polite smile emoji].”

“...Tsk.”

Looking at the chibi figure smiling emoji sent by the other party, Song Shi clicked his tongue, then sighed, “Damn, this is a closed loop now.”

Keng was dead, and his own identity would be difficult to conceal.

Considering Keng died in the sacrificial fire of the “Forging Flame,” Jade Pharmaceutical would surely put the culprit on him—and rightly so.

Although hiding in Deep Moss District greatly reduced the risk of being found, Song Shi couldn’t just do nothing in the face of inevitable retaliation.

His first step in enhancing his psychic abilities was still in its infancy, difficult to accelerate.

That left only one way to strengthen himself—equipment.

—Purchasing equipment required money.

—His next money-making target was set on the “Cross Tiger Gang.”

—Though not large, out of respect, he needed to prepare properly, starting with intelligence.

—Intelligence cost money, and getting money meant going to the “Cross Tiger Gang,” which in turn meant...

A complete circle.

Staring at his personal terminal’s screen, Song Shi fell silent for a moment, then sighed once more. “Forget it, maybe I should try to get a small loan.”