BXBX NOVEL Chapter 140 - Can I Help You?
"If they already expanded their child trafficking business into the southern suburban district, then they must have touched the orphanages with their grubby claws," One member of the Declan Gang voiced his opinion.
Bang!
Reagan Declan slammed his fist against a concrete pillar in anger, "Dammit! The Metti Gang really has no tact. They do not respect the three golden rules of Silvercove City\'s underworld at all!"
"Did the underworld have such a thing?" A relatively new member asked with surprise before adding, "I thought the underworld is supposed to be a lawless section of society where anything goes…"
"You only just joined the gang recently, so it is not surprising that you have not been made aware of the three golden rules, Joe. As you said, the underworld is lawless. But Silvercove City\'s underworld operates differently."
"Nevertheless, that original balance and agreement set by the four gangs have been broken by the looks of it."
\'If I knew the gang was going to fall from grace so quickly, I would not have joined this gang,\' the gang member called Joe silently thought with a frown.
Nevertheless, the big boss seemed very mysterious and powerful to easily hand out four Earth-grade Martial Arts.
It was good that he decided to stick around long enough to enjoy the long-overdue benefits.
"So what are the three golden rules of Silvercove City\'s underworld?" Joe inquired.
"Quite simple, really," Ah Zhen spoke.
"First, respect the old. Second, care for the young. And third, the matters of the underworld stay in the underworld. One must not involve families in their vendettas."
"Hoh?" Joe raised an eyebrow before mentioning, "But I heard the gang used to be involved in child trafficking. How is that caring for the young?"
"The Silvercove City\'s underworld naturally has its own way of caring for the young. The so-called child trafficking is simply employing labor from the orphanages," Reagan Declan began speaking.
"We do not secretly sell them to rich and powerful people with weird tastes or anything like that. That sh*t is f*cked up! Why should we satisfy the odd tastes of those rich and powerful people when they do not care for the people at the bottom of society like us?"
"Anyway, we care for the young by showing them how the real world operates, teaching them life skills. It\'s essential for their survival, considering the world went to sh*t. They will grow up to be dependable, unlike those useless young masters born with a silver spoon."
"But as just and noble as it sounds, we must not forget that we are making children work against their will. Still, it\'s not like they have a choice," Meng Yang shrugged.
"The orphanages stopped receiving donations shortly after the Apocalypse started. The orphans would have starved to death if not for us teaching them how to make money and survive independently. Of course, they were a few kind souls that helped them out a bit as well."
Shortly after, Meng Yan clapped his hands and urged the gang, "Anyway, that\'s that. Back to practice, all of you."
"Yeah, yeah…" The gang responded half-heartedly.
They were already training.
…
Within another part of Silvercove City\'s south suburban district, the flower-selling little boy took a turn into a narrow alley between two 9-story buildings before he met a skinny thug with an eyepatch.
"You\'re back earlier than scheduled, Little Ren. Did you sell all the roses already?"
"Yes, Big Brother Dong. As you instructed, all 150 stems have been sold for $4 each. This is the total earnings," Little Ren obediently handed over the money.
Shortly after, the skinny thug counted $600 in cash and nodded.
But before the little boy could heave a sigh of relief at the job completion, he was kicked in the stomach without warning.
Bam!
The little boy flew and landed some distance away with a painful groan.
Shortly after, the skinny thug walked over and stepped on the little boy\'s hand, causing the little boy to wail painfully.
"Hurry up and cough up everything you earned! Do you think I\'m stupid, Little Ren? There\'s no way you could have made only $600 if you were able to sell everything so quickly!" The skinny thug snorted coldly.
"You must have met a sucker with money and charged extra!"
"It hurts, Big Brother Dong! Please take your foot off my hand, Big Brother Dong! I was wrong! The extra money is hidden in my shoes!" Little Ren cried.
"Hmph! Should have handed everything over from the start. It would have saved you the pain, Little Ren. You can\'t play smart with me!"
Shortly after the skinny thug took out an extra $25 from each shoe, Little Ren gritted his teeth and cried, "You always take all the earnings! How am I supposed to live like this?!"
"Hmph! That is your problem to worry about! Can\'t you go beg others after or something? Anyway, don\'t even think about taking a penny out of the flowers I gave you to sell!"
The skinny thug snorted before giving the little boy another kick in the stomach for trying to cheat him.
"Oi, oi. Go easy on the kid, Brother Dong. If you cause him serious injuries, it will affect his ability to earn money for us," Another thug spoke from deeper within the narrow alley.
Meanwhile, Albion silently observed everything happening in the alley below calmly from the rooftop with any intention to intervene.
He frowned slightly for being the \'sucker\' that the skinny thug mentioned.
\'Goldfinger, quick math. 100 roses sold at $5, and another 50 roses sold at $4. How much does the kid still have after the eyepatch dude took the money?\' Albion asked mentally, too lazy to do the calculations himself.
Ding!
[Goldfinger would like to remind the host that Goldfinger is not a calculator!]
\'Oh. So…. how much?\'
[…]
"…"
[The little boy earned $700, and the skinny thug took $650, leaving the little boy with $50 left…]
Goldfinger answered in the end.
\'Oh, thanks.\'
Albion nodded before rubbing his chin with interest, \'He still has $50 on his body, huh? Will he be able to get away it, I wonder?\'
Suddenly, Albion\'s thoughts were interrupted by a tap on the shoulder before he turned his head—only to see a thug looking at him intimidatingly.
"Can I help you?" Albion frowned.