Bei Feng sighed heavily as he took a long look at the children who were scattered and hiding in the corners. Shaking his head helplessly, he dialed the number for the police and left the scene.
Right after they received the call, a few teams of police officers were immediately dispatched and in a very short amount of time, reached the broken-down manor. All the children with the exception of the little girl were successfully rescued.
Early in the morning, the headlines of every newspaper and news channel were displaying the same sensational news: the police had successfully broken a crime syndicate which specialized in the exploitation and trafficking of young children!
Allegedly, a few suspects had also been detained for further investigation. However, only a few vague statements had been released by the police regarding the suspects. Nothing specific was revealed, and the entire situation was soon glossed over and forgotten.
Bei Feng was currently in a very good mood. He had arrived on the bridge over Qingshui River slightly before noon, and was enjoying the gentle breeze and river view as he waited.
He didn"t have to wait long, as the twelve Bei Feng Guards quickly arrived in succession.
It was obvious that they had developed a great fear of Bei Feng after the previous night"s events. All of them arrived at least an hour before the appointed time, afraid of incurring his wrath.
By now, a gap had formed between the eleven men and the little girl, with all of them staying well away from her. The group of men seemed to retain a trace of dread in their eyes whenever they looked at the sweet, harmless-looking girl.
"Very good. Looks like none of you wanted to set an example and try out the improved punishment," despite the praise in his voice, a hint of regret could be seen in Bei Feng"s eyes.
Seeing this, all of them were glad that they had not grown r.e.t.a.r.ded in the middle of the night and tried to run away.
"Big brother, what can we do for you?" Zhang Hu asked straightforwardly.
"Don"t call me big brother. You can call me boss instead," Bei Feng clicked his tongue in disdain. What era was this? Who the h.e.l.l still used the term big brother? [1]
"The next order of business is to a.s.sign you positions according to your strength. Something you might want to take note of is that the top 3 guards will receive additional rewards," Bei Feng said lightly.
A strange expression appeared on everyone"s faces as soon as they heard Bei Feng"s words.
"What"s wrong?"
Based on their expressions, there had to be something interesting going on.
"I"ll be Mystic One~"
The little girl chewed on her fingernails as a radiant smile spread across her face.
"F*ck!"
"Shameless!"
Curses rose up within the others" hearts.
Only G.o.d alone knew how they managed to get through the last night. Initially, there was 200,000 yuan to be shared among all 12 of them.
Since it was his last night as a free man, the first thing Zhang Hu did was to look for the pretty girl that he had his eyes on for a long time. With the support of 10,000 yuan, he was able to successfully woo the girl after treating her to a great number of expensive items. In the end, she had finally agreed to spend the night with him!
But just as Zhang Hu was right in the middle of some exciting, steamy action, the cold blade of a knife had appeared at his throat!
In that instant, all the heat in his lower body disappeared completely and he d*mn near p.i.s.sed himself in fright.
Turning around, he only saw the little girl smiling sweetly at him as she asked if he would have any problems regarding her claiming the position of Mystic One.
Zhang Hu was naturally unwilling! The boss had explicitly mentioned that killing each other was not allowed, and would result in death!
But even so, Zhang Hu still nodded his head gingerly and proclaimed that he would not have any problems with her becoming Mystic One.
What a joke, this blade was so sharp that it had already broken through the skin on his neck just by resting on it! Zhang Hu did not doubt that the little girl would hesitate to slit his throat if he were to object!
The other 10 also went through a similar experience. Of course, the greatest mystery of the night was how the little girl had even found all 11 of them in the first place!
From the outside, the little girl appeared to be nothing more than a cute loli. However, after the nourishment of the two petals, her strength was in no way inferior to men like Zhang Hu and the others! In fact, she might even be slightly stronger than them!
"What"s the point of growing to such a size? A bunch of grown men like you can"t even best a little girl? Even I feel ashamed for you."
Bei Feng shook his head as he looked at the group of men with a strange expression on his face. Who would have thought that a little girl would end up taking the spot of Mystic One without even having to fight for it?
"That was because she used some underhanded methods! We were not prepared for it!"
It was a disgraceful scene as Bei Feng looked at the group of grown men making up all kinds of excuses without regard for their face.
"I only care about the results, not the process."
Bei Feng narrowed his eyes in disdain. A loss was a loss. The reason for the loss was not important.
In contrast, Bei Feng was filled with curiosity with regards to the little girl. Her transformation had been too large, hadn"t it?
"The first thing I need you all to do is to establish a base of influence here. Do not venture into vices like drugs! Whoever does so will be killed immediately!"
Bei Feng had brought the Bei Feng Guards to an abandoned warehouse in the suburban district.
"Other than that, if I so much as hear that any of you are using your newfound powers to commit despicable acts, hehe… well, you"d best not let me hear about it."
Bei Feng reminded with a frosty smile on his face. These people were all scoundrels at heart. If he did not place any rules or restrictions on them, it likely wouldn"t be long before they stirred up all kinds of trouble for him!
He didn"t fancy the idea of being chased by the police like a rat and being forced to take refuge outside of the country.
"Understood!" The Bei Feng Guards nodded obediently.
"Good. There"s 500,000 yuan in this card. This will be your initial funding for establis.h.i.+ng your influence. You need only report back to me once every month. That"s all. Mystic One, Two and Three, follow me."
Bei Feng quickly left with the three following behind him. As for the remaining nine, he couldn"t be bothered about them.
In a single night, a prominent new power had joined the ranks of Qingcheng"s underground forces!
As for Brother Scar in Jinjiang District, he was a.s.sa.s.sinated on the same night, and all his property and existing businesses had also been swallowed up by a mysterious group of upstarts who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere!
Meanwhile, Bei Feng was completely oblivious to the stirrings and new order in the underground society. He had just returned to Qing Ling Village with the three Mystics following him.
"Woof, ruff!"
Two little wolfdogs scampered across the yard, their short tails wagging excitedly on their cute round bottoms as they listened to the familiar footsteps resounding outside the old mansion.
"Boss, you"re back!"
A thick and honest smile hung on Bai Xiang"s face as he walked out of the room.
"En. Bai Xiang, I"ll leave these three in your care for now. Bring them with you to clear out a few of the extra rooms," Bei Feng pointed to the three people behind him.
Nodding his head in understanding, Bai Xiang gestured for the three to follow him.
After that, Bei Feng went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. What he saw made him feel a deep ache in his nuts: there was less than half of the Imperial Shrimp left!
Bei Feng retrieved a generous portion of the meat and placed it upon the steamer. No matte what, he needed to reward himself properly for the hard work during the past few days.
The things he ate while he was away could hardly be considered food. They were merely enough to suppress his hunger!
Soon, a familiar appet.i.te-inducing scent shrouded the kitchen as Bei Feng lifted the cover of the wok.
"Ahh, this is what it means to live! Living and surviving, although there"s only the difference of one character between them, the actual difference is truly gigantic!" [2]
Bei Feng swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva even as he sighed with emotion. He had not had the luxury of tasting the Imperial Shrimp for a few days already. Coupled with the heavenly smell, Bei Feng"s appet.i.te was completely aroused.
Just as he had finished plating the food, Bai Xiang had also returned with the three Bei Feng Guards after clearing out the rooms.
In actuality, Bei Feng felt that he could be considered a pretty good slave lord already. At the very least, he still granted the basic human rights to his followers.
The three Bei Feng Guards had never tasted anything as heavenly as this. In the instant they bit into the snowy-white flesh, they could only feel themselves embraced in a warmth and blessedness they had never felt before. In that moment, they wondered how they had survived 20 over years while eating the coa.r.s.e and vulgar food outside.
Bei Feng"s appet.i.te was whetted. Like a tornado, he swept through the food and, very quickly, wiped out three and a half section of meat alone! It was as if he had been starving for the past few days. The most surprising part was that the little girl, Mystic One, had against all expectations finished an entire section of meat by herself!
In contrast, the other two Mystics could only eat the majority of a section of meat each. In the end, they were relegated to staring helplessly at the small portion remaining on their plates as they lay groaning with a bloated belly.
The happiest bunch was, of course, the two little wolfdogs. They lay beside Bei Feng"s chair, their saliva rolling off their tongues, waiting for the sc.r.a.ps.
"Finished eating?"
Bei Feng looked at the three Bei Feng Guards, a faint smile on his face.
"Gulp!"
Mystic Two and Mystic Three exchanged an anxious glance. They could feel a distinct ominous premonition based on the faint smile on Bei Feng"s face.
"Finished!"
A sweet smile appeared across Mystic One"s face as she rubbed her slightly bloated belly
"These two people are both freaks! They cannot be provoked at any costs!"
Mystic Two and Mystic Three thought darkly. The two monsters before them each appeared more vicious and more perverted than the other!
One of them could calmly administer a brutal torture using methods that couldn"t be explained by science for three minutes without even the slightest change in his expression. The other could even slit a person"s throat with a smile on her face. Who knew if she wouldn"t just walk up to and stab any of them with the same smile on her face in the next minute?
"En, since you"re done eating, you should get up and move your bodies a bit. It will be helpful for digestion."
Bei Feng said with an evil gleam in his eyes. Without waiting for their replies, he directly turned to Bai Xiang, "Bai Xiang, why don"t you go and spar with these guys for a bit?"
"I can"t boss, they"re too weak."
Bai Xiang revealed an honest smile as he scratched the back of his head bashfully.
Mystic Two and Mystic Three were absolutely furious as they listened to the conversation between the two. Wasn"t that fellow just slightly bigger in size? How was he so arrogant?! At first, after he helped them clear out the rooms, they had felt that Bai Xiang was very honest and should be a person easy to get along with.
Black lines covered their foreheads as Mystic Two and Mystic Three remembered a cla.s.sic phrase from a movie, "No, no… please don"t misunderstand. I don"t have anything against you at all. I"m just saying, that you guys...are all tras.h.!.+"
[1] ED/N: 大哥 is the term used for "Big Brother"; generally, it seems to be similar to the way j.a.panese gang bosses are called "aniki" by their underlings (and indeed is used in that way, or was).
[2] TL/N: 生活 (Shen Huo)—Live; 生存 (Shen Chun)—Survive.