Chapter 455 5 million
Everyone had been comfortably sitting in their seats when they heard Kai mention the budget that their group had, but the moment he revealed the number, all of them nearly jumped up in shock. Five million was an unimaginable amount for any of them.
Instantly, they were all thinking about what they could do with this kind of cash. There were even dollar signs in their eyes. Coming from a Tier-3 town, they could practically go anywhere, select any apartment and car they fancied, and still have enough left over to live a happy life… and yet for some reason, their blonde leader had mentioned it as if he was talking about fifty bucks.
“I know what you"re thinking, but it shows that you guys have no idea how much it actually costs to run an organisation as big as ours. While we get paid protection money from various businesses, we have dozens of people on our payroll, not to mention that each property we own has its own costs a.s.sociated with it.
“This money we’re using will be gone. We won’t be able to upgrade our businesses or reinvest it into the Food High Street or other areas that have been run down. To give you an example, think about the apartment blocks where Gary lived and his whole neighbourhood. This money would be enough to renovate the entire building, but think about how many of those there are in all of Slough.
“What’s more, to get this type of liquid fund, I had to sell off a couple of Underdog buildings. Due to the rush, and certainly because of the mayor’s interference, we got less money than they would be worth, but I had to do it because we can’t handle their costs at the moment.
“Besides, in a place like this, this kind of money might be pocket change to those sitting up top. Don’t forget, everybody who has come here to bid is the a leader of a town, city, or a large corporation. Worst case, we’ll go home with nothing from this auction.”
The others fell silent, as they realised how naive their thoughts had been. Altered DNA was something everyone would be fighting for. Unlike other luxury items, it was something that they could all use, as without it their high style lifestyle would be short-lived.
“Doesn’t that mean that if we end up not buying any of the times, we get to keep it all to ourselves?” Innu asked.
Immediately, Marie who was sitting next to him slapped him on the back of the head. The sound was quite loud it had caused the others in the room to look over, making Marie a little embarra.s.sed. “Did you not just hear a word he said? There are plenty of uses for that money in Slough, and we all know the Mayor isn’t going to do anything for the city.”
“That"s true.” Innu rubbed the back of his head. “Say, why don’t we get someone we know to run for mayor in the next election? Won’t that solve a lot of our problems? Surely we could use our gang’s influence to help them get votes. What about Olivia, she is the oldest among us and already known by others?”
Kai placed his hand to stroke his chin, considering that idea. The Lady Boss might not be the
most optimal choice given her gang connection, but the idea certainly held some merit.
While their own group was discussing things, the Werewolf had made use of his super hearing to listen in on the conversations between those around them. It had allowed him to learn that a large percentage of guests on the bottom floor consisted of new gangs, mostly coming from low tier towns.
Crime was more rampant in these areas. Everyone was fighting for the few sc.r.a.ps that were there, which meant they were quite dangerous, but it also meant the leaders and those at the top changed constantly, unlike the Tier-2 and Tier-1 cities.
The Howlers were also a relatively new group, and they were merely treated with a bit more respect due to having appeared on the news rather recently. Additionally, their current appearance with the masks made them quite mysterious.
On the Howlers’ left sat an all-female gang that called themselves the Amazons. They were an established gang that was well known and even quite popular in their hometown. On the other hand, the No Land Gang was the polar opposite of those ladies.
To the right of Kai, sat gang members who shared neon green dyed hair, all of them with several missing teeth, and torn clothing. Were this any other place, they could have easily been mistaken for a group of hobos, but this was just the style of this Tier-4 gang.
“Hmmm, isn’t your boss with you? I remember his mask was different from the rest of youse!” The man sitting in the seat next to the Werewolf asked. The teenager had purposely been sitting on the very edge, not just to stay with his friends, but also to be as far away as possible from the other gang’s stench.
“There’s no need for him to come personally. This is just an auction, not a fight, so let’s just enjoy the event for ourselves, shall we?” Kai answered as he tried to keep down his disgust.
The man smiled, showing off his silver teeth, and began to slap the armchair of his seat over and over. “You’re right. Oiii, let"s get this started!” He shouted, and the other members of his gang shouted along with him.
As if on cue, a spotlight appeared on stage, and underneath was none other than the man in the top hat, who had been leading the main group this entire time.
*****
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If you guys didn"t know, I and owner Jin started Shrine, trying to create a platform for Western artists to create content in the Manga style.
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