A bustling small hot pot restaurant in the Ninth District.
Dozens of men, each equipped with various Cybernetic Limbs, stood guard outside, divided into three groups.
They chatted amongst themselves, laughing merrily as if they were quite familiar with each other.
Inside, three men sat around a table, a hot pot simmering before them, the water bubbling merrily.
A short, middle-aged man emerged from the kitchen, carrying two plates of thinly sliced meat, his Face[-] shining with oil. He wore two white armbands, stained with grease. “Enjoy your meal, Bosses. I’ll keep slicing more meat in the kitchen—there’s plenty.”
One of the three at the table coldly asked, “You’re not trying to poison us with bad meat, are you?”
“Of course not! You three are Bosses of the nearby gangs; I wouldn’t dare,” the hot pot restaurant Boss hastily replied. “The meat I cut for you is all real mutton; I got it from District 4.”
“That’s better…”
Once the Boss returned to the kitchen, the Boss of the ‘I Want to Buy a Watch’ gang said, “Have you heard about that troublesome gang recently?”
“You mean the Arts Society? They had a big choir performance this afternoon, and it was a complete flop,” said the Big Hammer gang’s Boss, taking a bite of mutton. “They should focus on their gang activities instead of playing the role of good Samaritans, fixing elevators and utilities in the slums. Do those pigs even need elevators and utilities?”“It’s not that simple. Dozens of households moved out from my building today, and more might leave in the future,” said the Meteor Hammer gang’s Boss. “If that happens, we’ll lose tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, in monthly protection money.”
“What’s there to fear? How many rooms are there in a pigeon cage building? We can finish the job, right?”
“True. Our immediate priority isn’t dealing with the Arts Society but explaining things to higher-ups.”
“Those higher-ups are fickle. They said they only needed eight people, but when they couldn’t explain to their superiors, they asked us to hand over thirty. Where are we supposed to find thirty people? Hand ourselves over?” The Big Hammer gang’s Boss grumbled with annoyance.
The PCE’s request was quite simple: arrest a group of people to fill the quota, showing that they had done something. Look, I’ve arrested so many criminals. But I can’t be blamed for not finding the killer; after all, this killer is capable of eliminating A-Class targets, so our department is indeed incompetent.
Over the years, the PCE had gotten away with it, making up for their failings with merits.
However, this incident was extremely serious. The previous achievements were insufficient, hence the PCE Public Security Committee issued new targets in the afternoon.
At this moment, the I Want to Buy a Watch gang’s Boss suddenly said, “Why don’t we just hand over the Arts Society? I heard they have more than a hundred members; isn’t that enough?”
“Hmm, interesting. But won’t we suffer casualties?” the Meteor Hammer gang’s Boss asked.
“A bunch of choir singers? How could they cause us casualties? We’ve never seen them use firearms before. Taking them down has two advantages: we complete the task, and we eliminate this outlier.”
After a brief discussion, the three agreed. “When do we strike?”
“Tonight at 4 am.”
…
…
At that moment, two young men stood silently before the Pigeon Cage Building.
They were heavily bundled up, curiously observing their surroundings.
They were wearing grey canvas jackets, washed almost white.
At that moment, they didn’t look like city dwellers; they resembled Wildlanders.
“Boss, I only heard about this Arts Society this afternoon. Residents of the Ninth District say they are different from other gangs. What do you think?” one of the young men said softly.
The man beside him frowned. “A lotus flower growing in the mud. Something’s fishy. Maybe it’s a new form of exploitation by those gangs. Have you rented a room here?”
“Yes, I have. Rooms here are in high demand; I rented one at a high price from someone else.”
Blackheart A Xu Linsen paused. “Fully rented?”
“Yes, fully rented. It’s just that some people haven’t moved in yet,” Blackheart Four Jiang Mubei said. “Boss, Yang Yang asked us to come here and observe the city’s future changes. She said it’s important. I wonder what she meant. Did she say anything else?”
“She said she’ll come after finishing the City 10 parade. She also said someone she trusts will do something here, so she wants us to learn. She didn’t say much more,” Xu Linsen calmly responded.
“Learn?” Jiang Mubei was taken aback. Black Spade was a relatively mature organization. Their parades organized in various parts of the Federation had achieved initial success and possessed significant influence.
Yang Yang’s tone was unusual. What kind of individual would do something in City 22 that would warrant Blackheart A’s personal visit for observation?
Jiang Mubei smiled. “In the entire Federation, among all the organizations seeking to change the Federation, only we have succeeded. Who else could we possibly learn from?”
Xu Linsen glanced at him. “She meant to learn. Xiao Bei, humility is a virtue. Perhaps that person possesses exceptional abilities. However, she said she doesn’t know what the other party plans to do, but it will definitely create a stir. She said… that person always creates miracles and surprises.”
“But if that’s the case, we’ll miss the Fire Pit’s New Year festival,” Jiang Mubei sighed. “The problem is, we don’t even know who that person is or where they are. We’d be better off organizing a Student Protest in City 22.”
“Humility, Xiao Bei! Let’s settle in first. The Grand Elder isn’t at the Fire Pit anyway. I heard he was dragged away by Li Shutong to do manual labor,” Xu Linsen said.
Jiang Mubei stopped Xu Linsen. “Boss, don’t use that word, or the Grand Elder will hear…”
Then, Xu Linsen suspiciously said, “By the way, Xiao Bei, could the person Yang Yang mentioned be from Daybreak? Their relationship seems pretty good.”
Jiang Mubei hesitated. “Daybreak’s relationship with the Conglomerate is too close, and its strength is still quite weak. What can they do here? City 22 isn’t their home turf.”
Xu Linsen pondered. “Let’s see. Perhaps we’ll see something different.”
At that moment, the two walked into the Pigeon Cage building. As soon as they entered the building, they saw a person with a red armband sitting at a table at the entrance, with a notebook and pen on the table.
The young man behind the table looked up at them. “Where are you from? What’s your occupation? Do you have any infectious diseases? Are you carrying any weapons? Which room are you staying in? Show me your rental contract.”
Xu Linsen and Jiang Mubei were stunned by the barrage of questions.
What’s all this? The Arts Society is getting involved in everything?!
Jiang Mubei thought for a moment before answering. “We are from out of town, unemployed, no infectious diseases, carrying two pistols, staying in room 4403. Here’s our rental contract.”
Jiang Mubei looked up; a camera was pointed directly at them.
But Xu Linsen didn’t say anything, so he remained silent.
Once the young man finished registering their details, he handed them a leaflet. “The rules of this building are listed here. No theft, robbery, bullying of the elderly, women, or children, and no fighting. If you break the rules, we will hang you up in front of the building as a warning. Understand?”
Jiang Mubei raised an eyebrow, and Xu Linsen smiled. “Understood, thank you.”
At that moment, Qing Chen passed by them. He had been drinking heavily and knocked everyone out at the table.
But he froze as he passed Xu Linsen…
He recognized Xu Linsen; after all, he had imitated him in Prison 18, causing Guo Huchan, the big bald man, to protect his middle-aged and elderly health guide from a beating.
Why are Black Spade members suddenly in the Pigeon Cage?
Qing Chen walked into the elevator without showing any reaction. Jiang Mubei asked the young man behind the table, “Why can he go straight in?”
The young man nonchalantly replied, “He’s an old resident. By the way, the leaflet has the contact details for our Arts Society’s office and group chat. If you have any problems, you can contact us. Here, the Arts Society is definitely more useful than the PCE. By the way, after joining the group chat, find Xiao Mengqian; he will introduce you to the best places to eat and have fun nearby.”
“Thank you,” Jiang Mubei said. He was puzzled. How could a gang function like this? Their service was too thorough.
Xu Linsen and Jiang Mubei walked into the elevator, heading up to the 44th floor with Qing Chen.
“Little brother, you’ve been living here for a long time. What do you think of the Arts Society?” Xu Linsen asked.
Qing Chen glanced at them. “It’s pretty good.”
Arriving on the 44th floor, Qing Chen stepped out of the elevator first. Jiang Mubei exclaimed behind him, “This building is so clean! This is the first time I’ve seen such a clean residential building in Lower District 3. Boss, look, there’s not a single insect! What exactly does this Arts Society do?”
Blackheart Four seemed like a country bumpkin in the city, his Face[-] clearly saying, “I’ve never seen the world.”
…
…
At the city’s edge, Zhang Mengqian, Luo Wanya, and Little Seven carefully moved through the shadows of the buildings.
The entire Ninth District, except for the Pigeon Cage, was plunged into darkness.
This provided unexpected convenience to those living in the shadows.
“This is the place,” Zhang Mengqian stopped at a sewage outlet. “This pipe has a diameter of about 0.6 meters. It looks insignificant, but it leads out of the city, about 4 or 5 kilometers. I only discovered it by chance. But if you want to get out from here, you’ll have to crawl through the sewage for at least 5 kilometers. Are you sure you want to go this way?”
Crawling 5 kilometers through foul-smelling sewage—a path even Ninth District criminals would avoid.
It requires enduring prolonged darkness and stench, and it’s incredibly physically demanding.
The energy expenditure of walking 5 kilometers and crawling 5 kilometers is completely different.
The most critical point is that Luo Wanya’s status is no longer what it used to be. His strength has risen to C-Class thanks to the special care of Li Tongyun, Nangeng Chen, and Liu Dezhu.
Would such a high-ranking figure willingly crawl through this sewage channel?
Luo Wanya took off his coat and smiled. “It’s disgusting, but if you can’t handle this hardship, you don’t deserve to serve the Boss. Little Seven, you wait here for me. Eliminate any approaching suspicious figures.”