345: Chapter 339: Utterly Heartless 345: Chapter 339: Utterly Heartless At nine o’clock in the evening, Chen Hai, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes promptly.
He stood up, walked to the door, opened it, and strode out.
“Boss!”
“Boss!”
…
His subordinates, including Bai Xiaohang who had gone to borrow a car, were all waiting in the corridor outside the room.
Upon seeing Chen Hai emerge, they quickly approached and greeted him.
“It should be about time, let’s go downstairs first!” He nodded, waved at them, and headed straight for the elevator.
The van Bai Xiaohang had borrowed looked somewhat dilapidated.
In many places, the paint had peeled off and had begun to rust.
On the hood and the body of the van, many spots seemed to have been smashed by hard objects and had dented in.
Chen Hai, however, did not mind.
After all, they weren’t going out on a date or a picnic in this car, so appearances didn’t matter!
For them, as long as the car could start and run normally, that was completely sufficient.
Among them all, Tian Mingjian naturally had the best driving skills.
Taking the car keys from Bai Xiaohang, he unhesitatingly took the driver’s seat.
“First get on the highway, then head towards Songgang Town!”
“There’s still plenty of time, no need to rush, just drive slowly!”
With his eyes slightly closed, Chen Hai sensed the direction of his yin qi mark and gave his orders.
Honestly, dealing with a bunch of heartless ordinary people didn’t require a big operation.
He alone could easily take care of those guys without anyone noticing.
But for him, the boss, to handle such a trivial matter personally…
And his subordinates just staying in the hotel, enjoying themselves, seemed quite inappropriate.
He had called them all out because he wanted them to get used to working together, preparing for the trip to Xiangjiang.
After all, his subordinates were somewhat unruly; working together collectively would be a first for them.
“Okay, Boss!” Tian Mingjian nodded, started the van, and drove slowly forward.
This part of Shen City was like a huge construction site, with building projects everywhere.
Even on the highway, the roads were difficult to navigate.
It took over an hour for the van Tian Mingjian was driving to exit the highway and enter the area of Sand Well Town.
“Mingjian, find a place to stop the car for a bit!”
“Xiaohang, Uncle Baoshan, the two of you go down and take off the license plate, then put on the fake one we prepared!”
After a brief moment of thought, Chen Hai spoke the instructions.
The thing with the fake license plate, the car originally had one.
It looked like Bai Xiaohang’s buddy had often used this van for some borderline illegal activities.
Though in this day and age, omnipresent surveillance cameras were basically impossible to avoid completely.
But having a fake license plate was still a precaution, just in case, right?
Now, Sand Well Town, with its construction sites, although numerous, still seemed somewhat remote and desolate compared to Bao’an District.
It was just after ten in the evening, and many places were already dark, with barely any people visible.
“Boss, are we almost there?” A few minutes later, Bai Xiaohang and Bai Baoshan, having switched the license plate, got back into the van.
With a hint of curiosity, Bai Xiaohang tentatively spoke up, inquiring from Chen Hai.
“Our target isn’t in the town but should be in the suburban area!”
“From where we are now, it’s about four or five miles away.”
“If the roads are good, it won’t take more than ten minutes to get there by car!”
With his eyes half-closed, about to doze off, Chen Hai casually responded.
Tian Mingjian, who was designated as the driver, started the van and slowly drove forward.
A few miles away, a dilapidated bungalow made of mud bricks and wood panels stood alone by the mountainside.
Inside the hall, tattooed Brother Biao sat in the main seat at a square table, legs wide apart like a general.
“One, two, three, four, five…”
Several other men counted aloud as they tallied up all of their earnings for the day.
Four or five little girls, all under ten years of age, huddled in a corner, staring pitifully this way.
They had been selling flowers outside all day long, their little mouths almost dry.
Besides a bun they ate in the morning, they had only drunk some tap water to fill their stomachs.
They had returned here less than half an hour ago from finishing their work.
What they could eat tonight depended on whether their earnings for the day were sufficient to satisfy Brother Biao and his crew!
As for those who followed behind others to pickpocket, they seemed slightly older, but the oldest among them was only around twelve or thirteen.
When they were pickpocketing, they were bold and fearless, but now, they looked terrified, shrinking back and cowering in a corner.
As for the physically disabled beggars, there were only three, one of whom, a child of about eleven or twelve, had an arm missing from his elbow.
Perhaps because they were tortured too severely, they seemed to have resigned to their fate already, each with a numb expression on their face.
“Cat Group here, today’s income, three hundred and twenty-four dollars!”
“Pig Group over here, two hundred and seventy-eight dollars!”
“Dog Group is once again the last, four people went out for a day and only made one hundred and ninety-eight dollars, not even two hundred?”
“It looks like, if we don’t teach these brats a harsh lesson, they will never learn!”
…
Finally, those tallying the earnings had finished counting everything on the table.
The so-called Cat Group, Pig Group, and Dog Group were nicknames Brother Biao and his people had given to these moneymaking tools.
Cat Group consisted of the flower-selling girls, Pig Group of the disabled beggars, and Dog Group, naturally, was the young pickpockets.
“Let the Cat Group eat white rice, let them eat their fill today.”
“As for the Pig Group, leave them the leftover food, as long as they don’t starve to death!”
“As for the remaining Dog Group…”
At this time, Brother Biao, the leader, finally stood up.
While distributing tasks to his subordinates and instructing them, his fierce gaze fell on a few young boys shrinking in the corner.
“I mentioned yesterday, if you fail to make money, and you remain the last among the three groups!”
“Which of you performed the worst?
Who made the least money?
I’ll switch him to the Pig Group to fend for himself!”
“When Brother Biao says something, he means it!”
“Liu, drag over that kid named Tian, and by the way, go to the side room and bring me the saw for cutting wood!”
Brother Biao’s vicious gaze fell on a skinny young boy of about eleven or twelve in the corner.
He waved at the guy beside him who had a purple birthmark on his face and commanded.
“Brother Biao, please don’t…”
“Today, I just had bad luck, got caught twice, and even got slapped a few times.
Tomorrow, I promise I can make money!”
“Brother Biao, Brother Liu, I’m begging you, please let me off this time!”
…
The boy, his face full of fear, knelt on the ground, continuously kowtowing and pleading.
Sadly, all his efforts were in vain.
The guy nicknamed Liu, with the birthmark on his face, sneered as he walked over to him, grabbed his hair, and within moments, dragged him to the middle of the hall.
Then, Liu kicked him over onto the ground and stepped on his back.
“Kid, you tell me, do you want to lose a leg or an arm?”
“You choose one of the two.
I give you the chance, respecting your choice!”
Another subordinate had already found a saw in the side room and handed it to Brother Biao.
Holding that saw, he walked over to the boy, squatted down, and grabbing the boy’s hair, he chuckled menacingly.
“Brother Biao, Brother Biao, please don’t, I’m begging you, let me go…”
The boy’s face was already pale with fright, and even his speech started to stutter.
“Not choosing, are you?
Fine, I’ll choose for you!”
Feeding himself on such a ruthless line of work, there was no way Brother Biao would be soft-hearted.
His face contorted menacingly; he glanced at the boy’s legs and then at his hands.
Finally, he made his choice, stretching out his large hand and grabbing one of the boy’s arms.
He held the arm in a reverse grip, straightened it, and Brother Biao extended a foot, pinning the boy’s hand firmly beneath it.
Then, he picked up the saw in his hand and placed it at the joint of the boy’s elbow.