Chapter 69: Power Plays at the Top

Copper Milling Street, Districts One and Two.

The main shops are various restaurants, taverns, and dance halls; the largest is probably an electronic game — a pachinko parlor.

Unlike the various money-sinks beneath the dungeon, this place mainly caters to ordinary people and some penniless regular members, but when small amounts add up, it becomes a very considerable income.

Therefore.

It was perfectly normal for Baimu to be surprised that he could be assigned such a street district.

Perhaps this was something Master Liu Ge had just split off from Cang Zhi Lang? After all, that traitor Shi Yuan Du had been caught earlier, and after a round of interrogation, the Sand Squad might have gained some advantage from the Crystal Squad.

He had been burying himself in raising Pokémon these past days and hadn't paid much attention to the changes within the team.

The situation must have shifted somewhat. Given the inherently clashing personalities of Sand Squad leader Cang Zhi Lang and Crystal Squad leader Chester, how could they not use Shi Yuan Du's capture to make trouble?

Baimu walked along the main avenue of Copper Milling Street, deep in thought, with Narihiro and the others strutting proudly behind him.

A group of people accompanied by Pokémon, parading through the streets and repeatedly drawing onlookers.

And in the surrounding gazes, ordinary citizens often showed a mix of fear and envy, with plenty of hostility and disgust mixed in as well. The gazes of Quicksand team members, however, were rather simple.

Most of them stared at Baimu at the very front, all very curious how such a greenhorn had caught Master Liu Ge's eye.

Just because he's decent-looking?

They're not bad-looking either!

These ugly ducklings refused to face reality, and believed that if they had been in the charity tournament, their performance certainly wouldn't have been much worse than Baimu's.

In short, they were sour to the extreme.

So many veteran elite team members hadn't been promoted to squad leader — what makes you think you can, you greenhorn?

The streams of resentful gazes didn't affect Baimu's progress.

Mawile, sensing the many stares, couldn't help but clench its fists and let out a cold laugh. It had long understood that this place was full of villains everywhere, and the days spent together had taught it that the villains didn't dare to lay a finger on it — or rather, on its trainer.

Those who show a cowardly posture should be met with a heavy fist!

That's what its breeder taught it.

But Baimu wouldn't allow it, so Mawile had to hold back.

Of course it knew its trainer believed that two fists couldn't fight four hands; with so many villains, fighting really would be troublesome. The idea of not picking a fight with a large group of enemies when alone was perfectly reasonable.

Truly a trainer I can acknowledge!

Mawile couldn't help but cast an appreciative glance at Baimu, thinking that aside from his rather poor Pokémon raising — which needed its help — every other aspect of him could be described as "not bad."

——

Not long after.

The destination had arrived.

It was morning, and most shops had their doors half-closed, preparing to open for the day.

Baimu casually picked a tavern and walked in, scanned the interior, and said to a person who came up with a smiling face: "Are you the boss here?"

"No, no, I'm the manager here. Our boss specifically arranged for me to wait for you here, Baimu bro."

The man's face was full of humble smiles as he bowed and said: "The bosses of Districts One and Two are all waiting for you at the Sweet Dream Dance Hall. Please take the trouble to go over. We just opened, and the environment here isn't really suitable for discussing important matters…"

Looks like word had reached them.

Baimu wasn't surprised by this. Their arrival had been a parade through the streets on purpose, to give these bosses a heads-up.

Having them gather together now was exactly what he wanted, saving him the trouble of going door to door.

"Fine."

He was happy with this and turned around without hesitation.

Narihiro and the others, who had been looking around, immediately followed when they saw this, not even glancing at the little trinkets deliberately placed outside as if waiting for them to take them.

Bad origins were bad origins, but they never did anything sneaky like stealing. They didn't even look twice at such petty gains.

They had discussed it together last night — today they would follow Baimu's lead, do nothing extra, and try to build up some presence for Baimu!

Only then would the backbone of Green Iridium Street truly be established, and no one would look down on them anymore.

Wanting to get rich, but with self-respect and dignity mattering more than getting rich — this had always been their bottom line against the likes of Shibata. Those who loved money without limits had long been cast outside their little circle.

The Sweet Dream Dance Hall wasn't far from the tavern; after just a few steps, one could see its alluring hostesses on the signboard.

Baimu pushed open the door and walked in, immediately seeing beneath the stage at the very back, several rather dazzling bright lamps hung up, with the surroundings pitch-black and hard to make out.

Beneath the bright lamps was a huge rectangular table, with many unfamiliar faces sitting around it, leaving the topmost seat empty.

The moment he approached, those unfamiliar faces all rose at once and hurried over to greet him.

Titles like "Baimu bro" and "Captain Baimu" came in an endless stream, and more importantly, these people started stuffing envelopes of all sizes into their hands the moment they came in — some thick, some thin.

Baimu turned his head and saw that Narihiro and the others had also been stuffed with envelopes.

Looks like… things should be relatively simple?

He nodded casually, very naturally sitting down in the topmost empty seat, but the moment he settled in, he noticed Mawile glaring at him, so he had no choice but to lift it onto his lap.

"Everyone needn't be so formal."

Baimu waved his hand, gesturing for the bosses to sit down. "I came here today just to get to know everyone, and chat a little. Please don't be nervous."

The bosses each took their seats.

But the moment these people had their backsides touch the table, before Baimu could even feel whether the teacup in front of him was scalding or ice-cold, they all rose again and began pouring out their grievances.

Saying business was bad and they were about to close shop, saying they lost money every month, saying Quicksand team members often came to smash, loot, and cause trouble, making it nearly impossible to keep operating, and so on.

Narihiro and the others were startled by the noisy bosses, and only settled down when they saw Baimu still sitting calmly in his seat.

Mawile watched those bosses, saliva flying as they scrambled to recount how hard they had it, and its expression gradually turned unfriendly.

"Chiddo!"

It let out a sharp cry, suddenly turned its head and swung the big mouth on the back of its head to the front, its fearsome jaws parting to reveal a blood-red, terrifying light, which scared those bosses into immediately lowering their voices.

Baimu patted Mawile on the head, his gaze sweeping across the faces of everyone in front of him.

"Just cut to the chase. The whole point of you lot talking—is it to tell me something, or just to whine at me? If it's the latter, I'm leaving, and I'll come back on collection day."

His tone was offhand; he didn't even look at anyone, just stared at the teacup in front of him.

The bosses exchanged glances, murmured among themselves, and pushed forward a middle-aged man who looked steady and composed.

"We hope Brother Baimu will be magnanimous and give us one month's grace."

"Grace?"

"Yes. Just give us one month to turn the capital over, and we will definitely bring the dead back to life. Not only can we make it up next month, there'll even be more to spare. All you need to do this month is put in a few good words for my lord Liu Ge, and let us keep our livelihoods…"

The middle-aged man sighed, in the tone of someone whose family was about to go hungry.

Baimu asked, "You really can't turn your capital over?"

"Yes, it's all in the ledger—month after month of losses, income not covering expenses."

"Fine."

He nodded under the middle-aged man's ecstatic expression. "Too fine. Looks like you really do take me for a fool. Who's been backing you? Speak up yourself."

"This—"

The middle-aged man's expression froze, and the surrounding bosses' faces stiffened along with him.

Without waiting for them to explain, Baimu stood up directly.

"No problem. Next time I come, have the money ready. I want double what I used to collect. If you can't pay, I'll take it out of your assets. Or you can try not paying."

He smiled, waved to Cheng Hong and the others. "Settled. Let's go."

Seeing he really meant to leave, the middle-aged man couldn't help but let out a shrill cry and block his way, bowing his head deeply. "Wait! Brother Baimu, you mustn't! We really can't turn the capital over! Who's backing us, really!"

"Yes, yes! Just leave us a way to live!"

"We beg you!"

The other bosses began to plead and cry out their grievances too.

Baimu only laughed coldly.

Claiming their business is failing and about to go bankrupt, that they can't turn their capital over—in the two most prosperous spots on Copper Milling Street? Anyone who believes that is the real fool.

If they were really losing money, they'd have shut down long ago. God knows how many people are eyeing this location! They wouldn't even get the chance to lose money—someone else would snap it up first!

If he actually believed them, he might as well never hold his head up again.

And normally, these bosses wouldn't be stupid enough to go against him, or try to treat him like a fool. So someone must have threatened them, or given them the nerve.

Which means these people have already become cannon fodder in the power struggle among the upper ranks of the Quicksand Team, whether they agreed to it or not.

But Baimu was still willing to give them a chance. As long as they paid double the "fine," he'd let bygones be bygones, and it would be easy enough to explain to Liu Ge.

His gaze passed straight over the bosses and fixed on the black curtain nearby. He called out loudly, "Do I have to invite you out, or are you coming out on your own?"

The bosses' voices choked off.

The next moment.

Wild laughter rang out.

"Ha ha ha ha, everyone says you little punk hit the jackpot with your luck, but I didn't expect you to be this sharp. Who tipped you off?"

From behind the curtain, a stream of Quicksand Team members filed out.

The one at the front wore a squad leader's badge; he didn't look very old, maybe around twenty or so. His manner was as arrogant as Jian's had been back then—only missing the nose-in-the-air bit.

"So it really is you Crystal Squad people."

Baimu sighed, and Cheng Hong behind him reminded him who this person was.

Just as the Sand Squad had gained a new squad leader in him, the Crystal Squad had recently had someone promoted from elite member to squad leader—and that someone was the one right in front of them: Yoshioka.

The fact that this guy had shown up here meant he was probably here specifically to make trouble for Baimu—his first assignment after taking office.

"Ignore them. Let's go."

Baimu said to the people behind him.

His purpose in coming here was to make sure collection day went smoothly. Picking a fight with Yoshioka was pointless; there was no need to engage him.

The group walked toward the door under the bosses' wailing pleas.

But before they could get out.

Yoshioka's voice came again.

"Why are you Sand Squad guys so spineless? Someone's stomping all over your faces and you don't even react? Or did you learn it from your big brother Liu Ge? Learn what? Being a sissy! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

The Crystal Squad members burst into laughter along with him.

It was extremely grating, and made Cheng Hong and the others grind their teeth.

Honestly.

This was a clumsy provocation.

But Baimu had no choice but to take the bait, because Yoshioka had insulted Liu Ge. In Yellow Iron Town, having one's big brother insulted was a serious matter—if the underlings couldn't win the face back, the big brother would lose all his dignity.

Even setting that aside.

Liu Ge had helped him out so much, hadn't asked for tribute fees, and even had Frobo look after him like that…

He really couldn't pretend he hadn't heard.

"I want every last one of your teeth."

Baimu turned around, looking coldly at Yoshioka, who was still smirking at the back. "If your words are going to whistle through the gaps, your mouth shouldn't be so cheap."