Chapter 367: 368. Chapter 364: My Turn

368. Chapter 364: My Turn

Early in the morning, someone knocked on the door outside the arcade. Two members of the Wolf Gang cautiously pushed the door open, and upon seeing a newsboy standing outside, they relaxed their vigilance slightly.

One of them gestured for the person behind him to stand down. In the spot where the newsboy couldn't see, the atmosphere suddenly eased.

"You can put the newspapers in the newspaper box on the side, instead of knocking on the door here!" the gang member at the entrance complained to the newsboy with his hands on his hips.

As he spoke, he reached out his hand, "Give them to me."

"What?" The newsboy was stunned for a moment, "The newspapers?"

"What else!" the man retorted rudely.

The newsboy immediately took out three different newspapers and placed them in his hand, "Ten cents, sir."

The man was stunned for a moment. He had assumed these newspapers were already paid for, but looking at the newsboy's clean eyes, he helplessly fished a twenty-five-cent coin from his pocket and tossed it over, "Keep the change."

As he spoke, he was about to close the door, but the newsboy stopped him again, "Sir, a gentleman asked me to deliver a letter to a gentleman called 'Professor'."

The man was stunned for a moment, and his brows furrowed immediately. He looked outside; there were some pedestrians, but he wasn't sure if any of them were watching them.

"What did that person look like?" he asked, while turning to point toward the Professor's room.

They had all been living here during this period. The Lansi family's execution capability was very strong; if they scattered, they might be picked off one by one.

Only by sticking together was it best. The Professor believed that this "farce" would end soon, and by then, they wouldn't need to do this anymore.

During this time, those small gangs also had some complaints about them. The original plan was for them to launch an attack on the Imperial District together.

But now, it was all small gangs doing the fighting. Their losses from facing the Lansi family alone were heavy, and they hoped the Wolf Gang side would also contribute, just as they had agreed.

However, neither the Professor nor Wolf dared to go out casually. Who knew if Lansi and his people were watching them?

Or rather, Lansi and his people were definitely watching them, just waiting for them to reveal a flaw.

The more this was the case, the less possible it was for the Professor to fall into Lansi and his people's trap.

The man at the door looked back at the newsboy, "What did the person who gave you the letter look like?" At the same time, he added, "You can give the letter to me; I'll pass it to the Professor."

The newsboy shook his head, "No, that gentleman said it must be delivered to the Professor personally."

"You don't even know the Professor; how do you know if he is the Professor?"

"For example, if I say now that I am the Professor, how do you know if I am or not?"

The newsboy shook his head and didn't speak, "That gentleman looked very ordinary, nothing special..." He seemed to have thought of something, and under the expectant gaze of the Wolf Gang member, he said, "If there is anything special, it must be that he is especially generous!"

"He gave me two dollars just to deliver this thing. Will you give me extra money?"

Feeling that he had been played, the young man cursed, "Do you want shit?"

The newsboy rolled his eyes, and at this moment, the Professor was also tidying his clothes and coming out of the room.

The newsboy saw him, and his gaze seemed to lock onto the Professor.

"You know me?" The Professor could feel that the newsboy seemed to have determined that he was the owner to whom the letter should be delivered. He had heard the conversation between his subordinate and the newsboy.

The newsboy shook his head, "I don't know you, but I think you should be the Professor. That person said you wear gold-rimmed glasses and look as scary as a teacher in school!"

The Professor couldn't help but chuckle. He took two dollars out of his pocket and handed it over, "I am also very generous. Can you give the thing to me now?"

The newsboy was so surprised he couldn't believe it was true. He was very excited, "Absolutely, sir, I'll give it to you right now!"

He took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to the Professor, then took the Professor's money, "Goodbye, generous sir, I wish you good luck all day!"

After saying that, he ran off without looking back!

The people around the Professor wanted to call the newsboy back, but were stopped by the Professor, "He is just a newsboy, he doesn't know anything."

He could tell from the newsboy's shoes and pants that it wasn't a disguise.

Moreover, there was no need to risk using a child. If a problem could be solved by spending two dollars, why bother arranging one of his own people to do it?

He took the envelope back to his office, closed the door, and then opened it.

Inside was only a card, and there was a number on the card.

At a glance, it was a phone number. He furrowed his brows.

On the other side, Lansi was also reading this morning's news. More news about the strike began to be disclosed in the newspapers.

For example, the unwritten rules of the federal industry: wages should be raised once every six months to a year, but the dock workers hadn't had a raise in over two years.

The media generally believed that this was the truth of the strike. They were now discussing how long this strike could last, and the Koda family had even opened a betting pool for it.

Resolved within three days, within a week, within half a month, and over fifteen days—various solutions had different odds, and it was said that quite a few people were placing bets.

Of course, there was no lack of sharp commentary. Some people thought the workers' strike was a "vicious means of achieving their own demands by using the destruction of social stability," and their behavior was despicable, unwelcome, and unapproved.

Others thought it was the stinginess of the capitalists that led to everything. If they were willing to raise wages for the workers, there wouldn't be such a strike.

The mayor lying in the hospital seemed to be being forgotten by public opinion, but this was also what he wanted himself!

Lansi picked up a sandwich and took a bite. Today's breakfast was a ham and egg sandwich, along with some fried bacon and fried beef cubes, a little fruit and vegetable salad, and milk.

Recently, scientists discovered that long-term consumption of milk could significantly make people gain weight. They believed that milk contained something that could promote physical growth, and were encouraging people to drink more milk.

Some middle-class communities even used "providing free milk to residents who move in" as a promotional method, and the effect was quite good!

Now they were competing on providing milk; it wouldn't be long before they would be competing on milk sources.

All of this seemed familiar, yet it also seemed quite fresh.

"Is breakfast not to your taste?" Lansi looked at the two ladies sitting across the dining table. They hadn't even touched the things in front of them.

Breakfast was the same as Lansi's: egg and tomato sandwich, plus bacon and beef cubes.

The Professor's wife remained silent, but his daughter mustered some courage, "This... sir, that man has had nothing to do with us for a long time..."

Lansi raised his hand, stopping her, "He is protecting you, so he cares about you more than you imagine."

"Eat something. No matter what you have to face next, being full is always better than being hungry."

"Wasting food is not a virtue, madam."

The Professor's daughter looked at Lansi, and finally picked up the sandwich and handed it to her mother, "Eat something..."

The two of them ate in small bites. They hadn't eaten much when the phone rang suddenly. Their gazes immediately focused on the phone, and then shifted to Lansi's face.

Lansi took the phone over and signaled for the Professor's daughter to pick it up. She was a bit hesitant.

The harsh ringing of the phone kept sounding, making people feel very irritable.

Each ring seemed very long, and the interval between each ring was also very long.

After Lansi signaled for her to answer the phone again, she finally picked it up.

"Who is there?"

A somewhat unfamiliar voice came from the receiver, but her eyes turned red immediately.

No matter how much she said she didn't care about this man, or pretended not to care, it was impossible for them not to care about each other!

Everyone knew why the Professor wanted a divorce. He told the outside world it was because of his guilt and self-reproach, but everyone knew that wasn't true.

She was afraid of crying out, so she covered her mouth with her other hand to keep herself from sobbing, but tears fell down pitter-patter.

The Professor furrowed his brows, "If you spent two dollars just to make me answer a phone call where no one speaks, then you succeeded."

Still no one spoke, but the Professor heard some subtle sounds. Unaccountably, he began to feel uneasy.

He tried not to let his emotions interfere with himself and swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "This is just a prank, isn't it?"

The phone number was from New Jincheng, but he didn't know where this number was from; he hadn't seen it before.

"If you don't speak again, I'm going to hang up!"

He vaguely heard the sound of sobbing. His thinking became chaotic. He hung up the phone with force and looked at it in disbelief!

The worst thought appeared in his mind. His hands pressed against his forehead and pushed backward, his palms squeezing his scalp through his hair to release some pressure, but it was only an insignificant part.

He kept repeating this action, and because of this, his head remained lowered.

After doing this action several times in a row, he suddenly hammered the table with force, with a bang!

The things on the table jumped. He cursed something softly in his mouth. Wolf, who had already gotten up outside the door, heard the commotion, rubbed his eyes, and pushed the door open, "What's wrong?"

The Professor shook his head, "Someone played a prank on me. He made me answer a phone call, but then cursed me out!"

After hearing this, Wolf found it interesting, "Was it done by Lansi's people?"

"He is just like a child. When we catch him, I'll give you a chance to spank him!"

The Professor nodded with force, "We will!"

Seeing that the Professor had nothing else, Wolf prepared to leave; he hadn't slept well yet.

He let go of his hand; the gritty eye boogers had already been rubbed away and fell to the ground. He tried his best to widen his eyes and look at the Professor, "We are a family. If there are any problems, tell me, okay?"

"No problem, everything is fine!"

The two looked at each other for a moment. Wolf turned and closed the door, his footsteps getting further and further away.

He wasn't the big fool others thought he was. In fact, he knew, and could also feel, that the Professor's mood was wrong.

But he didn't know how to persuade such a smart person as the Professor; he could only express his stance and attitude, and then hope the Professor would walk out of his off-kilter mood himself.

"He hung up the phone." The Professor's daughter looked at Lansi, sobbing.

Lansi put the receiver back on the phone base and said with a smile, "He will call again soon."

Then he sat back and continued to pick up the newspaper. He believed the Professor would call again, because he believed the Professor was a smart person.

Scientists had done statistics: the higher the IQ, the easier it was to develop anxiety, because high-IQ groups knew too many things, so they would also worry about more things.

On the contrary, those fools had no worries. Even if you told them the world would end tomorrow, they would still have a good sleep tonight!

The old woman comforted her daughter. She looked up at Lansi, "Do you have any hatred?"

Lansi pursed his lips, "He killed some of my subordinates, seriously injured my brother, and killed my brother's father."

The old woman found it hard to believe that all these were done by the Professor. She muttered, "You are all gangsters... this shouldn't be..."

She wanted to say, shouldn't this be very normal?

Lansi didn't refute her point of view, just looked into her eyes, "Yes, this is very normal. So, do you have any other questions about why you are here?"

The old woman didn't know how to answer this question, so she also fell silent.

The phone rang harshly again. Lansi folded the newspaper and signaled for the Professor's daughter to pick it up.

She took a deep breath, controlled her emotions, and answered the phone. This time she still didn't speak, but she was much stronger.

After a brief silence, the Professor's voice calling her name suddenly came from the receiver. At this moment, her tears couldn't be controlled and flowed out, and she also made a sobbing sound.

Although the Professor's voice from the receiver didn't become louder, the bass was deeper, and one could also hear the fear and anger in his heart at this moment!

Lansi wanted to take the phone, but the Professor's daughter grabbed the receiver tightly and wouldn't let go. She was actually trying to protect the Professor.

"Have you thought about the price of doing this?" he asked.

Lao En, who was standing against the wall, walked over. The old woman looked at her daughter, her expression sorrowful, "Please!"

The old woman was very afraid; she didn't want to see her daughter get hurt, so she looked at her pleadingly.

Under such a gaze and voice, the Professor's daughter sobbed and let go of the phone.

She looked at Lansi with vicious, red, tear-filled eyes full of hatred. Lansi just smiled back at her, then placed the receiver to his own ear.

"Mr. Professor."

The moment Lansi's voice came from the receiver, the Professor's blood went cold!

Although he already had such a guess, the moment the guess became reality, he felt the sky had collapsed!

It was like someone feeling unwell; he told himself, the worst it could be is cancer. Even if he got cancer, didn't life still need to continue?

He looked optimistic, but if he went for a checkup and found out he really had cancer, he would be just like most of the people he thought lacked the courage to face tomorrow—losing all courage!

The Professor was just like this. His body began to tremble. One hand grabbed the corner of the table tightly, his fingernails even piercing the paint and almost flipping over, but he couldn't feel the pain!

He gripped the phone tightly, using all his strength for every word, "This matter has nothing to do with them!"

Lansi seemed to agree with this point of view quite a bit!

"Yes, it has nothing to do with them, and it also has nothing to do with Mo Lisi's father!"

The Professor was terrified and fearful. He didn't know what was waiting for him; he could only try his best to explain, "This was an accident."

Lansi didn't refute him either, "I admit, this was indeed an accident."

"An old guy who hadn't offended anyone accidentally lost his life, and then lay in the cold storage waiting for his son to come out in a wheelchair, so he could offer him the first handful of soil!"

"All of this is an accident. Accidents happen every day. They happened to Mo Lisi, and they could also happen to you, right?"

Lansi sat back in his chair, crossed his legs, and lit a cigarette.

He looked at Lao En, then glanced at the two ladies, and gave him a look, telling him to lock these two people up first.

Only then did he continue, "You are an adult, Mr. Professor. I heard you are also a high school teacher. You wouldn't be like your students, still naively thinking that every question has only one standard answer, right?"

"When you decided to do this, you had to bear all the consequences and costs!"

"If you won, then that's another matter, but now it seems, at least as of now, you haven't won!"

The Professor's mood became a bit more stable, "What do you want?"

"This is Jincheng, not Fides. You outsiders have destroyed the order here. You shouldn't be asking me what I want."

"You should ask yourself, what is it that you have to pay!"

He paused, "This farce should end, Mr. Professor."

The Professor took a deep breath, "What do you want?"

"My life?"

Lansi said softly, "Your life and Wolf's life, as well as the lives of everyone who attacked Mo Lisi. I can let the others go."

The Professor's teeth were almost crushed, "That's impossible!"

"All the action plans of the Wolf Gang were formulated by me. Wolf is just a puppet. Killing me is enough!"

Lansi chuckled twice, "Do you know?"

"You are not good at lying, Mr. Professor."

"Actually... besides inviting your ex-wife and daughter over, I also have your sister and brother, and your other family members."

"Do you know the small valley outside the west of the city?"

"You still have...", Lansi glanced at his watch, "two hours!"

"Two hours later, a small accident will happen—a small accident we all know!"

He didn't wait for the Professor to say anything and hung up the phone.

Aierwen stood to the side and asked softly, "Will they come?"

Lansi nodded slightly, "They will."

Aierwen was very curious, "Why are you so sure?"

Lansi smiled without smiling, "You just have to believe me!"

A few minutes later, someone pushed open the door to Wolf's office. Wolf, with a face full of worry, looked at the person pushing the door, and the child behind him, "What's the matter?"

"This guy said someone gave him two dollars to pass a message to you."

Wolf glanced at the little guy, a newsboy, common everywhere.

He leaned back, somewhat impatient, "What message?"

"A gentleman asked me to tell you that the Professor's family is all in the valley west of the city, and two hours later they will all be executed..."

? C〇

Wolf flipped over the table directly, grabbed the newsboy by the collar, and lifted him up, "What the fuck are you saying?" ===== CHAPTER 368 =====