Chapter 657: Washing Clean (19/20, Autumn Subscription)

Dongliu Mountain, the summit.

Under the night sky, Dongliu Mountain was busier than usual.

Because they were holding a banquet.

A grand banquet.

On the long table were laid out all manner of dishes and fine wine.

A group of men in varied dress but with vicious faces, drinking and eating in great gulps, with no sense of decorum whatsoever.

Yet not a single one of those present was a pushover.

At this moment, if anyone from Chunuan City were here, they would have been greatly shocked.

Because every single person present was a famous name on the Thief Rankings—a top-hundred Great Night Thief!

And the one seated at the very top was a man wearing a rat mask.

He swept his gaze over the crowd below and cleared his throat lightly.

These Night Thief leaders, ordinarily vicious and lawless to the extreme, immediately stopped what they were doing and waited for Rat Seat to speak.

Among them were even those Thief Chiefs ranked near the top.

Their strength far surpassed that of Rat Seat.

After all, what Rat Seat was most famous for was his art of fleeing, not any outstanding personal strength.

And the reason everyone was willing to give Rat Seat face was, naturally, because Rat Seat was a man of the Phoenix Organization.

Rat Seat himself, they could handle—but the Phoenix Organization, that behemoth, they could not afford to provoke.

The Night Thieves could run rampant in Chunuan City precisely because of the Phoenix Organization's behind-the-scenes backing.

It could be said that without the Phoenix Organization, there would be no Thief Rankings today, and certainly no Dongliu Mountain Night Thief stronghold.

Of course, ordinarily every Night Thief roamed abroad, each with their own territory.

Only Dongliu Mountain was special—it was the gathering point where Rat Seat convened his people every time, without exception.

So naturally, the number of Night Thieves appearing on Dongliu Mountain was relatively large and frequent.

Fortunately, the higher-ups of Chunuan City had long since been bribed, so regarding the situation at Dongliu Mountain, most of them turned a blind eye and never actually sent troops to suppress it.

The Night Thieves, huddling together for warmth, grew ever stronger, and even drafted certain plans for harvesting the leeks.

For instance, which merchant caravans could be harvested for a wave, which needed to wait a while before being harvested, how much to take without crossing the bottom line, or which caravan needed to be rooted out entirely—rules and regulations of every kind, too many to enumerate, remarkably formal, as though treating the Night Thief trade as a proper enterprise, stressing sustainable development.

Precisely because of this, the Night Thieves on the Thief Rankings lived better and better.

Of course, at the very beginning there were some small problems, but they were all worked out through gradual adjustment.

Everyone was a powerhouse on the Thief Rankings, and with mutual respect, cooperation came easily.

As for those small Night Thieves who didn't understand cooperation—they were either absorbed under their banner or directly surrounded and killed.

On the surface, Night Thieves killing Night Thieves is dogs biting dogs, doing Chunuan City a favor—but in reality, it was about monopoly.

Monopolizing the Night Thief resources around Chunuan City, unifying and integrating them—the profits and the harm would only grow greater.

Before Rat Seat had spoken, they were all chatting among themselves about how much money they'd made this year, how many leeks they'd harvested, which leeks were growing nicely, which were about to wither and could be bought out and rooted.

The uninformed might think these were some business tycoons discussing some money-making project.

Believe it or not, the leading Thief Chiefs had genuinely considered washing their hands of it all, investing in some other city, opening a trading house or something, to launder their identities.

But their criminal records with the Green Division or Blue Coral couldn't be erased—unless they changed their faces entirely, washing clean and going legitimate wouldn't be easy.

However, if the Phoenix Organization was willing to help, most of them would have a chance to transform into successful merchants, no longer Night Thieves skirting the gray zones.

Therefore, they were extremely polite to people of the Phoenix Organization.

Having earned enough money, they now thought about how to live out the rest of their lives in happiness. After getting through the bloody phase of primitive accumulation, whether their second half of life could be stable depended entirely on whether Lord Rat Seat was willing to put in a word with the Phoenix Organization behind him and lend a hand.

"The matter you mentioned before, I've already brought up once with Lord Ox Seat. But you must understand, so many of you wanting to go legitimate isn't easy, and the operation carries considerable risk.

Whether Lord Ox Seat is willing to help you settle it, I don't know either.

However, he has already issued a new order—if you can complete the mission beautifully, I'll nag Lord Ox Seat about this matter again, 争取出 five slots first. As for who gets the slots, we'll see who contributes the most on this mission."

The moment Rat Seat finished speaking, the people below all instantly widened their eyes, their breathing quickening.

These Great Night Thieves ranked in the top hundred, after so many years of耕耘, had long since earned enough money—now they only wanted to wash clean and go legitimate, live stable lives and enjoy themselves.

What is money for, if not to enjoy life better?

Most became Night Thieves because they'd committed offenses and were wanted by the Government, left with no choice but to walk that dark road to the end.

Now that someone could help them wash clean and go legitimate, who wouldn't be red-eyed and craning their neck?

The scene instantly erupted.

Everyone rushed to speak first.

"What?! Five slots! That's five times more than the one slot we expected!"

"Excellent! I thought there was no hope for this, but who would've thought—light at the end of the tunnel! Lord Rat Seat, whatever the mission is, just give the order—we'd die ten thousand deaths without complaint!"

"Finally… finally this day has come! The moment my identity's washed clean, I'll eat and drink the best, buy up that whole street of brothels and run them myself!"

"Hahahaha! Days are finally looking up! Though there are only 5 slots, from Lord Rat Seat's meaning, if things go well in the future, the slots can still increase!"

"This opening has been made—the lords of the Phoenix Organization must be preparing to give us a place to retire! Let the big brothers go experience retirement first; us little brothers will accumulate a few more years, then come join the big brothers."

Not everyone was qualified to come out on top.

5 slots were indeed far more than the 1 slot they expected, or even no slots at all. Happiness came so suddenly that many were beside themselves.

But in the end, it was still only 5 slots.

For their hundred-plus people on the Thief Rankings, it really wasn't enough to go around.

But as said before, those with ample strength were naturally more qualified to get a slot and retire early.

And those with insufficient strength, even if they retired now, would feel they hadn't earned enough capital and want to keep at it a few more years.

After a few years passed, their ranking would also climb to the peak, and naturally the day of retirement would arrive.

Thinking of the virtuous cycle that would follow, every Night Thief was deeply stirred, but none of them noticed the trace of contempt and cold indifference hidden behind the mask of the Rat Throne.

Recommending a book—"Life in Tokyo Starting as a Lawyer," by author: Jiu Jiu Jiu.

Synopsis: A so-called lawyer is one who must protect the lawful rights of their client from infringement.

A composite world of Japanese dramas—"Shengzhe Jishi Zhenggyi," "Keman," "Unnatural Death," "Midnight Diner," "Tangrenjie Tangan," etc. Having not watched them will not affect getting into the story.

(End of this chapter)