31 It Canst Be Him (2/2)
The four kids were petty thieves in school and eventually graduated to robbery. Now they had dropped out and continued their life of crime. Their previous marks were outsiders, they robbed small amounts and no one was killed, so black street residents turned a blind eye. But their job last night seemed to have gone awry. The four of them were badly beaten.
Ai Wan had asked them what had happened. Initially, the four were tight-lipped, but eventually, Ai Wan got a few words out of them.
”I'm guessing the four kids are the ones who picked up the gun. As for who beat them up, they wouldn't say. They only suffered from flesh wounds. They'll be hurting for a while, but they'll be OK in the long run. The person who attacked them just wanted to teach them a lesson.”
”So the gunshot at the street corner was those four kids?” Yue Qing asked.
”No way. Those four kids had never handled a gun before. Even if they had a gun, they wouldn't have the guts to fire it. Even if they had the guts, they never had the chance to follow through. They were knocked down before they could see their opponent. The shot was fired by their attacker, probably to scare them. One of the four kids was so scared he peed. I could smell the piss on him when they arrived at my shop,” Yue Qing explained animatedly.
When he spotted Fang Zhao, Ai Wan greeted him with a smile. ”The barbecued meat yesterday was great. I hear you'll be stuck at the office for a while? Rest assured, Old Yue and I will keep an eye on your apartment. No one will dare touch your windows. Just treat us to barbecued meat again next time you get a bonus.”
”Sure thing. No problem,” Fang Zhao responded succinctly. He was in a hurry.
”Go, go. Don't worry about your apartment.” Yue Qing tossed Fang Zhao a bag of compressed biscuits. ”For your commute.”
”Thanks!” Fang Zhao stuck the bag in his pocket and headed out in a hurry, Curly Hair in tow.
As Fang Zhao faded into the background, Ai Wan picked up where he'd left off with Yue Qing. ”Say, which outsider is capable of delivering such a good lashing in this neighborhood?”
”You think it might be that kid?” Yue Qing pointed at Fang Zhao's silhouette.
Ai Wan shook his head firmly. ”Him? He's a musician. How could he? The four kids told me their attacker clearly knew how to handle a gun. But aren't you the only veteran on this street, Old Yue?”
Yue Qing didn't think it was Fang Zhao either. ”Let me look up the new tenants.”
After leaving his black street, Fang Zhao called a cab because pets were banned from public trains. The first order of business was applying for a permit for his dog. He listed ”Curly Hair” as its name.
The dog was only officially adopted when it had a chip implanted. The chip served as its ID. Fang Zhao could locate it wherever it went. And a quick scan would reveal the pet's identity and owner.
After registering his pet, Fang Zhao brought it to the company.
Staffers on the ground floor were puzzled to see Fang Zhao bringing a dog to work. Then they noticed that he wasn't stopped. The security guards took a quick glance at him and moved on. They had no intention of interfering.
”I'm not mistaken, right? The person who just passed by was Fang Zhao, no?”
”Yep, and he brought a dog.”
”The things newcomers can get away with these days...”
”He's even younger than you are and he produced an epic, haha.”
”Your information is out of date. My sources tell me that he's been promoted.”
Fang Zhao ignored the discussion and ducked into the elevator. He was on the phone with Bu Lai. The body he inherited was weak. He needed to work out.
”Why, isn't it Manager Fang? Congratulations on the promotion.” Bu Lai's jaded face beamed a warm smile.
”Thank you.”
”You need more equipment? I can ask the property staff to hold your equipment.”
”No, I was actually wondering if you had any exercise equipment.”
”I don't think so, but I could order some, although the company already has a gym. You wanna set one up in your department?”
”That's what I was thinking.”
”No problem. Your floor is quite spacious anyway.”
”Anything else? I'll put them in the same order.”
”Gaming consoles?”
”...Manager Fang, you're here to work.”
”I also want the gear for shooting games. I prefer realistic guns.”
”Fang Zhao, you're here to work.”
”Let's go with games that aren't too old. The newer the better.”
”Fang Zhao, you're here to work!”