Era of Mist

Chapter 177: Chapter 176: Still Washing Hands?

”Whoa~~” Ah Fei had already pounced on it, kissing and caressing it, his face split in a wide grin. ”A Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy Magnum, a ten-million-dollar dream car! I must be dreaming~~” (In reality, no such car actually exists.)

”Hey, wait, where’s my Spirit of Ecstasy ornament?”

”You country bumpkin, you don’t even know that? It’s hidden in the hood. It’ll pop up when you start the ignition.”

”Quick, come look, come look! These must be the legendary suicide doors.”

”Whoa, the legendary rotating center console! Somebody start it up and let’s see this thing do a flip!”

The four underlings jumped and scrambled around the luxury car like a bunch of ignorant hicks. Shi Tiexin’s eyes were also filled with envy. The car’s opulence wasn’t diminished by its age; if anything, it only added to its style. He suddenly understood why that old baldy treasured his old sofa so much. This kind of luxury was truly aspirational, irreplaceable.

It feels so good to be rich!

’Sigh, I shouldn’t think about this. All this stuff is too far out of my reach. Rather than waste time drooling, I should just grit my teeth and work hard. Maybe in three years, I could also... That seems a little ambitious, let me walk that back—maybe in five years... uh, ten years... Twenty years! Let’s go with twenty years!’

’Maybe in twenty years, I’ll be able to afford a Mercedes-AMG, and I’ll be the one making people scream, ”OMG!”’

’Twenty years. It’ll fly by in the blink of an eye. That’s nothing. I’ll do it!’

’And the first step on that journey is to stop hanging around with these petty thugs. The longer I fool around with them, the more time I waste, pushing my dream one day further away.’

’But as they say, it’s easy to get in and hard to get out. With this kind of organization, if I want to leave safely without getting chased down and hacked to bits, I’ll have to plan it carefully...’

Just as he was contemplating how to retire from the underworld, Shi Tiexin overheard his underlings muttering.

”Damn, with more than ten cars here, how much can we make?”

”These are chaotic times, but that actually makes it easier to fence stolen goods. I’ll find a few experts to crack the electronic control systems and forge some new keys; that shouldn’t be a problem. After the distributor takes their cut, factoring in my relationship with the Old Captain, and then paying our tribute to the higher-ups... after all the miscellaneous costs, this one haul should net us...”

Mai Ba did a quick calculation, then clapped his hands. ”A little over three million.”

Shi Tiexin’s ears suddenly perked up.

’What?’

’How much?’

”Can you really swing that? How long will it take to unload them?”

”The Old Captain docks tomorrow. We can sell this stuff as early as tomorrow.”

”Is that reliable?”

”You still don’t trust my channels? This stuff? Ship it back home and people will be fighting to get their hands on it! The dealers will bang them up, make a few changes, pull some strings, and get them back on the road easy-peasy. Don’t you worry. Ten days, tops. Everything will be sorted. Just get ready to count your money!”

”Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah! Countin’ cash, countin’ cash! Time to live it up, live it up!” An excited Ah Fei turned and looked at Shi Tiexin. ”Boss, what do you think?”

’What do I think?’

’I’m seeing it with my own eyes...’

’Let’s see here, let’s see there...’

’The price of that AMG is about three million...’

’So... you’re telling me my dream has already been achieved? Twenty years is too long, I should just seize the day! Are the perks of being a street punk really this good?!’

’So, should I get out of this life or not?’

Shi Tiexin was in a state of utter shock. He never knew that putting on a disguise, taking a little detour, and towing a few cars back could be so profitable.

This was some real fast cash.

But was this kind of fast money really reliable? After all, this was car theft and smuggling. And the people who could afford such luxury cars were bound to be rich and powerful.

The phrase ”rich and powerful,” when used to describe He Chong, had once been enough to suffocate him. But now, switching them out, a man like He Chong probably wasn’t even worthy of shining Ouyang Hong’s shoes.

During the day, he thought he was enforcing the law, so naturally, he was fearless. But now it was obvious this was a black-market job, and he had to consider the consequences of provoking a rich and powerful boss like Ouyang Hong.

Shi Tiexin looked at his four lieutenants, his gaze falling mainly on Mai Ba and Ah Fei. ”This whole thing, is it safe?”

The two underlings casually puffed out their chests. ”Don’t worry, Boss! It’s solid as a rock, totally airtight!”

’Can I really trust these guys?’ Their cheeky, carefree attitude was not very reassuring. Shi Tiexin frowned and pressed further, ”And Ouyang Hong?”

From the snippets of conversation he’d overheard on the walkie-talkie while they were towing Ouyang Hong’s car, he could tell these four knew who he was. The reason Shi Tiexin had so confidently gone ahead with it was partly because of how much they had goaded him on.

’If I had known the real situation at the time, given my humble and low-key Little Young Master disposition as a newcomer, I absolutely wouldn’t have done something so eye-catching right from the start.’

The four blockheads were once again full of confidence. ”Don’t worry, Boss. The higher-ups are already on bad terms with the Hongshun Society. You made Ouyang Hong take a loss today; they’re probably ecstatic.”

”Besides, as long as we work clean and fast and don’t get caught red-handed, who can prove we’re the ones who towed the cars?”

”Exactly! If that old bastard Ouyang Hong has the balls, he can go ask the Police Headquarters for his car back! Hahaha!”

”Relax, Boss. The tribute’s already been paid. Even if things go south, someone else will take the fall.”

His four lieutenants were all in agreement, their attitudes completely nonchalant, so Shi Tiexin didn’t press the issue. From the sound of it, Ouyang Hong’s faction and their own gang were rivals anyway. If that was the case, he didn’t need to be too concerned.

Shi Tiexin relaxed for the moment, his expression softening slightly.

”Our boss sure has a steady hand. Didn’t even bat an eye at the Spirit of Ecstasy. What do you call that again? The... the air of a great... General Tso’s Chicken?”

”It’s ’the air of a great general,’ you idiot.”

”Right, right, the air of a great general. Why else would he be the boss?” Mai Ba put on a mysterious expression. ”But Boss, I have something to show you. If you’re still this calm after you see it, I’ll give you a hundred bucks!”

Shi Tiexin asked dubiously, ”What is it?”

”The thing you’ve been going on and on about, of course.”

The other three blockheads immediately started clamoring. ”It’s finally here?” ”Oh my god, we’ve waited so long, it’s finally arrived!” ”Now *that’s* a dream goddess! Where is it, where? Let me see it, quick!”

Mai Ba beckoned. ”Follow me!”

With a WHOOSH, the four blockheads were gone. Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but feel a little curious. It seemed to be something his other self had always wanted, and something that was apparently quite difficult to obtain.

’What in the world could it be?’ Shi Tiexin’s interest was piqued.

「Three minutes later.」

With a RATTLE, Mai Ba yanked open a roll-up door, revealing another garage. Inside, there was only one vehicle: a motorcycle.

A heavy-duty motorcycle, to be precise.

Even though this was supposedly Shi Tiexin’s first day using this type of vehicle, the moment he saw the bike, his eyes locked onto it. It was as if every cell in his body was singing with joy, and the core of his consciousness in his spiritual sea began to hum and vibrate. Fragments of memory tumbled down faster and faster. Shi Tiexin instantly knew everything about this motorcycle, and as if in a trance, he murmured its name aloud.

”Black Venerable...”