Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1049 - 27 Wealthy District

Chapter 1049: Chapter 27 Wealthy District

Lawyer Martin was a failing white-collar worker, drowning in a double crisis of career and personal life. He had been on the verge of collapse recently, suffering from endless nights of insomnia. Through the rearview mirror, he looked at Tang Zheng sitting in the backseat, feeling this was the beginning of his turnaround, so he served him cautiously.

"Your car is so beat-up, it needs to go to the garage." On the forty-minute drive to North City, the car had stalled four times, which really annoyed Tang Zheng, as his time was very valuable.

"This is a new car I bought less than three months ago." Martin wanted to cry out of frustration; this Ford had been recently smashed by a bunch of youths, who even stole the tires and spray-painted all kinds of swear words on its sides. He hadn’t even finished paying the loan yet. If the bank came knocking, he wouldn’t be able to save this wreck of a car and would have to shell out even more.

North City was the most prosperous area of the City of God. After passing a checkpoint and paying two US dollars, there was a sudden increase of cars and people, and the roads and shops were much cleaner. The citizens they passed by were busy with work or leisure, and dressed very neatly.

"North City has always been driving out beggars and hooligans, trying to give the wealthy a safe and comfortable living space." Anna curled her lips with evident disdain, though her tone carried a hint of envy.

Due to the increased traffic, Martin had to slow down. So Tang Zheng took the opportunity to scrutinize the surrounding district in detail. If he had not seen the malicious state of South City with his own eyes, he wouldn’t believe it was the same city.

Tang Zheng saw a homeless man in his fifties bending over to look for food in a trash can. When he found a palm-sized piece of bread, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, as if being able to fill his stomach was the greatest happiness.

At his feet lay a limp, stray dog, vigilant of its surroundings, ready to alert its master to flee at the sight of a policeman.

After finding nothing else, the homeless man leaned against the trash can and sat down, breaking off more than half of the bread for the stray dog, then stroked its head with satisfaction.

The stray dog made affectionate noises and nuzzled his hand; they were good friends who had been together for three years.

"I was wondering why I hadn’t seen him lately, turns out he moved to North City." The inhabitants of South City all knew the homeless man with a dog, and of course, Anna was no exception. "It’s said he has mental issues. Boss, you’d better keep your distance, don’t be too kind."

Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the streets and pedestrians quickly moved aside, followed by a woman’s scream.

"Robbery!"

A youth with a red cross mask was sprinting, wielding a dagger and waving it frantically, causing even more bystanders to steer clear of his path.

The homeless man stood up and moved towards the middle of the street, fearlessly intercepting the young robber.

"Get out of the way!" The youth shouted from a distance of about ten meters away.

The stray dog dashed out, lunging fiercely at the youth’s neck. The youth dodged, but his arm was hit, and he tumbled over with the dog, dropping the stolen bag beside him.

The homeless man rushed forward to help his old friend, attempting to subdue the robber, while the onlookers just watched without any intention of intervening.

Suddenly, the stray dog whimpered and collapsed, bleeding from its abdomen. The homeless man, being older, also got kicked aside. The youth got up and, with his bloody dagger, easily pushed back the crowd and ran off.

In the chaos, someone picked up the dropped bag.

"You filthy ghost, give me back my bag." The robbery victim, a woman, seeing she couldn’t catch the robber, blamed the homeless man instead.

The homeless man didn’t speak and knelt beside his old friend, pressing his hands on its belly to stop the bleeding. There was a half-foot-long cut, inflicted by the thief.

"Ah!" Martin sighed helplessly, just pressing the horn out of frustration, then when he looked back, he realized the boss in the back seat had disappeared.

In a nearby alley, Tang Zheng stopped the young man who had picked up the bag and was now gleefully checking how much money was inside.

"Give me the bag."

With his imposing build, Tang Zheng had a strong visual presence, and the young man quickly turned to run.

"Humph, asking for trouble." Tang Zheng pulled out a shotgun, grabbed the tactical handguard, and racked the slide with a click, loading a shell before aiming at the young man’s left leg and pulling the trigger.

Bang, the shotgun blast turned the young man’s left leg into a sieve. The unlucky guy tumbled, and the alley was instantly filled with screams as US dollars spilled from the wallet.

Tang Zheng, with the shotgun resting on his shoulder, walked over and glanced briefly at the chaotic scene before pointing the gun’s muzzle at the young man.

"Pick up the money for me." Tang Zheng’s voice was ice-cold, as if it came from hell.

Facing the dark muzzle of the gun, the young man was nearly incontinent with fear. Enduring the intense pain, he crawled on the ground, picking up each US dollar bill.

"Here, for you!" The young man, sweating profusely and trembling, handed the money to Tang Zheng.

Some banknotes were stained with bright red blood, quite eye-catching.

Tang Zheng collected them and burned them to ashes with his lighter before turning around and leaving. When he returned to the Main Street, the crowd had already dispersed, and the hooligan and his dog had vanished without a trace.

"Did that dog die?" Sitting back in the Cars, Tang Zheng asked.

"No, but if it doesn’t receive treatment, it probably won’t survive more than a few days," Anna said sadly. Martin, on the other hand, had already forgotten the incident and started talking about the benefits of obtaining legal status, and asked Tang Zheng if he needed a personal lawyer, a long-term one.

Attorney Federer was a member of the City of God’s upper class and held many titles: philanthropist, kindest lawyer, social conscience, honorary citizen, and recently he had become a member of the legislature, currently busy campaigning for the position of governor.

"Mr. Federer is very busy, you’ll have to wait," the secretary, clad in a professional outfit, dropped this line and left.

Martin greatly admired Federer. Both were lawyers, so why was there such a big gap between them?

Tang Zheng wouldn’t waste his time here, leaving Martin and Anna waiting while he went out to wander.

After savoring a cup of strong coffee at a Coffee House, Tang Zheng felt even the morning Sunlight had become pleasant. Stepping outside, he saw a minivan screech to a stop in front of the gold store across the street, and four men and two women leaped out of the carriage and dashed into the store.

Bang, bang, Chaotic gunshots and screams erupted.

"Which country’s Newbies are these?" The six robbers, all wearing black balaclavas revealing only their eyes, nevertheless gave away their identities due to their Primary Protective Clothing; they were survivors from the Trojan Room.

They were Nordic Newbies, rebellious youths by nature, who couldn’t stand America’s Conquerors’ discipline and had left quietly but couldn’t survive in the Malicious South City. The hooligans there were much more brutal than they were, and after one of their male companions died in a clash, they finally smartened up a bit and moved to North City to develop.

They needed Food to fill their bellies, Firearms to snatch turf—all requiring financial support. Unable to deal with bank Security Guards, they resorted to robbing gold stores, but even this business was far from smooth.

Because it was their first time, they were inevitably nervous and made numerous mistakes.

In less than three minutes, the Nordic People had completed the Robbery, carrying three large black bags as they rushed out. However, they were not ruthless enough to kill all the clerks, so as soon as they left, the piercing bell rang out, and the Boss pulled out a PKM machine gun from under the counter and chased them to the doorway.

Rat-a-tat, the furious Boss fired at them with the machine gun.

The already nervous Nordics were startled by the alarm and ran faster, trying to rush into the minivan to escape the crime scene, but none of them noticed the Boss coming from behind.

"Watch out." The Driver, who had kept the engine running, was on lookout duty. She saw the Boss and shouted a warning while firing her own gun, but it was too late.

The last male Newbie was shot in the back, riddled with holes, and fell to the ground as the others turned to Shoot and retreated.

The Boss was a tough cookie; after repositioning, he aimed at the minivan’s Car windows and unleashed a fury of bullets, intending to kill the Driver so that the despicable Gangsters couldn’t escape.

A series of bullet holes marked the vehicle’s side, and the female Newbie driving was shot in the head, killed instantly, and her blood and Brain pulp splattered across the Driver’s Seat as the engine died.

"Fall back." The Boss of the Nordics commanded as he rushed to the car door, opened it, yanked the Corpse of the female Newbie out, and took the Driver’s Seat, starting the Cars.

The Newbies retreated into the carriage, but the last male Newbie to board was shot in the leg and stumbled to the ground. Fortunately, his quick-witted companion grabbed his clothes and pulled him in.

The Boss chased after them but failed to hold back the robbers and, furious, aimed his muzzle at the two Corpses to vent his anger, shooting them into a bloody mess.

"Stealing a bunch of jewelry, even if you succeed, how do you plan on laundering it?" Tang Zheng shook his head, not caring about the fate of the Nordics in the slightest.

Two hours later, Tang Zheng returned to the law office, only to find Martin and Anna still foolishly waiting. Seeing the Boss return, they looked embarrassed.

"Is this the introduction you were talking about?" Tang Zheng sneered, Martin was indeed unreliable.

"Federer is busy, there’s nothing I can do," Martin lamented. According to the secretary, Mr. Federer was discussing tax laws with some dignitaries for the City of God and planning a charity gala.

"I don’t need an explanation, I just need to see that Federer this afternoon," Tang Zheng turned and left. No wonder Martin was down and out; the situation was clear. Even if he waited a month, he would never meet someone as important as Federer - in their eyes, he was just an illegal immigrant soliciting help.

Just as Tang Zheng expected, after hearing the secretary’s report, Federer had only one comment.

"Let them wait, I’ll see them when I feel like it."