Life Game In Other World
Chapter 665: Dining with the Evil Dragon (Massive - for Monthly Votes)

Chapter 665: Chapter 665: Dining with the Evil Dragon (Massive Chapter for Monthly Votes)

Hearing He Ao’s words, the leader of the Scorpion Gang didn’t answer immediately. He picked up his wine glass, took a light sip, then slowly rose from the couch and walked toward the curtains behind it.

As he approached, the thick and heavy curtains slowly parted to the sides, revealing the large, clear expanse of the huge floor-to-ceiling window behind.

The buildings, flickering with neon lights, were barely visible behind the floor-to-ceiling windows.

However, the leader of the Scorpion Gang didn’t look at the luminous buildings beneath him; instead, he raised his head, gazing at the pitch-black, ink-like night sky above.

The night was heavy, the sky filled with rolling dark clouds, and the whole city seemed shrouded under a misty dome.

"Old man, do you know why I chose to live here?"

He squeezed the wine glass in his hand and looked up at the firmament, "Because from here, I can see the sky."

In Saint Joen City, where the sunlight was devoured by factory buildings, the top of a high-rise was one of the few places where one could see the sky and the sun.

"I grew up in Green Olive Street district; my father was the lowest rung gangster, my mother was mute. At the age of five, I was out on the streets stealing with peers, at seven I learned to cheat in casinos for people, and when I was ten, my father died—hacked to death during gang fights.

"He was an asshole, never brought a penny home, beat my mother and stole her money. When he died, I didn’t claim his body. We couldn’t afford cremation, and being picked up by the Scavengers was his only end.

"I never went to school a day in my life. When I was little, I often lay outside the school fence, watching the children inside, wondering what made them different from me.

"Sometimes, I’d also go online to teach myself. There were almost no free educational videos, and all the relevant pages were ads from big education corporations. Most of the time, I had to figure out the textbooks myself or sneak into community schools to listen to lectures.

"Sometimes I got kicked out, sometimes not.

"Then, at the age of fifteen, I joined the gang too. I always thought I would end up like that bastard father, one day dying in the gang’s fight, picked up by the Scavengers like trash.

"But I was lucky. Those random books I had learned taught me many useful logical ways of thinking. I realized that many things weren’t so complicated when you think them through backward, that small tactics could be very effective.

"I gradually earned the trust of the gang leader of my group, step by step, until I sat in the lieutenant’s seat,"

His voice trailed off, as if sinking into deep memories, "I was only seventeen at the time, a young man in a high place, full of youthful arrogance, thinking that everything could be changed with my own power.

"Back then, all our gangs were in the Green Olive district, killing each other over small gains. But was it the poor in the Green Olive district, who couldn’t even afford meals, who were feasting the most in the whole Saint Joen City?

"The whole city knew it was the Kajet Consortium, at its zenith, that was feasting the most in the city, and the Kajet Consortium’s grain trucks had a habit of being almost unguarded before heading out of town.

"So I gathered a few confidants, staked out for a few days, and, behind my boss’s back, led the operation to rob Kajet Consortium’s grain trucks, then sold the stolen grain at low prices to the residents of Green Olive Street, making a tidy sum.

"For a time, my reputation soared in the entire Green Olive Street district, with many coming over to my side.

"The first time I did this, I did it very well, covering up all the tracks, so even though it made the news that day, after two weeks, no one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Saint Joen City Police Department came looking.

"Then, a month later, I did it again.

"I did just as well this time, but on the third day after the incident, the Kajet Consortium came knocking. I had foreseen this ending a long time ago; after all, no one suddenly has an abundance of grain without cause. There are no walls without wind in this world.

"I originally wanted to kill the people from the Kajet Consortium directly, declare a war between the Green Olive Street and the Kajet Consortium, but I was stopped by my leader at the time. He had always thought highly of me, but that was the first time he scolded me. He apologized to the Kajet Consortium.

"The Federation has no death penalty, and I could control the gang from prison, so I was not afraid of the Kajet Consortium going through the legal process. However, in the end, the Kajet Consortium gave me a way out that took me by surprise."

"Convert all the stolen grain into cash based on the market price, then repay it as a loan over five years, with annual interest of 8%.

"Of course, the premise of all this is that our gang must work for them, and of course, every task they assign us is paid.

"To put it more plainly, they wanted to take us in as their dogs.

"I flatly rejected the offer from the Kajet people. The people from the Kajet Consortium left like dejected dogs, and that day was the happiest day of my life."

He took a sip of alcohol, paused slightly in his tone, and concluded,

"I thought I had crushed the consortium under my feet.

"Unfortunately, that happiness was short-lived,

"The people from the Kajet Consortium had just left when my boss at the time told me to go to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and turn myself in immediately to avoid some retaliation.

"The Kajet people left in the morning, and I turned myself in in the afternoon, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not accept my surrender case."

The leader of the Venomous Snake Gang said this, somberly draining the glass of its contents.

Meanwhile, He Ao watched the man’s figure intently, lost in thought. He slowly moved towards Jia Xi’s spot and sat close to his granddaughter.

"When I returned to my gang’s base, I found nothing but ruins. A rival gang had attacked our base. They brought out high-tech weapons we had never seen before, bypassed the alarm system I had set up, and massacred every last member of our gang."

The man continued,

"The boss who had trusted me also died in that battle. Based on the information he left behind, I surmised that the attackers were able to bypass our alert system because a traitor inside had led the way, and that traitor was the trusted follower I once believed in the most.

"Realizing this, I immediately went to my mother’s house. After I joined the gang, my mother never took a penny from me again, and she moved far away from where my gang was based, getting by on odd jobs, with only a few close followers knowing my mother’s whereabouts.

"When I got home, I saw only a house full of blood, and my mother lying in a pool of it.

"In a rage, I led my remaining men in a raid on the enemy gang’s base, but their firepower was too strong. Almost immediately, we suffered heavy losses. I retreated, wounded all over.

"I escaped with the last few men thanks to the cover of a family that had once bought grain from me at a low price. But soon after I left, that family was caught and massacred by the rival gang."

"One of their neighbors took money from that gang and betrayed them.

"During that time, the entire Saint Joen City underworld was plastered with my wanted posters. They offered tens of thousands as a high bounty for my whereabouts and my life. A few long-time loyal followers couldn’t resist the temptation and chose to betray me.

"If it weren’t for my quick reaction, I would have died in those betrayals.

"But the number of people around me dwindled until the betrayal of the very last person I trusted, and I finally found myself in a dire situation.

"It was then that the Kajet people found me,"

The man laughed with a touch of scorn, seemingly at the Kajet Consortium, but perhaps also at himself, "They first clarified their stance that the rival gang indeed took their money, but they only provided the funds and did not request that they kill my mother or wipe out my gang.

"They said they were willing to help me, to give me money, and to give me channels for buying arms, but there was one condition: all the money and grain from the loans had to be paid back, and if I ended up defeating the rival gang, the money they took also had to be counted against me.

"Funny, isn’t it? They gave money to others to kill my family and friends, yet I am the one who has to repay it.

"But at that time, I had nothing left, so I agreed to the condition."

"With the support of the Kajet Consortium, I soon made my comeback and re-established the gang, which is now known as the Scorpion Gang,"

"It took me less than three months to deal with the original gang, kill the person who first betrayed me and then betrayed his followers, wiping out everyone in that gang.

"Over the next few years, I gradually unified the entire Green Olive Street, but the loan I once owed to the Kajet Consortium was never fully paid off. I would pay off one loan only to take out another for expansion, in a never-ending cycle."

He looked down, gazing at the brilliant city in the distance, almost entirely made up of Kajet Consortium factories, the rumble of machinery as if echoing across the entire night,

"The deeper the contact, the more I realized how terrifying and enormous a super consortium could be, like a frog in a well looking up at the Giant Dragon flying across the sky."

He sighed softly,

"It was during that time of development that I met ’Shadow Cutter,’ and gradually built up what I have now.

"Of course, that guy never trusted me, and I never trusted him either. He needed me to provide him with enough ’sacrifices,’ and I needed the methods he offered to stably cultivate Polluted Monsters.

"He knew that I wanted to kill him at any moment and take all the benefits for myself, and I also knew he always wanted to kill me and take over Green Olive Street, this huge ’sacrifice cabinet’ for himself.

"Old man, before you arrived, my relationship with Shadow Cutter had always been in a delicate balance of mutual exploitation. Your arrival tells me that Shadow Cutter has decided to break this balance — it seems that what he used to be concerned about is no longer there."

As he said this, he paused and turned around, his back to the sparkling city and the hazy night, his voice growing hoarse,

"Old man, when I was young, I too thought about changing the world. But reality has shown me how insignificant and small we are. I can change nothing,"

He lifted his glass towards He Ao, "We are just mortals with rusty swords, we will never defeat the evil dragon that can cover the sky with its wings."

"So you chose to sit at the same table as the evil dragon?"

He Ao, supporting himself with a cane, stood erect, gazing at the Scorpion Gang leader.

"What’s wrong with that?"

The Scorpion Gang leader swirled his glass, glancing at the luxurious and expensive decor around him, "In such a world, the kinder the person, the more miserable and despairing they are."

He shook his head, chuckling, "Well, now that the recollection is over, old man, it’s time to handle the matter between us. I can give you those pieces of information for free,"

The Venomous Snake Gang leader spread his hands, a sticky flesh tentacle extended from behind him, curling around the wine glass in his hand, "but you’ve killed so many of my people, if I let you leave this room alive, the reputation I’ve built in the underworld over the years would be destroyed in an instant."

"That reason alone is probably not sufficient for you to make a move on me."

He Ao looked at the Venomous Snake Gang leader, pushing himself up with his cane to stand diagonally in front of his granddaughter.

The loss of his men was recoverable; Green Olive Street was never short of gang members.

And with the strength that He Ao had demonstrated, even if the Scorpion Gang leader was confident he could deal with He Ao, it would likely cost him.

Moreover, the Scorpion Gang leader was in fact in a hostile relationship with Shadow Cutter. On that level, he and He Ao shared common interests. It would be in his best interest to let He Ao go after Shadow Cutter.

So from his point of view, he wouldn’t easily attack He Ao.

Unless some external factor interfered with his choice, providing him with benefits greater than the losses.

"Is it Shadow Cutter?"

He Ao looked at him, adding another question.

"Old man, you’re very smart,"

The Scorpion Gang leader lifted the bracelet in his hand, "Before you came, I had already sent your ’records’ to Shadow Cutter."

"And as you were telling your ’story’ with your back turned just now, Shadow Cutter sent you a message."

He Ao said calmly.

All this time, the Scorpion Gang leader had been holding the wine glass with the hand that had the bracelet, and when he had his back to He Ao, he could use his body to block the glow from the bracelet and the reflection in the mirror.

"You noticed,"

The Venomous Snake Gang leader looked at He Ao with slight surprise and chuckled, "Old man, I think I know why Shadow Cutter values you so much."

"It seems he has given you an offer you can’t refuse."

He Ao looked at him.

"Indeed,"

The Venomous Snake Gang leader smiled and the sticky tentacle wrapped around the stem of his glass, shattering the transparent glass into pieces, "Sometimes the line between ’friend’ and ’enemy’ is just that blurred."

His body slowly split vertically, tentacles surging from the center tearing apart his seemingly luxurious clothes. These tentacles extended upwards, cradling his head, ’plucking’ it from the neck, and hovering it in the air as he sighed at He Ao,

"Old man, if we had more time together and Shadow Cutter’s price was a bit lower, I might have chosen to take a gamble and work with you. Unfortunately, there are no ifs in this world."

He Ao engaged his Divine Sense, observing the powers inside the monster before him twisting like a vortex.

These powers had reached the limits of C-level, even slightly beyond.

"Jia Xi!"

He Ao shouted.

Jia Xi, already prepared, propped herself on the sofa and executed a backflip behind it, retreating towards the door.

At the same time, He Ao activated his Super Memory and suddenly pulled out a Butterfly Knife from his chest.

Tentacles, that could obscure the sky, came whirling towards him.

He Ao looked up at his foe, the warped and chaotic sights before him, like a kaleidoscope, clustering behind the monster, clinging tightly to its body. These were the patchworks of numerous lives it had devoured.

In that instant, He Ao could even hear the distorted and confused thoughts murmuring within those Shadows.

The power of Super Memory flooded his body, and the sleek, metallic Butterfly Knife unfolded its blade.

In the past, when faced with an enemy of this magnitude, He Ao would usually have advanced to C-level, and with the help of Super Memory, he could quickly reach or exceed the limits of C-level.

But now, he had only Super Memory.