Chapter 126: Ill-Gotten Gains

Lei Yang didn't need Xiao Cheng to point it out. For the past two days, his mind had been consumed by nothing but how to resolve this mess and shift all the blame onto Jiang Xiaotao. It was Xiaotao who had wielded the knife, but it was undoubtedly his own idea. If Jiang Xiaotao were to tell the police that...

"So, my friend, haven't you heard the saying? Once you start, you have to see it through! You personally lead the police to capture Jiang Xiaotao. Not only will you be performing a meritorious service to commute your sentence, but if he tries to bite back at you later, you can just say he’s making baseless accusations. After all, you’ve just successfully cooperated with the police and helped the municipal bureau take down a gambling den. Who do you think the police will believe?"

"I..." Lei Yang hesitated, still torn. "That’s Brother Wai’s place. If Old Wai finds out I led the police to raid his establishment, even if I manage to stay out of prison, I won't have a good life ahead of me!"

Xiao Cheng curled his lip and smiled. "Are we friends?"

The question caught Lei Yang off guard. While they weren't exactly enemies, they certainly couldn't be called friends.

"Exactly. We aren't friends, so why should I care if your life is easy or hard? I’m giving you this advice precisely because I want to see you struggle! If you don't go, I’ll report it myself. Of course, I won't have to go in person; providing a tip is enough. When the police come to question you, you can decide whether to talk or not. If you do go, and Old Wai comes looking for trouble, whether you run away or find someone to smooth things over is your problem, not mine!"

"Why are you pushing me like this?" Lei Yang asked, his eyes red with fury.

Xiao Cheng, sitting across from him, flicked his chopsticks, and they flew right into Lei Yang’s face. "You’re asking me why I’m pushing you? Is your brain waterlogged? Lu Qi is my brother. He was stabbed by you and is still lying in the hospital, missing his high school entrance exams because of you! Ding Sina is my woman, and you had the nerve to think about touching her. I’m being lenient by not killing you!"

The chopsticks hitting his face didn't hurt much, but it was a profound humiliation.

"Pick up the chopsticks."

Lei Yang’s eyes blazed, but he bent down and picked them up from the floor.

"Waiter, bring another pair of chopsticks!" Xiao Cheng said to the server, then turned his narrowed eyes back to Lei Yang and shook his head with a laugh. "Look at you, acting like such a pathetic coward. If you can't even handle this little bit of grievance, what are you going to do once you’re inside..."

"If I follow your instructions, can you guarantee I won't go to jail?"

Xiao Cheng laughed helplessly. "Your brain really is waterlogged. Do you think I’m a judge? I only guarantee that I won't appear in court to testify against you! I won't care about anything else. Of course, that’s assuming you go and lead the police to arrest Jiang Xiaotao and take down Old Wai’s casino while you're at it! Then again, even if you do everything I say, the police might find new evidence or other witnesses at the scene. You might still end up in prison, and when you get out, you’ll have to face Old Wai’s wrath—though, given that half the people inside claim to be Brother Wai’s brothers, you might just die in there. None of that has anything to do with me!"

Lei Yang shivered, unable to tell if it was from anger or fear.

"In short, it’s just offending Old Wai in exchange for a chance to potentially avoid prison, with no guarantee that it will even work!"

The sweet and sour pork arrived, along with Xiao Cheng’s new chopsticks. This time, Xiao Cheng ignored Lei Yang and began to eat and drink his fill.

"Why aren't you eating? If you end up inside, you'll be lucky to get a taste of meat once a month!"

Lei Yang remained silent; it was clearly not an easy decision to make.

After the meal, Xiao Cheng let out a satisfied burp. "Make your decision quickly. Tell me by sunset tonight. Otherwise, if I’m the one who calls the police, it won't be your merit anymore, haha! Oh, and don't forget to pay the bill!"

...

"I have important information to report to the police!" At 6:20 PM, Lei Yang said to the duty officer at the municipal criminal investigation detachment.

At this time, the revelry inside the casino had not yet begun.

...

The restaurant Xiao Cheng chose was on the only path to the underground casino. At 8:05 PM, six police cars sped down the road without even turning on their sirens. Xiao Cheng had sharp eyes; he even recognized Lei Yang sitting in the passenger seat of the lead car.

"I wonder if they’ve gotten out yet..." Yang Ze sat nearby, looking worried.

He finally understood why they had been told to take the money home first; if they had been followed by the casino’s people or run into other trouble halfway, the whole group would have been wiped out.

Xiao Cheng didn't explain much. The whole thing was a grand scheme he had laid out. It wasn't just Ding the Lame or Lei Yang—even Yang Ze beside him was part of his calculations.

"Luohan called. He said he’s already dropped the money off at home and will be here in a moment."

Xiao Cheng nodded.

Wang Yang’s phone rang again. This time it was Dagang, also reporting that he was safe.

"Nezha got the most! He walked out with 380,000! Dajiang got 360,000! Damn, in the blink of an eye, these kids each made over 30,000!"

Dajiang, whose name was Yun Jiangling, was the one who had set up the chess stall with Dagang, serving as the "shill."

Yanghuo called Xiao Cheng’s phone directly. "Boss, I’m home. I’ll be over in a bit, wait for me!"

Xiao Cheng laughed. "Brother Yanghuo, stop it. How can you call me boss?"

"Anyone who can lead his brothers to get rich is the boss! We’ve already impeached Gangzi! Hahaha!"

"Ill-gotten wealth is mine for the taking. Alright, hurry over; we’re waiting for you to start the victory celebration!"

Everyone was clearly in a good mood, especially after pulling off such a thrilling stunt.

"By the way, any news from Kang Long? Has he come out yet?"

Yanghuo paused on the phone. "That kid should have been faster than us. Out of all of us, he was the first to cash out. When I saw that huge bag of money he had, I was stunned, damn it!"

"How much did he win?"

"Over 300,000, I think. None of us had less than 350,000, but I didn't catch the exact number. Why?"

"Nothing, just calculating the spoils."

Putting down the phone, Xiao Cheng looked up at the ceiling in silence. Three hundred and fifty thousand—enough to buy a betrayal.

Kang Long was the poorest of the group, having once been locked up for stealing scrap metal. To him, 350,000 was nothing short of an astronomical sum. He wondered if Kang Long could pass this test...

"Could something have happened to Kang Long? If he was the first one out, could he have been targeted?" Wang Yang worried.

Xiao Cheng shook his head. If the people at the casino were going to target anyone, it wouldn't be Kang Long, because there was a much more conspicuous player stirring the pot—Ding the Lame. This move had been planned long ago.

"Should I give Kang Long a call?" Wang Yang asked.

Xiao Cheng shook his head. "Have some patience. Give him some time."

Don't expect everyone to be noble, and don't force people to be noble. That is human nature—that rotten tendency to seek advantage and avoid harm, always the same. It’s just that sometimes, even when human nature is trampled into the mud, it still manages to shine.