âBecause we were unwilling to divulge your identity, they kicked us out. Theyâve also forbidden us from hanging out around that area. You canât leave us be,â the tall guy said with snot and tears running down his face.
The other young men also put on a pitiful front, looking troubled.
Winston tore open the lid of the can and thought about it while eating. He understood that they probably lived at the edges of the worldâs rules.
He wasnât averse to people like these. Rules were all decided by those in power to maintain order. As long as these people had their principles and did not break the greater order while finding a way to survive, theyâd be successful.
Therefore, Winston nodded and said, âAlright.â
The ruffians were elated. They suddenly felt that this guy wasnât really that scary, and only now did they dare to look him in the eye.
Once they did that, they were stunned. Could someone tell them that they were seeing it wrong? How could their boss possibly be eating a can of dog food so happily?
The fatty even rubbed his eyes.
Winston asked, âHow do you guys earn money?â
This was the reason he had decided to show benevolence and agreed to take them in under his protection. He wanted to learn how to survive from them.
They didnât dare to doubt their bossâs preferences and chose to pretend that they hadnât seen anything. Hearing his question, the fatty quickly said, âOn the open, we get protection fees from the residents in the old and small districts. However, theyâre not allowing us to do this anymore. For ourselves, we just steal and snatch things. Just small things.â
Winston felt a little disappointed, and the fatty could tell that. He immediately said, âAh, thereâs also the option of being a loan shark, but this would require a certain amount of capital. Weâre all penniless.â
âLoan shark?â Winston asked.
The fattyâs eyes gleamed. âAre you interested? You must have just come to this place, right? Why donât we start at the loan shark business?â
Winston stared at him.
The tall guy rolled his eyes at the fatty, secretly scolding him for being a fool, then once again explained things, âBrother Leopard and the others have channels. Theyâd loan out money at the casinos, and as the interest rolled, theyâd squeeze them dry and not leave them with a single cent.â
Winstonâs interest was piqued, and he couldnât help but look in the direction Parker left in, asking, âThen, what happens if they donât pay up?â
The tall guy smirked. âDonât pay up?â
He did a gesture of slicing his neck as if he had done it countless times. He then continued, âThen, we can only resolve it with violence. Iâve seen Brother Leopard dealing with a debtor before. He chopped off the guyâs right hand.â
Winston frowned. Chopping off someoneâs hand was the equivalent of depriving them of a means of making a living. It was more brutal than killing them directly.
âLetâs do this, then,â Winston said.
The fatty rubbed his hands together excitedly and said, âThis is good. We can get a lot of profit from this. Boss, how much money can you put into this? Just leave the rest of the work to us.â
âWho says that Iâm going to be lending money?â Winston asked.
Both the fatty and the tall guy were stunned. The fatty asked, âThen, you were saying...â
Winston said each word clearly, âSend out the news and get those debtors to come to us. Weâll take in a certain amount of money based on the amount of debt they owed. In exchange, weâll protect their safety and help them to... repay the debt at a fair interest rate.â
âHuh?â
The ruffians were all stunned.
âThis would be going up against Brother Leopard!â the fatty said, feeling horrified.
Winstonâs lips curled up coldly. The scar on his face moved, and his savageness was revealed. âSo what?â
It wasnât that he was underestimating the opponent. It was just that humans were really far too weak in his eyes.