Hong Kong Storm: The King of Jobs

Chapter 758, Section 348: The Five Yellow Calamities (Challenge Successfully Completed)

Is the white crane in front of me a person from the martial arts world?
Obviously not!

The gangsters are just apprentices in the underworld; they're only half a step away. Once they push open the door and step over the threshold, they can enter the underworld world behind it.

But this half-step is something many people can't take in their entire lives.

Hong Kong's underworld is a small world, the Hongmen is a large world, and the Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the martial arts world) is a super world that encompasses both worlds. Together with the legitimate world, it constitutes the entire Earth.

Society and social classes are all layered, and human beings live within them.

Seeing Baihe's face growing paler and paler, Alai knew what Baihe had revealed. He snatched the Black Star pistol wrapped in a plastic bag from Baihe's hand.

"Boss, if you don't want to get your hands dirty, I'll do it!"

"But could you please tell me where the safe is?"

No one would leave a safe out in the open. Ah Lai looked around but couldn't find where the safe was hidden, so he had to ask Bai He for help.

Baihe didn't speak, but pointed to the wine cabinet and then fell silent.

Following the direction the white crane was pointing, Alai saw the wine cabinet next to the wall. He quickly walked over, opened the cabinet door, and discovered a safe hidden inside.

The safe is half a meter high and is fixed to the ground with reinforced concrete, probably to prevent someone from physically breaking it and taking the contents away.

However, the person selling the safe was probably an amateur. If it was a mechanical safe, there would be nothing Alai could do.

Because mechanical safes are spring-loaded, they require the use of equipment such as a stethoscope, which is Wenque's specialty and he doesn't know how to use.

The original plan was that if it was a mechanical safe, I would just put the Black Star pistol in some inconspicuous cabinet.

But as luck would have it, it really was an electronic button safe.

Although this type of safe is less secure than mechanical safes, it doesn't mean it has no advantages; its trigger-activated alarm function is quite advanced.

Eighty percent of electronic push-button safes only allow three attempts; after three incorrect attempts, an alarm will sound.

In other words, Alai only has three chances.

But for a genius like Alai, this was a piece of cake. He took out a decoder from the toolbox and started rummaging through the wine cabinet again.

After searching for more than a minute, he finally found the wire, turned off the power, and began his operation with the flashlight in his mouth.

He first tested it with a test pen and found that the electronic safe had no backup power supply. Only then did he feel relieved enough to connect the decoder's wires to the electronic safe's wires.

The thin black-and-white screen on the electronic safe lit up briefly, then quickly went out again.

The decoder is powered independently and begins to bypass the protection settings on the circuit board. This decoder is a hot commodity on the black market.

The program running inside was created by computer programming geniuses in Hong Kong and can crack most firewall programs.

After receiving it, Alai modified it, installing a pager display screen, adding a display chip, and installing a 200 mAh battery.

If Chi Mengli were there, she would definitely exclaim in surprise, because this is the prototype of the handheld computer.

The pager's display screen could not show the code running the program; it could only display numbers.

If the number reaches one hundred, the crack is successful; if the number is stuck at fifty, the crack has failed.

Ah Lai had tried several times before without any problems, but he didn't know how his luck would be this time.

The number quickly jumped past fifty and slowly made its way toward one hundred.

Alai sat on the Persian carpet, a flashlight in his mouth, his eyes fixed on the decoder's display screen.

Heaven rewards those who persevere; the number jumped from ninety-nine to one hundred.

"Click."

The safe made a soft sound, and the door popped open.

For Baihe, who had only attended junior high school and had never even gone to academy, the scene before him was utterly unbelievable.

The guy sitting on the carpet simply connected to a strange-looking black box, and after a few minutes, he effortlessly pried open the boss's safe.

Everything happening at this moment was impacting Bai He's tense nerves.

This is all so unbelievable, just like a movie plot, it feels unreal.

The safe door opened, but Ah Lai didn't touch it.

Instead, he took out a pair of surgical latex gloves, put them on, and carefully took the Black Star pistol out of the transparent plastic bag.

It's quite possible that the panda cub is involved in a murder case related to this short dog.

Ah Lai didn't want to get himself involved in a murder case. His father's favors were a rare thing, and he couldn't afford to waste them on this.

The white crane stood silently to the side; it was too late to say anything now!
Once the choice of sides is made, there's only one path left to follow.

When the flashlight beam shone into the safe, large yellow croakers, jade, stacks of gold bulls, bundles of twenty-dollar bills, and pounds all appeared before the two men's eyes.

"Damn, they're from a wealthy family. Looks like being a gangster is still a lucrative career!"

Ah Lai sighed, then carefully emptied the box on the next level. Inside were bottles and jars, which were probably antiques.

He gripped the muzzle of the gun, placed the Black Star pistol at the bottom, and put the boxes and containers back in their original positions.

Ah Lai looked at it carefully for a few moments and found that it was the same as what he had just seen. He then put the strand of hair that had been placed aside back in its original position and gently closed the safe door.

"Click."

After a soft click, the door of the electronic safe closed completely.

After everything was settled, Alai quickly disconnected the decoder from the electronic safe, then tested it with a test pen to confirm that there was no power before starting to connect the wires.

Those who can swim will drown, those who argue will be beaten to death, and the fate of electricians is to be electrocuted.

Because electricians are too confident, they believe they have mastered the power of electricity. But one bloody safety accident after another tells the general public that they are not the masters of lightning.

Ah Lai was very cautious, just like how he found a hair on the safe door in the dark room, relying only on the light of a flashlight.

Ah Lai was very cautious about anything that could cost him his life. He took out a pack of alcohol wipes that he always carried and wiped all the fingerprints off the safe door.

He reconnected the wires to the electronic safe, stood up, and turned on the power switch.

The current flows through the wires to the electronic safe, and the safe's thin display screen begins to glow green.

Get it!

Alai began cleaning up the scene. The door of the electronic safe, which had just been wiped clean with alcohol wipes, was wiped again with a clean handkerchief, and then the door itself was wiped clean.

Completely erase any trace of having opened the safe, leaving no room for anyone to use it against you.

When Baihe saw Alai's practiced movements, he immediately realized why this skinny guy would be sent to deal with that good-for-nothing panda cub.

Judging from appearances, this scoundrel has done his fair share of petty theft and other despicable acts.

"Brother Baihe, I've got everything sorted out. I'm off now, goodbye forever!"

Ah Lai tidied up his tools, slung his backpack over his shoulder, turned on the light, opened the door, and left Ninth Sister's office.

Bai He looked around and, seeing that there were no problems, turned off the light and used the key in his pocket to lock the door to Ninth Sister's office.

When he walked out of the office, Alai had already left. He went into his private room, where a bowl of meat and vegetable wontons was placed on his desk.

He plopped down in the chair, stirred the soup with his chopsticks, and began to enjoy his lunch.

When he went out, Ah Lai was checked as usual, but he didn't need to be nervous now because the Black Star pistol had already been delivered.

Scarface and Ah Hai, who were guarding the door, saw that Ah Lai was alright, so they took out their wallets, counted out a crab bill, and stuffed it into the chest pocket of Ah Lai's work clothes.

"Thank you very much this time. Your work is excellent. I'll send you again if you have any more repair orders."

"Let's go!"

After giving A-Lai a tip, A-Hai waved his hand, telling A-Lai to get lost.

Ah Lai was very happy to receive the tip. He nodded, took the walkie-talkie, and walked into the elevator, still saying thank you repeatedly.

Scarface, who was standing to the side, also entered the elevator and went to the underground parking lot together. He followed Ah Lai without saying a word.

Having spent many years in the corrupting influence of Guanlou, Alai immediately realized that Scarface was worried and wanted to see which car he should get on.

He wasn't afraid of playing openly, so right in front of Scarface, he turned on the walkie-talkie and said loudly, "Boss, the bill for the Metropolitan Bar is settled. Where to now?"

After a minute, a voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Drive to the Seagull Building and check the electrical distribution box."

"Be quick and don't dawdle."

"You idiot!"

The panda cub, hiding in the shadows, observed Alai's situation while covering its mouth and giving a reply.

"Roger that!"

Ah Lai responded, walked to his van, got into the driver's seat, stepped on the gas, and left the underground parking lot of the New World Center.

Scarface's doubts dissipated when he saw the CEC logo on the van. He took the elevator back to the Metropolitan Bar.

The panda cub that emerged from the shadows sneered and drove away from the New World Center.

April 5th, Qingming Festival, is one of the thirteen taboos according to Yang Gong, and it is inauspicious to do anything on this day!

A man begs for leftover offerings to his proud concubines and wives; a scholar would rather burn himself to death than serve an unjust lord.

Who can distinguish the wise from the foolish after a thousand years? All that remains is a mound overgrown with weeds.

The end of a person's life is death; no one can escape it!
Ruixing Mahjong Hall, Shanghai Road.

Because it is Qingming Festival today, Ruixing Mahjong Hall, which is usually packed, is deserted today, with very few patrons.

Gamblers go to offer incense and pay respects to their ancestors, and so do gangsters.

Even with fewer customers, the mahjong parlor still has to stay open. However, during traditional holidays, the income from the mahjong parlor usually goes entirely to the "head of the club," which is considered a bonus for Prince Hui.

Poisonous Snake Ming went to his grandparents' graves to burn paper money a day early, so he's on duty today and can get 888 red envelopes as a lucky money gift.

This scoundrel is directing his henchmen to place a hollow, copper-plated gourd, taller than a person, in the wealth corner (due south) to ward off the Five Yellow Disaster.

This is a Hong Kong tradition: every year during the Qingming Festival, a copper gourd or a potted kumquat tree is placed in the wealth corner to ward off the Five Yellow Star calamity. As stated in the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Dwellings: "People are established because of their dwellings, and dwellings exist because of people."

The Five Yellow Disaster Star originates from the Nine Palaces Flying Star theory, corresponds to the Lian Zhen Star, and belongs to the Earth element.

Its energy characteristics manifest as an extreme imbalance of earth and qi; when it is too strong, it leads to stagnation of qi, and when it is too weak, it causes turmoil and unrest.

Ancient people believed that the trajectory of the Five Yellows was closely related to the Earth's magnetic field and cosmic energy, and was a concrete expression of natural laws.

The Five Yellow Disaster Star is considered the king of inauspicious stars!

This huge bronze gourd, crafted by Shengjinxing, features patterns designed by a high-ranking monk of the Tantric school, who said it would protect the feng shui of Ruixing Sparrow House.

Hong Kong people go crazy at the mere mention of feng shui, obeying every word without question. The words of a feng shui master are more effective than those of their own parents.

"Who ordered sticky rice?"

A waiter from the restaurant across the street came in carrying a bowl of sticky rice. Seeing that there was no one at the front desk, he shouted loudly.

"You little punk, are you going to die any minute?"

The venomous snake was satisfied once the copper-plated gourd was placed in the wealth position. It then used its sleeve to wipe away non-existent stains from the gourd.

Finally, he turned away impatiently and cursed at the restaurant waiter who delivered the food.

Since they were from the same stall, the restaurant waiter naturally knew what kind of people worked at Ruixing Sparrow Pavilion. He didn't dare to say anything, and just chuckled.

"You can't hit a smiling face," said Viper Ming, opening the front desk and taking out two crab bills, slapping them on the counter. "Come pick up your bowl tonight. Keep the change. The rest is your tip."

"Thank you, Brother Ming!"

This bowl of glutinous rice is free because Ruixing Queguan orders from the restaurant every day, so the restaurant will waive some of the small orders for the big spenders whenever possible.

Give one crab to the manager, keep the other one for yourself, and buy two packs of cigarettes.

The restaurant waiter thanked him and immediately turned and left.

"Choose that star!"

Viper Ming cursed under his breath, took out his cigarette case, and tossed a Red Marlboro into his mouth, but didn't light it immediately. He glanced at the elevator and then at the wall clock.

Old Ding went to the Tin Hau Temple to offer incense and set up longevity tablets for his parents, but did not go to Tuodi.

Old Ding wasn't there, but the guests I booked arrived early. I just called that lazy bum Bing.

Lazy Ice replied quickly, saying that she would prepare a bowl of sticky rice for the guest and that Lao Ding was on his way back.

"Lai Pi Xia, go and take this bowl of sticky rice upstairs."

Although he couldn't figure out the intricacies of this bowl of glutinous rice, the emperor commanded his subject to die, and the subject had no choice but to comply, so Viper Ming still sent his henchmen to deliver it.

Lai Pi Xia quickly agreed, took the sticky rice, and went up the elevator to the third floor.

The guests were sitting in the conference room when Lai Pi Xia knocked on the door and went in, placing the sticky rice down with both hands.

Without saying anything more, he nodded as a greeting, then turned and left.

Lai Pixia breathed a sigh of relief as he walked out of the conference room, leaving the door half-closed. The people inside were truly terrifying.

Although he was still breathing after falling down, he was practically a corpse.

It feels just like in a martial arts novel; his blood is cold, his heart is cold, his sword is cold, and he himself is cold!

terrible!

Seeing too much of this makes one feel physically uncomfortable!
The rascal quickly left, wanting to go downstairs to soak up some life and warm up.

Sitting in the conference room, Wu Gang, 38 years old this year, is the living seal of the escorting water room.

The Wu family has been in this line of work for generations, starting from his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.

It didn't start in Hong Kong, but in Luoyang. To this day, the Wu family still knows a saying that has been passed down from their ancestors.

Quail performers, nimble monkeys; swordsmen, pawnbrokers, yamen dogs.

Wu Gang sat in the chair next to the main seat, his back very straight, with a bit of dust on the cuffs of his white shirt.

However, this was not an accidental smudge; it was a deliberate smudge on the corner of the wall when I came from the street corner, to conceal the outline of the scabbard under my clothes.

He wasn't ready to die yet, so he dared not bring the short dog into the water shed. If he were discovered, he would surely end up in a cement coffin.

My own father once said that if you're not absolutely certain, don't accept any offers from Lian Sheng or Shui Fong.

Because these two triads have too many shady dealings, you could easily get bogged down in them.

Actually, from a woman's perspective, Wu Gang is quite charming. His face looks young, and he doesn't look like a thirty-eight-year-old at all; he looks more like a twenty-three or twenty-four-year-old.

Her face was also delicate, with low brow bones, shallow eye sockets, and eyes shaped like straight lines ironed with an iron, without any curve.

Her nose bridge was thin, but the tip was a bit sharp, like a piece of cold jade; when her lips were pursed, they formed a light gray line.

Individually, his facial features seem very strange, but when put together, he resembles a frail scholar from a traditional Chinese novel. If he were to meet a rich woman who likes young men, he could easily become her son-in-law.

The glutinous rice in front of Wu Gang was steaming, and the steam reached his chin, but it was as if something blocked it, leaving no moisture on his face.

What actually frightened Lai Pixia wasn't Wu Gang's face, but his eyes and gaze. He looked down at the rice in his bowl, his pupils neither contracting nor dilating.

Looking at sticky rice is like looking at a pile of shredded paper. It's not that I have no appetite, it's that I have no emotion, and I don't even react to the heat.

His right hand held bamboo chopsticks, which twirled half a circle between his fingers and stopped at the fingertips.

His fingers were very thin, but his knuckles protruded slightly more than normal, like bones wrapped in a thin layer of skin.

There are two light brown calluses on the fingertips, one on the inside of the thumb and one on the second joint of the index finger.

An expert would immediately recognize the deception, become wary, and maintain a safe distance.

The first callus is where I held the trigger when I gripped the short dog, and the second is the mark I made when I gripped the handle of the knife.

The white edges of the cocoon are the hardened skin left by long-term friction, a sign of a ruthless creature that never lets go of its weapons.

He picked up a grain of glutinous rice, his movements so slow they were almost deliberate. The grain didn't fall or stick to the tip of his chopsticks; instead, it remained locked at the very end of the chopstick tip.

This precision isn't something you can train for; it's an instinct ingrained in your muscles from a long martial arts career. Even picking up rice is like calculating the threshold of force.

My left hand is placed under the table, with my fingertips touching the metal leg of the conference table.

Ruixing Sparrow House is the prime location for water rooms. The entire tenement building has air conditioning vents in every room.

The air vent of the air conditioner in the conference room is to his upper left, and the airflow changes direction every ten seconds or so.

Every time the wind sweeps across Wu Gang's wrist, his little finger curls up slightly. This isn't because he's cold; he's keeping track of the wind's frequency.

It's now once every 15 seconds. If someone opens the door later, the sound of the wind will be drowned out by the sound of the door hinges for 0.3 seconds, and he can detect it in advance by feeling the touch with his little finger.

At that moment, footsteps came from the corridor. When he was about three meters away from the conference room, he tapped his thumb on the table leg.

The person walking by was wearing cloth shoes with 3-centimeter heels and a pace of 1.5 steps per second. They were most likely a cleaner and not a dangerous person.

After knocking, he picked up the second grain of rice without looking up, but his peripheral vision caught the reflection on the doorknob, confirming once again that no one was lingering outside.

The steam from the glutinous rice gradually subsided, and water droplets condensed around the rim of the bowl, dripping onto the tablecloth and creating small water stains.

He finally raised his hand and used his left index finger to wipe the water droplets on the rim of the bowl. His fingertip was instantly wet, but he didn't wipe it off and just left it hanging in mid-air.

The fingernail was cut extremely short, revealing a bluish-white nail bed, and there wasn't a speck of dust in the nail crevices.

Suddenly, the branches of a tree outside the window were blown by the wind and bumped against the glass, making a soft "thump" sound.

His eyelashes finally twitched, but not at the window; he looked at the briefcase under the table. The zipper was still fastened, and the buckle was still at the angle he had bent before leaving. No one had touched it.

He began to eat slowly, chewing each bite 12 times, no more and no less.

When chewing, the lips move very little, and the taut jawline is as if it has been measured with a ruler.

The bamboo chopsticks occasionally touched the side of the bowl, making a soft "tap" sound that floated in the empty conference room, even colder than the sound of the air conditioner.

Halfway through his meal, he stopped, holding his chopsticks in his right hand, and reached into his suit's inner pocket with his left, pulling out a small silver gadget.

This tiny device, about the size of a palm, is a newly produced miniature jammer from East Germany, and its screen is glowing green.

If this thing is placed nearby, all radios and closed-circuit surveillance cameras within five meters will become ineffective.

This shielding device is very effective, but it cannot be used frequently. After each use, it must be put back into a lead box.

I heard that there's something in this jammer that's related to the two super bombs the Americans dropped on Japan; using it too much will shorten its lifespan.

I heard that East Germany is developing a second-generation product because of its side effects.

The glutinous rice in the bowl cooled down quickly as the steam dissipated by the time it was almost finished.

He put down his chopsticks, poured tea into the bowl, and held the bowl up by pinching the rim with his left thumb and forefinger.

His fingers didn't touch the water stains at the bottom of the bowl, and his hand was so steady that there wasn't a tremor. He took a sip of the rice soup made from the remaining glutinous rice and tea in the bowl.

The whole movement was strange because his throat didn't move, as if the man had a straight intestine.

After finishing the rice porridge, he took out a wet tissue from his pocket, first wiping the chopsticks, then the rim of the bowl, and finally his fingers.

I wiped every spot three times, even the calluses between my fingers, I was very careful.

After wiping, he folded the wet wipe into a square and stuffed it into a compartment of his briefcase, instead of casually tossing it on the table, as if he were handling a piece of evidence that could not be left in court.

As he stood up, the chair slid on the floor with a soft sound, yet it was exceptionally clear in the empty conference room.

Wu Gang walked to the window and looked at the endless stream of cars on the street below without saying a word.

This bowl of sticky rice is special; it's a sign that the host has agreed to let you take on this escort mission.

The water room doesn't often host escort missions because there are many capable people there, supporting a large number of nameless scoundrels.

However, the fact that the waterworks asked for a sky-high price of two million silver dollars this time indicates that the waterworks is facing considerable trouble and needs to rely on external forces to resolve it.

Wu Gang maintained his cold expression. When he saw the luxurious Mercedes-Benz limousine of the water room's boss, Jin Pingzhi, appear on the street, he knew that the show was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)