A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 295 Gang Investments

"Boss, why is your face so red? What's making you so happy?"

"He was fucking beaten up."

Ike said with a dark expression.

Inside the Mirror Lake Restaurant, a musician plays elegant music on the cello, while floor-to-ceiling windows reflect the lake and blue sky. Quinn, disguised as Shelby, sits opposite Ike.

The waiter carrying the lamb chops passed by and couldn't help but glance at Ike.

This extremely stylish mob boss was wearing a turtleneck jacket today, with the collar pulled up to cover half his face, resembling a stereotypical vampire from a Western animated film. The exposed half of his face was a dark reddish-black, making it impossible to tell whether he was Black or a redneck.

"I underestimated that Philebrion. He's got some skills to escape from the Emperor's death row."

"Ike said, covering his face."

He didn't want to come out with this face if he had to see Elon.

"Golden Wind and the Razorfen Downs have gone to war?"

Quinn had heard rumors about this at the academy.

Amamiya Nene received a warning from the law enforcement officer, saying that things were very chaotic in Seville these days and that she should not go there unless absolutely necessary.

The Golden Wind acted without warning. First, Ike seized the opportunity to accuse Sukhorukov of breaking the rules by lending money recklessly at his casino, summoning several unsuspecting members of the Razor Gang to a meeting, and then suddenly overturned the table and launched an attack.

The all-out war between large gangs is not just about street brawls, but also about comprehensive attacks on each other's core members, brother gangs, strongholds, properties, warehouses, and even their protectors.

The Golden Wind had always been quite law-abiding before this. Although it's impossible for an organization that makes money through illegal means and relies on violence and crime to remain completely bloodless, the Golden Wind's rise was relatively peaceful. Its main members were all people of black, wheat-colored, or bronze skin from the Western Continent. Ike's annexations and expansions were all in the territories originally inhabited by the people of the Western Continent. Conflicts with the local "White Bandits" and the Razor Gang from the Southern Continent were not serious, which allowed for a delicate three-way balance of power.

Of course, there is no peace between gangs; so-called coexistence is nothing more than keeping to themselves and guarding their own territories. But compared to the White Bandits and the Razor Gang, whose business conflicts are serious, the Golden Wind, which engages in smuggling, apart from robbing a large number of casinos, gets along relatively well with the other two. Members will nod and greet each other when they see each other, and if there is a conflict among their thugs, they can give each other face. In addition, they have a lot of cooperation in smuggling and selling stolen goods. In the eyes of the Razor Gang, the Golden Wind is a relatively harmless partner in the underworld.

Therefore, this sudden attack was completely beyond the expectations of Vyacheslav, the leader of the Razor Party.

Vyacheslav initially thought it was a routine negotiation, and even when he heard "the loan broke the rules," he subconsciously assumed it was a problem with one of his own people. After all, Ike's nickname "Godfather" represented credibility. It wasn't until he didn't see Sukhorukov and his cronies during the negotiations that he realized what was going on.

At the same time, casinos, money laundering operations, and flag-covered bars and nightclubs controlled by the Razor Gang were besieged almost simultaneously.

The Razor Gang is a typical fraternal gang. Escaped convicts from the Felice North prison banded together around Vyacheslav. This organizational structure makes ruthless individuals who are capable of leading other gangs willing to be his underlings. They are extremely loyal and efficient when doing tough jobs. However, the drawbacks are also obvious. Because of the emphasis on fairness and brotherhood, the senior members stick together and exclude outsiders. The Razor Gang can hardly grow in size. Although these thugs who guard the place are all capable fighters from the North, they are too few in number. They can't fight against so many opponents. Most of them are riddled with bullets by gunmen with flintlock pistols before they can even react.

It's important to know that while the gangsters in Golden Wind may not be the best fighters, their weapons are absolutely top-notch. They carry the rarest items that have leaked from the military, items that ordinary gangs, even if they have the money, can't afford.

Meanwhile, the biggest protector of the Razor Fist, the Attorney General of Eswell, who was supposedly Vyacheslav's lover, also failed to play her role—before she even learned of the situation, she was taken away by a group of airmen on charges of embezzlement and bribery, which prevented the firefight that broke out in Sewell from alerting law enforcement officers.

When it comes to protection, Ike has far too many. The gold pounds he laundered for the Ashwell gentlemen could drown the Razor Peaky Bryan.

The all-out war between the two gangs, or rather, the one-sided raid, ended in one night.

Apart from the deaths in the raids on Veyacheslav and other high-ranking members of the Razor Party, the Golden Wind was a resounding success.

Ike narrowed his eyes slightly. "I thought it would be easy and I wanted to keep things as quiet as possible. Unfortunately..."

"They didn't kill Vyacheslav?"

"The arcane bombs I planted blew up both buildings, who knew they were wearing chainmail underneath their clothes. Tsk. The top brass of the Razorfen Downs have been assassinated frequently in the past two months, which makes them afraid to go out alone. When they do go out, they not only stick together but also dress like turtles."

"Haha. Isn't that ridiculous?" Quinn said with an innocent, awkward laugh.

The intention was good, but things went wrong.

Ike complained, "We don't have as many superhumans as they do. If it weren't for the arcane reinforcements, Vyacheslav would have suffered heavy losses just for holding me off for a while."

"The results of it?"

Ike snorted, but his expression wasn't particularly serious; it was just that his rosy cheeks were somewhat amusing.

“Vyacheslav has acquired some treasures in the underworld over the years, and he tricked me.” Eklar opened his collar, and Quinn was horrified to find that his neck had turned crimson red, like cooked meat.

Tiny maggots, barely visible to the naked eye, burrowed and twisted inside his flesh, appearing from a distance as if his skin and flesh were contorting and twitching. A withered yet golden vine was binding his throat, preventing the maggots from breaking through and reaching the top of his head, no matter how much they struggled.

Ike's face wasn't red, but rather bloodshot from being strangled. It was hard to imagine how much pain he was enduring at that moment, or how he was managing to breathe.

Quinn had intended to feign concern by asking, "Are you alright?" but this didn't look like he was alright at all, so he blurted out, "Boss, is there any hope for you?"

"Damn it!" Ike cursed, "If I were beyond saving, would I have bothered bringing you here?"

“These things seem to be from the Cult of the Dead; they’re not so easy to deal with.” Ike calmly pulled up his collar. “But they can’t absorb brain matter; they’ll starve to death after a while.”

What sequence number is Vyacheslav?

"seven."

"And you?" Quinn asked knowingly.

Ike chuckled softly.

"Heh, Vyacheslav may have managed to outmaneuver me, but that's all he's got. That guy must have served in the Empire's army in his younger days; he's very experienced in combat. Knowing he couldn't beat me, he used his men as human shields and ran away. The Razor Party is finished. Although Vyacheslav escaped, he was badly injured. We don't need to worry about him for the time being."

"Boss" Quinn warned, "You're in the underworld, you should know better than me. Cut the weeds and leave the roots, it will cause endless trouble. If you kill all his brothers, a Sequence Seven transcendent could destroy Golden Wind if he were to stoop to assassination."

"Are you trying to accuse me of being unprepared?" A cold glint flashed in Ike's eyes. "Don't forget what started this sudden war."

“If Vyacheslav doesn’t see those loan shark brothers by nightfall, what do you think that old fox will think? ‘Breakfast! Sukhorukov is probably asleep on a woman’s belly again, let’s just pretend nothing happened and get drunk—’ will he think that? Hmm?” “But you’ve been preparing to go to war with the Razorfen Downs for a while, haven’t you?” Quinn slowly cut a lamb chop. “If you want me to use my connections at the academy to help you catch them, just say so.”

Ike narrowed his eyes slightly, then relaxed his head on the back of his hand and looked Quinn up and down.

"Tell me honestly, how old are you this year?"

"My girlfriend thought my chin was too prickly, so she shaved off all my beard and I looked sixteen."

“Ha,” Ike didn’t believe it at all. “Of course I’m not that stupid. Vyacheslav wouldn’t have been able to escape, but not only did he have his brothers to cover for him, but he also had people waiting for him outside.”

“The guy who helped him escape is very capable. I don’t know when the Razorfen Downs hid such a tough guy. I’ve never seen him before.” Ike’s voice was somewhat helpless and somewhat apprehensive. “If the two of them come back, it’s hard to say whether the Razorfen Downs will lose that night. But he doesn’t seem to have any intention of helping Vyacheslav rescue the others.”

Quinn was startled.

Ike's methods are well-known. Even if this guy isn't a hero, he's still a genuine Sequence Six, and an extremely young one at that. This means he possesses extraordinary adaptability and the tenacity to maintain his humanity while rapidly advancing.

If someone is praised for their abilities, they are most likely a Sequence Six expert.

It's important to understand that Sequence Six extraordinary individuals are not like onions in a field, which can be harvested in clumps. Among the extraordinary individuals employed by Grindelwald's administration, Sequence Six individuals are extremely rare. In a kingdom institution like the Dragon Tomb Deacon, they would be qualified as high-ranking leaders.

It's already quite bizarre that someone like Ike, a Sequence 6, is involved in a gang. The so-called "many extraordinary individuals" of the Razor Party are mostly former Imperial soldiers of Sequence 8 or 9. Adding a Sequence 7 Vyacheslav allows the Razor Party to act with impunity in Eswell for many years. Where did this guy come from?

"Hired adventurers?" Quinn guessed.

“Who knows?” Ike shook his head. “But my men found evidence that the Razor Gang had been paid to assassinate a senator. That evidence is enough for Elon to apply for the College’s protection. With the College Office hunting him down, that guy would be asking for death if he dared to hide in the city.”

Quinn nodded in agreement; after all, not everyone could run as fast as the members of the Old Wolf organization. As a smuggler who had operated in Eswell for many years, the school administration had plenty of occult methods to catch him, and assassinating a senator was an intolerable act of political sabotage.

“I’m not asking you to help me catch him,” Ekwen said politely. “Just let me know when the academy finds him.”

Quinn glanced at his flushed face and nodded slightly.

"Then I'll keep an eye on it."

"Have you finished eating? It's almost time to leave. We agreed to meet at one o'clock. How many pieces did you eat?"

There was a stack of plates at least an elbow's height around Quinn.

After becoming a superhuman, his appetite was several times that of an ordinary person, even greater than that of a regular combatant. This was probably due to his dual-sequence system, which meant that while his body was stronger than others of the same sequence, he naturally ate more.

"Boss, I'm your little brother."

"Waiter, the bill please." Ike said, pulling out his wallet with a dark expression.

Quinn wasn't deliberately trying to kill him.

His first encounter with Golden Wind was in this most upscale restaurant in Eswell.

The owner of Mirror Lake Restaurant, Bu'er, is one of the cabinet members of the exiled government of the Kingdom of Yangen. However, judging from the attitude of the restaurant waiters towards Ike, they are not particularly familiar with him and treat him like an ordinary customer.

It seems that Ike is still very clear-headed and knows how to draw a clear line in public. Even if someone investigates the remaining cabinet members of the government-in-exile, they won't find him, the mob boss, so quickly.

As they left the restaurant, Quinn felt the scrutinizing gazes of the two of them who had followed them out. Looking at Ike through his glasses, he said as they walked, "It seems quite a few people are watching you."

Not only were plainclothes law enforcement officers in the restaurant watching the two, but the officers patrolling the lakeside promenade were also keeping an eye on them. Even though Ike wasn't wearing his signature white suit today, he was being monitored like a terrorist on the run.

"Isn't that normal?"

He said nonchalantly, "Even though the number of members of the Razor Gang is small, they still killed more than two hundred people that night. The prison is almost overflowing with Golden Wind's men."

"This city isn't all corrupt officials; there are still some people doing legitimate work. The weapons Golden Wind pulled out during the shootout exceeded the limits that a gang could tolerate. If it weren't for the men holding the fort, I'd be in jail by now."

"Under normal circumstances, how would things develop?" Quinn asked curiously.

"Oh, I'd be lucky if half of the brothers who got arrested got out. There have to be people to take the blame, and someone has to take responsibility for the lives lost. But that's only if I pay a huge sum to shut the courts and law enforcement, to satisfy those insatiable bureaucrats. If I were to do the accounting like a business, the profits from taking over the Razor Gang might not even be enough to clean up the mess."

"Then what are you going to do now?"

"Ha, they all objected to me taking sides so early, dear Mr. Elon." Ike squinted at the bright sunlight, as if basking in the sun would make him feel better from the torment of being covered in maggots.

"However, adding flowers to brocade can never compare to providing charcoal in the snow. Just like investment, no matter how much dirty money I give other members of parliament, they will not allow a gang to build a monopoly on smuggling. If we run into trouble, they will use it as a warning."

"You're not just sucking up to someone, you're investing?" Quinn asked with interest. "Boss, how old are you anyway?"

“I turned sixty after breaking up with my girlfriend,” Ike shook his head and said, “I haven’t had sex in almost two weeks.”

Quinn thought that if it itched, he should just pat it with his slippers.

“So this hearing is a golden opportunity for me. I need to do my best.” Ike looked at “Shelby”.

Shelby looked at the imposing iron gates of the Branson family mansion.

Behind the iron gate, he saw his girlfriend.

And standing with her at the door, watering the flowers, chatting and laughing, was the Branson family patriarch, who hadn't made a public appearance in a long time—

Rie Branson.

(End of this chapter)