I am a master in India

Chapter 427 The Essence of Violence

The New Federation has become increasingly successful in the past two years, with booming business and a wealth of talented members.

The young men that Hadhan left behind have gradually risen to power in the last two years.

They are more flamboyant and like to show off. They frequent upscale restaurants and cafes in the fortress district, which are clean, have excellent service, and exude a trendy bohemian vibe.

The wealthy, lawyers, film industry figures, and rising television stars of the fortress district are all frequent visitors here.

Now, members of the new federation also like to come; they abandon etiquette, wolf down their food, and completely disregard the opinions of others.

After finishing their meal, the group formed a wide human wall, shoulder to shoulder, and walked three blocks to the vicinity of India Gate.

From the Royal Gardens to India Gate, one must pass through several wide and crowded open-air plazas.

They maintained this arrogant formation the whole way, and the crowd would automatically part when they encountered them.

As the procession passed by, passersby turned around to look back and whispered among themselves.

Eventually, the group went into an ice cream shop, where two waiters led them to their reserved long table.

There is a tall window nearby, through which you can see the yard outside.

“That deal is done, and we’ve made at least tens of millions!” said Salman.

"No trouble, right?" Johnny asked.

“No problem,” Salman laughed. “That property is in high demand. You know, Johnny, that fat bastard Neil, put both of those big houses, his own and the one next door, in his brother-in-law’s name.”

We had no choice, sigh, brother, we all did it, but those two houses were a multi-million dollar business.

Those are mansions! After we produced all the evidence of that fat guy's debts, his brother-in-law refused to sign and give up those two houses.

He became defiant and started talking to lawyers and the police. We had to tie him up and hang him from a large vat of acid.

Then he stopped being stubborn and couldn't wait to sign the papers and give us the house.

We sent Fareed to handle this mission before, and he was supposed to take care of it. But the fat guy's brother-in-law ignored us, which infuriated him. He was angry that the bastard had made him go through all that trouble to get an acid tank.

Our brother Fareed likes to handle things simply like this, giving that bastard a good beating. This whole thing is basically… Fareed, what was that again?”

“Disgraceful,” Farid said.

"Yes, it's a fucking disgrace, the whole thing. Fareed wants people to respect him, or else he'll kill that bastard without a word."

Enraged, he also seized his fat brother-in-law's house, forcing him to sign a document relinquishing his own property, simply because his attitude when repaying the debt was so despicable.

Now he has nothing, while we have three houses, which could fetch a whopping 16 million rupees!

"You guys are really ruthless and vicious at extorting money," Johnny said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"Brother, everyone in Mumbai is trying to make money right now. If you want to fill your stomach, this is the way you have to go."

Salman didn't care; he had joined the new federation at a young age. He grew up in the bustling and crowded Bandera district and was a precocious child.

He was first in every subject when he was in junior high school, which surprised his penniless parents.

From the age of five, he and his father worked 20 hours a week, helping to pluck chicken feathers and clean the local chicken coop.

He soon informed the school that he had to drop out to support his family and have more time to work and earn money.

A teacher who knew Hadhan learned of this and sought help from the gang leader.

Thus, with the help of Hadhan's scholarship, Salman was able to continue his studies and eventually attend the Catholic university founded by the Jesuits.

This boy from the slums wore a clean white school uniform every day and attended classes with the children of the wealthy.

The university provided him with an excellent education, and Salman speaks fluent English. He has a broad range of interests, from history and geography to literature and art.

But this boy had a wild and untamed spirit, an insatiable thirst for excitement and stimulation that even the Jesuits' iron fists and canes could not suppress.

While Salman was fighting the Jesuits, Farid had already joined Had Khan's gang. He worked as a courier, delivering messages and contraband between gang offices throughout the city.

In the first few weeks after he started this job, he was robbed by a group of men from a rival gang and was stabbed in the fight.

The boy resisted, broke free, and, enduring the pain, delivered the contraband to Hadhan's collection center.

His injuries were serious, and it took him two months to recover. His lifelong friend Salman, feeling guilty for leaving Farid alone and being bullied, immediately dropped out of school.

He begged Khad Khan to let him and Farid run errands together, and Khad Khan agreed.

From then on, the two boys worked together in every illegal activity of the gang.

They were only sixteen when they joined the gang, but now, sitting together in an ice cream shop, they are twenty-five years old.

These two unruly young men had now become tough guys, spending lavishly on gifts for their families and living a cool and fashionable life.

They gave their sister a grand wedding, but neither of them married.

Salman said they refused to get married because they both believed or foresaw that they would die a terrible death, or die young.

Such a future did not frighten them or make them uneasy.

They considered it a fair trade: excitement, power, and enough wealth to support their families, even if it meant an early death by knife or bullet. After Hadhan's death, and after Johnny eliminated the traitors and won the war, the two immediately joined the new alliance, becoming independent gang leaders.

"See, Johnny? The real estate business in Mumbai is booming. In the past, making tens of millions of rupees would have been incredibly difficult!" Salman exclaimed in amazement.

"There was a fire in Chogrivac recently, a two-story building was burned down, was that your doing?"

“That company is our competitor,” Salman laughed.

The burned building was originally the archives of a department of the Mumbai municipal authorities, which later moved to a more spacious and modern office building.

The original old tables, benches, cabinets, and shelves were all kept, and the new federation took a liking to that place.

These pieces of furniture perfectly suited their needs, and the new federation even sent people to clean and polish their surfaces and move the furniture aside to make room for other equipment.

Johnny planned to use that place as the office building for Happy Bean Media, as it would be both secluded and secure, and also have enough space as a photography studio.

But just as they were preparing to move the equipment, someone else beat them to it.

The official who had previously made a verbal agreement changed his mind and sold the land to another company.

That company also deals in restricted DVDs and is a direct competitor of the New Union.

As a result, on the second night after the other party's equipment was moved in, sirens and even louder fire truck sirens were heard on the street.

People flocked to the streets, looking toward the source of the frantic noise, where thick smoke and flames crackled in the midnight sky.

“We’ve taken down our biggest competitor; they had to close down because of the fire.” Fareed laughed along.

“Guys, Happy Bean is already the biggest in Mumbai in this area, there’s no need to worry about those smaller companies,” Johnny reminded them.

"Brother, it's winner-takes-all. Don't give others a chance, or they'll eat us up too."

"The market is big enough, like Bollywood, with so many film companies that are doing very well."

"We're a restricted film, we can't be shown in the light. Have you forgotten what happened at the 'Capitol'? Shiva's army and the police teamed up to cause us trouble."

Among them were competitors who tipped us off, so we could only keep changing locations or making our company more legally impenetrable, time and time again.

"Salman, what's this kind of competition called again?" Farid turned to ask his friend beside him.

"The Red Queen Contest".

"That's right! We are the virus, residing in this city, and the police and Shiva's army are the host's defense mechanisms."

We attack, they defend. We make changes to defeat them, and they develop new defensive mechanisms in response.

This back-and-forth fighting went on endlessly. "This comes from a novel, damn it, I've forgotten the name," Farid said, somewhat annoyed.

“Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,” Salman said with a smile, “The little girl Alice meets the Queen of Hearts, who runs very fast, but seems unable to move any further.”

She told Alice that in her country, people had to run as fast as they could just to stay in the same place. It's like our relationship with the police and our colleagues.

They always want to destroy us, but we only grow stronger. One day, Happy Bean Media will become an entity they can no longer contend with. This is the Red Queen Competition!

“I would say we’ve done enough. We sell millions of discs a month, which makes more money than other gangs’ opium business.”

"Brother Johnny, don't worry, we know what to do. No one will die. That would be troublesome; the host's defense system will be upgraded."

“Speaking of human lives, I remember now,” Johnny looked at them, “the ‘Demolition King’ Kelner was shot a while ago. Is that related to you?”

“Uh, we just wanted to give him a warning.” Salman and Farid exchanged a glance and shrugged.

Johnny was about to say something when the phone rang.

He grabbed his phone from the table, walked to the window, said a few words, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.

"What's wrong, bro?" Salman asked.

"Don't cause any more trouble for Kelner," Johnny said sternly.

“That won’t do! He’s going to tear down our restaurant, which is in a prime location!” Farid exclaimed.

"Shut up! If you don't want to get shot, do as I say. And those thatched huts by the railway, don't bother with them anymore."

Johnny's tone was harsh, as cold as steel. His long face was somewhat asymmetrical, with one eye lower than the other by a finger's width.

There is a crooked crack on my nose, a scar left from stitches.

His short hair formed a rounded hairline on his forehead, like a dark halo, pressing down on his slightly jagged ears.

He was so angry that no one in the room dared to speak.

“Brother, we’ve been guarding those huts for seven or eight years. In a few more years, that land will be ours. Have you heard? They’re even planning to build a road there.” Salman tried to persuade him.

"Tens of thousands of police officers are on standby in Mumbai. Anyone who dares to show their face should expect to be spotted!"

At the long table, several leaders of the New Union stood with their mouths agape, as if they had been choked.

(End of this chapter)