A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 67 The Changing of the Guard, Indifference Becomes the Norm

"Where's the boss?"

"The boss is dead."

"Where's Huan-ge?"

"He's dead too."

"Uncle Rong, Uncle Guo, Uncle Huang, Brother Caitou..."

"The whole table at the boss's table is dead. It seems like none of the guys who could handle guns survived either."

More than twenty people were whispering and looking around inside and outside the hall.

Each of them wore a look of lingering fear, yet also a thrilling sense of relief and exhilaration at having escaped unscathed.

When everyone's gaze fell upon that blue figure, they would instinctively show an expression of awe, or quickly lower their eyes, not daring to look directly at him.

Standing next to Guan Luoyang was the young man who had been rescued the first time, and he was questioning him.

"Are you sure they never sold them?"

This young man was the first person to speak to Guan Luoyang at the table, but now he dared not act like a big brother and call him "Little Guan" anymore.

He glanced erratically at the crowd, swallowed hard, and said, "I...maybe not, anyway, I didn't touch it!"

A middle-aged man with deep-set eyes and slicked-back hair, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, stepped out from the crowd and said, "Boss Guan... Boss Guan, actually, Xiao Jiang isn't very well-connected in the gang, and he doesn't know everyone. But I know everyone here, so I'll take advantage of my seniority and vouch for him."

"These twenty-odd brothers, let alone selling, have never even used it. That stuff is so expensive. It's all handled by Boss Yan's trusted confidants, the veterans. As for us, we just help out by watching the place and collecting protection money. We don't even get a gun."

Xiao Jiang chimed in from the side, "Brother An is well-liked, what he said must be true."

Many others nodded in agreement.

Guan Luoyang pondered for a moment and then said, "Alright, then you can wait here."

Xiao Jiang looked a little confused: "Waiting for what?"

Guan Luoyang pointed to the corpses scattered on the ground and asked rhetorically, "Isn't anyone going to deal with this?"

Brother An quickly replied, "Oh, this. In gang fights, we transport the bodies to the patrol team ourselves. The patrol team also has files on members who are registered in the gang. They won't take the initiative to deal with the injured or dead."

Guan Luoyang's eyes widened slightly, and he opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

He realized he had been making assumptions. He shouldn't have directly projected the atmosphere of his original hometown and that era onto the present just because he heard it was 1999 and that he had only met Chinese people after arriving.

After all, this is a world with cyborgs, completely different from their homeland. Moreover, the mission background explicitly states that Singapore and Malaysia, as small overseas countries, are a society rife with gangs.

It's true... we shouldn't think too highly of this place.

While Guan Luoyang was adjusting his mindset, Brother An said again, "But let them handle these things. Boss, you don't need to worry about it. You must be tired today. Let me take you to rest."

Guan Luoyang glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and tacitly approved of his actions.

Brother An immediately went to Yan Xiong's body, touched it a few times, found two sets of keys, and then loudly ordered his brothers to clean up the place before dawn.

"Xiao Jiang and I escorted the boss back."

"Keep Yan Xiong and Black Spider's bodies, and put all the guns together. I'll take them with me."

After giving a few instructions, Guan Luoyang, carrying a knife in one hand and a large bag of guns in the other, followed the two men out of the hotel.

The fresh air outside, free of the smell of blood, rushed into my nostrils, instantly clearing my mind.

There was a main road in front of the door, surrounded by buildings, but almost all of them were dark and deserted.

Only under the distant streetlights stood two patrol officers in black and white short-sleeved uniforms, with rubber batons tucked under their arms.

Brother An went over and chatted with them for a few minutes, then lit a cigarette.

"Finished inside? Judging from your expression, Lao An, you guys won!"

"Thanks to our new boss, after Black Spider killed Boss Yan, he was quickly dealt with by our new boss..."

Old An made a throat-slitting gesture.

The patrol team members looked in this direction in surprise for a while.

"Completed the transformation at such a young age, wow, there must be some other background to him. But you guys made quite a commotion tonight, not only have we been keeping an eye on it, but the higher-ups are probably waiting for news too."

"Understood. I'll treat you to tea sometime. We'll have someone go talk to the patrol team tomorrow morning."

Even from this distance, Guan Luoyang could still hear their conversation.

After Lao An returned, he drove a car. He was skilled and drove very steadily. However, his two arms, which were resting on the steering wheel, were covered with tattoos, all the way to his wrists. He was also missing a little finger from both hands.

With Guan Luoyang and Xiao Jiang in tow, it took less than ten minutes to arrive at a small apartment building with only three floors.

The courtyard in front of the first floor is laid out like a garden, with a garage on the side. The second and third floors both have large balconies with several potted plants on the concrete railings.

After searching for the key and opening the door, the chandelier on the ceiling was turned on, revealing a beautifully decorated living room.

Although the black-cased television set inside the burgundy solid wood cabinet was considered rather old-fashioned by Guan Luoyang, the overall decorating style wasn't outdated.

A crystal chandelier, a beige ceiling with floral and cloud patterns, floor and wall tiles polished to a shine, a sofa set, a tempered glass coffee table, and artificial rocks and potted plants as decorations in the corner.

Old An asked Xiao Jiang to boil some water.

"This used to be Boss Yan's territory. He has no wife or children. Besides himself, a few other leaders often come here. The gang's accountant lives here. I've been here a few times and know some of the layout. Do you think we should look for the safe first, or..."

Old An continued talking non-stop, but Guan Luoyang tossed the knife onto the coffee table, and his voice paused for a moment as he looked over somewhat nervously.

Guan Luoyang sat down on the sofa, picked up an orange from the fruit plate, and said, "Brother Yan is dead. It seems like not many of you are saddened?"

Old An considered it carefully for a moment and said cautiously, "To be honest, none of us are considered Boss Yan's confidants, and we're not particularly close. If we calm down and look back, we might feel a little sentimental, but genuine grief is unlikely."

"Besides, in Singapore and Malaysia, if the boss is skilled, his men will have face and security. You showed your true skills today, so we still have a backbone. Losing Boss Yan is even less important to us."

He spoke slowly, each sentence carefully considered in his mind, trying to avoid appearing too cold-hearted or too fake.

The key point is that Lao An has only now realized that his impression of Guan Luoyang is really weak. This person seems to have little presence in his daily life, and he has only been in the gang for a short time. He has no idea which kind of rhetoric this person would prefer.

I can only try to be moderate and aim for a neutral outcome.

After listening to him finish speaking, Guan Luoyang silently peeled the orange and didn't reply for a long time.

After he finished peeling the orange, he looked up and said, "Sit down."

Old An sat down, and his mood seemed to settle down completely with that seat. He vaguely sensed that the other party had accepted his attempt to use this opportunity to climb the social ladder.

Guan Luoyang cut the orange in half, threw one half directly into his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, swallowed the juice, and said, "Alright, I'll take you guys. You seem to know quite a lot. Tell me first what industries this gang was originally involved in."

Old An pondered for a moment and said, "Loan sharking, debt collection, protection money collection, selling drugs, and it seems we also invested in some movie production crews. Our gang originally only had about eighty people in total, and we were only involved in these few areas. However, the specific business details are only recorded by our accountant, Brother Huan, who originally lived on the second floor."

At this point, his expression changed noticeably, and he said, "If I were to take over the accountant's position, I could sort out all aspects of the business by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

Guan Luoyang carefully examined the middle-aged man with greasy hair and haggard features, and said with some surprise, "You used to be an accountant?"

"I graduated from the University of Singapore and Malaysia with a degree in accounting. When I was young, I made a living by doing this."

Old An smiled wryly and raised his arm, saying, "These hands used to be so delicate and smooth, handling pens, ink, and ledgers, and I even managed to marry a beautiful wife."

"Unfortunately, because there were too many Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia, the East Kalimantan allies were worried that it would affect the ruling party's position. After several rounds of negotiations, Singapore and Malaysia were allowed to become independent."

"In such a small place, it was nominally a country. People were in a state of panic. I don't know how many people lost their jobs. At that time, my family had just had a new baby. I heard that the gangs were doing better and better, so I looked everywhere for a way to get in."

"I got tattoos on both arms, and in a fit of rage, I chopped off my little finger and gave it to the boss. Later I found out it was a rule of the Japanese gangs. Sigh!"

Old An sighed, realizing he had been rambling on, and said, "I still have certificates at home, and my brain hasn't rusted over the years. As long as you give me a chance, I'm sure I can do this well."

"Okay, then you can start working on this and give me a clear overview table tomorrow."

Guan Luoyang tossed him the half-orange and said, "Is there a study here? Preferably with proper books, about the history and customs of this place."

Old An caught the orange, paused for a moment, and said, "Well, I don't think so. They don't read books; they just watch the news on TV. But there are bookstores on the street. I'll have someone buy some tomorrow."

"What, reading a book?"

Xiao Jiang came out carrying hot water. Upon hearing this, she immediately exclaimed, "I have books at home! I have so many books! Brother Luo, wait for me a moment, I'll go back and get them right away!"

He put down the hot water and rushed out in a flurry.

Old An chewed on an orange and said, "By the way, Xiao Jiang is a student at Singapore University. His father is a professor, I think. There must be a lot of books in his house."

(End of this chapter)