America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 44 The Thieves

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Zhang Ailun was immediately enraged.

Where did this scoundrel come from, daring to steal my bicycle?

Is this the West Coast?

I've learned another lesson!

Although he knew the streets were chaotic and that petty theft and zero-dollar purchases were common, he locked his bicycle not far from the pawn shop entrance, deliberately chose a crowded spot, and stayed inside for a while. When he came out, not even a single wheel was left.

How is he going to explain this to Simone?

Zhang Ailun felt a bit upset.

It seems that you really shouldn't ride a bicycle on the street. If no one is watching over you, it's easy for it to be stolen, and there's nowhere to seek redress.

I was originally thinking of buying a vehicle, but now I've instantly given up on that idea.

Zhang Ailun calmed down. Seeing a few homeless people nearby drinking from paper cups, he immediately went over and greeted them, "Hey guys, I need to ask you something. Have you seen a bicycle parked here?"

Several homeless men looked at him with surprise. "Your bicycle is stolen?"

"That's right, that's my friend's car. I borrowed it, but someone broke in and stole it. I desperately need to get it back, otherwise I can't imagine how I'll face my friend," Zhang Ailun replied helplessly.

"Don't worry, buddy, we happen to know some information." There's always a way out, and the homeless men replied very kindly.

They exchanged a glance, and one of the white homeless men, with greasy hair, a thick beard, and wearing thick clothes, downed his drink in one gulp and then offered his cup to Zhang Ailun.

The meaning of begging is self-evident.

"We regret helping you with this, but we haven't eaten yet. For God's sake, please give us something."

"Of course, as long as you can provide me with valuable clues." Zhang Ailun pulled out a few five-dollar bills from his pocket, choosing to pay rather than risk trouble, and generously said, "These are yours."

"Dude, isn't this a bit too little? Five dollars? You can't buy anything with that! I mean, you shouldn't only have this much money."

Surprisingly, these homeless men had quite an appetite; they burst out laughing after just one glance at the few $5 bills in Zhang Ailun's hand.

Zhang Ailun frowned slightly. Not enough? Don't you know there are a hundred jars!

"Show some sincerity! Friend, you just came out of the pawn shop, we all saw that!" The others started urging him to spend more money to buy information.

"Oh? How much money do you want?" Zhang Ailun felt that these people didn't seem like proper homeless people at all.

It was more like someone who was specifically keeping watch nearby.

"20 dollars, 20 dollars per person!" The homeless man demanded an exorbitant fee.

After hearing this, Zhang Ailun immediately stuffed the banknotes into his pocket. "20 yuan each? I might as well buy another car."

Smiling at the group, he said, "You're not your average homeless people, are you? Do you often loiter on this street? Is this your territory?"

The white homeless man shrugged and spread his hands. "It's all thanks to our friends' generosity. We do have some influence on this street. But we can't compare to real gangsters. We're law-abiding citizens."

"very good."

Zhang Ailun's smile faded, he rolled up his sleeves, and slowly said, "I originally wanted to interact with you as an ordinary person, but what I got in return was fraud and extortion."

I'm not pretending anymore, I'm laying my cards on the table, I'm a man of the flesh too.

"Guys, let's get this done more efficiently. I'm giving you two choices!"

Zhang Ailun held up one finger. "First, have your old acquaintances or business associates return my car intact."

"Two! Only one of us can stand! You can choose to come at me all at once, or you can choose one at a time. I'll beat the shit out of you, and then beat you all back into the shit!!"

Upon hearing this, the homeless men exchanged glances and immediately denied it, saying, "Buddy, I don't understand what you're talking about. Didn't you want to know about our bicycle? We didn't steal your bike, it has nothing to do with us."

"God, I was going to help you, but your attitude was just too awful." Shaking their heads, the group immediately turned and left.

Zhang Ailun followed directly after them.

"Dude, what are you still doing following us?"

After following him for half a block, the homeless men turned into an alley, looking at Zhang Ailun with some displeasure. There were many people on the street earlier, and police officers had passed by. They didn't want to cause trouble and attract unnecessary trouble.

But now that they were in a less crowded area, and this was their territory, the group stopped pretending and directly tore off their disguises to surround them.

Staring wide-eyed and glaring angrily, one hand in his pocket, he said, "Are you deaf? Or do you have no manners at all? Your bike's stolen, you should go find that damn crappy bicycle yourself!! Instead of following us! Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble?"

"Tsk." Zhang Ailun felt a bit sour from his breath.

He raised his hand in a feint to attract attention, then turned around and slapped him hard across the face with a powerful backhand.

It felt as if he had been hit by a train; he stumbled and crashed headfirst into the wall.

A black object fell to the ground.

I got some loot.

"Fxxk you!!"

Zhang Ailun swiftly picked up the equipment, raised his gun to counterattack, and yelled, "What are you being so arrogant about? Do you think you're so tough? Stand up! Let's fight one-on-one!"

The homeless man sat on the ground, dizzy and disoriented, his nose bleeding profusely, half of his face instantly swollen and red. He looked around in a daze, his eyes revealing confusion.

The people nearby were stunned by what they saw. They froze on the spot, no longer daring to incite or threaten him.

"Go find my bicycle! It was stolen on your turf, so you're responsible for it!"

The Beretta M92F features two prominent red dots on the rear side of the all-black receiver, marking the magazine release mechanism.

Zhang Ailun tried to eject the bullet but found it was empty. The magazine felt off; it was a cheap, unreliable BB gun. He slammed it against the wall, smashing it to pieces. Parts flew everywhere.

"Either give me back my car, or I'll break your legs right now, tie you to a wheelchair, and make you beg on the streets to save up for a new car!"

Zhang Ailun said in an unfriendly tone, "My name is Humbert Juan King."

"You're Juan King of Louis XIX, Lorry?" The homeless men were instantly shocked. They had clearly heard of him during this time; a very capable Asian man who had crushed the balls of the homeless man next door. The story had basically spread throughout the neighborhood's homeless community.

He's a ruthless guy you should avoid if you see him! You can't possibly beat him at grabbing a can.

Shit, how come they didn't think of that?

No wonder they dared to be so arrogant.

We've really kicked a hornet's nest!

"We'll bring your car back right away."

The homeless man immediately backed down and admitted that they were the ones who did it. He immediately took out his phone and sent a message to another gang, asking them to bring the car to an alleyway in the street.

Might makes things easier.

Zhang Ailun's expression softened considerably.

If he could, he wouldn't really want to be fighting with others every day, instead of teaching people to be good through violence. But there's nothing he can do; that's just the way things are in this environment.

People are riding roughshod over me. If I don't leave a deep impression on them, they'll think I'm easy to bully!

(End of this chapter)