Limitless Interpretations – Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Opportunity Comes Knocking

The middle-aged man waved his hand at the gangsters present, and gave an order, “You go back first. The Gang Leader already knows about this matter; I’ll handle it myself.“

“Mr. Li, you…” Brother Long returned with a face full of reluctance.

He wanted revenge for his brothers, but he also dared not defy the man’s commands.

Mr. Li was the secretary of Star Society, a well-known strategist in the gang, whose authority came second only behind the Gang Leader himself. His methods were considered extremely ruthless and insidious even under criminal standards.

Although he appeared scholarly and gentle on the outside, everyone held him in high regard.

But before Brother Long could finish speaking, Mr. Li interjected, lowering his voice before he spoke, “This time, New Fortune has come prepared. The brothers on Longbao Street have already been taken to the police station for questioning. These were done under various pretences, for a number of charges, and even Brother Biao was arrested.”

“Little Tian just happened to be caught in the line of fire. He arrived right after our brothers were taken away, so Huawen Bao must have naturally thought that he was our vanguard for revenge, which is why…”

Brother Long visualised the miserable state of Yan Wang and his companion, and unable to handle it, uncontrollably smashed a fist against the wall: “But! Brother Tian, he…”

“Leave it to me, I’ll deal with them.” Mr. Li patted his shoulder, a trace of coldness flashing within his eyes: “New Fortune has played it well today, catching us off guard. However, even if we do lose Longbao Street to them, It will never be for free…”

— — —

By the time Yan Wang ‘woke up,’ a good deal of time had passed. Fortunately, he could still tinker with the system a bit; otherwise, he really wouldn’t be able to lie down idly for so long.

The mission list was now completely empty. 

It made sense though, as Brother Tian was thoroughly dead now, probably on the way to the morgue. Thus, the mission to collect protection money had obviously failed alongside him.

Yet that wasn’t really such a bad thing.

When the doctor saw him waking up, he quickly held Yan Wang gently, quietly whispering, “You have too many wounds on your body. Luckily, none of them are fatal, but you will need some time for recovery. Otherwise, it may leave complications.”

“Just don’t move–”

“W-where… where’s Brother Tian?” With the help of the doctor, Yan Wang half-leaned on the hospital bed and asked anxiously: “I brought Brother Tian here. Although his injuries seem somewhat serious, surely he is…”

“Ah…” 

The doctor’s eyes slightly dimmed as he shook his head, tidying up before leaving the ward.

Yan Wang, with his keen perception, saw the vague figures at the door when the doctor left to open it. He pressed hard on his wound, and felt tears flowing instantly from the pain.

“Brother Tian! *sob… It’s my fault, if I had just noticed earlier…!”

“Little Yan…”

Two people entered the room. Brother Long sat by the bed and patted his shoulder, consoling Yan Wang in a sad tone, “No. It’s not your fault, it’s mine. I should have let Brother Tian take more people with him. Then all of this… wouldn’t have happened.”

Yan Wang, appreciating the perfect lead-in, reached out his hand and tightly grasped Brother Long’s wrist, staring dead into his eyes as he spat each guttural word:

“Long, Brother Long! If- If it weren’t for that b*****d Huawen Bao! Then Brother Tian,  would still be–! Then Brother Tian wouldn’t be… no. I… I want to avenge him. I want to avenge Brother Tian!” Yan Wang’s eyes were bloodshot from pain as he yelled.

“Hm.” A cold voice sounded.

“You want revenge? Alright…” Mr. Li stood up, waving his hand to let Brother Long step aside, and suddenly sat down by the bed.

In his eyes, there was a faint appreciation while he observed Yan Wang. After all, humans are selfish creatures. Those who are truly loyal and value friendship are really rare nowadays.

Young, emotional, daring to fight and resist even under intense pressure.

Mr. Li thought that he could give Yan Wang a chance. “New Fortune has recently brought in a batch of goods, which will arrive after a while. So how about it? Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance for revenge.”

“W-what you mean is… as long as we mess up their trade this time, we can take back Longbao Street and kill that b*****d Huawen Bao?” Yan Wang licked his lips, his eyes filled with flames of revenge. Far from being afraid, he seemed excited and eager to try.

“Hahaha!”

“Take it slow, don’t rush. New Fortune has put a lot of effort into our Longbao Street.”

Mr. Li leaned back in his chair, snorting coldly: “They’ve bribed plenty in the station alone, and even let their accomplices in prison break Brother Biao’s leg. Tch. Even if it does heal… he’ll be crippled for the foreseeable future.”

“No, Brother Biao, he…” 

Brother Long was obviously unaware and became shocked when he heard this.

Wang Biao was one of the Gang Leader’s assistants, just a single rank lower than Mr. Li. He had followed the Gang Leader for more than a decade, fighting tirelessly alongside him, and he even managed three streets by himself, including Longbao and Chunyang.

For Brother Long, he was an important figure whom he looked up to.

Who would’ve thought that in the blink of an eye, he would be brought to this state

Now it’s a new era, a new society. All the gangs are laundering¹legitimising their money and image and have no time to fight, so after a while, everyone has let their guard down.

To think that New Fortune would seize this critical moment and stab Star Society in the back!

Their actions were so swift that it was almost impossible to counteract them.

Mr. Li coughed softly, drawing back their attention as he whispered, “The Leader is currently stalling those old predecessors, so we don’t have much time for our revenge.

Longbao Street cannot be reclaimed right now. The authorities are currently cracking down hard, aiming for anyone who sticks their necks out. However, seizing this batch of goods will, at the very least, vent out some of our anger.”

The policies from above are changing rapidly nowadays. Those old predecessors had lost their ambition, naturally adopting a mindset that values peace above all.

“Fine, I’ll definitely go.” Yan Wang clenched his teeth and coldly nodded his head.

Mr. Li paused, before patting his shoulder, “No rush, take your time. In the future, we will have plenty of opportunities to properly deal with them. Brother Long here will contact you when the time comes.”

“I’ll be going first.” 

After saying that, he nodded towards Brother Long and the others, quickly leaving the ward.

“Who is he?” After Mr. Li left, Yan Wang couldn’t help but inquire.

Brother Long smiled and replied, “Mr. Li is the Gang Leader’s secretary. He’s the strategist of our gang. Listening to him will definitely make New Fortune suffer a heavy loss.”

After chatting for a while, Brother Long left with his men. 

Before leaving, he also threw Yan Wang’s dagger back to him.

Watching them drive away, Yan Wang played with his dagger, pained expression vanishing as he leaned against the head of the bed, and quietly opened up the system menu.

In the mission interface, a new mission had appeared.

[Mission: Rise to Power]

[Successfully pass Mr. Li’s test this time and successfully break away from the status of a Thug Extra.]

[Reward for completion: 15 Reward Points.]

[Failure penalty: Mr. Li’s impression of you worsens. Remain a Thug Extra] 

“An opportunity that comes from risking my life.”

Yan Wang’s eyes deepened in shade as he ruminated, almost resembling the vicious glare of a venomous snake, waiting for the chance to strike, “As long as I seize this opportunity, there will be many more opportunities to come.”

— — —

His strong physique allowed for a swift recovery. Although the wounds on his body seemed rather shocking, they didn’t damage any of his vital organs, and after just over half a month, Yan Wang was discharged from the hospital with all his stitches removed.

“Brother Long.” Yan Wang, carrying his ragged jacket, slowly walked out from the hospital’s main entrance. He hadn’t walked two steps when he instantly received a call from Brother Long.

“Yan, it’s set on the night after tomorrow. How about it; can you make it?” 

Brother Long’s robust voice rang across the hospital steps.

Yan Wang’s mouth curled into a slight smile, replying, “I got my stitches removed and was discharged just now. Of course, I’ll go.”

“So fast? You sure have a sturdy physique.” Brother Long felt somewhat surprised, before changing the subject,  “If that’s the case, then come to ‘Heaven on Earth’. We will meet up and conduct a short briefing there.”

“Okay.”

Yan Wang hung up. He thought about changing clothes, but his pockets were emptier than a supermarket’s shelves on bargain day, and he didn’t even have money for a taxi. Hence, Yan Wang could only sigh and walk his way towards ‘Heaven on Earth’.

Fortunately, it was merely a few miles away, so it didn’t take long for him to find the place.

Moving past the bouncer, he followed another gangster to a private room on the 2nd floor.