Apocalyptic Martial Arts: Starting with Devouring Filthy Beasts

Chapter 25 Mad Dragon Gang

After arranging for Kuanglong's henchmen to take the stationmaster to see a doctor for his injuries, Li Ai left the station.

She found a public restroom and went into a stall.

click-

Amidst the crisp sound of bones grinding together, his body rapidly changed shape, shrinking from a towering 185cm to a mere 174cm before finally coming to a stop.

Flesh and blood twisted and throbbed, merging into the black membrane like unraveling silk, before the black membrane dissolved, revealing Li Ai's true form.

With waist-length gray hair and bright red eyes, Li Ai cried out in a beautiful voice, "Damn it, this pain is unbearable!"

The pain of twisted flesh and compressed, displaced bones is something no one enjoys, and no one is a born masochist.

As long as a person is alive, there is no such thing as numbness or habituation when it comes to pain.

crackling-

Li Ai's body twisted and changed again, a black membrane appeared, flesh and blood were reshaped outside the black membrane, bones cracked, and she transformed back into Zhou Siyu's appearance.

Then came another series of crackling sounds, and Chen Long, the second-in-command of the Mad Dragon Gang, grew taller and transformed into a bald, toad-faced man with a fierce expression.

"Ouch~ That hurts... The transformation takes a long time, it seems to be affected by the so-called compatibility."

Low adaptability doesn't mean it can't be changed, but the cost is a slower pace of transformation and having to endure a longer period of painful change.

Moreover, one cannot take away physical bodies indefinitely. Just the fact that two bodies, 'Zhou Siyu' and 'Chen Long', were inside her body made Li Ai feel an extremely uncomfortable sense of 'constraint'.

My current physique doesn't allow me to carry more bodies; perhaps things will improve when my cultivation level increases.

boom!

The cubicle door was suddenly pulled open, and the young woman said anxiously, "Are you alright? There was such a loud noise in there..."

Their eyes met, and the bald old man, sitting on the toilet, gave her a "friendly" smile: "Haha, good evening."

"Aaaaaah—there's a pervert!!"

...........

The next day.

[Hanchuan City Police Report: A vicious murder occurred last night on Fifth Avenue in Anju District. The suspect is at large, and an arrest warrant has been issued...]

The massacre of young students is a case of distorted humanity, moral decay, or something else entirely?

Chen Long sat at his desk, sipping tea and flipping through the newspaper, looking quite content.

"Second Master, that concludes last month's report analysis. The income and expenditure situation is roughly the same."

Li Ai hadn't expected that there were so many intricacies to this small gang. Maintaining operations, supporting thugs, developing side businesses, and expanding the sphere of influence of the main business were all areas that required knowledge.

In Hung Hing Street, the territory of the Mad Dragon Gang, there are countless businesses of all sizes, many of which have "signed contracts" with the Mad Dragon Gang and paid protection money.

The Mad Dragon Gang also provides beverages and ingredients to its contracted merchants, earning the price difference.

Small-scale lending and debt collection; sporadic thug services: resolving disputes for merchants; "standing up" for others.

Including income from foot massage parlors and foot bath centers, the Mad Dragon Gang's monthly income can reach 200 million Azure Dragon Coins!

But taking money definitely means doing real work, keeping order and preventing drunken thugs and hooligans from causing trouble. Taking money means doing things; this is the motto of the "Black Street Alliance".

Even when the merchants contracted by the Mad Dragon Gang encounter difficulties, the gang has to send people, effort, and even money to help them.

The food, drink, and daily necessities of nearly a hundred henchmen, as well as their families, all come at a cost.

In reality, the net income that actually reached Chen Long was only slightly over 400,000 yuan.

Of course... this is assuming that Mr. Shi is still around.

Li Ai tapped the armrest of the chair lightly with her fingertips: "Strange, the Black Street is more orderly and more rule-abiding than I imagined."

Li Hui wholeheartedly agreed: "There must be a little... mastermind orchestrating this behind the scenes."

"That's true, the Black Street does have an owner." Li Ai recalled Chen Long's memories and clearly recognized that there was such a Black Street owner.

The name seems to be—Camellia?

Judging from the characters alone, this name seems more like a code name, specifically a female code name.

"Second Boss," Gao Qiang continued, "The dinner is all arranged, but Boss Shi has business to do tonight and has agreed to meet you at noon."

"I've booked a private room at the Jindi Restaurant for lunch. Are you going?"

"That's settled then. Inform Mr. Shi that we'll meet at noon," Li Ai replied calmly.

Gao Qiang nodded quickly: "Okay, I'll prepare a car for you right away."

Watching Gao Qiang's departing figure, Li Ai's expression was somewhat strange.

A small group of a hundred people, yet they managed to make it look quite professional.

The two leaders of the Mad Dragon Gang are one in charge of internal affairs and the other in charge of external affairs. Chen Long usually sits in the foot massage parlor and is responsible for managing the core business.

The boss's real name is Shi Wenqiang. He usually runs shady businesses to make money and build his influence, and he never shares this income with Chen Long.

To put it bluntly, Chen Long was only the second-in-command of the Mad Dragon Gang, a slightly higher-ranking leader. The real person in charge was Shi Wenqiang.

"Mr. Shi, ha~ If you weren't extremely wicked, I might spare your life."

Upon hearing this, Li Hui floated over to Li Ai's table, leaned close to her cheek, and teased, "Oh~ what if?"

Looking at the face so close to hers, Li Ai couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable at the thought of such a handsome guy like Li Hui in such an ambiguous position with a 'bald old man'.

His lips curled into a wide smile, harder to suppress than an AK: "Haha, of course, kill him! Hahaha—"

Li Hui was speechless, wondering what Li Ai was so happy about.

He leaned back and stretched: "Taking over the Mad Dragon Gang is a really good 'borrowing a chicken to lay eggs' strategy. Buy what I need as soon as possible."

"Okay, I will hire someone to build the 'stage' as Zhou Siyu."

"This grand finale requires our cooperation to avoid being a disaster."

"Are you really sure you can do it?"

Li Hui rolled her eyes: "What do you mean, 'Can I really do it?'"

"Let me tell you, I'm one of the top hackers... For me, a mere virtual avatar is no problem to fool the real thing."

"Hacking into major platforms is a piece of cake. I'll handle the cybersecurity department. You just focus on your 'script'."

"We still have a lot of preparations to make." Li Ai gazed out the window, her eyes gleaming. "But after this—the name 'Jingting' will surely resound throughout Hanchuan."

..........

Jindi Restaurant.

As a long-established business on Hung Hing Street, this place has been renovated several times and its scale has grown day by day. It is the most popular shop on Hung Hing Street after "Tenglong Foot Bath City".

However, by 11:37 a.m., the first floor of the store was already packed, and there were young couples queuing outside to get their numbers.

In private room 888 on the second floor, Li Ai held a lit cigar, taking a puff every now and then and spitting it out, which made Gao Qiang unable to help but glance at her frequently.

The second-in-command didn't blow smoke rings today; that's quite a novelty.

Soon, a charming older man with graying temples, white stubble, slicked-back hair, a formal trench coat, and a white scarf led two martial arts henchmen into the private room.

"Ah Long! Good brother!" Shi Wenqiang opened his arms wide and laughed exaggeratedly.

Li Ai glanced at him indifferently, not caring at all about being out of character, and gestured for him to sit: "Sit."

"Damn, Mr. Shi is giving you face, and you're still not buying it? You're acting like a big shot..."

"Shut up!" Shi Wenqiang shouted, then immediately smiled at Li Ai: "Ah Long, my new little brother is a bit outspoken, don't mind him."

Shi Wenqiang took a seat without asking, and his younger brother quickly poured him a cup of tea.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and exclaimed, "After drinking this for decades, it still tastes the same!"