Chapter 528, Man

"Have you finished high school?" Lu Mingfei asked with his head raised.

"No."

"You are so young and yet you still don't learn your lesson and join the underworld! Is it cool to join the underworld? Is it cool to wear such fancy clothes and carry a baseball bat?" Lu Mingfei snorted.

The others looked at Lu Mingfei strangely, not understanding what was wrong with this guy, who suddenly became so angry, as if he had some deep hatred with the other party.

In fact, Lu Mingfei's idea was very simple. He remembered that he often encountered such gangsters when he was in school. Although Shilan Middle School is an aristocratic school, there are always people who like to show off. Everyone's family is very rich, and they can get to know people in society with a little bit of money. People with backers even walk with the wind. If you see them in the corridor, you have to lower your head to avoid them. If you are slow to give way, they may bump into you. The people who are bumped may not know each other, but they need someone to show their outstanding status.

Even Zhao Menghua was no exception to this kind of thing. Once, Chen Wenwen was accosted by a senior and it was Zhao Menghua who stepped in to resolve the problem. In fact, Lu Mingfei was standing next to them at the time, but he was not the one who was arm in arm with that person and secretly gave him money, so even if he wanted to step forward, he would not be noticed.

If Noda Shou was placed in Shilan Middle School, he would definitely be considered a campus bully. Apart from the little angel from a wealthy family, this guy is definitely the kind of guy who shows off himself by hugging Chen Wenwen with his left hand and Liu Miaomiao with his right hand.

Lu Mingfei got even angrier when he thought of this. Next to him was the young master of a Japanese underworld family, so what was he afraid of? If this gangster dared to disobey his orders, his family would send troops to flatten Kabukicho in minutes.

"The teacher said that if I stayed in school, I would not only pollute the campus environment but also lower the school's admission rate. If I didn't want to study, I might as well drop out early. It was indeed much better after I dropped out. When I went back, my classmates would introduce the cutest girls to me." Noda Hisashi lowered his head and said timidly. He didn't know why the cadres of the main family said such things. Aren't they all gangsters? Even if the main family is the leader of the Japanese underworld, he is still a gangster after all.

"You, you, you, you, you dare to talk back, are you disrespecting our own cadres?" Lu Mingfei was furious as his anger surged.

Gen Chisei really didn't want to listen to this boring conversation any more, so he turned to Shin:

"Masao, really? When did you move in here, and where did you get the information from?"

"Yes," Masao said quietly, still with his head down, "My grandmother received a flyer on the street in early March two years ago. She considered for a long time before deciding to rent this place. Because the previous store manager was in a hurry to sublet the place, the things were not moved much. I moved in after making some minor changes, which saved me a lot of money. It was around March two years ago, so it's been almost exactly two years."

"How did your grandma get the news about this place where she lives? Can flyers be sent that far? Also, did you know that many people died here? Those people were gangsters in this area and were also his predecessors."

Gen Chisheng stared at Asou Makoto's eyes. At this moment, the function of his eyes was very obvious. Makoto immediately lowered his head and trembled, his face pale.

I really didn't expect that after renting the store for two years, there would be such a consequence. When Yuan Zhisheng said this, his breath was black, like dried blood. When she first saw the flyer, she thought it might be a scammer who defrauded the elderly's pensions, but she didn't think it was so deeply involved.

"The young master is asking you a question."

Seeing Zhen trembling but not saying a word, Ying stood up and said coldly.

"I've heard of this before. The former store manager told me that there was a gang fight here and many gang members who were in charge of this place died. I didn't expect that renting is not allowed here. Grandma really received a flyer. Her pension is not much and she can only rent a place like this. I'm really sorry!"

Zhen bowed deeply with trembling hands.

Ying looked at her coldly and unmoved. She could see that Shin was just frightened, and this was just a small punishment for frightening Shin. To put it another way, if someone from the family was here, even Crow or Yasha would have thrown the knife on the table long ago.

"Even though you said that, no one can guarantee that what you said is true. We have investigated you, Masao Makoto, and your home is in Sanchoguchi, Shinjuku District, dozens of kilometers away from here. Who would go dozens of kilometers away to hand out sublease flyers?" Ying took out a document and said calmly, "And until half a year ago, only yours and the two stores next door were open on this street. Others chose to move in after observation. But you moved in just a few days after the incident, not worrying about the murder outside at all. Since there is an elderly person in your family, the family can give you some compensation and close the store. As for your future punishment, the family will notify you after discussion."

"Why do I feel that the style of doing things of the Eight Snake Clan is somewhat friendly? Isn't this the way the old guys in our family do things?"

Caesar was shocked.

"Boss, is the word 'kind' really appropriate here? I feel like there's a sadly thick barrier between us."

Lu Mingfei was also shocked.

"I've read this book. The author is Zhou Shuren, right?"

"Please forgive grandma. She has a disabled leg and can't do anything. She just believed the rumors because she wanted me to go to college! I never thought it would be like this. I was also confused when I received the flyer. I was lucky when I saw that the coffee shop next door was fine. I am willing to take responsibility for this, but grandma really doesn't know anything."

Aso's face turned pale.

Ying looked at her and said coldly:

"The shop owner next door is not here. We will interrogate him together when he comes back. And I suspect that you are in collusion. I heard that the banana leaves in their shop were provided by you for free. This should not be a rumor."

"T-That's... Exactly. Mr. and Mrs. Utsunomiya are very kind people. When the store is not busy, they often help to introduce customers to the store. Mrs. Utsunomiya has a cold expression but is very enthusiastic. She lets me take the leftover snacks from the store back every week. I, I want to repay them..."

I was really scared. Compared with these real gangsters, Noda Hisahi was just a high school student hanging out on the streets. She was too naive and rented this place with a fluke mentality, thinking that she was lucky. Now the flower shop can't be run anymore, grandma's pension has not been earned back, and her university fees are even more distant. If grandma knew, she would definitely think that this was all her responsibility. I really don't know how to comfort grandma. This has nothing to do with her. It's all her own fault.

"I, I know..."

She really had no idea what to do in the face of these people, so she lowered her head resignedly.

Sakura looked away, and out of the corner of her eye she saw large drops of cold sweat dripping from Noda Shou's forehead, his fists clenched tightly. And Shin had already slumped weakly in the chair, drooping while holding the tea tray.

She felt that it was enough now. If this still couldn't make the child give up, she was going to stop. She didn't plan to really argue with Zhen, after all, Zhen was just an eighteen-year-old child.

"I know what's going on! It has nothing to do with Miss Zhen!"

Noda Hisashi suddenly raised his head and shouted:
"It was the people of the Noda Group who affected this street, and I am the current leader of the Noda Group, the Sandaime Noda Hisashi! I also know what happened that day! Miss Shin just moved in here without knowing it! I concealed the situation from the main family, and I am willing to apologize to the main family!"

This time it was the turn of the family's cadres to be surprised. Whether it was the violent foreign mercenary Caesar, or the bloodthirsty and ruthless swordsman Chu Zihang, they all subconsciously looked at Ying.

Noda Hisashi fell to his knees on the ground with a thud, and slowly lowered his forehead to the porcelain plate.

The current third generation leader of the Noda Group, the 18-year-old Noda Hisashi, decided to admit his mistakes to the family, bear the consequences and apologize to the family. He had seen the cruelty of the family and knew that he would not have a good ending, but his eyebrows were full of determination and pain, his eyebrows were tightly knitted, the corners of his eyes twitched, but his lips were tightly pursed, and there was no regret.

"Hey, what's going on here? I don't understand."

Lu Mingfei quietly nudged Caesar beside him with his elbow and asked in a low voice.

But no one answered his question, everyone looked at Noda Shou quietly. Before this, even Chu Zihang and Caesar thought that Ying really wanted to investigate Masao Makoto's affairs. Even if the punishment was a bit harsh, maybe the Sheqi Eight Clan acted in this way, and as outsiders, they couldn't interfere in other people's affairs.

"The suffering of the Noda Group has nothing to do with others. We are afraid of being threatened by others and dare not tell the truth! I voluntarily apologize to the main family. No one forced me. I know that I have violated the family rules and I am willing to accept any punishment!"

Noda Hisashi raised his head and spoke loudly.

Lu Mingfei saw that the guy who had been timid just now suddenly became manly. Even though his lips had been bitten white by him, it couldn't hide the man's determination that was rushing towards him.

"Even if I kill you, it won't cover up the mistakes you made. In the eyes of our family, you are still people who betrayed the family." Zhen said coldly: "Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand! The Noda Group should bear the responsibility for the mistakes they made. A man who dares not admit his mistakes is not worthy of being the Sandaime of the Noda Group!"

"Third generation? Perhaps you, the Sandaime, will be the final leader of the Noda Group."

Noda Hisashi's cheek muscles twitched slightly: "It's even more unworthy of being called a man to blame others for your own mistakes."

"You said you knew what was going on?"

"It's all our fault! We were afraid of that person's revenge so we didn't dare to reveal the truth to our family."

"Talk about it."

"The day before, our former team leader Hao San received a letter of challenge. When we got here, we found that the opponent only had one person. He was wearing a white kimono and standing at the end of the alley. There was no so-called gang fight. The opponent killed more than half of our members with just one person!"

"Then how did you survive?"

"There are other people coming! They said something and then left. I was too scared to hear clearly, I only remember some words of apology. Before leaving, the one who came first threatened us not to tell anyone about what happened here, and then he casually broke the colorful tree outside the door of the coffee shop next door. We felt that it was not a force that humans could resist so we didn't dare to tell our family!"

"Colorful Tree?"

"The dwarf tree was used to attract customers on Valentine's Day! The next day, the cafe manager replaced it with a new one!"

Every word Noda Shou said was shouted out loud, and the way he held his head high looked more like a pre-war encouragement than an admission of fault.

The Caesar team looked at each other.

Caesar asked first:

"You mean, there were two people? A man and a woman? Do you remember their physical features? Was it a neon man and a little girl with blond hair?"

Hearing this, even Noda Shou understood what Caesar meant. He glanced at him quickly and then quickly retracted his eyes and continued to kneel, saying in a much softer voice than before:

"Are you talking about the manager and the lady boss of the coffee shop next door?" Noda Shou shook his head and continued to mutter, "Not them, those are two men. The owner of the coffee shop is a respectable man, and the lady boss has a bad temper but is chaste enough."

"Damn it! Is this something a gangster should say?" Lu Mingfei couldn't help but complain.

"A man should risk his life for his dignity, but a man who can put aside his dignity and bow his head is a real man." Noda Shou said in a low voice.

“You, you, you, you, how outrageous!” Lu Mingfei became furious again.

"I sound quite agreeable," Caesar said.

Yuan Zhisheng, who was sitting by the bookshelf, couldn't stand it any longer. Allowing a gangster to preach Yakuza culture in front of the distinguished guests of the headquarters was so childish that even he, the head of the family, couldn't hold his head up.

For many years, the Sheqi Eight Clan had a problem that they could not avoid. Although the family leaders were as cold and calm as aristocrats, the underworld was full of ill-educated hooligans and hot-blooded youths who dyed their hair in all kinds of colors. They believed that a man would never bend his knees unless he met someone worthy of following him. It was impossible to reason with them, so they could only be controlled by drawing on the Confucian theory of loyalty and righteousness. Therefore, at the annual underworld meeting at the end of each year, even Tachibana Masamune had to talk to the gang leaders about loyalty and righteousness and "the honor of men". After each annual meeting, Tachibana Masamune would drink tea and say thoughtfully, "It seems that I have lost some IQ again."

Sakura, on the other hand, looked at Noda Hisahi, who was kneeling on the ground at her feet, but with his head held high, and seemed to be thinking about something.

"Where did you learn that phrase?"

Sakura asked.

As a secretary, she had to pay more attention to the annual meeting than the young master who was not interested in it. She did not remember mentioning this kind of extreme culture at the annual meeting of her family.

"I figured it out myself! It was the coffee shop owner and you who taught me this!"

Ying thought about it, nodded, and continued to ask:
"Tell us what you remember about the situation."

"Hey! The original Noda Group had a total of 62 people. The former leader, Kozo, thought we were being tricked so he walked behind. When we turned around, we saw half of them lying on the ground. The man in the kimono continued to kill many more people until I was stopped by the second man. Afterwards, they said something there, and the second man apologized to the man in the kimono and left."

Sakura suddenly heard something wrong: "Wait! You said the second person apologized to the first person?"

"Yes! Although I didn't hear it clearly, it was indeed the second person who bowed and apologized!" Noda Hisashi said loudly.

"It sounds like you're a subordinate or something. You shouldn't step in to stop the boss from enjoying killing people. Apologize quickly before you get killed." Caesar shrugged.

"Is that so?" Lu Mingfei asked Noda Shou for confirmation.

"Does not look like."

Noda Shou shook his head. "After the second person came, he was silent for a long time. Or maybe it was just a moment. I was scared and kept staring at the man in kimono, so my judgment was not accurate. At that time, the man in kimono did not make any more moves. He seemed to be observing the other person. And the tone of the other party's apology was not the tone of a subordinate's apology."

"Could it be that they killed the wrong person? For example, the man in kimono was just a person with poor direction and found the wrong place, and the second man was the employer but he didn't want to pay, so he killed him out of friendship." Lu Mingfei guessed.

"With more than 60 people gathered together in the middle of the night, it would be hard for them to admit their mistakes," Caesar said. "And the only place where more than 50 people could gather is the bar on the next street. There are more than 50 girls wearing short skirts and stockings coming out there at the same time."

(End of this chapter)