Translator: AnubisTL
"Hmm."
Chen Jiang casually glanced at the man and the girl he was carrying. "It's me. Is there still time?"
"Plenty of time, plenty of time."
"Then hurry up and go. Don't waste any time. I'm waiting for good news."
"No problem, sir! You can count on me!"
The lion-masked man nodded excitedly, then strode out of the venue with the girl in his arms. The surrounding crowd exchanged glances, but no one spoke.
The lion-masked man was Wu Lengjing, the eldest son of Chairman Wu Jinshen of the Black Europe Company—their first partner.
After Wu Zhending left, the young man in the white suit standing on the stage slowly raised the microphone to his lips.
"Brother, you're not planning to kidnap everyone here today, are you?"
"What else?"
Scar Dog shot a sidelong glance at the man on stage and said casually, "Oh, right, you should hurry up and give yourself a price too."
Just then—
Bang!
A gunshot suddenly rang out!
A laser beam as thick as a thigh shot straight from a corner of the venue toward Chen Jiang, who was standing atop the cannon barrel.
The entire venue was instantly filled with searing heat!
Yet...
Pfft.
The blazing laser struck Chen Jiang like a feeble spark meeting glacial ice. It hissed, emitted a puff of white smoke, and dissipated into nothingness.
When the smoke cleared, Chen Jiang stood calmly on the barrel, leaning on his cane with one hand. He gazed at a masked man hiding in a nearby corner, clutching a strange gun with trembling hands.
"What the fuck!" Scar Dog roared, stepping through a phantom gate beside him. In the next instant, he materialized before the masked man!
After kicking the gun away, Scar Dog grabbed the man's hair and repeatedly slammed his head against his knee.
After seven or eight brutal knee strikes, blood began seeping from behind the man's mask.
Scar Dog caught his breath before raising his shotgun and pressing it against the man's abdomen. He pulled the trigger, firing several shots. The man's body twitched violently before collapsing into a pool of blood, motionless.
"Some people really have balls of steel," Scar Dog muttered.
Meanwhile, Chen Jiang leaped down from the barrel of the cannon, steadied himself with his cane, and strode over to the corpse. He slowly crouched down and removed the man's mask, revealing a face contorted in terror and agony.
After a brief glance at the man's features, Chen Jiang turned to the group nearby.
"Can anyone tell me who this man is?"
The people in the adjacent booth exchanged uneasy glances before one of them spoke, his voice trembling slightly. "He's the second son of the chairman of the North Star Corporation. They're an accounting firm on Orange Red Star."
"They're quite powerful, providing services to many companies."
"Hmm."
Chen Jiang nodded lightly and pulled out his tablet, quickly searching for the North Star Corporation's headquarters. By sheer coincidence, it was located in their very city.
Moreover, they had landed in an office building not far from the city center.
He nodded in satisfaction, snapped his fingers crisply, and turned to the man in the white suit standing on the stage. "Hey, you there, do me a favor and project the North Star Corporation headquarters onto the air."
The man in the white suit remained silent, his expression shifting behind his mask. He likely guessed what these people intended, but he couldn't believe they would be so utterly insane.
This was a complete disregard for the rules!
They would die.
This was a direct provocation of the Orange Red Star's federal government. They would suffer a terrible fate.
Before he could speak further, he murmured a few words into his wrist communicator. Immediately, a high-altitude aerial view of the North Star Corporation's office building appeared in the air.
"Excellent."
The next moment—
A phantom gate composed of white mist suddenly materialized above the North Star Corporation headquarters. A turret with a caliber of over ten meters extended from the gate, aiming directly at the office building!
Immediately afterward—
They witnessed the most shocking scene of their lives!
Nearly a thousand shells, each ten meters in diameter, hurtled toward the office building with a speed faster than a bird laying eggs!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening explosions erupted, engulfing the entire screen in smoke and debris. Surrounding buildings were rocked by the blast waves, and pedestrians caught in the open were instantly vaporized.
The billowing dust and smoke completely obscured the screen, refusing to dissipate.
At that moment, the piercing wail of air raid sirens echoed across the city—not from the screen, but from outside the conference hall!
Chen Jiang snapped his fingers again. The cannon barrels and phantom gate vanished from the screen. He glanced at the audience, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Don't think you can take advantage of me just because I'm a gentleman," he said softly.
"I despise people who stab others in the back."
"A true gentleman, like myself, aims his gun at you openly and honestly."
"Now then, let's continue."
The audience in the hall stared in horror at the scene unfolding on the screen. Is this guy a kidnapper or just plain insane?!
The city was called North Creek City, the most commercially prosperous city on Orange Red Star, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.
To launch such a devastating bombing directly on North Creek City was tantamount to declaring war on the galactic federation!
Madness, utter madness! These people are completely insane!
This group clearly didn't care about the federation's rules, or even their own lives!
Even if they get the money, will they live long enough to spend it?
The federation might ignore minor skirmishes, but an attack of this scale would trigger a relentless investigation!
These people are going to die!
Everyone thought this with absolute certainty, yet they still obediently contacted their families. After all, these criminals might die later, but anyone who dared resist would die much sooner.
"Oh, right," Chen Jiang suddenly remembered, his expression turning serious. "You can send the video of this incident to your families. Hopefully, this will streamline the process and save us all some time."
As his words fell, many people stiffened slightly. They had indeed been secretly recording, but they hadn't expected to be exposed so easily.
Why does it feel like these people don't care about their identities being revealed?
"Senior Scar Dog," a masked man holding an assault rifle said, his voice trembling slightly from a booth in the venue. "We're... we're with you. We're all part of the same group. Do we still have to pay?"
Behind him, four other men carrying holographic assault rifles nodded vigorously, like chickens pecking at grain.
They had been eyeing the Rose Auction for a long time.
After a year of painstaking effort, they had finally managed to obtain five Black Invitation Cards. They had spent every last star coin they had, even taking out loans, to purchase the most powerful items they could afford, all in preparation for a major heist.
But somehow, things had spiraled out of control.
The "seniors" had given them a harsh lesson in how real kidnappers operate. Their own amateurish attempts at disguise, infiltration, and seizing opportunities now seemed utterly pathetic.
"Who the fuck said you're with us?" Scar Dog sneered, glancing dismissively at the five men in the booth. "Enough bullshit. Pay up, or prepare to leave this world."
"Senior, it's not that we don't want to pay. We spent every last star coin we had on gear for this big score. We... we don't have a single star coin left."
"How about we work with you seniors as our ransom?"
"Work with us?" Scar Dog glanced at the men, a smirk playing on his lips. He scanned them up and down. "Our initiation standards are high. You guys don't quite measure up. Forget about it. But as seniors, we'll waive your ransom this time."
"Watch and learn."
"Your hands were shaking when you fired earlier. With such weak resolve, how could you survive in this line of work?"
"You need a ruthless heart and a steady hand."
"Keep at it. Strive to make headlines with a big score someday. Now get lost."
"Really?"
The five men exchanged glances, a flicker of surprise in their eyes. Then, their faces lit up with gratitude as they turned to Scar Dog. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. Our gang is called 'Scum'!"
"We'll make sure the name 'Scum' headlines the Galactic Federation Daily News someday. We won't let your teachings go to waste."
"Tch."
Scar Dog clicked his tongue, cupping his chin with one hand. "Now you've got me a little curious. Keep at it. If you can top the Federation Daily News ten times, we'll consider letting you join us."
"You're broke after this failed job, right? Brother Jiang, should we transfer them three million star coins?"
"Transfer the funds," Chen Jiang said, a faint smile playing on his lips as he addressed the five men below. "Furthermore, you five can spread the word: any gang, whether long-established or newly formed, can contact us to apply for 3 million star coins in seed funding."
"After passing a strength assessment to confirm sufficient capabilities, they'll receive the funds."
"This sum must be repaid within one year."
"However, if within that year they pull off a major heist that makes the Galactic Federation's daily news headlines, the debt will be forgiven."
"But they must leave a message at the scene, using any method they choose—"
"[Jiang Cheng Plunder System Company fully sponsored this operation.]"
"And for any subsequent heists where this message is left at the scene, they can claim a bounty from us, ranging from 500,000 to 50 million star coins, depending on the scale of the operation."
"No problem!" The leader of the five men nodded, his expression slightly excited. "Thank you for your guidance and the 3 million star coin sponsorship, seniors. If we ever make a name for ourselves, we'll never forget your guidance today."
"And we'll definitely repay you threefold!"
"But... how do we contact you, seniors?"
"Simple," Chen Jiang said casually, glancing at Scar Dog. "Have them join the group. Create a new one: 'Jiang Cheng Plunder System Company Sponsorship Group #001.' From now on, whenever you find someone needing sponsorship, just add them to the group. Once their application is approved, the sponsorship will be disbursed."
"Alright, enough talk. Join the group now."
Soon, the five had completed all the necessary steps. They gave Chen Jiang and the others another grateful look before striding away, their destination unknown.
Chen Jiang's reasoning was straightforward.
Conflict with the federation was inevitable.
For now, spending a few star coins to stir up trouble within the federation and give them a headache was well worth it.
Besides, these people were also resources. In the future, he could assign tasks to members of his player group and then funnel them into the sponsorship group, pocketing the middleman's profit.
As a race player, Chen Jiang was naturally opposed to the federation.
He wasn't naive enough to believe that surviving the Ten Thousand Races Arena would lead to friendship with the federation.
Witnessing all this, the young man in the white suit standing on the stage remained silent, his expression complex.
He could already foresee the repercussions of this incident.
For criminal gangs, this was essentially free money. Simply forming a gang would secure sponsorship, and after pulling off a heist, there would even be a bounty.
What did this mean?
It meant that if kidnapping had previously been a form of flexible employment, it was now a form of entrepreneurship. Not only would criminals receive startup capital, but they'd also get bonuses for successful "projects."
These people weren't kidnappers anymore.
They were venture capitalists!
As news of this spread, crime rates would inevitably surge, while the case clearance rate would plummet.
The high case clearance rate in the past was largely due to impulsive crimes—in other words, desperate individuals driven to the brink of destitution, forced to commit crimes with nothing more than a kitchen knife.
But now, things were different. With a starting fund of 3 million star coins, criminals could equip themselves with all the necessary items right from the start.
Crimes committed under such circumstances would be exceedingly difficult to handle.
"Jiang Cheng Company," he said, pausing before continuing, "What do you want?"
"Who asked for your opinion?" Scar Dog glanced at the man on the stage. "It's your turn to bid. State your price and cut the chatter."
The man in the white suit remained silent for a moment before replying, "Ten million star coins."
"No." Scar Dog shook his head gravely. "As the head of the Rose Club, your status can't be trivial. We want one hundred million star coins. If it's a single coin short, we won't take the money—we'll take your head instead. Understand?"
"One hundred million?"
The young man paused briefly before replying without further argument, "Fine."
"Straightforward," Scar Dog nodded approvingly. "Looks like I underestimated you. But we stand by our word—once we set a price, we don't haggle. Now, let's settle the bill, shall we?"
"Add another million for the membership fee. Don't forget to pay that too."
"With a major client like you, we'll have plenty of opportunities for future collaboration."
"For example, if you wanted to destroy a planet or something."
(End of the Chapter)
Translator's Corner:
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🔓 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦 — 13 Series (7 Ongoing) | 14+ New Chapters Daily | 6,100+ FREE