Chapter 23: Outlaw

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Quietly putting away his phone, Hua Shier did not share the news of his big lottery win with Da Kang and Laizi. It wasn’t that he lacked camaraderie, but rather that he didn’t want to put human nature to the test.

Hua Shier was a mere traveler in this world; he was destined to leave without a trace when his time came. Of course, the gains from the lottery didn’t count. With this premise in mind, even though he was excited to have tens of millions in wealth before him, he could keep his composure. However, Da Kang and Laizi were different.

Given the sincere friendship the two showed when they gave him everything they had the moment he asked to borrow money, Hua Shier didn't mind sharing this massive windfall with them. But what would happen after that?

He had seen too many examples of poor people suddenly coming into money. Not everyone could keep their heart in the right place when faced with a sudden fortune falling from the sky.

One only had to look at some of the people who received relocation compensation. When they suddenly acquired a large sum of money, some used it to invest and enjoy life, but others became lost in the pursuit of money, indulging in hedonism, gambling, and even drugs.

Da Kang and Laizi, like Xiao Bei, were street thugs. Fighting and petty theft were part of their daily routine. Hua Shier didn’t dare guarantee whether suddenly making them wealthy would be helping them or ruining them.

Therefore, Hua Shier didn’t intend to split the lump sum with them. Instead, he planned to guide them in stock trading, allowing them to grow wealthy gradually and preventing them from losing themselves in the rush of sudden riches.

Thirty minutes later, at an open-air market, Hua Shier led Da Kang and Laizi through a cramped alleyway, eventually stopping in front of a secluded shop.

Inside, the short and sharp-featured Boss Wang was laughing and playing with his child alongside his wife.

Seeing the three of them, the man handed the child to the woman and signaled for them to enter the shop.

In Liu Beishan’s memories, this wasn’t the first time they had been here. On the surface, the shop was a legitimate business, but Boss Wang secretly operated a loan-sharking operation.

Liu Beishan, Da Kang, and Laizi were the ones who collected debts for Boss Wang, and they always came here to collect their wages.

Boss Wang sat behind his desk, lit a cigarette, and asked Hua Shier with a smirk, "Where's the money?"

Before Hua Shier could speak, Da Kang interjected, "The debt hasn't been collected yet. We want our commission from the last job!"

Boss Wang’s smile vanished instantly. He grabbed the cigarette pack from the desk and threw it at Da Kang. "The debt isn't collected, and you have the nerve to ask me for money?"

Hua Shier reached out and caught the cigarette pack, then curled his lip into a smile. "Don't be in such a hurry to lose your temper. Listen to this first!"

He pulled out his phone and played a recording—the exact words Boss Wang had said over the phone earlier.

Hua Shier pulled a cigarette from the pack he had caught and put it in his mouth. Laizi hurriedly brought out a lighter to light it for him. He smoked, waiting until the recording finished, before saying to the now livid Boss Wang:

"The three of us intend to turn over a new leaf. From now on, you can do your own loan-sharking—that business is heartless anyway. Settle our wages. If you don't want to pay, that's fine too; I’ll just hand this recording over to the police!"

Boss Wang sneered, "A little brat knows how to record, and you want to report me? Who told you loan-sharking is illegal? It’s just not protected by law. You’ve been watching too many movies, thinking you can report me?"

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Hua Shier chuckled. "Loan-sharking might not be illegal, but what about 'high-interest relending'?"

After he said this, Boss Wang’s breathing became noticeably heavier. "What do you mean?"

"Don't put on an act. Is the money you lend your own? You take out loans from the bank and then relend them to others at high interest rates. In the eyes of the law, that’s called high-interest relending!"

As he spoke, he took out his phone, opened a webpage he had already bookmarked, and began to read: "Article 175 of the Criminal Law states that the crime of high-interest relending refers to the act of obtaining credit funds from financial institutions for the purpose of relending for profit at high interest rates."

"If the illegal gains are substantial, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall also be fined not less than one time but not more than five times the illegal gains. If the amount is massive, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and shall also be fined not less than one time but not more than five times the illegal gains."

After finishing, Hua Shier put away his phone and looked at the now pale Boss Wang, smiling, "You know what you’ve done. Care to guess how many years you'll get?"

"Besides, your problems don't stop there. There’s also violent debt collection. Whether that constitutes being part of a criminal syndicate is another question. We aren't the only ones who collect debts for you, and I heard that last year, a debt collection ended with someone being seriously injured..."

Boss Wang’s lips trembled with rage. He tried to act tough, saying, "Don't forget, you three are accomplices! If I get sentenced, you're going in too!"

Hua Shier sat on the edge of the desk, took a drag of his cigarette, and said:

"I’ve checked on that too. None of us are eighteen yet. With our voluntary surrender, at most we’ll get a reprimand. But you? You’re nearly forty; you’re past the age of being considered a minor."

"How about this? We’ve known each other for a while—don’t force us to betray a friend over five thousand yuan!"

Da Kang, finding Hua Shier’s words amusing, let out a laugh and said to the fluctuatingly pale and green-faced Boss Wang:

"Sorry, Boss Wang, I couldn't help it!"

Boss Wang’s expression was as dark as a storm cloud. "Fine, you’re something else. You eat my food, you take my money, and now you turn around to bite me? You’re all ungrateful bastards!"

Hua Shier waved his hand. "I don’t like hearing that. You know exactly how much work we’ve done for you. How much do you take, and how much do we get? Calling it exploitation is an understatement. You whine and complain over a few packs of cigarettes, and you cut our pay whenever you feel like it. Do you really think we could keep working for you?"

"Give us a straight answer. If you don't pay up, we're going to turn ourselves in!"

Boss Wang glared at Hua Shier, took a few deep breaths, and finally caved. "Fine, do it your way!"

He pulled a clutch bag from under the desk, opened it, took out a stack of banknotes, and counted out five thousand yuan, throwing it on the table. "That’s your commission from last time!"

He thought for a moment, then took out another thirty thousand yuan. "Since we’ve known each other, take this thirty thousand—ten thousand each. Delete that recording, and let’s call it even."

Hua Shier snapped his fingers. "Deal!"

He gestured to Da Kang, who quickly grabbed the money. Hua Shier deleted the recording from his phone right in front of Boss Wang before standing up with a smile.

"Alright, Boss Wang, we're leaving now. Let's hope we never see each other again!"

With a wave of his hand, he turned to leave with Da Kang and Laizi.

Just as Hua Shier was about to step out the door, a frustrated Boss Wang suddenly shouted, "You didn't keep a backup of that recording, did you?"

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Hua Shier turned back and smiled, "I’m not stupid. Even though we’re minors, what we did in the past was still illegal. Keeping a recording doesn't do us any good!"

Boss Wang nodded, thinking that made sense, and waved for the three of them to get out—the sooner they were gone, the better.

Once they were out of the shop, Da Kang handed the thirty thousand yuan to Hua Shier, admiringly saying, "Brother Bei, you’re amazing! You even know the law. Look at how you left Old Wang speechless—his face turned completely green!"

"What’s that? There’s a guy named Zhang San known as the 'Outlaw Fanatic'—now that’s an idol!"

Hua Shier laughed and handed ten thousand each to Da Kang and Laizi. "Didn't you hear him say ten thousand each? Save it, don't spend it in those shady places. Laizi, I’m talking to you!"

In Hua Shier’s memories, Laizi was a loyal friend, but he had one weakness: he was a womanizer, and every cent he made was thrown away on prostitutes. That was why he specifically gave him that warning.

Laizi scratched his head and gave a sheepish laugh. Da Kang nudged him and said to Hua Shier, "Brother Bei, I want to leave my money with you to keep buying stocks!"

Laizi immediately chimed in, "Me too! I’ll leave my money with you too, Brother Bei, and keep investing to make more!"

Hua Shier shook his head. "I have enough money in the stock account. You two just wait for the dividends. You need money for daily life, so keep this. Now that you’ve made some money, don’t live so frugally."

The two had no objections and said they would follow Brother Bei's lead.

Hua Shier handed each of them ten thousand. As for his own ten thousand, he went to a computer mall and spent over seven thousand to buy a laptop, signed up for an internet connection, and downloaded stock trading software so he wouldn't have to keep going to the stock exchange hall.

Just as the three of them were buying the computer, Boss Wang was talking to his wife in the shop.

Holding their child, his wife said with dissatisfaction, "You’re quite generous, giving away thirty thousand just like that?"

Boss Wang replied gloomily, "What do you know? The three of them know too much about me. I won't have peace of mind unless I give them that money!"

At that moment, a group of men armed with machetes suddenly stormed in. The leader was a middle-aged man with a scarred, fleshy face, wearing a floral short-sleeved shirt that revealed two arms covered in tattoos.

Boss Wang’s wife screamed in terror at the sight, but the next moment, a machete was pressed against her neck. "Shut up!"

Her scream cut off abruptly.

Boss Wang was a loan shark, so he had some connections and wasn't as terrified as his wife. He trembled and asked, "Big Brother, is there some kind of misunderstanding..."

The leader looked at him coldly and said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Ma Qi. People give me some respect and call me Seventh Master!"

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