The Rolls Royce left the abandoned factory and Ye Qi was pulled to sit beside Marley. The young Demon Hunter relaxed in the comfort of the real leather chair and his eyes were half-shut from the sheer blissful enjoyment. It was obvious that this was a luxury not normally permissible to the young Demon Hunter who could barely get food in his stomach on a monthly basis.
"Ye, come try this!" Marley pulled a bottle of wine from the interior cabinet. After he poured himself a glass, he poured another for Ye Qi. The amber colored liquid filled the air in the car with its luscious bouquet as it was poured into the glass.
The Black Market Dealer swirled the glass to allow the wine bouquet to settle. Ye Qi, on the other hand, was less particular about wine-tasting. He tossed the whole glass back instantly. The Black Market Dealer could not help but shake his head, "Ye! This is a rare Cognac they pulled out of the oldest cellars! What you just did is… what you Easterners would call, a reckless waste of good grain!"
"Alcohol is made to be drunk! The point is to get to the destination of inebriation, not the process! Marley, I will teach you another truth for us Easterners, be it expensive drink or cheap drink, as long as it gets the job done, then it's a good drink!" Ye Qi toyed with the empty glass. To his surprise, the Black Market Dealer suddenly grumbled, "That damn professor, he said I would have mastered the Eastern culture after I've memorized those axioms? How come the one you've said I've not even heard before! When I have time, I will need to pay the bastard a visit for cheating the tuition fee out of me!"
"Memorizing a few axioms means you have mastered a whole culture? My dear Marley, you should have known that is balderdash from the sound of it alone! Even myself, an Easterner is still learning the culture after all," Ye Qi then knew he had gone far quite with the joke so he quite pulled the focus back, "Marley, let's talk about 'Mad Dog'!"
"This 'Mad Dog' used to own several bars and brothels on Fraser Street and has some of his boys walking the streets to push some pills but recently, the guy has taken hold over the entire Fraser Street. And just this morning, he announced that other forces are not allowed to enter his territory, anyone that does so will be considered a personal slight to him and war will be declared! I really thought the 'Mad Dog' has lost his mind to have said something so insane but now…"
The Black Market Dealer ended his observation on 'Mad Dog' with a few low chuckles and then he turned to ask Ye Qi, "Ye, then what shall we do next?"
"What would you ask me? I'm just a hunter, I suggest you to carry on with your original plan," Ye Qi answered.
The Black Market Dealer caught the meaning that was left unsaid. Demon Hunters were not allowed to harm normal human beings after all. "Okay, as long as Ye you can deal with those Erebus creatures, leave 'Mad Dog' and his lackeys to me!" The Black Market Dealer nodded at the bodyguard beside him and the latter pulled out his phone to make some calls. Then, the Black Market Dealer moved to fill up Ye Qi's wine glass, "Ye, if we manage to bring down 'Mad Dog', his territory will be yours! If you don't feel like managing it, I will assign you an assistant to help you and you'll just need to spend the money that will be wired into your account every month!"
Ye Qi looked at the Black Market Dealer with surprise. 'Mad Dog's territory might not cover a large area of the Tarlin State but the few streets he had control over were quite the money maker. Even though the Black Market Dealer was forced to cooperate with the young Demon Hunter for this crisis, the fact that he would hand over such a big slice of meat without hesitation indeed came as a surprise to Ye Qi.
After all, the Black Market Dealer had already given up a lot for this operation. Other than the one thousand Gold Doubloons, he even more to provide Ye Qi with another two thousand Gold Doubloons after the case was over. He also needed money to mobilize his men to fight with 'Mad Dog', the aftermath compensation and the money needed to grease the palms of the officials. If Marley took over 'Mad Dog's territory, it would go a long way to help with reparation and it would greatly influence the Black Market Dealer's future expansion. Furthermore, the Black Market Dealer would need to recuperate after this bloodbath. A conservative prediction put the period of recuperation at three years and in these three years, the Black Market Dealer would be vulnerable to attacks by other forces.
After weighing all the options, like his current relations with Marley and the future he saw for himself, Ye Qi was sure he would not have time to manage these places. Leaving them in the hands of a stranger did not sit well with him either. Therefore, Ye Qi made a compromise, "Thanks, Marley! But, I don't think that'll work, I'm not interested in being a business owner, why don't you convert the value into Gold Doubloons and give me that instead?"
He would have profited and that would also help ensure the Black Market Dealer had something to lean back on. After all, he might need Marley's help in the future, it was better to deal with an old friend than a new face.
The Black Market Dealer looked at Ye Qi with pleasant surprise. Due to his inability to deal with Erebus' threat, the Black Market Dealer had to put all his hope on the young Demon Hunter. Therefore, even though he was unwilling, to ensure Ye Qi would not hold back, he had to dangle the huge piece of meat before him. However, the Black Market Dealer did not expect Ye Qi would give up such a gold mine to opt for a one-time reward instead.
This greatly improved the Black Market Dealer's mood— Even though the one-time deal might seem to cause a lot of money but it was nothing compared to the gold mine which would keep on giving. According to his own calculation, if Ye Qi went with the former option, the Black Market Dealer would need to spent at least three years in low profile but if it was the latter, it would only need half a year! After this six months of hard time, the Black Market Dealer's power would rise to another level!
The overjoyed Black Market Dealer kept helping Ye Qi refill his glass. Even though Ye Qi still continued to treat them as mall-bought wine and while normally Marley would frown upon it, at the moment, even if Ye Qi drank the thing right out of the bottle, he wouldn't mind.
Just as the Black Market Dealer was going to pull out the second bottle, they had arrived at 'Mad Dog's territory. Looking out the window, the Black Market Dealer felt a fury burning within him.
"Ye, according to my sources, 'Mad Dog' is currently inside this bar. He and his lackeys are in there celebrating their victory. Come, let us go pay a visit to the Boss of Fraser Street!" Darkness flitted across Marley's eyes as he pushed open the door to get down alongside Ye Qi.
The two bodyguards who had not said a word in the ride over followed them out. As they did, about twenty gunners who had been waiting in the nearby alleyways thronged out into the open. In the end, only the driver was left in the car.
A bartender who was sweeping the rubbish from the night before at the entrance, turned back and ran when he saw the group of gangsters armed with guns.
Before he could get a head start, one of the bodyguards tackled the man to the floor and the sound of bones breaking reverberated through the street as the man's fist made contact with the bartender's face. The bartender was left crying in immense pain while the two bodyguards led the rest of the gunners into the building.