Chapter 95: Chapter 85 Tough Life
“`
“Peng bro, are you sure about the intel? Really from the Outsiders?”
A rooster-crowned dude on a motorcycle, who was never far from his beloved ride, questioned Peng Xiong.
“Positive. I’ve heard of this guy; he’s one of our own from the Southern District, a Grade A Dynamic Vision talent, seems like he even landed himself a partnership role.”
“Grade A talent and he’s settling for a partnership? The new Development Zone is desperate for people now!”
Another blond kid sneered at that.
“A Grade A talent and he’s too chicken to compete? Doesn’t dare to fight for it and instead of joining a company division, goes for a partnership? What a wuss.”
“Right, it’s even better if he’s one of our Southern District people.”
“Got any background info on him?”
“I’ve only heard a bit, but what kind of background can he have? If he had any, why would he choose to be a partner? Idiot.”
Peng Xiong was utterly dismissive.
“Should we go back and do some digging first?”
“Dig what? Back and forth takes five days. What if someone else snags him? Use your brain.”
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“Heh, why bother digging? So what if a few die in the Abyss? So what if he has Grade A talent? Even the big shots from the Inner City die!”
The rooster-haired guy gave a cold chuckle.
“If we recruit a Grade A talent into the gang, that’d be quite the merit, wouldn’t it?”
“Merit? Waiting for him to rise and kill your whole family?”
Grade A talent? Even more reason for a Grade A talent to die! Otherwise, what, wait around for revenge?
“Let’s just be us brothers; too many people make it hard to share.”
“Alright, play it safe. I’ll go say hi in the open, you guys get ready to take him out with a sneak shot. He wouldn’t dare attack us first.”
“It’s getting close to evening now, I reckon they won’t be entering the city. We can totally keep up if we leave now…”
…
Meanwhile, Tao Yu was humming a little tune, singing along as he, alongside three cargo trucks, arrived outside Las Vegas.
It was already afternoon when they left, and the afterglow was about to fade when they reached this point.
They could actually have driven into the city and rested there since the trucks were safe enough.
But upon seeing the city gates, Tao Yu still chose to slow down ahead of time and picked up the walkie-talkie.
“We’ll handle it outside tonight, sweep for goods early tomorrow morning. Let’s start with what’s nearby, grab anything useful, focus on speed.”
“OK, we all follow Boss Tao’s orders.”
“There are fewer folks to compete with now; loading up should be easy. I wonder if there’s an arms store around, those goods should be worth more.”
The group chatted idly over the walkie-talkie for a bit.
Besides the team of Judy and Jesse, another truck had Tommy and Senke, and in addition to those two, they had brought a few adult men from their previous gathering spot to serve as laborers.
They didn’t ask for wages; payment in canned goods was fine, just has to be better than what you’d get for cremating bodies.
Driving trucks and just moving goods around the outskirts with highly capable individuals leading the operation, this was still doable.
But just as the three trucks parked to the side, Tao Yu, through the rearview mirror, noticed several motorcycles approaching from a distance.
This made Tao Yu’s eyebrows lift involuntarily.
“Is that kid Panda playing dirty? Well, can’t blame me then.”
Tao Yu rubbed his hands together. The foreign implant wouldn’t explode on its own, but he wondered if it could yield something good.
“You guys stay in the truck; I’ll go check things out.”
He didn’t want the folks in the truck to suffer any losses, so he hopped out of the vehicle after opening the door.
Using ‘symbiotic instinct,’ he had Little Black lie flat under the truck, waiting for his command.
But after taking a closer look once he got out, Tao Yu was somewhat surprised to see no trace of Panda in the approaching group—only one was a little brother who had followed Panda before; the other faces were unfamiliar.
“They look down on me that much? Or did this little brother have his own agenda?”
Seeing no Inner City Pioneers, Tao Yu’s interest waned by more than half.
All these Outsiders, dirty pockets if not dirty faces.
Tao Yu’s expression went sour.
“Shouldn’t wrong people, eh? That malicious intent ain’t mistaken, though. I’ll ask them if Panda was involved.”
Tao Yu didn’t immediately go on a shooting spree.
Just Outsiders, with Instinct + Bullet Time + stealth combo, he had enough margin for error.
Nevertheless, Tao Yu still put on his tactical helmet afterwards.
“`
Strategy may be despised, but tactics must still be given serious consideration.
On the other side, Peng Xiong’s face broke into a smile as he watched Tao Yu come down alone.
Just as expected!
This kid has no backup!
An outsider without any backing, daring to swallow such a huge profit all alone?
He’s not afraid of biting off more than he can chew!
Peng Xiong rode up on his motorcycle, stopping directly in front of Tao Yu, and sat on it audaciously, looking at Tao Yu with a laugh and said,
“Kid, I know you. You’re the partner from the Southern District with Grade A Dynamic Vision, right?”
“Yes, I didn’t expect to be so famous already.”
Tao Yu grinned with a smile.
“Heh, an outsider with Grade A battle talents does have some value, just like that lone wolf from the Wild Wolf Gang who rose up the ranks.”
Peng Xiong spoke with a natural air of pointing out the lay of the land.
“Oh? The Wild Wolf Gang reigns supreme in South City. Brother, you look down upon them so casually, it seems you must have an impressive backing—is it Lord Panda?”
Tao Yu asked indirectly.
“Hmph, don’t pry into things that aren’t your business. I don’t mind telling you, I’m from the Skull Gang. Our gang is even older than the Wild Wolf Gang, and my father holds an office in the Skull Gang. Since you’re a South City local, you should understand what that means.”
“Lord Panda isn’t involved?”
Tao Yu asked persistently.
He also knew about the Skull Gang, considered one of the cancers of South City. The public security forces of the Outskirts only took care of certain red lines and didn’t have the energy to handle every little detail; in many areas, gangs maintained a different kind of order.
However, owing to some connections with Uncle Hu, his own family usually wasn’t harassed by gang members. These guys coming after him now probably didn’t have the time to investigate him, or perhaps they couldn’t be bothered to.
They had already made up their minds to silence him by killing him…
“Panda, Panda, is that all you know? Did you not understand what I just told you?”
Peng Xiong, recalling the humiliating way he was chased off by Panda, felt a surge of annoyance.
Seeing the slight break in his demeanor, Tao Yu couldn’t help but smirk; goddamn, it wasn’t that guy after all.
“If you’re from the Skull Gang, we can still be friends. How about I sell you the fleet for three thousand Yuan Force? Not too expensive, right? It’s tough to find truck drivers, you know.”
Tao Yu was growing increasingly impatient.
The price did indeed tempt Peng Xiong, three thousand was doable!
He might not have that much Yuan Force on him, but pooling resources with others might just make it possible…
However, Peng Xiong immediately grew furiously embarrassed
“After I take you down, all of this will be mine! I don’t believe they aren’t afraid of death!”
As he spoke, Peng Xiong drew his gun and signaled his people to start moving.
So what if he has Grade A talents?
A man gunned down by our random fire is worthless!
“Damn it, still aiming for a free meal, how rude.”
Tao Yu’s gaze grew deeper, and the scenery before him suddenly slowed down.
Bang, bang, bang~
Several preemptive shots, along with dodging bullets by tilting his head, Tao Yu re-holstered his gun, walking past the bodies as they fell one by one with headshots.
Moving toward the last one, who was pinned down by Little Black and being continuously bitten amidst screams,
“Hey, brother, really no instructions from Panda? Not even a hint?”
“Ahh! Save me! Let me go! I really don’t know anything, ah! Peng Xiong misspoke and was chased off by Panda, save me…”
The words from the man being torn viciously by Little Black caused Tao Yu to click his tongue; goddamn, this guy sure had a tough life.
Afterward, he didn’t bother further and turned to get into the car.
“Clean up and arrange the motorcycles properly. Then pick up all the weapons and such.”
With his back to Little Black, he casually gave the order. Little Black whipped its tail and pierced through the screaming man’s skull, then tossed the body aside.
It’s not just a few deaths in the Abyss that go unnoticed—in this apocalyptic world, death is an everyday occurrence, just some extra food for the stray dogs at the roadside…
…
Back at the base, by the bonfire, Panda was cooking a hot pot for himself, eating and sneezing at the same time,
“This flavor is really strong, but delicious…”
After another sneeze, he pinched his nose and then scooped up a few slices of tripe and stuffed them into his mouth…