Thick, dark clouds enveloped the entire sky. Thunder occasionally boomed loudly, and blinding flashes of lightning, like venomous snake tongues, frequently pierced through the clouds.
Ye Yangcheng held a worn-out purple umbrella, walking through the rain along the main road where only a few scattered people could be seen. His face revealed boundless anxiety. In his left hand, he carried a coffee-colored briefcase. His trouser legs were already soaked, and his black leather shoes squelched incessantly on the wet pavement.
On such hot, humid, stormy days, very few people ventured out onto the main road for a stroll, and Ye Yangcheng wasn't idly wandering the streets either.
Walking east from the main road, after about fifteen minutes, Ye Yangcheng looked up to orient himself, then turned into a small alley. After about ten more steps, two young men, holding umbrellas and wearing green shirts, emerged from the back door of a house and blocked his path.
"I'm here to pay the ransom."
Seeing the fierce gaze of the two young men, Ye Yangcheng quickly extended his left hand, showing them the briefcase he held. He hastily said, "I'm Ye Jinglong's older brother. I've come to pay for him."
The two young men turned their heads and exchanged glances. One shook his head. The other, understanding, glared at Ye Yangcheng and barked, "Turn around and face the wall!"
"Alright, alright," Ye Yangcheng replied.
Ye Yangcheng could only obediently turn around, raising both hands high against the wall, allowing the two young men to freely pat him down and search him.
Meanwhile, one of the young men pulled out a black walkie-talkie from somewhere and said, "Someone's here with the ransom for Ye Jinglong."
"Static..." Static crackled from the walkie-talkie. Not long after, the voice of a middle-aged man came through: "Let him in."
"Come in then." Hearing the reply, the young man with the walkie-talkie stepped aside. He gestured with his chin at Ye Yangcheng and said menacingly, "No tricks!"
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll be honest, I promise," Ye Yangcheng quickly responded.
Ye Yangcheng was worried about his younger brother; how could he dare to play any tricks? He quickly nodded, then, holding the briefcase, smoothly passed the two young men's guard post. He continued for about thirty more steps, finally hearing a faint clamor.
He stopped before a very ordinary aluminum alloy security door. He raised a hand and knocked lightly: "Bang bang..." The sound of knocking echoed, and the door opened. A middle-aged woman's head appeared from inside. She sized up Ye Yangcheng from head to toe, then casually pushed the door open further and said, "Come in."
Ye Yangcheng forced a nod and a smile. The sounds from inside the room now reached his ears clearly: the clatter of dice and the shouts and murmurs of gamblers intertwined. The pervasive smell of cigarette smoke made him frown instantly.
This was a large gambling den, about five hundred square meters, filled with gamblers. Ye Yangcheng only glanced around before following the middle-aged woman towards a private room door. The anxiety in his heart was clearly visible on his somewhat mature-looking face.
"Brother Jun, he's here."
The woman knocked on the wooden door. Her previously grim expression melted away like ice and snow, replaced by a sudden smile. She nodded towards a middle-aged man inside the room and stepped aside.
The man was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old. On the left side of his forehead was an exceptionally fierce scar. He was about 1.86 meters tall, and his large build gave off an extraordinarily powerful aura.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, assessing Ye Yangcheng. "Did you bring the money?"
"Where's my brother?" Ye Yangcheng clenched his left hand tightly, asking a question in return, as if he wouldn't pay until he saw the person.
"Ah." The man called Brother Jun raised the corner of his mouth in a faint smile, then turned his head and said, "Chang Mao, bring him out."
"Yes, Brother Jun." Inside the room, there was also a smaller room. As soon as Brother Jun's voice fell, the reply of a young man came from within.
A few seconds later, the door to the small room opened, and two people walked out. One wore a green shirt, had a tiger head tattooed on his arm, and dyed blond hair. The other was a teenager wearing the uniform of Baojing Town Middle School! The broad-browed, big-eyed teenager looked very honest and kind-hearted, but his appearance was unsettling. Seeing Ye Yangcheng glare at him with resentment, Ye Jinglong slowly lowered his head, not daring to say a word.
"He's here, where's the money!" Seeing Ye Jinglong brought out, Brother Jun slowly turned his head back. The dim yellow light made him look frightening.
"The money's here." Ye Yangcheng shifted his gaze, placed the coffee-colored briefcase on the table, then asked, "Can we leave now?"
"Ah Zhen, count the money." Brother Jun glanced at Ye Yangcheng, didn't answer his question, but nodded slightly to the middle-aged woman, signaling her.
The woman named Ah Zhen calmly walked over and opened the briefcase, taking out two thick stacks of RMB. One stack was of one-hundred-yuan notes, still wrapped in its bank seal, clearly fresh from the bank. The other stack contained one-hundred, fifty, twenty, and ten-yuan notes, many of which were quite old.
Ah Zhen skillfully checked the money. Approximately two minutes later, Ah Zhen looked up and said, "Fifteen thousand, exactly."
"Can we leave..."
"Not quite." Before Ye Yangcheng could finish his sentence, Brother Jun suddenly raised his lips, lifted his wrist to look at his watch, and said, "It's 12:30 now. According to the rules, the interest should increase by one tier. Ah Zhen, how much is that?"
"Sixteen thousand five hundred." Ah Zhen answered without hesitation, clearly a talent in managing gambling finances.
"You're still short one thousand five hundred." Brother Jun took out an ear pick, tilted his head and picked his ear for a moment, then looked at Ye Yangcheng and said, "What do you say we do now?"
"You..." Brother Jun was clearly trying to find fault. Ye Yangcheng seethed with anger, but just as he uttered a single word, Brother Jun directly lifted his leg and kicked him to the ground. He turned to Chang Mao and calmly said, "Beat him up and throw him out. Make sure he remembers this for a long time."
"Understood, Brother Jun." Chang Mao bowed in response, then rubbed his hands together, looked into the small room, and shouted, "Brothers, time to work!"