Chapter 35 Boxing Ring, Raising the Beam, See You There! Who told him to be so unlucky...

Badger Tooth pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and stepped into a boxing gym.

Everywhere you look, there are vertical calligraphy banners, various tables and chairs made of pure wood, and the faint smell of liniment and safflower oil in the air... This boxing gym, which has been deliberately aged to have an old Chinese feel, seems out of place in L City, a city that is mainly European in style.

However, considering that it is located in L City's largest Chinatown, this style is surprisingly fitting, and it has even attracted many tourists to visit after becoming a filming location for some martial arts movies.

However, the boxing gym was empty at this time, except for the innermost area, which was brightly lit by a few spotlights hanging from the ceiling.

There was a man repeatedly punching and kicking the sandbag hanging in the center of the boxing ring.

"Bang—!"

"Bang bang—!"

As the badger approached, the man's movements gradually quickened, and the frequent attacks caused the sandbags and the frames holding them to creak under the strain.

Suddenly, the man kicked out and slammed his foot into the center of the sandbag.

With a crisp snapping sound, the frame that had been holding the punching bag finally gave way, and the unrestrained bag flew off the boxing ring and landed on the nearby benches.

The sand that had filled the path leaked out from the gap created by that kick, scattering sparsely across the ground.

Badger Tooth, estimating the power of that kick, clicked his tongue in amazement: "You just got a new prosthetic body?"

"Hmm. The prototype of the Gorilla X, developed in-house by the group, is still being adapted to." Rhinoceros Horn, still in the raised leg position, showed off by flexing his ankle.

The prototype prosthetic body he lifted was not yet covered with artificial skin, and all the traces of welding and splicing, along with the wiring inside the knee, were clearly visible.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have imagined that such agile movements could come from something I thought was cold, mechanical.

"Then be careful with it, don't become a guinea pig for those researchers."

Rhinoceros Horn chuckled: "My life was given to me by the company. If they need it, they can take it away anytime."

Badger Tooth remained noncommittal about Rhinoceros Horn's idea, but simply walked to the edge of the boxing ring and handed Rhinoceros Horn a towel soaked in ice water, while also reporting: "There are still two weeks until the project approved at L City Customs is completed."

"Time is running out." Rhinoceros Horn placed a towel on his engorged muscles. "How many boxes of bullets are we still short of the required quantity?"

"That depends on how you plan to deal with those executives who bit us at the furniture store the other day," Badger said knowingly. "If you take them out and retrieve the bullets, you'll be short thirty boxes. If you let them take the bullets, you'll be short fifty boxes."

Thirty boxes and fifty boxes don't sound like a huge difference.

However, with the old dock of the furniture market now under the control of the executives and unable to be used in the short term, the missing twenty boxes are a real problem.

“If you ask me, we should just forget about those twenty boxes of bullets since the enforcement officer has pinned them on us. We can figure out how to get them later once things calm down,” Badger Tooth advised patiently. “Besides, what’s the big deal about a few more bullets? First, in a real fight, those twenty boxes of bullets wouldn’t be of much use. Second, if we explain the situation to Boss Long, he definitely won’t blame us…”

Without even thinking, Rhinoceros Horn rejected Badger Tooth's idea: "No, what's said is what's what. What's said is the arrival time, and that's the arrival time."

Having received the expected reaction, Badger Tooth could only sigh inwardly.

This is the biggest difference between him and a rhinoceros horn.

I always think about being safe and secure, like the saying goes, "Where there's life, there's hope."

But all Xijiao wants to do is to be the best, even if it means taking huge risks.

But is it really worth it?

Badger Tooth's complex emotions vanished in an instant, and he continued in a businesslike manner: "If the goal is fifty boxes of bullets, we now have several options."

Over the next period of time, he showed Rhinoceros Horn several possible action strategies, but none of them met Rhinoceros Horn's requirements.

As if he had made up his mind, Badger Tooth pursed his lips and said, "There is one last way."

As he spoke, he handed his phone to Rhinoceros Horn.

What caught the rhinoceros's eye was an announcement—

Notice: The AI ​​inspection system at Daraa Port will be fully upgraded in three days. During the five-hour upgrade period, the inspection process will be taken over manually.

Without Badger Tooth needing to explain further, Rhinoceros Horn immediately realized what this last method the other party was referring to.

Previously, with the cold, ruthless, and unparalleled obstacle of fully automated AI, no matter how much influence and connections the Cummins Group had, it was unable to pass the cargo security inspection at the Port of Daraa.

That's why they went through all that trouble, and finally, under the guise of an engineering project, temporarily requisitioned the old furniture market dock as a supplementary transfer point to secretly transport contraband.

Now that AI detection is finally going to be temporarily suspended, Cummins Group has an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

In L City, it's safe to say that wherever there's human intervention, the Kangming Group can operate without hindrance.

Returning the phone to Badger Tooth, Rhinoceros Horn asked in confusion, "Why didn't you mention this plan from the beginning?"

“Because I feel there’s something fishy going on here.” Badger Tooth frowned slightly and frankly expressed his concerns. “Although according to our investigation, this system upgrade in Port Dara was indeed planned in advance and not intentionally arranged by the Adjudication Bureau, is there really such a thing as a pillow being delivered to you when you’re sleepy?”

Hearing his explanation, Rhinoceros Horn snapped out of his initial elation and began to re-examine this overly tempting coincidence.

Just as the two were speechless, a voice filled with laughter echoed in the boxing gym: "Even if it's suspected to be a trap, it's still a real opportunity, right?"

Badger Tooth immediately pulled a gun from his waist and pointed it at the source of the sound. As he raised the muzzle, he chambered a bullet and released the safety.

"Who?!" he demanded coldly, his finger on the trigger contorting slightly.

Facing the dark muzzle of the gun, the voice showed no fear whatsoever, and even deepened with laughter: "Humph, firing a gun with such strong recoil in this small space, aren't you really afraid of being injured by stray bullets?"

As the voice drew closer, the rhinoceros horn recognized its owner.

He squinted at the newcomer, whose figure was vaguely revealed by the reflection of the ground, and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Stepping over the sandbags that had collapsed halfway, the man stepped fully into the light and bowed to the rhinoceros horn: "I've come to fulfill my promise."

After answering Rhinoceros Horn, he turned to Badger Tooth and skillfully introduced himself: "Fu Ze. I just graduated from the Executive Officer Selection Group and am currently a trainee executive officer who was transferred from V City to L City with my superior."

*

Badger Tooth frowned after hearing Fu Ze's action plan.

It wasn't that he had any doubts about the strategy; on the contrary, he could hardly find any flaws in it.

Unlike the conventional approach of focusing on cargo ships, Fu Ze took a different approach and boldly placed the main transportation force on small and medium-sized cruise ships.

Although the transport volume of small and medium-sized cruise ships is insignificant compared to that of 10,000-ton cargo ships, the principle of "small profits but quick turnover" still applies. In fact, when it comes to the transport volume of fifty containers, it is truly impossible to say which one is superior.

Combined with the three-day gap when humans replace AI, this perfectly solves the problem that the adjudication bureau will definitely focus its inspection on cargo ships registered under the Cummins Group, thus hindering its actions.

"Just as no one would question why there's a taxi here, no outsider would question why a cruise ship keeps coming and going in the entertainment area of ​​Daraa Port. Fifty boxes, three trips, that's enough." After saying this last sentence, Fu Ze bowed slightly again, seemingly hoping to put a perfect end to his "defense."

However, the period was interrupted by a badger's tooth halfway through.

“I have another question.” Badger Tooth still scrutinized Fu Ze with wary eyes. “How do you plan to obtain the port entry and exit permit for the entertainment cruise ship in such a short time?”

Although the eligibility requirements for recreational cruise ships in Dera Port are relatively relaxed, the eligibility process is much longer and the validity period is strictly controlled.

What's even more problematic is that this entertainment district in Daraa Port is one of the world's most prestigious places for flaunting wealth, where many rich kids hold all sorts of parties to demonstrate their status.

Therefore, the licenses here are considered hard currency in high society; once obtained, they are not easily resold.

While obtaining a license wouldn't be difficult for Cummins, it could very well alert them and re-attract the executives' attention.

That would contradict the original intention of the plan to "feint to the east while attacking in the west".

Fu Ze glanced at Badger Tooth and said unhurriedly, "Since I dared to come, I naturally came with a complete solution."

As he spoke, he pulled out a document with a photo from his pocket and respectfully presented it to Rhinoceros Horn in the boxing ring with both hands.

“This guy is a spoiled brat who came to L City for vacation a few days ago. He happens to have a license that will be valid for a week starting tomorrow.” While Rhinoceros Horn was looking through the documents, Fu Ze took the initiative to explain, “But last night, he got into a conflict with the resident band at an entertainment venue nearby. He not only beat them up, but also smashed the place to pieces, and then left triumphantly.”

Given that this area was the territory of the Badger Teeth, the Rhinoceros Horn asked with its eyes whether the other party was aware of the relevant situation.

Badger Tooth pushed up his glasses and shook his head in slight disapproval.

Hundreds of these minor conflicts occur every day in L City. If we were to care about everything, even if we divided the whole thing into eighteen pieces, it still wouldn't be enough.

“Just now, the man was arrested by the enforcement officer and is now squatting in the detention area of ​​the adjudication bureau, crying out to heaven and earth in vain.” Fu Ze shrugged with schadenfreude. “He would probably be more than willing to exchange a license that he can’t enjoy for something else.”

Badger Tooth frowned slightly.

It was just a matter of hitting someone and causing trouble. Considering that the matter didn't reach his ears, it should have been a matter of paying compensation and settling down. How could it have escalated into a situation where he would be detained in the courtroom's detention area?

After he voiced his question, Fu Ze replied with a half-smile, "That's right, the original plot was supposed to be like this—"

"The young master acted arrogantly and domineeringly, while ordinary people had no way to appeal. As the matter escalated, public opinion on the internet became agitated, and various parties, driven by self-interest, began to take sides and pressure the court to restore its credibility. In the end, the court issued a hasty announcement and closed the matter. As the next wave of news arrived, the whole incident was forgotten."

At this point, Fu Ze shrugged, "But what can I do? He was just unlucky enough to run into my boss at the scene."

Whether it was a misperception or not, Badger Tooth felt that he could detect a hint of pride in Fu Ze's tone.

"Because I anticipated these rich kids' ways of getting away with their crimes, and with a little bit of observation, my boss finally found this person's fatal flaw out of a sense of 'making trouble out of nothing,' or rather, 'acting on behalf of justice.'" Fu Ze pinched his left index finger and thumb together in front of his eyes to make an OK sign. "Some not-so-good powder was found in that person's car."

Although Fu Ze spoke cryptically, Rhinoceros Horn and Badger Tooth still understood what he meant.

No matter how wealthy, powerful, or influential you are, crossing the red lines of treason and drug trafficking will result in certain death.

"It's a pity that no relevant substances were detected in his body, so we can't confirm the relevant charges yet. We can only detain him until the matter is thoroughly investigated before discussing punishment." Seemingly seeing through the concerns of the two people opposite him, Fu Ze added, "There's no need for the group to bail him out. We just need to pull some strings to make him more comfortable while he's in custody."

Seemingly recalling something happy, Fu Ze couldn't help but laugh: "I've never seen a grown man cry so bitterly. If only he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have done it in the first place."

Looking at Fu Ze's expression, Badger Tooth felt a subtle sense of unease creeping up the back of his neck.

Such a heartfelt laugh could only come from complete agreement with the actions of what Fu Ze called his "boss".

If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. What good things can a boss who "create trouble for the sake of justice he believes in" produce?

Just as he was about to turn back and find an opportunity to persuade Rhinoceros Horn to reconsider or at least not to be completely led by the nose by the person in front of him, Rhinoceros Horn handed the document to him and said firmly, "Okay, do it your way."

Seeing that Rhinoceros Horn had made such a decisive decision, Badger Tooth finally breathed a sigh of relief and then died.

In fact, when he first heard about the origin of this incident, he was particularly worried that Rhinoceros Horn would act impulsively.

As it turned out, what I feared most came to pass.

According to a rumor Badger Tooth heard, before Rhinoceros Horn joined the Kangming Group and became Rhinoceros Horn, he also experienced something similar.

The only difference is that the story of the rhinoceros horn did not end in the bleak and ordinary state of "no one remembers," but rather...

Realizing that he had gone astray, Badger Tooth abruptly gathered his thoughts, then subtly glanced down at the right leg of Rhinoceros Horn standing beside his shoulder, his mind racing as he considered how to persuade Rhinoceros Horn to retract its order from the perspective of the group's interests.

Just then, Rhinoceros Horn, who had been standing on the boxing ring, flew down and landed steadily, standing tall and imposing in front of Fu Ze. "But just to be on the safe side, you will have to act with our people on the day the system is upgraded."

"Whether you see yourself as a strategist or a hostage is your business."

Badger Tooth suddenly realized, and secretly regretted that he had forgotten this binding method in his haste.

Sure enough, those who can reach the top levels of the group are definitely not easy to deal with.

Fu Ze, who had been speaking eloquently since his entrance, finally showed a hint of difficulty: "As a mere trainee executive, when I take a vacation is not something I can decide."

Rhinoceros Horn completely ignored Fu Ze's words and continued, "It's not that I'm unethical. If this succeeds, those executives will be returned unharmed. If it fails..."

Badger Tooth chimed in, playing the good cop: "While inside agents of executives are valuable, they're not so rare as to be irreplaceable."

Faced with such coercion and enticement, Fu Ze instantly changed his stance without blinking: "No problem, no problem, we'll meet there."

After Rhinoceros Horn and Badger Tooth left, Fu Ze, who was standing alone by the boxing ring, fiddled with the spring fence of the boxing ring and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "It's a good thing I prepared a set of words to get them to agree to let me come along. It really didn't take any effort at all."

-----------------------

Author's Note: I just love these kinds of scheming, treacherous couples [sunglasses]