Chapter 6: The Fantastic Journey of a Cell Phone
A low-key crackdown on organized crime swept through Beijing from west to east, and the gambling market, which used to hide in the shadows, unfortunately found itself at the very center of the storm this time.
Xu Weisheng had only been working for a week when his "company" was shut down.
The reason is harsh—Brother Long, the owner of the run-down billiards parlor, is back in jail for the second time. It's rumored that Brother Long's supplier is also in the arrest pool this time. He's finished; Brother Long might not get out anytime soon.
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; the underlings fly away in their own separate ways.
That day, Xu Weisheng went to the billiards room for the last time and bumped into a henchman who was secretly tearing off the seal at the door. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was the same henchman who had forced Jian Zhen to sign the contract, who could be considered the strategist in Brother Long's low-IQ team.
The strategist wasn't actually tearing off the seal; he was trying to figure out how to put it back on exactly as it was.
—He's already been inside.
The glue on the back of the seal dried quickly after being torn once, and now, no matter how hard he tried to smooth it out, it wouldn't stick. The strategist was so anxious he almost wanted to lick the paper to moisten it. Just as he was about to stick out his tongue, someone behind him suddenly spoke, a disgusted "Eek—"
The strategist was almost scared to death.
He turned around, his knees buckling so badly he could no longer support himself. Despite clinging to the dirty glass door with his hands and back, he couldn't overcome the weight and slid uncontrollably down until he finally landed on his bottom.
Then he realized he was standing in someone's shadow, looked up at Xu Weisheng, wiped the sweat from his face and said, "What are you doing here?"
Xu Weisheng found it amusing and looked him down at him condescendingly: "Shouldn't I be asking you that? What are you doing here, sneaking around like that?"
"N-nothing."
Xu Weisheng reached out and lifted the bottom of the seal, and most of the seal immediately detached from the glass and fluttered in the wind.
He leaned back a few centimeters, frowned, and glanced at the strategist, almost certain, "You went in?"
The strategist avoided eye contact. Judging from his appearance, if he weren't so weak-kneed, he probably would have crawled away silently along the wall.
Xu Weisheng pulled up his trouser leg and squatted down, his gaze level with his, and asked seriously, "What did you take?"
The cash in the billiard hall's cash register had long been emptied; there wasn't any left by now. Valuable items... Xu Weisheng couldn't think of anything else of value besides the locked safe. And if this person was also after the safe, it meant they shared the same goal.
“Leave it to me.” Xu Weisheng simply stretched out his hand.
"W-what is this...?" The strategist groped on the ground with both hands, trying to regain his ability to stand.
Xu Weisheng thought his hands were dirty and would make things dirty again, so she simply reached into his pockets herself.
"Hey, you're robbing me—help me—" The strategist writhed a few times on the spot, trying to pull back his two paws to protect his pockets, but Xu Weisheng grabbed his forearm and twisted it backward, so he immediately changed his tune and started howling.
Xu Weisheng shoved his forearm into his mouth to block the source of the sound. As soon as he let go, seeing that he was about to open his mouth again, Xu Weisheng frowned, pointed at his nose and said fiercely, "If you howl again, I'll fucking beat you to death."
A rogue must be dealt with in a rogue way. The strategist's underling was a spineless coward. After being threatened by Xu Weisheng, he not only didn't lash out, but instead repented and reformed. He looked at Xu Weisheng and nodded with tears in his eyes, his eyes filled with gratitude for Xu Weisheng's leniency. He even turned around and gestured for Xu Weisheng to reach into his left pocket.
Xu Weisheng took a white iPhone out of his pocket, along with a note.
The note had clearly been folded many times, and the creases were frayed. Xu Weisheng didn't even bother to pick it up immediately after it fell to the ground. Instead, his strategist brother bit his arm, stretched out his chin, and whimpered to Xu Weisheng that the one on the ground was more important.
Xu Weisheng glanced at him, reached out and picked it up and unfolded it. Actually, he had already guessed what it was. That so-called copyright contract was completely worthless. Only Brother Long and his legally illiterate friends treasured it like a precious gem and even stuffed it into a safe. He never expected that the most valuable thing in the safe would be this extra cell phone.
Cell phones are actually easy to sell, especially this model of iPhone, which is very popular in the second-hand market. Unfortunately, Jian Zhen engraved words on the back cover, which is very annoying. Brother Long and his team could not find a skilled person who could disassemble the parts, and they could not send the whole phone to the recycling market. This was like seeing a cooked duck but not being able to eat it. In a fit of anger, they simply locked it in the safe.
The strategist's underling stole the phone on the side, but Xu Weisheng was different; he came specifically for the phone. However, considering the petty thief's enthusiastic recommendation, he still gave him face and took the contract with him as well.
Three days later, Jian Zhen received a notification from the dormitory supervisor downstairs, asking her to go to the express delivery station next to the back door to sign for a package.
She was helping her roommate pack her luggage when she received the notification. She tilted her head and thought for two minutes: "I'm about to leave school, and I didn't buy anything."
Her roommate joked that it might be a gift from one of her admirers.
Jian Zhen laughed and said that if that were the case, it would be best to get a new iPhone, which she was currently short of. Director Jian was very stingy and unwilling to pay extra to let her cut in line for a phone, so she could only wait in line obediently. During this time, she relied entirely on a Nokia slider phone that she found in the corner of a drawer at home for all her communication needs.
After the dormitory supervisor finished her notification, she left. Jian Zhen dawdled until after 6 p.m. before finally going downstairs to the courier station. The station closed at 7 p.m. The people there were overjoyed to see her, but then complained angrily, "Why are you so late? You almost made us work overtime."
"That's right, you don't answer my calls."
"I lost my phone," Jian Zhen said casually as she took the package.
"What happened?"
"It's a long story." Jian Zhen shook her head, flipped the package over in her hand with the delivery slip facing up, and muttered, "What is this?"
"you do not know?"
"I don't know." Jian Zhen blinked her innocent big eyes and shrugged, "I didn't buy anything."
"Where is the sender's information?"
She leaned closer to get a better look, still puzzled: "Xu Weisheng, who is this person? I don't recognize him."
"Could it have been sent to the wrong address?" someone asked.
“How could that be? The name and address are hers, but the phone number is wrong. I guess the sender didn’t know her number and just filled it in randomly. That makes it a bit suspicious.” Another staff member at the courier station suggested, “Why don’t you open it here and make sure there are no problems before you leave? Otherwise, if there are any issues, we can deal with them promptly.”
“Okay.” Jian Zhen weighed the item in her hand, judging that it was probably not explosives or sulfuric acid. So she took the paper cutter and quickly opened it. The moment the item poured out of the cardboard box, her expression was one of surprise.
"A cell phone?" the staff at the post station exclaimed in surprise.
"Whose phone is this?" another staff member at the station asked.
Jian Zhen took her phone out of the securely wrapped shockproof bag, turned to look at the back cover, and quietly said, "Mine."
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