Chapter 25

Three hours later, two figures walked out from the side door of Zhonghui.

The environment upstairs in the headquarters of the China Association of Trade Unions is much better than that downstairs, and the overwhelming wealth is finally revealed, from the thick texture and intricately patterned carpets underfoot to the exquisite decorations on the walls and corners. The priceless paintings appear as natural and ordinary as wallpaper in this room.

Even the air is completely different from downstairs, and the thin golden threads of incense are just as alluring.

The person in charge, Zhuikawa, seemed to have known the purpose of Kono Seiryoshi's visit. He chatted with them politely and then cooperated very well to take the account book.

It is worth mentioning that when Kono Seiryoshi was browsing the list of personnel, he discovered that there were actually several people with special abilities in the meeting.

Of course, nothing can be found in just a few hours. Perhaps Mori Ogai just wants to show that the port mafia will no longer tolerate it. As for warning the Zhonghui...

The situation has been completely reversed, and Kono Seira thought helplessly that the confidentiality of the port mafia's intelligence is a bit lacking.

There are only two ways out of the headquarters of the Confederation of Trade Unions. The car of the Port Mafia was parked at the outer circle of Leibo Street and could not get in. Kono Seira and Oda Sakunosuke did not choose the way they came, and prepared to take another detour.

The sun is high in the sky today, and the air is so scorching that it twists into circles of heat waves. All around are bare, low houses, without even a shadow.

Even though Kono Seiryoshi had a low body temperature, he couldn't help but unbutton two buttons. He held up an umbrella and asked Oda Sakunosuke if he wanted to play with him.

The red-haired man shook his head and refused, "Two people can't stand apart. I'm not hot yet."

Kono Seira looked at Oda Sakunosuke, who had a calm face. He was wearing a black suit that he had changed into for the inspection to make himself look more imposing. The formal three-piece suit made him look like a human-shaped self-propelled light-absorbing body.

How can you not feel hot when you are dressed in black on such a hot day?

Kono Seira estimated the height difference between the two men, raised his umbrella about ten centimeters higher, tilted it toward the red-haired man, and smiled slightly, "Mr. Oda, come closer."

Oda Sakunosuke was slightly startled, but this time he did not refuse. Instead, he took the umbrella handle directly and said, "Let me do it."

The two walked along a cleaner path, talking from time to time. Most of the time, it was Kono Seira who took the initiative to talk. Oda Sakunosuke listened quietly. Although he didn't say much, the atmosphere was not awkward.

When they turned left into a secluded alley, they were discussing whether to have curry or cold noodles for lunch, and they did not notice in time that someone was running towards them from the blind spot.

The running humanoid figure seemed to be avoiding something, running forward in panic without knowing where to go. By the time it found someone around the corner, it was already too late to slow down.

If Oda Sakunosuke hadn't helped him in time, Kono Seira would have been knocked two meters away. Even so, he could still feel the left side of his body going numb.

The other person was not so lucky. He fell flat on his face, and his clothes, which were washed so badly that the color could not be seen, were covered in mud.

Gongye Shengliang held his shoulder and stood still, observing with a frown.

The person he bumped into was a teenager with messy hair covering most of his face. He was thin and bony. After he fell to the ground, he seemed to feel no pain. He quickly got up and apologized to him: "I'm sorry! I was in a hurry just now. I didn't mean it!"

He is a child who lives at the bottom of the slums and has all his edges smoothed out.

Kouno Seiryoshi retracted his gaze and said calmly, "Be more careful next time."

The child hunched over and thanked him again. The alley was too narrow for three people to stand side by side. Kono Seira and Oda Sakunosuke did not move, so he had to timidly shrink his body and pass by them.

Unexpectedly, just as he took two steps, Oda Sakunosuke suddenly made a move, and his left hand firmly grasped the boy's arm like a clamp, and said calmly: "Hand over your wallet."

The boy's eyes widened and his whole body stiffened.

If a person has no money and no force, in this cruel slum, only the ability to read people's expressions and a sufficiently accurate sense of crisis can keep him alive.

Therefore, the boy saw at a glance how powerful this red-haired man was who had seen through his stealing skills.

Moreover, these two people came from the direction of Zhonghui - maybe they even had guns. When the boy thought of this, he couldn't help but tremble all over.

Kono Seiryoshi didn't say anything, but just stared at the person in front of him with a frown. It was not because the boy stole his wallet, but because - in the few seconds when he got close to him, he smelled a familiar sour odor that he hadn't smelled for a long time.

The young man took out his wallet tremblingly, and immediately seemed to burst into tears: "I was wrong, I won't dare to do it again! Let...let me go!"

The sour smell became more and more obvious.

Gongye Shengliang's eyes wandered around and finally fell on the boy's begging face.

After a long silence, he slowly forced a smile.

But the smile was extremely arrogant, and the corners of his eyes and eyebrows revealed a hint of disdain and mockery. His rather cold and delicate features made such a bad expression, which made people feel that it was justified for a moment.

Kono Seira had never shown this expression in front of others. Not only did the boy opposite him stand there in shock, but even Oda Sakunosuke next to him had a flash of surprise in his eyes.

"It's so hard to live here, and you're still a helpless kid. It's really pitiful..." The drawn-out voice attracted everyone's attention to him. Just as the boy breathed a sigh of relief, the next second, the voice was amplified and distant in a vicious way: "--Are you really stupid enough to think I would say that?"

The boy's expression of joy had not yet faded as it was replaced by panic: "W-what?" He was so frightened that he broke the last syllable of his voice.

Kono Seiryoshi half-closed his eyes and looked at the boy with a cold gaze, as if he was not looking at a peer, but evaluating a commodity.

After a while, he sighed as if in distress, "It turns out that there is no exploitable value. If I sell my organs, people will think they are bad goods." Kono Seiryoshi ignored the boy's face that suddenly turned pale after hearing this. He didn't know what he was thinking about, but he curled his lips upwards.

"There is a mining processing plant upstream of here, and the wastewater flows down the river into Leibo Street. Do you think there will be valuables leaking out?"

"I like gems very much," said Gongye Shengliang, pointing to a ditch not far away, and raised his eyebrows in a good mood, "Can you help me go down and pick up one?"

It was called a river, but it was actually a muddy ditch. The water barely reached the knees, but it was turbid and it was impossible to see what was underneath. The mining factory was just an empty shell and had not been in operation for several years. How could there be gems in it - especially in a muddy ditch that could be seen everywhere in such a slum.

This is no longer willful, but rather absurd.

The boy shook his head in fear, his body trembling as he stepped back slightly.

Seeing this, Gongye Shengliang's face suddenly became surprised, "I'll give you ten minutes to fetch the things in the river for me." He paused, gently covered his nose, and added, "It doesn't matter what it is, just bring it to me."

The young man was shocked, and suddenly realized that he seemed to be used as a tool to transfer something.

"Don't even think about running away. My friend next to me who's a very good shooter has a bad temper." Gongye Shengliang stood with his arms folded across his chest and threatened in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.

The friend who was an accurate shooter but had a bad temper silently made a shooting gesture.

The boy froze as he was about to run. He was filled with regret, but when he thought of the identities of the two men, he could only obey their orders and went down into the ditch trembling with both hands and feet.

Looking at the scene not far away, Kono Seiryoshi exhaled very slightly.

The red-haired man stood quietly by the side, still holding the umbrella. He did not ask why he suddenly felt like threatening a child. Instead, he leaned over slightly and whispered in his ear, "The port mafia is outside. Do you want me to call them over?"

Even though the weather was hot, the burning breath in my ears was still very noticeable.

Hearing his words, Gongye Shengliang was stunned, then he covered his face, and his shoulders shook continuously.

About ten seconds later, he raised his face, his golden eyes flashing with light, and a smile appeared in his eyes uncontrollably: "Mr. Oda, I think you will definitely write a very interesting novel." His voice was still a little soft because of the smile just now.

This time it was Oda Sakunosuke's turn to be puzzled, but he was only slightly puzzled for a moment, then nodded and said, "I will try my best."

Kono Seira's shoulders shook even more violently.

With only ten seconds left before the scheduled ten minutes, the young man with muddy hands and feet came to them tremblingly, holding several pieces of ore.

He didn't know which kind was the most precious, nor did he know what secrets were hidden in the stones. He was afraid that he had picked the wrong ones, so he took all the stones that he thought might be valuable and asked hesitantly, "These...are these ok?"

Gongye Shengliang glanced at it casually, picked up the top cobblestone, and threw away all the ones he didn't like. Until the boy had only the last oval ore in his hand, which was completely white, he let out a light sound and pointed the stone at the blazing sun above his head.

After a few seconds, he withdrew his hand, his expression unchanged: "Let's go, don't show up here next time."

The young man felt as if he had been pardoned and did not need to be threatened this time. He wished he could grow wings and escape from here as quickly as possible.

Only when his figure completely disappeared from his sight did Kono Seiryoshi withdraw his gaze and tighten his grip on the cobblestone, "Let's go too."

Neither of them spoke again until they walked back into the pitch-black stretched sedan.

The car drove smoothly on the way back to the port mafia building. There was a partition between the front and back seats, isolating the transmission of sound from both sides. The air conditioning in the car was set to a very low temperature, causing a small shudder on the skin.

Oda Sakunosuke was supposed to sit in the front, but he hesitated when getting on the bus and chose to follow Kono Seiyoshi to the back of the car.

Kono Seiryoshi was in low spirits, closing his eyes and huddled in the gap between the seat belt and the backrest. The sun outside made him dizzy, and the car made him feel stuffy in his chest, but he had no better choice. One problem after another, the sudden workload gave him a headache.

When the thin blanket was draped over him, he remained motionless, as if falling into a light sleep.

Oda Sakunosuke's gaze stayed on Kono Seira for a few seconds, then he seemed to remember something and looked away again.

After an unknown amount of time, a low voice rang out in the quiet, enclosed space: "...There are traces of drug injection on the child's arm."

The boy rolled up his sleeves to go into the water and feel for rocks, and when he came back, there were a few subtle needle pricks on his muddy arms.

There was also the sour, burnt smell on his body, which was the lingering smell after smoking the heated drug.

There is a shortage of medicines in the slums, and medical and sanitary conditions are also poor. Even if the boy carelessly exposed his arms, it can be explained as an injection after a cold and fever.

However, when Seira Kono was in Vongola, he spent a whole year dealing with the elimination of individual organizations that violated contracts and smuggled drugs. The new family across the coast was ambitiously eyeing Sicily, and a brutal war broke out between the Italian Mafia over drug trafficking. The accident that gave him the wheelchair experience card also happened during this period.

Therefore, he knew the types and characteristics of drugs, the reactions and sequelae after smoking or injecting them, the methods of transportation and sales... In this regard, he was very clear about even the most subtle clues.

Oda Sakunosuke looked over in surprise, and apparently realized something. His eyes suddenly became sharp and he looked at him intently.

Gongye Shengliang pinched his brows and said in a hollow voice: "From what I know, the leader did not allow drug transactions in that slum, not to mention that the transaction targets were minors."

The accounts of all the businesses under the name of Zhonghui seemed perfect, and he believed that even if a new group of professionals came, they would not be able to find anything. However, facing his sudden inspection, the person in charge showed a familiar attitude.

This slum boy who was met by chance in a remote alley was like a thread that shouldn't have appeared on a gorgeous dress. Just a slight pull would expose the dirty and filthy inner world.

"Someone leaked the information during this inspection, Mr. Oda, you have to be careful."

He had discovered three pinhole cameras along the way, not to mention the ones hidden in secret. There were also many spies among the slum residents who were secretly spying on them.

I'm afraid that their brief encounter with the young man was also being monitored by the Zhonghui people all the time. Mori Ouwai really knows how to find a job for him...

By the way, the mining factory he just mentioned was the one he saw on the list of enemy forces of the port mafia a few days ago. The factory had actually stopped production a long time ago, and was secretly conducting arms tests under the guise of a joint-stock company. Although it had no direct connection with his mission this time, it would be great if the two groups could fight each other.

The stone was just an ordinary stone, but he deliberately exposed only a small part of it and raised it in the direction of the surveillance. If the people from the Zhonghui were really monitoring, they would not have failed to notice it.

Gongye Shengliang supported his head with one hand, his eyes half closed, and his voice became softer and softer.

The smell of the car aromatherapy was too strong, mixed with the cold air from the air conditioner, penetrating almost every pore, causing strong discomfort in the internal organs and brain.

On the other hand, Oda Sakunosuke was surprised but did not pay too much attention. The traces of drugs were beyond his expectations, but there was another matter that was within his responsibility at the moment.

The red-haired young man frowned and was about to say something when the car suddenly stopped. The strong inertia made his body lean forward uncontrollably. Fortunately, he reacted very quickly and stretched out his arms to hold the seat, otherwise he would have almost bumped into the person on the seat.

Kono Seira's mind was still confused. He raised his head in bewilderment and met Oda Sakunosuke's downward gaze.

One was silent, the other was dazed, and no one spoke.

Due to limited vision, Kimino Seira could only see Oda Sakunosuke's Adam's apple move slightly.

After a while, the red-haired man slowly stood up and answered the phone in the car that had been flashing red since the sudden brake. His tone was no different from usual: "This is Oda, go ahead."

The driver's slightly anxious voice sounded: "Mr. Oda, there was a car accident ahead. The whole road is blocked. I'm afraid it will take more than an hour to solve it. Should we wait?"

It was a car accident... Anyway, there's nothing to worry about when I get back, so I can wait a while. It's a good opportunity for him to review it.

Thinking this, Kono Seira turned his gaze to Oda Sakunosuke.

"No, we'll get off here."

Hearing the unexpected answer, Kono Seira looked up at Oda Sakunosuke in surprise, but the latter had already put down the phone, opened the nearest car door, and said in a statement tone: "You must be uncomfortable sitting in the car. It's not far. I'll take you back."

The wind from outside blew into his face through the gap between the car doors. The temperature was not low, but it lifted Kono Seiyoshi's spirits.

...Mr. Oda is indeed a very considerate person.

He raised the corners of his lips and held the hand that Oda Sakunosuke handed over to him.