Yang Jian felt extremely aggrieved by his hasty departure once again. The other side had mobilized twenty to thirty people to intercept him, all armed with machetes, clearly intending to kill him. This meant the conflict was irreconcilable, turning the situation with Wu Laizi and Baoguo into a life-or-death struggle.
However, it was obviously not the right time for revenge. On one hand, he feared worrying his parents; on the other, the other party would certainly be on high alert, either hiding or reinforcing their numbers to set a trap for him.
Yang Jian spent the entire journey contemplating how to deal with these two individuals without getting himself caught. After spending more than twenty days in the detention center, he had no desire to experience that life again.
As he neared the Hancheng Bus Station, Lu Yao's call came through.
"Brother Jian, have you arrived?"
"Almost there, Yaoyao. Have you gotten home? Did you encounter any trouble on the way?"
Hearing Lu Yao's voice brought Yang Jian a sliver of comfort. Although she had outwardly rejected him, he could feel her reliance on him.
"I'm home now, and the journey was safe. Brother Jian, I suspect Wu Laizi himself led the people involved in today's incident."
"Is that so? What makes you suspect him?"
"After I got home, I rewatched the surveillance footage repeatedly. I noticed that one of the people who got out of the car and chased us bore a strong resemblance to him."
"Didn't you hand over your video evidence to the police?"
"I only gave them a copy; I still have the original. Do you think I can use this footage to implicate him?" Lu Yao gritted her teeth with hatred for Wu Laizi, eager to send him to jail.
"Don't rush this. We'll discuss it when I get back. Yaoyao, you need to be extremely careful during this period. Don't go anywhere except school and home. Have your dad pick you up by taxi for evening classes. Wu Laizi is a madman and capable of anything. It's best if you carry some self-defense spray or similar items with you, just in case."
"Brother Jian, when are you coming back? I'm so scared. Today's incident was terrifying. So many people chased us with knives. If you hadn't taken me off the bus early, we'd probably be in the hospital now, or even dead."
"Yaoyao, don't worry too much. Wu Laizi probably won't harm you openly. He's after me. I beat him up before, and now with the old and new grudges combined, he wants me dead."
"I'm sorry, Brother Jian. I've implicated you."
Yang Jian chuckled, "If you really feel sorry, then pledge yourself to me."
His joking remark caused Lu Yao to fall silent, not speaking for a long time.
Yang Jian had to say, "Yaoyao, I was just kidding. I just want you not to have too much psychological pressure. I won't talk anymore; the bus has arrived, and I need to get off."
"Brother Jian."
Just as Lu Yao was about to say something, Yang Jian had already hung up.
It was past five o'clock by the time he exited the bus station. Yang Jian decided to head directly to Hongqi Street, where Biao Biao and the others were holding classes.
A two-yuan bus ride took half an hour to reach the Hongqi Street casino. Biao Biao was sitting alone in a shop next to the casino, drinking tea with his backpack.
"Brother Jian, didn't you say you'd be here the next day? Why are you only arriving now?"
Biao Biao was happy to see Yang Jian and poured him a cup of tea.
"Something came up at home. Who's dealing inside?"
"Brother Hao. He's been personally running things these past few days."
"How's the win or loss?"
"We're winning a little here, about three to five thousand yuan a day. Baihuating has temporarily suspended operations since the money was stolen. Brother Sixi and the others have taken over a smaller venue nearby, a daytime operation that started today."
Yang Jian glanced outside, "Where's Yang Fan? I don't see him."
"He was here just a moment ago; he might have left for something. Oh, Brother Jian, we've moved. Brother Hao rented a four-bedroom, two-living room apartment in the Century Garden community in Erdaokou. We'll be living there permanently from now on, and we plan to have Sister Jianmei come cook for us."
"That's great. It should reduce expenses significantly. Biao Biao, what did you want to tell me on the phone that night?"
Biao Biao stood up and peeked out the shop door before returning to his seat and saying, "Brother Jian, I don't want to sow discord between you and Brother Hao, but what happened that day is really suspicious."
"Go ahead, I won't tell anyone else."
"Let's talk about Brother Sixi's robbery first. I heard from Liangliang that Sixi was just outside the casino at the time. The robbery happened only about ten meters from the casino entrance. They heard nothing inside, which is very abnormal. The casino has lookouts posted nearby. If a robbery had truly occurred, these lookouts couldn't possibly not know."
Yang Jian frowned, "Are you implying that Sixi embezzled the sixty thousand yuan, or that the casino itself orchestrated the robbery?"
"It's not Sixi's problem; he doesn't have that much nerve. After the incident, Sixi went into the venue, and less than ten minutes later, Brother Hao went over. When he returned, we learned that a robbery had occurred. We were already heading back to the hotel from this venue at that time, and Brother Hao didn't ask us to accompany him when he went there."
"Are you suspecting that Sixi gave the money directly to Brother Hao and then claimed he was robbed?"
"Yes, Liangliang was at that casino, and he suspected something was amiss."
"That's quite a significant loophole. There's no way to investigate such a matter."
Biao Biao looked outside again, "Brother Jian, there are more loopholes than just this. Anyone managing money for an Emperor Company could potentially embezzle funds. For example, if I'm managing the money now, when opening a game, I give the dealer two thousand yuan as a 'root' or principal. I could easily skim three to five hundred from that two thousand. Dealers usually don't count it, and bolder ones might even skim eight hundred to a thousand. Over time, this income is quite substantial, even more stable than the shareholders' income."
Yang Jian was quite surprised, "This kind of thing happens? I've never thought about this issue when I managed money. How can we prevent it?"
"It's actually very simple. Every time the dealer requests money, the principal should be recounted in front of the dealer and the person managing the money. If this rule is established, such incidents can naturally be prevented."
"Okay, I'll talk to Brother Hao about it later."
"Also, the loss of thirty thousand yuan at this venue is very strange. After you left, Brother Hao asked me to manage the money. Throughout the entire gambling session, San Pang said there were no major wins or losses. He also found the final loss of thirty thousand yuan peculiar."
After listening to Biao Biao's account, Yang Jian pondered for a while before saying, "Biao Biao, let's drop these two matters here. Without evidence, we shouldn't mention them again."
"Brother Jian, you're at a disadvantage this way. You might end up doing all the work for someone else. With your relationship with Brother Fan, you could completely take over this venue and go solo." Biao Biao sincerely hoped Yang Jian would establish his own Emperor Company.
"Biao Biao, don't have that idea for now. Don't rush. When I have sufficient funds, I'll make plans. I can't repay my debts in a year with this model; I definitely need to find other ways." Yang Jian knew very well that he didn't have the strength to go solo yet. Establishing an Emperor Company not only required ample funds but also strong connections, which he currently lacked.