Chapter 175: Heart

The Third District crowd watched the departing figure, their eyes full of confusion.

"Who was that? Do you guys know him?"

"How would we know... we've only been here for a day."

"Look at his clothes and style, he's clearly a local of Aurora City. How could we have any connection to him..."

"But that punch just now was so cool, he seemed really strong."

"It was okay, not as cool as Officer Chen."

"Regardless, he helped us out... If we meet him again, we must thank him properly."

This mysterious person had appeared suddenly, punched Zhuo Shuqing, and then left calmly... During this process, he hadn't communicated with them at all, as if he were truly just a righteous passerby.

So, were there really such good people in Aurora City?

Wen Shilin held the camera Chen Ling had tossed him and stood up shakily, his mouth twitching wildly from the pain.

Those thugs had hit too hard. If it weren't for his good protective measures and the mysterious person’s sudden intervention, he probably would have broken a few bones...

"A-Cheng, are you okay?" Wen Shilin walked over to pull up his assistant. "When you interviewed, didn't you tell me you were a good fighter? How did you get taken down in two moves?"

"I..." A-Cheng said with a mournful face, "Sir, I can fight, but only to an extent... I can handle three at most, but they hit me with a club from behind. How was I supposed to fight that?"

"You... sigh, are you badly hurt?"

"Not badly, just superficial wounds." A-Cheng saw the camera in Wen Shilin’s hand and suddenly asked, "Sir, do you know that person?"

"No."

"Then why did he give you the camera?"

Wen Shilin looked in the direction Chen Ling had left and shook his head. "I don't know... However, he must have been thinking of the refugees in the Third District. In this day and age, there aren't many people who see injustice and draw their swords to help... It's a pity he left so quickly, otherwise, I would have liked to get to know him."

"We're both in Aurora City, maybe there will be another chance to meet."

Wen Shilin hummed, "Perhaps..."

……

By the time the thugs finished venting, the sun was already setting.

The thug leader looked panting at the two half-dead figures on the ground, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and spat fiercely onto the bloody ground.

"I gave you face, took your money, and did the job properly, and this is how you treat me?"

"Is having a little money something to be proud of? What bad luck!"

The thug leader waved his hand, "Empty their wallets."

A group of underlings immediately stepped forward, nearly stripping Zhuo Shuqing and his assistant bare, and finally took out a bulging wallet and handed it to the thug leader.

"Boss, it's all here."

The thug leader flipped through it, "Heh, these reporters, they sure have plenty of oil."

After saying that, he took out a few banknotes and tossed the rest of the money and the wallet onto Zhuo Shuqing, saying coldly: "Let's go."

"Boss, we're only taking this much?" A subordinate saw the thick stack of banknotes in the wallet, and his eyes turned red.

The thug leader slapped him across the face.

"We aren't fucking robbers! The appearance fee is what it is. You have to have integrity in the underworld, understand?"

After saying that, he took his underlings and strode away.

About ten minutes later, they arrived in front of a dilapidated factory and pushed the door open.

This was their "base," at least that's what they called it. There were forty or fifty of them, and they basically ate, slept, and lived here. To put it nicely, they were unemployed; to put it bluntly, they were just a bunch of people hanging around playing cards and drinking all day.

The good news was that they had landed a big job today, and if nothing went wrong, it should be enough for everyone to go out and splurge for a few days.

Just as they were about to start their celebration, the flame of the kerosene lamp flickered slightly, and in the dim light, a figure appeared in front of the factory door like a ghost.

It was a young man in a brown trench coat, wearing half-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose. The lenses reflected the flickering kerosene lamp, casting light and shadow on his calm face... At this moment, he was standing with his hands in his pockets, examining the dilapidated factory.

"So, you guys are the black-hearted forces of the Outer Ring?" Chen Ling’s voice sounded somewhat disappointed.

The sudden appearance of the figure startled everyone in the factory. They immediately grabbed the weapons at hand. Seeing that the person standing at the door was the same one who had punched Zhuo Shuqing, the vigilance in their eyes grew even stronger.

"My friend." The thug leader stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "If you're looking for trouble with that reporter, he's not here."

"I'm not looking for him, I'm looking for you."

"Looking for us?" The thug leader’s eyes narrowed. "We don't seem to have offended you, or are you trying to stand up for those refugees?"

"I'm not that bored. I want to ask, what kind of business do you guys have here?"

"Business..."

The thug leader was stunned. Was this guy here to hire them as muscle?

"Our business capability is very strong." He immediately changed his tune. "As long as the price is right, we can be on standby at any time... I just don't know, who are you planning to deal with?"

"That's not the business I'm talking about." Chen Ling paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing. A cold wind rolled into the factory with his voice, causing the kerosene lamp on the table to sway violently. "Can you guys... kill people?"

"Kill people?!" The thug leader’s expression changed, and he said categorically, "No, we don't kill people."

"Is that so? What about organ trafficking?"

The thug leader’s expression became even uglier. "We don't have organ trafficking either..."

After the two questions, the other underlings were also a bit panicked. This young man looked refined, so why was he talking about such terrifying things... They were just a bunch of unemployed people who liked to drink and fight; they didn't dare touch such things.

"You don't have any of these things, so what kind of black-hearted force are you?" Chen Ling clicked his tongue. "Then do you know where one can trade organs?"

"No! We don't know!"

The thug leader spoke without hesitation. "My friend, we meant no offense today. We really don't have the business you're looking for... and in the entire Outer Ring, I don't think anyone would dare to do that business."

Chen Ling frowned, lost in thought.

"That shouldn't be... how could there be none?"

The thug leader hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help his curiosity, and asked cautiously:

"What do you want these places for?"

"Looking for something."

"What?"

Chen Ling smiled slightly. Under the swaying dim candlelight, his smile was cold and grim:

"...My heart."

……

……

I'm going to Beijing for the Tomato Creator Conference + a business trip these next few days, so there will only be two chapters~(^_−)☆