After a moment, the man with the double-tailed scorpion tattoo returned to their side.
"I got it."
He gestured for them to go ahead. While leading them out, he said, "Jin Yongqiang has a friend called Small Insect in Golden Tooth Lair. He used to be a vet in a small fighting squad, and Jin Yongqiang would occasionally show him some respect by placing bets on that squad.
"But it's a fighting squad without a gang supporting them. They aren't strong in modifying monsters or controlling monsters remotely, so their results aren't great. Jin Yongqiang didn't win a lot of money, but fortunately, he didn't lose a lot either.
"Then, during the second half of last year, for some reason, this fighting squad suddenly rose to power, and their results became better. In a few crucial matches, they even won against fighting squads supported by gangs. In the end, even Black Bone Fighting Squad, which was supported by Black Bone, was defeated by them.
"And Jin Yongqiang acted out of character. Since the second half of last year, he placed heavy bets on this fighting squad, and just as he expected, he earned a lot.
"Black Bone Fighting Squad lost badly, and Black Bone Gang flew into a rage out of humiliation, but they were also puzzled. After some investigation, they finally found something strange. It turned out that this vet called Small Insect had used dozens of illegal drugs to create a brand new drug that made them go berserk and injected it into their monsters. In an instant, the monsters' metabolism speed increased by several times, and they could release incredibly violent strength.
"You have to understand that while the rules of the monster fights in the cities aren't as many as those in the coliseums outside, they can't just inject all sorts of illegal drugs into the monsters, especially when they don't have a gang supporting them.
"This fighting squad incurred the wrath of the masses, and they were soon defeated by Black Bone.
"When Black Bone interrogated the members of the fighting squad, they discovered that Jin Yongqiang knew about it.
"Even if the fighting squad used illegal drugs to win, they would be considered to have cheated, and their results wouldn't be counted. But when the coliseum runs a long-term business, their reputation is the most important. They naturally don't have any reason to get their money back from the gamblers who don't know about it, so Black Bone could only consider themselves unlucky.
"But Jin Yongqiang knew about it beforehand, and that's another matter.
"Small Insect knew that after his monsters were injected with drugs that made them go berserk, their winning rate would be really high, so he wanted to earn some money.
"But most of the people in the lair live a life where they can drink for the moment. Few of them have enough savings to place a huge bet.
"He's a vet from a small team. It would be too obvious if he borrowed money from a financial company to place a bet.
"So, he found Jin Yongqiang and revealed some details to him. He encouraged Jin Yongqiang to place a heavy bet and split the money between the two of them. That's about it.
"Now that the matter has been exposed, Jin Yongqiang will definitely have to cough up all the money he won."
This member of the Scorpion Gang had a very clear train of thought. In just a few words, he had clearly explained the cause and effect of the incident.
It was no wonder then why he had the right to receive Sky Pillar Corporation's Lu Siya.
Lu Siya nodded with a contemplative expression. "How will Black Bone deal with Jin Yongqiang?"
"The Black Bone Gang knows that Jin Yongqiang is part of the middle management of Heavenly Works Machinery, so they didn't make things difficult for him.
"In truth, unless it's absolutely necessary, we don't want to make things difficult for the guests who come to the lair. Otherwise, why would we have guests come to the lair to play next time?
"When Black Bone found Jin Yongqiang, they politely asked him whether he knew about Small Insect giving illegal drugs to monsters. Of course, Jin Yongqiang denied it.
"Black Bone didn't use force either. They only brought out Small Insect's statement and Jin Yongqiang's bet records.
"In the past, when the winning rate of the fighting squads wasn't high, Jin Yongqiang would only occasionally place bets. The amount of money he placed wasn't high, and he was just playing around. His main bets were on the fighting squads supported by the gangs, especially Golden Tooth's Golden Tooth Squad.
"But ever since Small Insect developed the brand new drug that made him go berserk, he acted as if he could predict the future. He went all out and placed a lot of bets on the fighting squads.
"His abnormal behavior couldn't be explained no matter what. If we used a few tricks, his mental defenses would crumble, and he would confess to everything.
"Even then, Black Bone didn't touch a single hair on him. They only made him write a statement and sign a confession. They also wanted him to cough up all the money he won through cheating.
"It's a pity that Jin Yongqiang has already spent all the money he won in the lair.
"Black Bone was probably threatening him. If he didn't return the money, they would send his statement and confession to Heavenly Works Machines and the media. Then, they would expose it online and ruin his reputation.
"Jin Yongqiang was forced into a corner, so he could only borrow money from Easy Wealth Finance to pay off Black Bone's debt.
"Then, he mortgaged his house to temporarily fill up the hole in Easy Wealth Finance's debt.
"Easy Wealth Finance was originally prepared to auction off the house once they received it, but they didn't expect that half a month ago, Jin Yongqiang would suddenly come over happily and pay off a large sum of money. He even promised that he would definitely return the rest of the money within three months.
"The people from Easy Wealth Finance might be strange, but there's no need for them to get to the bottom of things. In any case, as long as the customer returns the money in time, it doesn't matter whether they scam, commit murder, or commit arson. It has nothing to do with the finance company."
Lu Siya and Meng Chao looked at each other.
The information provided by the Poison Scorpion member matched up with the clues they had.
By the looks of it, Small Insect was the greatest suspect who provided them with the mutated rabies.
"Where did Jin Yongqiang's friend, Small Insect, the vet, go?" Lu Siya asked.
"Dead," the Poison Scorpion member said.
"Dead?" Lu Siya's voice suddenly turned shrill.
"Black Bone's strength in Golden Tooth Lair is about the same as Poison Scorpion's. We scammed them and caused them to lose a lot of money, so how could they not be dead?
"That guy came from the lair and wasn't a normal citizen from the outside world. Even if he died, no one would care. I heard that he was first hung upside down and beaten for a day and night. The bones in his legs were crushed inch by inch. Then, he disappeared without a trace. No one knows whether he was buried underground, thrown into the depths of a trash crushing pipe, or fed to the monsters."
Lu Siya frowned. "When did this happen? Was it recently?"
"It wasn't recently. It was at least half a year ago, right?"
The Poison Scorpion member shook his head. "I don't know the details. The people from Yi Fu Financial didn't say it clearly. If it weren't for Poison Scorpion, they wouldn't have said a single word."
"Then, does Jin Yongqiang know any other lair people, especially vets or monster controllers?" Lu Siya asked.
"I don't know about that," the Poison Scorpion member said.
Lu Siya cursed under her breath and turned her head to Meng Chao. "We lost track of the clues again."
Meng Chao rubbed the bridge of his nose gently and suddenly turned to the Poison Scorpion member. "Compared to last year, is there any change in Black Bone's results?"
The Poison Scorpion member was slightly stunned. He thought about it and nodded slowly. "Black Bone's results in the past weren't good. They never found suitable pharmacists, vets, and monster controllers. Every time they spent a lot of money to buy monsters, they were usually defeated by monsters of the same level or even one level lower.
"Their results this year have increased by quite a lot. They can now fight against Poison Scorpion."
"If my guess is correct …" Meng Chao said with an intense gaze.
"After they destroyed the small squad that cheated, tortured Small Insect, and made him disappear from the face of the earth, Black Bone's battle results increased by leaps and bounds, right?" Meng Chao's eyes burned brightly.
The Poison Scorpion member thought about it and nodded repeatedly. "That's right. That's it!"
Lu Siya looked at the Poison Scorpion member, then at Meng Chao. She came to a realization. "Are you saying that Black Bone took Small Insect into their pocket and asked him to use the forbidden drug to modify Black Bone's monsters?"
"Training a vet, pharmacist, or modifier costs a lot of money and isn't easy. Aside from a lot of resources, they also need a certain amount of talent," Meng Chao explained.
"Since Small Insect is a lair citizen without any background, I don't think he received proper university education. He's self-taught, right?
"He's a self-taught vet, but he managed to create such a powerful drug and help a nameless fighting squad rise to power. I don't think that Black Bone would waste such a talent so easily.
"I knew it. I mentioned just now that Black Bone hung Small Insect upside down and crushed all the bones in his legs. That's strange.
"If they really wanted to torture him to death, why did they only crush his legs and not all his bones?
"Now that I think about it, it's very simple. It's because his hands and head were left behind to create a new drug to make him go berserk!"
Excitement shone in Lu Siya's eyes.
"What's Small Insect's real name? Do you have his picture?" she asked the Poison Scorpion member.
"I don't know," the Poison Scorpion member said.
"Many of the lair citizens don't like to tell others their real names. They also don't like to take pictures of themselves."
"Then …"
Lu Siya thought about it. "Can we go to Black Bone's territory and look for Small Insect?"
"With my identity, it's too dangerous for me to bring you to the Black Bone Gang's territory. Moreover, many people know that this' Little Worm 'is involved in illegal drugs. The Black Bone Gang has already killed him in name. They won't admit to keeping him alive."
The Poison Scorpion member thought about it and said, "But Black Bone Fighting Squad will be participating in a few competitions in Black Blood Coliseum today. If Small Insect is really taken in by Black Bone, he should be participating in the competition. Many of the drugs that make people go berserk only last for a short time. They have to create different formulas and densities based on the monster's condition and the effects they want to achieve before the competition. He won't hand such an important job to someone else."
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