All the big and small forces in the southeast city had gathered in this small tavern today. It was crowded, and it looked very lively.
However, Zhang Heng knew that the person who could really make the decision was not here. Instead, he was sitting on the second floor. They asked the middle-aged Jew to host this gathering, quietly listening to the quarrels and noise downstairs. He would only speak up when needed. Their voices were the real voices, and it was the voice that Zhang Heng wanted to hear.
The middle-aged Jew sneered when he heard Zhang Heng's words. "Do you think you can see Mr. Lockheed whenever you want to?"
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw a young girl walking down from the second floor. She looked at Zhang Heng and asked curiously, "Are you the gladiatorial champion of the Amphitheatrum Flavium, the mysterious oriental man from the distant empire?"
"Sounds like me." Zhang Heng nodded.
"There are rumors that you are the incarnation of a certain god on earth. You have wings on your back, and you can soar in the sky. But you look no different from an ordinary person." The girl seemed a little disappointed.
"In order not to scare my friends, I retracted my wings."
The girl sneered when she heard what he said. "You men like to talk nonsense. But since you treat us as friends, come up. Grandpa wants to see you."
"I'll do as you say." Zhang Heng stood up from his seat and followed the girl to the second floor.
There was a hint of reluctance on the middle-aged Jew's face, but he knew the girl, and he knew that this was Lockheed's decision. As a member of the Jewish gang, the most important rule was never to question Lockheed's decision. So he shut his mouth and did not say anything. He just respectfully watched the two go upstairs.
As the girl walked, she leaned close to Zhang Heng's ear and whispered, "My grandpa hates dishonest people the most. So when you see him later, don't lie."
"Thank you for the reminder, but I always like to tell the truth," Zhang Heng replied.
"Well … I think we will know soon." The girl smiled.
The two quickly went up to the second floor. To Zhang Heng's surprise, there were only four people on the second floor.
Three of them were sitting at a long table. An old man in his early sixties was sitting on the main seat. He had a typical Jewish appearance, with short brown-black hair, but most of it had turned white. He had a broad forehead, a hooked nose, and deep eye sockets. His eyes were so sharp that they seemed to be able to see through everyone's heart.
Needless to say, he should be the current boss of the Jewish gang, Lockheed. He was also the most powerful person in the entire southeast city. The history of Lockheed's rise was a living legend. He was born in an ordinary Jewish family. His father died early, and his mother had to sell her body to support the family's three children. As the eldest son, Lockheed began to make money early. He was a thief, an apprentice in a blacksmith shop, a laundry cleaner, and a sewer cleaner …
In short, he did everything that could make money. It was not until he joined the Jewish gang at the age of sixteen that his life gradually improved. But at this time, fate played a cruel joke on him. His mother and sister died one after another because of the plague. After that, his only brother died in a gang conflict.
Until the age of thirty, Lockheed was just an inconspicuous character in the Jewish gang. At most, he only had five men.
Then came the legendary battle. At that time, the boss of the Jewish gang was betrayed by his men and was assassinated. He fled all the way to the temple, and there was no one around him. At that time, Lockheed happened to be collecting money at the market in front of the temple with his two brothers.
The three of them protected their boss, who was already at the end of his rope. No one knew how they managed to fend off the enemies that were several times their number. When the subsequent reinforcements arrived, they were all covered in blood. Lockheed's two men did not even manage to hold on until the doctor arrived. Only Lockheed survived. After that, he was recognized by the boss of the Jewish gang at that time. After the latter's death, he finally succeeded in taking over the largest force in the southeast city.
All the children on the streets of the southeast area regarded Lockheed as their idol, hoping that one day they could fight for their own career like Lockheed.
On Lockheed's left was a Sekabri man who was about the same age as him. He was the boss of the second largest force in the southwest city, Golden Crown. His main income was from lending and collecting rent. In terms of number, he was not as numerous as the Jewish gang, but he was richer. More than half of the properties and shops in the southwest city belonged to Golden Crown.
On Lockheed's right was a young man. Unlike the two people beside him, he looked very young, about the same age as Zhang Heng. He had an innocent smile on his face, making people suspect that he was just a family member of someone sitting here. In fact, he was the mouthpiece of the third largest force in the southwest city, the Beehive.
No one knew who the boss of the Beehive was, how many people there were in the Beehive, and what kind of businesses they had. The only thing that was certain was that the Beehive was the oldest force in the southwest city. They were everywhere, and anyone around you could be a member of the Beehive. Even the Golden Crown and the Jewish gang had many members of the Beehive. Hence, nothing in the southwest city could be hidden from the Beehive. Besides, it was rumored that all the assassins in the southwest city were related to the Beehive.
The young man sitting here was one of the few members of the Beehive on the surface. He was responsible for communicating with various forces, and the mouthpiece was what he called himself.
As for the fourth person, he did not sit at the table. Instead, he stood on the side and poured wine for the three people sitting here. He looked like a waiter in a tavern, but Zhang Heng's gaze lingered on him for the longest time. He realized that he could not see through this person's strength.
No wonder the three of them were sitting on the second floor so casually, and they did not arrange any extra guards for them.
"Zhang Heng, recently, the southeast city … no, the entire city of Rome is talking about your name." The first person to speak was the Beehive's mouthpiece. He smiled and said, "Two months ago, you were still a gladiator in the Victor Arena. After you regained your freedom, you immediately began to work for the emperor. It is said that His Majesty values you very much. When you were still a gladiator, he visited you in disguise. Naturally, you don't want to mess up your first job." So, when you joined the patrol team, you immediately started to stir up trouble.
"So, when you joined the patrol team, you immediately started to stir up trouble. First, you forced Iron Handcuff and his men to attack you. After that, you supported the thief named Soap to be your puppet. You are very smart. Because of your identity as a patrol team, you can't directly annex those territories. Otherwise, you would have attracted our attention a long time ago. And you are very cautious. You even found five gangsters that you knew before and formed an anti-patrol alliance. First, you can keep Soap in check. Second, you can also take the opportunity to get rid of the unstable factors in the two forces. After that, you expanded the patrol team.
After that, you expanded the patrol team wantonly. "Your series of actions successfully attracted Mr. Lockheed's attention. We sent you an invitation, but unfortunately, you went to look for your political ally, Clint. After that, the rumor that His Majesty the emperor wanted to attack the southeast city came from the Senate. Am I right? By the way, what you ate in the morning was Focacciabo with honey and bread. You don't like bread because it was baked a little too well."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
