The next morning, Lu Liang left early and contacted Lu Ansheng and his group.
As his personally chosen partners, Lu Ansheng and his crew still had bloodshot eyes, as if they’d been too excited to sleep all night.
The moment they got Lu Liang’s call, they rushed over without delay.
“Boss, just tell us what to do!”
“Are we going for a heist? I heard all about it from Brother Lu. Look, Boss, I even brought a crowbar. Everyone, take one each, but don’t take more than you need!”
“Boss, this one’s for you.”
A young man handed Lu Liang a crowbar.
After buying them drinks last night, Lu Liang’s relationship with these guys had grown much closer.
Now, they greeted him affectionately as Boss whenever they met.
Lu Liang tossed the crowbar aside and shook his head.
“What are you doing? Why bring crowbars into the sewers? Do you all think we’re street thugs or something?”
“Isn’t… isn’t that what we are?”
The young man asked, looking a bit confused.
“Yes!”
Lu Liang affirmed his identity right away:
“But we’re not just any street gang—we have style, vision, and official backing! What era do you think this is? Who still goes around brawling? There are so many rats in the Cleaner Industry—do you really think you can fight your way through all of them?”
Scolded by Lu Liang, they suddenly looked unsure of themselves.
“Then Boss, what do you say we should do?”
“Follow me first. Let’s change those clothes of yours.”
Lu Liang sighed inwardly.
Small-time thugs only knew how to shout and fight, completely unaware that the real gangs had already gone legit, dabbling in real estate and luxury cars.
As a seasoned old hand, Lu Liang knew the world ran on connections and social skills, not brute force.
Besides, with this Black Gloves identity, if you’re still brawling, what’s the point of getting the Great Good Citizen Certificate?
Lu Liang had decided to make it big.
He wanted to use the Great Good Citizen Certificate to its fullest.
So first, he took Lu Ansheng and the others to a clothing store, bought a set of discounted uniforms, and had them all put them on.
At this point, Lu Ansheng caught on to Lu Liang’s intentions and laughed:
“Bro wants to start a gang, huh! Back when I was on North Alley Street, some gangs did exactly this—they’d write weird things like ‘Night Dew, Death, Hardship’ on the back of their clothes. No idea what that meant.”
“That’s a slogan created by Japanese delinquent gangs. Ansheng, don’t follow their example. There’s no future in it.”
Lu Liang advised Lu Ansheng, but then, on the back of each new uniform, he used a permanent marker to write “Block Well.”
“Block Well? Hey, Boss, your handwriting is great—it looks like it’s printed on!”
As they accepted the clothes from Lu Liang, the young men looked at each other with fresh curiosity.
“Block Well—is that our gang’s name? Boss, are we called the Dujing Group now?”
“Yes, but let me correct you on one thing. We’re not forming a gang.”
Lu Liang finished writing Block Well on one last uniform, put it on himself, and said with a sly grin:
“Don’t forget, we’re working for the Police Department. We’re setting up an unofficial Police Department group.”
He also bought a Table and Chair, then led Lu Ansheng and the rest, along with these items, to the bottom of a sewer well, where they patiently waited for Cleaners to show up.
So it happened that when the Cleaners, who had been sneaking around all morning hunting Monster Bugs, were about to call it a day and headed toward Lu Liang’s well exit, they were shocked by what they saw.
In the middle of the sewage-soaked sewer, a Table and Chair had been set up.
On the Chair sat a man with a streetwise look, surrounded by six young men in matching uniforms, standing straight and solemnly, each holding a flashlight.
The blinding beams made the Cleaner a bit dizzy.
After Lu Liang made a gesture, the young men turned off their flashlights all at once, then Lu Liang asked kindly:
“Hey, kid, how many Monster Bugs did you catch today?”
The Cleaner really wanted to ask who the hell they were! But seeing the tidy formation on the other side, he felt these people might have serious backing, so he answered nervously:
“What the hell do you want…”
He clutched his pocket uneasily.
“I’m warning you bastards not to mess around! You know Brother Long, right? He’s the one who’s always watching out for me! We’re all in the same business, so how about giving me some respect, or Brother Long will come smash your place!”
“Heh, who cares about Brother Long, Brother Short, or any other riff-raff? I don’t know any of them!”
Lu Liang gave a look, and one of the guys who could read the mood came up and landed two loud slaps.
“Do you even know who you’re messing with!”
“Just a Cleaner, and you dare to act tough in front of the Police Department!”
“Damned punk! Which turf does Brother Long even run? Our Boss can take people from the Police Department and pay him a visit any day.”
Well now, that’s some real presence.
Lu Liang watched this sharp-eyed young man with interest.
Honestly, the team that Lu Ansheng brought had some useful tough guys; they were worth grooming.
No wonder gangs liked to recruit underlings.
After getting slapped repeatedly, the Cleaner was dumbfounded and looked over the group again.
Matching uniforms, neat formation, and although their leader had a roguish look, he carried a strong official air and clearly had serious backing.
“Are you… really from the Police Department?”
Swallowing nervously, the Cleaner believed it about eighty percent, and struggled to ask:
“What are you going to do?”
“What are we going to do?”
Lu Liang sneered:
“Of course we’re here to collect taxes! Don’t you know that Monster Bugs are property of the Police Department? Don’t you know that if you take Monster Bugs without permission, not only will your illegal gains be confiscated, you also have to pay a tax?”
If you have to pay tax when moving furniture, how much more so for stealing monsters!
“I won’t pay! What can you do to me? What’s the Police Department gonna do? If you push me, I’ll kill you!”
The Cleaner gritted his teeth, then suddenly punched the guy in front of him and tried to make a run for it!
But two fists can’t beat many hands.
The others quickly blocked his path, surrounding him.
The guy who’d been punched—his eye already bruising—cursed and beat him back:
“That’s for not paying your tax! That’s for not paying your tax!”
A few minutes later, Lu Liang calmly counted the cash and the wriggling sack of Monster Bugs they’d taken from the Cleaner, then tossed the Cleaner’s phone back to him:
“Make a call.”
“W-what?”
The Cleaner, bruised and battered, stared in disbelief.
“Call a Cleaner you know. Once he arrives, you can leave. One for one—it’s fair.”
Lu Liang said calmly.
This was entrapment in action!
“Ha! You dogskin-clad bastard, dream on!”
The Cleaner was tough, and immediately snapped:
“Eat shit, you bastard!”
“Still trying to act tough? Fine, no problem.”
Lu Liang sneered, turning to Lu Ansheng:
“Ansheng, use his phone to max out loans on every lending platform, then call He Deputy Chief to bring someone over and take this Cleaner back. Doesn’t the Police Department need to improve their performance stats? He can help with that.”
Realizing he was about to be saddled with loans and made into a statistic, the Cleaner’s face turned ashen:
“No! Please, anything but that… If the loan isn’t repaid on time, the debt will just keep growing!”
“What’s that got to do with me? The choice is yours.”
Lu Liang’s words were like those of a devil:
“Last question—debts or a phone call? Your choice.”
“I… I’ll make the call.”
In the end, reality broke the Cleaner. He made a call:
“Hey, I’ve got something good here. I’ll send you my location, just come, don’t ask…”
A dozen minutes later, another Cleaner hurried to the scene, only to be immediately subdued by Lu Liang and his team.
“You bastard, you set me up!”
Once restrained, the second Cleaner instantly realized his so-called friend had betrayed him!
It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it!
The first Cleaner desperately denied it, but after the second Cleaner arrived, Lu Liang warmly slung his arm around the first Cleaner’s shoulders, returning his phone and belongings:
“Smart man, you’re free to go.”
But this only made it look like there was some unspeakable shady deal between him and Lu Liang.
Though he cursed Lu Liang’s ancestors in his heart, the first Cleaner was still grateful the idiot kept his word.
He left a fierce parting remark:
“We’ll meet again someday!”
Then, under the second victim’s vengeful gaze, he departed—completely unaware that he’d fallen right into Lu Liang’s scheme.
“Take care!”
Lu Liang waved and smiled cheerfully.
His actions left the other Dujing Group members utterly puzzled.
They understood the entrapment part, but why let the first Cleaner go for real?
Isn’t this letting a tiger return to the mountain—breeding future trouble? Aren’t the Police Department’s performance stats important anymore?
Only Lu Ansheng saw the point of Lu Liang’s move.
Having always been a social butterfly, he’d made lots of friends and understood how people think.
For example, say your friend talks you into joining a rigged gambling den, promising you big money, and when you really bring cash to the table, he quickly cashes out and runs.
Afterward, though you both lose money, do you hate your friend more for tricking you, or the rigged house?
Maybe not everyone chooses the same, but most people blame those closest to them, right?
When he saw the second Cleaner’s look of deep hatred toward the first, Lu Ansheng shivered.
He understood Lu Liang’s intention—he was shifting the conflict!
He’d taken the hostility that should have been aimed at himself, and spread it among the Cleaners instead!
A brilliant—borrowed knife—scheme.
They got the money, got the Monster Bugs, and in the end gave the Cleaners a venting outlet, turning what should’ve been a united group into enemies who would fight each other and ignore their real adversary.
Such a ruthless plan.
Lu Ansheng drew in a silent, cold breath.
He had a vague feeling that he and his brothers might have joined up with someone truly dangerous.