After leaving the sewer, Lu Liang wasn’t in a hurry to meet Lin Deqing.
He first sent someone to the mall to buy a few packs of cigarettes, and only then did he leisurely bring his people to see Lin Deqing.
The place Lin Deqing picked was a café in a remote location.
Probably because of the lack of customers, the Boss always wore a worried face, as if everyone owed him a huge sum.
As soon as he stepped inside, Lu Liang heard someone calling his name:
“Xiao Lu! Over here, over here!”
Following the voice, Lu Liang spotted Lin Deqing sitting in a corner.
He casually tossed five hundred yuan to Lu Ansheng:
“You take the brothers to get something to drink first.”
Lu Ansheng was a perceptive guy.
He knew that what was about to happen was a private conversation between his bro and a big shot from the Police Department—if he and the others hung around, they’d just be in the way.
So he led the rest of the guys over to the Boss to order.
The café Boss had never seen so many customers at once—his usual deadpan face instantly bloomed into a grin brighter than any flower.
After Lu Ansheng and the others finished ordering, they sat at a nearby table, chatting and laughing.
The previously chilly café suddenly felt much livelier.
Lu Liang, meanwhile, walked up to Lin Deqing and sat down without a hint of restraint:
“Long time no see, Deputy Director Lin.”
“Heh, didn’t we just meet yesterday?” Lin Deqing let out a sly smile.
“When you’re out and about, don’t use titles—just call me Old Lin. Xiao Lu, are those your subordinates?”
He lowered his voice and pointed towards Lu Ansheng and the others.
“Ha, what subordinates? Old Lin, don’t you know me by now? When we first met, I was all by myself. Those guys? Just some friends I met yesterday, we hit it off.”
Lu Liang waved his hand as he spoke.
“Oh?”
Lin Deqing let out a cold laugh, thinking to himself: Friends? I doubt it’s that simple!
He’d been watching Lu Liang’s group from the moment they walked in.
Out of all of them, Lu Liang led the way, and the rest, including Lu Ansheng, seemed to subtly regard Lu Liang as their head.
Among them, Lin Deqing even recognized one—Lu Ansheng.
Yesterday, he seemed to have attended the Police Department’s recruitment meeting.
Back then, Director Chen almost took him in as a performance achievement, and it was only thanks to Lu Liang’s plea that he was let go.
Who would’ve thought, after just one night, these two were now close.
And judging by Lu Ansheng’s attitude, he seemed more than willing to follow Lu Liang’s lead.
Lin Deqing’s opinion of Lu Liang’s abilities changed yet again.
This guy wasn’t just ruthless and cunning, hard to handle, but his ability to win people over was impressive—truly formidable.
If he had to make a comparison, Lu Liang was like a blot of ink—anyone who got close would end up stained!
Wait a minute, wasn’t he himself entangled with Lu Liang too?
Lu Liang really was a raw gem!
“By the way, Xiao Lu, didn’t you say after you became Black Glove there were some things you didn’t understand? Ask me anything you’re unclear about.”
After some small talk, Lin Deqing wanted to get down to business.
Meeting with Lu Liang was about figuring out where he stood, and now that he knew they were still on the same side, Lin Deqing was delighted.
While the iron was hot, he figured he’d do Lu Liang a favor here—later, it would make it easier to keep a grip on him.
Lu Liang did have something he wanted Lin Deqing’s help with, but he didn’t say it directly. Instead, he asked:
“Old Lin, do you smoke?”
Lin Deqing glanced at the cigarette Lu Liang pulled out and saw it was a 50-yuan pack of Zhonghua.
Without changing his expression, he accepted it:
“What’s up, Xiao Lu? Got something you need me to help with?”
“Nothing much, really.”
With the cigarette pack serving as a bridge between them, their relationship shifted from complicated scheming to a simple exchange of interests:
“I just wanted to ask if you know of any cheap places for rent? Doesn’t matter if it’s out of the way—as long as the price is low.”
Lin Deqing was surprised to hear this and gave Lu Liang a curious look:
“What? You want to start a company? Renting a place?”
“Heh, Old Lin, I’m not that ambitious.”
Lu Liang shrugged:
“Look at these friends of mine. Later on, they’ll all be helping the Police Department with me, so we need a proper place to work together. Can’t just keep wandering around the sewers, right? If word got out, people would think the Police Department was too stingy to give us outsiders an office.”
Lin Deqing could only give a wry smile and cover his face.
He could see now—Lu Liang was seriously ambitious, clearly plotting something big.
The Police Department chose this guy as Black Glove, but who knew if that was a blessing or a curse.
“Alright then.”
Lin Deqing thought for a moment, then said:
“Xiao Lu, you’ve just become Black Glove, so you probably won’t be making much money in the beginning. How about this… Over in the South District, there’s a building slated for demolition, but the higher-ups haven’t approved it yet. I’ll talk to the folks down there, you can use that building as your base for now. How about it?”
“Old Lin, you’re really looking out for me.”
Lu Liang didn’t mind the base being in an abandoned building at all—who could complain when it was free?
Even if he’d just gotten to the building and it collapsed right on top of him, Lu Liang would still give it a thumbs up for being so on target.
Now that the Dujing Group’s Headquarters was decided, Lu Liang didn’t have any other requests.
He simply chatted idly with Lin Deqing:
“Xiao Lu, this is just the right time for you to stake out your own territory. Remember those Scavengers? During the Police Department’s Black Glove election, the ones who showed up were all leaders and such. Now the department has locked them up, and they’ll probably be inside for a month or so. Even if their organizations pick new leaders, it’ll take some time.”
Lin Deqing was a talker—once he got started, he wouldn’t stop:
“This is your chance to grab the market. Take advantage of this leaderless window—if you move early and take their territory, you might just monopolize the Cleaner Industry in Ye City.”
Their interests aligned, and Lin Deqing was happy to see Lu Liang rise in power.
After all, he was just a Black Glove—no matter how big he got, he wouldn’t surpass the Police Department, would he?
“Yeah, don’t worry, Old Lin. I’ll handle it.”
As he spoke, Lu Liang noticed Lin Deqing suddenly furrowed his brows, as if there was more on his mind.
So he asked:
“What is it? Something else?”
“Nothing too serious. Xiao Lu, do you remember that Scavenger called Night Owl?”
“Him? Didn’t he get locked up too?”
“Yeah… well… This guy has some ties to another Deputy Director in the Police Department. That Deputy Director pleaded a bit in front of Director Chen, so Night Owl was released.”
Lin Deqing spoke hesitantly:
“I think this guy’s ruthless and shameless. Anyway, just be careful.”
Lu Liang’s face twitched slightly.
He hadn’t expected Night Owl to be able to get out so easily again, but even though the guy was free, Lu Liang wasn’t the least bit intimidated:
“Don’t worry, Old Lin. One Night Owl isn’t enough to scare me.”
“Now that you say that, I’m relieved.”
Lin Deqing said cheerfully.
For some reason, when others made promises, Lin Deqing always felt doubtful.
But when Lu Liang promised something, he had not a single doubt.
This guy was truly capable—what a pity he wasn’t very good at social niceties.
Lin Deqing thought gloomily to himself, still fussing over the fact that Lu Liang hadn’t called him first thing last night.
But just as Lin Deqing was thinking this, Lu Liang suddenly took out a package and placed it in Lin Deqing’s hands with an air of mystery:
“Old Lin, just a little something as a greeting gift. Don’t be shy.”
“Ai, how could I accept this?”
Lin Deqing offered a few polite words and took the package, thinking it was probably some snacks or something.
But when he opened it, he found inside more than a dozen Monster Bugs!
Startled, Lin Deqing quickly closed the package and whispered:
“Where’d you get these?”
“Where else? Got them from the Scavengers in the sewer! Old Lin, turn these in as your own achievements. I’m going to take my friends to check out the South District.”
Lu Liang gave Lu Ansheng and the others a gesture, and they all stood up, following him out.
“How did he get so many Monster Bugs in such a short time? How’d this kid pull it off? Those Scavengers are slippery as eels—when there’s any trouble, they all scatter… Hey! Incredible!”
Watching the departing Lu Liang, Lin Deqing felt all sorts of emotions welling up inside.
Who says Lu Liang doesn’t understand the ways of the world?
He understands all too well!