But as soon as he opened his mouth, he took me for a fool.
No matter how much a dealer made, it wasn't exaggerated to the point of earning a hundred thousand a month!
When I was investigating Kang Muru before, Xianyu had already dug up all his dirt.
In less than two years, a million in cash deposits plus a Hyundai Coupe was all his income.
That averaged out to a little over fifty thousand a month. And that was under the premise of the "fish-killing" scheme.
At a normal level, dealers in VIP rooms earned around ten thousand.
Asking me for six hundred thousand in compensation right off the bat made it clear that Kang Muru wasn't here for lost wages and commissions.
If I guessed correctly, this scoundrel was raising capital and interest for the first round of usury.
But since I was the one who set up this whole game, how could I let him have his way?
With that thought, I decisively replied, "No money, but I'll give you my life!"
"Heh! Life!?"
Upon hearing my words, a look of near madness appeared on Kang Muru's face, and he coldly laughed, "Do you think I wouldn't dare to take your life?"
"I lost money and had my wages and commissions docked, I'm living worse than death now!"
"If you're willing to die with me, then I... wouldn't mind!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, before I could even react, Kang Muru pulled out a gleaming cleaver from behind him and pressed it directly against my neck.
Seeing this, my brows furrowed tightly.
I hadn't expected Kang Muru to actually have this much courage!
But after a moment's thought, I could understand.
Anyone who is driven to gambling by loan sharks can no longer be described as "human."
They are truly capable of wanting money over their lives!
These kinds of gamblers are just like addicts.
When they're broke and going through withdrawal, they're capable of anything!
Things like cheating and deception are minor matters.
They'll readily engage in bloody acts like arson, murder, and robbery without batting an eye!
To avoid further provoking Kang Muru, I could only come up with an excuse: "At this hour, where do you expect me to get six hundred thousand for you?"
"If it's not urgent, let's wait until the bank opens tomorrow."
After speaking, I reached into my pocket.
I intended to use the steel plate to defuse the crisis by pretending to take out a cigarette case.
But I didn't expect that as soon as he saw me move, Kang Muru immediately pressed the knife closer to my neck and coldly warned, "Don't move!"
"My intention is to get money. If you try any tricks, don't blame me for being merciless with my blade!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kang Muru immediately turned to look at Shen Mengqing, who was driving over to pick me up, and said in a deep voice, "Beautiful lady, this has nothing to do with you. Could you please move away?"
After glancing at me, seeing me mouth a few words to her as Kang Muru slightly turned his body, Shen Mengqing immediately nodded in understanding, "No problem! You guys chat! I was just passing by out of curiosity after work."
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Mengqing stepped on the gas and drove away.
After Shen Mengqing left, under Kang Muru's coercion, I took him to a nearby bank's ATM counter, intending to withdraw twenty thousand yuan for him as he instructed.
During this time, to prevent me from informing outsiders, Kang Muru very cleverly made me hand over my phone to him.
Before we entered the range of the bank's surveillance cameras, Kang Muru finally lowered the cleaver from my neck and put it away.
At this point, I could have subdued him with my bare hands, but...
Just as I was leveling up to become a ruthless individual, Kang Muru had also skipped a grade and become someone who didn't care about his own life. As the saying goes: the tough fear those who are fearless!
Even if I could subdue Kang Muru today, as long as I didn't kill him, he would come back later.
Therefore, to deal with this kind of desperate person, it's natural to call in the professionals.
And the few words I mouthed to Shen Mengqing were for her to go and fetch the professionals for me.
If the other party was smart, they should be able to grasp my true intentions...
...
About three minutes later.
After withdrawing twenty thousand yuan from the ATM, to make the act more convincing, I handed the money over to Kang Muru without hesitation.
As he pocketed the money, Kang Muru lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, saying, "Damn it, this wasn't easy! I can finally go back to my old life."
Upon hearing this, I immediately realized that Kang Muru's purpose in asking me for money wasn't to prepare for repaying usury; he intended to... run away!
This, however, was getting interesting!
After the ATM reached its limit, Kang Muru prepared to retreat with me, his automatic "human ATM."
But he didn't intend to let me off just like that. Instead, he coerced me into renting a room at a nearby hotel, planning to have me take him to the bank counter to withdraw money directly once the bank opened the next morning.
Not long after the room was booked, a delicate female voice came from outside the door: "Boss, do you need special services?"
After booking the room, seeing that I had been very cooperative throughout, Kang Muru no longer held the knife to my neck.
Upon hearing the voice outside, before Kang Muru could react, I walked straight to the door, opened it, and said, "198, you in?"
The moment the door opened, I saw Shen Mengqing standing outside with a large group of people.
Among them, the leader was a man who looked no older than his early thirties.
Although the man's physique was ordinary and his height was average, on his shiny bald head, there was a long, thin, and ferocious scar.
It was clear that this was a major villain!
This major villain was none other than Kang Muru's current top creditor – Old Dog Zou!
In Wenzhou, apart from the Ying family's establishments, the usury for more than half of the underground casinos was monopolized by Old Dog Zou's men.
Because Ruichi and the place where Kang Muru often gambled were not too far apart, I often saw Old Dog Zou's subordinates shuttling back and forth between the two places.
Earlier, I hadn't told Shen Mengqing anything else, just the three words "Old Dog Zou."
"Brother Chen Xiang, is that you? Hello!"
As he spoke, Old Dog Zou's eyes kept darting into the room: "Where is he?"
Hearing this, I directly pointed to Kang Muru, who was lying on the bed, and replied, "He's lying down!"
At this moment, Kang Muru, who was initially unaware of what was happening, immediately realized something was wrong when he heard me single him out.
As he frantically rushed down from the bed with his knife, he froze the moment he saw Old Dog Zou.
The major villain who specializes in dealing with those who don't care about their lives... had arrived!
After regaining his senses, Kang Muru, while constantly backing away, pointed his knife at me and said venomously, "How did you know I owed usury? Was that game arranged by you!?"