In the afternoon, ships on the Rhenu River poured into the South Port like a swarm of fish.
The massive harbor of Nangang resembled a prehistoric monster, constantly swallowing and spewing ships. But it was clear that this prehistoric behemoth's mouth wasn't big enough, and many ships were still densely packed outside the harbor. The reckless intrusion of some small vessels had escalated the congestion into a gridlock.
However, this kind of situation usually doesn't last long, because there will soon be some troublemakers.
Huge freighters bearing the crests of noble families, taking advantage of their immense size, charged recklessly. The smaller and medium-sized vessels in the foreground cried out in pain, cursing and scattering. The sailors on the giant ships, however, laughed heartily at the smaller vessels' frantic retreat.
After these troublemakers passed, some ships with better maneuvers and luck took advantage of the situation and followed into the port. However, even after entering the port, it was far from time to relax, because they still had to compete for docks to unload their cargo.
Nangang now has over seventy docks, stretching for dozens of miles. While this might sound like a significant number, the reality is that these docks are constantly unloading cargo 24 hours a day, and there are still many fully loaded ships waiting.
At Pier 68 in Nangang, a boat laden with fruit had just docked. A group of seven or eight tall, broad-set men surrounded it. The leader was a burly man with dark skin and a full black beard.
The big man with black beard shouted in a rough voice: "Where is the captain? Where is the captain?"
The fat ship owner groaned inwardly when he saw these people surrounding him. Then he pushed aside the smiling face and bowed: "I am the ship owner. May I ask what you gentlemen want from me?"
"What's up? Hehe...good news!"
Good things? Damn it, what good things can come from being targeted by such ruthless scoundrels like you...
Before the portly merchant could speak, the black-bearded man continued, "Your ship has just arrived, so you must be looking for porters to unload the cargo. I have some people on hand, so I can just deliver them to your door. Don't you think this is a good thing?"
The fat captain smiled and said, "How dare I invite all of you heroes? In fact, I have already invited... uh..."
Hearing this, the burly men next to the black-bearded man loosened their clothes intentionally or unintentionally, and axe tattoos suddenly appeared on their chests.
The big man with a black beard threw his head back and laughed a few times: "Haha, have you invited people already? That's perfect, call them over and let the brothers open their eyes. I want to see who won't give face to Bao Xiong of the Axe Gang."
The Axe Gang? The boat owner's heart sank. He often traveled this route and naturally knew some of the underground gangs in Laiyan City.
Although the name of the Axe Gang is a bit awkward, it is a medium-sized gang in Laiyan City with hundreds of members. From the boss to the younger brothers, all of them use axes as weapons and act in a brutal manner.
The fat ship owner wiped the sweat from his forehead, knowing he couldn't avoid it today. He said, "Actually, I was just about to ask you to help me unload the cargo. I wonder what your price is..."
"Haha, that's a good price. I'm Baoxiong and I'm always straightforward. Three silver coins per trip is fine..."
"What? Three, three silver coins? You're robbing me!" the shipowner was shocked and furious. His cargo of fruit would have to make at least a thousand trips back and forth to transport it all, meaning he would have to pay 30 gold coins just to unload the cargo.
God forbid, the profit from this shipload of fruit was only a hundred gold coins. After deducting the cost of supplies, sailors' wages, and ship repairs and maintenance, the net profit was only about fifty gold coins. But now someone else was asking for a large share just by asking, how could he not be furious?
A fierce gleam flashed in Baoxiong's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "Robbery? Damn it, you must apologize. Otherwise, I will chop you down with an axe. Brother, I earn money by my own strength, and this is also robbery?"
The boat owner saw the fierce gleam in Baoxiong's eyes and shuddered. But when he thought about giving up half of his profits, he felt a little reluctant and fell silent for a while.
"Oh, it's fruit, you know? Captain, you've got good taste! This stuff is in high demand this season." Bao Xiong grabbed a piece of fruit from the box and took a few crunching bites. "It's just that the storage time is too short. If we wait two or three days, I'm afraid a lot of it will rot... What do you think, Captain?"
This statement completely deflated the fat boat owner. He knew that if he didn't agree to Bao Xiong's demands, the fruit would be hard to get off the ship. Fruit doesn't store well for long periods of time; it spoils easily, and spoiled fruit naturally can't be sold.
The boat owner waved his hand feebly: "Then I'll trouble you all."
Bao Xiong smiled with satisfaction. "The captain is wise. Our boss always says that money is something only living people need. Hehe..."
The ship owner no longer had the heart to say anything more to Baoxiong, and just bowed with a wry smile.
"Done, let's go! Asan, go call the porters to unload the cargo." Baoxiong led the group of strong men off the boat proudly.
"Okay." A burly man responded, "Hey, Boss Baoxiong, isn't that the deputy gang leader?"
A middle-aged man with his hands clasped and a smiling face walked over from a distance, followed by several expressionless strong men.
"Yeah, it really is. You're here for an inspection, right? Let's go and show yourself."
When Baoxiong and his group walk together, they are still very eye-catching.
The middle-aged man also saw them and nodded with a smile.
Bao Xiong stepped forward with his head lowered, saluted, and said, "Hello, Deputy Gang Leader."
"Okay, okay, you're Baoxiong, right? How's business going here at the dock?"
Bao Xiong was immediately flattered to see that the deputy gang leader actually knew him, and his chest puffed out a bit. "Easy to do, easy to do. I just did a deal."
"Yeah, that's good. The docks are an important source of income for our gang. If you work hard, the gang won't let you down."
Bao Xiong suddenly felt his blood boiling and shouted, "Yes, Deputy Gang Leader, please rest assured. I will do my best to serve the gang."
The deputy gang leader smiled and said, "Okay, okay. But Baoxiong, the docks are a sensitive area, so you have to be careful. I heard that you crippled a sailor a few days ago?"
"Uh... I just wanted to scare the ship owner, but who knew that the sailor was so weak and accidentally... Please forgive me, Deputy Gang Leader."
"That's all in the past. Besides, it's all for the gang, how can I blame you? Since you're such a good fighter, how about this, do me a favor and then you can work with me."
"Thank you, Deputy Gang Leader, for the promotion! Just one word from you, Deputy Gang Leader. Who do you want to kill? I'll do it at all costs." Bao Xiong's face flushed red, his expression extremely excited. He knew his chance to rise to prominence had come. If he seized this opportunity, his status in the gang would definitely rise significantly.
"Okay, he's a real guy. He's a gambler who owes money to our gang for a long time. I don't think he can pay it back. You kill him and it will serve as a warning to others."
"Don't worry, deputy gang leader, I'll kill him tonight."
"Great!" the middle-aged man praised softly, then said to the man behind him, "Give Baoxiong ten gold coins. Baoxiong, after you're done, use this money to have a good time with your brothers."
Bao Xiong took the ten gold coins with some trembling: "Thank you, Deputy Gang Leader."
This was the first time Bao Xiong had ever come into possession of such a large sum of money. Although he had just earned 30 gold coins, that was the gang's money and had nothing to do with him. He wasn't even allowed to touch it; there were special gang members who were responsible for collecting the money. He only received a fixed monthly salary. At most, the gang would give him a little more for his hard work, but it never exceeded 50 silver coins.
The deputy gang leader patted Bao Xiong's shoulder to show encouragement, and then walked away leisurely.
After the deputy gang leader walked away, the burly men standing nearby quickly rushed over and congratulated Bao Xiong in a variety of ways. Of course, their eyes were fixed on the ten gold coins.
"What are you looking at? What are you looking at... Can I keep it all to myself? Am I Bao Xiong that kind of person? First, find that gambler. After we take him down, we'll go find some big-breasted and plump-assed girls and have some fun."
"Boss, you're wise. I want longer legs."
"Boss, you're awesome. I want two."
...
After getting the promise, a group of strong men surrounded Baoxiong and started flattering him.
The complacent Bao Xiong did not notice that beside him, there was an ordinary-looking young man who was also staring at the gold coins intently.
"I didn't expect this mission to earn extra money. I made a lot of money..."
This was Tang En. In fact, he had been monitoring Bao Xiong for some time, but he did not act rashly.
Through the old butler's words and deeds, Tang En realized that killing is not as simple as pulling the trigger in modern movies. That is just a microcosm of killing.
There's still a lot of work to do in the early stages, including collecting target information, analyzing the target's strength and behavior, and then formulating the most appropriate killing plan, choosing the scene to act, understanding the situation in the scene, and planning a retreat route. In the event of an accident, how to quickly handle and judge it, etc.
These tasks are very tedious, and sometimes you can complete the assassination smoothly even if you don't do them. But if you fail one day, it will definitely be because of these tasks.
Tang En was a man who valued his life. At least he couldn't die before killing Sethman. So he didn't mind spending a little more time to complete these tedious tasks in order to increase the success rate of the assassination.
Since Bao Xiong had made a promise to the deputy gang leader, he naturally didn't dare to neglect it. Through the gang's brothers who had deposited money, Bao Xiong quickly confirmed the gambler's identity.
"Oh, it's that gambler. This job is easy."
Bao Xiong actually knew this gambler. In fact, it wasn't just him; almost all the other strong men around him knew him. Firstly, this gambler also made a living at the docks. Second, this guy was such a gambler that many people had mentioned him in their gossip.
"He seems... seems to be doing odd jobs at Pier 49." A strong man with a better memory even remembered the place where the gambler worked odd jobs.
Bao Xiong called out, "Let's go and take a look."
"Shall we do it now?"
"Of course we're scouting, idiot. There's no way we're going to fight at the dock. Last time I crippled that sailor, and I got into a lot of trouble because I wasn't caught on the spot."
...
Bao Xiong and his men's scouting skills were undoubtedly low-level. With the constant flow of people on the dock, they could have openly monitored their opponents. But the timid behavior of these strong men only attracted more attention. Fortunately, their target, a skinny man wearing a tricorn hat, didn't notice them.
The skinny man was running quickly towards the dock at this time, catching the rope that had just been thrown near the ship, fixing it on the iron pile beside it, and then putting the wooden bridge on the shore onto the ship.
After doing all this, the skinny man adjusted his tricorn hat and turned to walk towards the shore.
"Uh..." Looking at the skinny man's face, Tang En opened his mouth, a little stunned.
"God wants to kill you... Looks like I don't have to return the silver coin."