Gus Gilles was someone who had seen many terrible figures he shouldn’t provoke, yet he had only a sliver of dread toward those people. At this moment, however, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine, and his curiosity died out instantly.

‘The Stygian Club.’

The name was a legend. A legendary organization he had heard of that boasted terrifying power and influence. He could clearly infer from Mo Awu’s words that his Boss had the strength to fight against the Stygian Club.

After taking a deep breath, Gus Gilles concealed his feeling with a smile. It was a stiff smile, but it clearly expressed his understanding. “Well, let’s just forget about it if it’s inconvenient. Anyway, I still don’t get something. Why would your Boss want to see me? Is it like last time—you want some inmates from labor camp 1319?”

“Don’t be rushed, take it easy about that, Gus,” said Mo Awu. “Wait until you meet my Boss; you’ll naturally know what his intention is.”

A few minutes later, Mo Awu took Gus Gilles to the room where Tang Xiu was staying. Even though Gus Gilles was quite surprised upon finding out how young Tang Xiu is, he acted more respectful and exchanged some pleasantries with Tang Xi. He then asked about the doubt that plagued his mind, “Boss Tang, I don’t think you brought me here just to have a chat, right? Please speak directly about if there’s anything I can do for you. I’ll never refuse it as long as it’s within the scope of my ability.”

“Alright. How much do you know about labor camp 1319?” asked Tang Xiu. “Also, are you familiar with the top official of this prison?”

“Boss Tang, you should have heard from Wu that I was once detained in this labor camp 1319.” Gus Gilles nodded and said, “It was very fortunate that I had amassed quite a fortune before I was detained and I was able to buy my freedom. Hence, I know quite a lot about the situation inside the prison. As for Augustino, I have had some dealings with him a few times, one of which regarding his secretly arranged underground gladiatorial death matches.”

“If that’s true, how about doing some business with me?” asked Tang Xiu with satisfaction.

“What business?” asked Gus Gilles.

“I’ll pay 20 million USD for your work. You help me purchase a batch of inmates from labor camp 1319. Also, find a way to send me inside and give me a week there. I’ll give you a list of inmates I’ll buy by then.”

“You want to buy a group of prisoners from there? Not just one?” Gus Gilles was shocked.

“There’s no need to fly in from afar and come here personally if I just wanted to buy one prisoner,” said Tang Xiu lightly. “I want to buy a batch of these prisoners; no less than 100 of them.”

“That’s impossible!” bluntly exclaimed Gus Gilles. “Even if Augustino is the highest commander of the labor camp 1319, he wouldn’t dare to sell you so many major criminals. Let alone 100 inmates; he probably doesn’t have the guts to sell more than a dozen of them.”

Tang Xiu frowned and asked, “Does he have insufficient authority, or is he under the surveillance and control of someone else?”

“It’s not a major problem for Augustino to have dozens of heavy convicts for sale with his authority, but the crux of the problem is… the prisoners detained in the labor camp 1319 are all extremely horrible. Releasing tens of them rather casually will do great harm to society. Augustino is sure to worship money like his life, but he would never try to seek death that recklessly either.”

“So, you mean is… he’s too afraid of selling so many prisoners,” said Tang Xiu. “It’s out of fear that the sold convicts will make a major disaster outside, eventually causing trouble for him?”

“That’s right,” answered Gus Gilles.

Tang Xiu squinted and thought about the issue silently. He felt that Gus Gilles made sense. Had it been himself in the position of the highest-ranking officer of labor camp 1319, he wouldn’t take such a big risk for money either.

But if he didn’t try, wouldn’t his effort in coming here go to waste? Or, should he really resort to putting that very dangerous plan into motion… creating riots to help those convicts escape secretly?

“I have an idea, Boss,” interjected Jin Shi all of a sudden.

“You do? Tell me.” Tang Xiu was surprised.

A cold gleam suffused in Jin Shi’s eyes as he explained with all seriousness, “It’s highly likely that Augustino won’t dare to sell us so many prisoners. It’s better to contact the camp’s second-in-charge. If he’s willing to sell a lot of inmates to us, we’ll help him remove Augustino, though it will be up to his own efforts if he wants to sit on top of the food chain in the prison.”

“Not bad!” Tang Xiu clapped and smilingly said with satisfaction, “That’s a good idea. If the number two character is not an idiot, he will cooperate with us. Gus Gilles, who’s second-in-charge in labor camp 1319?”

Gus Gilles thought for a moment and answered, “Sander.”

“Do you have a way of contacting him to arrange for us to meet in secret?” asked Tang Xiu.

“I’m one of Augustino’s VIP guests, so Sander will give me some face.” Gus Gilles nodded. “Boss Tang, if you really have the money and the capital to remove Augustino, you can meet Sander and I’m sure he’ll agree to a deal with you. But…”

“But what?” asked Tang Xiu with pressed brows.

“But, can we have some changes in our deal?” asked Gus Gilles seriously. “I don’t want money, just your help with an issue of mine.”

“Do tell. What kind of problem do you have?” asked Tang Xiu.

“I’d like you to eliminate four people after your plan is successful,” said Gus Gilles. “They are gang leaders in Tel Aviv and quite powerful.”

Tang Xiu didn’t immediately answer his request but instead asked with a pale smile, “You want us to kill the other four gang leaders so that you can become the kingpin or godfather of Tel Aviv’s underworld?”

“That’s right. As long as those four are eliminated, those under them will cause trouble. It is highly likely that there will be internal struggles for the leader position. When they fight to the death, it will be the time for me to act. I have 70-80% of confidence that I’ll be the godfather of all of Tel Aviv’s underworld; that is, once they die.”

“Alright. Deal.” Tang Xiu nodded.

Seeing Tang Xiu agree so quickly was not something Gus Gilles expected, so he immediately said excitedly, “I’ll contact Sander then. I’ll personally inform you after the time and place are determined.”

“Alright.”

Tang Xiu sent Gus Gilles to leave with his gaze before he waved to Jin Shi and said, “Follow him in secret and monitor his actions. If you find him backstabbing us, or doing some shitty trick to expose us, kill him directly.”

“Understood.” Jin Shi nodded cautiously and went out silently.

****

Labor camp 1319.

In the northernmost part of the prison, there was a six-story building with a wide and spacious hall at the bottom. An arena platform, or rather a fighting ring, had been set up in the hall. Two fighters were wearing big boxers and were engaged in a grueling fight on the ring, while hundreds of people sat in the surroundings.

“Commander Augustino, who do you think will win the final?”

A foreign mean in a suit and shiny shoes was smoking a cigar spoke in a relaxed manner as he asked casually, puffing out smoke as he spoke.

The highest official of labor camp 1319, Augustino, still wore an obsequious smile and said, “Mr. Newark, the no. 6 Fleshgrinder and no.3 Thanatos are very powerful experts in our prison. Fleshgrinder has a record of 4 wins from 4 fights, but Thanatos also has 5 wins and 1 draw from 5 fights. I can’t tell which one of them will become the final winner from their fight.”

Newark pointed to Thanatos and slowly said, “I think Thanatos will be the ultimate winner. He hasn’t used the weapon he’s good at so far, and his opponent hasn’t been able to push him too hard. That Fleshgrinder, though, didn’t you see that he’s very powerful but a little too sluggish?”

Augustino nodded with a pensive look a few times and then said, “I think you’re right, Mr. Newark. I hope he can win the last game too! Else, I’ll lose quite a sum of money that I’ve betted.”

Newark was the leader of an arms dealer who controlled arms trafficking through various channels in Israel. Rumors had it that he was very close with the state. He was also the main supporter behind Augustino becoming the highest-ranking official of the labor camp 1319 by pouring in a lot of money to help him.

“In the fights between experts, any negligence or mistakes will cost them their lives. More so that the situation in combat is rapidly changing. Nobody can say who will be the ultimate winner now,” Newark nodded.

Suddenly, Sander, who was sitting on the chair next to Augustino, took out his mobile and was surprised to see the caller shown on its screen. It was because the person who called him turned out to be Gus Gilles, the most powerful gang leader in Tel Aviv.

‘What does he want from me?’

Sander didn’t want to talk to Gus Gilles, but it was hard to not to at this time. He quickly glanced at Augustino, then bent over and stood up to leave the spectator area and run outside. As he found a remote spot, he picked up the phone and spoke, “Gus Gilles, shouldn’t you take the initiative to find Augustino? Why are you calling me?”

“It’s your promotion. It’s quite a good thing to have more power and fortune, don’t you think? I wonder if you’re interested.” Gus Gilles’s voice was heard from the phone.

“Sorry, I don’t get what you mean,” answered Sander, frowning.

“There’s no need for you to understand it for the time being. You just need to remember to cooperate with me. Not only can you be promoted to the highest-ranking position in labor camp 1319, but you can also earn yourself quite a fortune,” said Gus Gilles with a smile. “I’ll arrange the time and place for you to meet with someone around midday tomorrow.”