Chapter 14: The Meeting (Part 2)
A massive figure sat at the head of the table, his two palms, large as cattail fans, clasped together. His gaze, sharp as a blade, swept over Tang Song, seemingly engraving him into memory.
Burly – that was Tang Song's impression of Kingpin. Weighing a full four hundred pounds, yet Kingpin showed no sign of flabbiness. His bulging muscles strained against his white suit.
His physique was like a small mountain, leaving no doubt that he could kill a male lion with a single punch. His eyes were equally fierce and predatory.
Facing Kingpin's aggressive gaze, Tang Song merely smiled, handed his suit jacket and cane to Lane standing nearby, pulled up a chair from the end, and sat down directly.
The position he chose was directly opposite Kingpin.
Kingpin stared at Tang Song for a moment, pressing his clasped thumbs together, then suddenly chuckled:
"Tang, these are the Boss of the various Gang in New York. And this is Song Tang. Tang Boss rarely interacts with everyone, but you should all have heard of him, right?"
Tang Song nodded slightly to everyone present, exceptionally polite, his gaze sweeping over all in attendance.
Among the seven or eight Gang Bosses present, few left an impression on Tang Song.
One was Kingpin. His burly physique, in Tang Song's perception, was brimming with Essence and Qi, like an external martial artist from the Jambudvīpa World. His Qi and Blood were incredibly full, making him a prime candidate for Demonic Cultivators to refine into Zombies or extract Living Souls from.
Hmm, some Mountain Spirits and Wild Monsters also liked this kind of chewy morsel.
Another was interesting. It was an elderly Asian woman wearing a Tang Suit, her hand constantly turning a string of prayer beads. She looked kind and benevolent. Facing Tang Song's gaze, she even responded with a smiling nod.
However, the position she sat in was below Kingpin, a seat only available to Underground Forces second only to Kingpin in power.
Tang Song felt a cold, sinister power from this old woman, somewhat resembling Internal True Qi from the Jambudvīpa World. Although crude, this power was vast in quantity.
Most interestingly, Tang Song's Divine Sense detected a deep malice directed towards him from this old woman.
Tang Song rubbed the Black Jade Thumb Ring on his thumb, a sinister smile forming in his heart. He decided then and there to find an opportunity to let Little Black have a good 'intimate' session with this old woman.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Kingpin nodded. Bullseye led a few men to close the conference room door, then stood behind Kingpin.
The Asian old woman sat beside Kingpin, turning her prayer beads, and was the first to speak: "Mr. Kingpin, everyone is here now. You went to great lengths to gather us all. What is it you wish to discuss?"
Kingpin took a lit cigar from Bullseye, took two puffs, and said, "The reason I invited everyone here is because there are a few cockroaches in New York."
He took over a dozen photos from Bullseye behind him and threw them onto the table, saying, "Everyone can take a look. These so-called superheroes have ruined three of my businesses. I've lost fifty million US Dollars!"
Tang Song looked at the scattered photos on the table. In the photos were a few perverts in tight suits—no, a few superheroes in tight suits and masks who were fighting crime.
Tang Song picked one up and examined it.
The person in the photo was wearing a red tight suit, dressed very much like Batman in the comics, holding a long staff.
*Doesn't that tight suit chafe?* Tang Song thought whimsically.
None of the Boss around the long table, except Tang Song, looked at the photos.
Seeing this, Kingpin took a puff of his cigar. Amidst the swirling smoke, he slowly began, "These superheroes aren't just hitting my businesses. Madame Gao, if I'm not mistaken, The Hand has two factories in Hell's Kitchen. They were destroyed by them the day before yesterday!"
Madame Gao, the Asian old woman and one of The Hand's five fingers, paused her bead-turning hand. A benevolent smile still hung on her face. "Just two factories. The Hand don't amount to much in our eyes!"
"The Hand is rich and powerful," Kingpin scoffed with a laugh, then turned to look at a white-haired old man in a tuxedo with slicked-back hair.
"Old Billy, you handle the human trafficking in New York. A couple of days ago, the New York Police Department repatriated over seven hundred people. If I recall correctly, according to the news, that was your ship!"
Old Billy said with a troubled expression, "This is the third time. My cargo ship has been attacked for the third time, goddamn it..."
As Kingpin pointed them out one by one, the conference room seemed to turn into a complaint session.
Each Gang Boss was like a bullied daughter-in-law, recounting their grievances. Tang Song watched the spectacle from the side. His Cleaning Business was on the surface; unless those Vigilantes were truly tight-suit perverts, Tang Song didn't believe they would be interested in corpses.
"Those of us present now basically represent the entire Underground Forces of New York."
Seeing that the atmosphere was right, Kingpin fiercely extinguished his cigar in the ashtray.
"Mobilize all your manpower, find those cockroaches, and crush them. I will personally offer a reward of ten million US Dollars."
All the Boss were moved. They quietly discussed among themselves for a few moments.
Soon, the matter was settled. Everyone present offered a reward, totaling fifty million and fifty thousand US Dollars.
All the Underground Forces in New York would move together to find the people.
Hmm, the fifty thousand US Dollars that Tang Song contributed was, according to him, because he was currently running a legitimate business, and those Vigilantes, no matter what, wouldn't come after him.
This fifty thousand was his token of goodwill.
...
"There's one more thing. Viggo is missing. The Arms Market in New York is in chaos right now!"
Kingpin looked at everyone. "Who is interested?"
The Boss present looked at each other, then simultaneously looked away.
The Arms Market in New York was a juicy piece of meat. They had been fighting fiercely over their share of the Arms recently.
Everyone wanted a piece of the pie, but none of the people who could sit in these seats were fools. They couldn't figure out Kingpin's true attitude and were all somewhat hesitant.
No one spoke, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
"Since everyone isn't interested, how about The Hand takes this business?" Madame Gao smiled at everyone, speaking slowly and softly.
Madame Gao looked at the crowd, her benevolent gaze thinly veiling a cold warning.
Everyone turned their eyes to Kingpin, wanting to see the opinion of their host.
To everyone's surprise, Kingpin clapped his hands and said.
"The Arms Market is huge, Madame Gao. The Hand alone can't swallow it all. At most, you can have 40%."
Shit...
Fuck...
In an instant, the Boss present suddenly understood. It was clear that The Hand and Kingpin had already joined forces. The share of the Arms Market had already been divided between their two families.
The purpose of this meeting was simply to inform them.
No one spoke. Everyone looked at Kingpin. At this moment, Kingpin was ferocious, like a real bear ready to pounce, hunched in his seat, his eyes darting around with fierce light.
Facing Kingpin's gaze, the Boss exchanged glances and couldn't help but choose to retreat. With The Hand and Kingpin allied, none of the families present were their match.
At this moment, Tang Song yawned. "Arms business, I happen to have a batch of small items on hand recently. Kingpin Boss, since you've given Madame Gao 40% of the share, how about the rest goes to me?"
As soon as Tang Song spoke, everyone looked at him. Kingpin stared at Tang Song with a forced smile:
"Tang, you've always done the Cleaning Business. Why would you think of switching to the Arms business? The Arms business isn't easy..."
(End of Chapter)