48 Hours a Day

In the afternoon, they tried to rob the slave-girl, but it was a failed attempt. Hence, they were forced to confront Iron Handcuff empty-handed. They could already foresee the tragic fate that awaited them.

Just when they thought they were about to fall into great despair, Zhang Heng expressed his willingness to save them. Soap did not know whether it was a blessing or a curse to follow Zhang Heng, but they seemed to have no other choice. So they bit the bullet and walked into the tavern.

Tonight, Iron Handcuff’s men had almost entirely occupied Blackwater Bay. As for the rest of the people, they were burglars from the three nearby streets. Most of them were skinny teenagers like Soap and Skinny Monkey. They had come to report this week’s work to Iron Handcuff, and would also need to hand over the money that they robbed to him.

Although they had always complained in private about this injustice, no one dared to actually disobey him. That was because they knew the consequences of angering Iron Handcuff. All those unfortunate ones that disobeyed him were nowhere to be seen. Hence, even though the rest were unhappy, they had no choice but to pay Iron Handcuff every week.

Fortunately, they had all grown up at this place and were accustomed to such things. After all, the strong preying on the weak was something that would never change in this world. Whoever had the power would get to rule the weak, and the weak could only learn how to obey orders.

Before this, Soap and four of his companions belonged to the bottom rungs of society. Many thieves knew about Skinny Monkey’s sister’s illness. Initially, they sympathized with Soap and his companions, but it did not last long, and now, it had disappeared completely. After that, some thieves even laughed at them.

After all, these thieves would usually hustle along these three streets. They would work with each other at times but were rivals at most. Besides, it was rare to see anyone loaded with money walking on these streets. Often, these burglars would go for the same target, making peaceful co-existence between them nearly impossible.

Nonetheless, they were about to be having one less rival group after tonight.

“Damn! You guys are finally here. I thought you and your friend were going to run from me. I was just about to settle my things here and pay a visit to your respective families.”

The person talking to them was a dwarf, and his role in the gang was to manage Iron Handcuff’s money. When Soap and four of his friends entered the tavern, he was sitting on a waitress’s lap. They were chatting, and the waitress was laughing at his jokes. At the same time, she allowed the dwarf to feast his eyes on her body.

After that, he kissed the waitress on the cheek, jumped off her lap, walked to Soap, and stretched out one of his hands, “Excellent, since you are here, pay us the money.”

“I... we have no money,” Soap replied with a shudder, even hearing the sound of his own teeth chattering in his mouth.

“No money?” The smile on the dwarf’s face gradually disappeared, “That does not sound right to me. I heard you guys had a good yield this week.”

“Yes, but we used the money to take my sister to a doctor.” Skinny Monkey did not want Soap to be burdened by the pressure alone. So, he gulped and blurted out the truth.

The dwarf sighed. “You have not been in this business for long enough. You are, however, considered a veteran now, and you should have known everything about the rules. Of course, it is important to treat your sister’s illness, but you can’t use other people’s money to pay for her treatment. No matter how we look at it, you are at fault.”

“I... we will find a way to repay you as soon as possible,” Skinny Monkey hurriedly said, “...for the sake of the money that you’ve made for Iron Handcuff, please give us another chance to make up for it.”

“Okay,” the dwarf nodded. “We are not unreasonable. Even if you deceive us first, our boss, Iron Handcuff, is willing to trust you again. After all, you are the best thief in these three streets.”

When Skinny Monkey and others heard this, they were overjoyed. They did not expect that Iron Handcuff, who had always been known for his cruelty and brutality, would show them mercy at a time like this. The thieves around them looked very surprised when they heard what he said.

After that, they saw the dwarf drew his dagger and stuck it on the wooden table.

“We have a small problem. Unfortunately, we are only allowed to forgive three people. It seems you guys will have to make a decision here.” A vicious smile appeared on the dwarf’s face.

Soap and his friends were left in shock. The other thieves, on the other hand, were relieved when they saw what had happened. That was the Iron Handcuff that they were familiar with. They would need to pay the price when they made a mistake.

Now, everyone in the tavern was looking at Soap and his friends. They wanted to know who they would choose in the end. After a while, Soap said, “Wait, we don’t have any money, but we have to discuss with Iron Handcuff’s boss about a business plan.”

He finally made up his mind. He knew that he was about to cut ties with Iron Handcuffs and the gang when he said that. Even though Soap greatly doubted that Zhang Heng could to cut a deal with Iron Handcuff, he had no other options but to do what Zhang Heng asked him to do.

“Business?” A playful look spawned across the dwarf’s face. “What business plan can four thieves come up with? Or are you trying to buy yourselves some time?”

The next moment, an unfamiliar voice came into his ears, “What he said is true. He wants to discuss a business plan with your boss.”

The dwarf was a little surprised. He did not know where Zhang Heng had come from. In fact, he could not even remember when the Asian man had entered the tavern. And he had never seen him before. Hence, he had no idea why a stranger wanted to stick his nose in his business.

On the other side, Black Mamba and his men, drinking, had their expressions change drastically they saw Zhang Heng. He then asked, “Why are you here again?!”

“Why? Do you know him?” The dwarf was taken aback when he heard Black Mamba shouting.

The incident that had happened that afternoon was too embarrassing to be told by Black Mamba. Seven of his men were beaten up by a single person, and they were left with swollen noses and faces. Considering that Zhang Heng didn’t belong here, and they had no way to defeat him, they decided not to look for revenge. It was rare that they would make peace with a stranger that had just beaten them up.

None of them expected that Zhang Heng was still around and follow them to this tavern. Black Mamba suddenly felt aggrieved. He did not know why Zhang Heng had come to the tavern tonight. And he thought that he was here for him. After the fight, Black Mamba heard Zhang Heng say that he would let them go, and he thought the man was going to keep his promise. Zhang Heng’s very presence made him believe that Zhang Heng broke the promise on purpose. A gladiatorial champion usually wouldn’t be that perfidious. The ones he had beaten up did not seek him, but the ones who beat them up came knocking at their door.