686 CRIMINAL OVERLORD
Zhong Feng leaned closer to Hu Lei’s ear, and she lifted her legs, placing them on his lap. He pulled her closer until she was almost completely in his arms. It was a familiar and comfortable position for them after years of love.
Then, he told Hu Lei his thoughts.
“Imagine a scenario where players could play an escape game and feel the danger in a virtual world. A virtual reality that is so real that the players could feel fear, pain and even experience death without any physical harm.” He explained as he looked at her.
Hu Lei was dazed because of the pure beauty of her man when his brain was firing up. She wondered if she should just climb on him entirely and kiss him. It was not like anyone would see or record them. The little toy he had whipped up at home for their security made them invisible to cameras.
“Xiao Lei, what do you think?” Zhong Feng flicked her forehead to snap her out of her daze.
The slight sting made her sober up, although she still wanted to do bad things to him.
She looked to the screen and saw that one of the male players was already labouring for breath. The poison level in his room was higher than the others because of a minor mistake he made in solving one of the puzzles.
The games in Anarkh were quite barbaric, and it was kind of something she found interesting. It made her remember her childhood. The old master in the mountains would give them hard training, and the danger of injury and death was real.
Most people wanted to experience near-death feelings, but they were not willing to risk their lives. It was just like the thrill of Russian roulette. It was exciting for most people to think of the concept and even desire to play it.
.....
Perhaps, it was a thing that made people want to test their luck. Or maybe, it was that empty click that made someone feel they had cheated death. But in reality, no one wanted to take the one-sixth chance they would die.
Well, maybe a few crazy people.
If that same revolver was filled with nonlethal paintballs that caused some pain, a lot of people would sign up. And the adrenaline rush would be almost the same. Unless the person had played real Russian roulette because that was a different kind of adrenaline.
But how many people had lived like her?
“That is an awesome idea!” She looked at Zhong Feng with shining eyes. Of course, she was more excited about her genius of a man than the idea itself. And she was happy that he would not be stuck in a rut of boredom for a while.
Since they took down Martial Island, it was kind of hard to be still at home. Sure, they had Wang Lei, but he refused to be a cute and difficult baby. If anything, he had become more independent and barely tolerated them.
“We can work on it together.” Zhong Feng said.
Hu Lei groaned in horror. She still did not like the tedious nature of the game development world, despite her ownership of Zhong Feng’s original tech company, Etude Technologies. She wanted more excitement than numbers.
Zhong Feng laughed and kissed her lips lightly. “I mean, you can come up with the stories for the games, just like you do at Etude.”
Hu Lei giggled. “You know me too well. If you need more help, you can reach out to Shun. He is doing nothing at the moment as far as I know. Plus, you can check up on him while you are at it. I know he misses you.”
Zhong Feng flicked her forehead again. “I know you want me to go to Mountain Ridge, so you can run wild in Tokyo alone.”
Hu Lei gasped in mock shock. “How could that be? I am just worried about people talking behind your back, making fun of how you stick to your wife all the time. Plus, Kaito and Akira should probably be around the city. I can check in on them.”
Zhong Feng’s face became a little more solemn. “Be careful with those two. They might be involved in black ops, but they are now working for the government. Their loyalties will be divided, and you cannot put yourself at risk.”
“Do not worry. I would never expose myself to danger. I already have a plan.” Hu Lei smiled smugly. “And don’t talk like I am an international criminal overlord.”
Zhong Feng looked at her flatly in a very familiar way.
Hu Lei leaned to kiss him on the cheek with an evil smile. “There will be plenty of time to celebrate after I earn that title.”
Zhong Feng shook his head with amusement. He could not help but wonder how he had ever thought that this little lady was a harmless kitten. At the time, he thought he was trapping her, but she was the one who had captured him in her deadly web.
“I will prepare a suitable gift as I await the day.” Zhong Feng indulged her as he always did.
Hu Lei nodded as a matter of course. It was not like she was going to become a criminal overlord. She was a changed lady, sort of. She kind of wanted to be a better person.
But Yuan Haoran, before he died, was involved in a lot of terrible, highly illegal and immoral businesses.
For example, the business of human trafficking and human testing in the Antarctica laboratory. She had first-hand and intimate experience with the working of that part of the nasty stuff. But it also demonstrated the significance of Yuan Haoran.
He could not have been able to operate his insidious businesses, along with his legal corporations, if he did not have links with numerous governments, charities and corporations. Her investigations indicated that the underworld was already in a mess.
Without Yuan Haoran controlling the organised crime syndicates, everyone wanted a piece of the pie. Unfortunately, most people did not understand the importance of underground channels, beyond making a quick buck.
It was a complex world, with a lot of interrelated businesses. Moreover, the underworld needed to balance out the normal world everyone knew. The darkness provided real and needed services, despite the dirty nature of the process.
For instance, the illegal organ trade around the world could be considered to be the most heinous of the underground industries. But even a good person with failing organs would be tempted to buy from an illegal dealer if it meant living another day.
The criminal world could provide those organs at a price. Unfortunately, a chaotic underworld would result in countless murders for the sake of satisfying the constant demand. A stable black market was different because it sourced organs differently.
Of course, a lot of harm was still caused by the dark business, but a balance had to be maintained. In an ideal world, there would be no crime, and people would not harm others. Unfortunately, human beings, like other animals, were bound by the rules of inequality and survival.
And Yuan Haoran placed her at the centre of the struggle.
