216 The Cold Hard Grip Of Capitalism

(Alpha Star System- Planet Gaia)

(Abandoned Warehouse- Unknown Location)

One.

Two.

Three.

A tough middle-aged man with a vicious scar running down the sides of his right cheek flicked through a pile of papers.

He stood at an intimidating eight feet in height with several traits that gave away his alien heritage.

His eyes were dark blue in colour and he had a long slender tail with a pointed barb that swayed slowly in the air.

A group of equally vicious thugs and killers were present in the warehouse, but none even dared to make a sound.

These men who on ordinary days swaggered around the slums of the capitol arrogantly bullying and harassing anyone they saw displeasing to the eye were currently frozen in fear.

The boss was not happy.

And when the boss was not happy….

People died.

"Is this report accurate?" the middle-aged man leaned back against a wall and stared at a fresh-faced youth hidden in the back of the crowd.

"Yes…. Yes... yes sir!" the youth could not help but stammer slightly under the ferocious gaze of the boss.

The middle-aged man just shook his head and continued to go over the files with no expression on his face. 

One did not become one of the most powerful crime lords in the slums by wearing their emotions on their sleeves.

None of his men could even get a glimpse of the turbulent feelings currently surging through their boss' heart.

Geronzio Venti had been ruling over the east side of the slums for over three decades. 

Part of the reason why his rule was so stable was that he had a good sense of when to stop.

Lesser criminals were nothing more than mad dogs, so they were put down like mad dogs.

But the truly crafty old foxes knew not to draw attention to themselves.

That was the main reason why Geronzio had never targeted the noble class or certain powerful merchant families with connections.

He understood that the nobility merely allowed them to survive because they stayed within the slums.

Out of sight.

Out of mind.

Why would gods be concerned with lives on ants below their feet?

But should these ants ever step out of bounds…. 

Well let's just say that the north, south and west side of the slums had seen a constant shift in management.

Geronzio saw himself as a man who knew when to quit but the job offer, he had received three weeks ago seemed to be too good to be true.

And too good to turn down….

Security footage at his house showed a masked woman with a body physique modifier had somehow broken into his apartment and left a folder with the details of this new assignment.

Fulfilling this task would make the unknown client very pleased. 

Pleased to the tune of five billion Enas and a resident permit to a grade one planet.

This was an obscene amount of wealth and the assignment seemed to be straightforward but sharp instincts honed over years made Geronzio hesitate.

What to do?

Geronzio pondered once more as he scanned the files trying to see if there was a hidden trap inside the wording of the contract.

Inside the folder was the complete information on the profiles of twenty-seven noble children who were apparently going to visit the Imperial Palace.

This information included their names, a picture, noble family, and current cultivation.

Geronzio had immediately panicked when he saw that every single family had the status of duke.

This was not something a small-time gangster could deal with!

And yet the assignment was not as bold as what he initially assumed. 

The following sheet of paper explained that these children were most likely to visit the brothels of the slums before their visit to the palace.

Some were willful and wanted to go out and play while others sought pleasures of the most carnal desires.

STIs had long been cured and removed from the population so there was no risk in contracting any genitalia diseases.

All Geronzio and his gang were required to do was to send a message via a communicator to the number listed on the file whenever one of the targets entered the slums.

There was no need to engage or even come into contact with these children and the client promised to handle the follow up work personally.

Geronzio had shown the task to his second in commander who laughed and said that it was obviously easy money.

Things were not doing so well as the police had recently busted one of their most important drug smugglers on the southside.

The gang badly needed a fresh influx of cash.

Geronzio closed his eyes and tried to suppress the heavy feeling in his heart. 

He would break his unspoken rules of business and immediately flee the country once the Enas credits were wired to his account.

"Alright listen up boys," Geronzio opened his eyes and spoke in a low voice that commanded respect.

"In two weeks, we have a special surveillance assignment. I don't want any direct contact wit the targets like last time."

"This client is extremely wealthy and is willing to pay thirty million Enas!"

Loud roars and cheers echoed around the empty warehouse as the amount of money the boss was talking about was enough for most to survive for a lifetime.

The second in command could not help but lean in and whisper in Geronzio's ear,

"Boss did you make a mistake? I thought the reward money from the client was five billion Enas…."

Bam!

A single bullet hole appeared in the middle of the poor second in command's head before he could even finish talking.

"What are you looking at?" the boss growled as he felt the rest of the gang turn oddly silent.

Geronzio released his spiritual coercion and soon the weaker members were gasping for air and fainting.

"The plan begins on a Monday," Geronzio frowned once more and then dismissed the rest of the gang.

Richard was indeed a trustworthy second in command, but no one could know the true amount of money paid for this task.

Thirty million split between a gang of two hundred people was just a slightly larger paycheck. 

Five billion Enas was just absurd and dangerous.

Since ancient times…. wealth has often brought on disasters! 

He was simply protecting his loyal brothers and sisters from the cold hard grip of capitalism!

As for the rest of the money…. 

Well, the boss always needed an extra cut….