Chapter 323 — First Arrival in the Small Town

At an ATM outside a bank, Wei Zhao first withdrew a few thousand euros and tucked them into his pocket for spending money, then went on wandering the North District.

Auto repair shops... Wei Zhao frowned. He would never have known if he hadn't come out; only by walking about did he learn that the North District was truly vast, and a混杂 jumble of all sorts — nightclubs large and small, dance halls, KTVs could be seen everywhere along the streets. It seemed that the closer one got to the Water Blue Gang's headquarters, the more of these businesses there were.

Wei Zhao was not about to believe that all of these were legitimate operations, because on his way past he had already spotted several gaudily dressed women making eyes at him.

Of course, Wei Zhao did not know whether the sex trade was illegal here, nor did he have the time to look into such things. After brooding a moment, Wei Zhao made a bold decision: he stopped a man wearing a blue baseball cap with a scar across his face.

The fellow did not look like any sort of good news at a glance, especially with that gang emblem plainly displayed on top of his head — which proved the point well enough. Still, the man was clearly not a higher-up of the Water Blue Gang either, because what higher-up would wander the streets alone without a bodyguard?

"Kid, do you know who I am? Looking to die?" The scar-faced man had not expected Wei Zhao to stop him out of the blue, and at once began cursing him out in the local tongue.

"Hey, brother, no rush..." Wei Zhao made a show of cautiously glancing around, then lowered his voice: "I'm from out of town. I heard the Water Blue Gang has cheap cars for sale — I'd like to buy one to play around with. You know a way in, brother? Don't worry... there's something in it for you!"

"Oh? You want to buy a car?" The scar-faced man looked Wei Zhao up and down a few times. Wei Zhao's complexion marked him plainly as a foreigner, and judging by his dress and age he did not look like an undercover plant sent by the ***, so the man raised no further outcry.

The Water Blue Gang did indeed hold a great many stolen and robbed vehicles; this was one of their sources of income. They bought black-market and stolen cars in bulk from other cities, altered the engine numbers and license plates, and then sold them off to some poorly regulated little backwater...

As low-ranking members of the Water Blue Gang, whether they were selling stolen cars or drugs, or escorting customers to the casinos, they all earned a handsome commission. These lower-tier gang members lived almost entirely off such work.

So when he heard that Wei Zhao wanted to buy a car, the scar-faced man's interest was immediately roused: "What kind of car? What's your budget?"

Nor did the scar-faced man ask what Wei Zhao wanted a stolen car for; there was no need to ask such a thing — it was basically an unwritten rule of the trade. You don't ask where the car originally came from, and you don't need to care what happens to it after it's sold.

Cash on one hand, goods on the other, and neither owes the other a thing; afterward, neither knows the other.

"Anything at all, so long as it's cheap." Naturally Wei Zhao would not play the big spender and buy some high-priced stolen car. He would ditch the thing once he was done with it anyway; even though he was spending on Qing-bo's credit card, Wei Zhao did not want to invite trouble. Who knew whether the fellow before him was the type to be blinded by money, and might turn ugly thoughts over in his mind if he saw Wei Zhao throwing cash around?

Not that Wei Zhao feared him, but the main purpose of this trip was to bring Xie Jinbiao home. He had no intention of picking a fight with the Water Blue Gang; whether these people were good or bad was none of Wei Zhao's concern.

Hearing Wei Zhao say so, the scar-faced man was not particularly disappointed. After all, the fancy stolen cars were almost all smuggled off to other countries, and the ones kept for domestic sale were nothing special.

For someone like him, closing even one such deal a month was quite good, so he paid it no mind: "They're all cheap — anywhere from a few hundred euros to a few thousand. We can do it in US dollars too."

"Take me to have a look," Wei Zhao said.

"Come with me!" The scar-faced man nodded and led Wei Zhao on a winding course through the North District.

Wei Zhao followed unhurriedly behind him. After walking for about ten minutes or so, twisting and turning this way and that, they arrived at the entrance of an auto repair shop.

A faint smile flickered at the corner of Wei Zhao's mouth. It seemed his gamble had paid off: the Water Blue Gang's stolen cars really were stored inside the repair shop. And this repair shop was probably the Water Blue Gang's headquarters.

"York, what's this one?" A Water Blue Gang member in a blue cap standing guard at the repair shop entrance clearly knew the scar-faced man, though he did not know Wei Zhao.

"Here to buy a car!" The scar-faced man, York, greeted him with a smile, then swaggered into the repair shop with Wei Zhao in tow.

Plainly they did not think that Wei Zhao alone could stir up much trouble on the Water Blue Gang's turf, so they did not even search him and simply let him through.

Wei Zhao shook his head inwardly. The Water Blue Gang's discipline was far too lax. In truth, in Blue City, the Water Blue Gang were the local overlords. Never mind someone daring to make trouble at their headquarters — if anyone so much as provoked them anywhere in the city, the gang's members could snuff them out in short order.

York led Wei Zhao into a large yard behind the repair shop. Nearly a hundred cars were parked there in disarray—some models Wei Zhao recognized, others he did not, though all of them looked like they had seen better years.

"They're all here. Pick whichever one catches your eye and take it for a spin—no problem at all." York's manner was pleasant enough; after all, if this deal went through, his commission would be hefty, and he would have his spending money for the whole month.

"This one," Wei Zhao said, pointing at an unremarkable old Santana sedan.

"That one? I'll let you have it cheap—how about five hundred euros?" York glanced at the car Wei Zhao had indicated, then named his price.

"Too much. I'm buying in good faith here," Wei Zhao said, shaking his head.

"It's not expensive at all—the price is very fair. This car is ten years old, and it still runs beautifully!" York said.

"Four hundred," Wei Zhao said. Judging by the model and its worn condition, the car dated from the nineties—probably about as old as he was himself. Ten years, was it? Eighteen was more like it...

"Come up a little—four fifty?" York ventured. In truth, Wei Zhao's counteroffer was not especially harsh; it was essentially a fair price, and he did seem to be buying in earnest.

"Four hundred, and that's it. This car is more than ten years old, and I'm only buying it to drive around casually—I might even toss it in a few days," Wei Zhao said.

"All right then, four hundred it is!" York nodded briskly. "Cash on the barrelhead!"

"I'll be staying in this small town for a few more days to take care of some other business. Driving this car around here—there won't be any problems, will there?" Wei Zhao asked.