Chapter 77: The Venomous Spider
In the noisy breakfast shop, Su Xiao chewed on half a fried dough stick. Across the table sat Fatty Ma and a man with a lean, dark-skinned frame.
The man looked like he had just fled from a famine in Africa. After hastily chewing his food, he swallowed it with a gulp, choking so hard his eyes rolled back.
This was Fatty Ma's younger brother, whose nickname was Blackie. His real name was never disclosed, known only to Fatty Ma.
Blackie owned a flower, bird, fish, and insect shop next door to the jewelry store. This guy could get his hands on any weapon except firearms and other hot weapons—things like crossbows, restricted knives, stun batons, etc. In his own words, "How do you make money without breaking the law?"
Blackie was a smart man. Though he dealt in illegal trades, he never dabbled in anything that would cost him his head.
"Su Xiao, you're back and didn't even say a word."
Despite his scrawny build, Blackie's voice was full of vigor.
"Haven't been back long."
Su Xiao called the waiter over to pay the bill. The three didn't leave immediately but lit up cigarettes and chatted.
"Spit it out. What's the urgent matter calling me here for?"
Blackie grabbed an ashtray from the neighboring table, where a young couple sat.
"About that murder case in this city, how much do you know?"
"Not much. I only know five people died, one of them a big shot. Also, the perpetrator was a professional killer. Coincidentally, my brother performed the funeral rites for the victims' families. Those wounds on the dead were strange... how should I put it?"
Blackie shoved Fatty Ma beside him. Though Fatty Ma was Blackie's biological brother, Blackie was the backbone of the two.
"Uh..." Fatty Ma thought for a moment. "Those dead people's wounds were all round, about the size of a fist, like a chunk of flesh had been gouged out. Oh my god, it was disgusting."
Fatty Ma shook his head. Just mentioning those wounds made his stomach churn.
"Round? Like flesh gouged out..."
Su Xiao took out his phone and scrolled through photos. He handed the phone to Fatty Ma.
"Holy crap!"
Seeing the image on the phone, Fatty Ma instinctively recoiled, his stomach churning violently.
"Like this?"
"Pretty much. Take it away, it's too damn disgusting. I just had breakfast and you show me this."
Unlike Fatty Ma, whose face trembled with fat, Blackie was noticeably calmer, though his stomach was equally unsettled.
"Hey, you don't have some weird fetish, do you? Why do you have a picture like that on your phone?"
Blackie took a deep drag of his cigarette to suppress the nausea.
"Needed it for my old job. I used to do 'side work,' you know."
Su Xiao stirred the half-bowl of porridge with his chopsticks, seemingly lost in thought.
"Blackie, Fatty, you two head back first. I've got something to handle."
Su Xiao naturally wouldn't drag Fatty Ma and Blackie into this kind of trouble. They were his friends.
"If you need any handy tools, call me. Even ones that 'make noise' are no problem. I know some Russians who specialize in selling those."
What Blackie meant by "make noise" was firearms.
"Yeah. I might be out for a couple of days. Take care of the canine at the shop for me. No need to prepare food for it; it can order takeout itself."
"No problem."
Blackie agreed readily, though he couldn't understand how a canine could order food.
The reason Su Xiao left Bubu Wang at the jewelry store was that carrying a dog with "Husky" traits was too conspicuous.
"Do you need... my help?"
Fatty Ma was reluctant to leave. Blackie kicked his fat ass.
"Hurry up and go. Don't hold Su Xiao back."
"Hey, I'm just..."
Blackie dragged Fatty Ma out of the breakfast shop. Though Fatty Ma meant well, Blackie saw it as meddling. He understood the ways of killers—a world of blood and gore, where a single disagreement could mean life or death. It wasn't something they could get involved in.
After the Ma brothers left, Su Xiao dialed a number. A few seconds later, he hung up. That number was already disconnected.
"Wounds caused by a 'Scorpion Stinger.' Looks like it's you, Hai Dong."
A smiling face surfaced in Su Xiao's mind—someone who wore canvas gloves and a welder's helmet, often saying, "Su Xiao, look how sensible my son is. You should be his godfather."
"Hai Dong, with your skills, how could you leave such a messy job? Or is someone framing you?"
Su Xiao leaned back in his chair, thought for a moment, then stood up and left. The young couple at the neighboring table stared at him oddly, as if looking at some delusional middle-aged youth. Little did they know, some things were too far removed from their world for them to easily believe.
Walking down the bustling street, Su Xiao felt momentarily lost. He hadn't been in touch with the "gray world" of killers and outlaws for a while. His previous information channels had mostly dried up.
As for contacting other killers, aside from his relationship with Hai Dong, most killers kept to themselves. They wouldn't even provide basic intel. As the saying goes, "Better to avoid trouble than to court it." People in the gray world walked on tightropes, making them extra cautious.
After hesitating for a long time, Su Xiao dialed another number.
"Hello."
A woman's voice came through the phone.
"This is Su Xiao."
After a few seconds of silence, a storm of curses erupted.
"You bastard, animal, scumbag, get lost!!!"
Beep, beep, beep. The call was dropped. Su Xiao smiled. One of this woman's ex-boyfriends had died by his hand, so her reaction wasn't surprising.
Even so, Su Xiao believed the woman wouldn't mind such things. She was fickle by nature, with countless boyfriends. As for her background, her name was Maggie Caramia. She was fluent in twelve languages and worked as an information broker. She had three hobbies: men, money, and gathering intel.
A few minutes later, the phone rang. No caller ID displayed.
"Spit it out. What's the... matter."
Maggie Caramia's voice trembled slightly.
"Don't you dare talk to me while you're f***ing, or I'll kill you."
Su Xiao's tone turned hostile.
"Got it. You're so demanding."
In a mansion in some country, Maggie Caramia got up from the bed. A handsome blond-haired, blue-eyed man lay there, first looking confused, then angry.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Get out."
"What?"
"Get out!"
Maggie Caramia pulled a lady's pistol from under her pillow and pressed it against the blond man's head.
"OK, OK."
The blond man raised his hands. After she lowered the gun, he quickly got up to dress.
"Bullshit."
The blond man muttered, walking out of the room with a sour expression.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. The blond man's body jerked, stumbling forward a few steps.
Bang, bang, bang...
After a few shots, the blond man collapsed in a pool of blood, twitching occasionally.
"Help..."
Bang.
A headshot. The blond man lay still. In Su Xiao's words, Maggie Caramia was like a venomous spider.
"Where were we?"
Maggie Caramia tossed aside the gun, as if nothing had happened.
"Buying some information."
"Looks like business is coming. Spit it out."
Maggie Caramia's Chinese was not only fluent but also natural.
"Recent situation of Sea Scorpion."
"Sea Scorpion... that psycho who likes to stab people with weird weapons?"
"That's my friend. Say that again, and I'll chop you up and feed you to the fish."
On the other end of the line, Su Xiao's lips curled up.
Maggie Caramia's smile faded.
"Sorry. As for Sea Scorpion's intel... two million US dollars."
"Are you kidding me?"
Su Xiao blurted out broken English, making Maggie Caramia laugh.
"I'm not joking with you. He's in big trouble."