Urban Soldier Young Master

The man was completely terrified by Chu Ge, and without needing Chu Ge to say more, he started to explain in more detail, trembling.

This guy is actually just a small-time thug. He really came here today as a runner. In general, he hadn't lied before, but there were some details that didn't seem important to him, which he hadn't clarified.

He indeed didn't know the man who tasked him, but that man made a phone call to his boss right in front of him. His boss warned him to follow all that man's orders and not do anything unnecessary, otherwise, he would be done for.

Hearing his boss say that, the thug didn't dare to refuse. He took the five hundred yuan from that man and, according to his instructions, sneaked to the door of this room in the middle of the night.

But the thug never dreamed that just after he knocked on the door, Chu Ge dragged him in.

Chu Ge pondered for a moment, "What do you think the person who hired you does for a living?"

"What they do…" The thug thought about it and said uncertainly, "Big bro, to be honest, I really don't know, but I feel like that person is a cop."

Chu Ge nodded slightly; this matched his guess. Since the thug also said so, it was probably true. After all, thugs are very sensitive to the presence of police officers.

Chu Ge's fingers tapped on the sofa armrest, "You say you're a thug, so why haven't you seen this cop before?"

The thug gave a bitter smile, "Big bro, I'm a thug, yeah, but I don't stick around this area. The place I hang out is two districts away from here, and I'm not even sure if he's really a cop. I just felt creeped out standing next to him."

Chu Ge sneered coldly to himself, recalling the thug's description of the man's physique and appearance, thinking that this person was probably the disguised Deputy Director Zhou. This guy is pretty cautious in his dealings.

Chu Ge posed another question, "What's inside that box?"

The thug immediately shook his head, "Big bro, I don't know. My boss instructed me so firmly; no matter how curious I was, I wouldn't dare look. I haven't lived enough yet."

"You sure you're the only one who came here today?"

"Just me, I swear. I paid special attention to the surroundings when I came. There weren't many people outside late at night. If someone were tailing, I would've noticed. After all, this whole thing is so mysterious; it makes me uneasy inside."

"Did you guys set a specific time to come over?"

"Nope, just said in the middle of the night."

"Then how would you prove you left the box here? Didn't that person ask you to take a sneaky photo when I opened the door to get the box?"

"No, he just told me to leave the box here and not worry about anything else."

Chu Ge nodded and fell silent. With the thug's response, he felt a bit more relieved.

The reason he was convinced the thug hadn't told the truth before, or had left something out, was because of this box. Why would that guy, who might be Deputy Director Zhou, trust this thug to deliver a box? And why would the thug be so obedient that he wouldn't even dare peek inside? These questions were all dubious points before.

As Chu Ge fell silent, the thug grew more nervous. Chu Ge's questions earlier had been rapid-fire, and now, with nothing asked suddenly, he felt unaccustomed, standing in place feeling extremely oppressed and helpless.

After several tens of seconds, the thug finally couldn't take it anymore. He gulped nervously and cautiously asked, "B-Big bro? Can I go now?"

Chu Ge looked up with a faint smile, "Go and bring in that box from the doorway."

The thug's face turned even more bitter. He really didn't want to get involved in this mess, but he nodded, opened the door, brought the box back into the room, and casually closed the door.

Though this was a good chance for him to run, the pressure Chu Ge had put on him was too overwhelming, and he couldn't muster even a trace of an urge to escape. As he lifted the heavy box, he grew increasingly curious about its contents.

Chu Ge glanced at the box and then instructed the thug, "Open it."

The thug was startled and shook his head vigorously like a rattle, "B-Big bro, how about you open it yourself after I leave? This… it doesn't seem appropriate."

The thug was indeed curious, so curious it was eating him alive, but he was clever enough to know that curiosity kills not only cats but people too. Given how mysterious this situation was today, he figured the less he got involved, the better.

Hearing the thug say this, Chu Ge chuckled. This kid was quite savvy, which made sense why he was chosen for this task.

"I told you to open it, so open it. Stop with the nonsense." Chu Ge ordered without leaving room for doubt; before making sure the box posed no danger to him, he didn't want to leave his fingerprints on it.

The gang member's face grew more bitter, but what could he do when the other guy's fists were bigger? He looked at the box, sighed, and finally, gritting his teeth, shut his eyes and turned his head away before opening the box.

Seeing the gang member's cautious manner, Chu Ge's grin widened. This kid was smart, very thorough in his thinking, even knowing to close his eyes to distance himself from it all.

"Click."

The box opened with a click, and Chu Ge sneered, just as he expected. Inside was a pile of red bills. By estimating the size of the box, it should contain about five million.

Besides the money, there was a small piece of paper inside the box. With the surrounding fiery red bills, the black words on the white paper stood out, written with just one word: "Short."

Looking at the word "Short" on the paper, Chu Ge was slightly taken aback, but quickly smiled again. The opposite of "Short" is "Long," which, unsurprisingly, suggests this money was sent by one of the two from the Chang Family, if not both.

And considering the person meeting with this gang member might be Deputy Director Zhou involved in this matter, the possibility that it was Chang Xin who sent this box of money seems much higher.

However... whether the money in front of him was meant for an apology or to stir up trouble was still unknown.

After glancing at the "Short" twice more, Chu Ge turned his attention to the gang member, who was stiff, eyes closed, and head turned away. He teased him on purpose, "Hey... aren't your neck and head tired from twisting like that?"

"No, no, I'm not tired at all, boss. Can I close the box now?"

The gang member's voice was filled with a kind of bleakness, even resentment. Though he kept his eyes closed, he could smell the cash, firmly believing this was no good omen for him. His heart was a mess of emotions, and he was on the verge of tears.

"Open your eyes and turn your head around; if you're not tired, I'm feeling tired from watching you."

By this time, Chu Ge's tone had shed its icy edge and was instead filled with a bit of humor. Yet, to the gang member's ears, it was even more terrifying than before.

"Boss... I'm not tired, really, not at all."

Seeing the gang member's pitiful look, Chu Ge no longer troubled him. "Alright, close the box."

The gang member sighed with relief, quickly closed the box lid, and finally turned his head, his forehead now sweaty. "Boss, can I leave now?"

Chu Ge hesitated for a few seconds, then walked over to the box and opened it with a click. The gang member shuddered, hastily covering his eyes with his hands.

"B-boss, you..."

By this point, the gang member was terrified. He had tried so hard to avoid involvement, yet he ended up seeing what was in the box after all. What in the world did this man intend? Was he planning to silence him?

Chu Ge patted the gang member's shoulder with one hand and placed two stacks of cash into his other hand. "Alright, it's late at night, you've had a tough time. Take this money, find a place to relax, and ease your nerves."

The gang member opened his eyes, staring dumbfounded at Chu Ge, then at the two thousand yuan in his palm. "Boss, this is..."

Chu Ge smiled calmly, "Take it."

The gang member gulped, hesitated for a long time, and finally took the money. At the same time, he immediately pulled his ID card out from his pocket.

"Boss, my name is Wu Shaolin; people around me call me Xiao Wu. My phone number is 139..., and if you need anything, just call me anytime. I'm not much, but if you need any information around this provincial city, I can manage something."

Chu Ge looked at this Xiao Wu in surprise, genuinely seeing him in a new light.

This kid was really sharp, knowing he'd seen something he shouldn't have, he immediately offered his personal information. That was clearly a way of showing his commitment, implying he wouldn't blabber about today's events.

Chu Ge nodded. "Alright, let's leave it at that. It's too late tonight; we'll have a drink together sometime."

Xiao Wu knew this was Chu Ge sending him off, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and wiped his sweat. "Then I won't disturb you any longer, boss."

With that, Xiao Wu was ready to leave. But after taking just one step, Chu Ge called out to him. He tensed up again, turned around, and saw Chu Ge holding out three more stacks of cash.

Seeing those three stacks of cash, Xiao Wu's eyes brightened, but he quickly waved his hand. "Boss, I can't, I really can't accept this. It's already quite embarrassing, how can I take more of your money."

Chu Ge smiled slightly, "The money before was for your hard work, to buy you drinks. This is your medical expense, a separate matter. Take it, I'm telling you, since this money was sent by someone else, don't be polite with me."