Chapter 323 — First Arrival in the Small City

At an ATM outside a bank, Wei Zhao first withdrew several 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 had not come out; only by walking about did he learn how truly vast the North District was, and how mixed its company — nightclubs large and small, discos, karaoke bars everywhere along the streets. It seemed the closer one drew to the Water Blue Gang's headquarters, the more of these trades there were.

Wei Zhao was hardly about to believe they were all legitimate businesses, for on his way he had already seen several gaudily dressed women making eyes at him.

Of course, Wei Zhao did not know whether the sex trade was illegal here, and he had no time to look into such things. After a moment's thought, he made a bold decision: he stopped a man on the road wearing a blue baseball cap, a scar running across his face.

The fellow did not look like any good sort at first glance, especially with that obvious gang emblem on his head, which proved the point well enough. Still, he was plainly no senior figure in the Water Blue Gang either — what man of rank would stroll the streets alone without his bodyguards?

"Kid, do you know who I am? You looking to die?" The scarred man had not expected Wei Zhao to stop him out of the blue, and at once cursed him out in the local tongue.

"Hey, brother, easy..." Wei Zhao cast a deliberately cautious glance 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 scarred man looked Wei Zhao up and down. With his obviously foreign complexion, and judging by his clothes and his age, he did not look like an undercover cop sent by ***, so he stopped making a fuss.

The Water Blue Gang did indeed hold a great many stolen vehicles; it 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 sold them off in small towns where regulation was a shambles...

As low-level members of the Water Blue Gang, whether they were selling stolen cars or drugs, or escorting customers to the casinos, they earned a handsome commission. These underlings lived almost entirely on such earnings.

So when he heard Wei Zhao wanted to buy a car, the scarred man's interest sparked at once. "What kind of car? What's your price?"

He did not ask what Wei Zhao wanted a stolen car for; there was no need to ask. It was practically an unwritten rule of the trade — you do not ask where the car came from, and no one need care what it will be used for once it is sold.

Money in one hand, goods in the other, and neither owed the other anything; afterward, they would not know each other.

"Anything will do, as long as it's cheap." Wei Zhao was hardly going to play the big spender and buy an expensive 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, he did not want trouble. Who knew whether this fellow was the type to be blinded by money — if he saw Wei Zhao throwing cash around, he might get ideas.

Wei Zhao was not afraid of him, but his chief purpose in coming this time was to take Xie Jinbiao home to the country, and he had no intention of clashing with the Water Blue Gang. Whether these people were good or bad was none of his concern.

Hearing this, the scarred man was not especially disappointed. After all, the luxury stolen cars were almost all smuggled to other countries, and whatever was left for local sale was nothing special.

For someone like him, closing even one such deal a month was quite good, so he did not 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 scarred man nodded and led Wei Zhao through the North District.

Wei Zhao followed unhurriedly behind him. After about ten minutes of walking, with turns this way and that, they arrived at the gate of an auto repair shop.

A faint smile crossed Wei Zhao's lips. It seemed his gamble had paid off — the Water Blue Gang's stolen cars really were kept inside a repair shop. And this repair shop was most likely the gang's headquarters.

"York, what's this?" A Water Blue Gang member in a blue cap guarding the shop gate clearly knew the scarred man, but not Wei Zhao.

"Here to buy a car!" The scarred man, York, greeted him with a smile and swaggered into the repair shop with Wei Zhao.

Clearly they did not think 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 overlords. Never mind someone daring to make trouble at their headquarters — anyone who provoked them anywhere in the city would be swiftly wiped out by gang members.

York led Wei Zhao into a large yard behind the repair shop, where nearly a hundred cars were parked in disarray. There were models Wei Zhao had seen and some he had not, but all of them looked rather old.

"They're all here. Pick whichever one you like, you can get in and try it, no problem." York's attitude was quite good — after all, if this deal went through, he would earn a hefty commission, and his spending money for the month would be settled.

"This one." Wei Zhao pointed to an unremarkable old-model Santana sedan.

"This one, huh? I'll give you a discount — five hundred euros, how's that?" York glanced at the car Wei Zhao had named and quoted a price.

"A bit steep. I'm buying in good faith," Wei Zhao said, shaking his head.

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

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

"A little higher, four fifty?" York ventured. In fact Wei Zhao's haggling was not especially harsh; it was basically a normal price, and he did seem sincere.

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

"All right then, four hundred it is!" York nodded readily. "Cash on delivery!"

"I'll be staying in the city a few more days to take care of some other business. Driving this car around here won't cause any problems, will it?" Wei Zhao asked.

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