Chapter 93: No Risk, No Reward
Chen Xue Wen accepted the money with a satisfied smile and nodded. “Much appreciated, Brother Leopard.”
“Do me a favor and tell Brother Snake—I’ll be there on time tonight!”
Leopard took a deep breath, his eyes burning with hatred as he turned and left. Behind him, laughter echoed, making his fists clench in rage. Inside, he swore to himself: Chen Xue Wen, I will kill you with my own hands!
As Leopard and his men disappeared, Chen Xue Wen approached the two men from earlier. He pulled a wad of cash from the 18,000 yuan he had just extorted and handed it to them.
“Brothers, I’m sorry for the trouble. Take this as my apology.”
“If anyone dares to mess with you in my place, just tell me! As long as you’re in my store, no one will touch you!”
The two men exchanged stunned glances before their faces lit up with joy. They had come to have fun and ended up benefiting from it.
One of them hesitated. “Brother Wen, we can’t take this…”
Chen Xue Wen shoved the money into his hands. “This is compensation from Leopard. What, you really think my crystal ashtray is worth 18,000 yuan?”
The crowd roared with laughter. A simple glass ashtray worth only a few dozen yuan had cost Leopard a fortune. Keeping 16,000 yuan for himself, Chen Xue Wen had made a fool out of him.
After ordering the place to be cleaned up, he called Lai Hou and Wang Zhen Dong into the back room to discuss the night’s events. Meanwhile, he had Li Tie Zhu move a chair to the front door to watch over the place.
As soon as they entered the room, Chen Xue Wen’s face turned serious. He took a deep breath. “Looks like Brother Snake has captured Wang Kai.”
“Inviting me to Chen Ji Grand Restaurant, bringing the same people from before—this is his way of settling things once and for all.”
Lai Hou’s face tensed. “Brother Wen, you’re still going?”
“This is obviously a trap!”
Chen Xue Wen waved a hand dismissively. “Not a trap—an execution dinner.”
“Tonight, Brother Snake will make his move. If he doesn’t kill me, he’ll cripple me.”
Lai Hou and Wang Zhen Dong paled.
Lai Hou whispered urgently, “Brother Wen, we still have time to run, right?”
Chen Xue Wen gave him a look. “Run? I already promised to go.”
Lai Hou was dumbfounded. “What?! You’re still going?”
“You just said Brother Snake will take action there! Isn’t this suicide?”
Chen Xue Wen shook his head. “If I don’t go, Brother Snake will push everything onto me.”
“My reputation will be ruined. The business we worked so hard to build will collapse.”
“If that happens, there’ll be no place for us in Peaceful City.”
Lai Hou and Wang Zhen Dong exchanged glances. They had struggled too much to get to this point. Neither wanted to throw it all away.
“But Brother Wen, as long as we live, we can rebuild!” Lai Hou reasoned. “Staying alive is the most important thing!”
Chen Xue Wen smiled. “I know. If things really get out of hand, survival comes first.”
“But things aren’t that dire yet.”
“Brother Snake wants to finish me off? Fine. I’ll use this opportunity to destroy his reputation instead!”
Lai Hou and Wang Zhen Dong blinked in surprise.
Wang Zhen Dong inhaled sharply. “Brother Wen, you… already have a plan?”
Chen Xue Wen nodded calmly. “Hou, Dong, I need your help.”
He laid out his plan in detail.
By the end, both men looked stunned.
Wang Zhen Dong whispered, “Brother Wen… When did you come up with this?”
Chen Xue Wen chuckled. “Didn’t I always tell you? I prepare for two outcomes.”
“This plan was ready from the start.”
“If Wang Kai was exposed, we would go with Plan B.”
Lai Hou and Wang Zhen Dong glanced at each other again, admiration shining in their eyes.
“Brother Wen, you really think of everything,” Lai Hou sighed in awe.
Wang Zhen Dong nodded. “But Brother Wen, there are still risks.”
“Our people might not arrive in time. If Brother Snake attacks you first, won’t you be in danger?”
Chen Xue Wen’s gaze was steady. “There’s always risk. No plan is completely foolproof.”
“I can only minimize the risk as much as possible.”
He smirked. “Brother Snake is too arrogant.”
“And he picked Chen Ji Grand Restaurant again? That’s his mistake.”
Lai Hou’s eyes widened. “Brother Wen, you mean… the bottles of gasoline?”
Chen Xue Wen grinned. “That’s right.”
“You left them in the restaurant’s underground storage, right?”
“Yes! I checked on them a few days ago. I thought about moving them but never got the chance,” Lai Hou confirmed.
Chen Xue Wen nodded in satisfaction. “I figured Brother Snake would return to the place where he lost face.”
“That’s why I told you to leave them there.”
“And now, they’ll come in handy.”
He patted Lai Hou on the shoulder. “After you’re done with your task, sneak into the basement and stay hidden.”
“If things go south before backup arrives, light the gasoline and create chaos.”
“In the confusion, I’ll make my escape.”
Lai Hou hesitated. “Brother Wen, this… this is really dangerous.”
Chen Xue Wen clasped his hands behind his back. “If we want to take Brother Snake down, we have to take risks.”
“The path to success is full of thorns.”
“No risk, no reward.”
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation