This sentence seemed to be directed at everyone, but Li Xiang felt that it was meant for him to hear.

His actions carried a hint of intimidation.

If he couldn’t become one of them, his fate wouldn’t be much better than the two people lying on the ground.

Manager Wen handed the rifle back to the gunman and said, “Get rid of the bodies.”

“Yes.”

Two of the four guards dragged a corpse each and walked towards the door, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground. As they passed someone, that person would cover their head and look away, not daring to meet their gaze.

Whether Li Xiang was scared or not was unknown, but they were terrified.

“Since you’re here, you might as well settle down. This place is full of gold; money is money no matter who we earn it from. We’re just making money off idiots, so there’s nothing to feel guilty about. Anyone who understands can tell the guards that I hope we won’t stand on opposite sides and can work together as colleagues tomorrow. For those who really can’t understand, I won’t make it difficult, as long as your family can provide 500,000 S gold. If your family doesn’t have money, it’s fine. Don’t say I don’t take care of you; just bring two more people under the age of thirty here, and I will let you return to your country.”

The kindly Manager Wen was back, consoling everyone in a gentle tone, and if not for the pool of blood on the ground, everyone might really have thought he was easy to talk to.

But the more this was the case, the more respectful everyone was of Manager Wen.

Seeing this scene, Manager Wen nodded in satisfaction. Thanks to his actions, most of these people would soon graduate and start working.

“Alright, everyone, continue with your work. I’ll take the young brother out for a walk.”

Li Xiang followed Manager Wen out of the warehouse, and the special treatment he received was noticed by everyone inside. He even saw envy and jealousy in some of their eyes.

Apparently, these people had been brainwashed by the environment here. Their previous values had been shattered time and again, replaced by the twisted values of this place.

But it wasn’t entirely their fault; they were just ordinary people, forced to comply under the threat of electric batons and rifles, unable to resist in the slightest.

This place was different from their homeland; here, they were like gods.

The reason Li Xiang received special treatment was evidently because the other side had taken a liking to his skills, seeing him as a talent worth tolerating. However, from today’s actions, it was not difficult to see that Manager Wen was showing his dominance.

He did all this to ensure Li Xiang stayed and worked with him at ease.

“Have you ever killed anyone? Looking at your skills, it doesn’t seem like you haven’t.”

“Yes, but I only killed enemies then, never my own people.”

“I understand. It’s normal to hesitate at first, but this place is different from others. Here, to survive, you need to be ruthless. It’s survival of the fittest here; if you’re not ruthless, others will devour you. To avoid being devoured, you have to strike first, devour them. You still have one more chance, don’t disappoint me.”

Li Xiang understood what the other meant; his so-called chance was an opportunity to pledge allegiance, and to gain the other’s trust, he would have to do something.

No, he needed to contact Yang Ming and the others quickly so that he could reach the provincial office and report the current situation.

“Enough of that for now; let’s go get you some clothes, and we’ll settle you in here.”

After the intimidation came the phase of winning hearts over.

They were swindlers, adept at manipulating people’s hearts.

Otherwise, how else would they exploit human weaknesses to swindle?

Having made a mess in the warehouse, with blood all over their bodies and faces, they needed a change of clothes. Li Xiang only had the clothes on his back and had no clothes to change into after showering yesterday.

Following Manager Wen, they went to the logistics department, where even underwear was prepared for you. Although the quality and style couldn’t compare to the outside, at least they didn’t have to wear wet clothes.

The clothes were jungle camouflage suits, the same style as those the guards wore here.

“Wear these underwear for now. I know they’re uncomfortable, but when there’s a chance later, I’ll take you to the market to buy more. For now, just make do.”

“It’s fine, as long as there’s something to wear.”

Li Xiang wasn’t concerned with such trivialities. He was here on a mission, not to enjoy himself; he had been mentally prepared for this before setting out.

“Not bad, worthy of a former special forces soldier—strong ability to adapt.”

Manager Wen couldn’t tell there was any previous discord. After tidying Li Xiang’s clothes, he continued:

“Let’s go, are you hungry? I’ll take you to have breakfast.”

Then he followed Manager Wen, weaving through the crowd, and Li Xiang finally understood what was going on.

The warehouse he had just been to must have been full of newcomers recently traded over. They were usually sold by various companies and ended up here.

If they didn’t want to be shocked with electricity, didn’t have S gold, and didn’t bring people in, they would end up miserable, without even a place to sleep, crammed into a stuffy warehouse with no ventilation, sleeping on the floor.

Now those on the road were mostly people who had adapted to the rules here and started to integrate, embarking on their own swindling journey.

Compared to those in the warehouse, these people had slightly better lives.

In the cafeteria, which was quite spacious, the areas were clearly divided, and the hierarchy was strict.

There were laborers, bare-chested like peasants, sitting in groups, discussing which S batch they had swindled yesterday, boasting about how much money they got, and comparing performance. Then the conversation turned to women.

There were scantily clad, glamorous women gathered in a corner of the cafeteria, chatting quietly while eating breakfast, occasionally letting out silvery laughter. The men around them stared with wolf-like eyes, only to be returned with disdainful glances.

Some gunmen in camouflage uniforms with rifles on their waists sat together, eating breakfast, and whistled at the women rogueishly. After being scolded, they burst into laughter instead.

Thus, the cafeteria was bustling, with sounds of all kinds echoing!

“Let’s go, what to eat? There are buns and soy milk.”

“I’ll just have buns and soy milk.”

At the cafeteria window with Manager Wen, others used cards to get their meals, but he just needed to have his face scanned.

“Morning, Manager Wen, eat more.”

“Get my young brother two meat buns and a bowl of soy milk.”

After speaking to the cafeteria staff, he looked back at Li Xiang and said, “Are two buns enough?”

“Enough, thank you, Manager Wen!”

“No need to be so polite; we’re brothers.”

Manager Wen patted Li Xiang’s shoulder, starting to win him over.

The two found an open seat. Since Manager Wen was well-known in CC Park, he attracted much attention.

Especially newcomers who appeared by his side were subjects of mutual discussion about their backgrounds.

“I heard Manager Wen almost had a mishap collecting ransom last night, with a gun held to his head. Later, I heard Manager Wen recruited the guy; could it be him?”

“It’s him. My brother went out with Manager Wen last night and told us later. This guy is a special forces soldier, brought 500,000 to S sister, and Manager Wen wanted to detain him but didn’t expect him to have good skills and snatch Manager Wen’s gun instead…”

The table of gunmen began discussing in low voices, growing louder until even the table of beauties next to them heard.

Especially Qiqi, who was smoking by the window last night, remembered the indomitable presence in the rain that was unmatched, upon hearing the gunmen’s discussion.

So she flirtatiously glanced at the gunmen she usually wouldn’t look at and asked, “What were you guys just talking about? Tell me.”

Seeing an opportunity, the gunmen, driven by ulterior motives, recounted the evening’s events as if narrating a story: “This newcomer is really fierce. After being brought back by Manager Wen, he was assigned to Da Zai’s dormitory. According to the rules, newcomers have to do the chores, but he didn’t comply and immediately fought with Da Zai and the others. The dormitory was in shambles, even disturbing the boss, who punished them to run five laps around the park. During the run, they fought again, and now Da Zai is subdued!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep