Swallowed Star

by Alexander Buchanez

  Zhou Hua Yang sat there with a gloomy face, not saying anything.

  "Brother Zhou?"

  Zhang Hao Bai felt that there was something weird with the mood and quietly said, "Brother Zhou, why, why don't you say anything?"

  "Zhang Hao Bai, how cruel. You were tired of living and tried to drag me down with you" Zhou Hua Yang looked coldly at Zhang Hao Bai.

  "What, what did I do?" Zhang Hao Bai's mind was blank as he nervously said, "Brother Zhou, what's going on? Tell me clearly" Zhang Hao Bai knew that something was off because of Zhou Hua Yang's attitude and face, but he didn't know exactly what happened.

  Zhou Hua Yang took in a deep breath and said quietly: "Zhang Hao Bai, you told me to break Luo Feng's leg and arm, right?"

  "Yes, what?" Zhang Hao Bai said as he nodded his head.

  "Hmph, what?" Zhou Hua Yang said coldly as he sneered, "That Luo Feng you want to deal with, is a prospective fighter!"

  "Prospective fighter?" Zhang Hao Bai went completely blank for a moment.

  Silence.

  The room was completely silent. Zhang Hao Bai's face was pale and he sat there without moving a hair; balls of sweat constantly leaked out of his forehead.

  Zhou Hua Yang laughed coldly on the side as he sipped his tea, not saying anything.

  "How could this, how could this happen?" Zhang Hao Bai's feelings of jealousy were completely gone. The only feeling he had left was fear! His family was rich, so he was clear about the prospective fighters' privileges..... For him to have sent people to break a prospective fighter's arm and leg, the prospective fighter can go through the Jiang-Nan city security agency and detain him!

  Once he enters the security agency, his life is ruined!

  "No, no....." Zhang Hao Bai's face was completely pale.

  "You're finally scared and shocked speechless?" Zhou Hua Yang angrily slammed the cup onto the table and yelled, "Fuck, if this piece of trash really wants to die, then don't drag me down with you! A prospective fighter, you sent me to break a prospective fighter's arm and leg. If he reports this to the security agency, I'm in big trouble too!"

  Zhou Hua Yang angrily clenched his teeth.

  "Brother Zhou, what should I do? What on earth should I do?" said Zhang Hao Bai, "I, I don't want to get captured to the security agency. Tell me, what on earth should I do?"

  The security agency.....

  For regular citizens, it is a mysterious yet horrifying place. If you get captured by them, your life is practically over.

  "Oh yea, brother Zhou, did you rat me out?" Zhang Hao Bai's eyes flashed. If only Zhou Hua Yang knew that Zhang Hao Bai sent him to do this, then he still has some hope if he didn't get ratted out.

  "What the fuck are you thinking you dog?" Zhou Hua Yang angrily said as he stood up and pointed at Zhang Hao Bai, "The government's men were interrogating me and I still dare not say? If I don't, then I'll die for you!!!"

  Zhang Hao Bai froze.

  Indeed, if Zhou Hua Yang didn't tell the truth, then he would be in huge trouble.

  "I only came and told you this because we have been together for so many years. At least you'll know what's going on when you get captured by the security agency" Zhou Hua Yang sneered, "I advise you to go back and discuss this with your father. Your father has more connections, so he'll definitely have a higher chance of doing something about this compared to you. Brother..... your brother Zhou won't stay here any longer, I'll be going ahead! I already paid the bill, so you don't have to pay"

  After saying that, Zhou Hua Yang directly opened the door and walked out.

  Only Zhang Hao Bai was left in the room.

  "How could this happen?" Zhang Hao Bai sat on the chair and shaked his head, still unable to believe what was happening, "How, how could he be a prospective fighter! Before high school exams, he only had a fist strength of 800 kg. Just in these few days? How did he become a prospective fighter?"

  "No, no, I don't want to get captured by the security agency"

  "Dad, dad..... I need to go find my dad"

  Zhang Hao Bai dashed out of the tea house with a pale face and sprinted home as fast as he could.

  ������������

  At home.

  Zhang Hao Bai sat on the living room's sofa with both fists clenched and his body shaking.

  [KA!] The door was opened.

  "Hao Bai, what did you call me so urgently for? And you even said if I come late, you'll die?" Zhang Ze Long hastily ran home from the company. When he saw the look on his son's face, he got goosebumps as he thought, "Not good. This kid Hao Bai must've got caught in something huge"

  "Dad, I'm in trouble" Zhang Hao Bai lifted his head and looked at his father.

  Just these few, simple words--I'm in trouble.

  Made Zhang Ze Long's heart go cold.

  "Tell me, exactly what happened. Tell me specifically and leave absolutely nothing out. Say everything clearly" Zhang Ze Long's expression became serious. Even though he knew there was trouble, he didn't panic. He did survive through the Grand Nirvana period, so what kind of things hasn't he seen before?

  Zhang Hao Bai took in a deep breath: "It's like this, last time in our garden, a remodeling company came to move our furniture....."

  From the start to the end, Zhang Hao Bai hid nothing and said everything.

  "You, you actually tried to beat up a prospective fighter?" Zhang Ze Long stared.

  "I, I didn't know" When Zhang Hao Bai saw his father stare like this, he panicked, "If I knew, then even if you beat me to death I wouldn't have done it!"

  Zhang Ze Long took in a deep breath, and without saying anything, took out his cell phone to make a call.

  [BEEP~~ BEEP~~]

  [BEEP!]

  This sound came from Zhang Ze Long's cell phone. Zhang Ze Long couldn't help but to frown.

  "What happened, dad?" Zhang Hao Bai asked.

  "I called your uncle, but he's hunting monsters outside the city" Zhang Ze Long sat on the sofa, "Wait for your uncle to call back"

  Outside the city, nobody knows where a monster could be hiding.

  So usually, people find a safe area first before contacting people in the city.

  One moment later--

  "Big bro, what's wrong?" A low voice rang, "I'm a bit busy right now"

  "Hu, this time's matter is big. Your nephew messed up hard" Zhang Ze Long said, his eyes red.

  "What did Hao Bai do? Big bro, tell me, I'm listening" the sound came from Zhang Ze Long's brother 'Zhang Ze Hu'.

  "It's like this" Zhang Ze Long immediately repeated everything that his son just told him.

  After a brief silence, Zhang Ze Hu's voice carried over: "Hao Bai this kid, dare cause trouble with a prospective fighter. That was too daring! Okay, from now on, stay home every day Hao Bai. Do not cause anymore trouble outside. And do not make contact with that Luo Feng"

  "Ok, uncle" Zhang Hao Bai, as if he was holding on to his last straw, nodded in agreement.

  "Okay, you guys don't do anything" The sound from the cell phone continued, "Wait for me to come home. Even if the security agency comes and captures you, don't do anything. Wait for me to come back no matter what. My current mission is quite important, so I estimate that I'll need another one to two months before I can come back"

  "Okay" Zhang Hao Bai nodded.

  "Rest assured, Hao Bai! You're my big bro's only child, I'll do everything in my power to protect you" The sound from the cell phone continued, "Big bro, my captain is calling me, so I won't say anymore. Remember, do not do anything and wait for me to come back"

  The call ended. It was only now that Zhang Ze Long and Zhang Hao Bai could let out a breath.

  ������������

  The Zhang family was panicking, but the Luo family was happy.

  After dinner.

  Luo Feng brought his brother Luo Hua downstairs and walked as he pushed the wheelchair.

  "Brother, we've been living in this area for around a dozen years. Dad
and mom have been living here for over twenty years" Luo Hua raised his head and looked at the apartment. The apartment was packed and had little vegetation. "After we leave this place and go into that Ming-Yue area, I want to come out and walk around by myself"

  Going up and down the stairs every day was an unbelievably hard task for the handicapped Luo Hua.

  "Okay" Luo Feng smiled as he nodded and pushed the wheelchair, "Hua, we'll finally be exposed to the sun, we finally can get out that small room. and mom and dad finally won't have to sleep on the couch"

  Luo Hua nodded.

  They have wished for this day..... for so long.

  "Someone's coming" Luo Hua raised his head and looked forwards. A young teenager wearing glasses smiled as he walked over. He first smiled to the handicapped Luo Hua and then looked at Luo Feng, "Brother Luo, right?"

  "You are?" Luo Feng looked at him suspiciously.

  The teenage boy smiled; "Hello, brother Luo. My name is Zhou Hua Yang! Does brother Luo have some time for us to find a place and chat?"

  Chapter 22: Compensation

  "Zhou Hua Yang?" Luo Feng's heart skipped a beat, "So it was him!"

  The military officer from the jail said that Zhang Hao Bai asked Zhou Hua Yang to organize the attack.

  "You are Zhou Hua Yang?" Luo Feng let out a small smile.

  Zhou Hua Yang got goosebumps. He panicked under Luo Feng's gaze. There was no way he couldn't panic; if Luo Feng really wanted to deal with him, he would be in huge trouble. Zhou Hua Yang kept his smile on: "Yes, that is me. Brother Luo, shall we go find a place to chat?"

  "That's fine" Luo Feng nodded, "I have some things to say to you too"

  ������������

  On a street not too far from the Southern shore region was a 'Yang Zhou spa hotel'. This place is quite expensive; even a small suite costs at least a thousand dollars. Luo Feng has heard of this place, but has never actually entered it himself. And this time he brought his brother and Zhou Hua Yang.

  The Yang Zhou spa hotel was a place to take baths, wash your feet, and enjoy entertainment all in area.

  "Okay, you can go now. I'll call you if anything comes up" Zhou Hua Yang ordered in a particular room in the spa hotel.

  "Yes, mister" The waiter left.

  There were three rooms in this suite: A bathroom designed especially for baths, a resting room where you can drink tea and discuss matters, and an entertainment room where you can go on the internet, watch television, and sing.

  "Hua, just play in this room, I'm going to discuss some things with Zhou Hua Yang" Luo Feng smiled.

  "Go, brother"

  Luo Hua moved his wheelchair in front of the computer and was a bit excited, "Wow, a 46 inch flat screen with a voice recognition system. Awesome"

  Luo Feng was also amazed, his laptop at home was one of the worst kinds. The controls were still done by hand. However, it was cheap; just a few hundred dollars for one. Now virtually all of the laptops are controlled by voice, and the highest quality ones even had a 'Three dimensional hologram projection system'

  Of course, for a device to be able to project holograms, it would be immensely expensive. For this legendary device, even a rich family would go broke from just buying one.

  Luo Hua was excited to use the voice recognition system as he sat in front of the computer. And Luo Feng and Zhou Hua Yang entered the resting room.

  [KA] The door was closed and Luo Feng and Zhou Hua Yang sat across from each other.

  "Brother Luo, have some tea" Zhou Hua Yang lifted the teapot and, as he poured tea into Luo Feng's cup, he said with a look of shame, "Brother Luo, I came here to apologize to brother Luo! For this time's incident...... ugh, Truthfully, I am really sorry and I regret it a lot!"

  Luo Feng held his cup as he listened silently.

  Zhou Hua Yang......

  There are many of these types of people in society. What they do is do tasks for others in return for money. For example, Zhou Hua Yang also did his task for money; he had no grudges against Luo Feng at all. Luo Feng wasn't that mad towards Zhou Hua Yang. Who Luo Feng truly hated was Zhang Hao Bai.

  "Even if that Zhang Hao Bai didn't find Zhou Hua Yang to deal with me, he would've found someone else" Luo Feng thought to himself, "This Zhou Hua Yang is just a middleman. However..... since he came to find me, I might as well see it through"

  Zhou Hua Yang saw how Luo Feng was silent and continued talking, "I had no idea about the circumstances when I organized the attack against brother Luo. It was all because of Zhang Hao Bai I did this stupid act! I hope brother Luo can be generous and have mercy on me"

  "Mercy?" Luo Feng sneered.

  "This is just a tiny gift from me, I hope brother Luo can accept it" Zhou Hua Yang took out an envelope and pushed it across the table towards Luo Feng, "This is a check with brother Luo's name on it. Only brother Luo can take out this money. You can get the money from any bank"

  Luo Feng opened the envelope and there was indeed a check inside. There was a 10 day expiration date and it had his name on it. It even had Luo Feng's identification number on it.

  Of course, the most attractive part of it was that one line--

  One million!

  "One million?" Luo Feng was slightly startled, for this was a huge amount of money. Luo Feng has never saved over a hundred thousand dollars. Now that Chinese dollars are worth more, one million is a lot to even the CEOs.

  "I hope brother Luo can forgive me and let this thing slide by" Zhou Hua Yang pleaded.

  A million......

  Luo Feng's family never had this much money before; it would be a waste to not accept it.

  "I know you are a middleman, so I won't make it difficult for you. Okay, I'll accept the money" Luo Feng nodded and Zhou Hua Yang slightly let out a breath.

  "However, getting the money from a check is a bit troublesome. How about this, go through the internet right now and transfer it to my account" said Luo Feng.

  "Sure" Zhou Hua Yang was straightforward.

  Luo Feng nodded and, with a pen on the side of the table, wrote down his bank account and the address of the bank: "This is my account and the address is here. The person who created the account is me"

  "Okay" Zhou Hua Yang took back the envelope and took out his cell phone. Through the cell phone, he quickly got online and entered the bank system. Soon after, the transfer was a success.

  Luo Feng felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and opened it. He saw a text message which was a bank notification telling him that his balance has increased by a million dollars.

  "Did it transfer successfully?" Zhou Hua Yang smiled.

  "Yea" Luo Feng nodded.

  Zhou Hua Yang smiled: "Doing stuff with brother Luo is just simple and nice. In this Yang Zhou city, if brother Luo ever has some difficulty, feel free to find me. If I can help, I definitely will. Of course, brother Luo will become a fighter soon, but you never know. If something happens, it might be easier if we deal with it instead"

  "Will do. If something comes up I'll contact you" Luo Feng stood up.

  Zhou Hua Yang also immediately stood up, and the two of them shook hands.

  "Then I'll be going first" Zhou Hua Yang smiled, "I already paid the bill for this suite, so brother Luo can play until next morning" Zhou Hua Yang also greeted Luo Feng's brother 'Luo Hua' and then left the suite.

  In the entertainment room of the suite.

  "Brother, what did that guy want with you?" Luo Hua laughed, "It seems that he's quite generous".

  "He came to give us money" Luo Feng laughed.

  "Give money?" Luo Hua was shocked.

  Luo Feng didn't tell his family of any of the events that occurred in the jail, since he didn't want them to worry. Luo Feng thought..... that since he has already started the path of a fighter, this path will be filled with trials, dangers, and difficulties, so it would be better to not tell them.

  "Yea. Oh, Luo Hua" Luo Feng laughed, "How's your stock going?"

  Since Luo Hua
is usually home, he took a great interest towards economics, especially towards stock. Don't underestimate him for being young; he has already been doing this for three years.

  "I didn't earn much the first year, but I earned quite a bit the second year. I quadrupled my principal, so I probably earned twenty thousand dollars" said Luo Hua.

  "So much?" Luo Feng was shocked.

  Twenty thousand dollars couldn't shock Luo Feng, but what shocked him was his little brother's money making efficiency! Quadrupled! This is an amazing rate!

  "It's nothing much" Luo Hua laughed, "When you're playing with stocks, you first play psychologically and then play mathematically. As long as you control your position well and buy from the right places. It's easy to control the people behind the scenes..... It's just that at times, the stock market crashes which affects the psychological factor. Usually people get scared and quit when they don't make much money on the first year"

  Luo Feng's head was blank as he listened.

  "This money making of mine isn't much. The true professionals could probably earn around 10-20 times more than I can by using contracts. Of course, there's a huge risk in doing that and if something goes wrong, everything is over" Luo Hua shaked his head as he said that.

  Although Luo Feng didn't understand this.....

  he did understand one point: stock relies on compounding interest.

  For example, his brother took three years to make a few thousand into twenty thousand. If he started off with a million, then he could have turned it into four million. If he had four million, it could turn into 16 million.

  As the money compounds on itself, it starts to get out of proportion.

  "Hua, I'll give you five hundred thousand later" Luo Feng laughed, "Keep working"

  "Five hundred thousand?" Luo Hua's eyes flashed, "The stocks are plummeting at the moment, so I might be able to make a huge profit". After living with his brother for so many years, he found out a long time ago.... that Luo Hua was always hoping for the stock market prices to drop. Their neighbor, uncle Wang, always hoped for it to raise.

  His brother tried to make money while uncle Wang tried to pay back money.

  "The professionals always hope for the stocks to drop?" Luo Feng thought to himself.