pertwk Chapter 22: Monopolizing the Gas Station!
Chapter 22: Monopolizing the Gas Station!
Hearing these blatant and extremely insulting words, Chu Yao trembled with anger, her face flushed red, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she was filled with even more fear. She gripped Cao Shuang tightly, her nails almost digging into his flesh.
Cao Shuang's expression remained unchanged throughout. Even when the scarred man uttered those words, his eyes were eerily calm.
He slowly turned his head and looked at the scarred face, filled with greed and cruelty, almost pressed against his own.
Then, with the scarred man's smug look in his eyes, as if he thought the other party would submit or collapse, Cao Shuang made his move.
His movements were slow, even somewhat unhurried. He gently pushed away Chu Yao's hand, which was gripping him too tightly out of fear, with his left hand, while his right hand slowly reached towards the spot next to the driver's seat, which was casually covered with an old blanket.
Scarface thought he was going to take supplies, and his sinister smile widened.
However, what Cao Shuang pulled out was not food, not water, nor anything that could be traded.
It was an AK-47 assault rifle, completely black, with a cold metallic sheen, and full of violent aesthetics!
The dark, deathly muzzle of the gun, in the instant the scarred man's pupils contracted and his smile froze, was steadily and gently pressed against his greasy forehead.
The cold, metallic touch instantly shattered Scarface's arrogance, greed, and self-righteous sense of control.
The fat on his face twitched uncontrollably, and the cigarette in his mouth fell with a "plop" onto his pants, burning a hole in them without him noticing.
His whole body stiffened, his blood seemed to freeze at that moment, and he could only stare intently at the gun barrel so close to him, and at Cao Shuang's calm, almost indifferent black eyes.
The surrounding noise seemed to disappear instantly, and time seemed to stand still.
Several members of the nearby "freight gang" also witnessed this scene. They were all shocked and stopped what they were doing. They stared wide-eyed in disbelief as their usually fierce leader had a gun pointed at his head.
Cao Shuang spoke, his voice low and flat, yet it was like a knife chilled to the bone, each word piercing the scarred man's eardrums:
"Now, tell me."
"I'll do my best, do I need any more resources from you?"
Scarface's Adam's apple bobbed violently, and cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead, trickling down the hideous scar.
He tried to speak, but found his throat so dry that he couldn't make a sound. He could only squeeze out a few "hoarse" sounds from deep inside his throat, like a leaky bellows.
He instinctively wanted to shake his head, but was afraid that the movement would cause the other person to misunderstand, so he could only blink his eyes desperately, squeezing out an expression on his face that was more like crying and full of pleading.
Guns! Real guns! He recognized them! These things are completely different from machetes and steel pipes! One burst of bullets, and all the talk of ferocity and numbers is a joke!
Cao Shuang didn't immediately move the gun away. Instead, he lightly poked Scarface's forehead with the barrel, leaving a faint red mark. "Answer."
"No...no...no need! Big brother! Boss! You...you can add as much as you want! Add as much as you want! It's free! It's free!"
Scarface finally regained his voice, speaking incoherently and with a sob in his voice. His previous arrogance had vanished, leaving only the most instinctive fear of death.
Cao Shuang then slowly put the gun away, but still casually rested it on the car window, the muzzle seemingly intentionally or unintentionally pointing in the direction of the scarred man.
"roll."
"Yes! Yes! I'll leave! I'll leave right now!"
Scarface felt like he'd been granted a pardon and scrambled backward, nearly tripping because his legs were too weak, looking utterly pathetic.
He retreated to a safe distance, not daring to look at Cao Shuang or the dark muzzle of the gun. He didn't even dare to pick up the cigarette butt that had fallen to the ground. He turned around and ran towards the largest heavy truck behind him, which was like a mobile fortress. He stumbled and staggered as he ran.
A deathly silence fell over the surroundings. Everyone who witnessed this scene, whether members of the "Freight Gang" or other drivers waiting in line, was completely speechless, their eyes filled with a mixture of shock, fear, and disbelief.
He secretly glanced at the unassuming Wuling Hongguang and the young man with a gun inside.
So it turns out... only the fiercest dragons can cross the river. This guy driving the Wuling is the real ruthless one!
Cao Shuang ignored the stares around him and simply said to Chu Yao, who was still trembling slightly, "It's alright now."
Chu Yao looked at Cao Shuang's calm profile, then at the AK-47 in his hand that exuded a dangerous aura, and her heart continued to pound wildly.
But an unprecedented sense of security, mixed with an indescribable shock, quietly permeated my heart. This man... just how much is he still hiding?
Not long after, Scarface scrambled over to the heavy truck and began speaking urgently into the driver's cab, constantly pointing in Cao Shuang's direction.
The truck's cab door opened, and a middle-aged man wearing an ordinary jacket, with an unremarkable appearance but sharp, hawk-like eyes, leaned out and looked over in the direction the scarred man was pointing.
His gaze swept over the chaotic crowd and vehicles, landing precisely on Cao Shuang, and on the AK-47 that Cao Shuang had placed on the car window.
The two people, separated by dozens of meters, met each other in mid-air.
Cao Shuang's eyes remained calm and deep, revealing no emotion.
The middle-aged man's gaze was much more complex, containing scrutiny, apprehension, surprise, and a hint of...seriousness that was barely perceptible.
He stared at Cao Shuang for several seconds, then looked at Cao Shuang's car, seemingly making a quick assessment of something.
After a moment, the middle-aged man withdrew his gaze, turned to the scarred man beside him who was bowing and scraping and still in shock, and whispered a few words.
Scarface paused for a moment, then nodded repeatedly. He turned and jogged back, this time bending even lower, his smile more humble and ingratiating. He shouted loudly towards Cao Shuang's direction from afar:
"Big...Big Brother! Our boss said! We're sorry about earlier, it was our subordinates who were blind and didn't recognize your importance! They offended you!"
He pointed to a gas station that was closest to Cao Shuang and had just been cleared out. There were two other cars that were trying to get closer to the gas station, but they were immediately driven away by the other members of the "freight gang".
"This stake is yours! You can add as many as you like! For as long as you want! Absolutely no one will bother you!"
Scarface practically shouted these words, afraid that Cao Shuang would be dissatisfied.
A separate, dedicated gas station. In a gas station where people are scrambling to get a little fuel and have to pay a huge price, this is tantamount to the highest level of "courtesy" and recognition.
Cao Shuang looked at the empty fuel pile, then glanced at the middle-aged man in the cab of the heavy truck in the distance who had already looked away and seemed to no longer pay attention to this place. A barely perceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
He didn't say anything, but slowly started the Wuling Hongguang and brought it to a steady stop in front of the designated gas station.
He pulled out the fuel nozzle and inserted it into his theoretically perpetually full fuel tank.
The numbers on the gas pump started to fluctuate, though it meant nothing to him.
But at this moment, this oil pile, this small area, under the gaze of countless eyes—some filled with awe, some with envy, and others with complex emotions—seemed to silently proclaim:
Here, now, he's in charge.