stonecrandall Page 128
Page 128
"I need to explain to you specifically that Gao Kui did this for a reason. The Snake Clan went too far, actually targeting Gao Kui's girlfriend..."
In order to pave the way for Gao Kui, Guderian simply pinned the dubious truth on the Snake-Qi Eight Families, telling them to take the blame first.
Angers chuckled: "Based on the current intelligence analysis, the Snake Clan, or rather, Genjiro and Tachibana Masamune who can represent the official will of the Snake Clan, may not be the real culprits. We can only assume that they are."
Guderian, your tone is too certain, as if they are absolutely certain.
"No matter what, they are all suspects, right?"
Guderian, fearing that Genjiro's position as the scapegoat was not secure enough, analyzed with conviction: "Sakurai Hiroshi is closely connected to the biker gang that kidnapped Takagi's girlfriend, and Sakurai Hiroshi is also a high-ranking member of the Snake-Headed Eight Family."
Genjiro and Tachibana Masamune either directly ordered the operation or failed to manage their subordinates properly; no matter how you look at it, they are both culpable. Even if Takagi Kui dismantled the Snake-Headed Eight Families, he would still be in the right.
Most importantly, Principal, you were young once, so you should be able to understand Gao Kui's feelings right now—"He was so angry for a woman..."
Angers interrupted Guderian again: "What do you mean I was once young?"
“Oh, you misheard me. I said you are someone who has remained young all this time.” Guderian realized his grammatical error.
Angers was finally satisfied and said calmly, "No matter what, Gao Kui violated school rules and regulations and should be punished accordingly."
Professor Guderian, what do you think is the most appropriate way to punish your student?
"Cancel Gao Kui's eligibility for next year's special scholarship?" Guderian thought long and hard and came up with a punishment that would have no impact on Gao Kui at all. He was even unwilling to deduct Gao Kui's credits.
With the black card in hand, Gao Kui is no longer short of money, and all monetary penalties are meaningless to him. Moreover, Caesar did the same thing before Gao Kui.
"How much scholarship will Gao Kui receive this year?"
"Board of Directors grants, President's grants, Kassel Annual Outstanding Young Scholars Scholarship, Nightingale Scholarship... all these add up to more than six hundred thousand US dollars."
“Oh, that’s a lot of money. Even the latest Ferrari sports car only costs two or three hundred thousand US dollars,” Angers exclaimed in a monotone tone.
“Yes, it is indeed a large sum of money, enough for many ordinary people to squander for a whole year.” Professor Guderian said with a serious expression.
"Then let's disqualify them from applying for all scholarships next year except the Nightingale Scholarship," Angers made the final decision.
"Furthermore, what if Gao Kui does something irreversible while taking revenge on the Snake-Headed Eight Families..."
Professor Guderian felt that after discussing the punishment for Gao Kui's current mistake, the next step should be to discuss the worst-case scenario. Given Angers' lenient attitude, he estimated that Gao Kui wouldn't be made too difficult.
Angers interrupted Guderian again, his tone surprised: "Guderian, weren't we just discussing how to punish Gao Kui should he do something irreversible?"
"Yes...really?"
"Isn't it?"
"It does seem to be."
Guderian promptly retracted what he was about to say: "Then, Principal, I have nothing more to say."
The moment the call ended, a loud, clear engine roared outside the window. The gates of the church school opened, and a sleek, black Porsche sped out, merging into the traffic and racing away.
Two years ago, a man surnamed Chen shocked the entire internet. He drove a modified Volkswagen Bora at around 8 or 9 pm on the Beijing Ring Expressway and completed the entire 32.7-kilometer Second Ring Road in just 13 minutes, averaging 140 kilometers per hour. He was nicknamed "Second Ring Road Thirteen".
The black Porsche, like a precise scalpel harboring a black dragon, precisely sliced through the traffic and surged onto the overpass. Since then, the needle on the dashboard has never fallen below 200.
The theme song of "Initial D," "Rage Your Dream," was playing on repeat in the car. The song wasn't chosen by Gao Kui; there was already a CD in the car's CD player.
It's likely that when the Snake-Headed Eight Families delivered the car, they anticipated that Takagi would drive the Porsche 911 at high speed. Speaking of racing and Japan, most people's first thought is "Initial D".
But actually, Gao Kui was thinking of another anime, "Wangan Midnight".
Almost all the cars featured in Initial D are Japanese, and the races take place on mountain roads throughout Japan. In contrast, the cars in Wangan Midnight are predominantly German, with a Porsche 911 Trubo appearing at the very beginning, and the race taking place on the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway loop.
No matter how you look at it, "Wangan Midnight" is a better fit for the current situation.
With one hand supporting his chin and the other on the steering wheel, Gao Kui was thinking about all sorts of random things as he drove his German-made performance machine into the C1 highway ring road.
For Gao Kui, as long as there is no traffic jam that makes it impossible to overtake, the amount of traffic is completely irrelevant. His driving skills are already quite superb, and most importantly, with a high level of concentration, his reactions are quick enough and his body control is precise enough.
The traffic rushing by on the road is as if it has stopped for Gao Kui. Most vehicles do not occupy the overtaking lane for long, which allows him to change lanes and overtake with precision, seizing every opportunity to pass.
This situation changed slightly after the car entered the C1 expressway ring road.
The Tokyo C1 ring road is famous but not very wide. Most sections are four lanes in each direction, meaning two lanes in one direction, one lane for normal driving and one fast lane for overtaking.
After entering the C1 ring road, the Porsche 911's average speed never dropped below 240 km/h, occupying the fast lane the entire time.
Highways don't have as many low-speed corners requiring heavy braking as professional racetracks. The curves are much larger, which means that the Gao Kui almost doesn't need to brake at all. As long as you react quickly enough and the tires can handle it, you can enter and exit corners at speeds of over 240 km/h.
Slower cars sped past one after another on the right. A few dozen seconds later, Gao Kui encountered another BMW M3, which, like him, maintained a top speed of over 200 km/h and occupied the fast lane the entire time.
The front bumper of the Porsche 911 was almost biting the rear bumper of the BMW M3. The stones kicked up by the rear wheels of the Porsche 911 hit the hood of the car with a "thud". Gao Kui turned on his hazard lights, but the Porsche 911 still did not give way and continued to drive slowly at a "turtle speed".
Having lived in Tokyo, Japan for decades and held hundreds of identities, Kao Kui naturally worked as a street racer and raced along the Tokyo Bay coastline.
Unexpectedly, times have changed, and those street racers who used to race on the bay have come to the C1 ring road: according to the rules of the street racers, if the car behind can keep up with the car in front for about half a minute, it means that the car behind is faster than the car in front, and the car in front has to give way.
With a blank expression, Gao Kui floored the accelerator, swerved sharply to the right into the slow lane, and the engine roared even louder, creating a wake effect that propelled the sleek car forward like a torpedo, instantly increasing its speed. He precisely cut into the right lane to run alongside the BMW M3, and just before colliding with the truck traveling normally ahead, he swiftly swerved back into the left lane to overtake it, speeding away with the faint strains of "Rage Your Dream" playing in the background.
As the Porsche drove further and further away, an Apache attack helicopter flew across the dark night sky, the sound of its swirling rotors drowning out everything else.
The M3 driver was stunned.
At that speed, and given the distance to the car in the slow lane, no Tokyo street racer would dare to overtake on the right. It wasn't just a matter of a slight mishap resulting in a fatal crash; it was a 99.99% certainty of death.
But that's exactly what Gao Kui did; he didn't want to waste a single moment on the C1 loop.
A few minutes later, the Porsche drove off the C1 ring road and into the bustling streets of Shinjuku, speeding recklessly across the road and sidewalks.
That crazy momentum would make anyone who saw it think that there was a cognitively impaired vampire in the driver's or passenger's seat who would treat pedestrians like mini-vans.
But no, the Porsche didn't grapple with a single pedestrian the entire time. After the Porsche passed, passersby and drivers screamed in fear, but it didn't cause any real commotion or accident.
This is extremely unusual, even impossible.
Anyone familiar with chain reaction knows that just because you don't cause any collisions while speeding doesn't mean you won't cause serious incidents. Panicked pedestrians and other vehicles swerving to avoid them are what truly cause unrest, just like the vast majority of stampede incidents.
But no, strangely, no car accidents or serious incidents occurred along the Porsche's route due to the chain reaction.
It's as if some special being subconsciously doesn't want to cause any evil events, so the world conforms to its wishes, forcibly reversing all the laws and operating according to its will.
squeak!
Amid gasps from passersby, the Porsche 911's speed plummeted, its tires screeching against the pavement, before coming to a steady stop in front of the nightclub.
Gao Kui got out of the car and looked up at the nightclub sign. It was quite a coincidence that this was the same nightclub that Yuan Zhisheng had brought him to a little over a week ago.
The security personnel guarding the door seemed to recognize Gao Kui and quickly came over, bowing deeply: "Hello Mr. Gao, would you like me to help you park your car?"
Chapter 156 Zeno's Paradox
"Do you know me?" Gao Kui did not hand the car keys to the security personnel.
“I happened to be here when you and Director Yuan came to the store a week ago. There are still many wines that you bought that day that have not been delivered yet. Every customer who comes to the store today can receive a complimentary wine from you.”
The security personnel answered respectfully, knowing that he would naturally remember such a generous and influential person who was also acquainted with Director Yuan Zhisheng.
Genjiro, you're such a baby! Isn't this just adding my expenses to the discount and running an official promotion?
Now that you think about it, it's no wonder those biker gang members would come to this shop. They get free drinks, it's under the Sheqi Hachi family, and they might even have internal discounts...
Damn, they really hit the jackpot.
"Did a few members of the Red Guard biker gang come to the store to make a purchase today?"
"You mean Sakaki and the others?"
Yes, they seem to have made a small fortune recently. They came to the restaurant this afternoon, booked a private room, and have been drinking ever since. They're still in room 333 on the third basement floor.
The security personnel spoke with a hint of envy. Members of the Sheqi Eight Families were more like regular employees, with decent incomes, but rarely had the opportunity to make a fortune, at least not for those at the lower levels.
His income is far from enough to support his unrestrained spending at such high-end nightclubs.
Gao Kui took out the wallet he had bought a few days ago while shopping with Aso Makoto, and handed dozens of Fukuzawa Yukichi bills to the security guard.
"Isn't this a bit too much?" The security guard held a stack of banknotes in his hand, and with a quick snap of his fingers, he knew it was no less than 400,000 yen, which was quite generous as a tip.
"You'll complain it's not enough later."
Gao Kui patted the security guard on the shoulder and walked into the reception hall on the first floor without saying a word. The buildings on the ground, which had been smashed to pieces by the Bando Alliance's bus, had long been restored to their original state. Returning to this place, his feelings were completely different from the last time.
From the reception hall on the first floor to the underground entertainment area, there is a very long corridor in the middle. The lighting is dim, with a few potted plants on both sides, and neon lights hanging on the walls and ceiling.
As soon as Gao Kui stepped into the corridor, he heard a familiar melody coming from underground. Gao Kui recognized the song as "Yuyake no Uta," the representative work of the notorious scumbag Masahiko Kondo, which has been covered by singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan many times.
Priscilla Chan released a version of "A Thousand Songs", and Anita Mui released a version of "Song of the Setting Sun" which was used as the end theme song for "A Better Tomorrow 3". Leslie Cheung covered both of these versions.
Seeking revenge, Leslie Cheung, A Better Tomorrow, a corridor with potted plants—the connection between this scene and "A Better Tomorrow" is too strong. Gao Kui's thoughts involuntarily wandered to the scene in "A Better Tomorrow 1" where Mark fights Maple Pavilion.
If I remember correctly, the background music at the time was "Don't Lose Your Will". Chow Yun-fat was embracing a dancer, and to the accompaniment of the background music, he was making out in the corridor while stuffing guns and ammunition into the potted plants in the corridor.
Actually, if you think about it carefully, there's no need for Chow Yun-fat to hide guns in potted plants. He could easily hang several handguns inside his coat.
But that's John Woo's romanticism: don't worry about whether it's reasonable or not, as long as it looks cool, that's all that matters.
Thinking about it this way, the security guard who talked to him at the door was really clueless. He didn't even suggest finding him a nice girl so he could experience the joy of being Little Ma, or if the girl who talked to him was a kind and understanding one.
So, I'm here for revenge, just like Brother Ma, right? My girlfriend has been kidnapped by some thugs, and I'm about to storm their private room. Is it really okay to be thinking about all this nonsense?
Gao Kui tried really hard to concentrate, but he couldn't. Even though he knew he should be serious and that letting his mind wander like this would be unfair to his girlfriend, he still couldn't do it.
What kind of feeling is that?
It's roughly like the scene in "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" where Maggie Cheung goes to the police station to identify Eric Tsang's body. She's initially very sad, but after seeing the Mickey Mouse tattoo on Eric Tsang's body, she cries and laughs at the same time.
From the lobby on the first floor to the third basement level, in less than a minute, Gao Kui's thoughts shifted chaotically more than a dozen times.
On the dance floor, several sexy women danced a slow-paced striptease to soothing music, while swarms of women flitted through the aisles looking for easy prey. The nightclub, with its bright lights and bustling activity, was a scene of chaos.
As Gao Kui walked to the outside of private room 333, he suddenly calmed down. The thoughts surging in his mind, the noisy singing and dancing outside, everything disappeared.
Room 333 is very similar to the room Gao Kui visited last time. Although it is called a private room, it is more like a large booth. There are no doors or walls, and customers sitting in the room can see the dance floor and the main stage directly outside.
Correspondingly, if the angle is right, people outside the private room can also see what the people inside are doing.
Several flashy biker gang members with cow-dung-like hairstyles sat in a private room, each with an arm around a flamboyant hostess, playing a dice game and having a great time.
A biker gang member sitting on the outside inadvertently looked up and caught sight of Gao Kui walking slowly through the crowd. He was slightly taken aback at first, and then his expression changed drastically.
Gao Kui expressionlessly pulled out the two pistols tucked into his lower back. The muzzles burst into brilliant sparks as spent cartridges were ejected one by one, and the bullets accurately struck the legs of the bikers.
Gunfire drowned out the slow, sentimental song. The noisy bar fell silent for a moment, then erupted in even louder screams. Whether they were office workers venting their stress or hookups, everyone screamed and scattered in all directions.
Even in Japan, where organized crime is legal, firing a gun in public is still considered a serious public order offense, and ordinary organized crime groups almost never use firearms.