Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1108 - 545

"Hmm, got it sorted."

Fang Cheng stood up and stretched his stiff neck, which cracked loudly.

From the outside, it seemed like he had just been sitting in the living room for half an hour.

But in reality, his consciousness had just wandered, entering that dark world known as "Night City."

A space independent of reality, a black market where mutants trade in an underworld exchange.

Whether it’s intelligence, bounty tasks, or forbidden items that can’t see the light of day, as long as you’re willing to pay, nothing is unattainable.

Just now, he expertly made his way to the intermediary organization "Naihe Bridge" and contacted the seemingly simple-minded client manager, Fatty Wang.

Information on the Bloodthorn mercenary group’s members, strength assessments, and the group’s recent activities were all now clearly etched in his mind.

However, the price really did set his heart aching.

Fang Cheng touched his nose, thinking about the enormous sum just taken from his VIP black card, causing the corner of his mouth to twitch.

Just two pages of intelligence, along with a few photos, and they opened their mouths demanding over five million.

Moreover, that grinning Fatty Wang had patted his chest and asserted that this was already a special 20% discount in light of his "S-Class membership."

These intelligence dealers really had hearts blacker than the night.

But it was money well spent.

In just half an hour, he had mastered the basic information and files of his target.

Compared to Ah Le racking his brains or sending people to aimlessly search, efficiency was increased manyfold.

With this intelligence, it was no longer groping in the dark, but the final countdown for these mercenaries in this city.

Fang Cheng exhaled a murky breath, suppressing his heartache over the money, and turned to Ah Le, his tone becoming unusually firm:

"I’ve got a rough idea of Bloodthorn’s movements; they’ve indeed been active in the Jiangdong New District recently."

Hearing this, Ah Le suddenly jumped out of his chair.

The movement agitated his wound, making the corner of his mouth twitch in pain, but the excitement in his eyes was impossible to hide:

"That’s great! Let’s head to Jiangdong New District now and find them!"

"No rush."

Fang Cheng raised his hand to motion calmness:

"Before setting off, give Shen Wei a call."

"Huh?"

Ah Le stood there, mouth agape, his brain momentarily unable to process.

Wasn’t Chairman kidnapped by those Bloodthorn men last night?

How could he hope for him to answer and reassure them with a phone call now?

"You don’t mean to tell me you’ve forgotten your boss’s phone number?"

Fang Cheng glanced at him.

"I remember the number..."

Ah Le came around, a realization dawning on his face:

"You mean, Mr. Fang, that Chairman’s phone might be with the kidnappers? Can we test the waters to see if money talks?"

Fang Cheng gave a slight nod and didn’t elaborate further.

He simply turned and fished his own phone out of his bag, handing it over, signaling Ah Le to hurry.

Ah Le took a deep breath, trembling fingers dialing the familiar number, then pressed call.

"Beep—beep—beep—"

The long wait tone sounded particularly jarring in the quiet room.

Once, twice, three times...

Each ring lasted a full five seconds, like drumming on taut nerves.

It rang eight full times, but no one picked up.

Beads of sweat appeared on Ah Le’s forehead, his heart sinking bit by bit.

Just as he was about to conclude this attempt was a failure and hang up, a soft "click" came from the receiver.

It connected!

But instead of Shen Wei’s familiar voice, there was the howling of wind and a very chaotic interference.

"Hello? Which idiot is calling in the middle of the night? Are you looking for trouble?"

Immediately, a crude, irritable male voice blared, rattling Ah Le’s eardrums painfully.

Ah Le, momentarily stunned by the insult, instinctively glanced at Fang Cheng.

Fang Cheng remained expressionless, only nodding slightly to indicate he should continue.

At the same time, he silently moved to Ah Le’s side, tilting his head slightly, concentrating intently.

Ah Le swallowed hard, quickly adjusting his demeanor, and with the authority of a gang leader, he spoke firmly:

"I’m Ah Le of the East City Association. Whoever you are, let Chairman Shen answer the phone."

"Ha? East City Association?"

The man on the other end sounded like he heard something amusing and burst into a jarring laugh, sharp enough to make the receiver tremble:

"The bunch who only knows how to hack people with watermelon knives? We haven’t come to you for trouble, yet you’ve delivered yourself?"

"What, you want to collect your dead boss’s body?"

"Friend, leave some room for maneuver, so we might meet again in the future."

Ah Le suppressed the fury in his heart, trying to shift the conversation towards negotiation:

"We’re all in this for the money."

"You’ve got Chairman Shen; how much do you want? Name your price. As long as he stays safe, I promise not a penny less."

"Money?"

The other person sneered disdainfully, and from the background came the faint sounds of others speaking:

"Buddy, the one thing we don’t lack is money. How much could you put up? A hundred million? A billion?"

"Do you think a few scraps of paper can buy the old man’s life? Is your brain stuck in a door?"