Chapter 372: Money is Power

“Why are you just defending? Scared to take on the whole lot of us? Huh!!?” The Ruby Rat gangster taunted as he slammed his war hammer hard on Another Jin’s sword. If not for the sturdiness and quality of his sword, Bam, Another Jin would have suffered the blow directly.

He had been trying to defuse the situation when they first entered as calm as he could be. But those Ruby Rat gangsters were playing real rough. Kicking chairs down, whacking the machines with their weapons and trying to turn over the couches yet Another Jin did not make any move at all. What he did was instruct the other cultivators to remain calm and not make a move against them. Besides, he already called the police via the System’s communication channel and the police dispatcher notified him that they would reach in ten.

Unfortunately, Another Jin was unaware that the Ruby Rats had blockaded off the Tiangong Shopping District’s main roads leading to Jin’s store. Even if the police managed to handle them, it would still take some time to reach Jin’s store. In a way, it was a reasonably small yet organised operation controlled by the lackeys of Ong, one of the Ruby Rat’s leaders who finally received bail to come out.

The cultivators who were currently in Jin’s store were extremely furious by the gangsters’ acts of vandalism and wanted to retaliate. However, many of them understood that if they went against such a big crowd, they might not only get injured but also suffer some unnecessary trouble afterwards.

They believed that was why Boss Jin was the only one that remained silent and composed even when the gangsters began to wreck the area. One of them even had the audacity to pee at the couch. Some of the cultivators tried to shout back at the Ruby Rat gangsters for their ruthless tactics but the gangsters warned them to shut up, else they would regret it. Yet, one of the cultivators’ words were so spiteful that the gangsters figured why they should tolerate these much insults, what more could go wrong with assaulting the customers?

Besides, they also wanted Jin to react so they could have the excuse to attack him all at once. These acts of vandalism were indeed a statement against Jin, but the Ruby Rats would typically not be stupid enough to attack the bystanders without any reasons. They would be humiliated among the various triads for being so effeminate to initiate the attack on innocents. What’s more, was that the cultivators themselves were filming everything. If the Ruby Rats were to attack the innocents indiscriminately, they would lose all face if a video of them doing so got leaked out.

“Stop. You can do what you want to the store, but don’t you ever dare hurt my customers.” Another Jin moved forward to protect the low level cultivator who said those spiteful words and stared at the gangster intently. “Don’t expect any mercy if you do!”

“Hahahaha! Oh no, we have angered the mighty Boss! I am scared! Mercy! Oh Mercy!” The lackey dramatised his actions before he attempted to sucker punch Another Jin who managed to block it easily. The cultivators saw that and felt offended as they drew their weapons for Jin.

“Stop! Do not engage them. Step backwards. Otherwise, I will prohibit anyone who interferes, from entering this shop.” Another Jin ordered and the cultivators reluctantly complied but still had their weapons at the ready.

The gangster attempted to punch him once more but Another Jin kept evading with ease. Seeing that one was not enough, more of the lackeys entered the fray and fought against him. Another Jin noticed that even though the attacks themselves were crude, the coordination between them was there. They knew how to fight as a team. But no matter the case, Another Jin remained on the defensive and refused to throw blows unless it was needed to protect himself.

“System, is ‘five more minutes’ seriously that long?” Another Jin complained as the gangsters began to use techniques against him and if the police did not reach in time, Jin probably needed to disturb the Original Jin.

“It’s past nine minutes. The police seem to be caught up with some other incident.” The System replied.

“Shit, call Jin. I cannot handle this alone.” Another Jin said as he caught a blade with his two bare hands and attempted to throw the sword away.

————–

A few bullets whizzed through the air as Another Jin managed to climb over the bar in time to avoid them. “System, are they all focused on me?” He took a deep breather as he could hear the reloading sound of a pistol with live ammunition.

“Yes, as planned, activating barrier to enclose them so the customers won’t get injured.” The System reported and replied that the Original Jin was not coming.

“What?! Why? Is he asleep or something?!” Another Jin reactively lowered his head when he heard guns firing at him once more before two shadows climbed over the bar in order to surprise ambush the unfortunate Another Jin.

Suddenly, a portal appeared right in front of Another Jin and it surprised the two gangsters. A scabbard flew across to the right, stunning the gangster while a katana was thrown towards the gangster on the left. The scabbard hit the gangster on his throat causing him to grasp for air but the other was being stabbed into his abdomen. Qiu Yue jumped towards the one on the right and grabbed the sword’s hilt. She then turned the handle and pulled it out effortlessly from his stomach.

“Yo, thanks for holding on. Jin managed to get in touch with ehh Detective Xue Ping. She said we could use any force necessary to subdue the gangsters and will handle the aftermath as soon as she arrives on to the scene. Of course, she instructed us, to limit ourselves to minimal casualties if possible.” Qiu Yue informed him with her Red Panda Mask on and Another Jin noticed she was wearing the same armoured clothes she had on for the Goblin Bet. “IF possible.” Qiu Yue reiterated.

“Who is this fucking masked lady? You too wussy to fight yourself? Does the mighty Boss Jin need a girl to fight for him?” The Ruby Rat Leader, Yang scoffed at the hiding Boss.

“More like, he cannot be bothered to fight with garbage like you. Haven’t you noticed? All he did was just playing the fool to buy time for the police to come. ” Qiu Yue shouted loudly as she beheaded the choking gangster with a stroke. (So much for minimal casualties… )

“Well, where’s your precious police when you need them?” Yang countered in a condescending tone while signalling the other gangsters who were controlling their anger to attack after witnessing their comrades being cut down by that Red Panda Masked Girl.

“No need. I am the sheriff of the day in this store.” Qiu Yue leapt over the bar counter with ease and moved towards the gangster mob. The ongoing scene stupefied Another Jin. He knew that Qiu Yue was going to duel with the gangsters to the death but luckily they would no longer face any repercussion as Detective Xue Ping authorised it. However, he did not remember Qiu Yue being this agile nor powerful enough to cut down two Grade four cultivators without breaking a sweat.

“It’s one of the rewards bestowed to her. Using Money to exchange for a temporary boost of attributes. In User’s terms, she could be classified as a ‘Pay to Win’ cultivator.” The System explained to Another Jin who was looking at the whole scene with bewilderment. The System also further elaborated that Qiu Yue had boosted her body limits to the maximum by paying the System to power her up. She even bought certain traits such as acrobatics and a set of martial arts techniques to deal with these goons.

“So she literally has the power of money in her hands…how much did she spent?” Another Jin saw how she effortlessly dispatched another three Grade 4 gangsters to the netherworld by beheading them in two slashes. Not a single blood was spilt from the body until the heads hit the floor and human fountains of blood slightly terrified the remaining gangsters.

“‘Craploads’. Those attribute boosts and traits are, however limited and temporary. Limited as in the amount of attributes points were capped to a certain value due to the constraint of her body and cultivation. Sub User Qiu Yue’s maximum limit is currently at Grade 9. By the end of the hour, she will return to normal and the strain of the increase in attributes will kick in. System has already informed Original Jin to take care of her as she will potentially experience extensive muscular pains throughout her body for pushing it to the limit in an instant without prior training.” The System stated that Qiu Yue had decided to go all out to test the capabilities to the highest power ceiling available.

Despite being afraid, the crowd who were behind the force barrier cheered for the Red Panda masked girl which they had never seen before in the store. Regardless, it brought them satisfaction that the gangsters were punished the old fashion way. Two gangsters revealed their Grade Six cultivations in an attempt to intimidate her but Qiu Yue did not give two hoots about them. She efficiently sent them to the afterlife even before they had the chance to use any attack.

At this point, Yang became intimidated and panic stricken by her intervention. No one had informed them, that this Store had someone like her guarding it. That Red Panda masked girl must be some powerful sword user and certainly more trained compared to them. At the very least, she should be a Grade Ten to slaughter them without a hitch.

He immediately went to his knees to beg for forgiveness and the rest who were still alive joined him to prostrate in front of her. Qiu Yue, on the contrary stomped her feet at Yang’s head. “Huh? I thought someone was acting so high and mighty. Now tell me, why should I stop my policing?” Qiu Yue said as she ‘gently’ pressed her other boot down until the floor began to crack at the pressure. Yang nearly peed himself, as this time would be his head rolling along the floor if he did not give a satisfying answer.

“The Ruby Rat Boss! De Tian! He wanted us to teach the Boss here a lesson for messing with us. If we could kill him, he assured us that we would be rich! We did not expect such an amazing martial expert such as your esteemed self to be under the employment of Jin…no I mean Big Boss Jin!!” Yang answered hastily as he attempted to curry favour to Qiu Yue, hoping she would spare his life with the praises he made.

But as quick as he could correct his form of address for Jin, he saw Qiu Yue’s katana stabbed through the ground with only one centimetre away from him. Any nearer, Yang would have lost his nose.

“Our main objective was to simply harass him! That is all! We have gone overboard! PLEASE! We will reflect on our mistakes! Please release us, and we will promise not to bother the Great Almighty Lady Boss ever again!” Yang cried out loud. He knew that he just needed to turn her attention towards him a bit longer. Once she dropped her guard, his fellow lackeys would perform a team sneak attack on her. A common tactic they practice throughout the years.

“Heh, I could let you leave. But the thing is…you not only successfully harassed us. You destroyed properties worth thousands of Yuan, vandalised my workplace, attempted to assault our valued customers. In a way, it prevented my Boss from earning his income, which indirectly affects my bonus too. Additionally, you offended me verbally too, so being the Sheriff of the day. I think the judgement should pretty clear.” Qiu Yue said as she lifted her fist and was about to kill him with a single punch until the police entered the scene.

“Stop! This is the police! We will take over from here. Any further action will be taken as obstruction of the police!” Detective Xue Ping hurriedly entered the shop with Gupta, Abdul and Deng Long only to be halted by some invisible force. Another Jin then pulled the force barrier down and the policemen began to cuff the rest of the gangsters who were obedient enough to not struggle against it. Xue Ping saw the carnage that was left over and was relieved that she at least succeeded to reach before everyone present was killed.

Qiu Yue held her fist and slammed it on the ground to scare Yang once again before she walked back towards the Bar. “I leave the rest to you then. Good Luck, my dear Imposter Jin!” Qiu Yue said as she left with a portal even though Xue Ping kept telling her to not run away.

“Your employee?” Xue Ping asked as she demanded the entire account of the incident. Another Jin complied and gave the necessary details as well as the CCTV details from his bar counter.

“For that Red Panda Girl…she is like a fixer of some sort. I am afraid you have to catch her yourself if you want information. Otherwise, I am taking the responsibility of her being my champion for the ‘duel’ that you authorised.” Another Jin replied.

After taking the accounts of everyone, Jin’s story corresponded with the other testimonies and the customers even told the police they were willing to be his witnesses if needed. Other cops began to arrive and they took the gangsters back to the police station. Another Jin apologised to the customers for the inconvenience and provided them each with a one gold panda medal as a compensation package. Most were elated and thanked Jin before they went to the various shop instances to do some stress relief shopping. (To his surprise, many were not distraught by the killings as he had expected but he did affirm them that if they needed any psychological help, do not hesitate to ask the police or him.)

After the entire incident, Xue Ping was the only one who stayed back as she put her badge down on the table and she discussed what had really happened with Another Jin.

“As a friend, I have some bad news for you. I am afraid it is something I can only inform you about without taking any action about it.”