Chapter 33: A Steamed Bun Sparks a Bloodbath Among Drug Dealers

Twenty minutes later, the preparatory bell for evening study hall echoed incessantly across the campus. The long line of students finally began to dissipate, and Lu Xingzhou could see the disappointment and reluctance in their eyes.

About ten minutes later, the long queue finally reached the young man with a tattoo on his right arm.

"Heh, heh, heh. Boss, I told you to wait, didn't I? I’m back. You have to sell to me this time. I want six: three fish-flavored shredded pork and three shiitake mushroom beef!"

The audience in the live stream was roaring with laughter.

<I thought he was going to threaten the streamer, but it turns out he just went to stand in line.>
<Talking the toughest talk while doing the most cowardly thing—this is hilarious!>
<Threaten the streamer? Look at that guy’s build; the streamer could punch him into a medical insurance deficit in three hits.>

After packing the order, Lu Xingzhou placed it on the table. "Sixty. Take it."

The tattooed youth threw the money on the table, laughing as he cradled the buns and sprinted toward the old residential district, as if terrified that someone might snatch them away.

Yet, wherever the tattooed youth passed, stray dogs that had been lying on the ground feeling the cool earth suddenly stood up for no apparent reason. A piercing light flickered in their eyes, foul-smelling drool dripped from their maws, and their sharp canines glinted coldly in the moonlight.

Opposite the Third Middle School lay a blend of old residential quarters and an urban village. The buildings were only four or five stories high, while the village houses were even lower, at just two or three stories. The gaps between the buildings were no more than two or three meters wide—some even less than a meter—barely wide enough for two people to pass through. The paths were so narrow that, let alone lighting, one could hear people talking on the other side of the alley.

The tattooed youth entered the village, taking several turns until he reached a secluded house. The ground floor bore a sign that read "Photography, Printing, Advertising Design." Inside, the space was sparsely furnished with a few computers, printers, and stacks of plastic tarps and steel pipes, looking every bit like a run-down print shop.

However, the second floor was a different story.

Shelves on both sides were piled with brick after brick of 65% pure narcotics. On the table in the center of the room sat several rectangular stainless steel basins filled with a viscous white substance—the drugs, currently being further diluted.

It was already night. Six drug dealers sat in the corner, smoking and chatting while looking at the sunset outside the window.

The leader, a young man with a tattoo on his neck, flicked his cigarette butt away. "Dabei, why did it take you so long just to go buy dinner?"

Dabei dared not admit that he had been intimidated by Lu Xingzhou’s physique. He replied with an impatient look, "The students were getting out of school, and the line was too long. Boss, didn't you say not to attract any attention? I had no choice but to wait in line. How could I help it?"

Dabei found a stool, sat down, and began to eat the buns he had waited nearly half an hour for.

It wasn't that Dabei had a particular passion for buns; it was just that ever since he smelled the aroma of Lu Xingzhou’s food, he felt completely uninspired by the offerings at other stalls. The food at those stalls relied on heavy oil, heavy salt, and heavy spice to numb the taste buds; it certainly wasn't "bad," but it lacked something. That realization made Dabei even more certain that he had made the right choice in picking Lu Xingzhou’s buns.

As Dabei opened the plastic bag, that fragrance instantly permeated the room.

The youth with the neck tattoo felt his mouth flood with saliva. His nasal cavity was filled with such a tantalizing scent that he couldn't help but flare his nostrils, looking like a rhinoceros.

"What is that smell? Why is it so fragrant?"

"Damn, this smell is intense. It smells even better than the stuff we sell."

The other men turned their heads, searching for the source of the aroma.

Dabei had no idea that everyone was staring at him; he was too busy devouring the bun in his hand. Although it had been trapped in the plastic bag for a while and the steam had made the skin a bit soft, the flavor remained unchanged. With every bite, he felt his soul being elevated.

Just as Dabei was lost in the joy of the meal, he caught a glimpse of a shadow in his peripheral vision.

He turned his head to see the youth with the neck tattoo, who was wearing a smile of undisguised excitement. That aggressive look made Dabei shiver.

"J-Jie-ge, what... what are you doing?"

Jie-ge’s mouth curled slightly into a wicked grin. "Brother, you smell so good."

Dabei jumped back, scrambling away from him. "Jie-ge... no, don't! I... I’m not into that!"

Only then did Dabei realize that all the others who had been smoking had abandoned their spots and were surrounding him. Their eyes were filled with a fierce possessiveness. Dabei gulped, feeling certain that he was about to lose something tonight.

Jie-ge realized Dabei had misunderstood and his face darkened. "I’m talking about your buns. Give me one."

Dabei looked at the bun in his hand, then at the hungry, predatory look in Jie-ge’s eyes. Gritting his teeth for the sake of his life, he pulled out a bun and handed it over.

"Jie-ge, you can just go downstairs and buy them yourself. They’re right at the entrance of Third Middle School."

"What about mine?" A second tattooed man reached out toward him.

Dabei gritted his teeth and handed over another bun. Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth...

The sixth tattooed youth said, "Hmm..."

Dabei looked at the bun he had already taken a bite out of, feeling like crying. "Erhu, I’ve already taken a bite of this one! You want this too?"

Erhu snatched the bun from Dabei’s hand, tore off the bitten part, handed the scrap back to Dabei, and stuffed the rest into his mouth.

Dabei stared at the remaining piece of bun, only a finger-width wide, feeling as if he had received a phone call from Qiu Ya in the middle of winter. A tragic background melody played in his mind: "Snow~flakes drifting~, north wind howling~..."

How on earth could a drug dealer get robbed?

The six dealers began to feast.

"Mmm, so delicious! This flavor is incredible!"

"This is what you call food; what we’ve been eating is animal feed."

"If we’d known buns could be this good, who would bother with drugs?!"

"Damn it! Why are you biting my bun? I'm biting yours back!"

A chaotic scramble broke out among the dealers.

After a while, the men finished off the last of the buns and turned their eyes toward Dabei in unison. "Dabei, where did you buy these? Are there any left?"

Dabei pointed toward the Third Middle School, trembling. "At the school gate. I don't know if the boss still has any left at this hour; there wasn't much left when I bought mine."

Jie-ge waved his hand. "Let's go. We’ll go check together."

Erlong asked blankly, "Jie-ge, what if the boss doesn't have any buns left?"

Jie-ge clenched his fist, gritting his teeth as he snarled, "Then we’ll kidnap him and make him wrap more for us!"