Chapter 269 163: The World's Secret Organizations

Only drug traffickers would care about that, and even then, only in the Eastern Country.

Then there are universities. If you graduated from Shuimu University or Capital City University, you might have unknowingly picked a side the moment you enrolled.

Of course, that's the more neutral, slightly positive side of things.

As for the negative side...

"You should know what that bunch gets up to."

Zhang Liang took a deep drag from his cigarette and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"I don't need to spell it out."

Xu Huo nodded.

"I know."

What would they do?

They'd band together for profit!

But that led to another problem. In this world, the fastest way to make a profit is crime!

Take certain organizations in the Western Bald Eagle, for example.

Organizations formed by these people will dabble in illegal industries. They start by testing the waters, bit by bit, or they just go straight to preying on others.

And why do they seek profit?

For two reasons. First, to secure their own psychological well-being—what's known as 'self-actualization and social recognition' among the six basic needs for survival.

The second reason is much more direct.

Pleasure!

But another problem immediately follows.

For them, legal pleasures... are already easily within reach.

When something becomes cheap and easy to get, the pleasure is no longer a pleasure.

Think about it. A meal that you can eat anytime is a so-called 'pleasure' to a beggar.

But do you personally feel like you're truly enjoying it?

No. You'll want what you can't have.

It's the same for these people. Considering their wealth and status, they can get anything within the realm of possibility. The only thing that truly limits them is...

The law!

And so, their pursuit of pleasure begins to test those limits, until finally...

"Crime."

"Damn it, this is a huge mess. Just how many people are involved in this thing...?"

Xu Huo felt a headache coming on.

"Heh, 'a huge mess' doesn't even begin to cover it," Zhang Liang said with a bitter smile.

All he could see before him was a bleak future.

His workload had more than tripled!

'This thing? Just a few people involved? How hard could it be?'

Abroad, money is power, and power is the law. But money can put itself above the law. When they're involved, the conflict is anything but minor...

Let's take a few examples.

One.

Boxi Rice. A club once appeared there.

That's right, the simple, down-to-earth word 'club'—the same kind you'd see at a neighborhood pool club. The only difference was...

Aside from crimes of a 'sexual' nature, this one also held live human sacrifices.

A world-famous boxer, himself a suspected victim of childhood sexual abuse, once went public about what went on inside. He was silenced shortly after.

Two.

The island scandal. No need to say what that involved. A nine-hundred-page list, every name a world-class figure.

Three.

The dark country of romance. Forty middle-aged men vs. one 'very young!' female.

Four.

The 'Bullshit Parties'.

Five.

The ten small islands.

But this was... the 'Sex Slave Archipelago.'

At first, there were only ten islands. After being exposed, instead of decreasing, the number grew to twenty-three.

And what about these twenty-three islands? Surely they couldn't be more depraved than Loli Island?

Indeed, they couldn't compare.

Meaning Loli Island was the one that couldn't compare.

It couldn't even compare to a single fingernail of any one of those twenty-three islands!

Let me put it this way.

In its slowest year, the 'sales volume' was 250,000 people 'disappeared,' fifty percent of whom were minors by Eastern Country standards.

The mastermind behind Loli Island, after being arrested and jailed, once thought he could save his own skin by exposing the people involved.

But he died the moment he showed any intention of doing so.

He died in a high-security Bald Eagle prison.

The matter of the twenty-three islands was exposed. Why did no one do anything about it?

Because the people behind this archipelago had some power in certain organizations.

This organization is a familiar one; everyone knows it.

They are known as 'Interpol'.

Six.

The Big Shot Club.

Guests could freely grope the waitstaff.

It was like that for the first half of the night. The second half was even crazier.

And the official nature of this organization... was a 'charitable institution'.

Xu Huo could list fifteen more similar cases off the top of his head, each one unique.

"How many people in the country have been affected?"

His heart sank.

Zhang Liang shook his head, then stubbed out his cigarette. After a moment of thought, he added:

"However, it doesn't look like anyone domestic is involved at the moment."

"If the organization's headquarters isn't in the country, National Security and the Special Fifth Bureau won't get involved for the time being."

"Of course, there will definitely be an intelligence investigation."

"What's Huang Meng's relationship with this organization?"

"No direct relationship. People from the organization approached him to buy collectibles, offering support in terms of power and connections at the same time."

"And Cheng Yang? Don't tell me you haven't looked into him yet."

"Logically, with Cheng Yang's wealth and status, he shouldn't have just a low-level card. But he was cautious and very clever. He only held a low-level card, didn't get involved in their main affairs, and didn't even have much contact. He just treated it as a trump card, a backup plan."

Zhang Liang replied again.

After getting the story from their informant, they had quickly launched a second investigation into Cheng Yang.

But unfortunately...

Although Cheng Yang was a real piece of work...

...in this situation, he counted as a 'smart one'.

He knew that holding onto Zhaozhou was enough for him. On the contrary, getting involved in something like this was equivalent to stepping through King Yama's gates.

"The Capital City will investigate further."

"The stone has been checked. No tech inside. It's yours for now."

Zhang Liang glanced at the time and sighed.

"You guys take your time. I have to get back to work."

"Who knows if I'll even be done before the new year..."

With that, he walked out, muttering to himself. Xu Huo didn't stop him.

He looked down at the status-symbol token in his hand.

To be honest, this thing was actually useless. The authorities could fake one too.