Chapter 327: Zhang Cheng: I Think I Saw My Great-Grandmother...

Chapter 327: Chapter 178: Zhang Cheng: I Think I Saw My Great-Grandmother…

Su Cheng glanced at the floor, at the wooden table that had been snapped clean in two.

‘This isn’t some prop board for a performance…’

‘A normal person might not even be able to break this with a sledgehammer…’

Su Cheng clicked his tongue in amazement. But soon after, his nose twitched slightly, and his brow furrowed.

“What’s that smell?”

He looked down and saw a large wet patch on Zhang Cheng’s pants.

But Zhang Cheng didn’t seem to notice, still frozen to the spot in a daze.

“I told you we should’ve tried something else. But no, you just wouldn’t listen. You had to go and pick a fight…”

Su Cheng shook his head slightly, clicking his tongue.

‘Xu Huo obviously wasn’t using his full strength. If he had, even hitting the stomach, cushioned by flab…’

‘…it wouldn’t have mattered.’

‘With that immense power, Sun Jian had no doubt the man could shatter a spine with a single punch.’

‘If he’d aimed for the head…’

“I…”

Zhang Cheng’s eyes were glazed over. He opened his dry lips, trembling.

“Just now, I think I…”

“I think I just saw my great-grandma.”

“Tsk.”

Su Cheng shook his head, clicking his tongue.

“I have to say, I preferred your defiant attitude from before.”

…

…

Normally, where would a victim of Life Collection and Cutting go to beg?

First, places with high foot traffic.

But even in high-traffic areas, some spots are better for making money than others.

For example, you might only make a mediocre amount at a hospital entrance.

But if you’re…

…at the entrance of a temple, or a church…

…then you’ll rake in a lot more.

Especially if that temple is also a tourist attraction!

It’s all about emotional priming. When people are near a temple, or right after they’ve offered incense, their hearts are more open to compassion.

For example.

If a friend suddenly bursts into laughter for no apparent reason, you might find yourself laughing along with them, even if they haven’t said a word.

And the temple here…

“How many did we get in total?”

“Nine. Those bastards drive the kids out to designated begging spots during the day and bring them back at night.”

“And this place… on the surface, it’s a temple, but it’s really their den!”

At 10:30 PM, the sky had long since darkened, plunging the world into blackness.

Xu Huo sat on the steps of the temple, watching the police move back and forth, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Zhang Cheng had come clean. He wasn’t lying—there really was something wrong with the temple.

The monks inside, who appeared so simple and honest, were actually members of the Beggar Gang in disguise. They had a long-standing partnership with Sima Kong.

They targeted young, severely deformed individuals whose conditions were stable.

The temple took in all comers, no questions asked.

To the gang, these victims weren’t just people.

They were walking cash cows.

Every single one of them brought in far more money than an ordinary beggar ever could.

“How many victims have been rescued in total?”

“Twenty-one.”

Li Jianye answered, his words hanging in the air and casting a pall of silence over them.

“Those bastards,” Sun Jian muttered, his voice thick with anger.

It was hard to tell if he meant the people from the laboratory or the ones from the temple.

Twenty-one victims. Even in this day and age, the amount of money each one could bring in was staggering.

At least five thousand a month, maybe as much as ten thousand.

With them controlling all these people, that was at least a hundred thousand a month…

That’s higher than the profits of some small companies!

On top of that, the temple itself, their front, also generated a massive income.

A temple is a real money-maker.

If you run it well, you can earn just as much as you do from Life Collection and Cutting. This temple pulled in at least thirty thousand a month in donations alone, not even counting government subsidies.

No wonder these guys were all so fat and greasy.

Now, the culprits were still trying to squirm their way out of legal punishment.

“Officer, it wasn’t me! I didn’t cause their injuries! All I did was buy them and make them beg!”

A bald man with ordination scars on his scalp and wearing a simple monk’s robe spoke up.

The surrounding officers couldn’t be bothered with him.

“Shut him up!”

The noise grated on Xu Huo. Someone nearby quickly found something to gag the man.

After a long moment, he finally stubbed out his cigarette and stood up.

“Let’s wrap it up!”

…

…

「January 7th. 8:00 AM.」

Chu Linhai truly never expected that under his governance, Jiangsan City could still produce so many victims.

He had been in office for many years, and society in Jiangsan City had seen visible improvements. But unfortunately, this kind of filth, a product of the times, couldn’t be wiped out by the efforts of one person alone.

But then again.

If you dare to commit such acts… then you’d better be prepared to die for them!

Do human traffickers get the death penalty?

Not always. There are multiple sentencing guidelines for human traffickers. The minimum sentence might be just a few years, while the maximum is death.

Sentencing usually depends on the victims’ injuries or the number of people trafficked.

However, Life Collection and Cutting isn’t treated the same as human trafficking.

That…

You get caught doing that… it’s a death sentence.

That’s right. Get caught, you die. It’s been that way through every dynasty in history.

Even under the most corrupt dynasties, the punishment for these criminals was always immediate execution.

The modern era is no exception.

“These bastards were also in league with an orphanage.”

“And the temple is connected to Sima Kong. That’s how they created their supply chain.”

“The temple buys children from the orphanage, then ships them to Sima Kong for a cut of the profit.”

“Sima Kong then delivers them to the laboratory. After they’re put through a series of tortures, he brings them back to the temple.”

“All three parties profit from the arrangement, which is how they’ve maintained this partnership for so long.”

In his office, Chu Linhai listened to Li Jianye’s report, the cigarette in his hand smoldering, a long stick of ash forming at its tip.

Dozens of victims…