Addicted: Book One - The Inquietude of Youth (1-44)

Chapter 3 - Let's Become Brothers!

Translator: Sae | Editor: Blue Blossoms

Yang Meng's uncle sent four men to Bai Luo Yin; they were Ma Tu, La La Man, San Zhazi, and Si Lingdang.[1] Just by their nicknames, one could tell that they weren't a particularly bright bunch, and even if they did have any brains, what quick-witted people would do something like this?!

As Ma Tu stared blankly at the luxurious five-star hotel before him, he couldn't help but to spit into his hands. Then, he clasped both his hands together and rubbed until the saliva thickened, all the while, wearing an extremely excited expression.

"Today, I will cry until I lose my voice."

San Zhazi was confused, "Crying cost 300 yuan,[2] but that kid only gave each of us 200 yuan. If you cry until you lose your voice, aren't we losing out?"

"Just take it as I gave him that 100 yuan."

"..."

La La Man crouched at the foot of a wall and looked over at Ma Tu. "Why?"

"Who told him to have a feast at such an expensive place!"

Si Lingdang stood to the side without saying anything. As he stared at the luxurious cars pass before him one by one, he became more and more uncertain.

"Lingdang, what are you doing?"

"I just noticed that the vehicles parked here all belong to the military. This person is definitely not just anybody!"

"No shit! You think that the person throwing a feast here has the same moral standing as us?"

"No, that's not it...what I meant was, let's not foolishly crash this place. If we break in, we might end up squatting in prison for three to five years..."

"Get rid of your shitty nagging. Aren't you a disgrace to us? Besides, once this job is over with, there's an additional 1000 yuan.[2] Don't you want that?"

Si Lingdang became listless/nervous as he looked at the rows of security guards and opted to remain silent.

"I see someone going in. Let's also head in. Get the invitation card out and do everything according to the plan. Once we're in, don't make a fool of yourself."

"Wait!" Si Lingdang suddenly stopped.

San Zhazi's patience was wearing thin, "Can you be a bit smarter? If you don't want the money, give it here."

"I...I think I saw reporters."

The other three followed Si Lingdang's line of sight.

"If by chance they're also trying to get in to do a live broadcast of the wedding ceremony, then the ones making the headlines in Beijing Evening News' today will definitely be us. I don't want this money anymore. If you guys want to do it, go for it."

Si Lingdang angrily turned away with every intention to leave.

"Come back!" Ma Tu bellowed.

Seeing that Ma Tu was about to become enraged, San Zhazi quickly grabbed him and Si Lingdang and urged them. "Stop fighting, aren't they just reporters? Wouldn't it work out if we all go over there and capture those two? There's four of us and only two of them."

"Exactly!" La La Man's courage increased a hundredfold. "We can steal their equipment as well! That guy also looks like he's worth a lot of money!"

"All right! We might as well just do that!" Ma Tu also joined in, "We're not going to cry anymore. In any case, we would only get 1000 yuan after crying. We can just steal the thing that they're carrying on their shoulders and sell it. It will definitely sell for more than 5000 yuan. Afterwards, we can give the money back to the boss's nephew and tell him that we didn't want to do it since it was too risky."

"At the end of the day, Da Ge[3] is the smart one. Ha, ha, ha..."

As a result, the four sneakily approached the two reporters.

Those two 'reporters' were temporarily hired by Gu Hai, who had to even teach them on how to use the equipment to film on the spot. That was because anyone with a bit of brain knew better than to come here and risk it. Consequently, the two lingered at the front gate of the hotel without the nerve to enter, despite having the invitation card.

Ma Tu waited for the perfect opportunity and waved his hand at the three behind him. "Come closer. Let's pretend to be friendly with them first and then lure them to an isolated place. Then, we can attack."

The three nodded and followed after Ma Tu nonchalantly.

The 'reporter' carrying the camera had just gathered up his courage to walk towards the entrance, when he suddenly saw four thievish-looking people heading in his direction.

"Hey, buddy! Let's talk over there."

"Ahhh!!"

The two fake reporters howled and fled towards a small road behind the hotel without consulting each other while the four men pursued them relentlessly. Looking at their attitudes, the fake reporters thought that they were being pursued by four were plain-clothed policemen. They quickly abandoned the equipement, flagged down a taxi and made their escape.

"What the hell is going on?" Si Lingdang stared at the camera with an eyebrow raised in shock.

San Zhazi gasped heavily, "How would I know?"

La La Man scratched his head, "Were these equipment stolen goods?"

"Who cares!" Ma Tu simply placed the equipment on his shoulder without hesitation, "Let's go. We need to find a place to sell these. With these, we don't need to work this month."

"Holy Shit! Our plan actually worked!"

"Ha, Ha, ha..."

-

Translator's Note

[1] Ma Tu - baldie, La La Man - vile creep, San(3) Zhazi - slag, Si(4) Lingdang - little bell

[2] 200元- $29.30, 300元- $44, 1000元- $146 (7元= $1) September 2018 rate

[3] Da Ge - eldest brother/big brother/gang leader/ boss - in this case, they're referring to the eldest person