Chapter 296 - Small Insect
After a brief moment, the scorpion tattooed man returned to their side.
“I got the information.” He motioned for them to enter. While he led them inside, he said, “Jin Yongqiang has a friend called Small Insect in Golden Tooth Lair. This guy was originally a vet for a small fighting squad. Jin Yongqiang would occasionally show him some respect by betting on his fighting squad.
“But it is a fighting squad without a gang supporting it. So, they aren’t that great regardless if you look at their monster modifications or their ability to control their monsters remotely. Their results have never been good. Jin Yongqiang doesn’t win a lot of money betting on them, but he doesn’t lose a lot of money with them either.
“Then, during the second half of last year, for some reason, this fighting squad suddenly rose to power, and their results kept getting better. In a few of the key matches, they won against major fighting squads supported by other gangs. They even won against Black Bone Fighting Squad, which is supported by Black Bone.
“Jin Yongqiang also acted contrary to how he usually behaved. Since the second half of last year, he would always place a huge bet on this squad, betting that they would win. He won a lot of money from it.
“When Black Bone Fighting Squad lost, they were not just embarrassed and angry, but also puzzled. After investigating things, they finally figured it out. Small Insect used dozens of illegal drugs to create a brand new drug that would make monsters go berserk. After injecting this drug into the monsters, the monsters’ metabolism would increase several times the normal level, and the monster would release an insanely violent power.
“You must understand, even though there aren’t as many rules in the colosseums in the lairs when compared to the colosseums outside, they still don’t allow you to inject every single kind of illegal drug into the monsters, especially when you don’t have a powerful gang supporting you.
“The fighting squad incurred public wrath, and soon, they were struck down by Black Bone. While Black Bone was interrogating the fighting squad members, they found out that Jin Yongqiang knew about this.
“Since the fighting squad used illegal drugs to win, they were considered to have cheated, and their victories were considered null, but monster gambling was a long-term business, and they prioritized trust. They could not ask for the winnings from the gamblers who did not know what happened, so Black Bone could only consider themselves unlucky.
“But Jin Yongqiang knew everything, so it was another matter.
“When Small Insect learned that the victory rate of monsters that were injected with his drug was incredibly high, he wanted to earn some money as well.
“But the people in the lairs live mostly by the paycheck, and there are few people who can place huge bets.
“He was also the vet of a fighting squad. If he borrowed money from a finance company to place bets, his intentions would be obvious.
“So, he went to Jin Yongqiang and revealed some of what was going on to him. He persuaded Jin Yongqiang to place a large bet on his fighting squad, and once they won, they would split the money. That’s the gist of what happened.
“But once the conspiracy was revealed, Jin Yongqiang was naturally told to cough up the money he won.”
The Poison Scorpion member’s words were very clear. With just a few words, he managed to tell them everything that had happened.
It was no wonder why he had the right to come and receive Lu Siya, who was from Sky Pillar Corporation.
Lu Siya nodded with a contemplative expression and asked, “How did Black Bone deal with Jin Yongqiang?”
“Black Bone knew that Jin Yongqiang was a middle-rank manager in Heavenly Works Machines, so they did not make things too difficult for him,” the Poison Scorpion member said. “In truth, unless it’s absolutely necessary, we don’t want to make things hard for the guests from beyond the lair. Otherwise, would our customers want to come back to the lairs to play?
“Black Bone went to Jin Yongqiang and politely asked him whether he knew that Small Insect injected illegal drugs into the monsters. Jin Yongqiang naturally denied it.
“Black Bone did not use force on him. They just brought out the oral testament from Small Insect and the records of Jin Yongqiang’s bets.
“In the past, when the fighting squad did not have a high chance of winning, Jin Yongqiang would only occasionally bet on them. He did not place a lot of money on them either. His bets were just for fun. The main teams he betted for were the major fighting squads supported by the gangs, especially Golden Tooth Fighting Squad, which was supported by Golden Tooth.
“But ever since Small Insect created the new drug that made the monsters go berserk, it was as if Jin Yongqiang turned into a prophet. He poured a lot of money into them and betted huge amounts of money on his friend’s fighting squad.
“There was no explanation for this abnormal behavior. Once they used a few more tricks on Jin Yongqiang, his mental defenses crumbled, and he confessed to everything.
“Even then, Black Bone did not touch him. They only asked him to write a testimony and sign a confession. He was also to cough up all the money he won by cheating.
“Unfortunately, Jin Yongqiang had long since spent all the money he won to indulge in a debauched life in the lair.
“Black Bone threatened him by saying that if he did not return the money, they would send his testimony and confession to Heavenly Works Machines and the other media. Then, they would upload it online so that his reputation would be ruined.
“Jin Yongqiang was forced into a corner. He had to go to Fast Money and borrow money to pay the gambling debt he owed to Black Bone.
“Then, he pawned off his own apartment to temporarily return the money to the lenders.
“Fast Money was prepared to auction the apartment off once they collected it, but half a month ago, Jin Yongqiang suddenly went to them happily and returned a large sum of money, then promised that he would definitely return the rest within three months.
“The people in Fast Money were curious, but there was no need for them to get to the bottom of things. As long as their customers could return the money in time, the money’s origin had nothing to do with the company even if their customers kidnapped people or murdered someone.”
Lu Siya and Meng Chao exchanged a glance.
The information provided by the Poison Scorpion member matched the information they had.
Small Insect was now their main suspect. They were almost sure that he had provided the mutated rabies virus to Jin Yongqiang.
“Where did Small Insect go after this?” Lu Siya asked.
“He died,” the Poison Scorpion member said.
“He died?” Lu Siya’s voice swiftly became shrill.
“Black Bone’s power is similar to that of Poison Scorpion in Golden Tooth Lair, but Small Insect had deceived them and caused them to lose a lot of money. There’s no way he wouldn’t be killed for it,” the Poison Scorpion member said.
“That guy was born in the lair and was not a normal citizen outside. Even if he died, no one would care. I heard that he was hung upside down and beaten up for a day and night. The bones in his legs were crushed to bits inch by inch. Then, he disappeared without a trace. No one knows whether he was buried underground, thrown into the depths of a pipe that crushes trash, or fed to monsters.”
Lu Siya frowned and asked, “When did this happen? Recently?”
“Not recently. It happened around half a year ago, I think.” The Poison Scorpion member shook his head and said, “I don’t know the details. The people from Fast Money didn’t tell me anything more. If it weren’t because of Poison Scorpion, they wouldn’t have wanted to tell me even this much.”
“Does Jin Yongqiang know anyone else in the lair, especially a vet or some other monster controller?” Lu Siya asked.
“I don’t know about that.”
Lu Siya cussed under her breath. She turned around and said to Meng Chao, “The trail went cold.”
Meng Chao rubbed the bridge of his nose gently before he suddenly turned to the Poison Scorpion member. “Say, did Black Bone’s results change compared to last year?
The Poison Scorpion member was slightly stunned. He thought about it before he nodded slowly and said, “Black Bone’s results weren’t much last year. They have never been able to find a suitable pharmacist, vet, or monster controller. Every time they spent a lot of money to buy a monster, that monster would usually be beaten up by their opponent using a monster of the same grade or one who is a grade lower.
“But they have been raking in quite a lot of victories this year. Their results can now compare to Poison Scorpion Fighting Squad.”
Meng Chao’s eyes began sparkling. “Then, if my guess is correct, their results have been getting better after they got rid of the fighting squad that cheated and tortured Small Insect for information before they made him disappear, right?”
The Poison Scorpion member thought about it before he nodded repeatedly. “Yes, that’s right!”
Lu Siya stared at the Poison Scorpion member before she looked at Meng Chao. She also came to a realization. “Are you saying that Black Bone took Small Insect in and asked him to use that illegal drug to modify the monsters of Black Bone Fighting Squad?
“Cultivating a vet, pharmacist, or modifier requires a lot of money, and it’s not something easy. Aside from needing a lot of resources, the person himself also needs a certain degree of talent,” Meng Chao explained. Small Insect was a member of the lair without a background. I don’t think he ever received any legitimate education from a university but learned things on his own, right?
“This is a vet who obtained his skills on his own, and he managed to create such a powerful drug that could cause monsters to go berserk, then used it to help a nameless fighting squad rise to power. I don’t think Black Bone would let a genius like this go so easily.
“And just as I expected, you mentioned that Black Bone hung Small Insect upside down and beat him up as well as crushed the bones in his legs inch by inch. I find it very strange.
“If they really tortured him to death, why did they only crush his legs instead of all the bones in his body?
“But once I thought about it from another angle, it’s easy. His hands and brains needed to be preserved to create new drugs for their monsters to go berserk!”
Lu Siya’s eyes shone with excitement.
“What’s Small Insect’s real name? Do you have his picture?” she asked the Poison Scorpion member.
“I don’t. Many of the lair members don’t like telling other people their real names. They don’t like having their pictures taken so that others would know what they look like, either.”
“Then…” Lu Siya thought about it. “Can we go to Black Bone’s territory and look for this Small Insect?”
“With my status, it would be too dangerous to go to Black Bone’s territory. Besides, many people know about Small Insect using illegal drugs, and Black Bone has already killed him in name. They won’t admit that they’re keeping this guy around.”
The Poison Scorpion member thought about it and added, “But there are a few of Black Bone Fighting Squad’s fights today in Black Blood Colosseum. If Small Insect has really been taken under Black Bone Fighting Squad’s wing, he should appear along with the team.
“Many of the drugs that make monsters go berserk only last for a short time. The vets have to use different formulae and concentration of the drugs based on the monsters’ condition and the effect they want to reach before the match. He won’t want to hand such an important job to others.”