CHAPTER 727: CHAPTER 595: REBELLIOUS TAICHIRO, SIMPLE AND VIOLENT

On the morning of November 13th, Takashita Kanji arrived in Hakodate City with several subordinates who had hurried over from Tokyo.

Hakodate City is a port city that welcomes a considerable number of tourists every year, so it still counts as prosperous.

After checking into the hotel, Takashita Kanji called the target he planned to conquer, Yoshino Tairo.

"Idiot! Who is it! What kind of blind asshole dares to disturb my sleep!" The moment the call connected, a particularly irate voice came through.

Takashita Kanji glanced at his watch unconsciously; how could he have expected to awaken the other party with a call so close to eleven o’clock? He spoke in a calm tone, "Mr. Yoshino, I’m the new person in charge of the demolition on this side, would you like to join me for dinner?"

"So it’s the bastard from East Field Construction." Yoshino Tairo cursed, yawned irritably, and said, "Do I look like I need your dinner? My terms are what they are, either give me half the shares of the project or don’t even think about touching my land! And don’t bother sending someone else, even a god wouldn’t be able to do it!"

With that, he hung up the phone.

"Beep~beep~beep~"

"Chairman, this guy is utterly stubborn, hard as a rock, hell-bent on extorting us," said one of the subordinates behind Takashita Kanji, frowning deeply.

With an unchanged expression, Takashita Kanji said in an even tone, "I never expected to convince him with words. It’s ’soft approach first, force later.’ Since he doesn’t want a soft approach, let’s go straight to force, tonight."

Backed by a powerful figure, he did not take someone like the brother-in-law of a local city mayor seriously.

"Yes!" his subordinates responded in unison.

Soon, the night fell, and the lights went up.

Hakodate, although a small city with a population of just over two hundred thousand, also boasted brilliant neon lights and a rich nightlife. The streets were bustling and extraordinarily lively.

"Hahaha! You lost, strip! Strip!"

"Sorry about this. Here! Let me help you strip."

"Ah! No, I’ll strip myself."

In a private room of a bar, under the influence of alcohol, men and women both let loose. A woman was pinned down on the sofa as her skirt was torn off; several men drenched her with alcohol, then pounced on her to taste.

Yoshino Tairo was among them, pinching the woman’s neck to prevent her from struggling, and excitedly pouring liquor into her mouth from a bottle, "Drink, drink up!"

The group, immersed in their excitement, didn’t notice the door to the private room had been pushed open; a few strangers stood at the doorway, quietly enjoying the performance.

"Brother." Finally, one of the young men noticed the strangers at the door and tugged at Yoshino Tairo.

"What? Stop bothering me!" Yoshino Tairo didn’t look back; he threw the bottle down, bent over to kiss the woman’s red lips and suck the alcohol from her mouth, then stood up, started unbuckling his belt, and burst into laughter, "Pry her mouth open for me, let her taste some ’holy water.’

If this had been any other time, as soon as he finished speaking, the others would have laughed and forcibly held her down, pried her mouth open amidst her cries and pleas. But this time, no one responded to his call after he spoke.

Starting to sense something amiss, Yoshino Tairo looked up.

"Brother, someone’s come in."

The same young man who warned him before spoke up again.

Yoshino Tairo turned around and saw the strangers at the door, furrowing his brows. "Idiot! Who are you? Who let you in? Get out!" he shouted.

"Mr. Yoshino, I was the one who called you this morning," the lead man, Takashita Kanji, said.

"So it’s the dog from East Field Construction; you guys really are a nuisance!" Yoshino Tairo spat disdainfully, zipped up his pants, and walked up to Takashita Kanji with a glass of wine, "What, you came to find me after being rejected, prepared to agree now?"

"Mr. Yoshino, you should know we can’t possibly agree to such an absurd condition," Takashita Kanji shook his head and said lightly, "You should also be aware that no one can stop the demolition..."

Splash! Yoshino Tairo threw the wine right into Takashita Kanji’s face, pointing arrogantly at him and saying, "If you won’t agree, then don’t show your face around me. You think I don’t know who’s behind you? Not just you, even if Aoyama Xiu Xin came himself, I wouldn’t give in to him! Take your people and get lost, don’t kill my mood."

Takashita Kanji wiped the dripping wine off his face in no hurry, licked wine from his fingertips, and said emotionlessly, "You can look down on me, but you shouldn’t drag the Minister into this."

Yoshino Tairo let out a snort which then turned into a wild laugh; soon his smile vanished, and he smashed the glass with a bang, saying with a mocking look, "So what? He’s Aoyama Xiu Xin, gets fat on oil, and thinks he can dismiss me with a pittance? Thanks, is that it? You think I’m like you dogs who haven’t seen the world? Wagging your tail in gratitude, getting thrown a bone by him? Go tell Aoyama Xiu Xin this from me, no shares, he can’t move an inch of my land."

Takashita Kanji nodded and turned to leave.

Tsk! I thought he was someone important, scared off by Brother Yoshino in just a few words. Quite fitting for Brother Yoshino, he really had an imposing aura just then."

Exactly, even Aoyama Xiu Xin’s dog dares to bare its teeth at Brother Yoshino, what a joke."

The group of fair-weather friends, who had been silent until then, suddenly started loudly flattering Yoshino Tairo.

And Yoshino Tairo was quite receptive to the flattery.

His smile was beaming, full of pride and satisfaction.

That piece of land had been bought by his brother-in-law in advance, all for a huge profit; there was no way he’d yield to Aoyama Xiu Xin over a sum of money.

"Come on, drink up, let’s continue drinking."

They partied until the early morning hours before Yoshino Tairo was eventually escorted out of the bar, flanked by two women.

"Bring... bring my car over."

His voice was muffled as he spoke.

"Mr. Yoshino, you’ve had too much to drink. Don’t drive tonight," a woman said with concern.

"Get out of the way! How have I had too much to drink?" Yoshino Tairo shoved the woman aside and, like a madman, shouted at the entrance, "Where’s my car? Where’s my car?"

"We’ll get it right away, right away." The two hostesses exchanged a helpless look and could only ask the parking security at the door to bring the car around.

A few minutes later, under the watchful eyes of several bar employees, Yoshino Tairo sped off with a slam on the accelerator.

With few cars in the early morning, Yoshino Tairo raced through the streets, windows down, with gusts of cold air sobering him up a bit. However, the thrill provided by the increasing speed made him reluctant to ease off the gas.

The patrolling police did not intervene upon seeing his car because they were already familiar with his identity.

Suddenly, at the end of the road, there appeared a van parked in the middle. A terrified Yoshino Dairo hurriedly floored the brake, sparks flying from the brake pads, until the car screeched to a halt just before it could crash into the van. A distraught Yoshino Tairo sat in the driver’s seat, sweating and panting heavily.

After catching his breath for a moment, what followed was intense rage. As he got out of the car to confront whoever was responsible, a sudden burst of headlights dazzled him, making it impossible to see. Instinctively raising his hand to shield his face, he then heard a loud clanging sound—his car was being lifted.

Panicked, he lowered his hand to look and saw that a forklift had pierced his two-door sports car and hoisted it high off the ground.

"Ah! What are you doing! What the hell are you doing! Put me down! Idiot! Do you know who I am?" Yoshino Tairo bellowed in shock and fury.

But the forklift operator ignored him, the doors of the van were opened by two men, and the forklift turned a corner to slide Yoshino Tairo, along with his car, into the cargo box.

"Damn it! Who the hell are you? How have I wronged you? Is it money you want? I have lots of money! Don’t hurt me! Don’t kill me!"

It was the first time Yoshino Tairo had encountered such a situation, and he was absolutely terrified, his face pale as he shrieked.

But all through this, there was only the roar of the vehicle’s engine.

No one spoke to him from the beginning to the end.

Then the cargo door locked, and the forklift and van left one after another, leaving only tire tracks on the ground.

Inside the cargo box, it was pitch black. Yoshino Tairo, anxious and fearful, reached for his mobile phone, but the next second a beam of light suddenly lit up the interior space of the cargo box.

Yoshino Tairo then realized that there were several people in the cargo box with him; he hadn’t seen them in his panic.

"It’s you!" He recognized the leader, Takashita Kanji, at a glance. After realizing his identity, the fear suddenly subsided, replaced by fierce anger. His face contorted as he shouted, "You damn bastard Takashita, you dare to threaten me like this? Want my property, do you? I’ll tell you, 50% shares are no longer enough, I want 60%, and I want that bastard Aoyama Xiu Xin to come to me and apologize!"

"Do you think I’m trying to scare you?" Takashita Kanji stared back at Yoshino Tairo through the windshield, his expression as calm as a deep pool, untroubled.

A shiver ran down Yoshino Tairo’s spine, fear creeping back in, but he feigned composure and snorted, "Otherwise? What else could you dare do to me? Have you thought about the consequences? If I’m missing even a finger, my brother-in-law will surely investigate to the end!"

"You don’t need your brother-in-law to investigate; when you are dead, I will go and confess my guilt," Takashita Kanji said.

Yoshino Tairo’s breath caught, his face twitching, "You dare to kill me? You wouldn’t dare! Wouldn’t dare!"

"Send him off," Takashita Kanji gestured with a wave of his hand.

One of his subordinates immediately pulled out a knife and approached Yoshino Tairo, yanked open the car door, and thrust the knife fiercely.

But he paused in mid-air, deliberately giving Yoshino Tairo a moment to react.

"Ah!" Yoshino Tairo used that split second to raise his hand to block. As expected, the knife sliced across his hand, and warm crimson blood began to flow.

Seeing this, the subordinate frowned and prepared to strike again.

At that moment, Yoshino Tairo was certain that these lunatics intended to kill him. In utter panic and hysteria, he screamed, "Ah! Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!"

"Stop!" commanded Takashita Kanji. He then stepped forward, grabbed Yoshino Tairo by his hair to face him, and spoke with a chilling tone, "I’m just a minor player following the Minister, dealing with you is his test for me. People like us, our lives are cheaper than the grass in the field, we’ll desperately seize any opportunity and climb our way up by any means necessary. So, if you dare stand in my way, I will certainly kill you!"

"After you die, I’ll go to prison. Will your brother-in-law start an endless vendetta with the Minister over a dead man? You’re just the brother-in-law, not his own son, so I’m giving you one last chance. Do you sign the contract or not?"

"I... I..." Yoshino Tairo was so frightened he had peed his pants, trembling and stammering, "Those lands are registered in my name, but... but my brother-in-law has a share too. I can’t decide, I can’t convince him. Without persuading him, even if you get the land you won’t be able to tear it down!"

"I’m only asking if you will sign or not! You are the owner of the land, if you agree, I’ll take care of your brother-in-law myself," Takashita Kanji said unconcernedly.

Seeing that even bringing up his brother-in-law couldn’t intimidate this band of desperados, Yoshino Tairo could only capitulate, "I’ll sign, I’ll sign."

"Contract," Takashita Kanji called out.

Someone immediately came forward with the contract and a seal.

Ten minutes later, the cargo truck stopped, and Yoshino Tairo, along with his car, was placed back on the ground by the forklift. He looked at his bloodied arm and rushed to the hospital.

At the same time, he called his Mayor brother-in-law.

"Brother-in-law, Aoyama Xiu Xin has gone mad! His men are trying to kill me! You must avenge me."

At that time, Takashita Kanji was also reporting the progress of the matter on a call to the person he truly served.

After learning about the exaggerated facts from Yoshino Tairo, the Hakodate City Mayor first couldn’t believe it, then flew into a rage, but soon he received another call that quelled his fury.

Although he lost some money and his brother-in-law was injured, he received much more in compensation.