Enforcer Manual
Chapter 55: Gold Seeker_1

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Gold Seeker_1

"The bars in zone 17 fall into two categories; one kind caters to ordinary citizens providing them with a party venue. The other kind serves as an intelligence hub, attracting a multitude of information brokers and is established by the original gold diggers."

Lu Xiang seemed to know quite a bit about the bars in zone 17, "If you want to catch drug dealers, you’ll need to visit the former."

"Gold Diggers?"

This was the first time Song Lan had ever heard this term.

"Those who dream of getting rich overnight and came from various cities to the border are collectively known as gold diggers. In zone 17, they form a neutral organization. As long as you’re willing to pay, you can buy a great deal of information. Both the crime syndicates of zone 17 and the law enforcement department give them some respect. This has made these bars the safest places in zone 17."

There is an unspoken rule in these bars.

Leave your grudges at the door. Even if you encounter your enemy, you pretend not to see them.

Once you’re blacklisted for causing trouble in the bar, it’s difficult to buy information from the information brokers again.

"The safest place?"

Song Lan’s eyes brightened.

In the past, he was cautious about the bars because these places often gather a large number of thugs and criminals. It was often reported in the news that someone got beaten up while having a drink.

As a careful planner, if Valerian went to the bar dressed conspicuously, it would be like a walking magnet for thugs.

The best way to avoid being provoked by thugs is to stay at home and not go to the bar. But now, Lu Xiang suggested a team building location that sounds good.

"Are you interested?"

"A little."

At his response, Lu Xiang glanced at the time and said, "Then I’ll take you to explore."

It was 10 o’clock in the evening, just when the Gold Diggers’ Bar began its business.

"Now?"

Song Lan was surprised at Lu Xiang’s quick decision.

"I just happen to want to know some information, and I was planning to go there in a few days anyway."

"I’ll change my clothes."

...

Moments later, Lu Xiang’s hover car slowly parked in the back parking lot of an old building. As Song Lan got out of the back seat, he was stunned by the sight before him.

All over the back alley of the Gold Diggers’ Bar, there were many Mohicans gathered.

Leather outfits, hair dyed various colours, and some even openly holding the Wolf Fang Club. The scene seemed to take him back to the turn of the century.

"Are you sure this is a safe place?"

Song Lan asked nervously.

"They are security guards, as long as you don’t cause trouble inside the bar, they won’t bother you."

Lu Xiang added, "Don’t look down on them. They were hand-picked from the Gold Seekers, and starting a fight in close quarters with them is unwise."

There had once been a bounty hitter, who had a bounty of more than a hundred thousand volts, causing trouble in the bar after getting drunk. He ended up getting beaten up black and blue by these Mohicans and was thrown into the back alley trash can afterwards.

The two of them entered the bar called "Wandering People" one after another through the back alley.

This bar looked like it had just started business not long ago. Unlike the noisy music places in Song Lan’s memory, there was only a very faint melody as ornament in this bar. The layout of the bar was divided into separate private rooms. There were already people in the rooms near the back door.

When Lu Xiang entered the bar, many intelligence dealers lit up their eyes. Some nodded in acknowledgment, some waved and greeted her, and it was not difficult to see that Lu Xiang was not only a regular patron here, but also very popular.

"Here, both law enforcers and ’outer world’ criminals are very welcome."

Lu Xiang explained, "We are one of their important sources of information. In addition to buying information with cash, they also trade information here... Wait for me here while I attend to something."

She left Song Lan at the bar counter in the middle of the bar, gave a quick instruction and went towards one of the rooms.

Through the semi-transparent glass, it was clear that there were already quite a few people sitting in the room. Before Lu Xiang could even enter, a woman at the front stood up to greet her.

"Ophir, one of our co-founders."

The bartender stepped forward and said, while pushing a prepared drink to Song Lan, "This one’s on me. My name is Ivan."

"Song Lan."

Song Lan took the drink. Whether in 2020 or 2166, he didn’t have a habit of binge drinking. But out of politeness, he drank up the clear liquid in the glass at once.

Then, he regretted it.

Damn, it’s vodka!

For someone who’s not used to drinking, this was rather hard. It caused Song Lan to feel dizzy for a while. After recovering from the blow of the vodka, he made a mental note — when a bartender who sounds Russian offers you a drink, you should proceed with caution.

"Refreshing, want another one?"

"No, thank you."

Song Lan waved his hands, his gaze shifted to the most noticeable projection in the bar. Seeing the red characters at the top of the projection, he quickly changed the subject, "What does ’Concerned Citizen’ mean?"

"Oh, that? That’s the most valuable piece of information in zone 17 right now."

Ivan knew that it was Song Lan’s first time here, so he started explaining patiently, "That projection is like a billboard for bounties, and as for the ’Concerned Citizen’? The mysterious killer who killed Chai Ke and Phine Arnhem. Law Enforcers, Inspection Department, information brokers, and local criminals, the whole city is inquiring about their identity, probably the most valuable piece of information in the history of zone 17."

And that assassin certainly lived up to the description of being elusive.

Facing the search of numerous forces, they did not leave any substantial clues behind.

"Speaking of which, do you guys have any inside information? After all, you guys investigated the crime scene and took Phine Arnhem’s body."

If Song Lan had come a few days earlier, he would have found Phine Arnhem’s name right behind ’Concerned Citizen.’

"No."

Song Lan shook his head, "What does ’The Four Tycoons’ mean below it?"

"After Chai Ke’s death, the leaders of four of the most powerful crime syndicates in zone 17. Recently, everyone has been betting on who can finally replace Chai Ke and suppress the other three."

While saying this, Ivan suddenly lowered his voice, "But I put 200 volts on you guys, the law enforcers."

"There’s an option to bet on us?"

"In my opinion, with Chai Ke’s downfall, you law enforcers are currently the strongest force in zone 17. Those four syndicates will sooner or later be cleaned up by you guys."

Of course, this kind of talk can’t be said loudly at "Wandering People", after all, the bosses of these four crime syndicates are also regular patrons here.

Even though the unwritten rule is that you can’t fight in the bar, if you are targeted by those cunning and ruthless criminals, they are likely to send someone to tail you and make a move on your way home.

"I think they haven’t grasped the situation at all. The current zone 17 is different. Soon, criminals will have no market here."