68: Chapter 68 Public Confrontation, Marcus's Deception Exposed

Julio pushed open the car door and stepped out of the off-road vehicle, his burly frame carrying an aura of violence. The scorpion tattoo on his arm looked particularly menacing under the glare of the headlights. Behind him followed four sturdy gang members, each with their hands on the weapons at their waists, their fierce eyes scanning the scene. On the open ground of the suburban road, the headlights of both cars were fully on, enveloping several people in pale beams of light. The wind swirled gravel and withered grass across the ground, and dust clung to everyone's trouser legs; the atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme.

Marcus, as if grasping at a literal straw, immediately broke away from Lin Chen's gaze and scrambled toward Julio. He grabbed Julio's arm, his face plastered with a fawning and terrified smile, his voice carrying a sob: "Boss Julio, you're finally here! This kid Lin Chen is framing me! He forged the stolen money and IOUs, and even bribed my woman to slander me, just to drive a wedge between me and the gang and steal my money!"

As he spoke, he pointed at Lin Chen, his eyes full of venom, trying to throw all the dirty water onto Lin Chen, completely forgetting the fact that he had hidden money and embezzled gang funds.

Julio frowned and shook off his hand, gave him a cold look, and then looked at Lin Chen standing aside. He didn't speak, but merely gestured for him to talk with his eyes. Having spent many years in the Slum District, he was extremely suspicious; he wouldn't easily believe Marcus's one-sided story, nor would he directly dismiss Lin Chen, looking only for evidence.

Lin Chen took a step forward, with Li Wei still protecting him by his side, gripping a baton and warily eyeing the surrounding gang members. Lin Chen still held those two transparent sealed bags in his hand; he raised his hand and handed the bags to Boss Julio, his tone calm and logical, without a hint of panic: "The evidence is all here, and you're still making excuses? This is $2,860 in cash found in the East District Abandoned Warehouse where you hid the money, as well as the IOUs you wrote by hand. You have embezzled a total of $3,100 in gang protection fees and owe gambling debts. There are your fingerprints on the money, and the IOUs are in your handwriting; one test will tell."

Marcus's face turned pale instantly, and he hurriedly waved his hands and shouted: "It's fake! It's all forged! My handwriting can be imitated, and fingerprints can be planted; he did it on purpose!"

"Forged?" Lin Chen sneered, took out a second-hand voice recorder from his pocket, and pressed the play button. Immediately, the conversation between Marcus and the casino boss came out—the sound of him cursing while losing money, the sound of him being questioned for squandering money while owing the gang, and the sound of him stubbornly saying "I have a way to pay it back" echoed clearly across the open ground.

"This is your conversation with the boss at the Underground Casino, and this." Lin Chen pressed the switch button again, and the conversation between Marcus and Lily came out. He was begging Lily to give him some money and saying that Boss Julio wouldn't find out even if he checked the accounts—every word was there.

The moment the recording played, Marcus's body began to tremble, his eyes darting around in panic, his mouth still muttering: "No... this isn't true... he altered the recording..."

Just then, a small car stopped next to the off-road vehicle, and Lily got out. She was wrapped in a coat, her face pale, but she still walked in front of everyone under the guidance of Julio's subordinates. Seeing Marcus slumped on the ground, a flash of disgust crossed her eyes. She then looked at Julio, took a deep breath, and spoke in a voice that was soft but exceptionally firm: "I can testify that he indeed hid the money."

As soon as these words came out, Marcus became completely frantic, roaring and rushing forward to grab Lily: "You bitch! You were bribed by him! You're lying!"

Julio's subordinates were quick-eyed and nimble-handed, grabbing Marcus and pinning him firmly to the ground, making him unable to move.

Lily took a step back, avoiding his gaze, and continued: "He hid the gang's protection fees and lost a lot gambling at the casino. He told me the address of the warehouse where the money was hidden. He also owes $2,300 in high-interest loans and never intended to pay them back. If I didn't come out to testify, the loan sharks would break my legs. He even told me that even if Boss Julio checked the accounts, he could muddle through and wasn't afraid at all."

Lily's words became the final straw that broke Marcus.

After listening, Julio's face turned so dark it looked like it could drip water. He took the sealed bag and the voice recorder handed over by his subordinate, flipped through the IOUs inside, and listened to the recording again, the violence in his eyes growing heavier. The Wild Scorpion Gang valued rules above all else, and hiding gang money and embezzling protection fees were the betrayals he hated most. Marcus had not only broken the rules but also dared to slander others and try to muddle through, which made him fly into a rage.

He walked up to Marcus, who was pinned to the ground, looked down at him, grabbed his hair with a large hand, and yanked his head up fiercely. His voice was like tempered ice as he roared: "Marcus, you dare to lie to me?! I support you and let you collect protection fees in Chinatown, yet you have the nerve to hide money, embezzle gang funds, and even go to the casino to squander it? You even dared to slander someone else—do you take me for a fool?!"

With his hair being yanked, Marcus grimaced in pain, tears flowing out. He no longer had his previous arrogance, leaving only terror and pleas for mercy: "Boss Julio, I was wrong! I was confused for a moment! I won't dare to do it again! Please forgive me this once; I'll hand over all the money and compensate the gang double, I beg you!"

He kowtowed desperately, his forehead hitting the hard concrete ground with a thumping sound, and in a short while, he was bleeding. But Julio's eyes remained cold, without a hint of pity.

"Confused for a moment?" Julio sneered, let go of his hand, and kicked him hard in the chest. Marcus groaned and fell to the ground, clutching his chest and curling into a ball, unable to get up for a long time. "The money you hid and embezzled adds up to nearly $6,000, and you still dare to say you were confused for a moment? Have you forgotten the gang's rules?"

The surrounding gang members all stared at Marcus like tigers watching their prey, their eyes full of contempt. In the Wild Scorpion Gang, traitors never had a good end. Marcus brought himself to this point.

Lin Chen stood to the side, watching all this with no expression on his face. He knew that Marcus's exposure was inevitable; with solid evidence and Lily's testimony, there was no way he could deny it. Li Wei also loosened his grip, his tense body relaxing slightly; as long as Julio determined that Marcus had betrayed them, they would be completely rid of this trouble.

The light from the car headlights hit Marcus's face, reflecting his blood-stained and tear-streaked face. Looking at Julio's cold eyes, he knew that pleading for mercy was useless. He knew the gang's rules better than anyone; the consequence for hiding money was either having his legs broken or being thrown into the sea.

In despair, Marcus's eyes suddenly became sinister. His gaze secretly flicked to the ground beside him, where there was a fist-sized rock clearly illuminated by the headlights. His fingers secretly clenched behind his back, his nails digging into his palms, as a crazy thought arose in his heart.

No one noticed his subtle movement. Julio was turning his head to give instructions to the subordinates beside him, Lin Chen was preparing to explain the follow-up matters to Julio, and Li Wei was warily watching the surroundings to prevent any accidents.

At that very moment, Marcus suddenly lunged. He scrambled up from the ground, grabbed the rock, and threw it with all his might toward Lin Chen.