allendalepharm Chapter 48 Suit Loan
Chapter 48 Suit Loan
Zheng En circled around several times, encountering hurried passersby, groups of thugs laughing and joking, and homeless people rummaging through trash cans.
Logically speaking, it shouldn't be hard to find homeless children wandering the streets, but he wasn't very lucky. Before he could find a homeless child who might know Jason, he was approached by someone else.
Two men in black suits walked by, glancing around suspiciously. It didn't look like anything good. Zheng En turned to leave, but one of them noticed him, whispered something to his companion, and then walked towards him.
The newcomer was strong and well-built; Zheng En knew without a second thought that he was a gangster thug.
And they weren't just ordinary gangsters.
He didn't stay in Gotham for long, but he consciously observed his surroundings and gathered intelligence.
Many things cannot be written on the internet, in books, or in newspapers; one must rely on observation and inference with the naked eye, just like the distinct hierarchical structure and vast differences among Gotham's gangs.
The big gangs drink and eat meat, the small gangs scavenge scraps for food, and below them are thugs and scoundrels who aren't even considered gangsters.
He might not be able to see things too deeply in a short time, but the difference between gangsters and thugs is easy to discern.
Carmine Falcone, a notorious gangster boss, known as the Roman.
His family was one of the earliest powers to establish themselves in Gotham. In the city's early days, the four major families, including the Wayne family, laid the foundation for the city's apparent prosperity, while the Falcone family, relying on its gang, rapidly grew into a behemoth lurking in the shadows.
After Carmine ascended to the throne, the Falcone family's influence expanded further. He manipulated elections, bought and sold parliament, and colluded with mayors and police chiefs, single-handedly building the criminal empire he is today. He likened his criminal empire to the Roman Empire, and people therefore respectfully called him the Roman.
The gangsters admired and longed for him, so they began to dress like the Romans.
The classic three-piece suit thus became the iconic attire of the mob. It's fair to say that in Gotham, the first thing anyone joining a gang did was buy a suit. Because it was durable and resistant to dirt, black became their primary choice.
Many gangs have long-term relationships with clothing stores and tailors, where they enjoy discounts. When new recruits join a gang, their boss will send someone to take them to buy clothes. Some are generous and give them clothes as gifts, while others will at least pay them an advance on their salary so that they have a decent set of clothes.
Gotham's gangs have always valued interpersonal relationships; they need to use rules to separate themselves from the masses and join higher-level circles.
Suits became the most obvious, superficial rule.
Those low-level thugs who can't even afford a suit can only be called hooligans and scoundrels, earning their living by stealing, robbing, or working for larger gangs.
Zheng En glanced at the person walking towards her. The suit he was wearing didn't fit well; it was probably bought from a ready-made or second-hand store. However, it was well-maintained and clean, showing that he took good care of it.
After all, good suits aren't cheap, and in the underworld, suits are mandatory attire; even if you have to take out a loan, you have to buy them and wear them.
Because suits wear out too quickly during gang wars, many gangs would also profit from suits by offering special suit loans to their own members.
To the gang leaders, this was a win-win situation. It ensured that the profits stayed within the gang and kept their subordinates firmly tied to the organization. If they repaid the loans, great; if not, they were used as cannon fodder—they had plenty of ways to deal with people anyway.
In some small gangs, when they encounter difficulties, the henchmen don't earn enough money to pay off their debts, and their morale suffers.
But the man in front of him was clearly from a big gang; he had a strong presence and a grand air about him.
"Hey, what's your name!"
The gangster thug strode up to Zheng En and blocked his way.
The other party's demeanor clearly indicated ill intent, and Jung Eun instinctively wanted to run away. However, remembering that she was wearing glasses, she forced herself to hold back and pretended to be nonchalant as she struck up a conversation with the other party.
"Jean, what's wrong?"
"Jean?"
The gangster tried hard to speak standard English, but his accent still lingered.
He frowned, took out his phone from his pocket, looked at the screen and then at Zheng En, carefully comparing them. He didn't find anything similar, then showed the picture on the screen to Zheng En. "If you see this person, go and report to the Falcone family. The Romans want him."
The photo on his phone was his ID photo taken at Arkham Asylum.
Zheng En nodded without any hesitation, keeping his distance from the gangsters in an attempt to get information out of them. "What's wrong with this guy?"
Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask.
The other person glared at Zheng En angrily, then turned and left.
After this ordeal, Jung Eun knew it was best not to linger in the crime alley any longer.
Although wearing glasses makes him hard to recognize, these gangs might be struggling to catch anyone and just grab any Asian to make up their numbers. If someone suddenly decides to take off his glasses, things could get really messy.
He himself is fine; he can run away whenever he wants, and no one can catch him. But Jason is still living in the crime alley.
With that in mind, Zheng En didn't go looking for him again. But since Jason hadn't arrived yet, he worried that something might have happened to him.
It's obvious that homeless children from Crime Alley have a hard time growing up. Even though Jason is smart and has the protection of the original storyline, things have changed since he traveled here, and no one can guarantee what kind of accident might happen.
Now that prosecutors have filed charges against Falcone, Jung Eun guesses he should turn his attention elsewhere, like the GCPD, or Batman, whoever it is, as long as the blood doesn't spill on him.
He's just an ordinary citizen and can't get involved in lawsuits right now; he'd be better off spending his time looking after the kids.
Autumn has arrived, and the weather has become quite severe, with temperatures plummeting and frequent light rain.
He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he always felt like the homeless people on the street had all hidden away.
What about the even younger homeless children?
Zheng En couldn't help but think of Jason, and quickly chose a time to take a taxi to Crime Alley again.
When he first got off the bus, he was still wandering around the streets like a blind man. Perhaps he had used up all his bad luck last time, because this time, he hadn't walked far before he saw homeless children running past him.
The child ran very fast, carrying a bulging bag in his arms. He darted along the street like a little mouse and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Zheng En hurriedly followed and ran into the alley. The alleys here were crisscrossed and mostly had straight corners, so it was easy to lose track of someone if you weren't careful.
He thought he was very fast, but he only caught a glimpse of the child's back before he saw the child disappear into a corner of the alley.
Upon arriving here, Zheng En remembered that this was the alley where he had taken Jason home that day.