Chapter 122: Compensation

On the way to Abilene, they stole another car to swap with. As they drove through the night, Davis kept staring at the large black bag stuffed with cash in the back seat, feeling dazed and unable to fully grasp the reality of the situation. He didn't even hear Tim calling his name several times.

"This guy is losing it!" Tim said to Qiu Fengyu, who was driving.

"It's normal. If I saw this much cash for the first time, I'd lose it too," Qiu laughed. "I've seen much more cash than this. In Ukraine, we once seized the vault of the Central Bank in Donetsk—it was much more than this."

"Boss, I feel like I'm dreaming. Can you punch me?" Davis asked, stroking the money bag. They had packed the cash into four large black bags. Ryoko Yonekura had divided the money equally into four parts along the way. Davis was clutching his share, muttering to himself.

*Thwack!* A punch landed, and Davis's cheek began to swell. He winced in pain, but looking at Tim, who had hit him, he couldn't help but grin. "Heh, that hurts. I'm not dreaming."

"You're really crazy," Tim shook his head again. "You asked for it."

"We were already crazy, weren't we? Driving from Abilene to Los Angeles, taking down the Russian mafia—those bastards who once seemed so untouchable and who I held in such awe. Now they look like nothing, just a pile of shit, completely vulnerable." Davis laughed triumphantly, pulling out a stack of bills and flicking through them.

"Not a single word about today's events can leak out," Qiu Fengyu suddenly said, his tone turning serious as he looked back. "We are one. If one of us goes down, it could lead to the destruction of the whole group. If you don't want to die, keep your mouth shut. Also... don't start spending the money all at once. Take it slow."

"I know, Boss. I'm not an idiot," Davis chuckled. "Don't worry, even if I die, I won't say a word. I understand the rules of the game."

"If you can really keep your mouth shut, why would I ever let you die?" Qiu said, giving him a calm look. "I have my own rules, too."

It was past four in the morning, and the small town was still shrouded in darkness and silence, when the car slid into town and pulled up in front of Davis's house.

"Take your share and go. It's best to find a safe place to hide it," Ryoko Yonekura said, throwing a black bag out of the car as she warned him.

Davis smiled and headed inside with the bag on his back. The car continued on to Ryoko’s place. She got out, but she didn't take the money bag. Instead, she grabbed the bag of weapons. That woman was obsessed with them.

"Take your share!" Qiu said, looking at her.

"No, it's not safe at home. I don't want them to discover my secrets. Leave it with you for now," Ryoko said, walking into her yard without looking back, slipping into her room through the side entrance.

"So cool!" Tim exclaimed. "That’s exactly why I like her."

"Shut up, let's go back!" Qiu said. He drove home, with Tim following in his own Mustang. They had put all their gear in the Mustang. They drove about a hundred miles out of town, found a spot, stopped the car, removed the license plates, and pushed it into a deep river. Watching the car disappear into the water, they finally headed back.

By the time they finished all this and returned to the noodle shop, it was past six in the morning. Since there was no one on the streets, they brought the bags inside and stashed them in the attic. There was nowhere else to hide them, and the cabinets weren't big enough. They would have to wait until the new house was built to store them in the basement.

In the morning, Qiu didn't go for his run. Instead, he told Tim to head to school early. He had already taken a few sick days; if he didn't go back, the school would call Britt.

After taking a shower and opening the shop, he saw Sheriff Coffin jogging toward him. She stopped by on her morning run, knocked, and let herself in.

"I haven't seen you for a few days," Sheriff Coffin asked.

Qiu touched his nose and smiled at her. "Did you miss me?"

"Don't change the subject. I want to know where you've been," Coffin said, her eyes filled with concern. "I've lost several relatives—my parents, and Sheriff Brick. They were family to me, you know? You... you are, too!"

Qiu was stunned, feeling a touch of emotion. He had thought of his relationship with Sheriff Coffin as being friends, but her calling him family gave him a truly warm feeling.

"I know. This was all my fault. I'll be more careful from now on, or at least I'll let you know where I'm going," Qiu said. "I'm very moved, Coffin. You know... I've always been alone in this town until you showed up... and Tim and Britt, they've been very kind and helpful... I'm really grateful."

"Alright, enough of that mushy talk. I have to get to my shift. Goodbye, Qiu!" Coffin didn't press further and took her leave.

Watching her ponytail sway back and forth as she jogged away, Qiu stood there for a long moment.

He flipped the sign to "Open," then started preparing his breakfast and the toppings for the ramen.

At noon, customers began to trickle in. The first group was the Japanese family, including Ryoko Yonekura. She gave Qiu a faint smile, acting as quiet and composed as if they had only just met, without sparing him another glance. It was as if nothing had happened at all.

This woman was truly skilled at putting on a show. Qiu couldn't help but laugh to himself. Perhaps the smile drew her attention, as she finally broke character and glared at him.

Davis also came over to help.

"You're late!" Qiu said to him. "Hurry up and serve the noodles. Don't look so glum; don't make people think you were robbed last night. Move it, move it!"

Davis had dark circles under his eyes, indicating he hadn't slept at all and was in a state of high agitation. But after being scolded by Qiu, he pulled himself together and began serving the customers.

"Hey, Davis, did you find a Russian girl last night?" Sandra walked in and laughed when he saw Davis's condition.

Davis glared at him and ignored him, serving the noodles to the Japanese family. When he handed the bowl to Ryoko, he specifically looked for a reaction on her face, but he was disappointed—she was completely indifferent, with a face as cold and frozen as a zombie.

More customers arrived. Sandra was the loudest one. Even though he didn't dare to make too much noise, he kept complaining: "Qiu, you were closed for days, and I was starving. Do you know what I had to eat? It was like eating dog shit. It was torture, I’m going to file a complaint."

"Complaint denied," Davis snapped at him. "Don't look at me like that. You can't take my spot; the Boss won't give you a job at the noodle shop."

Sandra finally held his tongue because Qiu was looking over. He started eating his noodles, skillfully using his chopsticks. He was quite good at it now.

After the noodles were sold out and everyone had left, Davis panted and came over to Qiu. "Boss, I think I'm going crazy. I can't sleep at all. Every time I close my eyes, I just think about that big black bag and the cash inside."

"You were already crazy. And don't talk to me about it; I can't comfort you, so just get used to it," Qiu said, too lazy to care. "Get home. It's best not to wander around for a few days. Once the heat dies down, you can spend the money however you want. This cash came from the casinos, brothels, and drug trades they managed. There's basically no traceable source, so... don't worry about the money leading back to us."

"I know, I know. Alright, I'm going to go back and get some sleep. I'll force myself to sleep," Davis said as he headed out.

Qiu went outside to check on the construction progress of the house next door. It was moving quickly; the outer walls were almost finished. The manager walked over and shook Qiu's hand. "Don't worry, I guarantee you'll be able to move in before Christmas." He was quite confident.

Qiu believed in letting professionals handle their jobs, so he didn't say much. He pointed out a few areas he wanted to change, then left the site.

In the evening, Qiu called for Davis. "Where are Elisa and the others now?"

"In a very safe place. I want to wait until things cool down before letting them return to Los Angeles," Davis said. "Don't worry, they're safe."

"Let's go visit them tomorrow. Give them some money as compensation," Qiu sighed. "After all, this whole thing started because of me. They're innocent."

"Damn Cole Brooks. I knew that bastard was heartless. He betrayed David so easily, so I'm not surprised he did this, I just wish I had realized his filthy intentions sooner."

Qiu patted him on the shoulder. "We'll go together tomorrow after lunch. Just the two of us."

"I know!" Davis nodded.

The next morning, Qiu took two stacks of bills from his black bag—twenty thousand dollars—which he figured would be enough to help the two women find new jobs. At the very least, it would keep them away from places controlled by the Russian mafia.

After finishing the lunch rush, Davis came over, got into Qiu's car, and pulled two stacks of money from his pocket. "I took twenty thousand from my own share as compensation for them!"