2:00 AM at the Evergrande complex. The streetlights were dim and flickering.
Ah Cai led Brother De and Ah Hai (the puppet legal representative) silently toward Haining's Prado. Brother De pulled out the spare key. Click. The doors unlocked.
"Boss, we just drive it off?" Ah Hai whispered, his hands trembling on the steering wheel. He felt the weight of the crime.
"Drive it! What, you waiting for him to wake up and invite you for morning tea?" De waved him off. "Ah Hai, you drive the rig. Ah Cai, get in the Camry with me. Wait—"
Ah Cai suddenly blocked De's path, a treacherous grin spreading across his face as he pulled out his phone. "De-ge, hold on. Let's play it safe. If we drive it off now, it's grand theft. We need to call the cops first and report it as a 'Civil Dispute.' That way, the police won't touch it. We call this 'Legal Repossession'."
Brother De's eyes lit up. "Damn! Ah Cai, you know too much for your own good. Fine, you make the call."
Ah Cai dialed the police with practiced ease. "Hey, Officer? This is the owner of a white Prado under my company's name. The lessee has defaulted and gone MIA. I'm repossessing the vehicle now and just wanted to file a report. It's a pure economic dispute... Yes, thank you, Officer. Have a good night."
He hung up, and Brother De gave him a massive thumbs-up. "Brilliant! Simply brilliant! If you weren't a backstabbing snake, you'd be a waste of talent."
The next morning, at Brother De's warehouse.
Haining had discovered the car was missing. After being told by the police that it was a "civil matter" and they wouldn't intervene, he had raced to De's office, looking like a madman.
"De-ge! Ah Cai! Have you no shame?!" Haining screamed, slamming his fist on the desk. "You just took 30,000 from me yesterday afternoon, and you stole the car back that same night?!"
Ah Cai sat on a leather sofa, picking a piece of meat from his teeth with a toothpick. He took his time before speaking. "Haining, watch your mouth. That's called 'repossession.' I did the math—you thrashed that car this month, scratches everywhere. De-ge couldn't balance the books. But, since we're 'brothers,' De-ge says if you bring another 30,000, we'll turn the page for good."
"30,000?! How many times is this now?!" Haining's eyes were bloodshot, his voice cracking.
"The last time!" Ah Cai stood up and pointed his phone at Haining. "Tell you what, let's record a video. De-ge will personally admit the car belongs to you. If it goes missing again, you take this video to court and sue us for fraud. That's legally binding, right?"
Haining hesitated. He looked at Ah Cai's "sincere" face, and his last shred of logic was crushed by his obsession with getting the car back. His hand shook as he transferred another 30,000 yuan.
"I, Ah Hai, representing the company, agree that the Prado (Plate: Black A*****) belongs to Xu Haining. Any future disputes have nothing to do with this company..." Ah Cai recorded the statement, looking every bit the professional.
Haining grabbed the keys and fled in the car as if the devil were chasing him. He didn't know that five minutes after he left, Ah Cai and Brother De were laughing so hard they could barely stand.
"De-ge, that video is useless, isn't it?" Ah Hai asked, scratching his head.
"Of course it's useless, you moron!" Ah Cai sneered. "I've already taken that car's documents and did a 'Secondary Mortgage' at the downtown pawn shop. I walked away with 200,000 in cash. Ah Hai, you're the legal rep, so the debt is in your name. Once Haining gets that car home, we'll plant a new GPS tonight. In a few days, we'll squeeze another 30k or 40k out of him. It's called 'Cyclical Harvesting.' Get it?"
Ah Hai's face turned pale. "Wait... I'm the legal rep? If we don't pay back the 200k, my credit score is ruined!"
"You piece of trash!" Brother De slapped him across the head. "What else do you have besides your life? What good is a credit score to you?! When the cash is settled, I'll give you 10,000. One day, I'll even help you buy a house!"
Ah Cai added coldly from the side, "To that idiot Haining, that car is his life now. He'll do whatever we say. As long as that rig is still in Beihai, he's our mobile ATM."
He looked out the window in the direction Haining had gone, his eyes devoid of any warmth. "You're right, Haining. There aren't many good 'classmates' left. I've bled them all dry."