Nightmare’s Call

A port patrol officer was a pretty well-paid job, and normal individuals without any connections could only dream of getting it.

It was due to Shayeen’s connections with the club that she had gotten the quota for them. It was usually reserved and split between Blackwater’s various gangs as well as factions.

The main reason for using gang members was that it was the most convenient. They were, after all, snakes that lived within the gaps of society, and they clearly knew more than those above ground.

And the person Sarroux spoke of was a large redheaded youth.

The next morning, he came to the club for an interview and officially joined Ironfist Club.

The club application was getting more and more standardized as the members and their strength increased.

And Lin Sheng quickly drew up sixteen club rules and pasted them on the inner entrance.

The sixteen rules had raised a lot of heckles, and many thought that Lin Sheng had pretty much thrown them under the bus even when they had helped his cousin sister.

But as Shayeen, Russell, Madillan, and Sarroux insisted on it, the rules were still announced in the end.

And the already unpleasant atmosphere in the club was becoming more and more obvious.

When it was evening, using Sarroux’s junior joining the club as an excuse, Sarroux invited Lin Sheng and the rest to a nearby hotpot joint for dinner.

“Master Lin, don’t you think the rules are a little too much? Our brothers have all sorts of opinions about it.” Russell was conflicted and frowned hard as he sat on the chair inside the hotpot shop.

Shayeen was sitting by the window, her hand on her chin as she looked at the evening sky outside.

While Madillan and Sarroux looked down as they played with the chili peppers in the broth out of boredom.

Lin Sheng looked at the three. After being together for so long, they were old friends now, and he could naturally see that they had opinions about it too.

“I made the sixteen rules as a basis for the club’s development, we cannot change it.” Lin Sheng shook his head.

“Helping each other, being courteous, knowledgeable and trustworthy, not harming your fellow members, these are all basic moral tenets no? What’s wrong with that?”

Russell smiled bitterly.

Among the three, he was the most straightforward, and the most daring of them, so it was up to him to state his opinion to Lin Sheng personally.

“It’s not that it’s wrong, but we are just a club, not some religious cult. We don’t have to make it so convoluted right? If we are too strict no one would even join us.”

“Don’t you think our members are just too much of a mixed bunch?”

“Too much of a mixed bunch?” Russell’s expression changed slightly.

The three too had reacted slightly, clearly focusing on the conversation there.

“What we need is a more cohesive strength,” Lin Sheng said plainly. “Only then we can bring everyone’s strength into a deeper level, and create an even stronger group.”

“What’s wrong with our group now? Isn’t it what you describe?” Russell was at a slight loss.

“No, it’s not the same… It’s mostly for fun now, and people come and go at their whim. When we need everyone to dig in and cooperate, there’s always someone who is not willing to chip in.”

Lin Sheng stopped tapping on the table.

“And that’s not good.”

“But we are a club, to begin with…” Russell said wearily.

“But we are not just any club now…” Lin Sheng responded.

He knew that it would be difficult to convince these wealthy scions, but this needed to be done. The club would need everyone’s strength.

Only by getting everyone’s power and influence together, forming into tangible force that it can be of use to him, and of use to the members of the group.

This was not a triad or something, rather something akin to an aid society.

“And? Master Lin, we are just mere students. Perhaps our families are a little richer, a little more influential, but we do not have the ability to push things too hard yet, we need to go according to our abilities.” Shayeen could not help but speak.

“So what I plan is to create an aid society within the club, a real aid society that is able to help each other out.”

Lin Sheng smiled.

As he looked at their bewildered gaze, he continued. “This aid society will only take in the core members who are really willing to help each other out. I’m looking for quality, not quantity.”

“I’m sorry, Master Lin, but that’s unrealistic.” Madillan was the first to stand up and shake his head. All this while, he was an honest and true lad, but he too had his own opinions.

And for Lin Sheng, he had nothing but respect then as he had powerful swordsmanship skills, and knew his limits as well. That commanded respect for him.

But that was all there is.

For him, Lin Sheng was just a swordsmanship teacher. Everyone making him a leader was simply on the premise of his superior swordsmanship and his ability to serve as a link for everyone there.

But that not mean that Lin Sheng had the right to lead everyone.

Ever since Lin Sheng forced the sixteen rules out, he was thoroughly disgusted by it. Only due to their friendship that he did not speak out at first.

And this time around, Russell was speaking for them as on a certain level Russell was reiterating their position.

“How about you?” Lin Sheng had anticipated that. His expression was impassive.

Shayeen was quiet before shaking her head.

“We are going on a path that is more and more treacherous, and any misstep would mean trouble. So, sorry…” She then looked down and did not say anything else.

Both Madillan and Shayeen had rejected him.

Only Russell and Sarroux was left, and both of them demurred for a moment.

“Master Lin, there is really no need for this. Really, weren’t we all happy together earlier?” Russell said with a conflicted feeling.

And when he looked at Lin Sheng’s impassive case, he suddenly felt a strange feeling.

He was the one that supported Lin Sheng the most, and that was not just due to Lin Sheng bringing him into the Steelscale Club, or due to the admiration of his skill with the sword.

Yes, Lin Sheng wore a halo of an idol in his eyes.

But now…

He looked at his best friends, both Shayeen and Madillan were his childhood friends, and they had now stood against his idol

And it was now his turn to state his position.

“Russell, your family won’t allow you to do this,” Shayeen said.

In her eyes, Lin Sheng was no longer simply a swordsmanship teacher. She had sensed an unknown emotion roiling within his eyes.

Russell looked at his best friends, then to Lin Sheng before lowering his head.

Sarroux suddenly sneered.

“I’ll do whatever Master Lin does!” His words were golden and unusually decisive.

“You, Sarroux?!” Madillan looked quizzically and bewildered at the resolute Sarroux.

Sarroux did not bother with him.

The only person Sarroux trust in the club was Lin Sheng, as for the rest, it was just that. If not for Lin Sheng, he would have beaten all three of them into pulps.

“I need to remind you, the patrol job quota was through my connections. I won’t allow it to be used for that,” Shayeen said coldly.

Her instinct told her that Lin Sheng had gone over the treacherous line, and she did not want to have anything to do with it.

If she goes onto the path, and something happens, the consequences might be beyond her ability to bear.