My Reputation System Makes Me Rich

Chapter 8 Storm at the Gates

The mastermind behind this chaos was Mr. Victor Sterling, a real estate tycoon who had ruthlessly controlled half of the underworld for years. Yet, instead of trembling at his rival's formidable reputation, Alex merely smirked in disdain.

“Mr. Victor Sterling?” Alex muttered softly, as if that grand name were nothing more than a cheap joke to his ears. “So he really was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes all along.”

“Mr. Alex, do you want us to track down his location and strike now?” The elite commander stood tall amidst the painful groans of dozens of thugs scattered across the muddy ground.

“There's no need to waste our energy. Let the old rat sit comfortably on his throne for a bit longer. Your duty at this market is done. Pull your men back to base.”

“Orders received. We stand ready for your next call.”

The commander gave a salute and immediately ordered his men back into their line of black cars.

As the roar of the engines gradually faded into the distance, a familiar warmth washed over the back of Alex's neck. It felt as though his consciousness were being gently pulled into an infinite space. He breathed a sigh of relief—having cleaned out the thugs, he had given the vendors room to breathe again. Their restored sense of security instantly caused Alex's reputation score to soar, breaking through the mid-tier threshold as a reward for his extraordinary achievement. Vital information surged into his mind. The System automatically unlocked a secret map revealing the location of the illegal warehouse and the hidden vault belonging to the gang boss who had terrorized the city for so long. Every piece of evidence provided by the system was impeccably detailed, including smuggling routes no one else knew about.

“Lex, are you spacing out?” Sammy suddenly patted his shoulder, snapping Alex out of his concentration.

“I'm not spacing out, just thinking,” Alex answered quickly, refocusing his gaze on the crowd of vendors still gathered nearby.

“The locals took those thugs to the hospital, Lex. The market is safe now, but where did you get the money to hire such terrifying forces? They're clearly not ordinary people.”

“That’s not something you need to worry about right now. What matters most is that all of you can go back to selling in peace, without loan sharks extorting protection money from you.”

“Lex, they're definitely going to retaliate. Damon threatened us before he was dragged away,” Sammy said, looking anxious.

“People who rely on verbal threats are the ones running out of backing. Let's just make sure the damaged areas get repaired right away. Just use whatever's left of the funds I gave you.”

“Alex, thank you so much. We owe you our lives,” said a middle-aged vegetable vendor standing behind Sammy.

“We’ll never forget what you’ve done for us,” the other vendors agreed, nodding in unison.

“Everyone, please head back to your stalls and clean up this mess,” Alex requested, his voice firm yet friendly. “I have one more matter to handle before nightfall.”

Alex walked away from the market crowd as they began cleaning up. He continued sifting through the valuable information newly imprinted in his mind. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

“Hello, Mr. Alex,” a woman’s cold voice greeted him.

“Laura, pick me up at the intersection near Greenwood Market. We need to talk,” Alex commanded without fluff.

“Did you just cause a massive scene back there? I heard your mercenaries broke the legs of a dozen of Mr. Victor Sterling’s men in broad daylight,” Laura said, her tone laced with excitement.

“News travels fast. Just pick me up now,” Alex said impatiently.

Before long, a sleek black sedan pulled up right in front of Alex. He opened the door and sat beside Laura, his informant and temporary ally in this underworld.

“You’ve truly provoked the dragon, Alex. Mr. Victor Sterling could make you disappear anytime with his fortune,” Laura said, stepping on the accelerator and driving down the city streets.

“A blind dragon is no more dangerous than an earthworm,” Alex sneered, leaning his head back against the seat. “I already hold his weakness in my hands.”

“What weakness do you mean?” Laura asked, frowning as she glanced over.

“All his smuggling routes, double-entry ledgers, and secret warehouses that fund half of his operating budget,” Alex replied calmly.

The car's brakes screeched loudly as Laura slammed on them at a red light. She stared sharply at the man beside her.

“Lex, you’ve got to be kidding. Documents and locations like that are guarded more fiercely than Mr. Victor’s own life. The police haven't been able to trace them for the past ten years. How could you possibly know where they are?” Laura still couldn't believe the words coming out of Alex’s mouth.

“Lau, that’s a trade secret. That harbor warehouse holds hundreds of billions worth of contraband. If those goods disappear overnight, his supply chain collapses, and those black-market investors will certainly demand accountability.” A faint smile formed on his lips.

“Are you aware that Mr. Victor has hundreds of lawyers who can twist facts in court?”

“Yeah, I know,” Alex nodded. “That’s why handing this evidence over to the police would be the stupidest move I could make.”

“So what’s your plan? Are you going to blackmail him?” Laura guessed quickly.

“No. Blackmailing him would only give him an excuse to send hitmen after me in my sleep. Besides, I don't need his pocket change.”

“Then what, Lex? Mr. Victor would rather die than hand over his fortune.”

“By slowly severing every single financial lifeline he has, one by one. I’m going to make him hand everything over voluntarily.”

“Lex, you really are crazy,” Laura shook her head in near disbelief.

The phone in his pants pocket rang loudly. An unknown number appeared on the screen.

“Go ahead and answer it—might be the Grim Reaper,” Laura joked openly.

Alex pressed the green button and held the phone to his ear. “Hello.”

“I see you have enough nerve to mess with my playground, kid,” a raspy, threatening voice growled from the other end.

“Is this the gardener speaking? My bad, your hands were too dirty, so I just helped sweep things up a bit,” Alex shot back with cool composure.

He heard the sharp slam of a desk on the other line. “Hey, don't get cocky, you bastard! You think you can walk away alive after hurting my men?”

“Mr. Victor Sterling? At last—I’m glad to hear your voice directly,” Alex greeted, without losing his composure. “Turns out you’re even more panicked than I thought.”

“I’m giving you twenty-four hours to come to my office and get on your knees to apologize! Otherwise, I’ll make sure you’re wiped off the face of the earth!” Mr. Victor roared from the other end.

“Mr. Victor, twenty-four hours is far too long. How about we see who’ll be on their knees tomorrow instead?”

Alex slipped his phone back into his pocket after unilaterally cutting off the mob boss’s threats. Laura pulled over to the side of the road, staring at the man beside her with a tense expression.

“You hold an ace that could destroy his entire criminal empire in an instant,” she said, her hands trembling slightly as she gripped the steering wheel.

“Laura, an ace is useless if you don't play it on the table.”

“So what are you going to do now? Are you going to hand all these secrets over to the police, or use them to trap that bastard in your own game?”