Chapter 2172 - 10: Satisfaction
Brothers Feng Peiyu and Feng Guangyao have been following Gan Guoyang for 20 years now, and their main job is to provide security services for Gan Guoyang’s family.
Both of them have military service experience and have always been deeply trusted by Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi; if Quentin is Gan Guoyang’s personal favorite general, then the two Fengs are the palace guards at the front of the hall.
The two of them first mixed in Chinese Gang circles, then got pulled out by Gan Guoyang to go straight, and from then on they’ve been absolutely loyal, focusing solely on security work.
During the period when Gan Guoyang was under FBI investigation, the two of them had plenty of battles of wits and courage with those FBI agents, and they almost had a shootout more than once.
The FBI had been watching them for a long time; their assessment was that they were fearless and ruthless, the most capable gunmen at Ah Gan’s side, extremely dangerous.
It’s said that in the ’80s and ’90s, several mass incidents related to Ah Gan all had the shadow of the two Fengs behind them; they’ve always been quietly doing work unknown to the public.
After coming to Las Vegas, Wang Fuxi became the owner of the Glory Team, and the two Fengs became members of the Glory security department, responsible for daily security work.
Of course, they also handle a lot of field work, tied to many of Gan Guoyang’s businesses in Las Vegas.
In any organization, the number of people who are truly loyal and reliable, who can do anything for you and will never betray you, is very small.
And the fewer such people, the better; the more people, the more the responsibility gets diluted, and the easier it is for something to go wrong.
Even for someone high and mighty, there are only a few true confidants.
Quentin and the two Fengs are the people in this core inner circle; they answer directly to Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi.
This time, their mission, put bluntly, is to keep Allen Iverson under surveillance and report his every move at any time.
And it’s not just the two of them doing this job; the entire city of Las Vegas will be cooperating.
Allen Iverson reluctantly got into the car, but his wife Tawanna was quite satisfied. Unlike Allen Iverson, she hoped the Glory organization would arrange everything properly so she wouldn’t have to worry.
On the way, Tawanna kept asking them questions, and Feng Peiyu handled the answers; every question got a very good response.
The place they would live, transportation, daily life, entertainment, the kids’ school and so on—everything had already been taken care of.
"The boss has given you options. I’ll first take you to see three properties; you can pick the one you like. If you don’t like any of them, we can keep looking until you choose the one you’re most satisfied with."
"You can also choose the school. Every school in Las Vegas can give you admission. Once you’ve picked one, tell me and I’ll help you get it done."
"You don’t need to worry at all about daily life. All the residences are close to large supermarkets and all kinds of eateries; you won’t need a long drive to get there. Every kind of service you can think of, Las Vegas has it. The boss has given you a car as a gift; if you don’t like it, we can still swap it."
"In short, if there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, tell us. Within the limits of what’s allowed, we’ll try our best to meet your needs."
Tawanna was even more pleased with Feng Peiyu’s answers, but Allen Iverson frowned and said, "So what you’re saying is, even though I have the freedom to choose, that freedom actually has a boundary."
"That’s right. All freedom has boundaries. For example, it has to be within Las Vegas. I can’t help you look for a house in Los Angeles."
Allen Iverson was shut down and had nothing to say. He wanted to lose his temper but couldn’t; he really wanted to say he’d do everything himself and didn’t need any arrangements.
But "doing it himself" would just mean his wife running around doing everything, so forget it—just comply. This place really was the same as Prison.
Driving the couple around, they looked at two apartments. Tawanna quickly picked the second one. It was very close to the Gump Center, had lots of rooms, and a whole floor specifically for the chef, bodyguards, and assistants. The place was warmly laid out, very suitable for a big family to live in.
Allen Iverson was unhappy and said, "This place isn’t cool at all."
"If you need, we can take you to a place with a cooler decor style, or a standalone house."
"What I want is to do the decor myself."
"After you’re settled, you can buy your own place and decorate it yourself." As he spoke, Feng Peiyu took a card out of a business card case and handed it to Allen Iverson. "This is a sales rep from Radiant Real Estate. Go through him and you’ll get the best listings."
"Xie Te... Is this place Las Vegas, or Ganswegas?"
"We just happen to have a relatively big influence in this city, that’s all. If you’re sure about this place, I’ll call later and have people send over daily necessities. I have a list here that labels all the categories and brands. If there’s anything you don’t like, cross it out and replace it with what you prefer. If you need anything else, write it in the notes and it’ll be delivered later."
"It’s now four-thirty in the afternoon. We’ll leave you alone for a while so you can rest a bit and grab some food. There are plenty of restaurants nearby. I’ll come pick you up at six to go to the arena to watch the game, and there’ll be a dinner party tonight."
Allen Iverson was furious at this kind of schedule. He said, "I don’t want to go! I want to stay home and rest! We’ve been on a five-hour flight, and now you still want us to go to some game-watching event? And a dinner party on top of that, Xie Te."
Facing the agitated Allen Iverson, Feng Peiyu spoke like an emotionless machine: "Fine, then I’ll report that to the boss later. Ah Gan will come over to meet you in person. He always wants to see new teammates at the first possible moment—that’s his habit."
Allen Iverson stayed silent for a moment, then compromised, saying, "Forget it, I’ll go. Come pick me up at six."
Feng Peiyu nodded and left the apartment together with Feng Guangyao, leaving only the couple behind.
Allen Iverson felt irritated. He truly felt like he was back in Prison, where everything had to follow a timetable.
When to get up, when to eat, even when to go to the bathroom—there were strict time rules. Those four months were hell for him.
He had finally fought his way out of poverty and crime, gained supreme fame and freedom, so why did he still have to endure this kind of torment at the age of thirty?
Seeing her husband like this, Tawanna felt at ease instead. She had always thought Allen Iverson needed to keep himself in check; his downfall would only destroy him step by step.
Tawanna was a good woman. She’d done a lot for Allen Iverson, and he’d put real feelings into it too, but he really wasn’t a good husband. He just couldn’t sit still and behave himself in a stable family.
Right now, Allen Iverson couldn’t wait to pull out his phone and start calling those wild friends who were still back in Philadelphia, telling them that in a while they should all come to Las Vegas. There were casinos here, hotels, the most beautiful prostitutes—he’d treat everyone to a wild time and let them enjoy themselves to the fullest.
Tawanna shook her head. She was really fed up. How great would it be if it were just her and Allen Iverson here, and their kids?
At six o’clock, Er Feng arrived on time to pick up Allen Iverson and Tawanna. The two of them had dressed up; Allen Iverson was in a white tracksuit, with a cap and earrings on, looking seriously cool.
Tawanna’s outfit was very simple. She just stuck a pair of sunglasses in her red curls, which made her look a bit more energetic.
On the way to the Gump Center, Allen Iverson asked, "Can the team reimburse the airfare for my friends to come to Vegas? And I remember, the MGM Hotel is Ah Gan’s property, right? Can we play there for free?"
"The boss said that this season you can’t have your friends come to Vegas, and you can’t go to casinos or nightclubs. You need to focus on playing ball, concentrate on the games."
Hearing that, Allen Iverson snapped, "Let me out of the car. I’m not going to accept this kind of control. Let me out!"
Feng Peiyu pulled over. Before Allen Iverson could get out, he tried to persuade him: "Allen, I’m just following the boss’s orders. If you think this isn’t right, you can totally talk to him face to face. I’m not the one making the decisions, I don’t have any say. You get out of my car, that’s all you’re doing—getting out of my car. It won’t change anything. If you really want to get off this ride, you first have to get on, and then meet Ah Gan. Ah Gan’s a good guy. Talk to him properly, he’ll make it work for you."
The door that had been opened halfway swung shut again. Allen Iverson was about to lose his mind. What the hell was going on?
He’d actually been completely handled by a bodyguard. But Allen Iverson knew the one really handling him wasn’t the man in front of him.
They soon arrived at the Gump Center. This majestic white modern arena stood in the middle of the desert, with an even taller casino hotel right next to it.
Every day, this place pumped out uncountable wealth for Las Vegas. Basketball fans from all over the world came here on pilgrimage to watch the strongest player in history perform.
Allen Iverson had of course played here before, but his mood now was completely different. He felt like he was being escorted to the execution ground, a prisoner about to be publicly put to death.
And damn it, electrocuted to death at that!
The car stopped, and a group quickly came over to greet him. The reception was grand, which made Allen Iverson feel a lot better.
He liked this kind of ostentatious reception—it showed off his status.
From underground they came up to ground level, entered through the hotel doors and headed toward the arena.
At the entrance, Allen Iverson actually saw his old senior from Georgetown University, now the backup center on the Glory Team: Mutombo.
That college-alumni identity is incredibly useful in the NBA—especially when you see an older classmate, you’ve got to show some respect no matter what. Not to mention the two had been teammates and had hit their career peak together on the Philadelphia 76ers.
The two hugged. Mutombo said welcome to Glory, and Allen Iverson could only smile. He couldn’t very well not give face to his old senior and old teammate.
Then Mutombo led Allen Iverson inside, passing through the hotel into the interior of the arena, where another person was waiting for him at the arena entrance.
Another old senior—the first legend of Georgetown, Patrick Ewing. Another hug, another welcome. Allen Iverson was getting a little numb. Who else was waiting after this?
In the players’ tunnel, waiting for Allen Iverson, was Michael Jordan. He had a cigar in his mouth and was chatting with someone. When he saw Allen Iverson, he immediately came over to hug him.
"Allen, welcome to Las Vegas. I hope you’ll like it here." Jordan’s voice was as magnetic as ever. He was the legend of Black players.
But now, he was also an executive of the Glory Team. He’d played here for a year, and his jersey had been retired by Glory.
By this time, the fierce, defiant energy Allen Iverson had at the start was completely gone. When he saw his old coach John-Thompson at the locker room door, he almost couldn’t believe his eyes.
To Allen Iverson, John-Thompson was the man who truly saved his life, the real father figure in his life.
Now, Thompson had already retired from his coaching position at Georgetown University and become a commentator for Turner Television. Tonight he was on duty as the game analyst.
Seeing Thompson, Allen Iverson rushed over and hugged him tightly. Inside he felt deeply guilty—everything he’d done these past years must have really hurt the old coach’s feelings.
Thompson patted Allen Iverson and said, "Go meet your new teammates. Starting today, you’ll have a new life, just like when you first arrived at Georgetown."
Allen Iverson no longer had the courage to resist. He pushed the door open and stepped into the locker room. All the Radiant Players were there, busy with their pre-game routines. When they saw Allen Iverson, they all came over to greet him.
Yao Ming, Wallace, Bell, Holi, head coach Porter, and so on—everyone had already accepted the fact that Allen Iverson was now part of the team.
Allen Iverson responded to them as he walked inside. He knew exactly who he was looking for. In the deepest part, at the very back of the luxurious locker room, on the long bench, Gan Guoyang sat bare-chested. He’d just finished treatment and warm-ups, steam still rising off him. His back looked like an Ancient Greece sculpture.
Allen Iverson stood there, not knowing what to say. Should he greet him? Say "Hi, Gan," or something else?
Anyway, nonsense like "I don’t want to play in Las Vegas" never even crossed Allen Iverson’s mind.
Gan Guoyang turned his head, saw Allen Iverson, stood up, and looked down at this proud little guy. "Are you satisfied with the arrangements the team’s made for you?" he asked.
"Satisfied," Allen Iverson said quickly.
"Good. Don’t be late for practice tomorrow."
"Got it."
"Welcome to Las Vegas, Allen."