Half an hour later, inner ring area of the main encampment, reception room.
Various small desserts were arranged on the table in the reception room. The room had the unique smell of old furniture. A sugar stick that had already been chewed to pieces was casually discarded on the table.
Beep, beep, beep… Click~
The sound of a call connecting rang out. Gu Lian, who had been resting with her eyes closed on the sofa, slightly opened her eyes. The man sitting across from her had already dialed the number. A magnetic yet somewhat aged voice came through the phone.
“Haart, do you have something urgent for me?”
“Boss, I have a guest here who wants to discuss a business deal with you…”
The man named Haart was cut off mid-sentence by the voice on the other end, Weikede.
“A deal? How much?”
Weikede spoke coldly, not uttering any foolish words like ‘handle this yourself.’
A normal person in a high position would usually start with something like, [I understand the situation, you can handle it yourself.]
But Weikede’s opening line was not that. This demonstrated the depth of his cunning and his absolute confidence in the subordinates he controlled.
All of this was enough to prove that Weikede becoming the leader of a regional warlord faction was no accident.
“It’s a deal significant enough to warrant your personal involvement. Further developments will be supplemented and refined after cooperation begins.”
“That does sound like a major deal. Then arrange it for 7 PM.”
“Understood.”
After hearing Weikede’s words, Haart hung up the phone. He rubbed his slightly sore eyes, reached for a glass of water, took a gulp, and let out a long sigh of relief.
“Seven tonight. The boss has agreed to meet with you. But whether this deal goes through depends on you.”
“My friend, you seem to be quite trusted by Weikede.”
“Trust is a given. I believe the boss trusts everyone in this main encampment.”
“Then I’ll wish you success in gradually unifying this region in advance.”
Gu Lian stood up, clasped her hands in a fist salute, and spoke with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. This Haart fellow was not easy to deal with either.
Just now, when he mentioned a ‘major deal,’ he didn’t give a specific number. That was a subtle way of conveying a message to Weikede—the other party hadn’t stated a concrete figure, only vaguely mentioned it was a big deal.
She had to give credit where it was due; Weikede was playing his cards very well indeed.
His attitude towards this ‘major deal’ was welcoming, but setting the meeting for the evening showed he wasn’t in a hurry. The time, 7 PM, not only indicated a positive view of the potential cooperation but also showed he wasn’t overly invested in it.
The timing was just perfect.
“Alright, the time is set. Do you need anything else before then? I can have someone bring it.”
“Oh, so I’m not allowed to leave?”
Looks like they’re afraid I’ll cause trouble… Gu Lian sat back down, picked up a sweet from the reception table, and put it in her mouth. Her slender, jade-like fingers held the pastry near her lips as she smiled. “The weather is so nice now. Surely you won’t stop me from taking a stroll around your main encampment?”
Gu Lian looked at Haart with a gaze of ‘concern,’ as if looking at a fool.
“That’s not what I meant. But there are some confidential areas within the encampment. For safety reasons, friend, it’s better if you stay here.”
Haart yawned, then picked up his pen again to start dealing with the documents in front of him.
“We’re about to cooperate. In principle, I’m not an outsider.”
Gu Lian finished the sweet in her hand. The clear, sweet taste, the soft, glutinous texture of the bread, and a hint of earthy fragrance—it was quite good. She wondered if the kitchen here had any more.
“…”
Haart, who was processing documents, narrowed his eyes. His hand gripping the pen tightened a bit. He was furious now. Gu Lian was completely not on the same wavelength as him. Her act of playing dumb was really giving him a headache.
“Our side is still somewhat wary of outsiders. You haven’t formally entered into cooperation with us yet. If you wander around the encampment, I’d be worried something might happen to your representative.”
Haart put down his pen, the smile on his face growing even brighter.
“Finished?”
Gu Lian rubbed the sugar granules off her fingers, gesturing to Haart that if there was nothing else, she would go out for a stroll to investigate their situation. For cooperation, you need to know the other party inside and out. Otherwise, if the two sides’ situations are unequal, what’s the point of talking about cooperation?
“Then go ahead and stroll. Someone from our side will accompany you.”
“Thank you.”
Gu Lian smiled and nodded, pushing her chair back and walking towards the door. With her back turned to Haart, the smile instantly vanished from her face. The other party was not easy to deal with, and the ‘cooperation’ pretext wouldn’t fool him for long.
She had to find the real content for the cooperation quickly. Otherwise, tonight at 7 PM wouldn’t be an assassination; it would be a banquet at Hongmen.
The curtain door closed. Haart’s expression looked like he’d eaten something foul. He glanced sideways at the guard who had been standing by the door. Their eyes met, and the guard nodded, understanding Haart’s meaning—follow Gu Lian, monitor her.
“Tailing me?”
Just after leaving the reception room, Gu Lian glanced sideways and then withdrew her gaze. A guard was following closely behind her. Let them tail me if they want. After all, this is Weikede’s territory.
The tailing guard, realizing he’d been spotted, simply stopped following from behind and quickened his pace to walk beside Gu Lian, smiling. “Hello, I’m the guide responsible for showing you around.”
“Oh.”
“Would you like to tour our main encampment? Although there aren’t many places open for viewing here, some spots are quite interesting, like the training grounds, the shooting range…”
The guard was very talkative, deliberately mentioning places that could showcase their strength while avoiding many off-limits areas.
“How about going to see our training? Those kids are quite spirited.”
The guard smiled, showing his bright white teeth.
“No, thanks.”
Gu Lian rolled up her sleeve and lightly tapped her arm, pretending to check the time before adjusting the watch on her wrist.
“Then do you want to see some shooting?”
If I told you my marksmanship could leave yours in the dust, I wonder what you’d think.
Gu Lian chuckled, then pointed to her stomach. “Forget about watching shooting. I’m feeling a bit like I need to use the restroom.”
“Uh…”
The guard’s eye twitched. Gu Lian shrugged, her right hand’s five fingers already retracting into her sleeve, her index finger starting to input text on her watch.
“Follow me.”
The guard pulled down the brim of his hat and led Gu Lian to a restroom area. A foul, unpleasant stench permeated the air, so strong it seemed to sting the eyes.
Even the guard pinched his nose in disgust. Gu Lian’s eyebrows trembled violently. She almost took a step back, but due to the special circumstances, she still walked into the restroom.
Closing the restroom door, Gu Lian stood disdainfully next to the slightly yellowed squat toilet. She rolled up her sleeve and sent the message she had edited earlier. She didn’t have to wait long before the Masked Man replied.
—SMS Reply—
Gu Lian: Help needed. I can’t hold this up alone. What exactly did you say to that fat guy before? Meeting Weikede at 7 PM tonight. If we don’t reach an agreement, I’m screwed, I won’t get back.
Masked Man: Then don’t reach an agreement? (；一_一)
Gu Lian: Don’t reach an agreement? Then how am I supposed to get into the underground base to steal the files? Just kill him outright?
Masked Man: Don’t panic. Weikede’s underground base is only about 300 square meters. The files should be easy to find.
Gu Lian: Keep messing around, and when we get back, believe me, I’ll take you down.
Masked Man: Old friend, relax. Leave the talking to me. You just observe and adapt.
Gu Lian: What, are you going to come help me in person?
Masked Man: No, no, I don’t have that capability. But even a branch of the Black Market… is far beyond what a mere warlord can compare to. [Attached secret command port: 25.233.756.23]
[Attachment: Underground Base Entrance Schematic.]
Masked Man: I have faith in you.
Gu Lian: F*ck (a type of plant), would it kill you to give me all this stuff at once?
Masked Man: I was just afraid you might suddenly back out of the deal and not go. This intelligence is classified.
Gu Lian:凸(艹皿艹 )
—
PS: Brothers, Gu Lian’s character design image has been posted at the very beginning of all chapters. You can go take a look.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.