“Lady, please submit to our inspection.”
Scarf Man approached Gu Lian and reached out to grab her backpack. Gu Lian narrowed her eyes and raised her hand with lightning speed.
Slap!
A sharp, loud sound rang out. The hand reaching for the backpack was slapped away, the back of it even turning a bruised purple. Scarf Man pulled his hand back in pain. Looking at Gu Lian standing before him, a surge of anger rose in his heart.
“You…”
Just as Scarf Man was about to erupt, Gu Lian raised both hands, adopting a posture that said ‘inspect whatever you want.’
Tinkle~
Two small pieces of gold fell from beneath Gu Lian’s clothes and clattered onto the floor. One rolled a few times, coming to a stop beside Scarf Man’s foot. The other bounced on the ground and landed near Scavenger’s foot.
“…”
The words Scarf Man was about to utter were choked back. Scavenger looked up at the ceiling, as if suddenly fascinated by how interesting the ceiling looked today.
“Being too rough during an inspection is disrespectful to a lady, don’t you think?”
A slight smile played on Gu Lian’s lips, but it quickly vanished, replaced by an expression of displeasure. “However, is the inspection finished now?”
Hearing Gu Lian’s words, Scavenger stepped on the piece of gold near his foot, then shuffled two steps to the side. Strangely, the gold on the floor had disappeared.
Scarf Man remained silent for a moment, then bent down, picked up the gold piece from the floor, stuffed it into his pocket, and stepped aside, making a gesture of invitation.
The slightly heavier purse brought a hint of a smile to Scarf Man’s brow, and his every movement now carried a touch of enthusiasm.
Scavenger and Scarf Man now stood on either side of the wooden door. Walking between them, Gu Lian shoved her hands into her coat pockets, her gaze fixed straight ahead.
Judging from that series of disgusting maneuvers just now, Scavenger’s note could be treated like a fart—utterly worthless and not to be trusted.
And that Scarf Man was no good either.
Don’t think for a second that Scarf Man actually wanted to inspect the backpack. He wanted to confiscate it under the guise of an inspection.
This was bullying right to her face, so Gu Lian gave Scarf Man a slap, then immediately raised her hands for inspection.
First, to show him she wasn’t someone to be messed with.
Second, to give him a way to save face and prevent him from lashing out in humiliated rage.
Third, the tangible benefit, making Scarf Man conveniently ‘forget.’
Gu Lian, wearing an expression of ‘displeasure’ yet ‘not daring to make a scene,’ ‘accepted the inspection.’ She then reached out, grasped the brass-colored door handle, gave it a gentle turn, and opened the somewhat faded wooden door.
Inside, a burly man with a wide waist and neatly slicked-back hair sat on a large sofa. He wore a white shirt that seemed completely at odds with his demeanor.
Seeing this, Gu Lian walked over and sat directly opposite the fat man. This wasn’t her target. If the boss of an organization was this easy to meet, then he couldn’t possibly be the real boss.
Clang!
The wooden door was closed. Two fully armed men emerged from beside the door and took up positions behind the fat man.
“Let’s skip the formal introductions. Coming here to find me… what’s the matter?”
The fat man on the sofa leisurely used a cigar cutter to snip off one end of his cigar. A burly man behind him immediately produced a lighter, bent over, and lit it.
“I have a business deal. I need to meet your boss.”
Closing her eyes to rest, Gu Lian crossed her arms and leaned back on the sofa. She couldn’t say too much; it would be easy to slip up.
“Oh ho ho ho, what kind of business requires meeting our ‘boss’? Am I not the boss here?”
After saying this, the fat man put the now-lit cigar in his mouth and took a deep drag. The burly man who had been lighting it behind him put away the lighter and walked to stand behind Gu Lian.
“This deal isn’t something either of us can decide. It requires people higher up. I’m just here to deliver a message.”
Gu Lian’s words caused the fat man’s expression to darken. His massive body leaned back on the sofa, occasionally puffing out two mouthfuls of smoke. Gu Lian kept her eyes closed.
“You might be right. But I don’t see your boss’s ‘sincerity.'”
After a long silence, the fat man took a deep drag from his cigar. At that moment, Gu Lian opened her eyes, pulled her backpack in front of her, took out her smartphone, dialed a number, and tossed the phone to the fat man.
The fat man caught the phone. Seeing the foreign characters for the contact, he looked somewhat skeptical but brought the phone to his ear.
“How are things progressing?”
Masked Man’s voice came from the other end of the line. The fat man remained silent. Gu Lian also didn’t speak now. If she opened her mouth, the burly man behind her would definitely attack.
Even though she was a Weiyi and wasn’t afraid of him at all, for the sake of her cover, she couldn’t afford to slip up in this situation.
If she really got caught here, she would be in a very passive position.
“…”
“…”
A terrifying silence fell over the room. Masked Man on the phone seemed to sense something and slowly spoke up. “Have you already found Weikede? Let him speak to me!”
‘Nicely done!’
Gu Lian inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. That old fox Masked Man was still reliable. Her biggest fear was that he’d call and, like an idiot, immediately start asking if the task was completed.
Fortunately, Masked Man’s vigilance was still strong.
“Apologies, the boss is currently at the main compound. What is your business?”
“Is that so? Tell him I want to make a big deal with him!”
“This… specifically regarding…”
“Are you sure you want to know? This concerns research results. I need to speak with him face-to-face.”
“But this… is no longer something I can decide.”
As the fat man spoke, his back was already soaked with cold sweat. He was clearly quite frightened.
“…”
Gu Lian continued resting with her eyes closed. This underling was decent in terms of cunning, but in terms of strategic thinking, he was clearly no match for Masked Man. Now this fat man had been completely led by the nose into Masked Man’s rhythm.
Though, this ‘research results’ was probably just a pretext. What she needed to steal was their Document 051. The rest wasn’t her concern.
Sometimes, knowing too much wasn’t a blessing.
The fat man’s slicked-back hair was now damp with sweat, and his legs were trembling uncontrollably. He had been completely hoodwinked by Masked Man, with none of his earlier intimidating presence remaining.
A moment later, the shaken fat man tremblingly put the phone down, even rising from the sofa himself. He held the phone with both hands and returned it to Gu Lian.
The facts proved that knowing certain secrets wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Because the more you knew, the more likely you were to die suddenly one day, your body discarded like trash in some wilderness, then devoured by wild dogs that followed the scent, leaving not even bone fragments behind.
That was reality.
“Alright. Now, can we continue our previous conversation? I need to see your boss, correct? Boss?“
Gu Lian took the phone back and looked at the fat man with a half-smile.
“No, no, no! Between friends, there’s no need for such formalities with someone like me. I was just talking big.”
Hearing Gu Lian’s words, the fat man waved his hands repeatedly. His trembling hand reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a letter of recommendation.
“My friend, it’s not that I don’t want to help you with the business deal, it’s just that my humble self isn’t in good health. However, this letter of recommendation can get you into the main compound. From here, go straight out the door and you’ll reach it. Inside, look for people with yellow scarves tied around their collars. They can help you.”
“Heh.”
Gu Lian crossed her legs and simply smiled, watching the fat man. She pointed her thumb backward over her shoulder, then pointed at her own head.
“But my memory isn’t very good. I don’t know the way.”
“Don’t worry. I have a map here.”
The fat man even managed a fawning smile on his face, pulling a wad of banknotes from his pocket.
But as soon as he took it out, he felt it was somewhat inappropriate. He hurriedly put the money away and pulled a gold bar from his inner pocket, placing it on the table. The smile on his face now resembled a blooming, overbearing flower.
“My friend, is this map sufficient?”
Hearing this, Gu Lian picked up the gold bar from the table and stood up from the sofa. The burly man very dutifully walked to the door and pulled it open for Gu Lian to walk out.
Clang!
The wooden door closed. The smile on the fat man’s face gradually faded, replaced by lingering fear and anger.
“Boss, should I take care of those two blind fools at the entrance…”
The burly man who had been standing behind the fat man the whole time leaned down, making a throat-slitting motion with his hand.
The fat man turned his head and glared ferociously at the burly man, who involuntarily took a step back.
Realizing his expression was a bit too fierce, the fat man forced himself to calm down and gave the other man a meaningful look.
“Make it clean. Don’t let anyone else find evidence.”
“Understood.”
The burly man strode directly out the door. Shortly after, thump thump—two heavy thudding sounds were heard in succession, followed by the unpleasant sound of something being dragged away.
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