Now, I've become Hongdae's ally. Is there any better way than this kind of close surveillance?
A thick, savory sauce was poured over the giant prawn meat, but I only took one bite and didn't eat any more. Actually, this so-called Vietnamese specialty wasn't very tasty, at least not to my taste.
On the top deck of the luxury cruise ship, in the open-air restaurant, a breakfast restaurant has been set up, and of course... the price is different from that of the ordinary restaurants on the ship, it is three times more expensive.
Basically, after a night of gambling, Hong Da and I had developed some initial goodwill. Actually, this fat guy is quite interesting; he's a bit sleazy, even a bit vulgar... but fortunately, he's a very frank person, and he never tries to hide it.
To be fair, such genuine villains are sometimes much more endearing than hypocrites.
“You must be a big shot!” I picked up a glass of orange juice and took a sip.
"Oh?" Hong Da narrowed his eyes.
I raised my chin and gestured to the henchman standing behind Hong Da. The henchman had a cold expression and was like the fat man's shadow. Even though he had been standing behind Hong Da all night, there was no sign of fatigue on his face.
“Only important people have such bodyguards by their side.” I smiled and began to probe.
Part One: In the Martial World, Unable to Control One's Own Fate, Chapter 165: Murderous Intent Reappears
Hong Da's lips curled into a smile, and he pointed to Xiluo beside me: "Your young bodyguard is not bad either, a very outstanding young man. Kid, you must have quite a background, right?"
He became a little wary, so I immediately smiled easily and spread my hands: "Alright, buddy, I'm here on vacation. I don't want to get into anything too complicated... We met at the gambling table, then sat down for breakfast together and enjoyed a simple trip. Why do you all have to dig into it? I'm here to enjoy my trip! Let's leave those headaches in the office... What do you think?"
Perhaps my feigned nonchalance was really convincing, because the wariness in Hong Da's eyes gradually disappeared.
Tiger and Ponytail aren't with us; they're probably keeping watch from a distance, I'm not sure. But at least for now, I feel like my progress is going fairly well.
"The ship will dock around noon. Are you planning to go ashore immediately?" I asked with a smile.
Hong Da stretched, looking somewhat lazy and relaxed: "I don't know, I'm just taking a casual stroll, a relaxing trip... What about you?"
"Same as you, but this is my first time traveling to Vietnam." I laughed.
“Vietnam is not a good place to travel,” Hong Da frowned.
"Hey!" I chuckled deliberately. "Dude, you're at it again, digging deep! Let's make a deal: you won't ask about my background, and I won't ask about yours, how about that? That's more interesting! If we knew each other's backgrounds, maybe we could build a pure friendship during our trip, don't you think?" I sighed deliberately. "If we knew each other's backgrounds, we might find out about each other's businesses, we might start talking about business, and then maybe we'd even discuss business collaborations... God, that's too annoying. I just want to forget about all that and enjoy a relaxing life."
“Good idea,” Hong sighed.
I sensed that he had already put his mind at ease with me.
It's very simple: the less I reveal my secrets, the less suspicious he will be! This principle is somewhat complex and difficult to describe accurately in words.
"And you? It seems this isn't your first time in Vietnam. Perhaps we'll be saying goodbye soon after we land." I smiled.
"Not so fast." Hong laughed. "I'm in Vietnam on some business, but I'll travel around for a few days first. By the way, where is your destination?"
I thought about it for a moment. According to the information, I know Hong Da's destination is Saigon! But if I directly say that I'm also going to Saigon, I'm worried that this guy will become suspicious again, so I smiled and said, "Hanoi."
"There's nothing fun to do in Hanoi," the fat man laughed.
"Let's go pay our respects to Ho Chi Minh's remains." I said with a forced smile, "I'm a believer in communism."
"Ha!" The fat man laughed exaggeratedly.
We then talked about the weather and some other interesting topics... It's actually quite simple, what else can men talk about when they're together?
woman!
Yes, topics about women can always quickly bridge the gap between two strangers.
And in this respect, I'm practically an expert.
The stripper next to me seemed a little embarrassed. Although she was a prostitute, she was still somewhat uncomfortable with the two of us men openly discussing such explicit topics.
I glanced at her deliberately, then stared at Hong Da: "Hey, buddy. Are you planning to have this beauty following us around forever?"
Hong laughed, "If I hadn't gotten so caught up in gambling with you last night, I'd already be in bed by now." But then he smiled, whispered a few words to the beautiful woman, and the stripper's eyes lit up immediately, her impatient expression vanishing instantly! Then the fat man took out a wad of US dollars from his pocket and threw it to her without even looking at it.
The stripper hesitated for a moment, then quickly left.
I laughed: "Two thousand US dollars... Dude, you're being a bit too generous. I can vouch for you, you didn't even touch her last night."
“No. This is just a deposit.” Hong Da said calmly, “I’m very interested in this woman, so I asked her to come ashore with me. Consider it as finding a woman to accompany me on my trip. A thousand US dollars a day, this price is not expensive.”
I sighed: "A woman like that, you can get her naked and in your bed for just two thousand RMB. A thousand US dollars a day..." I whistled.
"Happy, my brother!" Hong Da laughed heartily. "I'm interested in her, I want to sleep with her! But last night I wasted a whole night because of you! I know a woman like her is only worth two thousand RMB a night, but I don't want to leave this ship with regrets. Spending a little money to make myself happy and not have any regrets is worth it."
"But Vietnam has many beautiful women."
“It’s okay, I can consider a threesome then.” Hong laughed unrestrainedly.
Honestly, I'm starting to really like this guy.
He's vulgar, even a bit sleazy. But he does things that should be kept under wraps, openly and brazenly... He's a truly fascinating guy.
After a moment, Hong Da made a suggestion that I couldn't refuse.
“After we dock at noon, we can rent a yacht and cruise around the sea for an afternoon. We can go ashore again in the evening. What do you think?” Hong invited me with a smile, but then he revealed the real reason for the invitation: “We can also gamble on the yacht. You’re the most bizarre card player I’ve ever seen.”
"Okay." I replied without any hesitation.
What's this called? Bodyguard? Or close-quarters assassination?
I'm a little confused myself.
Princess Minghui was anchored at Ha Long Bay, a port in northwestern North Vietnam.
This is a well-known port in Vietnam, but unfortunately, it is a shallow-water port. Large luxury cruise ships like the Minghui Princess are not allowed to enter the port and dock, so they can only anchor on the sea not far from the coastline.
Vietnamese customs officers boarded the ship, and then tourists began to line up to disembark. Small barges came along to transport the tourists ashore.
I saw Hong make two phone calls and then find a waiter on the ship to arrange a private yacht for us.
When we were clearing customs, I saw Ponytail and Tiger board the barge with the rest of the tourists, but I pretended not to know them. Ciro followed me, acting as my sidekick.
Vietnamese customs officers carefully checked each tourist's documents and passes, but it was clear that money had immense power here. We entered the VIP lane and enjoyed the privilege of not having to queue. Customs officers didn't even thoroughly inspect our luggage before letting us through.
Of course, I paid an extra two hundred dollars for this.
A white yacht was moored next to the luxury cruise ship. A door opened in the lower deck of the cruise ship, and we walked through the deck to board the yacht.
The crew on the yacht were clearly very experienced. They even greeted us in Chinese, saying, "Welcome to Vietnam."
This yacht is very large... or rather, it is not a "yacht" in the true sense of the word, but rather a small boat.
I even suspect it was converted from an ordinary ferry boat.
Fortunately, there's a sea breeze, sunshine, and a spacious deck. That's enough.
Hong Da never suspected me. And after I boarded the ship, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The crew on this yacht is very simple. I believe the danger has passed.
There were only me, Xiluo, Hongda, his henchman, and the stripper on the boat. Finally, there was the yacht crew (he was in charge of steering the boat).
I discreetly checked the yacht staff's credentials and pretended to chat with him for a bit to confirm that he was just an employee of a seaside travel company that specializes in renting these modified yachts for guests who come ashore.
Everything is clear and there's nothing suspicious. I guess I can finally relax for now...
The scenery in Xialong Bay is still very beautiful... and what I found refreshing was that there were many fishermen around.
These local fishermen seem to have been completely mobilized by the booming tourism industry. They drive their own small fishing boats and some small motorboats, chasing yachts like ours on the sea. They will approach the boats and then hawk local specialty fruits, food, drinks, and even alcohol to the tourists.
To my surprise, the prices here are unbelievably cheap!
And what's even stranger... the most widely circulated hard currency here... is actually the Renminbi!!
The currency of Vietnam is the Vietnamese Dong. The exchange rate with the Chinese Yuan is approximately 1,300 Vietnamese Dong to about one Yuan.
Along the way, I ate countless tropical fruits bought from fishermen, and by evening, I had played two rounds of cards with Hong Da.
Just then, fishermen came up in their boats and started selling seafood to us.
This experience gave me a thorough understanding of the price levels in Vietnam!
It was a small motorboat with two fishermen on board. They spoke a little bit of very basic Chinese, but only for negotiating prices. Their boat was filled with basins and buckets, filled with all sorts of fish, shrimp, shellfish, snails, lobsters, crabs, and so on.
I pretended to be very interested and bargained with the other party, while carefully observing the two fishermen to make sure they were not in danger.
I pretended to ask about the price of everything, and they were all ridiculously low. Finally, I laughed and said, "I want everything on this ship. How much is it in total?"
The two fishermen looked at each other with delighted surprise and a sly smile, then they made a gesture decisively: "Eight hundred, RMB!"
I shook my head and held up five fingers: "Five hundred!"
To my surprise, they agreed immediately! They agreed so quickly that I realized I had asked for too much! I had been ripped off.
The fishermen were so happy that they even abandoned the buckets and basins used to hold the seafood! They moved everything onto our boat and then, as if afraid I would change my mind, quickly drove away in their speedboat.
Looking at the entire boatload of seafood I bought for 500 RMB... I was truly moved.
The crew member smiled and looked at us: "My boat has a kitchen, and I can cook you a seafood feast. Of course, there will be a charge; the service fee is fifty RMB."
Hong patted me on the shoulder and laughed, "What's wrong? Do you find it strange? Let me tell you, a family of three in South Africa earns less than 300 RMB a month. The price you just asked for is a windfall to them."
A seafood feast...it really was a feast! But unfortunately, Vietnam doesn't have vinegar. When I asked the crew if they had any, he even asked me what I needed vinegar for. I told him that vinegar is sour, and he suggested I use lemon because...lemons are sour too.
“My dear brother, I think we can travel to Hanoi together again tomorrow, but after that, we'll have to part ways.” After spending the afternoon together, Hong Da seemed to have grown closer to me, and there was a sly glint in his eyes: “Now I really think you're a good person… How about we introduce ourselves? Although neither of us wants to do business while traveling, sometimes, when there's an opportunity for cooperation, we shouldn't let it slip by!”
I smiled, pondering how to answer, when the sailor came over with a lobster. He smiled, set the plate down, and faced the table full of shrimp, crab, shellfish, snails... I was smiling when I suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the sailor's throat!
I looked up and saw his smiling face suddenly freeze! Then his face quickly turned black, and he was in great pain as his hands gripped his throat tightly. Finally, he fell straight down, white foam dribbling from the corner of his mouth!
My first reaction was to jump up immediately and shout, "Poison! The food is poisoned!!"
At that moment, Hong Da's expression changed. Almost reflexively, he took a step back. His bodyguard immediately rushed forward and shielded him with his body. At the same time, he even pulled out a gun! And then pointed the gun at me!
"Don't move!" Xiluo shouted nervously from the side, and then he actually pulled out a pistol from his waist and pointed it at Hong Da!
"Don't move!" I tried to calm myself down and made my tone as sincere as possible: "Someone poisoned me! It wasn't me! I don't think it was you either, right?"
Part One: In the Martial World, Not in Control of One's Own Fate, Chapter 166: Deceit and Intrigue
The situation has reached a stalemate!
Xiluo's gun was pointed at Hongdae, while Hongdae's bodyguards had their guns pointed at my forehead!
“I think we need to talk now.” I took a deep breath, a slight smile on my face, and looked directly into Hong Da’s eyes: “What do you think, buddy?”