Anyway, I had already thought it through before I came. This concession was something I had to make, so now I might as well just accept my fate. Instead of trying to refuse, I should think about how to get more benefits for myself.
Having made up my mind, I immediately put on a smile: "Mr. Sorin, my business has indeed achieved some success recently, but of course, without the support of a strong ally like you, I probably wouldn't have been able to do this." Then, pretending to have just remembered something, I said with a look of "surprise," "Ah, right, I suddenly have a good idea. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the business at sea... Hmm, since you're also interested in this business, why don't we talk about it? Maybe we can have a chance to cooperate. Mr. Sorin, I wonder if you'd be interested in making some investments in the business at sea?"
Damn it, this is my predicament of being outmatched! He's the one using his power to force me to submit, and I have to pretend to be willing to "invite" him into the game.
I secretly vowed to myself that I would definitely find a chance to get my revenge for this humiliation in the future!
However, despite thinking this, I didn't show it on my face at all.
Seeing how "getting on track" I was, Sorin immediately gave Yang Wei a meaningful look. He was probably quite satisfied with the results of Yang Wei's work as a "persuader".
However, this guy was the kind of person who wanted to maintain a virtuous image even while being a prostitute. At this moment, he deliberately put on a somewhat troubled expression, tilted his head to think for a moment, and slowly said, "Oh. I think your suggestion is very interesting. Well, although I'm a bit short of funds lately, since we're allies, and I've always been willing to help young people... Alright, Chen Yang, I'm very interested in your suggestion. Why don't we find a quieter place in the back to have a good chat?"
Damn, you're really interested in my suggestion? If I hadn't brought up this "suggestion," you probably would have pulled out a knife!
My heart was filled with anger, but my smile grew even more composed: "Fine, I'd be more than happy to."
“Alright, Weiwei. Looks like I’ll have to borrow your male companion for a while,” Thorin said to Yang Wei with a cheerful smile.
Yang Wei immediately nodded: "OK, I can take a walk around and look around, Uncle Thorin. I'm really interested in the racecourse behind you. Oh, I miss Garros so much... I know it's late now, but if you don't mind, I'd like to go see the horse."
Sorin, of course, wouldn't refuse such a small request, especially since Yang Wei had just performed a great service for him, successfully "persuading" me. Sorin waved his hand, and immediately had someone take Yang Wei to the racecourse at the back.
Thorin smiled at me: "Come on, young man, I'll show you something interesting."
I followed Thorin around the left side of the castle. The cobblestone path and the meticulously manicured hedges on both sides highlighted the castle's magnificent splendor and solemn nobility.
"Do you like this place?" We walked slowly, leaving behind the bustling banquet hall; there were hardly any people left here. Thorin smiled as he walked, "What do you think of my castle?"
"This place is practically a palace," I sighed, genuinely impressed.
"Hehe, the path you're walking on now is modeled after the flower gardens in the French royal palace. Even the gardeners I hired are French; their families have been gardeners for eleven generations. They were all former royal servants of the French royal family."
Thorin said these words with a hint of pride.
Beneath the corner of the castle walls, on a large white marble base, are various exquisite carvings, and at several ingeniously designed angles, huge searchlights shine upwards, giving the castle a dazzling color at night.
We walked along this road all the way to the back, past a fenced-off area guarded by some of Thorin's bodyguards.
“This is a non-tourist area.” Thorin smiled and pointed to himself. “Because here, I’ve set up some special little toys that I usually don’t let guests see. You see, even though I’m old, I still have a few little secrets, don’t I?”
I walked to the left side of the castle and continued down this road. Although there were still lush green trees on both sides, I could vaguely see the iron fence behind the trees, but it was not so obvious because it was hidden by the trees.
I felt that this place was becoming increasingly gloomy. It had long lost the opulent atmosphere of the castle and had instead taken on a deathly feel... Hmm, like a prison!
There was another gate, and I followed Thorin inside. Immediately, one of Thorin's men closed the gate. Before me was a large courtyard, surrounded by a wall of trees. Although it was still green, there was a hint of bloodshed in that green.
There was a row of low stone houses in the courtyard. To my surprise, these houses were very low. Obviously, only part of the buildings were exposed on the ground, while another part must have been underground.
In the middle of the yard, there was a pool four or five times larger than my swimming pool! But it was clearly not a swimming pool. Although I could hear the splashing of water, the concrete platform surrounding the pool was as high as my chest, and it was topped with a tall iron fence!
"Look, this is my little toy." Thorin said with a smile, pulling me towards one side of the pool.
On the left side of the pool, on the outer side of the cement platform, this area, about ten meters high, was built up to a height of three meters, with steps leading up to it. The two of us walked up the steps and looked down, and the entire pool came into view.
The pool below, five times larger than my swimming pool, has a sloping bottom and is only half-filled with water. This allows...
About a third of the area was dry ground exposed to the water, where there were some scattered piles of stones and some strange plants, among which I even saw a few...
I was stunned!
Its tough, leathery skin, its narrow yet long body, lay prone on the ground, as still as a ghost. Sharp, long crocodiles, thick and robust, even the smallest of them was at least three meters long…
“The Amazonian man-eating crocodile.” Thorin’s eyes flashed with an almost cruel light, and his smile no longer seemed so kind: “Look, this is my little toy—my favorite little toy.”
He seemed very excited about his "toys," and his speech quickened considerably: "Look, there are four here... well, I originally had six. But you know, this is North America, Toronto, Canada. These little creatures, which live in the tropics, aren't quite used to it here. Even though I've spent a lot of money taking care of them and installed all the necessary equipment, two of them still died. Fortunately, these four are thriving."
I silently counted; there were only three on the ground. Then, I saw a slight ripple on the water's surface, and a huge black shadow emerged from underwater, revealing a small part of its body before approaching the shore... A nearly four-meter-long crocodile slowly crawled up, its massive body emerging from the water like a monster.
“Oh, this is Jamie. Look, Jamie, that’s the name I gave her… Oh, you heard me right, I said ‘her.’ She’s one of my favorite girls because she can eat a lot, she can eat a lot.” Thorin smiled, then waved his hand, and the person next to him immediately handed him two cigars. Thorin took one for himself and handed me one at the same time.
I silently lit a cigar and glanced at the dark pool below.
Just then, with a bang, four high-powered spotlights on the four railings surrounding the pool turned on! The intense light shone into the pool, and everything suddenly became crystal clear!
Thorin puffed on his cigar, a clear look of enjoyment in his eyes, and then he chuckled, "I come here whenever I'm in a bad mood or a good mood." He glanced at me deliberately, "Oh, by the way, let me show you something else interesting."
He snapped his fingers...
Then, Thorin's two men immediately dragged a sack out of the low houses behind them! Judging from the size of the sack and its constantly wriggling shape, I deduced that there was a person inside!
Sure enough, when the sack was untied, a ragged white man with a face covered in blood was revealed. He had broken down and was thrown down the steps where we were standing. His hands and feet were bound. As soon as he saw Thorin, he shouted loudly and seemed to struggle to rush up and hug Thorin's legs, but he was kicked away by one of Thorin's men as soon as he moved.
“Dear Mr. Larry,” Thorin said calmly, “you are an old friend of mine… As an old friend, you should understand how painful it is to be betrayed… Look how well you lived when you were my friend, but why did you betray me? From the day you betrayed me, you chose to stand on the side of my enemy. You should know that I am a man who will not be soft-hearted towards my enemies.”
The guy named Larry was struggling like a madman, stammering and pleading for something, but I couldn't understand what he was saying... Then I saw that all his teeth had been knocked out, and even a piece of his tongue had been cut off!
Thorin's expression was cold. He stopped looking at the guy in front of him and said indifferently, "Throw him down... Jamie must be hungry. Give her some dinner."
Next, to my astonishment, two of Thorin's men, without batting an eye, lifted the still-struggling man, carried him to the steps, and one of them pulled out a dagger, swiftly cut the ropes binding his feet, and threw him into the crocodile pool!
Judging from their calm expressions, this was clearly not the first time they had done something like this.
Bang!
With a dull thud, the guy was thrown off the three-meter-high platform and landed on the ground in the pool. He screamed in pain, followed by an extremely shrill scream! The level of his scream almost made me feel sorry for him!
He screamed as if his heart were breaking, his voice trembling uncontrollably. Under the searchlight, everything that was happening below was clearly visible to me:
The guy named Larry fell to the ground, immediately attracting the attention of the four crocodiles around him. They seemed to be slowly approaching, but none of them dared to pounce yet. Larry struggled on the ground for a moment, and having already seen the situation around him, he tried desperately to stand up. But that's when I realized that one of his legs had obviously been broken.
The will to survive in dire straits is astonishing! Despite having a broken leg and his hands being bound, he actually struggled to his feet, even though I saw his face was contorted in pain! I couldn't tell if it was from pain or terror.
He endured the excruciating pain of his broken leg and struggled to his feet. He frantically lunged towards the edge of the pool, trying to climb up, but the high concrete wall was perfectly smooth, without a single gap. His leg was broken, making jumping impossible, so after struggling for a long time, he couldn't get up. Meanwhile, Thorin stood beside me, a smile on his face. Watching all this…
The four crocodiles had begun to move. The largest crocodile, Jamie, seemed impatient and was the fastest. It was already close to Larry, who, in his frantic state, suddenly saw a glimmer of hope…
Right across the pool, the concrete platform there seemed a bit lower than here; judging by appearances, it was probably tall enough for someone to climb up.
Larry turned to face the four crocodiles surrounding him, let out a desperate scream, and then turned and darted towards the pool. It's unbelievable that a man with a broken leg could still run in such a desperate situation! Although he was only limping, he was surprisingly fast! Finally, he collapsed into the water and struggled desperately to swim to the other side of the pool.
But despite his efforts, he had a broken leg, and his hands were bound! This prevented him from swimming at all. Meanwhile, the largest crocodile, Jamie, had already darted into the water like an arrow… like a predatory monster…
Larry had already swum several meters with all his might, but under the searchlight, I could clearly see underwater, behind him, that terrifying, enormous shadow beneath the surface almost instantly caught up with him… and then…
I don't think I'll ever forget that scream! Beneath the surface, the crocodile opened its massive forearm, then bit down on Larry's waist!
The immense biting power of a crocodile's jaws is astonishing! Larry screamed so hard his throat almost broke, struggling desperately, water splashing everywhere, tinged with a faint red...
Immediately, a black shadow flipped on the surface of the water and dragged Larry underwater... The water quickly turned red, and I could only see some bubbles rising to the surface...
Half a minute later, the giant crocodile, dragging a corpse in its mouth, slowly crawled out of the water and back onto the shore. Larry was dead; half of his body was stuck in its huge mouth, a bloody mess, and blood was still flowing out...
Then three other crocodiles approached and began scrambling for the food. The large crocodile named Jamie was clearly ferocious and domineering; it even fought with the other three before giving up a little food... Larry's upper body!
As for Larry's lower body, I almost watched helplessly as it was "swallowed" piece by piece into the crocodile's mouth.
"Damn it!" I cursed under my breath, then suddenly felt an urge to lean against the wall and vomit.
I turned my head away, not wanting to watch any longer as the crocodiles devoured a human corpse, while Thorin, cigar in hand, still wore a satisfied smile, quietly watching the whole thing unfold...
God, I can almost hear the hoarse sound of teeth chattering down there... It makes me feel nauseous!
Finally, it was all over. Thorin laughed heartily, then waved his hand, and the lights went out.
I felt my legs getting weak...
It's not that I haven't killed people, nor that I haven't tormented my enemies and adversaries... but a scene like this, watching several crocodiles cruelly prey on a human of my own kind, right under my nose... anyone who hasn't experienced it can't possibly imagine how "horrible" it is!!
As Thorin descended the steps, his expression remained calm... he even wore a smile. That smile, when it touched my heart, truly instilled in me a sense of awe for the old man.
This guy is a complete freak! He's a madman! He's insane!!!
Sorin seemed quite pleased with my expression and reaction. He patted me with a smile and asked, "How was it, Chen Yang? Was your performance great?"
I took a few deep breaths and forced a smile, but I knew my smile must have looked terrible.
"Wonderful... I wouldn't use that word to describe what just happened," I said through gritted teeth.
"What's wrong? Mr. Chen Yang, the famous underground godfather of Vancouver. Are you afraid of blood?" Thorin shrugged exaggeratedly.
I tried to close my eyes, desperately trying to erase the scene I had just witnessed from my mind, to stop thinking about it. Then I took a deep breath: "Sorry, I'm just not used to scenes like this... seeing things like this gives me nightmares. And... damn it, thankfully I didn't eat anything tonight."
"Haha..." Thorin laughed a few times. He pulled me and we sat down on one of the chairs next to us.
"Perhaps you think I'm cruel, that I'm crazy..." Thorin pursed his lips, a somber expression on his aged face. "But I don't think so. In my dictionary, it's either friend or foe. I will show no mercy or soft-heartedness to my enemies. I will kill all those who are my enemies without hesitation... That's my philosophy of life."
"..."
Tonight was such a surprise.
I used to think that although Thorin was famous, known as the godfather of Vancouver, I never really felt he was that scary, despite his imposing presence… I even felt that this old man had long since lost his edge. Like an aging lion, teeth fallen out, mane gone. Though he still had his vigor, I didn't find him frightening.
Moreover, he has always pursued a clean image. It also gives me the illusion... that he is now someone who doesn't pose much of a threat.
But tonight, all my senses have changed!
Thorin is Thorin after all! He's that ruthless, cruel, cold-blooded, and twisted scum of the Canadian underworld—the biggest piece of trash in the world!
"Oh, my friend, I'm sorry if the scene just now frightened you..." Thorin smiled, but his eyes no longer held that peace... or rather, his eyes were still peaceful, but I had already seen through their true nature!
Ruthless! Vicious! Like a rattlesnake!
I immediately said, "Oh. No, you don't need to apologize. I'm not afraid of anything, it's just... I'm not used to this kind of situation."
Thorin raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh, is that so? Then I'm relieved. But speaking of which, do you like these little toys of mine? Of course, these little toys are just a means for me to punish my enemies."
Thorin paused deliberately at this point, looking at me intently: "I may be ruthless towards my enemies, but I am full of goodwill towards my friends."
Looking
His eyes shone brightly. I suddenly remembered Yang Wei's words...
...He only has two methods: coercion or bribery...As long as you hold on...he really doesn't dare to do anything to you right now..."
I steadied myself, and suddenly, my heart calmed down. I even managed a calm smile.
Thorin frowned slightly at my smile, but then quickly masked it.
“Mr. Thorin,” I said with a smile, adding in a joking tone, “I’m starting to feel lucky that I’m your friend. Don’t I? And I’ve suddenly realized that we share very similar views. Generally speaking, those who are my friends live very well… while those who are my enemies have already paid the price.”
Sorin looked at me, licked his lips, and smiled. "Indeed, we are friends. Alright... young man, the show is over. Now... let's talk business."
He snapped his fingers, and immediately his men brought over a simple table and placed it in front of us, along with some documents.
“Look, Chen Yang, as I said, I’m always generous to my friends. So, regarding your suggestion that I join the maritime business… I think my current cash flow isn’t very good, so I’m afraid I can’t offer you much help… However, as a friend, I’m still willing to express my goodwill… Therefore, I’m willing to offer you ten million US dollars, and the price, of course, is very small. I only need to own ten percent of the company’s shares.”
After he finished speaking, he looked at me.