"I'm Awl." The middle-aged man was really introverted; he seemed very embarrassed when he spoke, and after saying this, he even lowered his head. How shy!
"Holy crap! No way?" Tang Bao was truly incredulous!
“If you don’t believe me, you can pay a deposit first, and then I can pay you the rest after I’ve dealt with the target,” the middle-aged man said in a negotiating tone.
“…5 million, and they hired this guy? A professional assassin? What the hell!” Tang Bao picked a huge booger from his nose. But since the guy was already here, he figured they might as well talk. “How much is the deposit?”
"Deposit? Heh, you can give whatever you think is appropriate, just a token amount will do." The middle-aged man was really easy to talk to.
"Alright, give it a try! Haha, a deposit of 1000 yuan, the remaining 4,999,000 yuan will be given to you after it's all over." Tang Bao chuckled mockingly. His henchmen laughed along. Indeed, in front of this so-called 5 million RMB assassin, you really couldn't feel even the slightest bit of pressure. He was practically just an ordinary, honest, and introverted person!
“No.” The middle-aged man shook his head seriously. “It’s not 4,999,000 yuan. It’s 7,999,000 yuan.”
"Bang!" Tang Bao slammed his fist on the table with a deafening roar. "Damn it, wasn't it agreed to be 5 million? According to your calculations, it's become 8 million! I... how did this extra 3 million come about? Aren't assassins under the World Assassin Association supposed to be very professional? Now, to kill someone, you want to go back on your word about the agreed price? And demand a higher price?"
"No, no, no." The middle-aged man waved his hands nervously, as if afraid that Tang Bao would misunderstand. "Listen to me, there are reasons for the price increase."
"...Then tell me your reasons." Tang Bao put his legs up on the desk and said while picking his nose.
“Here’s the thing,” the middle-aged man patiently explained, “the target you provided didn’t even have a photo. This means I have to find the target myself, which increases the cost of the murder. Also, the target is a star player at the Dongxing Casino, so I need to set a trap to lure him out.” He continued, “This trap requires the help of one of my colleagues. Therefore, the cost will increase. 8 million is already a discounted price. If you can provide me with a photo of the target and his usual haunts, then the agreed-upon 5 million will remain unchanged. I am a highly professional assassin and would never inflate the price. Please trust me on that. Furthermore, if I fail, I won’t take a single penny. I will even compensate you 2 million as previously agreed.”
A cautious explanation.
Before Tang Bao could answer, one of his henchmen immediately cursed, "...Are you out of your mind? Even without a photo of the target and the location, you don't need to raise the price by 3 million, do you? Aren't you just ripping us off? Damn, do you think all of us in Zheng Bang are idiots? Look at you, an assassin? I'll kill your mother! Any random henchman in Zheng Bang is more ruthless than you. Damn, you call yourself an assassin? Brother Bao, right? I bet he couldn't even kill a chicken."
Surprisingly!
The middle-aged man's pupils constricted sharply! A piercing gaze flashed in his eyes, like the glint of a blade! The temperature in the office seemed to drop by at least ten degrees!
Tang Bao and his henchmen all felt a chill run down their spines!
"Please don't insult my profession! And my work ability!" the middle-aged man said in an icy tone, while simultaneously waving his hands several times... "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Several sharp glints flashed by!
It whizzed past Tang Bao and the others, just grazing their ears!
A few strands of hair began to fall from Tang Bao and several of his henchmen's heads.
Tang Bao and his henchmen's foreheads were already covered in cold sweat! Fine beads of cold sweat!
There were a total of 8 small, cone-shaped hidden weapons, which were embedded in the wall behind Tang Bao and his men.
At this moment, the middle-aged man suddenly stood up.
Tang Bao and his henchmen recoiled as if bitten by a snake!
"Don't do anything reckless! Let's talk this out!" Tang Bao shouted instinctively.
Just now, the middle-aged man simply waved his hand a few times, and Tang Bao and his men returned from a near-death experience, their souls nearly fading away!
"No, no, I won't kill you." The middle-aged man regained his approachable demeanor, becoming very easy to talk to, and the temperature in the room returned to normal. "I didn't take any money, so I won't just kill anyone. I'm not stupid, right?"
As he spoke, the middle-aged man walked to the opposite wall, pulled out the eight small awls, and put them into his pocket.
"Fine!" Tang Bao slammed his hand on the table again. "Eight million it is! I, Tang Bao, accept it... Impressive! Truly impressive!"
As the middle-aged man left, he grinned at Tang Bao, "Tomorrow night, wait for the news of 'Little Gao's' death. Heh."
After the middle-aged man left, Tang Bao stood up and took out a tissue to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. "...I finally understand a principle."
The henchmen, having calmed down a bit, asked, "Brother Leopard, what's the logic behind this?"
“A real killer, on the surface, definitely doesn’t look like a killer!” Tang Bao seemed to be making his closing statement. “To put it simply, a real killer looks like a fool, without any murderous intent; while those who look murderous aren’t real killers.”
"Hmm? Brother Leopard, what you're describing sounds very mysterious. What exactly is that killer who looks menacing?"
“2……b”.
Chapter 124 Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole
Chapter 124 Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole
There's a saying that money can make the devil turn the millstone, but that's actually wrong. It should be corrected to... money can make the millstone turn the devil.
Gao Jianfei paid the money, and the real estate agency handled the paperwork. In less than two hours, all the formalities were completed, and he received the property certificate and the keys.
The homeowner is named "Gao Jianfei".
In other words, this nearly 200-square-meter, fully furnished apartment now belongs to Gao Jianfei! Completely belongs to Gao Jianfei!
Gao Jianfei stood in the living room, rubbing his eyes. "I...I own a house. I earned the money myself and bought a big house in a coastal city?"
I feel a little dizzy.
Having money and owning a house are two different concepts. Money is like a number, far less satisfying than a tangible asset like a house.
"Wow! Jianfei, this master bedroom is so big! And the curtains are the style and color I like! So beautiful!" Chen Xian exclaimed happily in the master bedroom.
After being stunned for two minutes, Gao Jianfei finally realized... Yes, we bought a house.
Gao Jianfei ran into the master bedroom and saw Chen Xian rolling around on the big bed.
"Xiaoxian, do you like this house?" Gao Jianfei asked with a smile.
"Yes, I love it so much," Chen Xian said in a gentle, tender voice. "I love the house, but I love living with Jianfei, having a home of our own. I love the feeling of home!"
"Xiao Xian, kiss me!" Gao Jianfei was completely excited when he saw Chen Xian's flawless, snow-white face!
Chen Xian didn't hesitate. She wrapped her arms around Gao Jianfei's neck and pressed her face against his, her delicate red lips pressed tightly against his.
The cloves were quietly blooming.
The two immediately fell into a tender embrace where they were oblivious to everything else and their minds were completely blank!
Their lips and tongues intertwined for several minutes before they finally separated.
Gao Jianfei noticed that Chen Xian's lips were covered in glistening saliva, all left by Gao Jianfei earlier.
He even reached his hand inside Chen Xian's t-shirt.
Chen Xian's breathing became very rapid, her eyes were tightly closed, and her body trembled slightly and sensitively.
"Xiaoxian! Go take a shower quickly!" Gao Jianfei said urgently.
Chen Xian knew very well what was going to happen next! She really knew.
In her heart, there was no fear, no anxiety, only obedience, docility, and anticipation. Gao Jianfei got out of bed, took Chen Xian's hand, and pulled her up. "Go take a shower, be good."
"Mmm," Chen Xian responded, turning to walk towards the bathroom. However, in a swift motion, she turned back and tightly embraced Gao Jianfei's waist. She asked a question many women would ask, "Jianfei, today... today I'll give myself to you. I... I'm not afraid, and I don't regret it. I'll never regret it in this lifetime! But... please, Jianfei, you absolutely cannot abandon me, okay? I want to be with you forever. If one day you tire of me, if you don't want me anymore, I'll die!"
Those words were spoken with such seriousness and unwavering certainty.
"Heh, Xiaoxian, I'm not some playboy. I like you, that's why I did that with you..." Gao Jianfei chuckled, stroking Chen Xian's hair. "Don't worry, we'll be together from now on. I'll protect you and make you happy."
Indeed, given Gao Jianfei's current financial situation—hundreds of millions in assets—it would be incredibly easy for him to simply play around with women. To sleep with female celebrities would simply require paying more money. The reason he was so eager to have sex with Chen Xian was truly because he liked her.
Gao Jianfei entered the bathroom impatiently.
After all the preparations were complete, just as Gao Jianfei and Chen Xian were about to experience their first time, another problem arose.
Big problem.
It wasn't a phone call that interrupted this sacred event.
To put it bluntly, neither of them had any experience in this area!
Gao Jianfei was extremely nervous, especially since it was his first time.
So, having no direction whatsoever, Gao Jianfei awkwardly ended the meeting prematurely...
"What's going on?" Gao Jianfei was really embarrassed and a little scared. "This... what's wrong?" Although he had seen many Japanese adult films, it was incredibly difficult for him to actually do it himself!
Chen Xian's ability to assist is also very poor, extremely poor.
So, their first attempt failed.
Gao Jianfei was unaware that this situation was actually quite normal.
Chen Xian didn't bother wiping away what Gao Jianfei had left on her thigh, and immediately hugged him. "Jianfei, it's okay, it's okay. We, we'll try again next time, okay? It's really okay. I... I used to go online and look at some adult forums, and... anyway, it's normal. Don't overthink it! We have plenty of opportunities, we'll succeed eventually!"
He kept offering words of comfort.
However, after a brief moment of panic, Gao Jianfei calmed down... "Forget it! I'll ask Ghost Zhong Haiyang, the Level 2 Ghost King, about this next time I go to Ghost Den. He's quite experienced. If all else fails, I'll learn his bedroom skills! Damn, newbies really suffer!"
After tidying up, the two left the house and went back to the hotel to pick up Yan Kui and Xiao Xiao.
It was during the time when Gao Jianfei and Chen Xian were busy tidying up the house after bringing Yan Kui and Xiaoxiao over that the Emperor Casino was bustling with activity.
Two guests entered the lobby of the Emperor Casino.
One of them had an ordinary appearance and temperament, with a short haircut and a friendly demeanor.
The other middle-aged man had a pointed face and a shrewd look in his eyes.
That ordinary-looking man was none other than the assassin Tang Bao had hired... Cone!
That shrewd middle-aged man was actually an assassin, albeit a low-ranking one, worth only 1 million rubles. However, while his assassin skills were far inferior to Awl's, he did have a slight advantage: he had some knowledge of gambling.
Many years ago, the shrewd middle-aged man was actually a gambler, not an assassin. However, he later discovered that his gambling talent wasn't exceptional; it was merely passable. He estimated that he had already tapped into his full potential, reaching the pinnacle of his gambling skills—a point from which he could no longer improve. But… he tested himself, and his stats only ranked him around 100th in the world.
While it's true that the world's 100th ranked gambling expert could certainly make a living, and could even gain respect and become a pillar of an underground organization by affiliating with one, this doesn't mean he'd be able to succeed.
But unfortunately, shrewd middle-aged men have lofty ambitions. If they can't reach a very high level in a certain field, they'd rather not play it at all!
In particular, as a gambler, one may be challenged by other gamblers at any time, and may even lose limbs or even life.
Therefore, he completely gave up the idea of continuing to be a gambler.
He switched careers and became an assassin.
As an assassin, his talent was still mediocre, barely enough to qualify him for a 1 million RMB price tag. He only accepted missions that were almost certain to succeed. He wouldn't even consider any missions that involved risk.
Overall, he was not a very successful person.
This time, after Cone accepted the mission to assassinate "Xiao Gao," the mainstay of Dongxing, Zheng Bang didn't provide any direct information about "Xiao Gao." Cone had to find out about "Xiao Gao" himself.
So, the awl-like creature came up with a plan... to lure the snake out of its hole.
In fact, Cone had also investigated and found that even the top-ranked "A Zhuo" among the original gambling experts at Dongxing Casino was already outside the top 100! Bringing up that shrewd man whose gambling skills could rank among the top 100 in the world would be just enough to defeat the other gambling experts at Dongxing Casino, apart from Xiao Gao.
This is a good opportunity to lure Xiao Gao out.
This is the perfect opportunity to make a move on Xiao Gao in the private room!
Awl thought this was a pretty perfect plan.
Inside the monitoring room of Dongxing Casino.