Because Gao Jianjun was very close, even though he was prepared, a few drops still splashed onto him, and his thick cotton clothes were also burned with holes.
However, Gao Jianjun didn't care about any of that. He immediately took out a tool that looked like a spatula from his travel bag, which seemed to be a treasure trove. He quickly stuck it into the metal wall and scraped off a thin layer of metal from the wall with a scoop from top to bottom.
This guy... he's really professional... he even came up with this method... I'm impressed, truly impressed...
Seeing this, Zhou Ziwei finally understood what Gao Jianjun was relying on. It turned out that he had prepared a highly corrosive chemical agent that could instantly corrode and soften metal, allowing him to thin the metal wall layer by layer.
Although this method is not very efficient, it can silently scrape the metal wall into a thin layer. If Gao Jianjun were to use a welding torch or a chainsaw to deal with this metal wall, the noise would be considerable, and he would likely be exposed in the quiet night. Moreover, if he were to use those methods to cut the wall, he might accidentally break through it.
There wasn't a single penny in that vault right now. If Gao Jianjun immediately broke through the wall, he wouldn't be able to steal any money. And if someone actually tried to put money into the vault the next day, they would immediately notice the hole in the wall. Anyone who wasn't stupid wouldn't put any money in there and would immediately call the police, leading to the arrest of the person hiding on the other side of the wall.
Therefore, although the method Gao Jianjun is using now is somewhat laborious, it is definitely the most effective.
Zhou Ziwei knew how thick the metal wall was, and estimated that if Gao Jianjun kept digging like this, it would probably take until dawn to finish. So he stopped monitoring him, withdrew his soul power, and couldn't help but sigh.
I learned from Yang's parents that my brother-in-law, Gao Jianjun, was sent by his company to the M country branch to develop overseas markets. Gao Jianjun boasted that he was doing well in the company and had earned the boss's appreciation. He also said that his English was good, so he was sent here as the deputy general manager. His base salary was more than 20,000 US dollars a month, plus bonuses and subsidies, which added up to about the same amount as his base salary. This was enough to support his whole family, so he brought his wife and children to the M country as well.
Given Gao Jianjun's not-so-high education and not-so-outstanding work ability, it's already a blessing from his ancestors that he could get such a good job. Zhou Ziwei thought that his family would live quite well here in the next few years, but he never expected that Gao Jianjun would take such a risk as to steal from a bank, something that could cost him his life.
Of course... it seems that there is no death penalty in the United States, so as long as Gao Jianjun is not involved in armed robbery, he generally won't die even if he is caught, but he can forget about ever getting out of prison again.
Zhou Ziwei naturally didn't want to see this happen. If Gao Jianjun weren't his brother-in-law, Zhou Ziwei wouldn't care about his life or death. But... thinking about how his sister and nephew would have to endure a miserable life if Gao Jianjun went to jail, Zhou Ziwei couldn't help but sigh. He thought to himself that he had to help Gao Jianjun no matter what.
But... how should I help him? Should I help him successfully steal the money from the bank, or... should I think of a way to scare him away and stop him from continuing?
Zhou Ziwei hesitated for a long time, unsure of what to choose.
If Zhou Ziwei were a kind-hearted, upright, and selfless person, he would definitely stand up at this moment and do everything he could to stop Gao Jianjun from making such a mistake.
However... Zhou Ziwei, while not exactly a heinous villain, is certainly not a good person either.
If this were in China, Zhou Ziwei might have stood up for the country's interests, but... this is the United States... and Zhou Ziwei has never had a good impression of the American people, so he doesn't care at all about the bank being robbed or stolen in the United States.
His only concern now is how to ensure his sister's family lives a peaceful and happy life.
After thinking for a long time, Zhou Ziwei finally decided to help Gao Jianjun make a windfall.
He knew his brother-in-law Gao Jianjun quite well. He knew that although Gao Jianjun was greedy, he wasn't actually very bold. He guessed that Gao Jianjun was probably forced into this situation because he had no other choice but to be brave enough to pull off this big heist.
As for why Gao Jianjun was in such dire straits, that can only be known after a detailed investigation. However, even without asking, Zhou Ziwei could guess the general reason: he had accumulated a huge gambling debt, become addicted to drugs, or offended some powerful figure and was being extorted.
In any case, Gao Jianjun desperately needs a large sum of money. Without it, he might not be able to overcome his current difficulties. If Zhou Ziwei doesn't help him solve this problem and make a fortune, then even if Zhou Ziwei's influence makes him abandon his theft plan today, he will eventually have to go back to this path if he can't overcome his current difficulties.
I never imagined that I, now one of the world's richest people, would one day help someone else rob a bank.
Zhou Ziwei found this both funny and exasperating. Although he wanted to help his sister's family financially so they could have a better life, he didn't want them to know too much about him right now.
After all, even if he could trust his sister, he really couldn't trust his brother-in-law. Zhou Ziwei also knew that his sister was somewhat weak at home and always listened to her brother-in-law. If he told his sister the secret of his rebirth, it would be almost impossible to keep it from Gao Jianjun.
Gao Jianjun was a wicked man, and Zhou Ziwei dared not let him know his true nature.
Of course... Zhou Ziwei wasn't afraid that Gao Jianjun would do anything to him, but he was worried that Gao Jianjun might do something that he couldn't tolerate, and then... he was afraid that in a fit of anger, he might kill him again... that would be letting down his sister.
Finally, dawn broke. Zhou Ziwei released his soul power again to investigate and found that Gao Jianjun had completed the first step of the work. He had dug a huge hole in the wall and dug deep into the metal wall, but left a layer of steel plate less than two centimeters thick that had not been broken through.
Meanwhile, Gao Jianjun was also exhausted and was resting in bed...
Zhou Ziwei estimated that Gao Jianjun would probably have to wait until after 9 a.m. to make a move. Since the vault didn't store cash at night, it seemed that the money would only be transported from elsewhere by armored trucks after the bank officially opened for business.
Now Zhou Ziwei had to figure out how to help Gao Jianjun. According to the original plan, they would only stay in this small hotel for one night, and then set off early in the morning to meet up with the other members of the Dragon Group at the designated location.
Although they were the first group to fly abroad, they arrived in different cities than the second and third groups. They arrived earliest, but were the group furthest from the agreed location, so it took them the most time to get there. Therefore, they didn't have much free time, and their schedules were packed.
Zhou Ziwei was quite troubled, wondering how Jiang Chunshui would react if he told her he wanted to stay here for another half a day... He figured she definitely wouldn't agree! Although Zhou Ziwei was the nominal deputy leader of the Dragon Group, this was essentially handling personal matters during an official mission, which... was really not in accordance with the rules.
Furthermore, Zhou Ziwei had no way of explaining his relationship with Gao Jianjun to Jiang Chunshui. Also, when he was using his abilities to help Gao Jianjun, it was probably not appropriate for Jiang Chunshui to see it.
Therefore, Zhou Ziwei had no choice but to try to let Jiang Chunshui, who was sleeping soundly, sleep a little longer.
Around 8 o'clock, Zhou Ziwei finally discovered through his soul power scan that Gao Jianjun downstairs had made a new move.
He struggled to get out of bed, went to the bathroom to wash up, changed into clean clothes, and then walked out of the room as if nothing had happened.
He first locked his room, then called over a waiter, generously tossed him two hundred-dollar bills as a tip, pointed to the room door, gave the waiter some instructions, and then quietly slipped out of the hotel through the back door.
Why did this guy run away? Could it be... could it be that he never intended to make a move this morning?
Seeing Jiang Chunshui leave the hotel, Zhou Ziwei felt bewildered. He wondered what the guy was up to. After all that trouble last night, why did he run away when it was time to make his move? If he was planning to find another suitable opportunity to act, then Zhou Ziwei didn't have time to play along.
For the sake of his sister's family's happiness, Zhou Ziwei could indeed put aside national affairs for the time being. However, he couldn't go too far. After all, this operation was actually for his own benefit. Moreover, no matter what, he was the temporary deputy leader of the Dragon Group. He couldn't make such a big mistake right after taking office!
Zhou Ziwei decided to wait another hour at most. If Gao Jianjun still didn't intend to make a move after an hour, then Zhou Ziwei would ignore him.
Anyway... I've never really liked this brother-in-law, Zhou Ziwei. If... if this guy really falls for me here, it doesn't matter. If my sister doesn't go with Gao Jianjun and finds another husband, he'll probably be much better than Gao Jianjun!
Constantly monitoring the activity below with his soul power was far too taxing on his soul power. Even though Zhou Ziwei now possessed millions of soul power, he couldn't afford to waste it like that. So, he simply opened the window, released a gust of wind energy that swept over two tiny insects, and then used his soul power to capture them, making them his pets. He then placed them below, letting them replace his eyes to monitor the activity in the bank and the room he had arranged with Gao Jianjun.
At 8:55... a middle-aged man with a large beard, wearing a worn-out jacket, walked into the hotel. He went straight to the room where Gao Jianjun had dug the hole earlier, gave the waiter a hundred dollars, and then pulled out a key from somewhere, opened the door, and went inside.
Almost simultaneously, Gao Jianjun, who had somehow changed into a security guard uniform, walked indifferently into the small bank next to the hotel...
Volume 3, King of the City, Chapter 507: Fool
So that's how it is... This guy really doesn't do useless work. It turns out he works at this bank, so naturally he knows when money is deposited there. Presumably... a lot of money was put into the bank's vault today. Gao Jianjun anticipated this situation, which is why he specifically designed this trap to break into the bank. And the person who's sneaking into the hotel room now must be Gao Jianjun's accomplice! That makes sense... Since Gao Jianjun works here, it's unlikely he'd do it himself. Otherwise, if Gao Jianjun wasn't at his post when the bank vault was robbed, the consequences would be predictable... he would definitely be the prime suspect.
Seeing that the two people working together from the inside and outside were in place, Zhou Ziwei knew that the good show was about to begin. He immediately felt relieved and prepared to watch the show in peace. He would only leave after he was sure that Gao Jianjun would be alright.
At 9:08, a black armored truck pulled up in front of the bank. Four heavily armed guards jumped out and stood guard on both sides of the truck and the bank's main entrance. Then, people carried large amounts of cash, one bag at a time, into a small vault inside the bank.
Many bank employees kept glancing at the cash transport team, which had been making several rounds of transport and was still not finished, and several of them couldn't help but show a hint of longing in their eyes.
Obviously... this small bank wouldn't normally have this much cash on hand. It seems someone must have booked a large withdrawal or remittance today, which is why they prepared so much cash in advance.
After a large amount of cash was finally settled, some bank employees began to withdraw some cash to their respective windows. Then, at 9:30, the door to the inner vault slowly closed, and the bank resumed normal operations.
Shouldn't we be able to get started now?
Seeing this, Zhou Ziwei knew that this was the best time for them to make their move, because the bank had just opened for business and each teller window had plenty of cash reserves, which meant that the slush fund would not be opened for a while, making it convenient for Gao Jianjun's accomplice to make his move.
Next... Gao Jianjun should send a coded message to his accomplice hiding in the hotel room through some channel, and then let the accomplice start to take action.
Sure enough... a short while later, the man who was in the hotel room suddenly changed his expression for some reason, grabbed the phone at his waist, looked at it, and his face lit up with joy. Then he immediately jumped out of bed without hesitation.
This is strange… Zhou Ziwei is currently using two Kunlun pets to monitor the hotel room and the bank respectively, so he's quite certain that his brother-in-law, Gao Jianjun, didn't make a phone call or send a text message. But… how did the guy hiding in the room know? And who sent him that text message? Could it be… that Gao Jianjun has more than one accomplice? That idiot… they're planning to steal money from the bank, not rob it. Why bother having so many accomplices? Isn't that just increasing their chances of being exposed?
After the man in the jacket jumped off the bed, he unhesitatingly unscrewed the half-empty bottle of blue corrosive liquid that Gao Jianjun had used the night before, raised it high, and with a "whoosh," poured it all onto the metal wall that was less than two centimeters thick.
The guy in the jacket was clearly much more agile than Gao Jianjun. He splashed the bottle of corrosive liquid with great accuracy, almost without wasting any of it, and poured it all onto the exposed metal wall.
After splashing the liquid, the man in the jacket immediately retreated and slipped into a corner of the other side of the room.
As a result, none of the blue liquid splashed out from the bursting bubbles caused by the intense corrosion of the metal wall actually hit the person.
About two minutes later, when the man in the jacket saw that there were no more bubbles rising on the metal wall, he quickly walked out from the corner, picked up the cotton gloves that Gao Jianjun had used earlier, and put them on.
With a muffled "thump," the man punched the metal wall with his gloved hand. The already softened wall suddenly seemed as if it were made of paper, and the punch pierced right through it.
Then, as if tearing a piece of paper, the man cleared away the thin metal wall that Gao Jianjun had spent the whole night shaving.
This created a large hole, big enough for one person to crawl through, between the hotel room and the bank's vault.
When the man in the jacket arrived, he also brought a large travel bag. He first threw his travel bag into the hole in the wall, and then crawled through it and opened the zipper on the travel bag... Good heavens, there were actually five or six other folded travel bags inside. It seemed that this guy was planning to take all the money in the entire vault at once.
Just as the man in the jacket was frantically stuffing the banknotes piled up in the vault into his travel bag, Gao Jianjun, for some reason, paced back and forth like an ant on a hot plate, seemingly very anxious.
When Zhou Ziwei saw Gao Jianjun's reaction through Kun Chong's eyes, a slight thought struck him. He vaguely felt that something was amiss. Could it be that... the guy moving money in the vault wasn't actually with Gao Jianjun at all? Otherwise... why would Gao Jianjun be acting so anxious?
Finally... at this moment, a department head at the bank suddenly called Gao Jianjun over, took out a document, and asked Gao Jianjun to deliver the document to a certain place in the city. Gao Jianjun was overjoyed and hurriedly nodded and bowed in agreement. Then he went back to the changing room, quickly changed back into casual clothes, and then left with the folder.
Zhou Ziwei frowned slightly. He was now increasingly certain that Gao Jianjun and the guy currently making a fortune in the vault were not in cahoots. Gao Jianjun must have anticipated that he would have this short break today. He probably originally planned to use this time to commit the crime at the hotel, but now... little did he know that someone else had already taken the lead. He had worked all night, only to have his efforts benefit someone else. And since the other party knew everything he had planned, they would surely find a way to pin the blame on Gao Jianjun after making their fortune, making him take the fall.
Sigh... I thought Gao Jianjun was a pretty shrewd guy, and I'd never seen him suffer any losses. But now it seems... he's not doing so well in the US either? How could he have fallen to this state and been completely outmaneuvered? I'm afraid that without my help this time, he would have been doomed no matter what!
After the guy in the jacket finally emptied the entire vault of cash, he threw six large travel bags out of the hole, then climbed out himself. He covered all the bags with oversized black plastic bags, listened for a bit at the door, and when he heard nothing, he immediately opened the door and threw all the bags outside. To an outsider, it would probably look like a pile of trash…
The man in the jacket followed him out of the room, closed the door behind him, and then a man dressed as a hotel cleaner came over. The two exchanged a gesture and smiled at each other. Then, together, they lifted the travel bags covered with black plastic bags one by one, carried them through a cleaning corridor, and threw all the bags of banknotes onto a garbage truck parked there.
As the two men carried the last bag of banknotes, they saw Gao Jianjun, dressed in a different outfit, hurriedly walk in through the back door of the hotel and head straight towards them.
The guy in the jacket seemed surprised that Gao Jianjun would arrive so quickly. He paused for a moment, then hurriedly turned his head to the side, as if he didn't want Gao Jianjun to see him.
Although Gao Jianjun saw two people in the corridor, he assumed they were just ordinary hotel cleaners taking out the trash and didn't pay them any attention. He even slightly turned his body to walk past them, but just then... he suddenly realized that the person in the jacket looked somewhat familiar. He immediately stopped and tilted his head to look at the person's face...
"Hehe... Gao, you really shouldn't have recognized me."
The guy in the jacket probably knew he couldn't escape, so he suddenly turned around, looked at Gao Jianjun, and said with a slight, cold smile, "I really feel sorry for you... If you hadn't recognized me, although you'd inevitably spend half your life in jail, at least you wouldn't have died. But... now that you've recognized me, then... you only have one path left, hehe... You can only blame your bad luck!"
As the man in the jacket finished speaking, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and a gleaming dagger appeared in his hand. He then plunged it fiercely into Gao Jianjun's chest.
Gao Jianjun was terrified. Although he looked tall and strong, he was actually very timid. When he saw the man stabbing him with a knife, he was so frightened that his whole body went limp. He could have dodged the knife, but he didn't have the strength to move an inch. He watched helplessly as the knife got closer and closer to his heart. Suddenly, everything went black. Although he hadn't suffered any fatal injuries yet, he had already begun to despair and await death.
With a soft "plop," just as the dagger in the man's hand was about to pierce Gao Jianjun's heart, a round hole the size of a one-yuan coin suddenly appeared between the man's eyebrows. Red blood and white brain matter gushed out from it like a fountain, instantly turning the corridor into a terrifying bloody mess.
"Thump—" The man in the jacket still tightly gripped the gleaming dagger in his hand, his eyes wide open in disbelief as he stared at Gao Jianjun's face. Then, his body swayed, and he finally fell backward.
As he fell, the black plastic bag covering the travel bag he had been holding tightly was torn open, revealing the bag inside.
Gao Jianjun witnessed this scene firsthand, yet he still couldn't believe his eyes. He was the closest to the man in the jacket, but even he couldn't clearly see how the man died. How could there suddenly be a hole in his head? Was he shot? But… that's impossible… The man in the jacket was facing him directly, with the corridor wall behind him. Gao Jianjun certainly didn't fire a shot, and there was no hole in the wall behind the man. So where did the bullet come from? Could… bullets curve? And if someone really fired, why didn't he hear a single gunshot? Even a silenced pistol couldn't completely silence a gunshot, could it?
Gao Jianjun was slightly taken aback, then turned his head and saw that the guy dressed as a hotel cleaner, upon seeing his companion killed, only let out a slight gasp, then kicked the body of the man in the jacket aside, and without hesitation, grabbed the travel bag and ran towards the garbage truck...
Even if Gao Jianjun was slow to react, he understood what had happened. He thought about how he had painstakingly planned for more than half a month and then spent a whole night digging at the wall, only to have someone else beat him to it. How could he swallow this insult? Moreover... just when he was about to be stabbed to death, the man in the jacket was shot dead by something first, which made Gao Jianjun feel much more confident.
Although Gao Jianjun didn't know who was secretly helping him, and knew that even if someone was helping him, it would probably be like sending away the little devil only to welcome the King of Hell, but... under these circumstances, he had no better choice at all.
Even if he gives up everything now, the police might still trace him back to him based on some clues. In that case, he wouldn't get a single penny of benefit, but he would still inevitably be burdened with a huge stigma. However... if he continues to pursue him, although he might die, if he's lucky enough to get back a travel bag full of cash, that would be enough for him to deal with the current crisis and live a comfortable life for the rest of his days.
The saying "fortune favors the bold" applies to Gao Jianjun. He understands this principle well. Although he has never been very bold, he was willing to risk everything once he decided to steal banknotes.
Although the hotel cleaner ran very fast, she was still carrying a large bag that weighed at least several tens of kilograms, so she naturally couldn't outrun Gao Jianjun, who was empty-handed.
Gao Jianjun chased after him in a few steps, but then found that he had no weapons at all. Helpless, he could only pounce on him and grab the cleaner's neck with both hands.
The janitor, clearly a ruthless scoundrel, was only provoked by Gao Jianjun grabbing his neck. He cursed loudly, then threw aside the traveler in his hand and slammed his elbow into Gao Jianjun's chest. Gao Jianjun screamed and staggered, almost falling over.
Whether the cleaner was worried that Gao Jianjun would continue to harass him or that Gao Jianjun would suddenly shout, after knocking Gao Jianjun down, he stopped running away and instead pounced on him, grabbing Gao Jianjun's neck.
The thug dressed as a cleaner was clearly not as useless as Gao Jianjun. As soon as his big hands grabbed Gao Jianjun's neck, Gao Jianjun's eyes rolled back and his body kicked wildly. He didn't have the strength to get up and struggle at all.
But at that moment, another flash of cold light appeared, and a round, bloody hole suddenly appeared on the back of the cleaner's head.
The cleaner's fierce eyes instantly turned bloodshot, but his hands suddenly lost all strength, and his body went limp, slowly collapsing onto Gao Jianjun's body without moving.
Gao Jianjun was startled by the cleaner's bloodshot eyes as she died, and he couldn't help but scream. His scream finally alerted everyone in the hotel.