It was called a negotiation, but it was really about dividing the spoils.
After all, they had already decided to join forces long before they arrived.
"The route from Vine Island has to be mine. I’ve had my eye on that line for a long ti," Birdman said resolutely, refusing to back down.
"Fine, but the routes for smuggling contraband to Yingzhou must all be mine, as well as the shipping lanes to Indonesia..." Snow White, not to be outdone, made several demands in a row.
"Your appetite is too big, Snow White. The Yingzhou route can be yours, but the Indonesia and Arica routes must be split evenly among us. You can’t handle that much."
The two began to squabble over the smuggling routes, while a dedicated subordinate stood by, organizing and modifying the details on a laptop.
Nearby, Zhou Chen relied on the powerful mory of an Ascender to commit everything they said to mory.
This was the most precious and confidential intelligence in the world of organized cri, but right now, it was as open to him as a public bus—he could hop on and off as he pleased. They didn’t treat him like an outsider in the slightest.
’So this is the perk of being a mole,’ he thought. ’Getting to listen in on all the enemy’s secrets.’
’How much credit would this be worth?’
Two hours later, the negotiation was drawing to a close.
Zhou Chen, his head spinning, reviewed the details and confird he had rembered most of it. He was also secretly astonished at the sheer scale of the criminal underworld—as a global trade port, almost every single shipping route in Jinzhu involved smuggling!
Jiang Che had told him before that smuggling wasn’t really a big deal, that it was actually commonplace. This kind of gray-market industry was global, and no region could completely prevent it. For a coastal city, how else were they supposed to make money if not by smuggling?
So places even relied on smuggling to get rich.
Another half hour passed before the negotiation finally ended. After finalizing the agreent, they used a printer in the room to print out two contracts in black and white. Birdman and Snow White each signed their nas.
Of course, this docunt had no legal standing in the outside world, but it was a different story in the criminal underworld. This contract was for Fu Qing, and in their world, Fu Qing was the law.
’If they’re bold enough to draw up this kind of contract now, I can’t even imagine what they’ll want in the future. No wonder Jiang Che is so determined to take Fu Qing down...’ Zhou Chen muttered to himself inwardly.
He was just wondering whether he should ask Birdman about "the organization" after returning to the club when the middle-aged manager from before walked in with so people.
"The boss is very pleased to see that you two have been able to put aside your past grievances, so he has prepared so entertainnt for everyone."
The manager had his subordinates hand a delicate booklet to everyone. Zhou Chen, full of suspicion, opened it and froze. Inside were detailed personal profiles, complete with clear photographs.
[Yue’Er, nineteen, university music major, asurents... special skills... personality: lively and cheerful...]
[Xixi, twenty-one, campus belle of a certain university, asurents... special skills... personality: gentle and poised...]
[Guoguo, twenty-three, female office worker, asurents... special skills... personality: cold and proud...]
’What the hell...’
Zhou Chen really wanted to shout, ’What kind of club is this?! You people are causing imnse harm, you and this club!’
He flipped through the rest of the pages and discovered there were n, too...
’Unbelievable.’
He looked around and saw everyone else flipping through the booklets, their eyes gleaming. Even Birdman and Snow White were selecting carefully, though it was hard to tell if they were genuinely interested or just humoring Fu Qing.
"If anyone is having trouble choosing, we also have Alchemy Instrunts here that can accurately analyze your ideal type and find a direct match in our database." The manager beckoned, and a subordinate imdiately brought over a strangely shaped machine and placed it on the table.
The main body of the instrunt was round, with a sunken handprint indentation. It was equipped with a display screen on the side to view the matched profiles from the database.
"Who wants to try first?" Birdman asked, glancing around.
"I’ll go first." Han Laohu chuckled and pressed his hand onto it.
On the screen, the system’s loading bar filled up over a few seconds, finally displaying a profile.
"Whoa, this is amazing. It’s really my favorite type. I’ll take her, then." Han Laohu finished reading the information in the profile and smiled in satisfaction.
Zhou Chen fell into thought at the side. He seed to have seen this kind of instrunt sowhere before... That’s right, he’d seen it on the dark web.
This type of instrunt could scan a user’s subconscious to acquire their internal "XP system," then use a specially programd application and database to filter and analyze the results, ultimately finding a corresponding match.
If he rembered correctly, this thing was apparently co-developed by a few otaku Alchemists. Their goal was to find their own "true love," but it later accidentally beca a worldwide hit.
Watching person after person go up to try it, Zhou Chen began to ponder—’I’m still under the side effects of the D-394 Concentration Necklace and have absolutely no desires in that departnt. Would the scan even produce a result?’
Soon, even Birdman and Snow White had taken their turns and confird their ideal partners, leaving only Zhou Chen who hadn’t been analyzed.
"Go on, give it a try. Just for fun. Don’t worry, no one will know."
Birdman teased, "Or have you already picked soone?"
Zhou Chen knew he couldn’t get out of it. He walked forward without a word and placed his palm on the instrunt.
However, when the system finished loading, the screen was completely blank.
"Hmm? Is sothing wrong with it?" The manager, sowhat surprised, checked the machine but found no issues.
After a mont of silence, he bowed apologetically, looking a bit embarrassed. "My apologies, sir. It seems there are currently no suitable matches for you in the database."
HISS... Han Laohu, Li Ergou, and the few others who knew the "Killing Maniac" couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. They began to imagine the worst. ’Don’t tell this monster is into corpses?’
"It doesn’t matter. I’m not interested," Zhou Chen replied coldly.
"I didn’t expect your tastes to be so peculiar."
Birdman stroked his chin, clucking his tongue in amazent. "Well, forget it. If you’re not interested, just wait here for us for an hour. Is that a problem?"
"Fine." Zhou Chen nodded indifferently, but inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Two or three minutes later, the manager led a group of n and won into the room.
They wore impeccable smiles, and their every move was designed to make one feel utterly at ease. Their verbal skills were flawless—flattering, cooing, teasing... Their professional skills were maxed out.
Even ruthless killers like Birdman and Snow White, who wouldn’t blink at taking a life, were being pampered into comfort by all kinds of sweet talk. They gradually let loose and grew bolder.
But as an Ascender, his keen Perception Power still allowed Zhou Chen to notice the fleeting numbness and Fear in their eyes. Yet, when he saw the enthusiastic smiles on their faces, he would wonder if it was just a trick of the light.
’Sothing’s not right...’
’Sothing’s very wrong...’
Once suspicion took root, it began to snowball, growing larger and larger with each passing mont.
’Are they really just ’Technicians’ and ’Male Hosts’?’
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