Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 502: Chapter 502: It’s Hard to Come Ashore

Feng Jun braved the rain, standing on a rooftop not far away, watching the scene unfold before him.

After observing for a while, he confirmed that the other party also wanted to cover up a lot of things, and finally grew tired of watching.

Feng Jun’s greatest concern was that they would carelessly call the police upon realizing something was amiss, causing law enforcement to intervene.

That was why he had chosen to stage a car accident, disguise the robbery scene, and make Xiao Han disappear mysteriously.

Now, seeing that the other party also knew they were dealing with a thief and dared not make a fuss, he didn’t need to be so restrained in his actions anymore.

Among the four people at the scene, the only one who would not die, the driver, had already been identified by Feng Jun. The man had no ID on him, but his driver’s license was genuine. After unlocking the mobile phone with the man’s fingerprint, Feng Jun also saw his friend circle, filled with recruitment ads for a certain entertainment venue.

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The man had fractured ribs, but Feng Jun was in no hurry to deal with him. Instead, he went downstairs to find an open space and released his Passat car, trailing the vehicle that was carrying the Spirit Stones at a leisurely pace.

After entering Zhengyang City, the car began to circle around the city. Now at six in the morning, the streets were extremely empty. Even with the rain, anyone following the car would be spotted.

However, Feng Jun was at least three to four kilometers away, beyond what even the best eyes could spot.

After driving around in the city for about ten kilometers and confirming no one was following, the car drove into a large courtyard.

The courtyard belonged to a research institute, occupying a substantial area. Now, it housed several commercial real estate developments, with old and new buildings intermixed, presenting a scene of hodgepodge.

Feng Jun was not in a hurry to follow inside. He drove slowly, confirming that the Spirit Stone had stopped moving before turning into an alley. Inside the car, he changed his clothes and then folded up the vehicle with a flick of his hand.

He found an early-opening breakfast stall nearby, ordered two bowls of porridge and two baskets of steamed buns. He ate unhurriedly before walking towards the courtyard.

The Spirit Stone was hidden on the first floor of an office building, but the building had an access control system that required a card to enter.

Feng Jun had done business in the south before and had long mastered the skill of sneaking into such office buildings. He stood at the door with an umbrella, casually holding a cigarette in his mouth, looking very relaxed.

Before he finished the cigarette, there was a soft click as the door to the office building opened from the inside.

Two men with red eyes came out, looking like coders who had pulled an all-nighter. They completely ignored Feng Jun and went their way.

Wandering inside the building, Feng Jun easily spotted the location of the Spirit Stone, which was in a storage room with a locked door, and no one inside.

He found two cameras that had a view of the storeroom and then noticed that the camera’s power was on a separate circuit. Finding a blind spot, he levitated slightly and snapped the power line.

Then, he approached the door of the storeroom. Since it was a wooden door, his Divine Sense passed through and turned the doorknob.

Once inside the storeroom, he saw a variety of items like rags, vacuum cleaners, light bulbs, wires, cleaning fluid, and even bedding and step ladders, but apart from the step ladder, everything else was new.

It was almost like a warehouse. Seeing this, Feng Jun for some reason thought of the small office he once had at Hongjie, even though he had owned it for only a day.

There were two items from Luohua Manor here, both hidden behind a wooden cabinet: a two-foot-long wooden pole, as thick as the mouth of a bowl, and a Spirit Stone in condensation.

Feng Jun thought it over and didn’t bother to wait around. He headed up the stairs to the surveillance center to see if he could find anything out.

Around ten o’clock, two visitors arrived at an investment company on the seventeenth floor.

This investment company actually specialized in microloans, or to put it bluntly, high-interest loans. Because it had to maintain a corporate image, it also had an office in the building.

The investment company was run by three Tang brothers, none of whom were decent figures in the past, especially Tang Laodi, whose infamy was well-established. After claiming a small iron factory in lieu of debt, and then annexing two more, they made a fortune when steel prices rose sharply.

With money in their pockets, the brothers planned to go legit, which was a wise choice.

But then, they sadly realized that none of them really knew how to do legitimate business. After pondering for two years and unwilling to squander their wealth, they started this investment company.

They didn’t often use their past connections, but when they encountered customers with bad attitudes who didn’t take repayment seriously, employing forceful methods was inevitable.

A few days ago, Tang Laodi took on a job, recruited with a payout to find someone to steal from Luohua Manor.

Tang Laodi felt he had risen above base interests, now playing the role of a financier involved in capital operations. The idea of occasionally using unconventional methods—well, wasn’t Wall Street filled with financiers also not saints?

But the client offered a high price, throwing out a million upfront and promising another ten million in capital investment once the job was done.

As a financier, how could he refuse the profit? Nor could he fail to understand the concept of funding. So he went for it!

Tang Laoda and Tang Laosan didn’t have much faith in the matter; the owner of Luohua Manor had managed to establish such a large enterprise and definitely was not someone to be trifled with. “We should just stick to finance,” they said, “Why dabble in these petty thefts?”

Tang Laodi insisted, and he believed that if Feng Jun really could come knocking at their door, then it wasn’t too late for them to shift their allegiance to Feng Jun, as long as he could offer more—after all, capital is profit-seeking.

At ten o’clock, the people who came to pick up the goods arrived, and Tang Laodi took them to the storeroom on the first floor. “Here’s what you came for. We have some other items in our possession as well, but only after the balance is settled and another ten million is transferred can you get the rest.”

He had already received a deposit of six hundred thousand, but he had also lost quite a bit in this trade: two underlings—one dead, one injured—and a second-hand pickup truck wrecked beyond repair. So, he decided to withhold some of the goods.

The two who came saw a log and a stone and immediately flew into a rage, “Six hundred thousand, Boss Tang, and you come up with this stuff?”

“Not six hundred thousand, one million… you have to give another four hundred thousand,” Tang Laodi said firmly, “You can forget about taking these two items if you don’t settle the balance. Do you understand? We’ve had two people killed, one seriously injured, and a car destroyed just to get these things.”

In reality, another death had been someone his underling had found, but of course, he had to count it as his own loss.

“I don’t care about what you’re saying,” the visitor shook his head and answered with a cold laugh, “It’s not my concern whether people died or not. I just want to know, do you think a broken stone and a piece of wood are worth it?”

Tang Laodi took a deep breath and patiently explained, “Well, let’s put aside this log for now and just talk about this stone—it’s truly priceless. I’ve had it appraised: the mist in Luohua Manor comes from this stone…”

“If you feel it’s not suitable, then we must consider our negotiations failed, and I won’t refund the advance payment. The deal ends here.”

Actually, he wasn’t sure what the deal with the stone was, but that underling had said that Luohua Manor’s staff guaranteed the stone was a rare treasure, so he advertised it as such.

Since he had already received six hundred thousand and had sent people to steal it, he had no guilty conscience. If the other party couldn’t appreciate its value, that was the end of it.

The visitor hesitated for a moment, “Then let me take this stone first. If it works out, I’ll pay you the four hundred thousand for the log. What do you say?”

“I don’t think so,” Tang Laodi flatly refused, “I can sell this stone for five million.”

After much haggling, the visitor took out another two hundred thousand and left with the stone.

Tang Laodi returned to his office and let out a sigh, “Dammit, such hard work for eight hundred thousand… Business is really tough these days.”

“It is indeed tough,” a voice came through, “A stone worth over eighty million, and you just sold it for eight hundred thousand.”

“Who?” Tang Laodi turned his head only to find the door to the break room opened by a medium-built man wearing sunglasses who stepped out.

Having truly seen the world, after a brief stun, he managed a slight smile, “Brother, you seem to know a lot about stones as well?”

“How could I not know?” the man in sunglasses also cracked a slight smile, “I’m from Luohua Manor… Don’t touch the button under the table, I’ve already poured the coffee.”

Tang Laodi was momentarily stunned, then forced a dry laugh, “Brother, you seem to have a bit of a misunderstanding about me?”

“No misunderstanding,” said the man in sunglasses as he casually sat down on the sofa and took out a cigarette, flinging it across to Tang Laodi, “Here, have a smoke, let’s talk slowly.”

The cigarette flew across and hovered in the air right in front of Tang Laodi, motionless, with the filter facing down.

For a full half minute, Tang Laodi stared at the spectacle before reaching out to flick the cigarette in front of him.

With a flick of his finger, the cigarette changed directions, but it refused to fall.

Tang Laodi looked around it for quite some time, his expression strange.

“Should I light it for you?” the man in sunglasses said with a chuckle. Then, the lighter on Tang Laodi’s desk slowly rose as well.

Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down Tang Laodi’s forehead.

He steadied himself, grabbed the cigarette, lit it with the lighter, and then let go, letting the lighter drop onto the desk.

He took a deep drag from the cigarette, then another, before raising his hand and forcefully shoving the table in front of him.

Everything on the desk—computer and all—clattered onto the carpet, but he didn’t care about any of that; he fell to his knees with a thud, “Big brother, great lord, immortal… I was wrong, I’m not even human, please spare me this once.”

Could I possibly spare you? Feng Jun sneered in his heart. With my Divine Sense exposed to you, if you don’t die, who will?

He had never had a high opinion of loan sharks, and since they dared to meddle with his forbidden territory, their fate was sealed.

He smirked slightly, then nodded, “Tell me, who was it and through what channels did they reach you? If you can explain clearly, I might consider letting you off… it’s better to settle enmity than to prolong it.”