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墨書 Inktalez
Jack looked at me with a puzzled expression, shrugged, and pushed a swivel chair behind Xiao Ting, bowing his head with gentlemanly grace. "Please, have a seat, Sister Xiao Ting."
Fatty referred to this kind of Western courtesy as unnecessary flattery. Xiao Ting accepted the gesture calmly and sat down, lightly saying "Thank you."
It seemed impossible to easily dismiss Jack now. My attitude towards AE inevitably reflected on my attitude towards Jack, and I looked at him with a colder gaze. After giving him a deep look, I opened the letter.
The letter was short, and judging by the handwriting, it was likely written by Old Mai. My spoken English was poor, but I could read and write reasonably well—perhaps a byproduct of exam-oriented education. It seemed that to show solidarity, Fatty stood beside me as soon as Jack entered. As I opened the letter, Fatty leaned in to take a look. I held back my irritation and refrained from scolding him in front of others. Fatty had never passed his English class back in school; after so many years away from books, could he still recite the twenty-six letters of the alphabet?
The main points of the letter could be summarized as follows:
First, I was allocated additional funds for the next phase of Archaeology and rescue operations. The amount was quite substantial, allowing me flexibility in its use without needing formal requests, though it required Jack's approval.
Second, which was essentially an extension of the first point: Jack would be joining me in the upcoming operations. The letter included a brief introduction about Jack—holding a Master's degree in Archaeology and being an expert in Desert Archaeology. It specifically mentioned his participation in an excavation at a famous pyramid in Egypt.
Third, I was instructed to set aside all current work to search for Xiao Guolin and others, with a particular emphasis that Xiao Ting must participate.
The tone of the letter was polite but left no room for negotiation, as if this had already been decided long ago and this was merely confirming the details of the operation. Our previous collaboration had followed a different pattern: I would propose an Archaeological Project, submit budget requests to AE headquarters for approval, and upon approval, funds would be disbursed to my studio in batches. During this time, I was required to report on progress and send them bills at various stages. They would sometimes send personnel for assistance based on specific circumstances; sometimes I would request their help, while other times they would contact me to recommend professionals for assistance. However, the key point was that I always held the initiative. This time they had broken from past practices, which I had not anticipated.
I was not someone who could be easily led around by the nose, especially now that I had doubts about AE; I certainly wouldn’t let them dictate this matter. In fact, I needed to reconsider my collaboration with AE to confirm their true intentions. Turning my head, I noticed Fatty blinking his eyes thoughtfully. Damn it, another pretentious person trying to show off; what was he trying to prove? I figured he must be worried about losing face in front of Jack and Xiao Ting.
Ignoring Fatty, I looked up and found Jack had dragged over a chair to sit beside Xiao Ting; they were whispering to each other. A sense of foreboding washed over me—Jack knew the contents of the letter, and from Old Mai's message, it seemed Xiao Ting had been given a significant role. From Jack's actions of engaging with Xiao Ting alone, it appeared they were planning to act independently without me. Moreover, since Xiao Guolin's letter was in Xiao Ting's hands, they had the means for independent action regarding information—especially now that Jack had joined them; their operational capacity seemed assured while my role appeared increasingly diminished.
I couldn't allow Xiao Ting to get involved with this American guy; I immediately made up my mind. "Mr. Jack," I said firmly, "I need to speak with you privately. It's not convenient here; let's step outside." I gestured for Jack to follow me.
"Of course, no problem. I've already explained the situation to Sister Xiao Ting, and we have each other's contact information. We've reached a preliminary consensus. Now it really depends on your attitude; it doesn't matter where we talk, the key is to seize the time. Mr. Xiao Guolin probably won't hold out much longer." Jack shrugged, showing no intention of leaving his chair. He turned to Fatty and continued, "Mr. Song Gang, we've done some research on you, especially your experiences in recent years, which are quite interesting. I hope you can join this operation. Mr. Mai has agreed to pay a six-figure reward, of course in USD."
In front of me, they were blatantly trying to divide my power, and I was instantly furious, crumpling the letter in my hand.
Before I could explode, Fatty spoke up, "Money? Alright, I'm in. But I want you to pay a deposit first; I don't care about your rules—my rule is to get half upfront. Whether the operation succeeds or not is not my concern; you'll pay me the other half once it's over. And we need to clarify exactly how much money we're talking about."
I nearly spat blood after hearing that. This Fat Man was all about money and no regard for life; he flipped sides faster than turning a page, instantly becoming an American lackey.
But that wasn't all; seemingly to deliver an even heavier blow, Fatty walked straight over to Jack after finishing his statement. Damn it, three against one—six eyes were staring at me.
"Mr. Zhang, I don't think it's necessary to go out and talk now; I don't want my teammates to misunderstand anything. There are no secrets between my teammates and me—none now and none in the future. Trust is our guarantee for success in this operation. What I want to know now is whether you plan to join us?"
My head felt like it was about to explode; from Xiao Ting's evasive gaze, I could tell my eyes were probably filled with fury.
Fatty's face showed no hint of guilt; all I felt for this backstabber was anger mixed with contempt. I silently cursed this traitorous Fat Man who forgot loyalty for profit. A stab at the heart.
At that moment, Fatty suddenly winked at me with an affirmative expression. You know, Fatty's face could show a range of emotions, but no matter how he changed his expressions, it was always based on that annoying smirk. I had an impulse to rush over and beat him up right then and there. Fortunately, I had outgrown the impulsive youth phase; despite being furious beyond measure, I suppressed my anger and stared at the three people in front of me. One against three—I was at a significant disadvantage in terms of momentum.
Deep down, I couldn't believe or accept that Fatty would betray me. His earlier hint was clearly meant for me to agree first, but what would happen afterward? Did I really want to take that risk with them? Suddenly, a question struck me: if I didn't agree, would they abandon this operation? Obviously not. But that would put Xiao Ting in a dire situation. Looking at it this way, it seemed I had no choice; to protect Xiao Ting, I had to act with them. It appeared that Fatty had already seen through the key point—he understood me and knew about my agreement with Xiao Guolin; he realized that once Jack appeared, there would be no turning back.
Reluctantly compromising, I said, "I can agree, but the details of the operation and personnel must be decided by me." I did this to protect Xiao Ting from danger.
"Not a problem. I'm here to cooperate with you; you're the boss here," Jack replied casually. But I couldn't see any indication that he truly regarded me as the boss. "I suggest we first take a look at what information Mr. Xiao Guolin has left for us." With that, Jack gestured toward Xiao Ting invitingly.
Xiao Ting Sit down in front of the computer and reinsert the USB drive. I was powerless to object to this matter and could only watch her open the letter from Xiao Guolin. When I opened this letter for the first time, I was eager to transfer the document to another document. I also had to be wary of Xiao Ting peeping and had no time to read the content. This time the mouse is controlled by Xiao Ting, so I can only read the letter honestly. Four heads were crowded in front of the computer, and I was left out at the end. I looked at the computer screen from the gap between Fatty's and Jack's heads. Before Xiao Ting could scroll the mouse, the first sentence in the letter knocked me down. "Song Guilong is still alive, I saw him."
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