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墨書 Inktalez
It was indeed Xiao Ting who came in. She was still dressed as she had been yesterday, the only difference being that her long hair was tied back into a ponytail, making her look much fresher. I gestured for her to sit at the other end of the sofa while I returned to my previous position. At that moment, I noticed a detail: there was an ashtray in front of me with a half-burned cigarette inside. Just moments ago, it had been right in front of Fatty, but now it had shifted positions. I shot Fatty a meaningful glance; he was sitting casually, but his posture was no longer as reckless as before.
I quickly understood why Fatty had lost his temper earlier. The anger inside me flared up; I really wanted to kick him out for being such a nuisance. Did he think he could compete with me? While I wouldn’t dare call myself handsome or charming, at least I could hold my own. In front of Jack, who was a real heartthrob, I felt inferior. But Fatty? He was someone people avoided; his competitiveness was practically negative. What right did he have to act tough?
Xiao Ting greeted each of us as she entered, and when she saw Fatty, a look of disdain flashed in her eyes. At that moment, I deliberately glanced at Fatty, sending him a clear message: you know your standing in the goddess's eyes now, so give up on any delusions.
Fatty shot me a glare but said nothing. However, I could tell he was not in high spirits; whether it was due to Jack's earlier remarks or Xiao Ting's piercing gaze, he remained silent.
As soon as Xiao Ting settled down, she unexpectedly said, "We need to move up our plans; we have to go to Xi'an first." Having just received Jack's vague explanation, hearing Xiao Ting's abrupt statement made me chuckle inwardly. Was she trying to seize control? Ever since Jack joined the team, he had taken the lead in this matter; Xiao Ting was merely a pawn he used to coerce me into participating. Moreover, the financial oversight lay in his hands; the funds for this operation would be substantial—definitely not something I could manage with just two antiques. If AE didn’t send higher-level personnel, Jack would hold the ultimate authority over this operation.
Jack and I exchanged glances, and I noticed a similar disdainful smile in his eyes. Suddenly, the sofa shook slightly—only Fatty could cause such movement. It seemed that he was both surprised and shocked by this proposal. I imagined his greatest concern was the fifty thousand USD owed by Ransom; if plans changed and he missed out on that money, he would surely be furious. However, Fatty merely leaned forward to glance at Xiao Ting before sitting back down.
I wasn’t anxious; in fact, I felt that changes presented more opportunities to speak up. Xiao Ting seemed rushed as she caught her breath after walking quickly and realized that despite our polite demeanor, no one was picking up on her cue. Unable to contain herself any longer, she continued, "I contacted one of my dad's students who participated in the last search and rescue operation for missing persons. He should have the latest information and is currently resting in Xi'an. We need to find him before he gets assigned a new mission; he promised to provide us with some information."
There were undoubtedly falsehoods in Xiao Ting’s words; like Jack, she knew more than she let on. If she had contacted someone knowledgeable, she could have gotten information over the phone without needing to make the trip to Xi'an. Her real aim was likely related to team assignments—the group going to Xi'an would definitely be heading into the desert. This excuse gave her justification for wanting to join that team. However, I had already decided last night not to obstruct her from entering the desert; since Fatty and I needed to save people, we couldn’t spare anyone for the desert mission anyway.
With Jack being an expert in Desert Archaeology, simply searching for traces of Xiao Guolin and others wouldn’t pose much risk. Jack stood up and dragged a chair from behind the desk over to the coffee table. He shrugged at me and said, "When it comes to specific action plans, I'll defer to Mr. Zhang; you make the decisions." I knew this was just politeness—no matter how I decided things would go forward without his financial backing.
I didn’t want to dwell on these details and nodded with a smile: "Since we have information, we should act quickly. In that case, we need to reassign teams; Song Gang is more familiar with Guangxi while Xiao Ting is our contact for desert information—they definitely shouldn’t be on the same team." The remaining question was which team Jack and I would join; "Mr. Jack," I said casually, "you’re probably better suited for the desert."
"Okay, I'm fine with that," Jack replied easily.
"Great! I'll go with Song Gang to Guangxi while you go with Xiao Ting to Xi'an. Stay in touch." After saying this, I glanced at Xiao Ting before turning my gaze back to Jack: "Xiao Ting doesn’t have much experience in desert operations; take good care of her."
Jack nodded confidently. "No problem; that's what I'm good at." Although my face wore a smile, my heart felt uneasy. I hoped his expertise lay in taking care of people rather than chasing after girls.
Just as we finalized our decision, Xiao Ting pulled out her phone and hurriedly booked tickets. When I heard she was booking flights for today, Jack muttered something under his breath before jumping up and rushing into his room to pack.
I understood Xiao Ting’s feelings; it was impressive that she had managed to hold herself together without breaking down until now.
Jack soon emerged dragging a suitcase behind him and then went back for a large cardboard box. He turned to me and said, "This box needs to be stored at your place for a while; I'm not sure how long we'll be gone so we need to vacate the room."
"Sure," I replied. "I also need something else: since we'll be operating separately for some time without meeting up easily, I'll need some operational funds—preferably ample."
"Okay," Jack said as he pulled out a checkbook. "How much do you need?"
"Um... fifty thousand USD."
Jack paused mid-sentence as he looked up at me. Our gazes met in mid-air; despite my inner anxiety not showing even a hint on my face, Jack’s eyes revealed complex emotions—it was clear that this amount exceeded his expectations.
"K." After a brief moment of eye contact, Jack spoke.
To my surprise, Jack did not question the use of the funds and simply handed me a check. Many of the phrases I had prepared went unused. However, when he passed me the check, I noticed that the smile on Jack's face was forced.
I was unsure of the extent of Jack's authority, but if our plan to use this money for a ransom were to be exposed, it was easy to imagine the fury he would face from the Big Boss. However, I couldn't afford to worry about that right now; besides, it would be Jack who would have to deal with the Big Boss in the future, not me. Even if it came back to haunt me, I could easily explain that the person we were ransoming was crucial to our operations.
I also had no concerns about them demanding repayment from me, nor did I feel any psychological burden regarding it. Although they had been financially supporting my activities over the years, their true intentions were becoming increasingly unclear to me. One thing was certain: they were plotting against me. This money could be seen as a form of compensation or perhaps even my revenge.
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