Chapter 266 99: Detaining the Hostage
The gold heist yesterday was known all over the city; since the other party is an expert in the field, Xiaotian You wasn't surprised that he was seen through.
He coldly said, "Do your job, keep your curiosity to yourself. One word, will you take it or not?"
The merchant first went over to close the shop door, then stared at the gold on the ground, occasionally glancing at Xiaotian You.
After a while, the merchant said in a deep voice, "My shop funds can't handle this amount. So, I'll first ask the higher-ups."
Xiaotian You: "Hurry up."
The merchant took out a phone and called, "Hello, it's me, there's someone here selling gold, connect me to the boss... Tsk, what's the point of meeting a customer? This deal can't wait!"
"You go straight in, tell the boss it's a very, very big deal, make sure he takes the call."
A half-minute silence.
Soon, the merchant's tone turned respectful: "Boss, there's someone here selling gold, a hundred kilograms, the quality has been verified, it's standard pure gold."
"Origin? Well, considering the quantity and the purity of the gold... mm... mm, yes, melting and reshaping makes no difference, now how about the price?"
The merchant listened to the response on the phone, repeatedly saying "yes" several times, then hung up.
He squinted at Xiaotian You and said, "Brother, I can take it, but you should know about the price, right? Selling in the border region, the price will definitely be lower than in the legitimate shops in the Inner City."
Xiaotian You: "How much exactly?"
Merchant: "200 per gram."
"What the?!" Xiaotian You exploded in anger, "The standard gold price is 500, you saber-toothed tiger quoting 200, is this how you bargain?!"
The merchant, in a softer tone, explained: "Brother, this is gold robbed from a bank, handling it for you carries a huge risk, all that needs to be factored into the cost."
"Now the Inner City has strict controls, there were undercover agents on the black market investigating the gold's whereabouts just this morning, it's risky, you know?"
"You might get a higher price elsewhere, but can you trust it? Aren't you afraid that one day they'll tell on you after getting caught?"
"We are different; the Ashen Gang is professional in this. Our reputation has been solid for years, have you ever heard us getting into trouble?"
"I assure you on behalf of the group, dealing with us, not the slightest hint of wind will leak out. You can't be greedy with fencing stolen goods; stability is key, right?"
What he said made sense.
Losing one's head, safety comes first.
But the price was just too absurdly low.
200 per gram, even selling a ton wouldn't reach 2.7 billion...
Undecided, Xiaotian You could only call his own boss, Ou Chenyu: "It's me, the goods have already reached the border, but there's an issue with the deal."
"The Ashen Gang is pushing the price down hard, saying 200 per gram, what do we say to that?"
Xiaotian You exclaimed a few times, then hung up.
He told the merchant: "400. Lately, the gold market has been skyrocketing, if you get the stock early, you'll profit greatly later, 400 lets you earn."
The merchant, irritated, said: "That price is impossible; it's almost as much as the official gold shops in the Inner City, dreaming?"
"My last offer is 250... this doesn't sound good, 260, take it or leave it, look for someone else if you want, I'm out."
Xiaotian You's facial muscles twitched, with a dark expression, he walked towards the door.
"Click." The door locked behind him.
He turned back, coldly looking at the merchant, as a cybernetic blade flicked from his palm, gleaming coldly.
The merchant, startled, instinctively backed away: "What are you doing? No deal, no need to get angry, right?"
Xiaotian You approached the merchant, suddenly raising the blade.
"Ding!" The clear sound startled the merchant.
The blade pierced through a gold bar, and Xiaotian You lifted it up in front of the merchant, saying heavily: "320! This hundred kilograms is just a starter; we have nearly a ton of gold left."
"Seal this deal, and we'll all sell the rest here. A ton of gold, man, you'll be filthy rich after that."
"320!"
The merchant squinted, deeply looking at Xiaotian You.
Moments later, the merchant slowly reached out, took the gold bar off the blade, clapped it in his palm, and smiled, "320, deal."
Xiaotian You snorted coldly, retracting his blade.
The merchant struggled to drag the bag of gold to the back room, after weighing it, he said: "200 pieces of 500-gram bars, right on, total price 32 million."
He rubbed his hands, revealing a merchant's unique smile: "Brother, you can't simply transfer such a large amount directly to your account, right? Need laundering services? We have someone, you've been a regular customer, it'll be cheaper for you."
Xiaotian You: "No need to transfer to our account, just open your computer."
The merchant opened the computer, asking, "What's the deal?"
Xiaotian You entered a website, logging into a page.
The merchant leaned in to see, it was a well-known donation site, with many public donation projects on it.
Xiaotian You opened a project called "Save the Great Philanthropist," aimed at raising funds for the legal defense of Lucio Libetong, target amount 2.7 billion.
Page views: 1 million+
Donors: 17
Total donations received: 1.7 moon coins
Comments: 100,000+
Clicking open the comments, they were filled with unbearable insults, cursing the project's initiators and wishing them death.
Xiaotian You pointed at the screen, "Log in with different IPs on different accounts, just deposit the money in batches into this project."
"Lucio..." the merchant muttered the name, suddenly realizing something, glancing sideways at Xiaotian You.
He thought: Lucio got caught, those willing to save him must be those close normally, so the gold must have been handled by the saber-toothed guys.