Chapter 694 564: Probing
Qu Jianlei listened to the other party's explanation and then walked a bit further, discovering an unmanned off-road vehicle parked there.
Upon inquiry, it turned out the off-road vehicle belonged to the owner of the nearby small shop.
He entered the small shop to negotiate with the shop owner and rented the off-road vehicle—stationary—for four hours at the cost of twenty silver coins.
The shop owner was actually reluctant to rent it out, but since it was idle anyway, why offend a C-level Warrior?
Qu Jianlei bought a relatively cheap drink and placed it on the car's roof.
He didn't know why, but while doing this, he felt a bit strange, always wanting to buy the most expensive one to place on the roof.
If an ugly woman takes the drink, should I let her get in the car... Ugh, what am I thinking?
An hour passed, and no one showed interest.
Two hours passed, and still no one showed interest.
As the third hour began, someone finally came but asked what services he could provide.
It turned out that middlemen noticed this person was new and had been ignored for a long time, so they wanted to come up and initiate business.
Qu Jianlei didn't respond, just stared coldly at the other party, and half a minute later, the person backed off.
A minute later, someone came to ask about pricing, and this time it was legitimate business—a bodyguard.
Someone came to this chaotic place to hire a bodyguard? Qu Jianlei felt this was as unreliable as winning five million in a lottery.
Next would be transferring money to Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
But he couldn't outright refuse. It was rare for someone to make an inquiry, "One day for ten thousand... and cover meals!"
"Ten thousand?" The inquirer was a middle-aged man... somewhat older, so surprised that he showed all 32 of his teeth.
Every tooth was clean and well-aligned, clearly well-maintained—definitely a wealthy person.
"Friend, C-level Warriors don't usually charge that rate."
"That's my rate," Qu Jianlei replied indifferently—you can hire me if you want or not.
"But..." The man pointed to the drink on the car's roof, thoroughly speechless—you are average at best!
"Yes," Qu Jianlei nodded, looking at him with ease, "I've already offered a very low price, be appreciative."
"This..." The man hesitated before speaking, "Can you leave your watch number? I need to go back and consult."
"No," Qu Jianlei calmly looked at him, "Employers provide communication devices, my watch number is personal privacy."
The man's forehead started to sweat, "But without a watch number, how can I coordinate hiring details with you?"
Qu Jianlei spread his hands, "Sorry, that's your problem. For me, you'd better decide on the spot!"
If you can't decide on the spot, then stop nagging—everyone is busy, right?
"Huh?" The man was dumbfounded at his words—is this your business negotiation attitude?
At this moment, a voice came through his miniature earpiece, "Ask him what the cost would be for failing."
Upon hearing this, Qu Jianlei shook his head, "Cost? There's no cost... My life is the most expensive cost!"
Though, he didn't really believe his own words.
He could incur a cost to help friends, but for a bodyguard... especially for a complete stranger?
The crucial part is the mysterious purpose—risking his life would be foolish.
The earpiece voice spoke again, "Haha, interesting, ask him... will he be responsible for his words?"
Facing this question, Qu Jianlei nodded without hesitation, "Yes!"
He might be responsible, but what's the problem? At worst, he would change his disguise and bounce back.
"Haha, you're really daring to talk nonsense," the earpiece voice sneered, "not a shred of sincerity."
"But it doesn't matter, agree with him, one day for ten thousand is nothing."
The man steadied himself before speaking, "Alright, besides that, do you have any other requirements?"
You'd better be sensible, if you have more demands, I'll have to decline you.
"There's one more requirement..." Qu Jianlei pondered before speaking, "Get me a temporary residence permit!"
"Temporary residence permit..." The man nearly spat blood, "You want a bodyguard without a residence permit... how can customers trust you?"
Qu Jianlei didn't respond to his doubts, explaining means covering up, and covering up means it's true.
After waiting for a while, the man finally understood, "I get it, you actually don't want to take this job."
"Exactly," Qu Jianlei sneered, "In Gunman Valley, how many don't have a temporary residence permit—aren't you aware?"
"But you're doing it on purpose!" The man's face darkened—such a big deal, using a residence permit as an excuse?
No need to cooperate with such an unreliable person!
Nevertheless, the voice in the earpiece said, "Agree with him, haha... Doesn't want to wade into muddy waters? He has no choice!"
At the same time, Qu Jianlei was answering, "I never intended to be a bodyguard, it's you trying to discuss business with me."
"Since you're looking for a bodyguard, surely you have a strong enemy, right?"
"For such a small amount of money, making such a huge enemy, is it worth it? Of course, you'd help me get a residence permit."
"His words weren't wrong, but the man almost spat out blood, 'You call this a small amount of money?'
"'Is it a lot?' Qu Jianlei asked in confusion, 'It's not even a million a day.'
He was really being restrained when he said this, he made a million more than ten times a day, and several times a day he made ten million.
The man was stunned and looked at him as if he were an idiot.
After a while, he slowly nodded, 'Alright, I agree with you, shall we go now?'
Qu Jianlei nodded indifferently, 'Sure, let's go.'
Even though the opponent's communication earphones were hidden, could they hide from him?
He jumped off the car and followed the man, but the shop owner walked out, stared dazedly at his car, and was stunned for a full three minutes.
Then he dialed a watch number, 'Third Brother, come to my shop entrance tomorrow, there's a good deal...'
'I'll leave a bottle of drink in my car then... Don't worry, you're a C-level too, there's big money to be made!'
The man saw Qu Jianlei follow into his own car and was a bit perplexed, 'Why aren't you driving your car?'
'That's a rental car, twenty bucks for four hours,' Qu Jianlei yawned lazily, 'Disappointed?'
'You can break the contract, we haven't signed yet, I'm indifferent.'
However, even the foolish man detected something strange about the opponent. The Imperial Civilization had developed to the point where popular novels were very trendy.
Just like on Blue Star, not only Divine Land had The Eagle Shooter and Heaven Sword, the West also had the Count of Monte Cristo, which adult doesn't have a child's heart?
He smirked, 'With such a big deal, did you see the shop owner's covetous look? Why are you so resistant?'
'Because this is chump change for me,' Qu Jianlei spoke lazily, 'Plus, I hate people probing me.'
The man was instantly at a loss for words, and after a long while asked, 'Did you know the intermediary was sent by me?'
He understood the opponent's mindset a little better now, no wonder he offered such a price.
To the uninformed, it seemed the intermediary couldn't resist probing, Qu Jianlei refused, and then the observing person finally placed an order.
But in fact, the probing by that intermediary was orchestrated by this man!
If the probing failed, it wasn't a big deal, just normal business cooperation, success or failure didn't really matter.
Business, as long as the losses are controlled within manageable limits, it's all good.
If the probing succeeded, then he would come forward with an invitation.
This still wouldn't cause too much association - it's normal for more than one party to have eyes on Qu Jianlei, someone throwing out an olive branch first is normal.
However, it was a bit awkward for the probed target to point it out on their own.
But from another angle, it also meant that this person truly had some skills.
'I don't know anything,' Qu Jianlei replied calmly, 'nor do I know if you have earphones in your ear.'
With these words, the man directly shut up, as for his subordinate, a C-level Water Attribute, was silent too.
The earphones didn't transmit any more sound.
The car sent Qu Jianlei to a courtyard in the North Suburb, the yard wasn't large, only a bit over 20,000 square meters.
In the yard stood three small buildings, one main and two secondary, the main building was nine stories tall but did not cover much area, somewhat resembling Gothic architecture.
In the courtyard, there were eight ancient trees, at least four to five hundred years old, combined with old buildings and mottled bark giving a heavy historical feel.
Without getting out of the car, Qu Jianlei felt there were at least 200 people in the yard, surprisingly... there was an A-level?
He had killed many A-levels, seen even more, but having an A-level at home and still hiring C-level is a logic he didn't quite understand.
But, misunderstanding doesn't matter, the contract isn't signed yet, right?
After getting off the car, the middle-aged man led him into the main building, to a room on the first floor.
Inside the room were two people, one was a B-level Earth Attribute, the other was a female Modified Warrior.
Seeing the middle-aged man enter, the B-level Warrior stood and greeted, 'Ford Supervisor.'
This person had originally been reclining against the sofa but got up to greet a Modified Warrior, proving the middle-aged man held a high position.
The man nodded toward him, 'Hello, Stone Pillar, are you working the night shift?'
Stone Pillar nodded, 'Just here to get equipment, we're short two Assault Mechas, and we need five drones.'
Ford Supervisor nodded slightly, then looked at the female Modified Warrior, 'Lina, prepare an employment contract.'
Lina glanced at Qu Jianlei and took out a form, 'Name?'
'Bursting Arrow,' Qu Jianlei answered promptly, it's normal to have such a nickname with a Gold Attribute.
Originally he thought of using a name like 'Steel Shield,' but realized that's more about guarding, so he gave up.
He didn't want to become a meat shield upfront, emphasizing damage is the proper path.
Lina looked up again and helplessly glanced at him, 'Real name.'
'Real name...' Qu Jianlei spread his hands, 'That depends on what's listed on the temporary residence permit your gang arranges.'
'Hm?' This answer not only caused Lina and Stone Pillar to look over, but even Ford glanced at him in surprise.
(Updated, calling for monthly tickets, subscriptions, and recommendation tickets.)