32. Information Worth a Million

Page 1 of 3

P.S. Some details cannot be written yet.

…

After spending a night with Gong’s younger sister, Chen Ze kept her occupied for two full days before finally earning a little breathing room.

He slipped on his Cartier sunglasses. As the car door opened from the outside, his white shoe stepped onto the pavement.

After straightening his clothes, he headed toward an upscale Japanese restaurant, followed by two hulking bodyguards.

Chen Ze had changed his outfit today: a black shirt, black straight-cut trousers, white Louis Vuitton sneakers, and a Boucheron Facette necklace hanging from his open collar—a counterfeit.

On his hand was a fashionable vintage ring that looked every bit as luxurious as the real thing. His left ear bore a glittering red-agate alloy clip-on earring, a cheap street-stall trinket that had cost less than two dollars.

A large string of black beads circled his right wrist, while a black tattoo ran across his arm just below the web between thumb and forefinger, lending him an air of mystery and sensuality.

Aside from his clothes, shoes, and sunglasses, which were genuine luxury goods, even the Richard Mille watch on his wrist was fake.

The lifelike tattoo was fake as well.

Yet truth and falsehood were hopelessly intertwined.

The moment he stepped out of the long-wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom, everything written on him was the word “truth.”

Actually…

The yellow Beijing-plated Phantom cost 88,000 yuan a week.

The Beijing-plated Mercedes-Benz S450L cost 3,000 yuan a day.

Each burly bodyguard cost 2,000 yuan a day.

Chen Ze had rented one Phantom, three Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans, and six bodyguards, all for a week.

The exact amount he had spent could be calculated easily.

The bodyguards were not money wasted. The door-opening service alone was worth every penny to anyone who had experienced it.

Chen Ze entered the Japanese restaurant in grand style. Seeing the imposing procession, the attendant at the entrance hurriedly pulled open the door.

“Sir, how many in your party?”

“Wang.”

Chen Ze had reserved the meal the previous day. A female server quickly led them into a private room decorated in an unmistakably Japanese style.

He removed his shoes and stepped inside. After surveying the neither-large-nor-small room, he dropped heavily onto one of the cushions.

Chen Ze rarely ate Japanese food. In his memories, he had dined with two girls in Yangcheng and Yanjing before, but those had been omakase meals. This was his first time experiencing a private room.

As the dishes arrived, he selected a pair of chopsticks from the pile and a cup from the heap of glasses.

He did not choose any alcohol.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

When the wooden door outside was tapped, Chen Ze continued eating his salad. Soon, someone carrying a briefcase entered.

Once the newcomer had knelt across from him, Chen Ze placed some wasabi on a piece of white fish, rolled it up, and dipped it lightly into the sauce.

“Make yourself comfortable. If you’re hungry, go ahead.”

Chen Ze glanced over. The woman had a blunt bob haircut, was in her thirties, and was rather short.

After the bodyguards closed the door again, the woman opened her briefcase, took out two sheets of paper, and handed them over.

“Mr. Wang, please look them over.”

Chen Ze finished chewing, studied the unremarkable woman across from him, nodded, and accepted the papers.

He had been back in his second life for seven days.

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

He had spent nearly a million yuan.

Half of that had been extorted by the woman sitting across from him.

In truth, there was nothing remarkable about her. Chen Ze had arranged this show of force today merely as a precaution.

It had taken him considerable effort to locate a business investigation firm that kept a low profile while also operating as a private detective agency.

Most people had never even heard of investigation firms. The quality within the industry varied wildly, and it was not a field one should enter lightly.

Especially when an agency refused to show its face openly—more often than not, there was an element of fraud involved. Such people were not to be trusted easily.

Chen Ze had learned about these agencies in his previous life through his dealings with online media. They were mysterious, in a way.

For example, they could help investigate evidence of a lover’s infidelity.

If you had money, there would always be someone willing to turn the millstone for you.

The last time, Chen Ze had asked them to investigate every detail concerning Bangyuan Real Estate and Gong Yaowu. Their initial asking price had been 200,000 yuan.

In the end, they had raised the price to 500,000 yuan on the spot. Damn them—they had clearly decided he was an easy mark.

After spending that 500,000 yuan, Chen Ze had briefly considered opening a business investigation firm himself. It had been nothing short of daylight robbery.

Still, the information had been worth the money. He had even begun a second collaboration with them to investigate several other matters.

Of course, a business investigation firm was not omnipotent. Even by improper means, there were things they could not uncover.

For instance, whether Gong Bingyan was a hidden shareholder. Unless they kidnapped her and forced the answer out of her, there was no way to find out.

Chen Ze had still owed them a final payment of 300,000 yuan from the previous investigation. This meeting was for the handover of their second assignment.

The starting price had been 200,000 yuan, but the actual value of the information still had to be negotiated in person.

In truth, they simply wanted to bleed Chen Ze again.

“How much do you want this time?”

Chen Ze studied the information they had uncovered. Excitement stirred in his heart, but he concealed it and asked in English.

The woman showed no intention of picking up her chopsticks. Kneeling formally before him, she replied in equally polished English:

“Eight hundred thousand.”

“How much?”

Chen Ze was genuinely stunned.

Did these people think money grew on trees?

“Eight hundred thousand. The balance.”

The woman spoke again in an icy tone.

Chen Ze was speechless. How had they managed to add another 200,000 yuan?

Two hundred thousand as a deposit and eight hundred thousand as the balance.

A few scraps of information for a total of one million yuan?

If Chen Ze had possessed the time, experience, tools, and manpower, would he have needed them at all?

“Mr. Wang, you should understand. We could exchange this information for something worth far more. But you were our first client, and we still have principles.”

The woman spoke again. Her features were ordinary, but her words were cold as frost.

She had just handed Chen Ze two sheets of paper that gave a rough outline of what they had discovered.

There was no evidence on them. The evidence might have been in the woman’s possession—or it might not. What he had been given was merely a summary.

Chen Ze felt a chill in his heart and winced inwardly at the price. Yet after several seconds of silence, he suddenly smiled.

“Then what makes you think this information is worth a million yuan to me? In my opinion, it’s not worth that at all.”

As he spoke, he tossed the papers onto the tatami, picked up his chopsticks again, and began eating with complete composure.

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

“If you believe it’s worth that much, then there’s nothing left to discuss. You can try your luck.”

A shadow of bitter chill flashed through the woman’s eyes. Her hands clenched tightly, but there was nothing she could do.

They did not know why Chen Ze wanted this information. Without a weakness to exploit, they had no way to pressure him.

The young man across from her was cunning. The last time he had received their information, he had remained utterly calm. This time, his face was just as expressionless.

The information from the two investigations was somewhat connected, but not closely. Somehow, that made him impossible to read.

What exactly was so difficult to read?

It was like asking about both a dismemberment case and a throat-slitting case. Perhaps one of the two cases existed merely to mislead them.

Perhaps he truly wanted only one thing.

To make it impossible for them to tell what he really wanted.

“Then, Mr. Wang, what do you think?”

Seeing Chen Ze quietly continue eating, the woman finally compromised and cast him a pleading look.

She had not been lying. With this information and the evidence, they could extort far more money.

But the risks would be greater, and selling it to someone else was far safer. Besides, the organization’s principle was never to become involved in such affairs.

“Same as last time. That’s my limit.”

Chen Ze took a sip of soup. Behind his sunglasses, he stared at the woman without the slightest concern.

Under the table, she clenched both fists. After half a minute of silence, she finally gritted her teeth.

“Deal.”

Chen Ze set down his bowl, picked up a black-and-white cash box from beside him, and turned it upside down after opening it.

“The money—including the balance from last time.”

The woman nodded. At that moment, she straightened up, and the wooden door outside was tapped.

A masked man handed over a briefcase. Before long, the two sides began the exchange: money for goods.

“Wait.”

Chen Ze had no time to examine the documents and evidence in the briefcase before reaching into the cash box and pulling out two bundles of banknotes.

The box measured 42 by 32 by 14 centimeters.

Chen Ze had tested it himself. It could hold roughly 1.2 million yuan in cash. He had placed one million inside.

According to their agreement, he only needed to pay 800,000 yuan, so he took back 200,000 yuan—two thick bundles.

The woman’s eyelids twitched when she saw this. She knew she had suffered a loss, but the deal was already sealed, and there was no way to undo it.

Besides, Chen Ze had bodyguards.

The woman and her companion left without eating a single bite. Once the wooden door had been closed again, Chen Ze began examining the materials.

All told, he had spent one million yuan gathering information—almost half his assets.

Although he still had ten million yuan in his bank account, that money was reserved for starting a business. Even if he managed to bring down Gong Yaowu, the Gong family would not be able to support him with much in the short term.

Every bit he spent made his heart ache.

But it was worth it. With this information, he would have a much better chance of swallowing up Banghe Mansion.

Perhaps it could even solve his cash-flow problems.

Page 3 of 3