Chapter 80
Mike was startled and quickly reassured him:
"Cousin, if everyone loses face, then it's the same as not losing face. No one will mention this matter."
Richard was furious upon hearing this, his eyes widening in anger:
"Damn it, are you trying to teach me how to do things?"
"No, no, cousin. It's just that Beatrix is dead, and everyone will suspect you. It'll be difficult."
"Where's that couple? They look impressive, who are they?"
Richard's father attended the last internal meeting held at the Royal Hotel. He had only heard of this formidable figure but had never seen him in person.
"They're both Messenger from Penguin Logistics, one named Zhongli and the other Texas. Cousin, they have powerful connections, you'd better not mess with them."
Richard hates being lectured, and he reiterates:
"I'm saying this one last time, don't tell me what to do!"
Mike opened his mouth, but chose to stop in time.
Children like my cousin, living in luxury, are deeply influenced by Victoria aristocratic culture. They live in the Pantalone areas of the Core City, where everything from food and clothing to housing and transportation is taken care of by servants, completely detached from the lives of the lower classes.
Mike remembered that a while ago, an uncle who lived in the Core City had a conflict with Zhongli.
Perhaps because mailing packages is usually handled by the Butler, he had no idea what kind of entity Penguin Logistics he had provoked. He sent over three hundred people to cause trouble, and they were almost all wiped out.
I heard that Zhongli summoned Catastrophe Meteorite, and even summoned three in a row, which smashed more than 300 people to pieces, clearly showing signs of deliberate exaggeration.
Mike didn't believe Zhongli was that good, but judging from his performance today, he must have some skills.
Suddenly, a wicked plan came to mind.
"Cousin, how about we hire a hitman?"
If he successfully eliminates Zhongli, all the credit will go to him. If the assassination fails and the plot is exposed, he can pin the blame on Richard. With Richard's fiery temper, he simply can't win an argument with him.
Ideally, he'd provoke Zhongli into a fit of rage and kill Richard. Richard was his father's only beloved son, and his wife had died years ago; he hadn't remarried. Then, heartbroken, he might be able to be adopted into Richard's family.
Even if there's no chance of adoption, killing my cousin would be better than nothing. Serving as Richard's dog is bound to lead to trouble sooner or later. It's time to make some plans for the family.
Richard was taken aback at first, then overjoyed:
"An assassin? Great! Do you know anyone? I'm willing to pay any price to achieve our goal."
Before Mike became the company's chairman, he lived in the Lower City for a long time and knew many people in the underworld.
He ran to the door to retrieve his phone and dialed an old friend's number. After several twists and turns, he finally got the assassin organization's phone number. To prevent being traced later, Mike even went downstairs to buy a few phone cards.
The assassin organization in Lungmen operates with extreme discretion, making them virtually unseen by ordinary people. After paying a deposit, they provide a ranking list of assassins based on their performance.
The list shows the number of completed orders and the success rate, but does not provide a comparison of their abilities. However, each hitman has a biographical introduction to help employers make a selection.
There are only 38 people on the list. Completing two orders is enough to rank you 20th, so it seems there aren't many people in this industry.
"Choose the first one, and hit from top to bottom."
Urged on by Richard, Mike used the new card to call the top-ranked assassin on the leaderboard:
"Hey, can you kill two people for me?"
His voice was very low, as if he was deliberately lowering his voice:
"Who?"
"Zhongli and Texas of Penguin Logistics."
"..."
The other party hung up the phone immediately.
I called several more times, but the result was the same. The hitman hung up, saying he wasn't taking any more jobs.
When I asked the tenth question, I was even scolded:
Are you fucking crazy?
Richard's temper flared instantly, and he was about to retort with a string of insults when the other party immediately hung up. When he tried to call back, the phone was switched off.
This completely drove him to his wits' end, and he complained:
"Damn it, are you even capable of this?"
Mike quickly calmed Richard down and dialed the number of the assassin organization's leader:
"You hitmen are so unreliable! You hung up after only a couple of words. ***, give me my money back!"
The person in charge realized this was a very difficult task, and after a moment's hesitation, suggested:
"We recently got a formidable guy here, codenamed 'Hammer King,' who has an outstanding track record of taking on three gangs single-handedly without any outside help. He doesn't care about the pay when he takes a job, but he requires that the target be a guilty criminal."
Richard immediately became interested, thinking that a guy who could take on three gangs single-handedly must be incredibly strong.
Not weak:
"He's the one!"
The Troubles of Mudrock
The Troubles of Mudrock 129
March 2nd, 0:30 pm
After patrolling their assigned area, the infected individuals from the Mudrock belt would return to their base for lunch around noon.
After dinner, she would go to the Clay Sculpture room on the third floor. She would take off her hazmat suit and put down the large iron sledgehammer. She would sit next to the full-body Stone Statues of Shi Lei and hug its thighs with both hands.
Only in this way can she feel at ease.
At the end of last year, specifically at the end of December 1094, V and a girl developed Originium-related illness. They didn't have the money to buy inhibitors, and it was thanks to the selfless help of Lord Shi Lei that V's Originium was removed from his limbs, escaping his life-threatening situation.
The girl's Originium-related illness were relieved only through inhibitors sold on the black market. Lin Yuxia helped pay for this, leaving Mudrock indebted to the Lin family for 300,000 Lungmen Dollars.
This debt of gratitude must be repaid.
Later, Lin Yuxia's father approached her, hoping she would manage the infected members of the gang. He offered her a monthly salary of 150,000 yuan, which would allow her to pay off her debts in two months.
However, more than two months have passed since then. Even if February only has 28 days, adding the two days of March should be enough. But Lin Gerei hasn't contacted her, as if he's forgotten about it.
Whether he will hire me in the future is still unknown. I need to find an opportunity to have a serious talk with him in the next few days.
On the day of the Spring Festival, Shi Lei accepted the loyalty of Mudrock and her mercenaries, and also infused her with extra power. It's only been a little over thirty days, but the training results have been incredibly exaggerated, almost like being on drugs.
The 'Child of Earth and Stone' race possesses a unique Originium Arts that allow them to generate shields on their bodies, resisting most types of damage, including Magic Attack.
Previously, it took 9 seconds to regenerate a new shield after it broke. But now it has been reduced to about 7 seconds, and the time is still decreasing.
Perhaps in the future, he will be able to obtain a shield that provides full coverage, just like Shi Lei, which will greatly improve his survivability.
In addition, the Mudrock colossi that require the sacrifice of life to create have significantly reduced wear and tear after cultivation.
She has created a giant red statue to guard the outpost, ensuring the safety of the mercenaries and the infected mother and daughter while she is away.
Mudrock had been training in Kazdel for so many years that she had long since hit a bottleneck, and her strength was increasing slowly. Unexpectedly, Lord Shi Lei sharing even a little of his abilities allowed her to break through her original limits and advance several levels.
Perhaps one day I will be able to restore the glory of the 'Child of Earth and Stone', but that's all in the future.
Mudrock prefers quiet, and now whenever he has free time, he comes to the Clay Sculpture room to sit for a long time. He relieves the emptiness in his heart by hugging the life-size Stone Statues of Lord Shi Lei.
But Stone Statues are cold, while people are warm.
She longed to stay by Shi Lei's side as much as possible, to experience the feeling of being filled with energy both physically and mentally.
For Mudrock, who was starting from scratch, achieving this goal wasn't easy. After paying off his debt of 300,000 Lungmen Dollars, he began raising money.
Buying the warehouse next to Shi Lei's, plus renovation and furniture costs, would require approximately 800,000 to 900,000 yuan. It's difficult, but Mudrock is willing to work towards it.
A few days ago, she heard about the assassin organization from the infected people she managed. In order to make quick money, she registered and was even given the code name 'Hammer King'.
Mudrock kept Officer Chen's teachings in mind and would not do anything immoral. The amount of reward didn't matter, but the target had to be a wicked person who had committed heinous crimes.
Perhaps it was because of these stringent conditions that she didn't close a single deal in the half-month since she registered.
"Knock knock knock".
Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.
Who is it?
"Boss, it's me, V."
Mudrock reluctantly got up and went to open the door.
V knew that there was a life-size Stone Statues of Shi Lei in the Clay Sculpture room, which was not a secret within the stronghold.
As her subordinates, they couldn't really comment on their boss's behavior of often staying inside and talking to the Stone Statues. All they could do was knock before going in, giving her enough time to react.
Mudrock opened the door and blocked the entrance with his body:
"Is there something you need?"
"The infected people under your care came and said that Old Mr. Lin has invited them."
"Okay, I understand. You may leave now."
She turned and gazed at the Stone Statues for a moment before locking the door.
March 2nd, 1:10 pm
Mudrock arrived at the Lin family mansion and followed the infected person to the hall, where he met Lin Gerei, the underground emperor of the Slums.
Both knew what they had come here to discuss, so the Rat King cut to the chase:
"Miss Mudrock, your performance over the past two months has been remarkable, and the infected have spoken highly of you. If you haven't found a better job yet, how about continuing to help me manage them? The salary will remain the same as before, 150,000 Lungmen Dollars per month."
Lin Gerei said this because he was certain that Mudrock wouldn't find a better job. While praising him, he also tried to win him over and keep him under his wing long-term.
Mudrock did not immediately agree
He silently calculated in his mind. Buying the warehouse would cost 900,000, requiring him to work for six months without eating or drinking at his current salary.
It will take half a year to move to Lord Shi Lei's side, which is 180 days, a total of 4320 hours.
It's been too long...
Mudrock is working very hard to save money, but progress is very slow. She wishes she could move next door to Lord Shi Lei immediately, but reality doesn't allow it.
"Could you raise the price a little more?"
Lin Gerei stroked his beard and smiled, staring at the slightly nervous Sarkaz girl before him. She had eight infected mothers and daughters to support, all of whom were unemployed. Perhaps they were only taking in money and not giving it out, feeling the pressure of life.
"Your performance these past few days has been evident to everyone, and those infected people are very impressed with you. As long as you can maintain this level of work performance, I'll raise your monthly salary to 200,000. How about that? If there are any assigned tasks, the remuneration will be calculated separately."
The Lower City is not under the jurisdiction of the Lungmen Guard Department, so salaries are tax-free. In Lungmen, a monthly salary of 200,000 NTD after tax is considered quite good. Some senior executives in Upper City companies might not even earn that much after tax.
Mudrock Rock calculated that, based on a monthly salary of 200,000, the time to buy the warehouse had been shortened to four months. It was early March now, and he could move in by early July, in the summer. He could just be patient a little longer, so he agreed.
"No problem, I will definitely try my best!"
Both sides were very satisfied with the outcome of the meeting and reached an agreement on the salary issue. Seeing that there was nothing else to Mudrock, Lin Gerei voluntarily resigned from his post.
As I was leaving the Lin Residence, an infected person approached me:
"Captain, the assassin organization has sent a message. They say they have an order, but the target isn't a bad guy."
"Sorry, I don't answer calls from people who aren't bad."
The infected person knew she was going to say that, and replied:
"The assassination targets are Mister Zhongli and Texas from Penguin Logistics. You two seem to be friends."
Mudrock was stunned by what he heard, finding it hard to believe:
"What?!"
130 The Emperor is Assassinated
Now let's rewind to after the end of the second internal meeting of the Schwayer Group.