As for whether Reyes eventually managed to salvage that safe, and whether he keeled over from not being able to catch his breath after opening it, none of that was within their consideration.
Still, compared to being shot dead by an enraged Hobbs in the original outcome, Reyes's current fate was certainly a little better.
At least, that was how it looked on the surface.
"So, we're not taking revenge on Reyes? We're just going to let him keep living it up?" As Roman anxiously waited for Tej to open the heavy safe, he remembered this and blurted it out.
The moment he finished speaking, Roman saw the looks from everyone around him.
Those looks... were as if they were staring at an idiot.
No, they were staring at an idiot.
"Hey!" Roman was baffled. "Why are you all looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"
"Not only were you wrong, you were completely wrong," O'Conner said with a sigh. Roman was his brother-in-arms, after all; he could not just watch him keep making a fool of himself. "In fact, Reyes in his current state is worse off than if we had simply killed him."
"Why?" Roman asked, confused.
"Because of that hundred million dollars," O'Conner answered. "How much of that hundred million actually belongs to Reyes?"
"Uh... isn't it all his money?" Roman froze.
"Even I couldn't casually produce a hundred million dollars in cash," Zhou Yi interjected as he peeled an orange segment and fed it to Gisele. "Cash and total assets are two completely different concepts."
"That's right. And even if Reyes never saved money to begin with, more than half of that hundred million doesn't belong to him. It's capital he needs for his business," O'Conner said with a nod. "With that hundred million taken by us, doing business in the short term will be incredibly difficult for him."
"For a drug lord like him, whose entire business is built on money, who would still be willing to play along if he had no money?"
Toretto stood with his arms folded. "Without money, he won't have any men following him. No government will protect him. When he had money and power, the dirt he had on those officials was leverage. Now it's become a hot potato, because he no longer has the ability to protect himself."
"Besides, a large portion of this money definitely belongs to other people," Zhou Yi concluded. "Taking all those factors together, even if we don't make a move against him, someone else will sooner or later. And his final end will definitely be more miserable than dying by our hands."
"All right, you scheming capitalists, can we stop talking about that drug lord who is practically dead already?"
Tej, who had been busy for quite a while, finally found room to speak. "Instead of worrying about him, why not look forward to seeing whether I can get this 'beauty' to open her skirt for me?"
That "beauty," naturally, referred to the gigantic safe containing a hundred million dollars.
"You can do it."
Spotting a chance to escape the awkward situation where he did not understand what everyone else somehow did, Roman eagerly sprang to Tej's side. "Open it, open it! There's a hundred million dollars in there!"
"Don't rush. Am I not about to open it?" Tej waved Roman back, picked up the coated film with the fingerprints already entered, tapped a few keys on the computer, then placed it over the fingerprint scanner. He took a deep breath and pressed it down while muttering, "Come on."
Two beeps rang out, exceptionally clear and pleasant in the silent factory.
Everyone's eyes focused on the safe.
Green.
A very healthy, delightful color, especially when it flashed on an indicator light.
"Danza Kuduro
Lucenzo
El rey
La mano arriba cintura sola
Da media vuelta Danza Kuduro
No me canses ahora que esto solo empieza
..."
A strangely fitting song suddenly began playing, startling everyone as they turned toward its source.
"What? Why are you all looking at me? I know I'm handsome, but shouldn't you be more interested in that hundred million dollars right now?" Zhou Yi said with a grin, holding a small speaker that played "Danza Kuduro" as background music. "Time to divide the money! A hundred million dollars!"
Amid the music, Tej smiled and shook his head before opening the safe.
His goddess had finally lifted her veil for him.
The tightly packed US Dollars poured out like a stream.
Roman's eyes went wide. He stood rooted to the spot, his brain unable to think.
Gisele subconsciously looked at Zhou Yi, only to find him smiling at her. Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other.
Han stood silently to one side, chewing gum. He subconsciously glanced over, got stuffed full of dog food, and quickly looked away.
He had liked Gisele too, but Zhou Yi had made his move first. After weighing his options, Han wisely chose to give up.
With ten million in hand, would he still have to worry about finding beautiful women?
O'Conner and Mia embraced.
Toretto stood quietly in place, watching the scene. He smiled, then looked up at the sky.
He thought of Letty.
Zhou Yi noticed this and guessed what Toretto was thinking, but he did not say anything.
Letty was Toretto's girlfriend. She had died in an accident, or at least that was what Toretto and the others believed. However, Zhou Yi knew that she had not actually died. She had been rescued by a villainous organization, but lost her memory and had been working for that organization ever since.
Zhou Yi had been investigating the matter, but found nothing. So he simply planned to wait until Fast 6 to lend a hand.
Before then...
Zhou Yi froze for a moment as he remembered something.
Later, Toretto seemed to have gotten together with that police officer, Elena?
Hmm... after Letty regained her memories, there seemed to have been a showdown between them.
Aha!
Now Zhou Yi was even less inclined to tell Toretto about it.
A showdown like that was a memorable sight too!
"Dividing the money, dividing the money!" Roman let out a "Woohoo!" and rushed forward. "We're rich, we're rich, we're rich!!!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself." Zhou Yi shook his head. "We still have to move this money out... Don't tell me you plan to carry it away yourself? Without the right channels, this money will be very hard to move."
"That makes sense..." Roman thought seriously for a moment. "But that doesn't stop me from enjoying my ten million first!"
"Ten million?" Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't it?" Roman's eyes widened. "Are you guys planning to kill me and take my money? I see, I've seen through you! You really are..."
"Have you forgotten something?" Zhou Yi interrupted the drama queen. "About a bet. A five-million-US-Dollar racing bet we still haven't settled..."
"..." Roman froze. He lowered his head to look at the pile of money in his arms, and for some reason, he suddenly imagined half of it flying away into the distance.
"No!!!" Roman's miserable wail echoed through the factory. Everyone burst into laughter and began egging him on, eager to see exactly how Roman had been so "certain" he would beat Zhou Yi.
This song is really catchy. I recommend giving it a listen. I'm already dividing the money—here, this is your ten million dollars!
Before you continue