A Farce of a Transaction

On a speeding train, in one of the carriages.

The phone rang.

The man in the suit picked it up, answered, and then handed it over to Max, who was reading a newspaper beside him.

"This isn't what we agreed on, Ethan," Max said, taking the phone. "Our deal was for you to be here, face-to-face."

"Please forgive my rudeness, Ms. Max," Ethan said from the other end of the line. "I have to do this to ensure my own safety."

And then...

Right there on the train, they began their transaction.

The blonde man sitting behind Max rubbed his forehead.

This was Zhou Yi, but he was wearing a realistic human skin mask, disguised as an ordinary tourist.

Zhou Yi felt quite helpless and... amused. He had so many complaints he wanted to vent.

You guys...

Aren't you a little too arrogant!

They were actually conducting a transaction in a public place like this?

There were ordinary people, passengers, all around!

And they were doing it without any soundproofing or security measures?

Zhou Yi was utterly bewildered.

Was a ten-million-dollar deal really this casual?

Couldn't they at least have booked a private compartment?

Were they that desperate for money?

Despite his internal rant, Zhou Yi didn't show it on his face. He maintained his act of feigning sleepiness and low energy.

Meanwhile, Max and Ethan's truly blatant illegal transaction continued.

Zhou Yi listened in while continuing his mental commentary.

Ethan: "The disk with the list you want is under your seat, attached with black tape."

[Great, the list of all CIA agents is under a seat on a train, just casually stuck there with black tape]

Max heard him and reached under her skirt... under the seat, pulled off a disk, and handed it to the man in the suit beside her for verification.

[Excellent, they're on a train, in plain sight, opening a laptop to verify a list of CIA agents, with absolutely no attempt at concealment]

"I really want to meet you in person and thank you properly, Ethan," Max said, smiling as the list was successfully decrypted using the key she had obtained earlier. The names of the CIA agents appeared one by one on the computer screen.

"I think I'm only interested in seeing the ten million, and that 'Job'," Ethan replied.

"I'm willing to pay ten million for this; it's what you deserve, Ethan," Max said. "Ten million dollars is in the luggage car, rack number three, in the silver briefcase. The lock combination is 314."

[Fantastic, they're just stating the location and combination for ten million dollars, with no intention of lowering their voice at all...]

"What about 'Job'?" Ethan asked.

"I'll tell him where you are. When he sees you have the money, he'll naturally come find you. People like him, who would sell you out for a million dollars, what wouldn't they do for ten million?" Max said.

"Then our transaction is concluded," Ethan said. "I wish you a pleasant journey."

"You too."

After hanging up the phone, Max immediately signaled her subordinate to start transferring the lists to her organization.

But as her subordinate began to do so, a warning appeared on the computer screen:

[Signal unavailable]

"What's going on?" Max asked, frowning.

"There's a problem with the signal; I can't transfer it," the subordinate replied.

"I have eyes; I can see that," Max said speechlessly. "I'm asking why this is happening! Is there a problem with the signal generator's battery?"

"Impossible!" the subordinate shook his head. "This situation is definitely not a battery issue!"

"Then quickly check what's going on. We need to send the files out before we enter the tunnel!" Max urged.

Zhou Yi glanced at Luther, his seatmate to the left.

He saw Luther operating a computer, typing in a string of code, and then... the words "Interception successful" appeared on the screen.

Zhou Yi gave him a thumbs-up in his mind.

Why didn't you just go over and knock on Max's door?

Intercepting someone's signal from a meter away, where a simple turn of the head could reveal it?

Zhou Yi covered his forehead.

He couldn't watch anymore.

He felt insulted on an intellectual level.

Zhou Yi stood up and walked in front of Max, looking down at her.

"..."

Max and her subordinate looked at Zhou Yi simultaneously. After a two-second stare-down, Max hesitantly asked, "Sir? Is there something you need?"

Max was on high alert. Although the man in front of her seemed listless and unlikely to be a spy or police officer, she couldn't understand why he'd suddenly appeared and was staring at her like that.

"You guys are way too loud," Zhou Yi said, glaring with tired eyes. "I'm very sleepy right now, do you understand? Quiet, please be quiet!"

"Uh..." Max froze, then took a moment to respond. "O-okay?"

"Hmph, no manners!" Zhou Yi said with disdain, his voice carrying a standard London accent, before returning to his seat.

Max exchanged a glance with her subordinate.

"What are you looking at me for!" Max lowered her voice. "Hurry up and pass the stuff along!"

The farcical transaction finally entered its final stage with Zhou Yi's interruption.

A little while later, Zhou Yi grumbled about his stomach not feeling well and walked towards the restroom.

"Says I have no manners, the pretentious Englishman, fake gentleman, pfft!" Max muttered under her breath after Zhou Yi left, rolling her eyes.

The feeling of being watched, of being unable to get comfortable, finally disappeared. She glanced at her subordinate, who was still checking the program, and urged again, "Faster!"

Zhou Yi bypassed the restroom and headed towards the luggage area.

Meanwhile, Ethan, Jim, and Claire were in a standoff in the luggage area.

To be precise, Jim was holding Claire and Ethan at gunpoint.

It had to be said, Jim was a very competent bull, successfully pushing his wife, Claire, towards Ethan, and now... Claire was already leaning slightly towards Ethan.

However, this wasn't surprising. Jim was old and past his prime, while Ethan was strong, fit, and handsome. The gap between them was already unbridgeable. If it weren't for the money, Claire would have likely been clinging to Ethan's arm long ago.

During their recent operations, Claire had grown close to Ethan. And Ethan, having received intel from Zhou Yi, had a rough idea that Jim was the mastermind behind everything. He no longer had any psychological burden and accepted Claire's seductions however they came.

A few days prior, Ethan and Claire had even truly bared their hearts to each other.

This wasn't the first time.

Their interactions over the past few days had led to this: just moments ago, Ethan, wearing a lifelike mask of Jim, had met with Claire. Claire had even suggested not killing Ethan and leaving once they got their money.

One could only imagine Claire's complex emotions when Ethan finally ripped off the mask.

It was simply indescribable by words or text.

Immediately after, Jim entered the luggage area with a gun and aimed it at the two of them.

Feel the wrath of the bull!

Just as Jim was about to shoot Ethan and Claire—

"Knock knock knock!"

The door to the luggage area was knocked.

PS: The second update will be tomorrow during the day. I need to revise the manuscript~

Good night, everyone!

Everyone, get to sleep early! Good night, good night!