"All right, all right!"
Li Jinshui smiled and taunted him sarcastically. "Looks like Supervisor Ye really is impressive. When all's said and done, you're the only winner in this whole scheme. And me, the great hero who risked his life on the front lines? In the end, I'm just a pawn you can toss aside whenever you like. Sigh..."
"Two million!" Ye Mei cut off his incessant babbling with a briskly delivered figure.
"Two million? Ms. Ye, what kind of person do you take me for? My backbone is made of steel. I'd never learn to bow to money..." Li Jinshui gave a cold snort.
"Stop wasting time. Three million!"
Ye Mei seemed to have expected Li Jinshui to drive a hard bargain. Without hesitation, she raised the offer, then warned him, "Don't push your luck. This is the most I can scrape together. If you're still not satisfied, I'll really get you that station chief position. We'll see if you're still happy then."
"Meimei, how can you say that about me? Just transfer the money into my account. I only meant that our relationship can't be measured in money! You've really hurt me!"
Li Jinshui's voice turned mournful, yet he sounded so stubborn it was almost heartbreaking. He put on a brave front and said, "By the way, Meimei, for a transaction this large, do we have to handle it at the bank counter? It might be tough to get a taxi during rush hour. Want me to come pick you up?"
"Beep, beep, beep..."
There was a sharp click on the other end, and then only the busy signal remained.
"Nice!"
Li Jinshui pumped his fist, his face alight with excitement.
Only a fool wouldn't know which to choose: three million or a station chief position.
A station chief only earned fifty thousand a month. Even if he trained enough Single Kings to earn more in commission, it would still take years of grinding to make three million.
With this three million, plus the stolen goods seized last night and the copy of Wild Ox Stake worth two hundred thousand, selling everything would easily bring his total assets to over four million!
Now that was getting rich overnight.
"This money should be enough to break through to the Thousand-Jun Realm. Then I won't have to worry about finding a high-paying job. And that Exotic Beast Tendon whose grade I don't know... Maybe it could even help me reach the Wing-Folding Realm."
Li Jinshui's eyes shone as hope for the future filled him once more.
Then his gaze fell on the metal case on the floor.
Should he ask Ye Mei about it again?
Even if she didn't know where it came from, her imperial envoy teacher would surely recognize it...
"Forget it. What if it's so valuable that her teacher wants it after finding out?"
Li Jinshui immediately dismissed the idea.
If even her teacher wanted it, then money couldn't measure its worth. It had to be something even more precious, and trading anything for it wouldn't be worthwhile.
What if the imperial envoy big shot simply waved his hand and said he wanted a favor in return? That would be an even bigger loss.
Besides, Exotic Beast Meat was extremely useful to him. He could even use Deduction to develop high-grade Stake Standing techniques.
"Better to rely on myself than on others. I, Li Jinshui, made it this far because my own strength is solid. As for favors, it's enough that Ye Mei owes me one."
Li Jinshui shook his head.
For now, he needed to deal with this Exotic Beast Tendon as soon as possible. Better to swallow it and put his mind at ease, while improving his strength as quickly as he could.
He took out his phone and started searching online.
Cooking Exotic Beast Meat was very complicated. It required a professional chef to pair it with the right medicinal ingredients to preserve its energy during cooking.
The higher the grade of the meat, the more difficult it was to cook.
After a quick search, Li Jinshui reluctantly put his phone down.
Although people online shared cooking techniques, the highest grade they covered was C-grade Exotic Beast Meat.
No one had even seen Exotic Beast Meat of a higher grade, let alone had some rich person show it off online.
One chef had shared some cooking advice and specifically warned that martial artists with insufficient strength shouldn't eat Exotic Beast Meat of too high a grade. The surging Qi-Blood could burst their bodies and snap every meridian.
"Just judging by the energy surging inside it, this Exotic Beast Tendon is definitely higher than C-grade. It might even be above B-grade."
Li Jinshui sighed. It looked like he couldn't cook and process it himself.
The main problem was that he didn't know its grade, so he could only put it away for now and look for a chance to ask around.
If he had no other choice, he could still go to Ye Mei.
He tossed his phone aside and lay back down on the sofa, gradually drifting off to sleep.
"Bzzz, bzzz!"
After who knew how long, Li Jinshui jolted awake. The phone beside him was vibrating nonstop.
He picked it up and saw a short number that was both familiar and unfamiliar. It was from the Inspection Bureau.
"Hello, this is Li Jinshui, a law-abiding citizen." Li Jinshui answered very politely.
"Hello, Mr. Li Jinshui. This is the Shuanglong Street Precinct of the Rong City Inspection Bureau. We need your assistance with a case. Please come in as soon as possible." The voice on the other end belonged to a young woman. Her tone was cool, but her voice sounded soft and sweet.
"Sure."
Li Jinshui immediately lowered his voice, responding in a deep, magnetic tone like a domineering CEO who had just signed a contract worth tens of billions. "But I have a very important transoceanic video conference right now. I'll have my assistant check my schedule later and see if I can spare some time to come by."
"An assistant?" The woman on the other end paused, sounding confused. "Aren't you a delivery driver? Why would you have an assistant?"
"Oh, no, no. I only became a delivery driver to escape my family's constraints and experience life among ordinary people. By the way, is your Inspection Bureau hiring? My dream as a child was to become an officer who upholds justice. Unfortunately, my family kept forcing me to inherit their soulless, trillion-yuan business. In the end, my dream was shattered." Li Jinshui let out a deep sigh, sounding somewhat melancholy.
"Mr. Li, the file I have here says your parents..."
"Ah! My family had those fake files made to protect me. You're not senior enough to access the real classified documents, little comrade. Forget it. I shouldn't tell you any more. Knowing too much wouldn't be good for you."
Click!
Li Jinshui hung up and sat up on the sofa.
Outside the window, the sky had turned faintly yellow. It was already evening.
He had several missed calls on his phone. Two were from Lin Zhen, and the rest were from Huang Lichen.
Lin Zhen had probably called about cooperating with the Inspection Bureau's investigation.
As for Huang Lichen...
"Sigh!"
Li Jinshui sighed sadly. Old Huang had put in a lot of effort this time, but had ended up losing badly. He'd received a demerit and been demoted. Unless Ye Mei really gave him a hand, it would be hard for him to get ahead again.
Thinking of this, he called Huang Lichen back.
"Hello, A-Shui." The call was answered as soon as it went through.
"Hey, Little Huang, what do you need?"
The sympathy in Li Jinshui's heart had already gone to waste. He spoke arrogantly. "I heard you got demoted. How about it? Interested in coming to work with me?"
"Fuck you! When I was still a deputy battalion commander, you called me Old Huang, and I let it slide. Now I've been demoted, and you're calling me Little Huang?" Old Huang cursed on the other end, furious.
"So what? You've known me long enough to know I've always been this realistic!" Li Jinshui said righteously.
"..."
Old Huang fell silent for a long while, unable to answer. At last, he said helplessly, "Forget it. You're crazy, and I'm not going to argue with you. Back to business: I've got a great way for us to make a fortune. Are you interested in coming over and joining me?"