Desert Eagle

This place was like a massive shopping mall, with at least a hundred people coming and going.

Directly opposite the elevator was the dining hall. The meals the servants had delivered to their rooms these past two days had all been prepared here.

Next to the dining hall was a lounge area. Further inside, against the wall, stood a heavy alloy door. By the counter outside sat a petite young woman with a mushroom cut, who looked no older than twenty.

Jiang Qiao looked around curiously and met the young woman's gaze.

Just as he was about to ask a question, the alloy door slowly opened, and a greasy-haired man with a ponytail walked out.

Jiang Qiao put on a professional fake smile and greeted him first. "Good morning, Brother Ye. How are you today? Is your stomach feeling better?"

Sang Ye's mouth twitched. He covertly glanced sideways at the young woman by the counter, then shot Jiang Qiao a warning look, telling him not to bring up something so embarrassing in front of a girl.

He tried to change the subject. "It's already three in the afternoon."

Pretending to be blind, Jiang Qiao nodded. "Yeah, time really flies. Before you know it, it's been a week since the day you had diarrhea."

It had to be said, Sang Ye rarely encountered someone so utterly incapable of reading the room.

He coughed and said sternly to Jiang Qiao, "Pick your sidearm first."

The young woman by the counter gave Jiang Qiao a friendly smile and said shyly, "Hello, I'm Xiao Yu, the armory administrator."

Jiang Qiao narrowed his peach-blossom eyes and smiled. "Jiang Qiao. I'll be troubling you."

Xiao Yu tapped the glass countertop, and a transparent screen automatically rose in front of the counter. A palm-sized square appeared on it as she entered Jiang Qiao's name. "Please enter your palm print."

Jiang Qiao did as instructed.

"Facial recognition in progress. Please do not blink." A cold electronic female voice came from the screen.

Soon, there was a beep, and a green access symbol appeared on the display.

The alloy door slowly opened. Xiao Yu said, "Follow me."

Jiang Qiao followed behind Xiao Yu. The moment he entered the armory, his eyes were dazzled.

This was a man's paradise.

There were all kinds of light and heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, assault rifles, sporting guns, and pistols.

There were also all sorts of grenades and cold weapons, filling several large crates.

The small storage room behind the armory was an ammunition depot, supplying the Shi family's private ammunition needs.

There were also some collectible vintage firearms displayed in glass cases.

Jiang Qiao looked at the Maxim, Browning, and Gatling guns in the heavy machine gun section, practically drooling.

Xiao Yu tugged lightly at Jiang Qiao's sleeve. "You can only choose a pistol as a sidearm."

Jiang Qiao gave an "oh" and reluctantly shifted his gaze from the heavy machine gun section to the pistol section.

After looking through them all, he liked every one of them and simply could not decide.

"The Desert Eagle is good. It's very powerful," Sang Ye said.

Jiang Qiao raised a brow, picked up a Desert Eagle, and weighed it in his hand. It was quite heavy.

If he strapped it to his waistband, he would have to tighten his belt by another notch to keep his pants from being dragged down.

The Desert Eagle had quite a reputation. If Jiang Qiao had not known how petty Sang Ye was, someone with only a limited understanding of firearms like him might really have taken Sang Ye's advice and chosen it as his sidearm.

Unfortunately, Jiang Qiao was not the only one who knew Sang Ye had no good intentions. There was also kind-hearted Xiao Yu beside them.

"The Desert Eagle can't fire multiple rounds rapidly, has heavy recoil, and a small magazine capacity. It's only suitable for hunting, not actual combat," Xiao Yu said with a frown.

She picked up another pistol and handed it to Jiang Qiao. "Use this one."

A Glock. There was a faint little dent at the lower left of the grip. It was the same one Chen Sheng had handed him before, which Shi Junyi had later taken away.

The dent had been made when he took Shi Junyi jumping out of the car and knocked it against the concrete steps by the landscaping strip.

It could be considered an old friend.

Jiang Qiao took the Glock and thanked Xiao Yu for her kindness.

Sang Ye snorted coldly and left the armory first.

Watching Sang Ye's back, Jiang Qiao asked Xiao Yu, "You embarrassed him like that. Won't he make trouble for you?"

Xiao Yu shook her head and said timidly, "He wouldn't dare."

Jiang Qiao merely assumed Xiao Yu belonged to Shi Xiao'an's people. Considering the armory's importance, he did not ask further.

After leaving the armory, Jiang Qiao followed Sang Ye from neither too close nor too far away. He said nothing and asked nothing.

Jiang Qiao could no longer remember whether the original novel had mentioned if Sang Ye had betrayed them midway through, or if he had been someone else's pawn planted beside Shi Junyi from the beginning.

But he vaguely remembered that before Sang Ye was exposed, he had caused Chen Sheng to lose a leg.

Jiang Qiao did not know whether Shi Junyi had already become suspicious of Sang Ye, but he had no intention of dealing with Sang Ye for Shi Junyi ahead of time. He was afraid acting on his own would disrupt Shi Junyi's plans.

All he needed to do was give Chen Sheng a timely warning or lend him a hand when things had progressed far enough.

The person who made clothes for the Shi family's bodyguards was an elderly man with glasses and graying hair.

Jiang Qiao had worn one of Chen Sheng's outfits before. Though it did not fit him perfectly, he had to admit the old man's craftsmanship was exceptional.

His attitude, however, was not very good.

Holding a measuring tape, the old man manhandled Jiang Qiao and spun him around like a top several times. When measuring his upper-body length, he even smacked Jiang Qiao with a wooden ruler and told him to stand straight.

After taking his measurements, the old man brought out a black training uniform, two pairs of sneakers, and two pairs of brand-new leather shoes in Jiang Qiao's size. He casually stuffed them into a large plastic bag with a red background and pink flowers, then handed it to Jiang Qiao.

Jiang Qiao stretched open the plastic bag's handles and took a look. He asked the old man, "I don't like this pointed pair. They're a little old-fashioned and don't suit my age. Can I exchange them for another pair?"

The old man pushed up his glasses. "No."

"Why not?" Jiang Qiao asked.

"No one is allowed to question my taste," the old man replied.

Jiang Qiao was speechless. Fine, pointed shoes it was. At least they were not multicolored leather shoes with red backgrounds and pink flowers.

He slung the gaudy plastic bag over his shoulder and followed Sang Ye, who had not spoken since leaving the armory, toward the training grounds.

The indoor training grounds were divided into three sections: a shooting range, a combat arena, and a swimming pool four meters deep.

At the moment, some of the bodyguards were undergoing training inside.

Sang Ye pointed out the changing room to Jiang Qiao and told him to change into his training uniform before reporting to the shooting range.

"Are you a pig? You can't accomplish a single thing I tell you to do! Useless trash!"

Just as Jiang Qiao reached the changing room entrance, he heard a somewhat hoarse male voice coming from inside.

Jiang Qiao softened his footsteps, walked a few steps forward, and peeked through the doorway. He saw a young man in a shirt holding a whip as he disciplined a man wearing a bodyguard training uniform.

The man's bare upper body was covered in purple bruises from the whip. He kept his head lowered without uttering a sound.

The young man had pale skin and wore his hair slicked back in a style that did not suit his age. His brows and eyes bore a slight resemblance to Shi Junyi's, and he could be considered handsome, but his overly thin cheeks were somewhat sunken, making him look rather harsh.

Jiang Qiao immediately guessed the young man's identity.

Shi Junyi's half-brother, Shi Youxi.