Seeing a man carrying a heavy bag of cash on the street at three o'clock in the morning didn't feel very good.
The bag was very heavy, and the banknotes inside exuded a turbid smell mixed with tobacco, alcohol and cheap perfume, and there was also a faint smell of blood. This money was his first asset in this era, and it was also his first trouble.
Chu Hang did not return to that cheap motel. He knew very well that a local snake like Butcher, who had been crawling around in the underground world for many years, would never have only two useless thugs. Last night's thunderous method could certainly shock him for a while, but No one can guarantee that the other party will not use more high-profile connections to get back the situation after becoming angry. The simplest way is to call the police. An Asian young man carrying hundreds of thousands of cash and no identity information is no more than a walking piece of fat in the eyes of the police, and he also has his own criminal record.
He must find another place, a safer and more secluded hiding place.
He bought some simple disguise supplies, a pair of plain glasses, and a baseball cap at a drug store open 24 hours a day. Then he called a taxi and drove straight across most of the city to a completely different area. Here, there are green trees, clean streets, and beautiful single-family houses everywhere, making it a typical middle-class community.
He checked into a chain hotel that looked more formal and certainly more expensive. When he paid for the room in cash, the sleepy blonde girl at the front desk just looked at him twice without asking any questions. In this country where money is paramount, as long as you can afford to pay, no one will really care who you are or where you come from.
Entering the room, the first thing Chu Hang did was to lock the door and close the curtains. Then, he poured all the large bag of cash onto the soft big bed.
The green Franklins piled up into a hill, exuding a sinful and alluring light under the dim light of the bedroom.
Chu Hang sat down by the bed, picked up the notes and pens on the bedside table, and started counting one by one. This was a boring but necessary process. His fingers were steady and strong, his movements mechanical and precise, and his brain was like a high-speed computer, automatically classifying and accumulating.
In the end, the number settled on $156,300.
There were more than he expected. It seemed that the fat man named Butcher was doing quite well in business.
Chu Hang looked at the pile of money, but there was not much joy in his heart. He knew better than anyone else that before the money could be converted into legal capital, they were just a pile of waste paper that could be burned at any time. He needed an identity, an identity that was real, legal, and could withstand inspection by any agency. An identity that would allow him to open a bank account, register a company, and Light Law Zhengda enter the stock exchange.
This thing is much harder to get than money.
He lay on the bed, put his hands behind his head, and began to construct the next plan in his brain. Time was very tight, and he clearly remembered that Yahoo would be listed next year. If he missed this train, he would have to wait several years to find such a low-risk and high-return original stock investment opportunity.
He needs someone to help him with chores.
Chu Hang thought of the fat guy in the bar who charged him twenty dollars. The kind of local snake who lives at the bottom and is well-informed is like a node on a complex network, which can always involve more and deeper relationships.
The next day, Chu Hang slept until he woke up naturally. He went to the mall near the hotel and used cash to buy himself some decent-fitting clothes. When he put on a simple white T-shirt, a pair of khaki trousers and a new pair of sneakers, and then put on the pair of plain glasses, he looked like a college student who had just graduated, with a clean temperament and a bit of bookishness, completely different from the murderous evil god last night.
Camouflage is the first lesson of survival. This applies equally whether in a war-torn battlefield or a neon-lit city.
In the evening, he came to the community bar called "Screaming Skull" again.
This time, he didn't go looking for the fat man. He walked straight to the bar, put a brand new one hundred dollar bill under the wine coaster, and gently pushed it in front of the bartender.
The bartender was a thin young man with a snake spitting out letters tattooed on his arm. When he saw the hundred-dollar bill, the vigilance and impatience in his eyes instantly melted into enthusiasm.
"Sir, what would you like to drink?"
"I'm looking for someone." Chu Hang lowered his voice and leaned forward slightly, "I need a document dealer, the best kind. The kind that can turn a Deadman into a living person, and can turn an undocumented homeless person into a citizen."
The smile on the bartender's face froze. He wiped the already smooth bar subconsciously, and his eyes began to wander.
"Sir, I don't quite understand what you mean." He started to act stupid.
Chu Hang was not in a hurry. He tapped the hundred-dollar bill lightly with his fingers and said calmly, "I will only ask once. If you don't know, I will go find someone else and ask. This money will be treated as if I bought you a drink."
His tone was very calm, but his undoubted calmness and the fleeting coldness in his eyes made the bartender shiver for no reason. He thought of the fat man with a bruised nose and swollen face last night, who replied with a sad face. I came to him to ask about a mysterious Asian young man, and he even mentioned in a trembling voice that Butcher of "Queen of Spades" had been disposed of, and the location had been chosen one by one.
The bartender's Adam's apple rolled up and down, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He quickly glanced around, and then said quickly in an almost breathy voice, "There is only one place. In the west of the city, Ivy Road, there is a 'Book of Yesterday' used bookstore. The owner is Elias, a very weird old man. When you go to him, just say that you want to buy a 'Non-Existent Travel Notes'."
After saying that, he grabbed the hundred-dollar bill as if it were a hot potato, quickly stuffed it into his pocket, then turned around to make drinks for other guests, never looking at Chu Hang again.
Chu Hang got the information he wanted, got up and left the bar.
The Book of Yesterday Bookstore is located on a quiet street corner, which is incompatible with the lively commercial atmosphere around it. The store is not large, and there is a thin layer of dust in the window. It is filled with all kinds of yellowed old books. Chu Hang opens the wooden door with a wind chime, and a unique smell of old paper, dust and leather hits the face.
The store was very quiet. There was only an old man with gray hair and reading glasses, sitting behind a huge oak desk, concentrating on repairing a heavy book with a quill. He was Elias.
Hearing the sound of wind chimes, he didn't even raise his head, but simply asked, "What are you looking for?"
"I'm here to buy a book." Chu Hang walked to the desk and said calmly, "A travel diary that doesn't exist."
Elias's hand repairing the book page paused for a tenth of a second.
He slowly raised his head and looked at the young man in front of him through his thick reading lenses. His eyes were as sharp as a scalpel, as if he could see through people's Soul Law.
"I only sell real history here." He said slowly, his voice hoarse, like two dry leaves rubbing against each other.
"History is also written by people." Chu Hang looked at him without giving in. "If you can write it, you can change it. If you can change it, you can create it."
Elias was silent. He stared at Chu Hang for half a minute, as if he was evaluating the authenticity of an antique.
Finally, he lowered his head again, continued to repair the book in his hand, and said calmly, "In the alley behind Grand Theater, at twelve o'clock tonight. Bring a first edition of "Moby-Dick" and place it on the trash can at the entrance of the alley. If the book is taken away, stay where you are. If it is not taken away, leave and never come back again."
After saying that, he ignored Chu Hang, as if he was just an ordinary passerby who came to ask for directions.
Chu Hang knows that this is the first test. It tests his sincerity, financial resources and patience.
He turned around and left the bookstore. It was not difficult to find a first edition of "Moby-Dick", but it was difficult to find it in such a short period of time. He spent an entire afternoon running through antique bookstores and private collections in the city, and finally used $3,000 in cash to buy an early 19th century edition of "Moby-Dick" in pretty good condition from an eager the Collector.
At twelve o'clock at midnight, the alley behind Grand Theater.
It was pitch black here, and the air was filled with the sour smell of rotting garbage. Only the faint lights coming from the street in the distance could barely outline the outline of the mountains of trash cans and debris in the alley. Chu Hang followed the instructions of Elias and carefully placed the rare book worth three thousand dollars on the lid of the most conspicuous green trash can at the entrance of the alley.
Then, he retreated into the shadow of the alley, leaned against the cold brick wall, and waited quietly.
Time passed by minute by minute.
The alley was deathly silent, except for the rustle of plastic bags when the wind blew. Chu Hang closed his eyes, and his hearing was amplified to the extreme at this moment. He could hear the sound of a stray cat's claws scratching across a cardboard box while rummaging for food a hundred meters away. He could hear a couple arguing quietly in a car fifty meters away.
Then, he heard several deliberately suppressed breathing sounds that did not belong here.
Four.
They were lying in ambush on both sides of the alley and in the second-floor windows of the building behind him. Their heartbeats were beating fast, full of tension and a hint of bloodthirsty excitement. Two of them also had a faint smell of gun smoke and gun oil.
This is a trap. In other words, it is the second test.
Chu Hang's mouth curved into a cold arc. Instead of being nervous, he felt a little bored. Compared with the hail of bullets he had experienced, this small scene was like a child playing house.
About five minutes later, the book was still lying quietly on the trash can, unnoticed.
Finally, the ambushers lost their patience.
A black figure, like a civet cat, slipped out from the shadows on the side of the alley, holding a steel pipe with a cold light in its hand, and hit Chu Hang hard on the back of the head. Almost at the same time, another Two strong men holding daggers rushed out from the side, one on the left and one on the right, blocking all his escape routes. Their cooperation was very tacit, and they were obviously veterans. For any ordinary person, there would be no chance of survival under such a sudden and fatal attack.
But Chu Hang is no ordinary person.
Just when the steel pipe was about to hit the back of his head, he moved.
His body didn't even turn around, he just tilted his head to the side at an angle that an ordinary person would never achieve. The steel pipe, with the sound of howling wind, grazed his hair and hit the brick wall hard, splashing a string of Mars. The sneak attack missed with one hit, and a shocked expression appeared on his face.
But he had no chance to make another expression.
Chu Hang's right elbow, like a poisonous snake coming out of its hole, jerked back like lightning.
Bang!
There was a muffled sound. The attacker's chest seemed to have been hit head-on by a battering ram. His ribs were instantly broken. His whole body flew upside down like a kite with a broken string, and fell heavily to the ground. Blood mixed with internal organs spewed out of his mouth, and he lost his breath on the spot.
After getting rid of the first one, Chu Hang's body turned around and faced the two strong men holding knives. His eyes were cold and emotionless, as if he was looking at two dead objects.
The strong man on the left roared angrily, and the dagger in his hand turned into a ray of cold light, piercing Chu Hang's heart. Chu Hang did not dodge or dodge, and reached out with his left hand like lightning, coming second and grabbing the opponent's knife-holding wrist. The strong man felt as if his wrist was clamped by a hydraulic clamp, and he could not move no matter how hard he struggled.
Chu Hang didn't even look at him, his eyes fell on the strong man on the right who rushed over. He grabbed the arm of the strong man on the left and thrust it forward.
Poof!
The dagger in the hand of the strong man on the left, which he could not control, stabbed into the lower abdomen of his companion on the right. The strong man on the right lowered his head in disbelief, looked at the familiar dagger on his stomach, and then slowly fell to his knees.
Chu Hang then let go of his hand and kicked the knee of the frightened strong man on the left.
Click!
Amidst the crisp sound of bone cracking, the strong man screamed and fell to the ground.
There is only one last one left, the one by the window on the second floor.
Chu Hang raised his head, his eyes like lightning, and accurately locked onto the figure hiding behind the curtain. He casually picked up a broken brick from the ground, his arm muscles instantly rose, and then he waved it fiercely!
Whoosh!
The broken bricks made a sound of breaking through the air, like a fired cannonball, and smashed the window glass on the second floor with great precision, hitting the sniper in the forehead. There was a dull sound of falling to the ground from the window, and then there was no more sound.
From start to finish, less than ten seconds.
Four professional thugs were completely eliminated by him in the most direct and violent way, which was almost crushing.
Chu Hang patted the non-existent dust on his hands and straightened his collar, as if he had just done a trivial thing.
Deep in the alley, an inconspicuous iron door opened with a creak.
Elias walked out of the door, leaning on a cane. He was still dressed in the same old-fashioned way, but at this moment, the way he looked at Chu Hang had completely changed. It was no longer a scrutiny, but full of strong interest and a trace of unnoticeable fear.
"His skills are pretty good," he said hoarsely, "Cleaner than any soldier I've ever seen."
"Just to survive." Chu Hang replied calmly.
"Come with me." Elias turned and walked back to the door, "It seems that you really need a 'non-existent travelogue'."
Chu Hang followed in.
Behind the iron gate, there is a cave. This is not a dark basement, but a studio full of futuristic technology. More than a dozen computer screens of different models are shining with blue light, and various printers, scanners, and laminating machines that are so sophisticated that Chu Hang cannot be named are neatly arranged. The walls are covered with blank passports, driver's licenses, and ID card templates from all over the world.
Here is a factory dedicated to creating identities.
"Sit." Elias pointed to a chair, then poured himself a glass of whiskey, "Tell me, what kind of past do you need?"
"I don't need to go there." Chu Hang sat down and got straight to the point, "I need a future. A clean identity, United States citizen, with a complete social security number, birth certificate, and driver's license. I need a matching bank account, preferably with a good credit record for several years. In short, I need to become a real person, an ordinary person who can deposit hundreds of thousands of cash in the bank without arousing anyone's suspicion."
Elias took a sip of wine and was silent for a moment.
"This is the highest standard package." He said slowly, "I can do it. But the price is very expensive."
"Ask price." Chu Hang said concisely and to the fullest.
"One hundred thousand dollars." Elias held out a finger, "Besides, I'm curious, why do you want such a perfect identity? I've seen a lot of people like you, mostly to avoid enemies or hide their names. But you are different. There is no fear in your eyes, only ambition."
Chu Hang smiled, he leaned back on his chair, looked at this Control certificate dealer who passed by countless people, and said something that he would never forget.
"This is a deposit of fifty thousand yuan."
"I want to use this identity to buy the future."
Elias was stunned. Looking at the mysterious and powerful young man in front of him, he suddenly felt that one hundred thousand dollars might be a bargain.
"Deal." He finally nodded, "Come here to pick up your new life in a week. By the way, have you thought of your new name?"
Chu Hang thought for a while, and the proud face of Howard·Stark flashed in his mind, and he thought of the future Iron Man who was about to start an era.
He smiled slightly.
"Just call...Anthony·Chen."