On a fishing boat, several weather-beaten men sat in a circle, apparently discussing something.
"Old Ox, tell the men to keep a close watch. Don't let it slip past. This is a big fish," said a bearded man whose face looked honest and trustworthy.
But anyone who assumed he really was honest and trustworthy because of his appearance would have been dead wrong.
Over the years, he had killed at least seventeen or eighteen people, if not twenty. He was ruthless through and through.
"Boss, don't worry! How could a ship that big just vanish?" said a short, skinny, dark-skinned man beside him.
The name Old Ox hardly suited him. Monkey would have been more fitting, but his surname was Niu, and he was among the three oldest men in the group, so calling him Old Ox was perfectly reasonable.
At that moment, a younger-looking man said, "Boss, I heard the cargo on that ship is worth a fortune. Tens of billions of U.S. dollars. I think..."
Before he could finish, the bearded man's face darkened. "You think the two hundred million our employer offered is too little?"
The young man smiled sheepishly but did not deny it.
The others also looked uncertain.
The gap between tens of billions and two hundred million dollars was enormous. They would work themselves to the bone for a mere one percent. It was nothing but a laborer's wage.
The bearded man glanced around and snorted. "So all of you are thinking the same thing? Hah... take a look at how much you can handle first! Tens of billions? Can we swallow that much? Do you really think getting this cargo will be easy? Some people have valued that shipload at over a hundred billion, but that's only if you can actually sell it.