Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du handed Princeps two hundred thousand dollars without hesitation. However,
Princeps was not happy and sighed as he took the money.
Hans narrowed his eyes at Princeps and said, “What, buddy? Not so eager to take the
money? You can leave it behind for us.”
Princeps smiled bitterly. “Now, I have offended everyone. Isn’t that so? You guys, and
George Anthony. I have offended all of you.”
Li Du patted his shoulder and said, “Nope, you did not offend me. We call quits. In the
future, there will be no problems between us anymore. You have already paid back
what you owed us.”
Princeps smiled bitterly again and said, “Thanks.”
He now realized that it was better to have the Anthonys as his enemies than pit himself
against Li Du.
All that he regretted now was that he had not had the good sense to see this earlier.
If he had made friends with Li Du from the start, perhaps he could have made quite a bit
of money by following his lead.
Even if they had not become friends, it was just as well that he was no longer Li Du’s
enemy. Li Du had a ruthless way around his rivals and had too many surprising tactics
in dealing with them.
Besides, the scariest part was that no matter how Li Du dealt with others, Princeps
realized that Li Du never lost out. Every time he struck out at an enemy, he would make
profits for himself while he was at it.
It was the same this time around when Li Du dealt with Conrad. Out of the five hundred
thousand he gained from the auction, one hundred went to the cooperative town
administration. As the remaining four hundred thousand, Li Du split the money equally
with Princeps.
Princeps did not feel that it was fair, but he had no choice.
All Li Du did was provide the idea, while Princeps had done the rest. He had been the
one to search for the warehouse company and arrange for the personnel to get
involved. He had also placed the items inside the warehouse.
Still, somehow he ended up as nobody’s friend. And though he did most of the work, he
only gained half the money.
When Li Du learned that the Anthonys had been plotting against him behind his back,
he requested Princeps to join hands with him in acting against Conrad. As he knew that
George Anthony was careful and cautious, he decided to target Anthony junior.
His judgment had been accurate. Conrad was just what he thought, ambitious, crazy
and stupid.
Hence, he made use of the trust Conrad had in Princeps and got Princeps to hunt for a
warehouse. They stuffed the warehouse with fake goods and conned Conrad into
thinking that there were valuable items inside. That had spurred Conrad to take down
the warehouse at a high bid.
The managing official at the public government warehouse in Bullet Town had really
been Princeps’ cousin. The telescope from the national astronomical observatory had
really been placed there previously and the town had really intended to auction off six
warehouses.
It was just that the telescope had long been moved from the warehouse by the national
astronomical observatory. All that had been left was just a couple of useless
accessories.
Hence, they used the accessories as bait to set up a trap for Conrad.
For the plan to work, it was critical that Conrad would never expect Princeps to join
hands with Li Du against him. He would never have thought that it could happen that
way.
Conrad thought of Princeps as a lowly sidekick and did not perceive him as a threat at
all.
Besides, their plan had been well thought out. Conrad easily confirmed the town
administration’s plan to hold a public warehouse auction. Similarly, when Conrad
checked the identity of the warehouse manager, he found it to be genuine. Neither did
Conrad doubt when he identified the telescope accessories in the warehouse as those
he saw in the photos.
He would not find out the truth until it was too late.
Li Du had learned his lesson. This time around, he had dug the hole even deeper than
when he dealt with Hans’s ex-partner in Los Angeles. To prevent the Anthonys from
getting out of it prematurely, Li Du had not shown his face until the five hundred
thousand dollars were paid up after the auction.
That time in Los Angeles, he had also pitted himself against Conrad. However, George
Anthony had utilized all sorts of tactics and hence, the Anthonys got out of the scrape
with minimal losses.
Princeps heaved a sigh of relief after Li Du and his people left.
Right then, Princeps was experiencing highly complex emotions. For two hundred
thousand, he had burned all his bridges with the Anthonys. That did not seem to be
worth it. However, it also allowed him to resolve his conflict with Li Du. That seemed to
be worthwhile.
“Shit, let it all go to hell,” Princeps removed his SIM card and threw it away, intending to
replace it with a new one. He was determined to stay in Tucson, leading an honest life.
The outside world is too scary. I want to return to Tucson.
On the road, Li Du received a call from George Anthony.
Li Du revealed a meaningful smile and took the call. He asked, “Hey, Brother George,
are you looking for me? I’m very surprised to receive a call from you.”
This time around, George did not bother to pretend and scolded, “Li, you have gone too
far! You and that sissy Princeps ganged up on my son, right? You have pushed the
limit!”
Rubbing his nose, Li Du said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
George was about to blow his top. “You’ve got some nerve! Dammit, you son of a b*tch,
I will make you regret this!”
Li Du said, “Pull yourself together. I don’t know what happened. It sounds like you’re
very frustrated right now. Give me a call again when you’ve cooled down.”
Having said that, Li Du hung up swiftly.
Hans laughed. “He reacted fast enough.”
Li Du hummed. “He is not dumb. You appeared at Bullet Town. How could he fail to
guess what happened?”
“I thought that he would start with Princeps. Didn’t think that he would look us up so
soon.”
Li Du said, “Princeps? For the rest of his life, Princeps will never pick up his calls or
meet him again.”
The two of them were still chit-chatting when the phone rang again.
Hans smiled. “George Anthony is hopping mad. Seems like he won’t let you off today.”
Li Du looked at his phone and said, “No, it’s not him, it’s another important figure.”
Li Du accepted the call and asked, “General Remonin? Why did you change your
number?”
It was Remonin, the big warlord from Mozambique, who had called him.
Li Du guessed that the unknown number belonged to Remonin because his phone
would display the caller's area code. The only person from Mozambique who could
possibly contact him was Remonin.
Indeed, he heard Remonin’s laughter over the phone. “Ah hahaha, Li, you smart fellow*.
You managed to guess that it’s me!”
A long peal of laughter came through, hurting Li Du’s eardrums.
However, Li Du felt reassured. Remonin must be doing well on his end. His laughter
sounded joyous, meaning that he must have met with some very positive experience.
Li Du voiced out his thoughts, “So what’s going on? You sound supremely happy. This
time you’re calling to share your happiness, right?”
“Shit!” Remonin lashed out. “No, I shouldn’t say any profanities. However, I am
shocked, Li. Interacting with smart people like you is too dangerous.”
“One wouldn’t have to be too smart to realize you’re obviously very happy about
something,” Li Du said.
Remonin said, sounding hurt, “I don’t want to tell you anymore. I feel like a naked soul
when I talk to you, I have no privacy at all.”
Li Du stopped smiling. “Alright, alright, I will stop kidding around. So what’s up, what
position have you achieved? You want to tell me about that, right?”
“F*ck!” The phone line went silent.
