Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The atmosphere of the scene suddenly became strange, and the discussion sounds outside became louder:
“What do you mean? There are fewer stones? And some have been swapped?”
“What else can this mean? Can’t you guess? Someone must have done something.”
“Huh, well, this warehouse belongs to the King of Hpakant.”
The last words sounded a little too pointed. The King turned his head and said angrily, “Who said that? Who said those words? Come out! Show yourself, now, you scumbag!”
Zhong Dapao dashed out and roared, “Donʼt act so mighty now. Come in and see for yourself. Tell me, damn, where are the stones? Where are the missing raw materials? Whereʼs the ore that was swapped?”
The King said coldly, “How would I know?”
As he spoke, he went in and counted the number of stones.
Outside, Tu Qin asked the bodyguard, “Who went into the warehouse before we came back?”
The men that were in charge of guarding the warehouse looked at each other awkwardly, then murmured, “Nobody. In all this time, only you all came back to take the stones, and every time a stone was taken, you and the boss were around.”
Tu Qin frowned and said, “It’s impossible. Someone must have entered the warehouse! No one would be able to steal anything the few times we were here, but someone else must have done it during another time!”
Li Du kicked a stone and said angrily, “All right, don’t put on a damn act, and don’t make it difficult for your men. They just followed orders and did their job. Isn’t it obvious and clear what had happened?”
“What is so obvious?” The King of Hpakant snapped. “Speak clearly!”
Li Du pointed at him and asked, “OK, let me ask you, how many pieces of raw materials did we send into the warehouse?”
The King said, “34 pieces.”
“And how many do we have now?”
The King’s brows twitched, but he did not say a word.
Li Du said angrily, “I’ll say it if you don’t. We have 28 pieces now, right? So, where did the missing six pieces go?”
The King’s face was sullen. He frowned and still said nothing.
Li Du smiled sarcastically and said, “Still not opening your mouth? OK, I’ll continue asking the questions. We made a mark with red paint, so the paint color should be the same on each piece, right? You saw it with your own eyes. You were there when it was painted, right?”
The King of Hpakant did not say anything, but some people helpfully called out, “Yes!”
Tu Qin said, “Shut up and get lost!”
After all, the King was not like the old King of Hpakant who had authority and deterrence. There were powerful people in the crowd of onlookers. They were not afraid of the King. Some said with a mocking tone, “Hey, Mr. Tu is very mighty indeed.”
Tu Qin looked at the other side, showed a smile and said, “Boss Liu, please don’t make fun of me.”
Li Du ignored what was going on outside. He pointed at the raw materials on the ground and said, “You see for yourself, this one, this one and this one. Are the red paint on them and the other pieces the exact same color? Are you saying we marked these?”
“You are not going to speak? Didn’t you have a lot to say just now? I proposed to store these stones myself at that time. Originally, we wanted to rent a warehouse for storage. However, you said you had a warehouse. I was naive enough to believe in you.”
“Now the stones that were in your warehouse are gone. Where did they go? The warehouse is yours, and the men guarding it are also yours. During this period, I did not come back, and the stones delivered by my men were under your supervision as well, right? Right?”
The King was losing face when he was thus questioned, and he snapped, “Stop babbling, how would I know where the missing stones are?”
Li Du smiled and said, “I know where the stones have gone.”
This answer made the King of Hpakant look stunned. Without thinking, he asked, “Where have they gone?”
Li Du patted his pocket and said, “Do you know the mustard bags in our Chinese fairy tales? On me is a mustard bag, where I have hidden the stones.”
The people that watched the exchange immediately burst into laughter. “Haha, you would be amazing if you had this treasure! Go to the Canton, and you can take away as many stones as you want.”
“The King of Hpakant also has a mustard bag… this warehouse!”
“Come on, Suo Mo, it’s not fun if you try to play such tricks. You’re as brainless as your father, stealing rocks and leaving such blatant evidence of you doing it. How damn stupid!”
“Oh my god, King of Hpakant, you’re cheating your partner.”
“Very admirable, amazing!”
The King’s facial expression changed, and he roared, “You are talking nonsense, I didn’t touch the stones! How would I ever do such a thing?”
“Haven’t your family done many such things?” Someone sneered again. “I cooperated with your sixth uncle to buy a piece of glass species, and finally the stone was swapped and taken away. It happened only a few years ago, don’t you remember?”
The King of Hpakant looked towards his bodyguards, went up, kicked two people and roared, “Where are the stones? Where are the stones that were inside?”
The bodyguards did not dare to protest. One of them said with an aggrieved expression, “Master, I did not touch them, I swear we did not touch any stones! I didn’t see anyone go in and take the stones either!”
Tu Qin frowned and said in a heavy tone, “Master, we have been lured into a trap!”
Zhong Dapao picked up a stone from the ground, came up, and asked, “Say, who lured us into a trap?”
Tu Qin coldly looked at Zhong Dapao and said, “Master Pao, an honest man doesn’t do anything underhand. It’s not very pleasant for you to… Oh, f**k!”
Zhong Dapao gave him a knock on the head, and he lunged at him like a raging lion, roaring, “You son of a b*tch! F**k you, dumb*ss! F**k your whole dumb family! Stealing my stones and trying to push the blame to us?”
Li Du and Liu Zi joined in the fight too. “Say, where are the stones hidden?”
“F**k! You cheating bastards!”
The scene was again in chaos. The grinding master wiped his hands and drew back. The apprentice he had brought stammered, “Master, what do you think of this matter?”
“Stand by and watch quietly,” said the grinding master strictly.
Both sides were in a melee, in a bare-handed situation. Li Du’s men were on the winning side, as his bodyguards were much more powerful.
The King’s bodyguards were retired soldiers of Myanmar. Li Du’s side also had retired soldiers, but they were the elite troops of Germany and Ukraine. Their strength and stamina were far superior, and their abilities much more advanced.
Soon the King of Hpakant’s side was being beaten into retreat.
The security guards of the field who found about the conflict quickly arrived, and with a harsh sound of a gunshot into the air, the security guard captain said angrily, “All stop! Get out!”
The gunfire sound startled the crowd, and Li Du’s side stopped the fight, but continued to shout at the King of Hpakant, “Take out the hidden stones! You’re the one who wanted to cooperate with us! Is that how you treat your partners?”
“Stones that cost two billion, damn, you’re going too far!”
