Chapter 948: VIP Client |
Liu Xing paused for a moment before continuing, "The 'ren ya zi' was a middleman in ancient times. Although they were nominally legal, they often engaged in illegal activities, such as forced buying and selling, and even monopolizing certain industries. In any case, they weren't good people. But on the other hand, I don't think the 'skinny horse' in the Poetry and Song World is the kind of 'skinny horse' you're talking about, Yin En. If that were the case, the meaning of the poem 'Tian Jing Sha Qiu Si' would change drastically. Remember, a certain international superstar once said, 'Adaptation is not random rewriting, and fictionalization is not baseless storytelling.' Yin En, you might have to apologize to the whole nation for saying this."
"Haha, that's a good one," Yin En laughed. "Let's leave it at that for now. We'll call you after we reach an agreement with Matsui Yui."
Liu Xing also smiled and said, "No problem. You go ahead and contact Matsui Yui. I think Kitano Masakazu is about to make his move."
After saying this, Liu Xing hung up the phone.
To be honest, after Yin En's playful interjection, Liu Xing also became curious about the 'skinny horse' in the Poetry and Song World. Was it really from Yangzhou as Yin En claimed? Well, Liu Xing admitted that he was just curious about the person's body.
Although the idiom 'Yangzhou skinny horse' is derogatory, it also implies a certain level of affirmation for the 'skinny horse' in various aspects. As a man, Liu Xing was indeed curious about what this 'skinny horse' looked like.
Unfortunately, the torn page from the Poetry and Song World was already in Matsui Yui's possession, and it would be quite troublesome for Liu Xing to enter that world again. Moreover, the poem 'You Shanxi Cun' was only half-complete, so the poem 'Tian Jing Sha Qiu Si' might also be incomplete.
Wait a minute.
Liu Xing suddenly remembered something. The old man in Shanxi Village had mentioned Lu You, but in the poem, Lu You was probably just a visitor, not the landowner. Could there be some hidden story behind this?
If that were the case, the Poetry and Song World would become even more interesting.
As Liu Xing's mind wandered, Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen came out.
"Liu Xing, do you want to go out for dinner with us?" Li Hanxing glanced at his mobile phone and said, "We plan to eat at the restaurant on the first floor so we can keep an eye on the high-ranking member of the Shimazu Family and see if he leaves the hotel."
Liu Xing looked at the wall clock and saw that it was 5:00 in the afternoon.
If Shima Mitsuhiro was planning something during dinner time, Liu Xing thought it would be best to wait for him on the first floor. That way, he could follow Shima Mitsuhiro as soon as he made his move.
So, Liu Xing, Li Hanxing, and Sun Huiwen went to the restaurant on the first floor, only to find that Shima Mitsuhiro was having dinner with two bodyguards.
It seemed that Shima Mitsuhiro was either planning to visit Ii Trio after dinner or had already anticipated Kitano Masakazu's attack on the Shimazu Residence, so he was eating his fill in preparation for a quick escape.
In any case, he certainly wouldn't return to his room to rest after dinner.
After sitting down, Liu Xing asked Li Hanxing, "Li Hanxing, can you monitor their vehicles?"
Li Hanxing nodded seriously and said, "Of course. In fact, I've already done it. I prepared a surveillance device in the car earlier, so I just parked it at the entrance. As soon as their car leaves the hotel parking lot, we'll get the message immediately. However, the tricky part is that we can't be sure if they'll change cars. They entered the private parking lot with several vehicles, and you can only access that parking lot with a card. It's impossible to see what's happening inside from the outside."
This was not good news.
Liu Xing looked at Shima Mitsuhiro and stroked his chin. "So, do we have a chance to plant a tracking device on him?"
Sun Huiwen shook her head and said firmly, "No way. That guy and his bodyguards are too vigilant. Anyone who enters his five-meter radius will be noticed immediately. If there are few people, they'll be monitored one-on-one, and if there are many people, each bodyguard will be responsible for a general direction."
Liu Xing sighed helplessly, "That's a problem. I just received a tip that he's preparing to escape from Kagoshima City. If everything goes according to plan, his escape route will be exactly as we imagined—straight south to the seaside, and then he'll leave by submarine."
"Should we set up an ambush along his escape route?" Li Hanxing asked anxiously. "We can study the escape route when we get back and find a few good ambush spots."
Liu Xing glared at Li Hanxing and said, "When did I say we were going to ambush them? Let me tell you something. That high-ranking member of the Shimazu Family and I are on the same side. Whether he escapes from Kagoshima City alive or not doesn't matter to me, but if he dies, it will cause me some trouble. I've placed a lot of bets on him, so you two must not kill him by mistake. I won't pay you if that happens."
Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen nodded.
Just then, Shi Zixuan sent a message.
After reading the text, Liu Xing frowned.
A bad news—Ii Naoyoshi had left Lu Wu in a pickup truck and was heading towards the city center of Kagoshima City.
Walking into a trap?
Liu Xing didn't want Ii Naoyoshi to walk into a trap at this time, but he couldn't think of a way to stop Ii Naoyoshi from going to the city center of Kagoshima City.
After all, Ii Naoyoshi had the advantage of speed.
So, what should be done? Should Zhang Jingxu and the others intercept Ii Naoyoshi on the way?
It was a joke. Ii Naoyoshi was the leader of a sect, and he should still have a few magic items. Therefore, the success rate of Zhang Jingxu and the others intercepting Ii Naoyoshi was very low, and they might even be completely wiped out. Without the skills, Ii Naoyoshi wouldn't dare to wander around in a place like Kagoshima City.
Could they only rely on fate?
Liu Xing sat there, deep in thought, holding a cup of coffee, while Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen ate and drank, completely ignoring Liu Xing.
After a while, Liu Xing realized that the only way to stop Ii Naoyoshi from reaching the city center of Kagoshima City was to persuade Shimada Sho to intervene. Otherwise, it would be impossible.
Would Shimada Sho agree to intervene?
Unless Liu Xing could make a successful Persuasion Judgment, Shimada Sho would definitely not intervene. After all, Shimada Sho wanted a peaceful life, and if he met Ii Naoyoshi, he would never be able to return to the peaceful life he desired.
Needless to say, Ii Naoyoshi would definitely try to get rid of Shimada Sho, the witness. Because if Ii Naoyoshi wasn't stupid, he should be able to guess that Shimada Sho had discovered his actions in the Lu Wu area. Therefore, for the sake of the unknown Great Old One he believed in, Shimada Sho must die!
With this in mind, Liu Xing chose to give up.
"Sigh."
Liu Xing sighed and finished his coffee in one gulp.
Seeing Liu Xing's sudden loss of spirit, Li Hanxing asked in confusion, "Liu Xing, did you receive some bad news? I feel like your mindset has suddenly collapsed."
Liu Xing nodded helplessly and said, "Yes, I just received some bad news, very bad news... If we make the worst-case assumption, the entire Southern Kyushu might fall into chaos or even be destroyed."
Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen looked at each other in surprise, not expecting Liu Xing to say this.
"Uh, Liu Xing, sit here for a moment. I'll go get something with Sun Huiwen."
Li Hanxing suddenly stood up and pulled the surprised Sun Huiwen away.
Liu Xing knew that Li Hanxing wanted to discuss something with Sun Huiwen, probably to ask what had happened.
Liu Xing put down his coffee cup and noticed a small piece of sugar cube at the bottom of the cup that hadn't melted yet.
It seemed that only after finishing the coffee would one know if it had been thoroughly stirred... Wait a minute.
A light bulb went off in Liu Xing's head, and he suddenly thought of a possibility—a possibility of why Ii Naoyoshi would go to the city center of Kagoshima City at this time.
He was going to meet Ii Trio.
Because the Ii Family had already pledged allegiance to the unknown Great Old One!
If this guess was true, many things would make sense. For example, why would the Ii Family suddenly decide to 'avenge their family's honor' at this time? Ii Naoyoshi's imprisonment in Blackstone Mountain Prison was public knowledge, so if the Ii Family wanted to 'restore their family's honor,' they should have sent someone to assassinate Ii Naoyoshi in Blackstone Mountain Prison long ago.
Through Sawada Yinyin's introduction, Liu Xing also learned that although the major families in Island Nation were willing to cooperate with secret cults, their family members would never join those cults. They considered it too shameful.
Moreover, these families also had their own 'family teachings,' so their family members didn't need to join secret cults.
Therefore, Liu Xing now suspected that Ii Naoyoshi was actually a secret member of the Ii Family. Perhaps at first, he was indeed trapped by love and chose to leave the family. However, after Ii Naoyoshi joined the secret cult and became the leader, the Ii Family might have contacted him because they had also pledged allegiance to the unknown Great Old One.
From the current situation, it was clear that the unknown Great Old One intended to use Island Nation as a breakthrough point, indicating that he had a certain understanding of the situation in Island Nation. Therefore, he should know that Island Nation was a peculiar place, and in terms of strength, the secret cults were no match for the major families.
So, when he was inciting the secret cults and the strong members of the major families, he should also have tried to reorganize and incorporate some families and secret cults into his plan, making it more favorable for him. He wouldn't just rely on controlling leaders like Ii Naoyoshi and expect their followers to be loyal to him.
This seemed a bit strange.
Therefore, Liu Xing now believed that the unknown Great Old One might have secretly controlled several families and secret cults, but he let the 'individuals' take the heat, diverting the attention of the other families and secret cults in Island Nation.
If this were the case, the Ii Family might be planning to exchange information with Ii Naoyoshi and prepare for the next step... However, these were just Liu Xing's speculations, and they were completely unsupported by evidence.
But if Ii Naoyoshi met with Ii Trio, it would prove that Liu Xing's guess was correct.
With this in mind, Liu Xing immediately took out his mobile phone and asked Shi Zixuan to follow Ii Naoyoshi.
"No problem, I'm following Ii Naoyoshi now, and he's still heading towards the city center of Kagoshima City."
After reading Shi Zixuan's reply, Liu Xing didn't know whether to pray for Ii Naoyoshi to meet with Ii Trio in Kagoshima City or for Ii Naoyoshi to come to Kagoshima City for other reasons.
Liu Xing shook his head. From now on, he would leave it to fate.
At this moment, Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen returned.
Li Hanxing took out a pendant made from a bullet casing and said, "Liu Xing, are you willing to trust us and cooperate with us?"
Liu Xing looked at the pendant in surprise because he had just received a reminder from KP Duanqiao, "The mercenary players Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen have decided to upgrade you to a VIP client. Are you willing to accept it?"
Compared to Shi Zixuan, a pirate who operated in the shadows, Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen were legitimate mercenaries who could sign contracts and provide VIP services.
In simple terms, VIP service meant customizing contracts instead of relying on the contracts provided by the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall based on the requirements proposed by the clients and the strength of the mercenary players.
Of course, the customized contracts in VIP service would not involve the reward mechanism for mercenary players to prevent them from 'score farming' through custom contracts.
However, the most important thing was that each mercenary player or squad could set a maximum of three VIP clients, and they must satisfy all the requirements of the VIP clients, even if they were very unreliable. If they couldn't fulfill the requirements, they would be considered useless, as they would no longer be able to accept random commissions from the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall or regular commissions from other players.
Therefore, when mercenary players or squads chose VIP clients, they had to be very selective. They had to ensure that the VIP client provided sufficient benefits and wouldn't betray them.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 949: Speaking the Truth