Beipai Tomb Raiders Notes

Chapter 617 and the Deliveryman

I ran upstairs as fast as I could.

Looking at the room number "412", I couldn't help but gasp for breath, my thoughts instantly returning to a month ago.

Xiao Yang and I were both there at the time. I said I wanted to book a room, and the hotel receptionist asked Xiao Yang, "Didn't you book a room upstairs? 412, right? Nobody's been staying there for days. Isn't booking another room a waste of money?"

So I asked Xiaoyang why he booked two rooms?

Xiao Yang smiled and said to me, "Brother Feng, I'm just being prepared. If something happens, I can run upstairs."

My thoughts returned to reality. I turned the key, pushed open the door, and went inside.

I pressed the wall switch, but there was no response; it seems the light is broken.

The room was dark, but you could see a large double-door freezer in the corner. It was the kind that convenience stores put up in front of their shops in the summer.

I grabbed the freezer handle and pulled upwards.

As the gap widened, my heart began to beat faster.

The huge freezer was completely empty except for a tuft of hair hanging on the inner wall.

This hair is clearly a woman's hair.

I held it and looked at it for several minutes.

This is Zhang Meng's hair.

Why did it turn out like this?

I was planning to find an opportunity to tell Zhang Meng the truth.

No wonder Zhang Meng suddenly vanished into thin air; no wonder I couldn't find any news about her when I accompanied Brother Yu to the hospital in Hangzhou last time.

I did everything I could to help her. I paid for her mother's surgery, I helped her contact the hospital, I arranged accommodation for them, and I even used my connections to try and find Zhang Meng a legitimate job. Was my ulterior motive too obvious?

It must be... that's why Xiaoyang noticed something was wrong.

But Xiao Yang doesn't know the whole truth!

I didn't kill Zhang Meng's father!

Her father didn't die after falling into the dragon cave! He probably just broke his leg or was injured! The Jiang family was the one who killed him in the end!

I am not the murderer!

I didn't kill anyone! I didn't kill anyone!

Why did things end up like this?

I sat down by the refrigerator. My illness hadn't gotten better yet, and the emotional agitation caused a burning pain in my chest again.

I tried to calm myself down, but I couldn't.

I brought Zhang Meng and her daughter to meet Xiao Yang. They got along very well at the time, and Xiao Yang kept calling Zhang Meng "Sister Zhang." I thought they would become friends.

In his letter, Xiao Yang said that once Zhang Meng learns the truth, he will definitely stab me in the back. I don't know how he came to this conclusion.

"Mr. Ghost" is the master of the Shock Gate. No one knows what her face looks like under that white mask. I can only guess that she is a young woman based on her voice and some details. After leaving a letter, Xiao Yang willingly went with her. I don't know where she went. No one in this world can find out the whereabouts of the Shock Gate people. I can't find her, and I can't find her head either.

Just then, my phone lit up; a call was coming in.

"I heard you're sick?"

It was from Xiguatou.

"Why don't you speak?"

"You have something to say."

“We thought you were dead. The fact that you can talk means you’re still breathing. Well, we just received the goods. These Anglican relics are very meaningful to the Church, so we’re willing to offer a good price.”

"They're forcing us to sell; do you think we dare refuse?"

"You can't say that. Your master made a wise choice. This batch of goods cannot leave Zhejiang. Tell me how many you want, and your master will let you decide."

"Three hundred million."

"Stop talking nonsense! Speak properly!"

I was so frustrated that I immediately raised my phone and yelled, "You son of a bitch! The deal was already done! Now that you have the goods, what good is asking me?! Even if you give me a dollar, what can I do about it?!"

After I scolded him, Watermelon Head, unusually, didn't scold back. Instead, he lowered his voice on the phone and said, "You still don't know?"

"What do I know!"

"It's Tian Sanjiu. He's currently in the Tang Dynasty. He personally delivered your goods by waterway."

I was stunned for a moment.

Over the phone, the man with the watermelon-headed face said in a deep voice, "If we're saying this is a forced purchase, then you're the one forcing a sale. This is your master's backup plan. Tian Sanjiu's mother arrived at Qiandao Lake a week ago with dozens of cars and over three hundred people! The reason he didn't show up is because your master is wary of us. I admit, the church didn't initially intend to pay. That woman from the Jiang family talked to my godfather, and he and she reached a private agreement that if anything happens to you, the goods will naturally belong to us."

“You need to understand the interests of all parties involved here! We people from Zhuji are not afraid of Tian Sanjiu. He claims to be just a deliveryman, and the final pricing power is on your side. If we break ties with him over money, our godfather's reputation among Taoists will be affected! At the same time, it will give him a pretext to venture south into our territory.”

I understood instantly, clenched my fist and said, "So, as long as the total price of that batch of goods is within a reasonable range, I can ask for whatever price I want? Because it's inconvenient for the boss to talk to Xu Tongshan, and you and I have some personal relationship, so I'm having you ask him to make the suggestion?"

“Not bad! Godfather said you guys were one step ahead this time, but don’t get carried away. This time, Tian Sanjiu is acting as the ‘deliveryman,’ and he’s going to take a cut of the total payment. Do you know how much he’s going to take?”

"One and a half percent?" I guessed.

Based on the gold armor and the two batches of Northern Song gold artifacts unearthed from the subsequent burial pit, the total value may have reached 50 million. Even 15% of 50 million would amount to several million, which is already a very high figure.

Unexpectedly, the man with the watermelon-shaped haircut said coldly on the phone, "He made it clear that he wants to take 45%."

"Forty-five percent!!"

"That's not how you divide it! This isn't the right way. Did the boss agree to it?"

The boy with the watermelon head said, "He's never been one to follow the rules. This is you guys, but if it were anyone else, he'd dare to take 90% of it."

"So, have you thought it through? Give me a figure, and from now on, the decision will be based on yours."

I loosened my fist, thought about it carefully, and said, "I've made up my mind, let's go with 1,500."

"Fifteen thousand? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I've already asked you to ask. We're brothers, and between brothers, money is secondary. We definitely have to give you face."

"Ah...."

A mocking laugh came from the other end of the phone, followed by the man with the watermelon-shaped haircut, and then he hung up.

The fact that the boss didn't communicate with me beforehand meant he handed the decision-making power over to me; he was testing my judgment of the situation.

In my previous understanding, as long as you dare to ask for money, there will be someone in this world who dares to give you money. For example, Jiang Zhaoxue, that woman, money is really just a number to her.

I didn't ask for several thousand, but rather for 1,500. That's because right now I have to give the people of Zhuji and the Wisdom Sect a way out, the price of which is to give up some benefits. I really didn't expect that Xu Tongshan would dare to reach an agreement with Jiang Zhaoxue in private. The boss had already noticed and called Brother Tian over. Brother Tian brought more than 300 people to Datang this time, which clearly means he had made the worst-case scenario plan.

I took a deep breath and burned my hair off with a lighter.

Then I went to a corner of the room to see if Xiaoyang had left any more messages.

The result was no.

When I got to the first floor, I told the receptionist that my friend had gone out of town and wouldn't be coming back, so I should cancel the room.

My face looked terrible at that moment, and the receptionist seemed a little frightened, so she didn't ask any more questions.

As I reached the door, I looked up and then went back.

"Is this surveillance camera always on?"

"It's on."

How long are video recordings typically kept?

"Half a month."

"Where's the monitor? I need to see it."

"this...."

"Over there."

I gave the receptionist two hundred yuan and asked her not to tell anyone about it. She was just an employee of the boss, earning five or six hundred yuan a month. Since I gave her money, she was naturally willing to accept it.

I spent some time fast-forwarding through the security footage from the entrance over the past few days.

Suddenly, I saw a blurry "figure".

Let's take a closer look.

After I saw it clearly, my mouth dropped open.

It was this person!

I should have thought of that sooner...

It turns out that this person is the true master of the Shock Gate.