Chapter 9 Leading the Way, East Wind, Exactly the Perfect Presence... If only Fu Ze could still use it...
Instead of taking the card that Fu Ze pushed towards him, Wells Lee pressed on somewhat aggressively, asking, "Where is he? Why doesn't he come himself?"
Fu Ze slowly withdrew his finger from the card, hesitated for a moment, and then said solemnly:
"He...is dead."
Just moments before, during that questioning, Fu Ze had actually considered whether or not to lie to Wells Lee.
After all, more than a month had passed since the death of his own body, and the place of death was far away in another city.
By now, the body that had been conspired to throw into the cave should have been completely devoured by the creatures there, leaving probably not even a trace of bone.
In short, there is no way to prove it now that he is dead.
After some thought, Fu Ze finally decided to tell the truth.
Despite his current disheveled, hangover appearance, Wells Lee's ability to build a reputation in V City's underground underworld is undoubtedly due to his unique skills and information channels.
He might have known about his body's death even before the local enforcer.
Sure enough, Wells Lee showed no surprise upon hearing the answer; he even raised an eyebrow with a hint of mockery.
"They can't even afford cremation, so what are they talking about igniting the dawn?"
Although that's what he said, Fu Ze could still sense a hint of sadness in his sarcastic tone.
Perhaps out of remembrance for his deceased friend and a desire to do what he could to make his funeral arrangements, Wells Lee first picked up Fu Ze's card and casually tossed it into the drawer under the bar's cash register, then pulled out the chair opposite Fu Ze and sat down.
Once money has been received, regardless of the specific amount, the nature of the matter changes.
It has transformed from a one-sided transaction request into a formal entrustment between two parties.
So what problem did you encounter?
Fu Ze didn't beat around the bush and directly stated the problem he was facing: "I need to crack the facial recognition of a Magic Lizard 757. If it were you, you could definitely do it."
Wells Lee ignored Fu Ze's comment and scratched his chin. "The Demon Lizard 757, this model was only recently released. Where did you get it?"
"The car itself was purchased through legitimate channels." Fu Ze frowned slightly, turning his head to look at Wells Lee. "As for how I obtained it, it shouldn't affect your job, right?"
Wells Lee remained silent, his eyes clearly stating – “His origins were indeed illegitimate.”
I don't know what gives this agent, whose job involves washing unlicensed cars and selling counterfeit goods most of the time, the audacity to condemn himself...
However, when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Fu Ze forced a smile that was a mixture of surprise and embarrassment: "Could it be that there's something in this world that Wells Lee can't handle? This is different from what he told me when he was drunk and opened up to me."
Seeing that Fu Ze had brought up his old friend, Wells Lee sniffed, placed his hands on the table, leaned close to Fu Ze, and widened his small eyes, which were almost covered by messy thick eyebrows. "Then I'll ask you one last question."
Although he disliked the smell of alcohol emanating from the other person, Fu Ze maintained his dignified posture, nodded slightly, and gestured for the other person to ask a question.
Have you slept together?
Fu Ze: ...
He found it difficult to assess how Wells Lee's thought process was structured when he asked that question.
But as I said before, Fu Ze is now in need of the other party's help, so no matter how offensive or improper the other party is, he has to put up with it.
After weighing the options carefully, Fu Ze tentatively replied, "For a while."
Wells Lee was filled with awe.
“It’s my brother’s fault for making such a good-looking person a widow. You’re so kind and loyal even after being a widow, that’s remarkable.” He bent down, pulled a T-shirt with a pixelated yellow bean smiley face printed on it from under the bar, and put it on. “Lead the way.”
*
Fu Ze led Wells Lee to the warehouse.
Upon seeing the Demon Lizard 757 parked on the basement level, Wells Lee used one hand to brace himself against the stair railing and flipped directly from the doorway to the warehouse floor.
If Fu Ze hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to imagine that Wells Lee's massive, bear-like physique could perform such agile movements.
After circling the car, Wells Lee got straight to the point: "You've installed quite a few big gadgets, haven't you? How much did it all cost?"
Fu Ze told him everything truthfully.
Every time Fu Ze quoted the price of a component, Wells Lee would scoff.
They complained about buying the wrong thing, getting ripped off, this brand having poor quality control, that distributor having a bad reputation, and so on.
After thoroughly reviewing Fu Ze's Demon Lizard 757, Wells Lee leaned back in his car and said sullenly, "If my brother were still here, given his style, he definitely wouldn't let you suffer this kind of injustice."
Sensing the emotional fluctuation in Wells Lee's words, Fu Ze took the opportunity to walk around to the front of the car and nimbly sat down next to Wells Lee.
“Yes, after all, he died too suddenly.” He swayed his long legs, which were crossed, and blinked slowly. “I should have made him develop the habit of regularly updating his will and estate.”
These little gestures sound like both a complaint and a coquettish act.
Any normal man would fall for this.
This is the unique method that Fu Ze learned from the most beautiful courtesan in the brothel.
Suddenly, Wells Lee held out a hand in front of Fu Ze. "Do you recognize this?"
Fu Ze looked closely and saw a small square lying in the center of Wells Lee's palm.
The six sides of this small cube fit together perfectly, and one of the sides is engraved with lotus and Buddha head patterns, making it impossible to tell that it has any function other than decoration.
"I don't know him." Fu Ze shook his head.
"You really don't recognize him?" Wells Lee stretched his hand a little further in front of Fu Ze. "Take a closer look."
“Even if I am his ‘widow,’ it doesn’t mean he would show me everything, right?” Fu Ze simply went all out and took the initiative to claim the “widow” status to avoid further trouble. “Besides, we haven’t been together for very long.”
“If you don’t recognize it, that makes things easier.” Wells Lee tossed the small box up and caught it in his hand, grinning.
Fu Ze: ...?
It's unclear what Wells Lee did, but the seemingly perfectly sealed little cube suddenly deformed, and a metal probe with an extremely complex shape emerged from one of its corners.
"This is the original factory key for the Magic Lizard 757. If you've done even a little research on external systems, you'll recognize it."
Upon suddenly hearing the word "key," Fu Ze felt another throbbing pain in his temple.
"So, you're using this thing to test whether I stole the Demon Lizard 757 or not?" He rubbed the skin on his forehead and said sarcastically from the bottom of his heart, "It's surprising that Wells Lee's service is so 'complete'."
Wells Lee grunted and tilted his head back matter-of-factly. "You think reputation is built up like that? Better safe than sorry."
Fu Ze looked at Wells Lee, who hadn't even bothered to find a cushion before turning over and lying down under the car, and suddenly had a sudden inspiration. He asked, "Now that you've found out this much, aren't you going to ask me what I'm up to?"
“Most of the time, asking around helps you avoid traps,” Wells Lee’s voice came muffled from under the car. “But sometimes, asking around less is better for avoiding trouble.”
Fu Ze, a fellow traveler, was impressed by Wells Lee's extremely flexible approach to things.
With a system reset sound, Wells Lee slid out from under the car, got up and instructed Fu Ze to scan his face's 3D information, voiceprint and fingerprints into the system.
After doing all this, Wells Lee extended a hand free of oil stains to Fu Ze, saying, "Come and do business with me when you have the chance, the compliant kind."
For Wells Lee, these words were a rather good blessing.
“Of course.” Fu Ze smiled and shook hands with him. “I’ve long heard that Manager Charles’s dry martini is the best in V City. If I have the chance, I must try it.”
He always keeps his word.
As long as he can come back alive in this body.
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Having completed the crucial step of "buying a fine horse in the East Market," and then followed up with a flurry of preparations including "buying a saddle in the West Market, a bridle in the South Market, and a whip in the North Market," Fu Ze was now ready for everything except for the final push.
However, what he originally thought was the most troublesome "East Wind" has now become the easiest thing to solve.
Since the goal is to infiltrate the ranks of executives, Fu Ze must first be an executive himself, or at least be 99% like one.
Almost all the executive equipment can be found on the black market, but there is one thing that Fu Ze has been unable to find.
That is the chain ornament on the executive officer's collar, used to symbolize the corresponding rank.
Not only can they not be found, but they are also almost impossible to fake.
Because they haven't observed it up close, even jewelry stores that specialize in counterfeiting can only roughly sketch out the external design based on the few formal photos of the original star that have been leaked.
This counterfeit, lacking in internal details, is fine as a toy, but if it were actually used in a real setting, it would certainly not fool a real executive.
Fu Ze originally planned to play a "switcheroo" game, replacing the real prince with the real one from an unlucky executive he randomly encountered.
But nowadays, it's not necessary to go through all that trouble.
After all, Dongfeng came knocking on our door early this morning.
Not only did they come to our door, but they also brought good news, preventing Fu Ze from focusing his attention on the escort vehicle and ending up with nothing.
Holding the two chain buckles, made by a professional counterfeit jewelry store, between his thumb and forefinger, Fu Ze examined them against the sunlight.
He then took out an extremely fine file and began to make small, careful repairs to them.
After a long while, he held them back in front of him and gently blew on them.
The fine silver dust, like the first snowflakes, was blown away and rolled onto Fu Ze's clothes, leaving no trace.
"It feels like it's going to work out," Fu Ze murmured.
The two collar buttons at this moment were almost identical to the ones he remembered that were fastened on the collar of the original Jianxing.
It wasn't that he had planned this beforehand; it's just that Yuan Jianxing was extremely close at that time, so close that the two points of light emanating from the man's collar were almost hitting Fu Ze's eyes, making it difficult for him not to see them.
I wonder what Hara Mihoshi would think if he knew that his righteous actions had turned him into an accomplice in creating even greater chaos for others.
It's going to be really interesting!
Imagining Yuan Jianxing's expression upon learning of this, Fu Ze smugly fastened the ornament to his collar and then sat up straight in front of the rearview mirror.
Hmm... Although I have all the necessary equipment, I still don't feel like an executive.
What could be the reason?
The group of executives is very large, and there must be many who look and have a similar temperament to this little internet celebrity.
But Fu Ze felt that an executive officer should be like Yuan Jianxing.
Powerful, calm, with precise and decisive decision-making, and exceptional action...
Following Yuan Jianxing's example, Fu Ze pursed his lips down and lowered his eyelashes slightly. After this series of actions, Fu Ze finally gave up.
What's fake is fake, no matter how well it's disguised, it can't become real, so don't dwell on it.
He picked up a velvet cloth soaked in conditioner and casually wiped the pair of chain collar buttons, which were the same style as those worn by Hara Mikihoshi, patiently waiting for the prison break target to appear.
A note from the author:
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The prison break is finally about to begin! It wasn't easy, Fu Xiaozhe! [Applause]
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