Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 46 Men with Skill
Half an hour after leaving the dock, the two parked their car on the side of the road.

The young man led Zhou Yi into a small alley, and after walking for a short while, they arrived at a hidden door.

He raised his hand and tapped three times quickly, paused for a few seconds, and then slowly tapped twice more.

Click.

The latch clicked softly, and a sliver of light shone through the crack in the door in the darkness.

"Who?"

The person inside asked in a low voice.

“It’s me, Mario. I brought a friend to meet Diaz,” the young man replied casually.

The door slowly opened, revealing a burly Black man.

He was in his early thirties, shirtless, with a hideous scar across his left cheek.

He nodded to Mario, then stepped aside to make way.

"Come in, Diaz is still working."

After passing through the narrow corridor and climbing the steps, Zhou Yi followed Mario to the room at the far end of the second floor.

The space was small, with old filing cabinets piled up against the walls, and the air was filled with the smell of ink.

A man sat at a wooden table in the corner, carefully examining a passport.

As soon as Mario entered, he expertly pulled out a chair, sat down, and patted the table: "We've got some work, Diaz. I've brought you a new client who wants some high-quality goods."

Upon hearing this, Diaz looked up, sized Zhou Yi up and down, then grinned: "A new client? Great, what are your needs?"

Zhou Yi, hands in his pockets, said, "It needs to have a real record and be able to pass eMRTD certification as soon as possible."

Diaz narrowed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms over his chest: "If you want to get something that can be traced, a fake certificate alone won't do."

"That's why I came to you," Zhou Yi said calmly. "Mario said you could do it, or should I take that as him bragging?"

Realizing that his cousin had once again blurted out the secret, Diaz rolled his eyes in exasperation and decided to cut to the chase without further ado:

"Alright, since Mario has already told you, I can definitely handle it."

"What nationality do you want? A regular passport or a diplomatic passport? Of course, the latter is only available in the Dominican Republic, and the price is different."

"A regular Dominican passport will do."

Zhou Yi paused for a moment, then added, "I don't mind spending money, but I don't want to wait too long."

Diaz stroked his chin thoughtfully: "Fastest? Five days."

"Five days is too long, three days is fine."

"Three days? Brother, you can't just change the database whenever you want. You have to wait for the system update. Being too hasty will only make my partner uneasy."

Zhou Yi didn't waste any words and simply quoted a price: "Three days, fifty thousand US dollars."

Diaz's eyes flickered, and he stared at him for a few seconds: "Such a big move. You're in such a hurry to leave, you've caused quite a bit of trouble, haven't you?"

How is Mexico doing lately?

"Sinaloa and the government are locked in a fierce battle. I heard they just had a clash in Baja state last week, and the army was even deployed."

Zhou Yi's face was expressionless, but his tone turned cold: "I thought people in this line of work shouldn't be overly curious."

Upon hearing this, Diaz immediately smiled and raised his hand: "My mistake, my mistake. Business is business, I won't ask questions I shouldn't ask."

"To express our apologies—three days is no problem, but you have to pay 60% upfront."

He then held up three fingers: "That means this amount is for cash transactions."

Without hesitation, Zhou Yi pulled out a wad of US dollars from inside his coat and threw it on the table.

Seeing this, Diaz whistled, bent down to open the cabinet next to him, and stuffed the cash into the money counting machine.

The electric scroll wheel vibrated slightly, and the numbers on the screen jumped continuously before finally settling at 30000.

Diaz smiled genuinely, carefully put the money away, and tucked it into his pocket.

"Shall we begin now?"

As he spoke, he pulled an old IBM laptop out from under the table and gestured for Zhou Yi to come closer.

What are you planning to call it?

"Juan, Juan González."

“A good choice. Date of birth?” Zhou Yi thought for a moment, and based on the current year and his own age, he gave a reasonable date.

"place of birth?"

"Santiago."

"You don't seem to be from over there; your accent is completely different."

Zhou Yi shrugged and didn't say anything.

"Okay then, male, no problem."

"Come on, sign your name."

Diaz took a blank form from the drawer and pushed it in front of Zhou Yi.

While he was writing, I picked up a black fingerprint scanner from the floor and placed it on the table.

"Hold it steady, don't shake."

Zhou Yi placed his index finger on the glass panel.

A short while later, the instrument emitted two "beep" sounds.

"Okay, done."

Diaz skillfully saved the data into an open file, then picked up the digital camera beside him and pointed it at Zhou Yi.

"Look here, don't move."

Click.

The shutter clicked, and a clear photo appeared on the screen.

"How about it? Should we make some adjustments?"

"No, this is fine."

"Okay, the system will register it in the database, but we have to wait for the government to update it. So, come here to pick up the goods three days later at 10 a.m. with the remaining money."

Diaz said, tearing off a sticky note, scribbling down the time, and handing it to him: "Be on time, don't keep me waiting too long."

Zhou Yi took the note, put it in his pocket, and was about to turn and leave.

At this moment, Mario, who had been holding back his words, finally couldn't help but speak up.

He quickly stood up and soon caught up with Zhou Yi.

"Hey buddy, why are you in such a hurry to leave? The drinks downstairs are pretty good, and the girls are got some energy. How about we go relax a bit?"

Zhou Yi stopped, turned his head slightly, and looked at Mario's face.

"Don't be so wary." Mario smiled broadly, his eyes filled with anticipation and calculation, like an excited coyote.

"What bad intentions could I possibly have? I just think everyone should have some fun."

Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything.

Mario then took the opportunity to continue his sales pitch.

"Come on, buddy, have a drink, relax a bit. Look at you, you're as tense as a wound-up toy."

"."

"Well, to be honest, my enthusiasm for you isn't just because you're Diaz's important guest."

Zhou Yi finally showed some interest, raising an eyebrow. "What's that?"

“You’re rich,” Mario said frankly. “I like friends who are rich.”

"You know, with my meager salary, I can't even afford to drink expensive liquor, let alone have many opportunities to touch women."

As he spoke, he patted Zhou Yi's arm, trying to pull him back: "Since we've met, why not do me the honor and hang out for a while? Don't worry, I'll buy you the first drink. After that, you can buy me a dance, that's not too much to ask, is it?"

"You're quite direct."

"These days, those who beat around the bush don't last long," Mario said nonchalantly. "So, what do you think of my suggestion?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Yi finally nodded in agreement.

Anyway, the money comes from the system and it refreshes every world, so I'll just treat it as a place to rest for a while.

(End of this chapter)