Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

Su Pan was around 0 years old, slightly overweight, and of average appearance, except that her skin was much fairer than the others here. Her gray hair was tied in a ponytail, which made her look somewhat feminine.

Su Pan welcomed An Xiaohai and his group, but not with great enthusiasm. He only interacted with Xu Tianyou, seemingly disregarding the others.

Su Pan merely nodded slightly in response to An Xiaohai's greeting, and didn't even glance at the others.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Su Pan waved his hand, and his men came over and led everyone else to the nearby wooden stockade. Xu Tianyou and An Xiaohai were left behind, and he personally led them to his residence.

Supan's residence was inside a cave.

The cave is very large and its internal structure is extremely complex. It is a natural fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Su Pan built a house using cement and stones deep inside the cave.

Entering the house is like entering another world, a sudden transition from a dark and damp primeval rainforest to a luxurious and comfortable modern building.

Su Pan invited Xu Tianyou and An Xiaohai to sit down in the living room, while he went to another room to take a shower and change his clothes. Less than ten minutes later, when he came out of the room, he had completely changed his demeanor.

"I really dislike the feeling of being covered in sweat," Su Pan said as he brewed tea. His Mandarin was surprisingly standard, and his tea-brewing technique was very similar to that of his third brother and his group.

An Xiaohai smiled but said nothing.

"I really like your gift. My mother has been talking about wanting to get a golden Buddha statue lately. Master Miaoheng is also the master she respects the most. My mother will be very happy to see this golden Buddha statue. You are so thoughtful! Come, have some tea."

Su Pan brewed a cup of tea and poured one for An Xiaohai first.

An Xiaohai smiled slightly again, picked up the teacup and took a sip, finding the tea to be quite delicious.

"Mr. An is a connoisseur of tea," Su Pan said with a smile, staring at An Xiaohai's face.

"General Su Pan, you flatter me. I don't really know much about tea, but I think this tea tastes really good. You can just call me Xiao Hai."

"Hehe, okay, then I'll call you Xiao Hai. I often hear Xiao Tian mention you; he says you're the person he admires most."

"Xiaotian is also the person I trust the most."

"Very well, since that's the case, let's not beat around the bush. I'm a little impatient to present the golden Buddha to my mother!"

To be honest, I'm curious, what kind of business do you want to discuss with me? I don't think you're in their line of work.

"Xiao Tian and I are indeed not in the same profession. The main reason I came to see the general is to seek his protection."

"You have my protection!..." Su Pan narrowed his eyes, sat up straight, and then leaned back in his chair.

"Yes," An Xiaohai nodded, "I'm going to Manchester to do some business this time. I'm unfamiliar with the place, so I'd like to get the general's protection."

"As far as I know, Manchester is a free and safe city. Xiao Hai shouldn't need anyone's protection when he goes there to do business, haha."

"Other businesses might not need it, but the business I'm doing this time is a bit special, so I think it should be necessary."

"What a pity, that's not my territory."

"Every profession has its own rules, and I can't break them at will, or I'll be attacked by everyone." Su Pan's smile slowly disappeared.

"General, please rest assured, I am doing legitimate business. It's just that the amount of money involved is quite large, so I'm a little unsure. If I could get your protection, I think I would feel much safer."

"A legitimate business...with substantial capital..." Su Pan looked at An Xiaohai with interest: "The business you're talking about, could it be the same business that Solo's Quantum Club is involved in?"

"General, you're really something. This is definitely the business opportunity," An Xiaohai smiled slightly and finished his tea.

"Hahaha..." Su Pan burst into laughter: "So you were thinking the same thing!"

Su Pan relaxed a little and personally refilled An Xiaohai's tea: "Give up. This business is not easy. They have already tried twice and failed both times. The first time they lost 20 million and the second time they lost 100 million."

US dollars!

For your mother's sake, I'll make an exception and advise you: give up. You can't win.

"Thank you for your kindness, General!" An Xiaohai smiled slightly again and took a sip of tea.

"You... seem very confident?"

"Yes, I'm very confident!" An Xiaohai took a deep breath: "We have an old saying, 'Fortune favors the bold!' Risk and reward are often directly proportional."

"But I've always hated dealing with gamblers."

"Then we can adopt a relatively certain cooperation model."

"For example..."

"For example, in a value-based cooperation model, the general provides me with protection, and I use reasonable funds to purchase the general's protection."

"I don't like this kind of deal, and I'm not used to providing services to others."

"Let me put it another way: I will express my utmost respect to the general, and you, general, will surely provide some protection for a friend who respects you."

"That sounds much better. I'm actually tempted. Please show me your sincerity."

"200 million US dollars."

"Two million US dollars!" Su Pan took a light breath and stood up. "That sounds very tempting! I'm a greedy person. If two million US dollars were really placed in front of me, I think I would definitely agree immediately."

"Moving 200 million US dollars here is quite a difficult task, so I gave up. But if the general is willing to come with me to Manchester, I think he will see them as soon as we get there."

"Haha... $200 million is definitely worth the trip. I'm very interested!"

"It's good that the general is interested."

"Aren't you afraid I'll run off with the money?"

"The general wouldn't do that. As the general just said, there are rules for every line, and I believe the general wouldn't easily break the rules."

"Haha, did I just say that? I don't remember at all."

"I remember what the general said, and I don't think I'm mistaken."

"Hahaha...you're very interesting!"

I'm sorry, but I'm already getting impatient to use the gift you sent to please my mother!

Excuse me, Xiao Tian. Please take good care of Xiao Hai for me. I have already given the order that you are free to come and go as you please.

"Just make yourself at home here."

"General, please rest assured, I will take good care of Xiao Hai. I even bragged to him that this is my territory, ha!" Xu Tianyou was still as lazy as ever, without even taking a sip of tea.

"Haha! You're right, this is your territory! Excuse me then. By the way, wait a moment!" Su Pan returned to his previous seat, took out a pen and paper, and wrote down two strings of numbers.

"This is an account, and this is a phone number," Suban said, pointing to the two strings of numbers on the paper. "The phone number belongs to a friend of mine. His views are very similar to Xiaohai's. I think you two can have a chat; you must have something in common."

Finally, I want to remind you of one more thing: don't go to Manchester, it's too dangerous there. Go to Parthia instead; Parthia is much more suitable for this business.

"Could Parthia also pull off such a deal?"

"Of course, it's even more convenient there than Manchester."

The friend I mentioned earlier should be in Parthia right now. You can contact him for any resources you need; he should be able to help you.

"Thank you so much, General."

"You're welcome. I'll take my leave now."

"General, please make yourself at home. But could you please provide me with a phone number so I can have someone check if the $200 million is still in its original location?"

"Haha...Okay!" Su Pan nodded, carefully picked up the golden Buddha from the coffee table, examined it carefully for a while, and then finally left.

"Hey, Xiao Hai, are you really planning to pay him $200 million upfront?" Xu Tianyou asked, fiddling with his teacup, after Su Pan left.

"Yes, when asking for help, you have to show your sincerity first."

"Aren't you afraid he'll take the money and not do the job?"

"I believe General Subhan is not that kind of person."

"What if?"

"What if?" An Xiaohai smiled at Xu Tianyou. "Then you can just switch suppliers. It just so happens that General Chatchai's goods are probably very difficult to sell recently. Why don't you go and talk to him? Maybe you can get a bargain."

"Haha...you rascal!" Xu Tianyou burst into laughter.

At that moment, someone knocked on the door and brought them a cell phone. Without saying a word, An Xiaohai immediately contacted Lai Donglin on the phone and asked him to transfer 200 million US dollars directly to Su Pan's account.

"You're very familiar with this place, aren't you?" An Xiaohai asked Xu Tianyou after hanging up the phone.

"Of course, shall I take you sightseeing?"

"That's what I think too. We've come all this way, so of course we should take the opportunity to do some sightseeing."

"Alright, let's go!"

Xu Tianyou pulled An Xiaohai up from the chair, and the two left arm in arm, leaving the phone behind on the table, looking rather lonely.

------

In another room, Su Pan was reclining on the sofa watching television, which showed the scene in the living room. The screen was now empty, with only the tea beside the phone still steaming.

"General, this An Xiaohai is too much! He actually dared to instigate Fo Zitian to change the supplier!" A trusted man behind Su Pan stepped forward and said.

Su Pan looked up at the man for a while and said, "I don't think that's what he meant."

"Then... what does he mean?"

"I think he meant that if we dared to steal his money, then we would have no reason to exist."

"How dare you..." The confidant was about to seize the opportunity to express his loyalty, but when he suddenly saw Su Pan's hawk-like eyes, his voice immediately fell silent.

"roll!"

Su Pan uttered a single word, and the talkative confidant fled as if his life depended on it.

Su Pan's gaze returned to the television set. He stared intently at the screen, as if An Xiaohai were still sitting there and had never left.

After a long while, Su Pan reached out and gently tapped on the table.

A door was pushed open, and a barefoot young woman slowly walked out from behind it, standing beside Su Pan with her head down.

"You entertain this An Xiaohai for me, make sure he's satisfied!"

The young woman said nothing, but bowed slightly before retreating back into the room, while Su Pan's gaze remained fixed on the television.

------

Xu Tianyou led An Xiaohai around the cave for a while, and as expected, they did not encounter any obstacles. All the armed men they encountered along the way saluted them, and Xu Tianyou responded with a smile to each one.

Compared to Su Pan's fake smile, these people seemed exceptionally sincere.

Xu Tianyou did not take An Xiaohai on any random trips, nor did he try any of the seemingly deep and dangerous side paths.

The complexity of the cave amazed An Xiaohai; if some colored lights were installed, it might even be transformed into a tourist attraction.

As you walk up the stone steps inside the cave, you'll find that some of the stone walls are hollow, allowing you to see what's outside the cave.

This feels a lot like some very dangerous mountain roads, except that these places are very narrow, allowing only one person to barely pass through.

The steps ended outside the cave. An Xiaohai crawled out and found that he had reached the top of the mountain. From here, he could see the scenery of the wooden village at the foot of the mountain.

An Xiaohai observed the surroundings and saw that the poison sting missiles that had been deployed could be vaguely seen on this hilltop and several other nearby hilltops.

Xu Tianyou asked an armed man for a pair of binoculars, and quickly located Yan Hong and Xie Dan's position for An Xiaohai.

Yan Hong, Xie Dan, and Li Maocai were placed in a small courtyard, which looked nice and even had a small swimming pool.

Yan Hong seemed to have just finished swimming, and was now lying shirtless on a deck chair. A young woman was next to him, feeding him peeled fruit. He was feeling extremely comfortable.

An Xiaohai really wanted to take a picture of Yan Hong looking like this and send it to Zhou Meng to see; he figured the scene would be quite interesting.

Xie Dan seemed a little reserved. When the woman next to him peeled fruit and put it in his mouth, he would always take it first and then put it in his mouth himself.

Li Maocai sat alone on the other side, looking preoccupied. The woman beside him didn't feed him fruit, but gently fanned him.

After looking around at other places with his binoculars, An Xiaohai followed Xu Tianyou down the mountain via another route.

After wandering around the outskirts of the wooden village for a while, the two went to the nearby riverbank, where Xu Tianyou, Xiao Juan, and a group of children played until it got dark.

Dinner wasn't particularly lavish, but it tasted quite good, showing that Su Pan is someone who knows how to enjoy life.

Perhaps because he had just received $200 million, Supan's smile was particularly radiant.

It was almost nine o'clock when they finished dinner. Su Pan chatted with the two of them for a few minutes before going to rest.

Two armed men led An Xiaohai and Xu Tianyou through the cave once again, arriving at a canyon on the other side of the cave, where there were several exquisitely crafted wooden houses.

Xu Tianyou winked at An Xiaohai, gave him a meaningful smile, and then rolled off to the first wooden house. An Xiaohai was taken by the armed men to the second wooden house.

The two armed men did not enter the house. They led An Xiaohai to the front of the wooden house, made a gesture of invitation, and then left.

An Xiaohai let out a long sigh of relief and pushed open the door to enter the house.

The cabin was decorated in a very modern style. If you didn't know that this was a drug lord's base deep in the rainforest, you might have mistaken it for a five-star hotel with a Thai style.

The lighting was unusually soft and dim, with a slightly ambiguous feel to it.

An Xiaohai frowned slightly as he walked through the porch into the living room.

One wall in the living room is a Japanese-style sliding door, behind which a light shines, illuminating a graceful and slender figure.

Behind the door was a young woman wearing a long T-shirt, kneeling sideways, the light highlighting her shapely figure.

The girl's hair was piled high, revealing her slender neck. The exaggerated spider lily decorations on her hair trembled slightly, as if conveying a message of hell.