America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 124 Suffering a loss is a blessing

About an hour later.

After Olivia finished washing up in the bathroom and putting on her clothes, she said contentedly, "Darling, I'm going to the bank to withdraw cash now. You wait for me at home; we're not done yet! I'll cook you something delicious tonight!"

"OK".

Zhang Ailun took out his phone and glanced at the message. It showed that it was sent half an hour ago.

Dominic: We found the black man, and we got the autographed first edition Spider-Man comic book intact. What should we do with this comic book?

Dominic: What are you doing? Why aren't you answering me? Are you on a date again?

Zhang Ailun: You can go to Old George's Pawnshop with my name, or take the large discount coupon from the pawnshop. It's in the second cabinet of the RV. They'll give regular customers a reasonable price. If you don't have time, just leave it in the RV, and I'll sell it myself tomorrow.

Dominic: Why are you only finishing now?

Zhang Ailun: Maybe I'm too strong?

Dominic: I'm about to go back to camp to get the discount coupon and go to that pawn shop you mentioned. Hopefully, they can give us a satisfactory price.

Zhang Ailun: OK!

Zhang Ailun felt sleepy and intended to lie down and rest for a while, but he fell asleep without realizing it. When he woke up again, he found that it was already dark outside.

There was a handbag on the bedside table. When I opened it, I found $5000 in cash.

Zhang Ailun felt gratified, thinking that all his hard work had paid off.

My phone also had several unread messages.

Upon opening the message, I found it was from Dominic, the Dongwu sisters, and Reina.

Dominic: I went to George's Pawnshop, and the owner told me that this first edition Stan Lee comic book wasn't worth much because he was on the verge of bankruptcy at the time, so he went around signing autographs and drawing pictures for people. At his most extravagant, he would appear anywhere to sign comics and draw sketches for just $1000 plus round-trip airfare. He was only willing to pay me $2500 for this first edition Spider-Man comic.

Zhang Ailun: $2500? This is a signed first-edition Spider-Man comic. Spider-Man only launched in 1962, and Stan Lee was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1963. At that time, Stan Lee had just become rich because of his comics. How could he possibly be signing autographs for everyone? Did you sell it to him for $2500?

Dominic: Of course not. I did my research before going there. Because I learned that the first edition of Spider-Man comics is different from later versions, I was more cautious when discussing the price with him. A reasonable price for this first edition comic should be around $4000.

Zhang Ailun: $3000 is about right, so everyone can make a profit.

Dominic: That's what I thought too. Then I went to two more pawn shops. The Magic Flute Pawnshop was willing to pay me $2000, and Eugene Pawnshop offered even less, only $1400. In the end, George Pawnshop was willing to pay me $2800. I was going to contact you, but I thought that price was already reasonable, so I just sold it to them.

Zhang Ailun: The Magic Flute Pawnshop is also owned by George's family! I don't know about Eugene Pawnshop, but they bargained so hard, we will never sell anything there again. $2800 is already pretty good. Remember to share this money with the people who contributed to the team.

Dominic: You don't want it?

Zhang Ailun: You take 36% of the profits, just give me a thousand dollars.

Dominic: OK.

All told, I made a profit of ten thousand US dollars today!

Zhang Ailun then opened the chat boxes between Reina and the two East African sisters, operating on two separate fronts.

Reina: You can come over tonight.

Zhang Ailun: Honey, I might have something to do tonight.

Reina: Okay, so you've been busy dating other women? I knew you couldn't stand being alone. Was it because I didn't serve you well enough?

Zhang Ailun: How is that possible?!

Rena: I don't like liars. The reason I divorced my ex was because he was dishonest. If you want a long-term relationship with me, at least let me know your true feelings.

Zhang Ailun: You'll always have a place in my heart. You're the most unique one!

Reina: Okay, then come back another day when you've recovered. Remember to wash yourself clean; I don't want to eat other people's leftovers.

Zhang Ailun: ...

Little Glutton: Dad, are you coming over for dinner tonight?

Zhang Ailun: I'll come visit you guys when I have time. Have you found a job yet?

Little Glutton: Not yet. We hardly know anyone, so we can only find jobs online.

Zhang Ailun: Be careful, there are a lot of bad guys around here.

Little Glutton: Thank you for your concern. :)

Zhang Ailun stopped chatting with them and thought about visiting them when he had time.

After a day of physical labor, Zhang Ailun had been sleeping until now. He didn't know if he was really hungry, but he could vaguely smell the aroma of meat. He immediately got up and washed up.

When I went downstairs, I saw Olivia humming a song, her fluffy hair tied up, wearing a thin apron, stewing meat in the kitchen. Her attire at home was very daring; it seemed she was going commando.

Zhang Ailun tiptoed over, pounced on him from behind, and successfully launched a sneak attack. "Hey! Guess who I am!!"

"Ah!!" Olivia was startled, quickly clutching her chest and letting out a long sigh of relief. She then punched him, "You're so mean!"

Zhang Ailun looked at the meat in the pot, hugged her, and said, "When will it be ready? I'm starving."

"Sir, don't rush, okay? If you really can't resist, perhaps you can have some peanut butter first?" Olivia enjoyed his warm embrace and mischievously took out the jar of peanut butter.

Zhang Ailun clicked his tongue. "Don't you have any bread slices?"

"There's meat." Olivia said meaningfully, spreading peanut sauce on her lips.

Zhang Ailun looked completely bewildered.

After a simple seafood and meat meal, Olivia, her face flushed, continued cooking.

Zhang Ailun went upstairs to wait for dinner. He opened the Los Angeles 58 Black Market app and found that his employer, Mr. Shark, had opened a message for him.

Mr. Shark: When are you going to get your hands on him? This afternoon my wife actually brought that guy over to stay at our house! Damn it! They even did *that* in my bed!!

Why does this feel so déjà vu?

Craig is a vengeful guy.

Burger King: I'm sorry, we're not doing this order. You'll have to find someone else.

Mr. Shark: Why?

Burger King: Someone offered a higher price. I advise you to break up peacefully.

Mr. Shark: No!! You can't do this! We've already agreed on this.

Burger King: You didn't pay me any deposit, so this deal is invalid; it's just a verbal agreement. If I were to tell your wife your true intentions and thoughts, what do you think she would do?

Mr. Shark: Okay!! I won't bother you anymore!! You better not bother me either.

Burger King: That had better. This is the West Coast, money talks, my friend!

Zhang Ailun exited the chat application.

I started scrolling through short videos and news while waiting for dinner.

Meanwhile, in a cheap motel, a slightly overweight, middle-aged white man with signs of baldness sat frustratedly in a chair, looking at the other party's reply, and angrily slammed his fist on the table.

"Fxxk! I'm so unlucky!!"

She has a very bad temper.

He glanced at the money he had left in his pocket and decided to order takeout. He then posted a tender notice on the 58 Black Market app in Los Angeles.

Someone replied to him very quickly.

Roses: $200. Do you prefer a sweet and innocent style, or a mature and alluring one?

Mr. Shark: Whatever it is, is your photo really you? You're so beautiful?

Rose: It's me. Please send me your location and pay the fee in advance using virtual currency, and I'll be there right away.

Mr. Shark: I can only pay you a deposit first.

Rose: Darling, am I not beautiful enough for you to pay the full amount? I'll make you feel incredibly comfortable, you can do whatever you want! $200 and I'm yours tonight! $400 and you can forget about me!

Mr. Shark was instantly tempted. In a moment of impulsiveness, he simply paid the full $400.

I waited for more than ten minutes.

Mr. Shark: When are you arriving?

half an hour.

Mr. Shark: Where are you? WTF!! You damn liar!!

When you're down on your luck, even drinking cold water can cause problems. The middle-aged man angrily began slamming his fist on the table.

Until the motel owner impatiently knocked on the door, "Guest, what are you doing? Destroying the house? If you make any more noise, get out!!"

The engine shut off instantly.

At Camp 19, Jennifer sat with her legs crossed, grinning from ear to ear as she held her phone. "How could anyone be so stupid? He actually paid me 400 USD."

Dominic and the others exchanged bewildered glances. "So you're now running a honey trap, a full-time virtual sex scam?"

"I'm just making money off idiots. People with their intelligence don't deserve to own an equivalent amount of wealth. It's not a good thing for them to have so much money! Rather than letting the banks and the stock market take it all away, it's better to teach them a lesson. Suffering a loss is a blessing in disguise!"

Jennifer replied, generously transferring $100 to Dominic. "Go ahead, listen to your sister, use this money to buy some good stuff at the supermarket to help Alan recover. Have you looked at the Asian recipes I bought for you?"

"I've read it, but I can't learn it. I don't understand what the right amount of salt is, what a single serving of salt is, or what a serving of salt is for multiple people. It doesn't have detailed units of measurement!" Dominic said, a little annoyed.

She said irritably, "He probably won't be coming back to stay today, so don't waste your time!"

Dominic guessed that, given the leader's personality, he would most likely be living in someone else's house.

"Not coming back again? Fine."

Jennifer was a little disappointed, but she wasn't discouraged. "But he'll come back to stay sometime!"

……

Zhang Ailun was completely unaware of what had happened. After waiting for half an hour, Olivia quickly prepared the meal and called him from downstairs to eat.

Downstairs, looking at the sumptuous dinner, Zhang Ailun didn't hold back his praise, "Your cooking skills are excellent; you could be a three-Michelin-starred chef!"

"Of course, I've lived with my mother since I was little. She loves to cook, and I've learned a lot of skills from her. I don't think I've ever told you about these things that happened to me."

Olivia proudly accepted the compliment, sat down at the table, and set the table. "Please enjoy your meal, sir. Even more exciting things are to come!"

"..."

I knew it. Everything has a stake in you.

Zhang Ailun wolfed down his food. He could only pray that the other party wouldn't use the same tactics they used on the rich on him; such a twisted approach was truly unbearable.

After dinner, the two chatted for a while and then watched a horror movie on TV.

It was all uncut footage. Zhang Ailun was getting sleepy while watching it, but Olivia was thoroughly enjoying it.

But as soon as she picked up the remote and switched to a pay channel, Zhang Ailun was no longer sleepy.

"Honey, are you ready?"

"possible?"

"I need a precise signal."

"certainly."

Olivia smiled, got up, turned off the lights, took off her clothes, revealing her fluffy tail.

Wait a minute... the tail!?

This is a paid program!

……

The next day.

When Zhang Ailun opened his eyes, he found himself lying under the bed and crawled out from under the bed.

I rubbed my aching cheeks. Looking at the little toys scattered everywhere, I couldn't believe what I'd been through.

Olivia was already up, and the sound of running water could be heard from the bathroom.

After searching for ages, I finally found my phone in a corner. I opened the daily news app and glanced at today's messages.

I rubbed my eyes, and then I was struck by lightning at the opening.

[Daily News: Your good friend Simone's ex-boyfriend died on the street that night after being assaulted by a black man following a drug overdose.]

Simone's ex?

Zhang Ailun thought to himself that he hadn't actually met the other person yet; he had only heard Dominic and Simone mention them.

But that's fine, it has nothing to do with him anyway, and it saves us from trouble.

[Daily Update: Your ID document has been produced and is ready to be transported to Delin Tailor Shop at 362 Shuangma Street in downtown Beijing, where it will be distributed to the Korean-American document liaison.]

Yay! I finally have an identity!

But once you make money, you also have to start paying taxes.

Zhang Ailun had mixed feelings. He couldn't really be happy, since nobody wants to be a sucker and pay money to others for nothing, right? That money could have bought so many heavy weapons.

[Daily News: Street Brothers Custom Shop sourced a batch of scrapped, substandard brake discs from Moschino gang member El Martin and modified an orange Chevrolet Cruze with license plate LS-56A-6D. Details: Martin's henchman, Little Kitz, secretly hid $5000 in the old brake discs, numbered D5667.]

Zhang Ailun downloaded the intelligence images.

Street Brothers Modification Shop – you can tell from their name that it's run by a black guy. Using inferior brake discs to pass off as high-quality ones is exactly what they're capable of. Drivers give them zero negative reviews!

Hiding money in the brake disc, that's quite ingenious! It doesn't look like a very safe place to get that money.

After all, the business inside also involved the Moschino gang in the Seventh District.

[Daily Intelligence: The Mexican Embassy in Los Angeles, USA, has located the whereabouts of fugitive "Malu Hufie" through clues and has notified the California Immigration Department and the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security dispatched a secret agent to Los Angeles that evening, who is expected to conduct a covert investigation of homeless people and individuals near the Sanji bar on Fifth Street.]

Zhang Ailun clicked to download the photo of the Homeland Security undercover investigator. He looked at his disguise: knitted bag, dark glasses, briefcase, trench coat, leather shoes.

It's completely inconspicuous on the street.

That's why they say they're professionals!

Zhang Ailun thought about it for a moment and decided it was best not to get involved in this kind of thing.

One or two undercover investigators may not be much, but the Department of Homeland Security is a behemoth that cannot withstand any disruption; anyone who touches it will be doomed.

When faced with an investigation, the homeless man should just tell the truth and be honest.

(End of this chapter)