America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 151 Completing the Mission

Zhang Ailun then had Sieg take the ten-faced Guanyin Buddha statue, and with the package on their backs, the two left the sewer entrance and drove to the motel where Lao Hei was staying.

A few minutes later, they drove to the Red Palm Motel on West Street, parked the Wrangler on the side of the road, and found that the motel was old and dilapidated, with women's bikinis hanging on the second floor. There wasn't much foot traffic, so the rent must not be high.

After getting off the car, the two went into the hotel.

A man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties was sitting at the front desk. I don't know if he was the hotel owner or not. He was engrossed in watching short videos and drinking cola.

Seeing the two people enter, he casually asked, "Are you looking to rent a place? A standard room is $60. Please provide your driver's license. If one person is staying, you need to register one person's ID; if two people are staying, you need to register both people's IDs."

"We're here to find someone," Zhang Ailun said.

Upon hearing this, the old man immediately became alert, sensing that the two had ill intentions. "Looking for someone? I'm sorry, I have no right to reveal the identities of any tenants. What exactly are you doing? Is there anything else? If not, leave now, or I'll call the police."

Sieg took out a $50 bill and placed it on the table. "Buddy, don't take it so seriously. Just pretend nothing happened. We'll be done in no time. All you have to do is nod or shake your head and answer me: Is there a Black person living in house 340?"

The old man accepted the $50 tip, his expression instantly changing to a kind and amiable nod.

"Very well, now please lead us there so he can open the door, or just give us the room key and we'll handle it ourselves. Don't worry, we promise we won't damage anything else in the house."

"Actually, that guy is a fugitive. We are bounty hunters and we are hunting him!" Zhang Ailun took out his CCW badge and showed it to the old man. This kind of thing is not something that ordinary people can obtain.

The old man was a law-abiding citizen. Seeing these documents, he knew these two were not ordinary people and didn't want to cause trouble. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, I can help you catch that fugitive, but $50 isn't enough."

"How much money do you want?" Hearing the old man say this, the two knew there was room for negotiation.

"Give me at least another $50!" the old man said earnestly.

Zhang Ailun smiled and said, "Okay!" He didn't argue with him any further and simply took out $50 in cash and handed it to the other party.

The old man beamed with joy, took the money, and readily agreed. He immediately took out the key and led the two upstairs, directly to house number 340.

He knocked on the door. A voice came from inside, "Who is it?"

"Hygiene and cleanliness," the old man said.

"I don't need cleaning services," the Black man inside replied after a moment of silence.

"This is our hotel's policy. Please cooperate with our rules and regulations. To prevent guests from smoking or smoking tobacco in the room, we must ensure that the windows or ventilation fans are open at certain times to guarantee ventilation." The old man replied, "If you don't cooperate, then we will have to forcibly open the door."

"What kind of bullshit rule is this? I've stayed in so many hotels and I've never heard of such a rule. If that's the case, why didn't you say so in the first place? Are you trying to impose this rule just because I'm Black?!"

The black man in the room was somewhat enraged.

"We are a legitimate hotel, please understand and cooperate with our work. I need to make sure you are not smoking marijuana or using drugs in here, otherwise I will notify the local police to conduct an inspection," the old man warned, continuing to bang on the door.

"Okay, then wait for me a moment!"

The black man suppressed his anger, and after considering it, he actually agreed, making some rustling noises.

Zhang Ailun and Sieg exchanged a glance and stood on either side of the doorway.

Soon the door was opened from the inside out, and a tall black man with a dreadlocked braid, thick lips, and wearing a large iron chain poked his head out and observed the environment outside.

Upon seeing that only the elderly white man, who was also a staff member, was present, he pushed open the door before the man could speak, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him into the room, yelling, "Fuck you! You asked for this!!"

"Hey!!" The white old man was terrified, dragged into the room like a chick by the burly black man. "Help! Help me!!"

Zhang Ailun and Sieg didn't expect this guy to be so fierce. Taking advantage of the two's entanglement, he rushed out and kicked open the door.

The black man was assaulting the old man when he looked up at the two in shock, exclaiming, "WTF!!"

Before he could react, Zhang Ailun rushed over and kicked Lao Hei, sending him flying three meters away.

Old Hei clutched his chest, feeling a bit of a stitch, as if his bones were cracked, but he quickly got to his feet. He was about 1.9 meters tall and quite muscular. He watched as Zhang Ailun angrily grabbed a bottle from the table and smashed it over his shoulder, yelling, "Fxxk you!!"

Zhang Ailun dodged the bottle, sprinted forward, and delivered a straight punch to Lao Hei's nasal bridge. With a cracking sound, the bone broke, and Lao Hei let out a scream as if he had been hit in the face with a hammer.

Seeing stars, feeling dizzy, clutching his nose which was bleeding profusely, he collapsed to the ground.

Zhang Ailun kicked Lao Hei to the ground, then straddled him and slapped him several times with his big biceps.

Old Hei curled up, covering his head, to avoid the attack. He rolled over like a bull, trying to break free of control. Zhang Ailun took advantage of the situation, rolled over from behind, and tightened his grip on Old Hei's neck, forming a guillotine with his arms in an armbar.

Old Hei's face turned ashen, and he was gasping for breath. He frantically thrashed his arms, trying to beg for mercy, but Zhang Ailun showed him no mercy and increased the force again. Within seconds, Old Hei's eyes rolled back and he passed out.

When Zhang Ailun saw that Lao Hei was no longer moving, he immediately let go, afraid that he had accidentally killed him.

The old man was terrified. He sat there against the corner of the wall, clutching his chest, looking like he had just escaped a disaster and was still shaken.

Sieg closed the door behind him and glanced around the room. An open Coke bottle, takeout containers, cigarette butts, needles—it was a mess. A pay-TV program was still playing on the television, and tissues were piled on the bed.

Even a ghost could tell what that old black man was doing.

He's on drugs, no wonder he's so energetic.

Sieg pulled a pistol from his tactical chest pouch, and the old white man turned green with fright, thinking he was about to be killed to silence him.

He immediately asked, "Hey! What are you doing? What's going on? The person has already passed out, why are you pulling out a gun?"

"This has nothing to do with you anymore. Thank you for your cooperation. We have now found the person we were looking for, but since you took our money, you'd better not go around saying anything out of line, or you should know what will happen to you."

Zhang Ailun gave a warning, then got up and stretched, realizing that he hadn't exercised for several days and his body and skills were indeed a bit rusty.

It wasn't surprising that the punch didn't knock Old Black unconscious. The opponent must have been trained and knew how to protect his weak points. He still had energy left after taking a punch and several big punches. In addition, the room environment wasn't very conducive to his movements, and the opponent was on drugs. He could only use ground techniques to knock him out.

He took a glass of water from the room and splashed it on Lao Hei's face. The lead-in water mixed with blood, combined with his swollen forehead and bruised face, made Lao Hei look extremely miserable.

The man woke up quickly, but before he could even react, Sieg's gun was already pressed against his forehead. The cold touch sent a chill down Old Black's spine.

Zhang Ailun pulled up a chair and sat down, crossing his arms and staring intently at him. "Do you know why we're here?"

"I know." Old Hei was completely subdued and had no intention of resisting whatsoever. His nose still hurt, and his neck was almost snapped.

"Very well, someone is willing to pay a high price on the black market to take your life. Do you have any last words?" Zhang Ailun said, pulling out a pistol as well.

"What?! I only stole something, and those sons of bitches are planning to kill me?!"

Old Hei finally snapped, his emotions collapsing as he angrily shouted, "Fxxk! It wasn't my idea to steal it! I just accepted a job and did what I was told! That guy said I'd be fine in a couple of days, but he didn't help me, and now he's sending people to kill me! Those employers are so unruly!"

"Wait, you said you hired someone to steal for you, and that's the same person who's wanted you?" Zhang Ailun seemed a bit confused. He took out his phone, showed Lao Hei his employer's information page, and asked, "Is it him?"

"That's him! This Ye Shifu!"

Old Hei glanced at it and said confidently, "He's the one who told me to sneak into that shop tonight to steal something. He betrayed his friend. His friend entrusted the Buddha statue to his shop for safekeeping, but he wanted to keep the antique for himself! He told me to steal it and return it to him. I have the chat history on my phone; you can go check it out if you don't believe me!"

Zhang Ailun was skeptical, but immediately had Sieg find the other party's phone.

After unlocking the app with my fingerprint, I opened the chat window and glanced at the conversation. I found that the person who posted the tasks was indeed the same person.

Zhang Ailun pondered for a few seconds. If what the black man said was true, then this was a case of the thief crying "stop thief!" and the other party was definitely blinded by greed.

But it has nothing to do with them.

If the leader brings the people and goods, would the other party dare not pay the reward?

If I can find someone you can't find in 2 hours, I can find your whole family's identity information in 2 hours, and then come to your door to extort them!

Zhang Ailun said to the furious Old Black, "The reason your employer has put you on the wanted list is definitely because you broke your promise beforehand. They never asked us to kill you; they just wanted us to take you to the suburbs. You were dishonest. Their mission was to steal the item and return it to them, but what did you do? You ran away with the antique! You deserve to be wanted."

Old Black's expression turned unnatural. "Yes, I do think this thing is valuable. $500 is a lot, but I'll get much more for it if I sell it!"

In the end, isn't this just a case of fraudsters getting double-crossed, and then getting double-crossed again?

After all, the antique itself was a fake, and Master Ye's friend wasn't a good person either. He probably wanted to set a trap for Master Ye, but Master Ye didn't play by the rules. He didn't want to spend a penny more, so he directly asked Old Black to steal the antique, leaving no evidence and turning himself into a victim.

But he didn't expect the local black man to be so unruly, greedily trying to swallow the antique, and failing to deliver it on time, which really angered Master Ye.

Human nature is treacherous!

Zhang Ailun immediately took a picture of him and sent it to his employer, Master Ye.

Burger King: The person has been found, and the antiques have been found too.

Master Ye: So fast!?

Master Ye was shocked when he saw the black man with a bruised and swollen face in the photo, as well as the gun barrel from a first-person perspective.

No, I was just looking for someone, why did it involve submachine guns? A few thousand dollars wouldn't be enough, would it?

Burger King: Our efficiency is top-notch in the industry. So many people ask us for favors but never get this opportunity; they have to queue up and pay. You're lucky, you've made it today, my friend!

Master Ye: [Location Sharing] Please come to this place and meet us immediately. I will pay you!

Burger King: Okay, no problem. But there's something interesting. This black man said you hired him to steal? And now you're issuing a warrant for his arrest? You're doing this just for that antique?

Master Ye: You're all so capable, you should have already investigated and found out what happened. There's no need for you to mock me. I hope you can act according to the rules. How much money do you need to keep quiet about this? And bring me that Buddha statue?

Burger King: I'm not interested in this. You set the price.

Master Ye: $6000. In addition to the $6000 payment you would like to receive an extra $6000! That Buddha statue is worth at most that price; I'd rather not have it for anything more.

Burger King: OK! Deal.

This money is practically free.

Zhang Ailun put away his phone and said to Sig, "All done. Now we need to get the person over there. Once we get the money, it's over for us."

Old Hei immediately wilted, knowing he couldn't escape being punished by his employer.

The old white man had also thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle, thoroughly watching the drama unfold. "Dude! This is something you only see in movies!"

"Now that you've seen it! You'd better not tell anyone." Zhang Ailun put away his gun and warned.

"Don't worry. I won't say anything wrong once I've taken your money. I have professional ethics!" The old man immediately nodded in agreement.

Zhang Ailun and Sieg dragged Lao Hei out of the motel, put him in the back seat of the car, and drove to the abandoned construction site in the suburbs where their employer lived.

It took twenty minutes to get to the construction site in the suburbs, where we could see people already waiting there.

The other party was only one person? How could they be so careless?

"Are you Master Ye?" Zhang Ailun got out of the car and looked suspiciously at the middle-aged white man with European features. I thought you were Asian.

Sig unloaded the old man and his cargo, took out the Victor submachine gun, and stared at him expressionlessly.

Master Ye was somewhat surprised to see that the visitor was Asian. "It's me. You're from Burger King?"

Upon seeing the gun in Sieg's hand, he quickly raised his hand as well. "Hey! Friend! There's no need to take out your gun. We've already agreed on a price; the deal is settled!"

"The people and goods are here, but where's the money?" Zhang Ailun asked.

"The money is here." Master Ye took out an oil paper bag and handed it to Zhang Ailun.

Zhang Ailun checked the amount; it was exactly $12000. He smiled and said, "You're really bold, making a deal in the suburbs without any preparation?"

"I was prepared, but I feel that with your weaponry, there's no difference between being prepared and not being prepared," Master Ye said helplessly, shrugging his shoulders.

He had no legal documents and was carrying a rifle, so he couldn't even get to the next intersection before being apprehended by patrolling police officers.

Only those who survive are qualified to go to prison!

"Transaction complete. Goodbye." Zhang Ailun had no interest in chatting with him, turned around, got into the car with Sieg, and drove away.

Watching the Wrangler leave, Master Ye glanced at Old Black, his previous hypocritical demeanor vanishing, replaced by a ferocious grin. "You fucking dare to embezzle my goods?"

"Hey! I didn't mean to..." Old Black saw him pull a fruit knife out of the car and turn to run away.

Let's get started!

"Fxxk you!"

Master Ye cursed, dragged Lao Hei into the grove, picked up his bundle, and strode away.

(End of this chapter)