America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 157 Connections and Revenge

"20000 US dollars." Upon hearing this, Zhang Ailun raised the price without hesitation.

Old George was stunned after hearing this. "Duo Shao?"

"But I quoted $4500!"

Old George even thought he was hard of hearing.

"That's right, your suggestion is very reasonable, but I don't accept it! I want to sell it for $2." Zhang Ailun smiled.

Your first bid reached $4500, which means you can definitely make more profit!

Old George's face darkened; he felt the other party was using him as a unit of measurement to appraise the goods.

He patiently explained, "Although this is a decent antique, it has been stored for too long, and the writing on it is somewhat blurred. Its collectible value is actually not very high, at most worth around $8000. I will also need to find someone to consign it for sale, which will be another expense."

I'd be a fool to believe you.

This protection allows you to sell it for at least $20000, or even more.

You'd better not eat too messily!

"Okay, then I'm willing to sell it to you for $17500." Zhang Ailun nodded.

After some haggling, old George ultimately couldn't bear to let go of what he had already acquired, and Zhang Ailun also compromised. The other party reluctantly parted with the deal, saying, "Alright, I can take the boat license for $16800. Adding the two items from before, that's $17500 in total. Are you paying in cash or online?"

"Is that even a question? Of course, we'll use online banking, unless you also have cryptocurrency to pay me." Zhang Ailun took out his debit card and handed it to the other party. Old George took it, turned around, went into the house, wrote him a receipt, and transferred the money.

"Okay, the money has been transferred to you."

Zhang Ailun took out his phone and glanced at it.

+17500 USD.

Remaining assets: $135,699.

He greeted old George, then turned and left, feeling refreshed.

Once in the car, Zhang Ailun realized that after driving for several days, the fuel tank was almost full, so he immediately started chatting with people one by one.

Olivia: I also have a gas card at home, which was a free gift when I had my Lexus serviced at the dealership. You can use it to fill up your gas tank for free at the gas station on West Street. The room key is under the red flowerpot on the right-hand side of the apartment entrance.

Simone: Gas card? I have a discount coupon that lets me fill up with $50 worth of gas for only $1.

Jennifer: I can find a gas thief on the street to deliver a tank of gas to you. What kind do you need?

Rena: The shelter only offers free car washes. I can't give you my gas card, but you can drive my car directly.

See, that's the benefit of having connections!

After considering the cost-effectiveness, Zhang Ailun still thought free gas was the best deal. He immediately replied to everyone, drove to Olivia's apartment, found the key to the room she mentioned, entered her room, and retrieved the gas card.

I also sent a message to Sieg, asking him to take his RV and pickup truck out for a spin and get them washed for free at the shelter.

It was evening. Zhang Ailun received a message from Olivia.

Olivia: I'm off work. Weren't you going to thank me? You can come to my house tonight and let me see how you do a handstand.

Zhang Ailun didn't refuse, after all, he had used her gas card and promised to perform a handstand for her. He sent Dominic a message saying he wouldn't reply and drove to Olivia's apartment.

I easily took out my key, opened the door, and went inside. The house was filled with a delicious aroma, and Olivia was cooking in the kitchen.

Seeing that he arrived so quickly, Olivia wasn't surprised. She simply gestured to him with her eyes, "Honey, you can go upstairs and take a shower first. We'll get down to business after dinner!"

"Can't we just go straight to the stomach?"

Zhang Ailun walked over and said, "I shower every day, so I'm very clean!"

"I'm still cooking, oh..."

He hugged the other person from behind.

Olivia quickly got into the game.

The simple appetizers made Olivia want more, and she said irritably, "If you keep doing this, I won't be able to eat any more rice."

"It's fine, I'll cook! You go and rest." Zhang Ailun simply took over the cooking duties.

Using semi-finished dishes, the meal was prepared quickly and quickly, and served for the other party to taste.

"I didn't expect your cooking to be so delicious," Olivia praised after tasting it.

"Eat more if you like it." Zhang Ailun smiled.

They turned on the TV and put on the local soap opera Supernatural. They ate and chatted, solved the dinner problem, and after washing the dishes, the two of them sat on the sofa with popcorn and started watching TV.

As Olivia watched, she became a little restless and decided to transform into a female knight. She rolled over, facing me, and said, "Darling, weren't you going to perform a handstand for me?"

"Who said that? What I meant was, learning it will make you do handstands," Zhang Ailun retorted.

"What?" Without giving Olivia a chance to react, Zhang Ailun flipped her over and pinned her down, raising his gun.

Next up are the paid programs.

……

The next day.

Zhang Ailun opened his eyes and stretched, feeling refreshed. Turning around, he saw that Olivia was already up. He could hear clanging and banging sounds coming from downstairs; she was probably making breakfast. What a hardworking woman!

I opened the daily news report and took a look.

[Daily News: Your good neighbor Jesse has found a scratch-off lottery ticket worth $5000 in her tent!]

Huh? Jesse's starting to drop gold coins?

[Daily Intelligence: The private butler of the luxury villa at No. 668, Area A, Crown District, which you are responsible for, has posted a job posting. They are recruiting four professional security personnel, offering $65 per hour. The job involves traveling at 22:30 PM to a private island in California on a passenger business jet to attend an exhibition by billionaire collector Madison. The party continues until tomorrow, featuring exciting entertainment and complimentary party food. You might want to try bringing someone to apply for this job.]

[Daily Intelligence: The owner of the Hornet Scrap Metal Recycling Station is seeking revenge on you. He mortgaged the station for $95000 through an underground loan company and plans to leave Los Angeles on the 4 PM flight to Laos, Southeast Asia, to seek refuge with his cousin, the manager of the telecommunications park. He had your identity information searched and hired two gangsters from the Titan Arcade in Fifth Street to retaliate. They are expected to infiltrate the Bridge Underground Camp at 10 PM to assassinate you. —Click and long-press to download your biographical information.]

Zhang Ailun: ?

Dude, I let you go yesterday, and you still came looking for me, huh?

Do you really think you're a model citizen? And your cousin's a pig farm manager?

good good!

Zhang Ailun glanced at the information of the two sought-after individuals, downloaded their photos, and decided that sitting idly by was not his style, so he immediately sent the photos of their faces to Blitz.

Zhang Ailun: Someone hired a hotshot to cause me trouble. Can you help me find out the location of these people?

Blitz: Wait a few minutes.

A few minutes later, Blitz sent another message with his real-time location.

Blitz: Found it. [Location shared] The two Black men are resting at a motel in the 7th district. The other one is in a community apartment, which should be his long-term rental.

Zhang Ailun: Can this location continuously update the real-time status?

Blitz: Sure. I can write a small program for you right now. It's linked to a real-time map app in the background, and it will automatically vibrate to alert you when someone gets close to your phone. I'll send you the program; you can unzip and download it, and then delete it when you're done.

It has to be you! The godfather of Los Angeles' underground hacking scene! You never disappoint.

Blitz: [Secret code]. Unzip the file, locate the installation package in the root directory of your phone's storage, and tap to install. Allow the prompt.

Zhang Ailun: OK!

Zhang Ailun installed the mini-program software according to his instructions. After opening it, the coordinates of the Los Angeles map were displayed quickly, showing a current distance of 4.8 kilometers.

He then took out his phone to check the next piece of the daily intelligence report.

[Daily News: The black drug cartel led by Franklin, arrested by police yesterday, has confessed to their crimes. Your good friend Dave is presiding over the trial, and they are expected to be sentenced to a total of 160 years in prison. They will not affect the opening of your Sanji's Bar.]

good good!

It's definitely better to put him in jail.

Zhang Ailun decided to go over and catch the guy, and teach him a lesson.

He sent a message to Sieg, instructing him to take men to the apartment complex and subdue the wasp owner. Then, they were to go to the motel to arrest the man.

Sig: ? That recycling center from yesterday? What did they do to you?

Zhang Ailun: He donated money to charity yesterday, but he wants to back out today. I was originally planning to give him a banner.

Sig: So he wants to get revenge on you?

Zhang Ailun: He's really awful. Not only did he block my way with his car, but he also secretly hired two gunmen from Motorbike to assassinate me. I'm going to have a serious talk with him. How many years are the sentences for hiring a murderer and absconding with funds?

Sig: Depending on the severity of the offense, the sentence could be at least several decades.

Zhang Ailun: That's too few. Let Dave handle it. We're only responsible for arresting people. If he's uncooperative, we'll deal with him in another way! Oh, and you have a job interview this afternoon. Get ready and gather your equipment.

Sig: What kind of job?

Zhang Ailun: Protect the employer's safety. With your qualifications, you should be able to get the job. $65 per hour!

Sieg: That's all the hourly wage? We earn at least a thousand dollars a day now, why would we need to do this kind of work? There shouldn't be any danger, right?

You've gotten too cocky, Sig.

You no longer care about a wage of $65 per hour?

Zhang Ailun: [Job posting] You can see for yourself. Anyway, I've already applied. I'll need to go through an interview later, but I think we can probably pull some strings. I have a friend who works in the community property management department.

Sig: You mean that female friend who can keep you out all night?

Zhang Ailun: You'd better shut your mouth right now! Don't ruin my reputation outside!

Sig: Okay.

Do you still have a reputation? Everyone in the streets of District 5 knows you're the West Coast's queen of playboys.

Zhang Ailun sent another message to Gates and David, telling them to drive the garbage truck to the wealthy area after they got up, broaden their horizons, and learn about the job details. Olivia would be in charge of receiving them.

After putting away his phone, Zhang Ailun got up, dressed, washed up, went downstairs, and greeted Olivia.

"You're up? Honey? Breakfast is almost ready. Would you like your fried eggs medium-rare or well-done?" Olivia noticed Zhang Ailun coming downstairs and greeted him warmly.

Zhang Ailun casually replied, "As long as it's something you made, I don't care, I like it!"

"I'm very satisfied with your answer!"

Olivia smiled happily: "Sir, please wait a moment, breakfast will be ready soon."

"Okay." Zhang Ailun readily agreed and sat down at the table to wait patiently.

Two minutes later, Olivia had prepared breakfast and served it on a plate.

Wow, it's even a heart-shaped fried egg!

They sat face-to-face and enjoyed a delicious breakfast. Zhang Ailun also introduced David and Gates from the team to her and casually mentioned the security work.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of the people you arranged. Are you interested in applying for this job?"

Olivia took out her phone and glanced at the recruitment information, thinking, "I don't know much about security work, but maybe I can help you get an internal recommendation. If it's successful, I'll contact you then; if not, you'll have to rely on your own talent to win the butler's favor."

"They will definitely consider the person recommended by the property management department. After all, there are very few cases of theft and robbery in your community. We are also professionals. People with CCW certificates know how to protect people. The difference in skill level is not too much."

Knowing he wasn't a professional, Zhang Ailun basically kept quiet about technical terms. Although he wasn't a professional, he had plenty of people under him, and veterans like Sieg would take charge.

Free flights to a private island with your employer, no danger whatsoever—isn't this a perfectly legitimate, publicly funded vacation? Plus, there's plenty of great entertainment to watch.

Let me see what's going on with your private island!

Are there any little girls?

"There's still some time before work, darling, do you want to take a shower?" Olivia glanced at the time, biting her lip with a seductive look in her eyes.

Zhang Ailun immediately proved his strength with action, picking her up in his arms amidst gasps and carrying her upstairs.

Soon the sound of running water could be heard.

An hour later.

The two went out, and Zhang Ailun drove Olivia to work in the Crown District.

After getting out of the car, the two shared a passionate goodbye kiss, much to the astonishment of the security guards.

Olivia, carrying her bag, waved and turned to enter the community. Zhang Ailun put on his sunglasses, turned the steering wheel, and stepped on the gas, driving away from the Crown District.

The police officer on duty looked at the Wrangler's taillights, then glanced at the Olivia's taillights, and felt genuinely envious.

Upon reaching the next block, Sieg sent Zhang Ailun a message with a picture of the scene: "We're already outside the apartment building. What should we do next? Knock on the door and go in? Or climb through the window?"

Zhang Ailun waited at the traffic light intersection, glanced at the picture, and typed a reply: Wait for me to cross.

Sig: OK!

As the red light turned green, Zhang Ailun stepped on the gas and headed straight for the community where the Hornets' owner lived.

It took some time to get to the old neighborhood. But I found there wasn't even a security guard; it wasn't some upscale community.

Following the house number, we found the location information, and my phone vibrated to alert me. We were less than fifty meters away, and we could see Sieg and the others waiting outside.

Seeing Zhang Ailun's Wrangler pull up and stop by the roadside, the group waved and greeted him. "Boss, what should we do now?"

Sieg said, "We've observed that this is the only apartment building on this entire street in the community that's occupied. All the other apartments are vacant. There are no collection emails in the mailboxes, and even the electricity in the building's electrical box is off."

Zhang Ailun locked the car door, got out, put on his tactical chest pack and gloves, and glanced around. There wasn't a single passerby or camera in sight; it was the kind of old, run-down community where darkness was a nightmare on dark nights.

I didn't have the patience for a protracted battle with that guy, so I decided to finish it quickly.

"Just pry open the window and get in!!"

He gestured for the others to stand in line as lookouts, then Zhang Ailun took out a crowbar and skillfully began to pry open the lock.

Although there were only two actual combats, the Grand Master had secretly practiced them on his own, and his theoretical level had increased dramatically! Techniques! It's full of techniques!

After a little time, they pried open the window with a snap. Sieg immediately led his men into the room, and soon hurried footsteps could be heard from inside.

The commotion downstairs also woke up the sleeping Wasp boss. He sensed something was wrong and was about to get up to look for guns when he opened the door to find the room full of burly men.

The Hornet boss was stunned by the people in the room. Sig and the others turned to look at him, their eyes meeting. The other person was a naked performance artist.

"abnormal!!"

"They dare to show it off when it's so small!"

The men cursed and surrounded him, pointing their dark gun barrels at him. The Hornet boss was terrified; he felt a sudden urge to urinate and almost spilled it on the floor.

(End of this chapter)