Chapter 129 Beginning and Ending
"Fuck you, the money is earned by everyone, why should it be given to this brat alone?"

Xu Jun grabbed Chen Yubo's head and yelled, "Old Lin, Chen Xingzhou is almost dead, why are you holding on like an idiot? Can you hold on any longer? After we take the money, why don't we divide it and go our separate ways?!"

"not good."

Lao Lin pulled the tablecloth, wiped the blood off his hands, and said expressionlessly: "You have to take the money that belongs to you, and you have to take it with a clear conscience. If it doesn't belong to you, you can't touch it. If you touch it, you will get burned and die without a burial place."

"Fuck you! I'm sending this little bastard to see his brother right now!"

Seeing that there was no hope of survival, Xu Jun's face was grim, and he pulled the trigger decisively, "Eat shit!"

It’s a pity that there was no loud noise or blood gushing out.

There was only the clicking sound of the shell.

One sound, another sound.

He pulled the trigger frantically, but it was useless under Ji Jue's gaze.

In the end, the ferocious and terrified expression was replaced by a dull look. He stared blankly at Lao Lin who was walking towards him, and finally he understood.

He threw down the gun, smiled contemptuously, and was about to say something when a hand grabbed his throat.

Then, thick smoke and sparks gushed out from his mouth and nose!

In a flash, a terrified and struggling man was burned to ashes in his hands. A little flame flowed into Lao Lin's mouth and nose like a trickle. His eyes were dark, like a cave leading to the underground fire, and a scarlet flame flashed by.

Soon, everything returned to normal.

Finally, he looked at Ji Jue.

"Those who are capable should do more work. If you are not satisfied, there is someone lying on the hill behind, holding a camera and taking pictures here." Ji Jue pointed in the direction and said with emotion: "The clarity is quite good."

Lao Lin nodded and his figure disappeared in a flash.

Inside, there was dead silence.

Everyone looked at each other, and finally looked at Ji Jue. Ji Jue was silent, and no one dared to speak. Only Chen Yubo, who had a hard time surviving, lay on the chair, gasping wildly.

He wiped the black ash off his body in a panic.

A few minutes later, Lao Lin came back, holding a camera with a huge lens of some unknown kind in one hand, and a phone with a slightly melted shell in the other.

Put it on the table in front of everyone.

The collision sound is crisp.

"Don't worry, everyone. Those who have guilty consciences will not have a good death, but those who can stay are still brothers. We will live and die together and share wealth and honor together. When the boss comes back, he will never treat his own people unfairly!"

For the first time since the beginning, Lao Lin smiled, so warmly.

But as the saying goes, distant cakes cannot quench immediate thirst, even if they are fermented into kvass. After using the stick to show the cruel consequences of being a traitor, the next step is the radish and sweet dates.

Uncle Lin clapped his hands, and an assistant came up with a cart piled with black boxes.

Everyone who chose to stay got one, even Ji Jue got one, and it felt heavy in his hand.

This density made Ji Jue smack his lips in amazement.

They're all gold bars?
This is indeed an exaggeration.

With the encouragement of real money and the distant pie, it seemed that life suddenly had hope. Moreover, there was Lao Lin's promise that when the boss came out of the hospital, even if we didn't do business in Yacheng, we could make a comeback in Qiandao.

The morale, which had been low, was boosted.

After the meeting was over, the first one to jump up was the golden-haired guy who was completely unaware of the danger. Unlike the other guys who were full of schemes, he was stupid and uneducated with clear eyes, and until now he kept talking about loyalty and righteousness. He was too naive.

"Hey, awesome, man."

He came forward first, smiled warmly, and was full of curiosity: "How did you figure that out? Was it a hacker?"

"It's just a trick to fool people. It's worthless if you tell the truth." Ji Jue waved his hand and smiled: "When it comes to real fighting, we still have to rely on everyone."

"Oh, no problem. Whoever dares to touch the boss's brother must first ask me!"

The golden-haired brother grinned, patted his chest and laughed heartily.

It's really enviable.

After Lao Lin sent away his business subordinates, he sat next to him and asked, "How do you feel, Mr. Ji?"

Ji Jue just shook his head, "I still can't accept your style."

They would chop off people's heads at any time, or leave their bodies mutilated.

Scary.

Lao Lin sighed, "It's like this in a society. Bailu and Tianyuan are different. If you make a mistake, you can't just fire them and let it go. If you do something wrong, you have to bear the consequences."

"Nothing can go wrong if you don't do it."

Ji Jue didn't care.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Chen Xingzhou's ship is about to sink. Can he still expect everyone to be loyal to him? At this time, those who say they are not loyal are definitely not loyal, but those who express loyalty may not be loyal.

We are all old foxes who crawled out of the stinky ditch. Who would shed tears while reading Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio?

Eight or nine out of ten people who say they believe in their boss are actually stalling for time, waiting for Chen Xingzhou to die so that they can seamlessly move on to the next job.

Maybe the next buyer has already been found.

More importantly...

"So many people have left, is it enough?" Ji Jue raised his eyes and looked towards the restaurant. Apart from him and Xiao An, the only chosen ones left were Ayi and Jinmao.

Ayi is a very timid person and is useless. On the contrary, Jinmao is so naive that he doesn't know whether to live or die.

If Lei Yaoxing really wants to turn against Chen Yubo, can they rely on them to protect him?
Are you serious?

Uncle Lin, even if you are made of iron, how many can you beat?

Besides, what about Chen Xingzhou? Are you just going to ignore him?
"Don't worry, Yubo's matter has nothing to do with Huangji, as long as we can get through this period, everything will be fine. Besides, when it comes to bodyguards, quality is more important than quantity.

I have already asked for external help.”

Lao Lin looked down at his watch and said, "According to the time, it should be almost time."

Just as he finished speaking, smoke and dust billowed on the road up the mountain, and an off-road vehicle covered in mud was already driving crookedly towards the manor.

Ji Jue just took a look and couldn't help shaking his head: If the alcohol intake was less than half a catty, it wouldn't be so weird.

Finally, it scraped the iron gate and came in, and then did a tailspin and stopped in front of the villa.

An empty wine bottle was thrown out of the window.

Then, a burly and staggering figure walked down from the car.

Although he was tanned, his original skin color was quite white, and his eyes were green, with obvious imperial features, but his eyebrows looked a bit like those of a Federation person. However, his black curly hair, accessories, and the scimitar at his waist were full of Middle-earth characteristics.

He raised his head and grinned at the people upstairs.

Various Thousand Islands-style totems appear above the exposed teeth.

Ji Jue was stunned. What kind of mix and match is this?
It was damp, too damp, so damp that he was a little scared.

"long time no see."

Lao Lin, who was waiting at the door, took a deep breath and called helplessly, "Mr. Muhammad Wanyan Tombarovsky."

"Hey, we're already familiar with each other, just call me Lao Tang."

The shaky middle-aged man with a stubble on his face patted Lao Lin on the shoulder and said, "Didn't you say you were going to guard the ward? Why are you here again? This is different from what the contract says."

Lao Lin smiled and said, "We need experts like you to take charge here."

"Forget it. We are all guarding the yard, so we will still get paid even if we don't get paid! Meal allowance... ahem, that gas allowance, high temperature work allowance, and any injury allowance should also be counted in!"

As he spoke, he slapped his head and said, "Night shift wages will be charged separately!"

"Don't worry, it's easy to talk about. Everything is easy to talk about."

Old Lin smiled, walked him in and introduced him to Chen Yubo.

And at the moment when Ji Jue and he looked at each other, they were both stunned at the same time, and their expressions suddenly became stiff.

The reason why Ji Jue was stunned was that in his perception, in just a few minutes, the fluctuation of the other party's spiritual essence was like a stock K-line chart, sometimes high and sometimes low, with no regularity. When it was high, it was frighteningly abundant, almost full of level 6, half a foot into the rebirth level, and he was simply a strong man. When it was low, it was even worse than Ji Jue, a level 2 newbie, and almost nonexistent.

The reason why the other party was stiff was because he saw Ji Jue... and Xiao An beside him!

It was as if he felt something from the young man, and in an instant, his hair stood on end!

Oh shit, this is weird!
Lao Tang rubbed his eyes, dumbfounded: How come I was supposed to be a security guard, but when I walked in, I saw a kid from the An family? What the hell?!
What kind of good person has a white deer hunter's son hiding in his house?
First he was confused, then shocked, puzzled, and even... the regret that Ji Jue was very familiar with.

He almost beat his chest and stamped his feet in grief.

——It’s broken, and I’m going to lose money!!!

The moment he realized what was happening, he instinctively turned around and asked, "Can I pay more?"

"do not worry."

Lao Lin still smiled and said, "Everything will be easy when the boss comes back."

I believe you!
But things have come to this point, the contract has been signed, and the account used to accept the commission is a large one. If you are not careful, it would be like falling into a trap, and Lao Tang has nothing to say.

After all, he had broken too many contracts before and his credit score was already in jeopardy. If he messed up this order again, he would have trouble living in the future. Not to mention next month, he would not even be able to make ends meet tomorrow.

The helpless workers can only accept their fate.

And add money. He seemed to want to turn his anger into appetite. He never stopped talking since he sat down. He looked like a starving ghost. He emptied two refrigerators by himself. If there was not enough stock in the cold storage, everyone would have to order takeout.

But he was a generous person and soon became familiar to everyone.

When he held the bottle of wine and talked about his past experiences, his face lit up with joy.

Things like the fierce battle in Middle-earth, penetrating deep into the Empire, and the federal prison break... all seem to be realistic, and the details are quite detailed. Although the names sound fake, at least they are experienced.

He has done all kinds of dirty and tiring work, and in his words, this kind of security work is like a vacation.

After all, it was hard to make money these days without connections, especially with a large group of mercenaries. You could earn funeral expenses by risking your life, but sometimes getting the money alive was a skill.

After all, the regular army is scrambling for the lucrative job of the oil field, so how can it be the turn of the outside hangers-on? You can't even get a chance to stay at the foot of the wall.

Most of the time, a large group of mercenaries are the ones who receive the most vicious beatings, suffer the most severe setbacks, and earn the least rice. After all, in this day and age, a kid of 11 or 12 years old can come out to take orders with a submachine gun he picked up. There are really no professional barriers and thresholds for killing and arson in the usual sense. If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will do it.

No wonder Silan and his men treasured Master Lou so much in the beginning - this kind of job with high pay and little work is so damn hard to find. If they can get a reliable long-term customer with a fixed relationship, it will be enough for the entire knights to live for decades. Silan would rather lose his own head than let Master Lou lose his head, otherwise, if the boss died, wouldn't the other knights tear him apart?
However, unlike Slan, who came out to earn extra money from the regular Middle-earth legion, Lao Tang was a lone wolf.

Generally, these people call themselves "Knights-Errant".

To put it simply, they are the street urchins in the big group, the roving criminals in the eyes of the Empire and the Federation, and they belong to the bottom of the discrimination chain of the big group.

When we get together to make a living, whether or not we have any special skills is another matter, but the main thing is to have dirty hands, a thick face, a black heart and to run fast.

Lao Tang claimed that his family had a large number of followers for generations, and his ancestors were once wealthy and had their own knightly order. It was just that when it came to him, his family fell into poverty and the past was too painful to recall.

"When my ancestors served in the Yongshi Dynasty, my great-great-grandfather was appointed Grand Marshal, which means he was a high-ranking official, right?!"

When he boasted about his family background, Old Tang said so much that even the innocent Golden Haired Brother made a series of "oh-oh" sounds and admired him endlessly. Only Ji Jue didn't have the heart to correct him - the Eternal Empire was a cabinet system, and there was no such position as Grand Sima from the beginning to the end...

After they had communicated and become familiar with each other, Lao Lin came over with his assistant pushing a cart.

"This is what you wanted. Do you think it's enough?"

The first things placed in front of Lao Tang were several heavy suitcases. After opening them, he found that there were swords one after another inside. They were shining with cold light, sharp and full of spiritual energy.

Although it is not exaggerated to the extent of bestowing a blessing, the materials used are solid and the workmanship is exquisite. It is indeed a serious alchemical work, and the degree of completion is not low.

Except for Lao Tang, everyone else has it.

The one given to Jinmao was a necklace with a ruby ​​as big as a pigeon egg inlaid on it. The spiritual essence fluctuated wildly and enthusiastically, as if it was used to increase his abilities. The one given to Ayi was two crystal prisms, which refracted light and splashed out thousands of beautiful fragments of light.

What Xiao An was given was a whole box of alchemically processed daggers, which were obviously specially customized for easy throwing and projectile throwing. The material was much better than the iron sheets bought casually.

Only after Ji Jue, there was nothing.

Lao Lin simply took him to the underground garage and pushed open a door that had been blocked for a long time, revealing the space behind the door.

"As far as I know, the Embers series usually needs some assistance. Do you think these are enough?"

"Ah this..."

Ji Jue was stunned.

Behind the door, there are already various equipments, ranging from furnaces to liquefaction reactors, probes, imprinting tables to the most common processing tools.

All of them are 99% new, well-maintained and carefully maintained. After debugging, they are better than new ones.

Apart from the lack of exaggerated equipment beyond the specifications such as workshop core and spiritual furnace, it is almost equivalent to a simple workshop.

If Professor Ye or Brother Qiu were here, they might sneer and bring out all kinds of garbage to pollute my eyes.

But the one here is Ji Jue.

For a country boy who has nothing, these tools are a perfect match for his level. It would be a waste to give him more advanced tools anyway, so these are more than enough.

Not to mention that all materials are stored according to standard combinations.

"After this is over, these won't be needed." Lao Lin lowered his voice and whispered in his ear, "If it's convenient, just help me deal with it."

"Ah this..."

Ji Jue hadn't reacted yet and was stunned again.

Then, a business card was put into his pocket: "In addition, during this period, if you have any other needs, just call this number and let me know. As long as it is common in the market, it should be no problem."

"Ah, this... that's it..."

Ji Jue reluctantly put it into his pocket.

"Anything else you need?" Old Lin said with a smile, "I'll do my best to help you."

“Is it too generous?”

Ji Jue turned around and looked at him: "I'm not a professional, I just came here to be the boss's mascot. If you can't beat me, I will run away, please don't count on me too much."

Lao Lin shook his head decisively: "They are employees of Boss Chen, and you are Yu Bo's friend, so it's naturally different."

Ji Jue sighed.

He pushed the door open and closed it. In the silence behind the door, he pondered for a moment, but couldn't help asking, "But shouldn't such a comprehensive arrangement be given priority to Boss Chen?"

Lao Lin answered without hesitation: "The boss has other arrangements, and we don't know whether he is alive or dead, so it's hard to say what will happen in the future. According to his previous orders, Yu Bo's safety is the top priority."

Ji Jue shook his head: "What's the purpose?"

"Yu Bo is the boss's only family member and brother. What is there to gain from him?"

"how about you?"

Now that he had said it, Ji Jue would not feel embarrassed. Especially since everything he saw today was too strange. It seemed natural, but it always revealed a trace of strangeness that went against common sense.

Whether it was the meeting that seemed to be appeasing but was actually intended to break up the group, or the overly extensive preparations, they all made him begin to doubt Lao Lin's intentions.

"Chen Xingzhou is lying in the hospital, his life or death is uncertain, Chen Yubo is indecisive and has no ambition, all he can think about is how to raise a cat when he runs out of money. What about you, Lao Lin?"

Ji Jue asked bluntly: "As Bai Lu's follower, don't you have any other ideas at this time?"

"..."

Lao Lin finally stopped smiling, or rather, when his gentle disguise faded, his true face was revealed, cold and calm, without any wavering. His dark eyes looked at him for a long time, and the corners of his mouth seemed to curl up.

"Please rest assured, Mr. Ji, I watched Yu Bo grow up. I have never been married and I don't have any children. He is like my own nephew and I will never harm him.

As for you, I know you don't want to have anything to do with Huang Ji, and I can also guarantee that as long as this period of time passes and Yu Bo is safe, you will not have any trouble.

Even if my old bones can no longer bear it, I will not leave irrelevant people in the fire pit."

It sounds like it's true, maybe sincere, maybe hypocritical, but Ji Jue doesn't care. Ever since he started to get involved in Chen Yubo's life and death, he has been prepared to face the consequences.

At worst, I'll just walk away and hide in the workshop. Lei Yaoxing, no matter how awesome and powerful you are, are you coming to Beishan District to bite me?
This is the confidence that two golden thighs bring me, do you understand?
"how about you?"

Finally, he asked again, but it was not the same question.

"me……"

In the brief silence, Lao Lin laughed at himself and said, "I have worked hard for half my life. I am old now and have no ambitions or ideals to speak of. I have followed at least eight or nine bosses, and none of them had a happy ending.

This is the way of Bai Lu. He became famous overnight and died on the streets overnight.

If I have to say it, I want to see it through to the end."

Ji Jue said nothing more and watched Lao Lin leave.

After a long time, he suddenly slapped his head and finally realized: Oh no, it seems the case has been solved!
Was Chen Xingzhou defeated by you?

"I've discovered that people who get involved with you usually don't end up well."

In the afternoon, outside Yacheng, at another remote dock, the long-waiting Lao Lin leaned against the car and smoked, and finally waited for a car to stop not far away, and a skinny old man walked out of the car.

As soon as they met, he started complaining to Lao Lin.

He had a head full of white hair and was yawning, as if he hadn't slept for a long time. His eyes were bloodshot and there was blood on his unwashed hair.

"It's really troublesome to earn a little money from you. I'm so old and I've been doing this for such a long time. Chen Xingzhou is still alive, but I was almost sent away by him."

The old man staggered, as if dizzy, and held onto the wall after every two steps. "I have done everything I can. Don't blame me if anything happens again. I am not the King of Hell. I don't care about the Book of Life and Death."

"Thank you for your hard work, doctor. This is the agreed reward, double it."

Lao Lin signaled his subordinates to deliver the reward and pointed to the ordinary boat behind him: "It has been arranged. We will arrive in Chaocheng tonight."

"Although I shouldn't say this as a doctor, I don't have any medical ethics, so please forgive me."

The old man counted the money in the box and said casually, “That panacea was wasted on him.

That's a great thing that a high-level Chosen One could use to keep a person alive with just one injection. Giving it to an ordinary person is a fucking waste of resources.

With his limited recovery ability, even with the technology in the 'hospital', it would be difficult for him to survive the sequelae. If he survived, he would be a vegetable, and there was no telling when he would wake up.

I really don’t know what you are trying to do.”

"Just stay alive."

Lao Lin smiled, feeling relaxed: "As long as you are alive, there is a future."

The old man was stunned for a moment, unable to understand: "No, you have so much confidence in him?"

"It's not me treating him, it's him treating himself."

Lao Lin lit up the cigarette and exhaled a wisp of green smoke: "He once told me that a person's life is in his own hands. No one can take it away.

Now is the chance to prove it..."

He paused, staring at the huge city above the blue sea in the distance, "It depends on whether he can do it."

(End of this chapter)