Chapter 138: One Billion Dollars

“Dear Mr. White Shark, I think you should order your men to leave now! Of course, if you do not value your life, you may ignore what I say.” He Tian held White Shark in his grasp, one hand clamped around his throat, a warm smile on his face.

“My friend! Look, I speak Chinese. Really, we are both Chinese! Don’t get excited. I’ll have them leave at once!” White Shark said with an ingratiating smile, then roared, “Everyone out of the villa! No one stays behind!”

Yes, White Shark was Chinese! Well, calling him Chinese was not quite accurate. He was an overseas Chinese man—a man who spoke fluent Chinese!

Everyone in the villa withdrew, including the six cultivators of the third level of Inner Force.

“Only the third level,” Ugly said with a smile.

He Tian nodded.

Still, the fact that White Shark and his associates could afford six third-level Inner Force cultivators as bodyguards was proof enough that they were far from ordinary.

“Mr. White Shark, the hall is too large. It isn’t safe. I need somewhere secure,” He Tian said with a smile.

“Upstairs, to my study,” White Shark replied. “We’ll cooperate fully… My friend, please remain calm. Whatever the matter is, we can discuss it properly!”

He Tian took White Shark. Ugly took Black Shark. Lazy Cat took Tiger Shark, while Wind God took Sang Kun.

The group arrived at the fourth floor of the villa and entered White Shark’s study.

The study was enormous.

Its walls were made entirely of glass.

“Boss, it’s bulletproof glass!” Wind God knocked on it and examined it carefully before calling out, “It can withstand the impact of a rocket-propelled grenade without breaking!”

“Excellent!” He Tian closed the door and released White Shark.

Ugly and Lazy Cat likewise released Black Shark and Tiger Shark.

“Sang Kun!” The instant Tiger Shark regained his freedom, he crossed the room and slapped Sang Kun hard across the face.

“Boss Tiger!” Sang Kun covered his cheek, his face twisted in a bitter smile.

“Sang Kun was forced into this. I can vouch for him… Of course, from your perspective, even if Sang Kun had died, he still should never have brought us here. But Sang Kun didn’t see it that way, did he? Boss Tiger Shark… Please sit tight. This may be your territory, but right now, I’m the one calling the shots!” He Tian said with a cheerful smile. “Sang Kun, don’t worry. I’ll take you away. I’ll give you a chance to escape with your life. That way, bringing us here won’t have been in vain.”

Sang Kun did not know whether he ought to feel grateful or resentful.

At the very least, he seemed to have been given a chance to live. Yet that chance filled him with nothing but bitterness.

Tiger Shark sat down sullenly.

He was only an ordinary man. Judging from the skills He Tian and the others had displayed, it was clear that here, they were nothing more than helpless prey beneath He Tian’s knife.

“Friends, may I ask what brings you here?” White Shark said after regaining his composure, a smile on his face.

How could a man who had built such an empire be simple?

The ability to remain calm under circumstances like these was an essential quality.

“Two matters,” He Tian said with a smile. “First, your cooperation with Young Master Hai ends here. Hand over every piece of information related to him. Second, the assassination attempts against the Wang sisters in Tianhai City, China, must stop immediately. I also need all the information on the person who placed the order. That is all we want. You see? We mean you no harm.”

“You’re people working for Young Master Hai?” White Shark asked, somewhat surprised.

“It was only a business arrangement. Boss White, you should be able to see the situation clearly. You should also understand that if we had chosen to storm this place, we could still have made it here,” He Tian said with a smile.

“I believe you. All of you are experts. I, White Shark, do business with my doors open. I have no desire to make enemies of people like you. The first matter is easy. We have already decided to cut off all business dealings with Young Master Hai. But our rules do not permit us to reveal our clients’ information. Of course, you may not believe me. I can give you the files, but you also understand that there may be more than one copy.”

“I understand that perfectly. We only need one copy. Naturally, while handing it over to us, Boss White will still uphold the rules you speak of. Isn’t that right?” He Tian’s face was covered by a smile.

“Of course,” White Shark continued. “As for the assassination of the Wang sisters in Tianhai City, you know how it works. Once a client places an order, we cannot simply refuse it. According to our rules, if the first attempt fails, there must be a second and a third. Only after three failures is the order canceled. As for revenge over the loss of personnel, such a thing simply does not exist in the world of assassins.”

“That is correct,” Ugly said.

“I’m pleased, Boss White. You’ve been quite candid. But I still need the information on the person who placed the order,” He Tian said gravely.

“We truly do not know anything about the person who placed it. We take precautions to ensure that we do not learn such things ourselves,” White Shark replied earnestly.

“How am I supposed to believe you?” He Tian fixed his gaze on him.

He Tian knew those rules as well. But he had come here in the hope that perhaps some unexpected clue might turn up.

“Where is the transaction terminal server? Where is the hard drive containing the records? I need those things.” Wind God suddenly spoke.

“My brother needs them.” He Tian looked toward White Shark.

White Shark glanced at Wind God. “They aren’t here, but I can have someone take this friend to retrieve them.”

“Too risky. We aren’t afraid of danger, but there is no need to take such a risk. Have your people bring the items here immediately. Don’t tell me it can’t be done. And don’t forget my earlier demands,” He Tian said sternly.

“All right.” White Shark walked to the desk and picked up the telephone.

The entire study fell silent.

The only sound was the continuous clatter of Wind God’s fingers striking the keyboard.

He Tian appeared calm, but in truth, he was extremely tense.

This was the most direct lead they had.

Whether they could trace it would determine whether they could truly find the person behind everything. It was absolutely critical.

“Damn it! The United States, Britain, France, Thailand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Russia… More than thirty countries and regions! Just how careful is he? How cautious? He’s routed the trail through this many places!” Wind God cursed continuously as he hammered away at the keyboard.

White Shark, Black Shark, and Tiger Shark exchanged glances.

All three stared in astonishment at Wind God, who was working at the computer.

They had tried to trace the order themselves. In fact, they had desperately wanted to uncover the client’s identity.

But previously, they had only managed to trace it as far as France.

The difference between their abilities and Wind God’s was now obvious.

“Got it… Japan. Hokkaido. Coordinates… Time…” Wind God looked at He Tian.

“Excellent, Little Crazy!” He Tian had always known that Wind God was formidable in this field, but he had never expected him to be formidable to such an extent.

“However, I can’t guarantee that we’ll actually find the person at this location,” Wind God said.

“At least we have a lead now, don’t we?” He Tian replied with a smile.

Then he turned toward White Shark.

“Boss White, you’ve seen it for yourself. Our real objective is simply to find out who wants to harm the Wang sisters of Tianhai City. You were dragged into this only because of your profession.” He Tian smiled. “I’m satisfied with the information you’ve provided. I trust you won’t send out a third wave of people to complete the assignment. But in the first two attempts, your people caused the Wang sisters severe physical and psychological trauma.”

“In that case… We’re willing to compensate them.” White Shark understood that He Tian had not specifically targeted them. But wasn’t control of the situation still in He Tian’s hands? When it was time to yield, one had to yield.

“All right. My sense of justice tells me I should warn you not to send drugs into China, though that probably won’t accomplish much. Still, I’ll say it anyway: you’d better not do it.” He Tian gave a faint smile. “As for the compensation… I want ten billion dollars. That shouldn’t be a problem, should it?”

Having traced the lead and obtained information on Young Master Hai’s transactions, He Tian was in an excellent mood. He abandoned his plan to destroy White Shark’s organization and even reduced the fifty-billion-dollar demand he had originally intended to make to ten billion.

“What? Ten billion dollars?” White Shark’s eyes widened as he stared at He Tian in disbelief.

“Boss White, you know very well that you have no choice,” He Tian said with a smile, wasting no time on empty words.

After consolidating his commercial holdings, He Tian had developed a strong interest in business matters. Whenever there was an opportunity to make money, he had no objection to taking advantage of it.

He also believed that they had earned an unfathomable amount from the Chinese market alone.

Whatever the exact figure, it was surely far more than ten billion dollars.

In fact, He Tian was mistaken.

If White Shark had possessed drug plantations of his own, his earnings would have been far greater than that.

But he did not.

White Shark was merely a transit point.

A rather large transit point, admittedly, and one that earned a little more than most.

But the profits were nowhere near as immense as He Tian imagined.

Of course, White Shark still had ten billion dollars.

“Ten billion dollars…” White Shark muttered to himself.

His heart ached terribly.

Black Shark and Tiger Shark said nothing. In their eyes, even twenty billion dollars would have been acceptable, as long as they could leave safely.

“Oh, I almost forgot. How about this? We can use a few methods to make you tell us your account numbers and passwords. Little Crazy, are you confident you could use that information to take the money from any bank?” He Tian looked at Wind God with a beaming smile.

“Boss, rest assured. Even if it were hundreds of billions, I could still get it out,” Wind God declared, thumping his chest. “Boss, let’s do that. If we can get more, why settle for ten billion?”

“No! Ten billion dollars—I’ll pay! I’ll pay!” White Shark shouted hurriedly. Wind God’s computer skills left him feeling profoundly insecure.