Chapter 31: Tomb Raider and Long Legs

The moment he saw the guns hidden on the two backpackers, Lin Jian immediately guessed they were highly likely tomb raiders.

Not only did the antiques in their backpacks exude an ancient aura, but they also carried a distinct, musty scent. Therefore, Lin Jian concluded that the antiques all came from an Ancient Tomb.

He scratched his head, wondering if he should continue playing the hero. Besides, as long as he could touch that backpack full of antiques, he could absorb the accumulated Spiritual Power within them, which would benefit his Dao Tree.

He thought, "Let’s see what the situation is first. I can’t act rashly."

Lin Jian didn’t act on impulse to play the hero, mainly because the other party was armed. Even if he had some martial arts background and knew a few amateur moves, bullets didn’t have eyes. If he got shot, he would still bite the dust.

Carrying the box with the covered bowl, he quietly approached the shop. Once he was within thirty meters, he pretended to squat down and browse the items on a street stall, simultaneously sending his Thought probing into the store!

The storefront also housed an antique shop, displaying various relics, but the first floor was completely empty. He continued probing the second floor and found four people there. One was a man wearing a short-sleeved Tang suit. Another was a girl—an exceedingly beautiful, fair-skinned beauty with long legs. The other two were the tomb raiders.

However, when Lin Jian saw the leggy, fair-skinned beauty, he felt a sudden sense of familiarity. It was as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn’t recall where at the moment.

Currently, the four were sitting face-to-face.

"The goods are all here. Is the money ready?"

Of the two tomb raiders, one was slightly balding, his remaining hair soon to resemble the Mediterranean Sea. The other man was slightly cross-eyed. The one speaking was the balding guy, who looked to be around forty years old.

"Of course the money is ready," the man in the Tang suit replied with a faint smile, shooting a glance at the beautiful, leggy girl.

Expressionless, the beauty pulled a leather suitcase from under the table and snapped it open! Neatly stacked bundles of hundred-yuan bills lined the case, visually totaling at least over a million. A greedy look immediately surfaced on the faces of the two tomb raiders.

"These are the goods you asked for. Check them."

The balding man opened his backpack and took out three antiques one by one. One was a Jade Horse, the second was a bronze cup similar to an ancient wine chalice, and the last was a translucent jade goblet. One glance was enough to tell the jade goblet was extraordinary.

Excitement gleamed in the eyes of the man in the Tang suit. He quickly began to carefully inspect them hands-on.

Right at that moment, the long-legged woman spoke up coldly. "This isn’t right. We’re missing one!"

"Hmm?" The balding man raised his eyebrows. "All three items are right here. The agreed price is 1.2 million. Is Miss Shen trying to back out?"

"Three items?" Miss Shen arched an eyebrow. "Didn’t we explicitly agree on four? Where is the gold-inlaid jade Seal? Why didn’t you bring it?"

"You must be joking, miss. Your 1.2 million can only buy these three. That Seal is not at this price point!"

"You can name your price. Also, if I don’t see the Seal, we won’t take these three either!" Miss Shen coldly snapped the suitcase shut and pulled it back.

The balding man and the cross-eyed man immediately grew anxious. The cross-eyed man even reached for his waist.

The man in the Tang suit wiped away some cold sweat. "Everyone, calm down. Let’s all calm down."

"Heh, are you trying to double-cross us?" Miss Shen sneered. "Since I dared to come here, I’m not afraid of you double-crossing us."

"Are you messing with us, miss?" the balding man demanded coldly.

"I’m not." Miss Shen gave a disdainful smile. "Why would I mess with you? Name your price for the Seal, and I can give you the cash at any time. Add this 1.2 million to it, and you can take it all. Then we cut all contact. How about it?"

"Phew." The balding man let out a deep breath, simultaneously signaling the cross-eyed man not to act rashly. Then, he took out his phone and dialed a number.

"RING RING RING!"

As the balding man made the call, Lin Jian, who was picking through items at the street stall, suddenly heard the stall owner’s phone ring at the exact same time. He shot a weird look at the chuckling plump stall owner, then continued to browse.

The stall owner answered the call, and the balding man’s voice came through the receiver.

Lin Jian grimaced. This gang of tomb raiders played a clever game—hiding in plain sight. The balding man and the cross-eyed man were clearly just lackeys. The true mastermind behind the scenes was this inconspicuous stall owner, stationed less than thirty meters from the storefront.

These guys played a high-level game. Truly high-level!

On the phone, the two spoke in hushed voices, conversing in a regional dialect.

About five minutes later, the balding man in the store hung up the phone. "Three million, non-negotiable. Plus, you have to give us this 1.2 million too!"

"No problem!" Miss Shen stood up, walked over to a cabinet in the back, and brought over another large leather suitcase, popping it open! "Here is exactly three million. I’ll wait for you here. Bring the item over, cash on the barrelhead. We finish the transaction before dawn."

The balding man rubbed his nearly hairless head, then suddenly smiled. "Let’s change the transaction location. Here isn’t suitable. Why doesn’t Miss Shen come with us to get it?"

"I’m not going. I don’t trust you!" Miss Shen refused on the spot, sneering. "If you guys decide to double-cross me then, who could I even reason with?"

"Hmph, Miss Shen, why don’t you ask around about the reputation and trustworthiness of us Nightwalkers on the streets? If you don’t believe me, ask Old Zhong!" the balding man said, pointing at the man in the Tang suit.

The man in the Tang suit said awkwardly, "Well... the Nightwalkers are doing okay in the circle, just okay."

"I’m still not going. I’m a lone woman. Why would I go with you? Just bring the item here," Miss Shen continued to refuse strictly.

"Then how about we finish trading these three items first?" The balding man settled for the next best thing. They primarily lacked money, and this 1.2 million had to be brought back today.

"That won’t do. If we don’t see the Seal, we won’t take these three."

"You..." Murderous intent flickered in the balding man’s eyes. At this moment, he had already decided to double-cross them. As for reputation and trustworthiness? To hell with that! They were capable of raiding Ancient Tombs and digging up people’s ancestral graves; why would they care about trustworthiness?

Right then, the cross-eyed man suddenly pulled out his gun. With a CLACK, he chambered a round. "Old Niu, let’s off them!" Saying that, he directly pressed the gun against the top of the Tang-suited man’s head!

The Tang-suited man, Mr. Zhong, was so terrified that he slumped down instantly. "It has nothing to do with me! It has nothing to do with me!"

Miss Shen realized things had gone south the moment she heard that. Intimidated, Old Zhong was about to spill the beans!

Sure enough, upon hearing Old Zhong’s words, the balding man and his partner grew even more suspicious. What did Old Zhong mean by that?

However, in the nick of time, a Type 64 pistol suddenly slipped out from Miss Shen’s sleeve, followed by a loud BANG! Her marksmanship was exceptional, and her Speed was incredibly fast. In almost an instant, the cross-eyed man took a bullet right between the eyebrows!

"Ah, you’re a cop..." the balding man roared wildly, reaching for his gun.

But Miss Shen moved too fast. Before the balding man’s hand could even touch his weapon, she had already shot him in the forearm. The balding man stumbled and hurriedly tried to draw his gun with his other hand.

But Miss Shen had already launched a flying kick to his head. She tackled him to the ground and pressed her gun against the back of his head. "Police! Don’t move!"

Meanwhile, outside, the street stall owner, much like the other vendors, looked in surprise toward the source of the gunshot.

Everyone had heard it. Furthermore, more than a dozen dark figures were rapidly charging toward the store.

The stall owner hastily rolled up his goods, stuffed them into his leather suitcase, and grabbed it to leave!

"Boss, don’t leave! That snuff bottle from just now, the one with the landscape painting, I’ve got my eye on it. Why are you leaving? Hurry up and take it out so I can take another look."

At that moment, Lin Jian blocked the stall owner’s path.