Chapter 354: Advancement! Secret Rendezvous

Chapter 354 -193: Advancement! Secret Rendezvous

The alley wasn’t long, maybe seventy or eighty meters. As he reached the end, he saw a figure squatting under the streetlight at the mouth of the alley.

It was a fat man.

He was about five-foot-seven, with a portly, round physique. He wore a dark suit jacket, the buttons strained to the point of bursting over his belly.

Getting closer, Wan Ze saw the man had a thick gold chain around his neck—about as thick as a pinky finger and gleaming brightly. Tucked under his arm was a black briefcase.

When the fat man saw Wan Ze emerge from the alley, his eyes lit up, and he immediately went from a squat to a standing position. Getting up was clearly a struggle, though. His knee let out a CRACK, and his body swayed for a moment before he found his balance.

He cautiously approached. “Are you Boss Zhao’s friend?”

“I am.” Wan Ze regarded him with a calm gaze. His voice was quiet but clear.

The fat man sized Wan Ze up, his gaze lingering on his face for just a second before he tactfully looked away.

He quickly adopted an enthusiastic tone. “My surname is Dong. You can just call me Dong Hui.”

The fat man gave a slight bow and gestured. “This way, please. The car is ready. We can head over now.”

With that, he turned to lead the way, not asking another question or taking another look.

Wan Ze noticed that this Dong Hui had a particular habit when he walked.

Every few steps, he would subconsciously glance back—not at Wan Ze, but to see if they were being followed.

‘This means it’s not his first time doing this.’

Wan Ze took the initiative to speak. “How many old artifacts does that Antique Dealer have?”

Dong Hui glanced back at him, his smile unchanging, and explained in a very polite tone, “About two rooms full. If not a hundred pieces, then at least seventy or eighty. The Antique Dealer’s surname is Qu, and he’s got some standing in the black market. When you get there, you don’t need to say much. If you see something you like, just tell me directly. Boss Zhao has already arranged everything.”

Wan Ze nodded and said no more.

The two walked quickly for about five minutes, arriving at a quiet, secluded street.

A very ordinary-looking old car was parked on the side of the road.

Dong Hui pulled open the driver’s side door, got in, and started the car.

Wan Ze opened the back door and ducked inside.

The inside of the car smelled of leather and air freshener—not terrible, but definitely not pleasant either.

Dong Hui glanced at Wan Ze in the rearview mirror to make sure he was settled, then shifted into gear, released the handbrake, and hit the gas. The car slowly pulled away.

…

In a little under twenty minutes, the car left the city proper.

The scenery outside the window gradually changed from low-rise bungalows to vast stretches of farmland.

The streetlights grew sparser, and the potholes in the road more frequent. The car was bumping along so violently that Dong Hui had to slow down.

Finally, the car came to a stop outside a manor.

From the outside, the manor was unremarkable. A perimeter wall made of gray bricks was topped with shards of broken glass, and the walls themselves were covered in withered vines.

Two red lanterns hung by the main gate. The character for “Fortune” was written on them, its ink faded, and they swayed gently in the night wind.

Dong Hui killed the engine, pulled out the key, and turned around. “We’re here.”

He pushed his door open and got out, and Wan Ze followed suit.

The night wind was much stronger here than in the city, making the dry grass by the roadside rustle.

A dog barked in the distance, its sound swallowed by the wind.

“Do you need a mask?” Dong Hui asked.

“No need.” ‘My current appearance is fine,’ Wan Ze thought. ‘A mask would just draw more attention.’

Seeing this, Dong Hui said no more and turned toward a small grove of trees next to the manor.

The grove wasn’t large. It was planted with fast-growing poplars, their trunks ramrod-straight, poking baldly at the sky.

A thick layer of fallen leaves covered the ground, rustling with every step.

Passing through the grove, a cluster of rural courtyard homes came into view.

The entire area contained at least ten or twenty households, all packed densely together.

Every home had the same layout: gray brick walls, black-tiled roofs, and red-lacquered wooden doors. Even the flowers and plants growing by the entrances were nearly identical.

From a distance, you might mistake it for a farmhouse resort or a cultural village, but up close, it was clear these houses had some age to them. Moss grew in the corners of the walls, and in some places, you could even see patches where the plaster had peeled away to reveal the red brick underneath.

Wan Ze also noticed another detail.

All of the houses had thick curtains drawn over their windows. Faint light seeped out from behind them, indicating that people were inside—people who didn’t want anyone outside to see what was going on within.

Dong Hui led Wan Ze to the front door of one of the houses and stopped.

The door was an old-fashioned wooden one, its panels studded with Iron Hide. The door knocker was made of bronze, polished to a shine from countless hands.

Dong Hui raised his hand and knocked three times on the bronze ring.

After a brief silence, a deep voice came from behind the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Fatty Dong,” Dong Hui’s booming voice replied.

There were two seconds of silence from behind the door, followed by the sound of a bolt being drawn.

The door opened a crack, and a face appeared in the gap.

It was a burly man, at least six-foot-three, with shoulders as wide as a wall. He wore a tight black t-shirt that was stretched taut across his chest muscles.

He had a square face, high cheekbones, a wide jaw, and thick, dark eyebrows. His eyes weren’t large, but they were sharp and full of scrutiny.

The man clearly recognized Dong Hui. After a quick glance at his face, his gaze shifted to Wan Ze.

Noticing Wan Ze’s baseball cap, the big man’s eyes lingered for two seconds. He looked him up and down, his brow furrowing slightly. “New guy? Boss Dong, new people have to be registered.”

“Register my ass!” Dong Hui’s voice rose half a notch, his tone thick with impatience. “You think there’s a problem with someone I brought myself? Hurry up!”

The big man was taken aback. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing Dong Hui’s attitude, he ultimately swallowed his words.