Chapter 286 - 175: Bumper Harvest

Chapter 286: Chapter 175: Bumper Harvest

Wan Ze suddenly wondered if cooperating with this guy was a mistake.

"Cut the crap. Where’s the stuff?" Wan Ze cut him off, his voice laced with an impatience that made it clear he didn’t want to waste another word.

Zhao Henian fell silent. His gaze lingered on Wan Ze for a moment before sweeping over the darkness behind him.

Only after confirming that no Grandmaster-Level aura was present did he retract his gaze. The wariness on his face lessened slightly, but he still wasn’t completely relaxed.

After a moment’s thought, he took a step, his body gliding weightlessly across the three-meter-wide stream to land in front of Wan Ze.

The step looked simple, but the circulation of his qi and blood was perfect. Only someone with an extremely high degree of control over their own body could achieve such an effect of effortless grace.

Evidently, Zhao Henian had managed it—a small display of skill to save a bit of face.

As he drew near, Wan Ze could clearly see that Zhao Henian was carrying two cases.

One was a black briefcase. It wasn’t large, but it looked heavy.

The other was a silver metal case, over thirty centimeters tall, with a ridged, impact-resistant design on its surface and metal guards on all four corners. It looked extremely sturdy.

"Inspect the goods," Zhao Henian said, placing the two cases on the ground without pushing them forward.

Wan Ze smiled, pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket, and held it out.

The contents of the paper had been carefully selected by him. It was definitely valuable... valuable enough that the Secret Palace wouldn’t want to let it go. As for how valuable, that was hard to say, but it would certainly be enough to keep them talking.

Zhao Henian reached out to take it.

Wan Ze pinched the edge of the paper, not letting go immediately, so Zhao Henian couldn’t pull it away on his first try.

He couldn’t help but look up.

For a brief moment, they met each other’s eyes across the sheet of paper.

"Old Zhao, can you even read this?" Wan Ze asked, a hint of genuine curiosity in his tone.

The corner of Zhao Henian’s mouth twitched.

But he didn’t say a word. With a cold snort, he snatched the paper from Wan Ze’s hand and retreated rapidly, even faster than when he had approached. He covered four or five meters in a single leap, returning to the other side of the stream in the blink of an eye.

It was as if he expected Wan Ze to lash out and attack him at any moment.

Wan Ze was speechless.

’Fine, I’ll pretend I never asked.’

He couldn’t be bothered with the man anymore. He squatted down and picked up the cases, one in each hand.

The black briefcase was very heavy. He opened it to find stacks of cash arranged neatly inside—two hundred thousand, just as promised. The quantity appeared to be correct.

The bank seals were still intact. Twenty neat stacks of ten thousand each.

Wan Ze randomly pulled out a stack and flipped through it. The feel of the paper was right, the watermark was clear, and the tactile markings were distinct... ’Yep, it’s real.’

He put the money away and opened the other case.

After opening such a large case, he found a single booklet resting inside, cushioned by black velvet...

The booklet wasn’t thick, maybe twelve or thirteen pages, with a dark blue hardcover. Three words were printed on the cover... *Piguai Boxing Manual*.

"..."

’Using such a huge case for a single booklet... only the Secret Palace would come up with something like this.’

Wan Ze looked up toward the other side of the stream.

Zhao Henian was squatting by the stream, surrounded by several masked men in black. Each of them had a lean, powerful build and a restrained aura. They were guarding the surroundings... or more accurately, guarding against Wan Ze.

Wan Ze couldn’t even be bothered to comment.

He watched as one of the men stood beside Zhao Henian, holding a light... It looked like some kind of special cold-light lamp.

Wan Ze stood on his tiptoes to get a better look. The light was even and didn’t flicker, so it wouldn’t create a glare on the paper.

With his back to Wan Ze, Zhao Henian held a device to his eyes and snapped photos of the paper. CLICK. CLICK.

The device flashed with a cold white light each time he took a picture.

After he finished, Zhao Henian took out a communicator and glanced at it, seemingly waiting for something. He turned his head and unexpectedly met Wan Ze’s gaze. He immediately looked away... ’Little bastard!’

About two minutes later, the communicator vibrated.

Zhao Henian looked down at the screen, and his tense shoulders relaxed.

’The organization has approved the intel.’

’That means Wan Ze didn’t try anything funny. The content is real.’

’This kid... hmm... his credibility rating can be raised!’

Zhao Henian looked up at Wan Ze on the opposite bank. The expression on his face softened somewhat, but his tone remained as business-like and cold as ever. "We can continue the transaction. Where’s the rest of the information?"

Wan Ze stood there lazily, his hands in his pockets, looking completely unhurried. "Did you bring the rest of the items?"

"I did," Zhao Henian nodded.

Wan Ze raised an eyebrow. "Didn’t you say you had to wait for approval from your superiors... that it would take a few days at least?"

Zhao Henian said flatly, "On the way here, I happened to take care of a disobedient old man. He had the High Tier Secret Martial Arts you wanted."

Just one sentence, delivered so casually. Who knew if he had killed the man specifically to take his Martial Skill.

Wan Ze fell silent.

This callous disregard for human life from the Secret Palace was truly rampant and unrestrained.

A simple "disobedient" was enough to take a man’s life and his possessions, then use the spoils as a bargaining chip in a trade.

’Who was that old man?’

’Was he someone from within the Secret Palace, or an outside Loose Cultivator?’

’What "disobedient" mistake did he make?’

Wan Ze didn’t know, and he didn’t want to know.

He only knew one thing: in this circle, strength was everything. Without strength, you were just another "disobedient old man," and no one would even know you had died.

He pulled a second sheet of paper from his pocket and waved it at Zhao Henian.

Zhao Henian took a case over thirty centimeters tall from the man beside him. It was another silver metal case, but it was twice as thick as the previous one and considerably heavier.

"The rest of the money and the Cultivation Technique are inside." Zhao Henian placed the case on the ground and gave it a light push with his foot. The case slid across the ground for some distance, coming to a stop on a large rock in the middle of the stream. "You can inspect it right here. Of course, I’ll need to inspect the rest of the information as well."