Chapter 557 - 328: Fish Takes the Bait, Dog Tycoon, Broadway, The Watcher

Chapter 557: Chapter 328: Fish Takes the Bait, Dog Tycoon, Broadway, The Watcher

Lin Chu looked at Liu Chenhui and made a casual remark. ’Time on a ship really passes slowly.’

"We should reach the designated position around midnight tomorrow. The guys at the Dubai branch are all ready."

"They’ll make a temporary stop for us then. There’s a scheduled shopping trip in Dubai. Once we disembark, we’re not getting back on."

"They’ve also prepared our new passports and identities."

Liu Chenhui had just reconfirmed the details of the operation with them, so he rattled off the information with practiced ease.

"Good."

"I’m hungry. Come on, let’s go get something to eat."

Night had fallen, and the cruise ship was bound to be even livelier in the evening.

The Broadway musical performance was at eight, and there were even more exciting shows like pole dancing. Lin Chu was in a pretty good mood and felt like having a drink.

Liu Chenhui glanced at him, hesitated for a moment, but nodded anyway.

’It’s just a meal,’ he thought. ’Nothing unexpected should happen.’

The security checks before boarding had been extremely strict. Firearms definitely couldn’t be brought on board; even he hadn’t been able to.

’Of course, you don’t need a gun to kill someone, but I’m not a sitting duck, either.’

...

The sea was rather terrifying under the night sky. It was pitch-black all around, and the wind and waves had picked up, howling as they swept by.

The enormous cruise liner, with a hull as tall as a twenty-story building, was like a lighthouse on the ocean. Its lights were brilliant and fantastical, making it look like a technological miracle floating on the water’s surface.

Making their way down to the buffet restaurant, Lin Chu opted for Chinese food. He’d had some for lunch, and it was pretty good.

Being at sea, there was naturally an endless supply of all kinds of seafood—enough to make you sick of it.

After getting a few plates of food, the two sat facing each other and ate.

Lin Chu was very satisfied with the sweet and savory sea urchin fried rice.

They even had liquor.

An export version of Feitian Maotai was priced at 148 euros a bottle. Even with the cruise ship’s markup, that was only a little over a thousand yuan.

His top-tier black and gold wristband gave him an allowance of one bottle.

He got a bottle, poured himself a glass, and began to sip it slowly.

He offered some to Liu Chenhui, who firmly refused. Lin Chu didn’t press the issue and enjoyed it by himself.

’Can’t really taste a difference between the export version and the domestic one. Maybe it’s a little milder?’

He couldn’t quite tell.

"Brother Chu, you should probably drink a little less. I feel like someone’s watching us, but I can’t be certain. It’s just a sixth sense."

Liu Chenhui said softly, keeping his voice down.

His senses were sharp, but a casual scan of their surroundings revealed no one suspicious. Still, he felt a knot of tension in his gut.

Of course, he knew Lin Chu could handle himself to some extent, but frankly, his skills were limited. An ambush by a determined attacker could still be very dangerous.

"Mmm, just sipping."

Lin Chu didn’t argue. He readily accepted the advice. ’Now’s not the time for me to be the one holding us back.’

In fact, Lin Chu had also noticed a faint feeling of being watched, but he wasn’t sure if it was real.

After all, when you’ve got something to hide, that feeling of paranoia tends to be especially strong.

"Actually, hiding in our shells like turtles would be the safest option, just staying in the room and not going anywhere."

"But that’s really not my style."

"To be honest, if I’d stuck to my plan from a few months ago, I would’ve retired already. I never would have left the country, and none of this messy business would’ve happened. But... I’m actually kind of enjoying this."

"That feeling of your heart racing... it’s important. It makes me feel like I’m still alive."

Lin Chu took another sip of his drink and said with a smile.

’Back in Xiangjiang, I already had this idea in mind. I arranged everything for the company—basically put it in trust.’

’So I went traveling, visited so many places...’

’But when traveling becomes your new normal, you realize it gets pretty damn old.’

’This restlessness... it’s like an addiction. The craving gets stronger and stronger. You feel uncomfortable if you’re not stirring things up. Once you stop, it starts to torment you.’

’To put it nicely, you could call it ’as long as there is life, the fight goes on.’’

’To put it bluntly, it’s just being a pain in the ass.’

Liu Chenhui smiled and nodded. "Well, that’s not so bad. If you hadn’t left the country, we wouldn’t have had the honor of meeting you."

"It’s like a tuna. It has to keep swimming, or it’ll die. But because of that, it has high muscle mass, firm flesh... and it’s delicious, right?"

Liu Chenhui actually quite agreed with this philosophy.

"This morning, I saw an acquaintance here. A woman I used to know. Her dad was a high-ranking official, but he was investigated later. She ended up overseas, and I guess she’s fallen on hard times, working as a pianist on this ship."

"But I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence or if someone arranged it on purpose."

"I just get this feeling that old bastard Liszt is watching me from the shadows. Hope he gets a fucking sty."

"I forgot to ask him, doesn’t the old fossil have kids of his own? Why does he have to hold an open audition for an heir... It’s pretty dumb."

Lin Chu had opened up, chatting freely.

’Without a doubt, Liszt was a man of great vision in some ways. But in others, he had plenty of what you might call ’quirks.’ Of course, Lin Chu could understand them all.’

’And after seeing the club’s list of assets, Lin Chu found he wasn’t so against this ’test’ anymore.’

’For one, he wanted to experience the process for himself.’

’For another, those assets were truly enticing. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t tempted.’

"Hard to say. I think it’s pretty bizarre too, but it’s not impossible. Maybe his kids just aren’t up to par... Man, a lot of these foreigners are wired completely fucking wrong... Have you ever heard of that dog? Gunther IV, the richest dog in the world, worth something like two billion US dollars."

"Its owner was a super-rich tycoon. When he died, he left his entire fortune to the dog. He even set up a special trust to manage it all. A dog, living in a luxurious mansion, enjoying gourmet meals from a personal chef every day. Legally speaking, everyone is its employee, its servant. It even has a dedicated operations team that shares its daily life online."

Liu Chenhui was just making small talk, sighing in amazement. Sometimes, he too felt the world was truly a surreal place.

Lin Chu: "..."

He squinted at him, a suspicious look on his face.

"Damn it, are you taking a jab at me?"

Liu Chenhui burst out laughing and quickly waved his hands. "No, no, not at all! I just thought of it all of a sudden. I just mean that the way these rich people think is usually not normal."

Lin Chu: "..."

"Damn it! So you’re still calling me crazy, huh!"

Liu Chenhui cracked up again, laughing as he apologized.

’Looks like Brother Chu is in a great mood, top form.’

’What a carefree guy.’

...

The Broadway show was all legs.

Fair.

Long.

Beautiful.

Half-hidden, half-revealed, they exuded an endless allure.

’Thinking of the most famous shows in the world...’

’Crazy Horse... I already ruined that one.’

’Victoria’s Secret... I haven’t seen that one yet.’

’Broadway leans toward the dazzling, the extravagant, and the magnificent. It’s in a class of its own.’

Lin Chu sipped from his half-full bottle of Maotai as he watched.

At the end of a number, Lin Chu, who was sitting in the front row, pulled out two wads of cash from his bag—alluring US Dollars—and casually tossed them onto the stage like confetti.

The crowd below erupted in gasps.

The performers on stage were also a bit dumbfounded by the display, but their professionalism took over, and they all bent down to pick up the money.

He had half a million USD in his bag. Lin Chu threw handful after handful, cheering and yelling, showering the stage with money as if setting off fireworks until nearly all of it was gone.

A long-legged, blonde, blue-eyed beauty came down from the stage, threw her arms around Lin Chu, and planted a loud kiss on his forehead, leaving a lipstick print behind.

Their eyes met, and Lin Chu flashed a brilliant smile.

’Things might not be going perfectly, but life is still meant to be enjoyed to the fullest. My happiness is priceless.’

After the brief commotion, the next dance number began. However, Lin Chu and Liu Chenhui had clearly become the center of attention for many in the audience.

"Hello, sir. Thank you for your generosity. Is it just you and your friend here?"

Before long, five or six of the beautiful dancers from the last number had changed their clothes and made their way into the audience, approaching Lin Chu’s table to thank him.

They were speaking English. Liu Chenhui glanced at Lin Chu, then pursed his lips and replied, "Yes, this is my boss. Please, have a seat."

Their table was quickly surrounded by a flock of beautiful, chattering women.

Watching Lin Chu indulge himself, completely absorbed in the revelry, Liu Chenhui sighed inwardly. At the same time, he scanned their surroundings with even greater vigilance.

He didn’t know if Lin Chu was being deliberately high-profile to fish out whoever was watching them from the shadows...

...or if he was really just throwing money around to pick up girls and find someone to warm his bed for the night.

But either way, all he could do was wait and see.

This display was bound to have some effect.

If someone really was watching from the shadows, now would be the time they’d start getting restless...

...

...