Chapter 241: Sister Gu, Hustling the Organization’s Leaders Like a Pro! (Part 2)

Gu Shengsheng said, "It just seems that if you were going to kill me with real guns, it would be far too much of a hassle. Besides, you didn’t bring me here just to kill me, did you?"

"If we’re to cooperate, both parties must bring something of value to the table. Of course, I believe I have what it takes to negotiate a partnership. The real question you should be asking is whether *you* are worthy of cooperating with *me*."

As Gu Shengsheng spoke, her posture was even more impeccable than Pei Zuo’s, her face brimming with confidence.

Pei You pointed at Gu Shengsheng and said, "What the hell are you talking about? Our organization isn’t worthy of you? Gu Shengsheng, your influence is nothing compared to ours, and frankly, we’re not impressed by it. Even your so-called ’masters’ have never been anything special in our eyes."

’The Repatriation Organization... Gu Shengsheng had little contact with them in this timeline, but she remembered a great deal about them from the last one.’

’An information gap? She was going to exploit it for all it was worth. Of course, this was also her time for a master-class performance.’

’She hadn’t recognized Pei You at first, but seeing Pei Zuo, she instantly remembered this "big boss"! She absolutely had to make the most of this, didn’t she?’

Gu Shengsheng looked at Pei Zuo with the gratified expression of an elder regarding a junior. "Pei Zuo," she said, "I’ve heard of you."

Pei Zuo asked, "? What do you mean, Miss Gu?"

Pei You said with disgust, "Brother, ignore her. This Gu Shengsheng is bad news. Nothing she says or does is reliable. She’s all over the place—I don’t even know what to make of her!"

Gu Shengsheng said, "Pei Zuo, over the past few years, while you were operating in the Golden Triangle, you paid 1,800,002,000 yuan to international tax agencies. Now that you’re running this reselling operation, you haven’t paid any taxes. Did you really think no one was watching?"

As she spoke, Gu Shengsheng advanced on him, step by step.

’Seeing the astonishment in Pei Zuo’s eyes, she knew she had a match with the master criminal Pei Zuo from the parallel timeline.’

Pei Zuo stared at her. "Miss Gu, are you with the IRS?!"

His expression was complex, yet certain. ’If she weren’t with the IRS,’ he thought, ’she couldn’t possibly know this much.’

Pei You frowned, getting agitated like a clueless buffoon. "What the hell is the IRS?"

’She wasn’t, but she didn’t deny it. Projecting the aura of a top-level player was exactly what she wanted.’

She continued to explain, "The IRS is the international tax auditing system. Everything is subject to tax—and of course, the biggest taxpayers are drug traffickers, gangs, and those in gray-area enterprises. Am I right, Mr. Pei Zuo?"

After she said this, Pei Zuo was certain Gu Shengsheng was a tax investigator. He just hadn’t expected someone so young to possess such authority.

This time, a hint of admiration entered Pei Zuo’s gaze as he looked at Gu Shengsheng.

He said, "Miss Gu, I’ve been rude."

Gu Shengsheng waved her hand dismissively. "Of course, what I know isn’t limited to this. Pei Zuo, did you really think the international auditors haven’t had their eyes on you these past few years?"

"They were just giving you a chance to come clean."

Pei Zuo clenched his fists. "So... what should I do?"

Pei You was incredulous. "Brother, are you crazy?! You believe her? And now you’re asking her what to do?"

Gu Shengsheng said, "The auditing system doesn’t care what circles you move in for your artifact business. But as for these items... are you hoping people will look the other way, so you can just repatriate and sell them off?"

"That’s far too naive."

Pei Zuo seemed to be lost in thought, or perhaps he was still suspicious of Gu Shengsheng’s identity.

Gu Shengsheng continued, "People I’ve handled include Brother Six of the underworld, Liu Yi from Myanmar, and the crime lord Zhao Xin."

"Since you move in these circles, I imagine you’re familiar with those names?"

At her words, Pei Zuo did indeed nod. Ordinary people wouldn’t know those names—only insiders.

Gu Shengsheng had made her point quite clearly.

Gu Shengsheng continued, "None of them met a good end, and they never will. They were targeted long ago. If I were you, I’d cut my losses now."

"Whether you want to save your skin or die—the choice is yours."

Pei Zuo clenched his fist. "So what on earth am I supposed to do?"

"You’re a smart man. I don’t need to say any more. Your expression tells me you already know what to do."

"I’ve said what I needed to say. The rest is up to you."

After she finished speaking, seven or eight artifacts were placed before her.

She looked closer and was stunned to find Zhang Heng’s seismoscope. Everyone knows Zhang Heng invented the seismoscope; it’s in elementary school textbooks.

But the original seismoscope itself has never been found; the artifact has always been considered lost.

’And now it’s here... The System’s appraisal was correct.’

There were also the bronze heads of the twelve zodiac animals from the Yuanming Garden.

Around seven of the twelve zodiac heads have since been returned to China. But the dragon, snake, rooster, dog, and sheep have remained missing. And the heads that had just appeared before her were precisely those.

Gu Shengsheng looked at Pei Zuo, her expression calm. "They’re real."

Inwardly, she was thrilled. ’It would be incredible to get these back to a museum.’

’What a waste for them to be in these people’s hands.’

Then, with a perfectly straight face, Gu Shengsheng began spouting more nonsense. "These are all authentic. I imagine you don’t even need to have them appraised, because your acquisition accuracy is too high—impossibly high, even."

"You have all these missing artifacts. I don’t think you’re worried about authenticity. You should be worried about what you’ll do with artifacts that are *too* authentic."

"The international tax authorities have taken notice. I imagine the Federation, Eagle Country, and Huaxia... there isn’t a major power that *isn’t* watching you," Gu Shengsheng said calmly.

This time, both Pei Zuo and Pei You began to worry.

At heart, who wouldn’t prefer to just do business peacefully and make money? Being entangled in all this messy business was no good at all.

Hearing her words, Pei Zuo truly began to feel conflicted.

"Is what you’re saying the truth, Miss Gu?"

Now, Pei Zuo was more respectful than ever, looking at Gu Shengsheng as if she were a revered ancestor.

Even Pei You was showing reluctant respect.

Gu Shengsheng said, "I’m just telling you what I know. As for whether it’s the truth, I believe you can judge for yourself."

’Of course, it wasn’t true. She was spouting utter nonsense. But Pei Zuo had clearly already bought into it.’

Gu Shengsheng was very pleased.

Having said her piece, Gu Shengsheng walked to the door. "I’m leaving. Let’s pretend none of this ever happened. As we are all Huaxia people, consider this my final act of mercy."

With that, she snatched the pistol from the guard at the door, smashed it on the ground, and added, "In the future, don’t try to pull these amateur tricks on a professional."

She kicked the door open and calmly walked out.

No one tried to stop her on the way out. Gu Shengsheng appeared calm, but in reality, she had come here all by herself.

Having walked a fair distance, she reached the main entrance and saw Lu Shijing with a large group of men in black.

Lu Shijing quickly strode over. Noticing her legs were a bit stiff, he swept her up into his arms. "Don’t worry," he said, "I won’t let them see that anything is wrong."