I am a Big Player
Chapter 649 - 640, 10 million!_1

Chapter 649: 640, 10 million!_1

It was the time when spring warmed the earth, yet No Man’s Land showed no sign of spring, mainly lacking that touch of green from the springtime of the inland.

All there was to see was the yellow sand and faces dyed yellow by the sand.

The convoy entering the City that Never Sleeps consisted of five vehicles, which differed from the off-road teams Ren He had imagined; these vehicles were mostly privately modified pickups, with worn-out exteriors and windows that would rumble noisily when jostled, looking as though they were on the verge of falling apart, yet somehow, they never did.

For some reason, these dilapidated pickups exuded a desolate and robust aura of their own, which harmonized with the Desert’s solitary vastness.

Having a supercar appear in this place would be nonsensical; it seemed as though only this kind of beaten-up pickup could survive here.

In his past life, Ren He knew of an incident where a rich man bought a Ferrari, and, right after insuring it, he took it to No Man’s Land. He only made it 20 kilometers in before the car broke down. It’s known that the roads in No Man’s Land are not as flat as depicted in the movies; otherwise, why would it have become a testing ground for off-road vehicle performance over the years?

Not long after buying the Ferrari, the rich man damaged the undercarriage, and the front fenders were no longer salvageable...

Interestingly, it wasn’t the rich man who felt the heartache, it was the insurance company. When the insurance agents arrived at the scene, they nearly burst into tears!

At this moment, the members of the convoy alighted from their vehicles and the leader, seemingly nonchalant, cursed his way towards the City that Never Sleeps. Ren He, with his Master Level scouting skills, noticed that although these men appeared carefree, they had stealthily formed a loose yet tight formation after dismounting, with the last two men quickly scanning their surroundings as their first task.

These men weren’t as careless as they seemed. Those who could thrive as poachers in this desolate desert and still enjoy a good life were few and far between.

Though No Man’s Land was chaotic, it had not reached the point where outlaws could overpower the authorities. A group of about ten people couldn’t stand against the Public Security and the military troops; they were worlds apart, heaven and earth.

Ren He merely glanced at the group and continued to eat his meal, feeling relieved that he had finally found them!

After roaming the Desert for a long time, he was acutely aware of how difficult it was to encounter this bunch. Although there were three active poaching gangs in No Man’s Land at the moment, the area was simply too vast. Ren He couldn’t possibly scour the Desert just to find them, could he?

He was still unsure whether they knew he was investigating the poaching gangs, so he decided to keep a low profile and continue eating.

Suddenly, the leading man burst into a loud laugh, "Get the chicken stewing, and bring out 10 bundles of Deadly Wusu first! Let’s have a good drink!"

With a slap, the man pulled out a stack of crisp, bright red RMB bills and slapped them on the table, displaying a lavish spirit, like a blade-wielding escort just back from a successful escort mission, ready to draw his sword and kill at any second, yet now, he was here to drink.

Deadly Wusu is an affectionate alternative name for Wusu beer from Xinjiang. If one were to ask a person from Shandong, they might call it "Wu beer," but the brash locals from Xinjiang prefer to call it "Deadly Wusu," which shows the level of passion Xinjiang people have for it.

Yet it has an even more novel nickname, "Wusu Oral Liquid," usually only used by those who are bold...

When people from Xinjiang get into their beer, a ground littered with beer bottles isn’t anything special—a decent host might just serve you with beer from the floor!

At this point, the burly man leading the group suddenly sat opposite Ren He, laughed coarsely, and said, "Kid, I hear you’re looking for us?"

Ren He sat up straight and wiped his mouth, thinking how intricately entangled this gray world turned out to be, just as he imagined. He had simply been asking about poaching along the way, scattering tens of thousands of yuan, and news had come back so swiftly.

Moreover, they even knew what he looked like, which meant they must have had their own ways of communication. Of course, it was also possible that they had been informed of his license plate number through satellite phones.

Mulling it over, Ren He figured that this lot must have sold their goods before leaving the desert—why else would they drink so carefree? If they were caught drunk by the police who then searched their vehicles, wouldn’t they be caught red-handed?

He suspected there must be places in the No Man’s Land of the desert where they stashed weapons and loot and carried out their black-market sales. The criminal network seemed quite sophisticated, no wonder the state had such difficulty stamping it out, with slip-ups still occurring despite harsh clampdowns over the years.

The men behind, hearing their leader speak plainly to the clean-faced youth, began to close in subtly, and Ren He sensed that they probably didn’t value his life highly, likely having prepared to dispose of him without a second thought.

However, the man opposite suddenly realized, even with thirteen of his men closing in, the young fellow in front of him remained unruffled, showing no sign of fear.

Was he just putting on a brave face, or did he genuinely have confidence? The youngster probably didn’t realize that on this desert land, even honestly seeking to do business with poachers was tantamount to dealing with the devil.

If only they knew of Ren He’s former master-level achievements, maybe they wouldn’t think so lightly of him.

Ren He pushed a bowl of chicken away from him and said to himself, "Selling one falcon could earn you one million US dollars in the Middle East, which I’m sure you’re aware of. But you’re at the bottom of the domestic industry chain, lacking the means to smuggle them out, leaving you at the mercy of the big players who set the prices. How much for one falcon? One million RMB? Catching falcons isn’t easy, is it? Managing to sell two is considered a good take."

After hearing this, the man’s expression didn’t change. He said, with an amused smile, "Kid, these are established rules. If you’re trying to exploit a loophole to drive a wedge between us, I’m afraid you won’t succeed."

Indeed, these guys weren’t fools; Ren He was clearly not even twenty years old, too young to even apply for a job in the police system. Therefore, the likelihood of Ren He being a cop was rather low. Everyone was on their guard, but they weren’t overly concerned.

It was this that had made the meeting possible.

Ren He glanced at the man across from him, "I’m not planning to drive a wedge between you guys, I’m merely proposing a different kind of deal. I want 20 pairs of wild yak horns and 20 wild yak whisks for a flat rate of ten million RMB! And I only want these two things from the yak, you deal with the rest."

This was the deal Ren He wanted to negotiate. What irked him the most was realizing, upon arriving here, that the poaching gangs were no longer that interested in wild yaks. Damn it, if no one hunted yaks, how was he supposed to protect them?

Ren He had also considered that if he deliberately enticed the gangs to hunt yaks, the rating of his task completion would be relatively low. But the problem now was, if he didn’t manipulate them like that, there was no way he could complete his mission at all!