Chapter 271

Chapter 271

The Seraphim lowered his gaze, meeting Daniel's eyes, and gave a slight nod before opening the briefcase on the table.

When the briefcase opened, it faced toward the Seraphim. Emory, sitting across from them, couldn't see what was inside at all.

Daryl had the clearest view of the case's contents.

He had been leaning casually against the sofa armrest, but the moment the case opened, he immediately sat up straight, his eyes fixed intently on the briefcase.

He saw light.

The light wasn't blinding, but it made his eyes burn with heat and disbelief.

The cold, restrained gleam of gold bars reflecting under the lamp was almost impossible for anyone to look away from.

Beneath those gold bars were neatly stacked US dollar bills. The gold bars among them were like silent fangs, protruding from the pile of gray-green paper below.

The case lay flat, and the height of the money and gold exceeded half the case's depth—like a low wall separating the world inside the case from the world outside.

Daryl frowned slightly. Even for him, it was rare to see such a sight so directly.

But as a child born into wealth, he was highly sensitive to money. If he wasn't mistaken, those gold bars should be one kilogram each. Judging by their distribution, there were probably about fifteen of them.

Adding the US dollars at the bottom of the briefcase, he figured the contents were worth close to two million dollars.

This was a rather terrifying amount.

Four million dollars—how to put it? For some major families in the country, it wasn't much.

This naturally included the Johnson family.

Though the Johnson family had declined considerably, this decline was only due to bad luck in recent years. The family's previous savings remained, and the monthly returns from their funds and fixed assets were enough to keep them firmly in the ranks of wealthy families.

However, spending four million dollars to buy a lead of unknown truth and uncertain outcome—Daryl felt it wasn't worth it, even if it concerned Francis's safety.

Still, he didn't speak up. He just adjusted his sitting position on the sofa and watched more carefully than before.

At first, Emory only saw the golden glow on the Seraphim's face. Years of experience told him there were definitely gold bars in the case. His pupils contracted instantly, and his fingers rubbed together lightly as he suppressed the excitement in his heart.

When the briefcase was turned around to face him, the excitement he'd forcefully suppressed could no longer be contained and exploded.

He knew the Thalassia people were the richest!

Emory practically screamed this in his mind.

He instantly saw the Thalassia person before him as his best friend, smiling as he stood up and gestured to those around him.

He had already risen from behind the long table and walked around to Daniel, raising his hand to pat Daniel's shoulder lightly. He looked as if he and Daniel were two good brothers separated for many years.

Daniel rubbed his brow, unmoved by Emory's forced enthusiasm.

"Emory, I'm in a hurry." He looked up and smiled at Emory. "You also want to get the money quickly, so..."

He paused, raising his hand to gesture for the other to sit back down.

Emory didn't hesitate and immediately sat back in his chair with a smile.

His tactfulness made Daniel's smile much more genuine.

Facing such a huge sum, Emory's service attitude could definitely be called perfect.

From the moment his people brought out this case of gold and US dollars, Emory was already at a disadvantage at this negotiating table—if he wanted to get this money, he had to show complete sincerity.

Emory presented his lead.

A video.

The location was inside a house's living room. From the decor, it appeared to be a mansion.

Francis was clearly the video's main subject. He sat on a sofa in a relatively relaxed posture, holding a glass of water with the rim against his lips, staring at the person recording the video.

Daniel couldn't understand what the people in the video were saying, but Daryl could.

Daryl sat on the sofa side. Though he couldn't see the video's content, he heard every word without missing anything.

At the very beginning of the video, the person in it said—Look, this is our billionaire!

The tone carried too much mockery. Daryl didn't like it, even found it disgusting and irritating.

But soon this irritation was replaced by a chill.

"If we grab him, will it really draw out his brother? You know, the one who matters to William is the Johnson family's second son, not this older son."

This voice was very low, a question asked quietly by someone beside the camera operator.

Daniel watched the video and clearly saw that after this voice spoke, Francis threw the glass in his hand, stood up, and pointed at the camera operator while cursing angrily.

"You guys don't..."

The video cut off abruptly here.

Daniel frowned, lifted his eyelids slightly, and his gaze fell lightly on Emory's face. Emory still maintained his smile. Seeing Daniel look at him, his eyes brightened, clearly filled with anticipation.

He knew what Daniel was expecting.

However, Daniel had no fondness for videos that cut off so abruptly.

He pressed his lips together slightly. "That's all there is to the video?"

Emory nodded. "When Gavin gave it to me, this was all there was."

"Gavin?" Daniel quickly caught the key point. "Which Gavin?"

According to the information he had, there were countless gray market members named Gavin within the US borders. To know specifically which Gavin, he needed to know the person's surname.

Emory laughed a few times, shaking his head. "Daniel, that wasn't part of our original deal."

But Daniel wasn't buying it. He spread his hands, displaying the financial power he'd brought. "What's here is my payment for guaranteeing I can see Mr. Francis Johnson. As for the lead you've shown so far, it's only..."

He paused, reaching into the briefcase to pull out a stack of US dollars and toss it on the table.

The sound of that stack of bills hitting the table was as loud as a slap.

"Worth this much."

Daniel smiled, completing his interrupted sentence.

Emory looked at the stack of bills thrown in front of him and nearly lost control of his expression. The corners of his mouth twitched, trembling several times before he managed to maintain his smile.

Beside him, one of his men couldn't take it and cocked his gun.

But Daniel's people weren't backing down either, and also cocked their guns.

Both sides raised their weapons, locked in a standoff.

"Everyone, put your guns down." Emory clearly didn't want trouble on his own turf. After calming his people, he lowered his head and looked up at Daniel with his eyes, his aggression undiminished. "Fine, I get what you mean."