Louie lived in a white-collar apartment by the sea, a two-bedroom unit with an approximate area of eighty square meters. The monthly rent alone was $1000, not including various additional charges such as property management fees, utilities, and more.
After finishing work, Louie headed straight back to his apartment. Having recently arrived in Sradarc, he had only rented the apartment the previous week, so there weren't many evening activities planned.
Carrying groceries, beverages, and beer purchased from the market, Louie reached the door of his apartment. After fumbling for his keys for a while, he realized he had left them in his car. Realizing he needed to retrieve the keys from the parking lot, Louie felt a headache coming on.
Just then, the door suddenly opened. This startled Louie, causing him to instinctively take a step back.
A half-face appeared in the doorway, and a pair of bright, watery eyes locked onto Louie.
"Who are you looking for?" almost simultaneously, both Louie and the girl with only half her face visible asked.
"Who am I looking for?" Louie was almost dumbfounded. He quickly glanced at the floor number on the building sign, confirming it was the fifth floor. With a tone of certainty, he replied, "Miss, if my eyes are not deceiving me, I'm pretty sure this is the apartment I'm looking for." Louie adopted a serious expression, devoid of any hint of a smile, as he coldly asked, "Miss, it's time for you to answer. Who are you, and why are you in my home? If you don't have a suitable explanation, I will call the police immediately. I suspect you might be a burglar."
"No, no, you misunderstood." The door opened wider, and the girl appeared at the entrance. She was tall, at least 1.7 meters, with flowing black hair falling over her shoulders. Delicate eyebrows, a cherry-like small mouth, fair skin emitting a youthful vibe. The white uniform accentuated the girl's almost devilish figure, especially her long legs, barely concealed under the trousers. A small badge was hanging on her chest, indicating her name and the service company she belonged to.
Louie had already guessed the identity of the girl. He had just greeted the property management company yesterday, hoping to arrange a housekeeper to clean the apartment. Judging from the slightly flustered look in the girl's eyes, he could tell she wasn't a thief but rather nervous due to his sudden appearance. Louie had only intended to tease her a bit with his serious act.
He had quickly scanned the badge, memorizing the girl's name as Mia.
"Are you Mr. Louie?" Mia pointed to her badge, explaining, "I'm Mia, a housekeeper from the white-collar apartment service company. I was supposed to come and clean this afternoon, but I got delayed."
Looking at Louie's expression softening, Mia felt relieved, and her courage increased slightly. "Mr. Louie, give me five more minutes, and I'll finish cleaning."
"No rush, take your time." Louie entered the apartment, finding the entire living room refreshed. Even the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window on the southern side of the living room was spotless. The sofa, coffee table, TV cabinet, and other furniture were neatly arranged, dust-free. There was only a small pile of miscellaneous items and garbage in the corner, precisely the clutter Mia mentioned she would handle.
Louie was very satisfied with Mia's work. Carrying a bag filled with groceries and beverages to the refrigerator, he took out a can of cola. Turning towards Mia, who was ready to resume cleaning, he smiled and said, "Here, have a cola."
"No, thank you." Mia waved her hands repeatedly. "The company has rules. I can't touch the client's belongings, let alone accept things from them."
"Hehe, what's the big deal? Do I look like the type to report someone? Perhaps you suspect I've spiked the drink?" Louie laughed.
"No, it's not like that." Mia shook her head repeatedly.
"Then go ahead and drink." Louie had already seen through Mia's thoughts from her eyes—she clearly wanted to but was afraid of being caught by her company. Louie tossed a can of cola to Mia before opening the refrigerator door and arranging the groceries, beverages, and beer inside.
After finishing the arrangements, Louie headed towards the bathroom. Just at the bathroom door, before opening it, Mia hastily said, "Mr. Louie, I need to clean the bathroom."
"Haven't you finished cleaning already?" Louie wondered. "But it's okay. I'm just going to put some hand soap in the bathroom." Saying this, he opened the bathroom door. The fragrance of shower gel filled the air, and there were traces of water on the floor. Water droplets still clung to the tempered glass of the transparent shower cubicle. Louie placed the hand soap on the sink and turned back.
"Sorry, I felt a bit hot just now, so..." Mia, like a child who had done something wrong, spoke in almost inaudible tones.
Seeing her demeanor, a mischievous idea flashed through Louie's mind. His expression turned stern, and he sternly said, "Do you know what you're doing? I can't tolerate such behavior. I'm going to file a complaint against your company."
Mia was frightened by Louie's threat. Almost pleadingly, she said, "Please, don't, I really need this job."
"Of course, I know you need it," Louie thought with an inward chuckle. "If you had money, you wouldn't be working here." However, he didn't reveal his thoughts. He continued with a tense expression, "I'm very angry right now. Unless you agree to a request from me, only then can my anger be appeased. Of course, as a fair deal, I won't mistreat you. Afterwards, I will compensate you for your efforts." Saying this, Louie intentionally stared at Mia's well-proportioned chest with a suggestive look.
"No... no, I can't," Mia shivered all over. Misinterpreting Louie's request, she mistakenly thought it was about intimate relations. Although she liked taking advantage of situations, when it came to such matters, she absolutely refused.
Watching Mia, who seemed on the verge of tears, Louie finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter. He pointed to the washing machine in the bathroom and said, "My request is for you to wash the clothes inside the washing machine and hang them outside. As a fair deal, I will give you extra money to compensate for your effort. As for your showering, I think as long as you don't flood my house, I won't mind if you continue. Of course, on the condition that you tidy up the house as clean as today."
"I agree, I agree!" Excited, Mia didn't know what to say. She nodded repeatedly. She hadn't expected such a good thing—earning money and being able to take showers here in the future. It was a fantastic opportunity.
Louie sat on the living room sofa, casually turning on the TV. Meanwhile, Mia started washing the clothes, still immersed in her excitement.
Though Mia liked taking advantage of situations, she was indeed good at her job. Soon, she finished washing the clothes and hung them on the balcony. Afterward, she returned to the living room, cleaning up the last bit of garbage.
"Well, I'll pay you hourly for your work." Louie took out a hundred-dollar bill. "This is for washing the clothes. As for cleaning the room, I've already paid your company."
Mia held the money tightly, but she said, "Mr. Louie, this is too much money."
While she said this, Mia didn't loosen her grip on the money. Seeing all this, Louie couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. He waved his hand and said, "This is what you deserve."
"Mr. Louie, I still need to clean another room. If there's nothing else, I'll leave now," Mia said.
"Oh, right. If you like magazines, you can take these with you. They're all expired, and I'm too lazy to clean and throw them away." Louie noticed Mia's eyes scanning the car magazine placed under the coffee table. He still understood that this girl might want to take those old magazines, which were useless to him anyway. He might as well let Mia take advantage a bit more.
Mia expressed her thanks once again and quickly picked up the magazines from under the coffee table. In her mind, she planned to take these magazines home, read them, and then sell them. Before leaving, she thanked Louie repeatedly and then departed.
After closing the door, Louie sat down on the sofa. Contemplating what to eat for dinner, he ultimately settled on instant noodles, the quickest and most convenient option, even faster than ordering takeout.
Louie prepared a pack of instant noodles and opened two cans of beer, placing them on the computer desk in his bedroom. While enjoying the noodles and beer, he played online card games. Anyone familiar with Louie's background would be astonished to see him eating one-dollar instant noodles—someone who had dealt in arms for many years, seemingly immune to the allure of money.
Louie's online alias was "I'm Still Alive." He had been playing card games for a while and had developed a good understanding with a user named "Don't Mess With Me." Today, as soon as Louie entered the game room, he received a message from "Don't Mess With Me," inviting him to table 13.
Number 13 is considered an unlucky number in the Western world, and Louie also disliked it. However, he joined table 13 anyway. As soon as Louie arrived, the game began. Upon seeing his dealt cards, Louie nearly sprayed the beer he had just sipped all over the computer screen. All the cards were of the same suit and numbered—except for one, a "5 of Clubs." This single card was the highest in the entire hand. Even the "5 of Hearts" wouldn't win against it, let alone against Louie.
As expected, after a single round, Louie found himself in the last position.
"What's going on? You're clearly not in good form today." A message came from his opponent. They had been playing cards for a long time, and "Don't Mess With Me" was well aware of Louie's card skills. How could he play so badly today?
"There's nothing I can do. Even with a good gun, it's useless without bullets," Louie helplessly replied.
"Despicable!" His opponent intentionally used a large font to type out these two words.
Louie quickly realized the misunderstanding and hurriedly explained, "I mean a real gun." Afraid his opponent still wouldn't understand, he added, "It's the kind that feels smooth and can shoot bullets. If you've ever touched a gun, you'll understand that feeling—smooth and comfortable, almost like an indulgence. Of course, in my opinion, the AK is the best value for money weapon, stable performance, low price, making it one of the favorite weapons for terrorist organizations. If you're interested, maybe I can help you get one."
"Nonsense! Are you some kind of underworld thug? How else could you get weapons?" his opponent responded.
"I am an arms dealer, doing business worldwide, even with some national governments," Louie swiftly typed.
After a few seconds of silence, his opponent finally replied, "Nonsense, I don't believe it. Are you going to tell me you also sell warships?"
Louie knew his opponent wouldn't believe his words. This was the internet, a virtual world where no one easily believed what a stranger said. That's precisely why Louie dared to reveal his past identity. Looking at the message from "Don't Mess With Me" on the screen, he hesitated for a moment before slowly typing another line: "If there are buyers interested, I can sell warships. I've sold a submarine to pirates before. Based on my information, that submarine should have been sunk in the sea by now."
After half a moment of silence, his opponent finally responded, writing, "You're lying. You're the number one bullshitter. I finally understand why Sradarc has no cattle left—all blown away by you."
Louie burst into laughter. He found it immensely enjoyable. Despite telling the truth, no one believed him. That was exactly the result he hoped for. Thus, Louie replied, "I just thought the atmosphere between us was too oppressive. Let's liven it up a bit. Well, let's switch tables and continue playing cards." Although he said this, Louie was well aware that he had earned a cool million dollars from selling that submarine to pirates. Looking at it this way, those pirates were quite the "big spenders."