Chapter 188: One Foot Higher

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Jiang Junlin remained truly composed. He wasn’t one to display his emotions openly. The ever-changing tides of the business world had dulled his edge, but he remained unshaken.

He was prepared for any outcome.

In a flash of inspiration, Gu Ci contemplated numerous methods of escape. Could she start a fire? She envisioned the scene of a fire in her mind—everyone leaving the bank, the transport vehicles in the underground garage, all monitored. How could they replace hundreds of kilograms of gold without a trace?

This predicament was all aimed at her brother.

The objective was clear; otherwise, they wouldn’t be conducting a surprise inspection.

After the vault inspection, the inspector said, “Mr. Jiang, the gold reserve is accurate, no issues. There’s another batch of gold coming in today. Could you show us?”

“Of course.”

Gu Ci thought intently. Could Third Master teleport here and hide the gold? But it wasn’t Third Master, it was Lu Zhiyuan. He couldn’t teleport.

How could they break free from this deadlock?

Jiang Junlin led the team to the transport vehicle. Several special forces personnel under Chen Fei had been guarding it, along with Hualan Security, armed and ready. Even Gu Ziyu seemed unusually tense.

How could Uncle escape this crisis?

The car doors opened, and boxes filled with gold were carried out. They opened one by one—gold bars filled all six boxes. Ji Chi’s eyes narrowed; he hadn’t expected the gold to be in Jiang Junlin’s possession!

Playing a dangerous game, openly seizing gold at sea; Jiang Junlin, the embodiment of integrity and a gentleman according to others, had shown his true colors.

In the minds of Gu Ci and Gu Ziyu, they were already thinking about how to handle the aftermath of Jiang Junlin’s detainment, minimizing the losses. It was an inescapable predicament.

An inspector picked up a gold bar, flipped it over—much to everyone’s surprise, the gold bars had no marks or signs of damage. It was well-known that the stolen gold had markings.

The inspectors exchanged glances, one of them looking at Jiang Junlin.

Gu Ci let out a sigh of relief. She couldn’t help but glance at Jiang Junlin. Had she been overly suspicious?

Jiang Junlin smiled and calmly explained, “This batch of gold was transported from the Hualan Bank mine. It happens to be three hundred kilograms.”

Ji Chi frowned. What had gone wrong? How had he managed to deceive everyone, whitewash this batch of gold? The inspectors were also surprised, checking each gold bar, finding no issues. The quantity was three hundred kilograms, no markings, proper documentation, a clean source.

“Thank you for the surprise inspection today. Mr. Jiang, could you take us to the central bank now?” The inspector received a message through his earpiece.

The entire process had been under surveillance, leaving no room for sleight of hand. They could only withdraw for now.

“Goodbye, no need for further farewells.” Jiang Junlin’s tone was cool. They were official personnel, but the unannounced inspection was a breach of etiquette.

The inspectors didn’t blame Jiang Junlin’s cold attitude. Leading the group, they left in an orderly fashion. Gu Ziyu waved, taking Chen Fei and his team with him.

After getting into the car, Gu Ziyu called Chen Liangdong. “The gold is fine.”

“I know,” Chen Liangdong said. “Ten minutes ago, Jidao returned three hundred kilograms of gold to the M Bank. That’s the latest intel.”

Gu Ziyu’s annoyance was palpable. “They’re playing games, trying to catch us off guard?”

Chen Liangdong took a deep breath. “It’s not that simple. Just come back.”

“Alright.” Gu Ziyu was frustrated. As a minor, he shouldn’t have been tasked with this sudden inspection. It wasn’t a directive from Chen Liangdong. If he had slipped even a few words to Jiang Junlin, it wouldn’t have ended well for him.

Gu Ziyu felt the tension of the three-way game between Black Hawk, Jidao, and State Security.

A silent war, resolving discreetly.

With Jiang Junlin handling the aftermath, Gu Ci checked the time—already 2 o’clock. Although Hualan had managed to defuse the situation, Jiang Junlin undoubtedly had a lot on his plate.

“Brother, I’ll head back.”

“Go ahead.” Jiang Junlin touched her hair. He and Third Master exuded a reassuring aura, as if they could handle any crisis with ease.

Gu Ci nodded. Just like Third Master, Jiang Junlin possessed a reassuring presence that seemed to convey that no matter what challenges arose, they could handle them with calm and confidence.

After Gu Ci left, Ji Chi, who had been silent, chuckled. “Mr. Jiang, how did you manage to launder this batch of gold in just five days?”

“Ji Chi, what are you saying?” Jiang Junlin remained composed. “This is gold from the mine, fully documented. It just so happens to match the amount of missing gold.”

Ji Chi suddenly pinched Jiang Junlin’s waist, pushing him back against the wall. He closed in, almost pressing against him, their breaths mingling. “Yesterday, I obtained all of Hualan Bank’s mine records. There hasn’t been any gold production in the past three months. Mr. Jiang, you’re lying without batting an eye.”

Jiang Junlin chuckled. “Why didn’t you expose my lie earlier?”

Ji Chi’s eyes also held a playful glint. “So, as a way to repay me, how about Mr. Jiang tell me where that batch of gold went? I need to report as well, right? This situation has put Black Hawk in a difficult spot too.”

Jiang Junlin tapped his phone lightly. “Check your phone.”

“What?”

“Just take a look!”

Ji Chi frowned, unlocked his phone, and read a message sent by Black Hawk headquarters. Jidao’s Pei Qiuying had returned the gold to the M Bank. The message was sent ten minutes ago. Ji Chi went silent, having been attentively monitoring the situation’s development, he hadn’t seen the message in time.

“Ji Chi, do you understand now? This was Jidao’s game all along. They had control over the gold from start to finish.” Jiang Junlin’s words carried a deeper meaning. “You suspected the wrong person.”

“How is that possible?” Ji Chi was momentarily perplexed. Black Flawk had insiders within Jidao as well. Pei Qiuying had been stressed about this matter. It couldn’t have been in Jidao’s hands.

“Why would 1 take the gold and involve Pei Qiuying? It would be unnecessary. The cooperation between Jidao and Hualan was already close. Selling it to you wouldn’t have earned me any favors.” Jiang Junlin calmly inquired, “Besides, if I had taken it, why would 1 then return it to the M Bank? If it were me, and Ziyu is with State Security, I would have given it to him to make a name for himself.”

Ji Chi and Lu Zhiyuan had also discussed the gold’s whereabouts. It was true that Jiang Junlin had no reason to steal the gold. It would have been superfluous, leaving himself exposed. The matter seemed to have come to a close, but doubts lingered in Ji Chi’s mind.

Jiang Junlin pointed his finger at Ji Chi’s waist. “Give me some space!”

Ji Chi squinted his eyes, observing Jiang Junlin’s long fingers.

“I’m not feeling well!” Jiang Junlin’s expression grew serious, his face slightly flushed. Ji Chi furrowed his brows and placed his hand on Jiang Junlin’s forehead. Jiang Junlin had a fever. Ji Chi was surprised. “You have a fever?”

Jiang Junlin pushed him away with a kick. “You have the nerve to bring that up? 1 told you to use rubber and you ignored it.. Whose responsibility is that?”

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