27: Chapter 27 So much money, not taking it will bring divine retribution.

After hanging up the phone, the obsequious expression on Chen Mo's face receded like a receding tide.

He fished out the room key from his system space—the key to the Upper East Side apartment Ava had given him.

"It seems your uncles can't sit still anymore."

Ten minutes later, at a luxury apartment in the Upper East Side.

Ava Rockefeller was wearing a silk robe, swirling half a glass of red wine. After listening to Chen Mo's recording, her face turned even redder than the wine in her glass—it was from pure rage.

"Five hundred thousand?" She slammed the wine glass down on the marble tabletop.

"My life is only worth five hundred thousand? That old bastard spends more than that just buying a necklace for his mistress!"

Chen Mo sat on the sofa opposite her, fiddling with the glock 17.

"For an illegitimate daughter who died in an accident, this price is quite fair." He didn't even look up. "What do you think? Are we taking this deal?"

"Take it?" Ava glared at him. "You want to sell me out?"

"Yes, sell you twice." Chen Mo looked up, his eyes calm. "They're paying me five hundred thousand. How much will you pay me?"

Ava was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, her body trembling so much that the collar of her robe slipped, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin, but Chen Mo didn't even blink.

"I just love this shameless streak of yours."

Ava grabbed a checkbook from the side and scribbled down a string of numbers. "One million. I want the person who hired the hit dead, and you keep the other five hundred thousand."

"Deal." Chen Mo put away the gun and flicked the check. "Get ready. Tonight, we're going to put on a good show. Remember to scream loudly."

Late at night, at an abandoned pier in Brooklyn.

The sea breeze carried a fishy, salty scent, and rusty shipping containers loomed in the darkness like giant tombstones.

A black Ford sedan slowly drove in.

The car door opened, and Chen Mo roughly dragged the "unconscious" Ava out of the car.

Ava had a black cloth bag over her head, and her hands were tied behind her back with zip ties.

"The goods are here." Chen Mo shouted into the darkness.

Three men emerged from the shadows of the containers.

The leader wore a grey trench coat and a mask, holding a silver briefcase in his hand.

The other two were holding submachine guns equipped with silencers, spreading out in a tactical formation.

Very professional; they weren't street thugs.

"The money." Chen Mo placed his hand on his waist, his other hand gripping Ava's arm.

The man in the grey trench coat threw the briefcase onto the ground and kicked it, sliding it in front of Chen Mo.

"Open it and see."

Chen Mo crouched down and opened the case; stacks of greenbacks were neatly arranged inside.

"Officer Chen really is reputable." The grey trench coat sneered and raised his hand. "Since the transaction is complete, then..."

Before his hand was even halfway up, Chen Mo suddenly moved.

But instead of grabbing the money, he lunged to the side, simultaneously kicking the briefcase over, sending the banknotes exploding into the air like green snowflakes.

Whoosh! The massive amount of cash was sent flying by the immense force, exploding in the air like a lavish green blizzard.

Bang! The first gunshot was muffled and short.

It was the instinctive reaction brought about by the Sharpshooter trait.

While Chen Mo was still in mid-air, the glock in his hand had already spat out deadly tongues of fire.

The gunman on the left, who was trying to adjust his aim, had a pitch-black bullet hole right in the center of his forehead as his body fell straight backward.

The gunman on the right reacted extremely quickly, having already locked onto Chen Mo's rolling trajectory, his finger about to pull the trigger.

But Chen Mo's second shot was faster.

Bang! The bullet didn't hit his hand or foot, but accurately pierced through his chest. The massive kinetic energy sent him flying backward, slamming into the cold container wall with a dull thud.

One second, two men dead. The banknotes flying all over the sky hadn't even had time to land yet.

"Ah!" Before the scream had even left his throat, Chen Mo had landed and rolled, charging at the man in the grey trench coat like a cheetah.

The man in the grey trench coat's eyes changed, and a dagger appeared in his hand out of nowhere, stabbing at Chen Mo's throat from an extremely tricky angle.

This strike was fast, ruthless, and precise, carrying the sharpness of a professional killer.

If it were the Chen Mo of the past, this strike would have been fatal.

But now, he was the Chen Mo who possessed Close Quarters Combat Mastery.

He sidestepped, raised his hand, blocked, and executed a joint-lock counter.

Snap! The grey trench coat's wrist was snapped, and the dagger clattered to the ground.

Chen Mo followed up with a knee strike, slamming hard into the opponent's abdomen, then immediately pressed the muzzle against his jaw.

"Who sent you?"

The grey trench coat was drenched in cold sweat from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and said nothing, his eyes filled with the resolve of the dead.

"Not talking?" Chen Mo smiled. "That's fine too."

Bang! The gunshot rang out, and blood splattered.

You couldn't get anything out of these suicide soldiers; dead men were actually more honest.

Chen Mo stood up, looking at the corpses and banknotes all over the ground, and let out a breath.

"Come out now, stop pretending."

Ava climbed up from the ground, broke the special loose zip ties herself, pulled off her hood, and looked at the corpses on the ground with an expression of disgust.

"Couldn't you have been a little gentler? That fall earlier hurt like hell."

Chen Mo ignored her and walked straight to the corpse of the man in the grey trench coat, reaching out his hand.

This guy's skills were extraordinary, especially the redirection technique of that dagger strike earlier.

"Extraction Successful!"

"Obtained Skill: Master of Disguise (Green)"

"Obtained Memory Fragment: Password to a secret account"

Not bad luck.

"Master of Disguise (Green)": You can not only change your appearance through makeup but also simulate completely different temperaments by adjusting your micro-expressions, gait, and tone.

Chen Mo closed his eyes, feeling the knowledge flooding into his mind.

How to contract facial muscles to make cheekbones appear higher, how to shift one's center of gravity to make one's gait appear frivolous or steady...

"This guy was a gold-medal killer from the 'Cleaner'." Ava walked over and kicked the corpse. "It seems my uncles really spared no expense."

Chen Mo opened his eyes. The aura of a fierce bandit on him vanished instantly, replaced by a gentle and harmless calmness.

"Clean up the money." Chen Mo pointed at the banknotes on the ground. "Then call the police and say that the heroic Officer Chen saved the poor Miss Ava from the kidnappers."

Ava watched his face, which had changed in an instant, and suddenly shivered.

"Sometimes I think you're more of a monster than these killers."

"Thanks for the compliment." Chen Mo crouched down and began picking up the money. "Also, remember to wire the remaining one million to my account."

"You'll get what you're owed." Ava rolled her eyes, pulled a black-gold card from her clutch, and handed it to Chen Mo, holding it between two fingers.

"What's this? A tip?" Chen Mo took it; it was a heavy, textured invitation.

"A ticket to that world." Ava smoothed her messy hair, her eyes becoming sharp.

"There's a charity banquet tonight at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's the real seat of power in New York. I don't need a bodyguard, but I need a male companion who can hold his own."

She leaned in close to Chen Mo, her red lips whispering in his ear: "Do you dare to go and see how those real big shots eat people?"

Chen Mo rubbed the card with its gilded patterns, a playful arc appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Why wouldn't I? As long as there's food."