52: 52. It’s all about money

Lu Feng's bold voice echoed.

The night wind howled, pressing down the weeds on the ground, the trees rustled, and occasionally a few caws of crows drifted by.

Yu Tianxiong stared at the empty seashore, momentarily dumbfounded.

This dilapidated place has five hundred million? How is that so hard to believe?

Lu Feng patted his shoulder, "Just follow me."

He led the way towards the fence. This iron fence wasn't tall, and he climbed over it in a few movements, with Yu Tianxiong following close behind him.

The feeling of stepping in mud wasn't pleasant, and soon both of their pant legs were covered in it.

Yu Tianxiong warily looked towards the building and noticed a surveillance camera on the corner of the wall above it, a red light pointing directly at them.

Yu Tianxiong lowered his voice to remind him, "Sir, there's a camera."

Lu Feng waved his hand dismissively, "It's fine, don't worry about it."

After entering the yard, Yu Tianxiong initially thought Lu Feng's target would be the dilapidated house, but he unexpectedly walked towards the fishing boats by the shore.

It was low tide, and there was only shallow seawater beneath the wooden pier; even the fishing boats were stranded on the shore.

Under the faint moonlight, the two men approached the fishing boats. Although these two boats looked very old and worn, Yu Tianxiong still found something strange: the old traces looked more like natural aging from wind and sun, completely lacking the signs of use seen on the fishing boats further away.

It was as if someone had bought them and just left them there.

Once he stepped onto the fishing boat, his guess was further confirmed; there was no distinct fishy smell unique to fishing boats.

"See anything unusual?" Lu Feng chuckled.

The structure of the fishing boat was simple, not much larger than a yacht. The deck only had a pilothouse, and below it, there was a cabin space.

Lu Feng looked at the pilothouse door, which was secured by a large padlock. This lock couldn't be broken by force. Lu Feng bent down, picked up a large stone from the ground, and prepared to smash the windshield in front of the pilothouse.

Seeing this, Yu Tianxiong said, "Sir, why don't you let me do it?"

Lu Feng thought he wanted to smash it, so he handed him the stone. Yu Tianxiong shook his head, pulled a piece of wire from his pocket, twisted it into a special shape, and then, to Lu Feng's surprised expression, inserted it into the keyhole.

With a few clicks, there was a "clack," and the padlock opened.

"I didn't expect you to be able to pick locks?" Lu Feng quipped.

At the time, he only saw important fragments in his dream, so he hadn't realized he had this skill.

Yu Tianxiong's old face flushed, and he sighed, "When I was down and out before... I learned it... it's not something to be proud of."

Lu Feng burst out laughing, "It's perfectly acceptable for this situation. Opening it so quietly saved me a lot of trouble."

Lu Feng pushed open the pilothouse door, turned on the light, and found a handle on the floor. He pulled it up with force, and with a creak, the cabin door opened, and a musty smell mixed with gasoline fumes wafted out.

Walking down the stairs, the space inside was completely visible. The cabin, only tall enough for one person, was empty except for a large wooden tatami bed without a mattress, showing no signs of decoration.

Lu Feng clicked his tongue in wonder, "You'd think with this shabby scene, even a thief wouldn't give it a second glance, but who would have thought there's nearly two hundred million in cash hidden in here."

"Sir... where is it hidden?" Yu Tianxiong could no longer hold back and asked.

Lu Feng walked to the bed, knocked on the bed board, and then, with a half-smile, said, "Right underneath!"

He grabbed a wooden board and pried it upwards with force until the nails were pulled out. Through the gap, Yu Tianxiong saw darkness inside, but there seemed to be something there.

Lu Feng illuminated it with his phone's flashlight, and only then could Yu Tianxiong see clearly.

Inside were neatly stacked square blocks wrapped in oil paper. Their shape and size looked exactly like cash.

Lu Feng picked up one, tore open the oil paper, and it was all hundred-yuan bills!

They were so new they looked like they had just been printed.

Yu Tianxiong was stunned. He looked at the two-meter-long, 1.8-meter-wide bed again, his heart pounding wildly.

As a former wealthy man, he knew that one hundred million was only about 1.5 m * 0.8 m * 0.8 m, which is roughly one cubic meter.

If such a large bed was entirely filled with money, then there truly were over two hundred million, and this was only the first boat; there was another fishing boat next to it!!

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

Yu Tianxiong gasped, his voice trembling, "Who on earth would put so much money in this godforsaken place?"

Lu Feng chuckled, "Well, what do you think? Having so much money and not daring to put it in a bank, it's clearly illicit. Whose do you think it could be?"

Yu Tianxiong's mind raced. His first guess was illicit black money from some gang, but then he thought that gangs wouldn't just leave it there unattended. If it were a wealthy person's gray industry, it would have been transferred out long ago. So, whose could it be?

Suddenly!!

A flash of inspiration struck him. His eyes widened abruptly, and he said in shock, "Could it be... a certain... leader's bribe?"

"Smart, you guessed it!" Lu Feng grinned.

Since he needed startup capital, Lu Feng certainly wouldn't let such a large sum of money slip away.

Not long ago, during a casual nap, he discovered this red dream bubble. When he quickly entered the dream, all he saw was a flood of red money... lots and lots of money, rushing towards him.

Even Lu Feng, who now held tens of millions in funds, was shocked.

These weren't cold numbers on a phone screen, but the concretization of wealth.

However, this bubble appeared very suddenly and disappeared just as quickly. Before Lu Feng could investigate it thoroughly, the dream shattered, which indicated how poor the dream owner's sleep quality was, perhaps even insomnia, making it difficult for him to fall asleep.

But that didn't deter Lu Feng. As long as he had entered a dream, he could acquire an anchor point.

So, in subsequent dreams, Lu Feng kept digging into this person named Liu Jinquan.

Then, he discovered his unusual identity: a big fish hidden in the officialdom of Xinghai City.

The head of the Construction Department, Liu Jinquan, Director Liu!

This man was also capable. In just eight short years, he had used his position to amass a fortune, accumulating five hundred million in assets.

However, while the money tempted him, it was too hot to handle. He dared not spend it, nor dared to keep it at home.

Following the principle that the most dangerous place is the safest place, he took over a private area by the sea, disguised it as a fisherman's spot, and bought two fishing boats to hide the money.

He also had to secretly come and check on it from time to time, just to ensure everything was foolproof.

Indeed, most people seeing such a private area would certainly not enter. Even if they did, they might not go to the boats, and even if they entered the boats, they would only see empty vessels and would never suspect anything.

However... he would never have imagined that someone could enter his dreams and extract all his secrets.