133: Poverty limits imagination

"Please, my distinguished guests."

The man known as "Blood General" grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth rimmed with gold.

He made an extremely gentlemanly "after you" gesture, but combined with the pile of corpses nearby that hadn't been cleared away yet, it seemed completely out of place and full of irony.

Dozens of dark muzzles were pointed at the two of them.

Lin Xia was stiff all over, her palms drenched in cold sweat. She glanced at Jiang Yuan beside her, only to find that not only was there no trace of fear on the man's face, but he was actually sizing up the warlord's somewhat comical white suit with great interest.

"Let's go. Since the General has extended such a warm invitation, there's no reason not to go."

Jiang Yuan looked indifferent. He even took the lead, stepping toward the most impressive-looking military tent in the center of the mine pit. His leisurely pace didn't make it seem like he was walking into a tiger's den, but rather as if he were attending a boring business cocktail party.

Lifting the heavy canvas curtain, the scene inside the tent was a world away from the hell outside.

Persian carpets looted from some wealthy home covered the floor; although the edges were stained with mud and dark red blood, their expensive craftsmanship was still evident.

Several high-powered portable air conditioners were roaring, forcibly sealing out the sweltering heat and the stench of corpses from outside.

In the center of the tent stood a massive mahogany dining table, covered with a mismatched assortment of luxury items: empty bottles of Louis XIII, solid gold candlesticks, ivory carvings, and a plate of somewhat wilted fruit.

"Sit."

Blood General sat down boldly in the tiger-skin chair at the head of the table, casually slamming a diamond-encrusted gold pistol onto the table with a dull thud.

It was a blatant display of force.

Lin Xia sat down tremblingly on a chair in the corner, not even daring to look up at the notorious warlord.

Jiang Yuan, however, did not sit down immediately.

With his hands behind his back, he strolled over to a display shelf as if he were visiting a museum. Arranged there were Blood General's prized collections: several large uncut raw diamonds, a few rhino horns, and some blood-stained trophies.

"Terrible taste."

Jiang Yuan shook his head and flicked his finger against the so-called "antique vase."

"A fake. This was made in Yiwu; the wholesale price doesn't exceed fifty yuan."

The air in the tent instantly froze.

The bodyguards standing behind Blood General immediately cocked their guns, staring fiercely at Jiang Yuan. At a single command from the General, they would riddle this reckless Easterner with bullets.

Blood General's eyelid twitched, but he didn't lash out. In his eyes, Jiang Yuan was a fat sheep dripping with oil; he didn't mind enduring the other's arrogance before the slaughter.

"Hahahaha!"

Blood General suddenly burst into laughter and waved for his men to lower their guns.

"I like straightforward people! Easterner, you've got guts."

He picked up a cigar from the table, clipped it, lit it, took a deep drag, and then blew the smoke toward Jiang Yuan.

"Let me introduce myself. I am the master of this land; you can call me 'General.' Every grain of sand and every human life here is under my control."

Blood General leaned forward, his bloodshot, greedy eyes fixed intently on Jiang Yuan.

"I see your car is quite nice; the modification costs must have been at least several million dollars, right? And your female companion here, with her tender skin, could fetch a good price on the black market."

Hearing this, Lin Xia's body shuddered violently.

Jiang Yuan finally turned around.

He walked to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down elegantly.

The black Nano-combat suit on his body had already automatically retracted and turned invisible, revealing the spotless white shirt underneath.

Leaning back against the chair with his fingers interlaced, he looked at Blood General calmly, as if watching a monkey performing acrobatics.

"Speak plainly. How much do you want?"

Jiang Yuan's voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.

Blood General was stunned for a moment, and then the greed in his eyes intensified. He hadn't expected this fat sheep to be so cooperative; he seemed like a rich kid who hadn't seen much of the world, thinking money could solve everything.

"Splendid!"

Blood General extended a hand, spread five fingers, and waved them in the air.

"Fifty million dollars."

"As long as you have someone transfer the money to my offshore account, I guarantee that not only will I let you go, but I'll also send an army to escort you out of the country and treat you as my most distinguished guests."

Fifty million dollars.

This was an astronomical figure for any ordinary wealthy person, enough to drive any kidnapper wild.

Lin Xia's heart went completely cold upon hearing this number.

Never mind fifty million; they couldn't even scrape together five million on such short notice. And in this lawless land, there was only one outcome for those who couldn't pay: death, or a fate worse than death.

However.

Hearing this number, Jiang Yuan smiled.

It wasn't a fawning smile of fear, nor was it a cold sneer of anger.

It was a heartfelt smile, tinged with a bit of contempt and pity.

"What are you laughing at?" Blood General frowned, his hand already gripping the gold pistol. Jiang Yuan's attitude made him feel extremely annoyed and uneasy.

"I'm laughing because you're too poor."

Jiang Yuan stopped smiling and leaned forward slightly, his deep eyes looking directly into Blood General's.

"You've killed so many people, cut off so many hands, and turned this land into a hell, and yet your life is only worth fifty million?"

"You..." Blood General stood up abruptly, pointing the muzzle directly at the center of Jiang Yuan's forehead. "You're asking for death!"

"Don't get excited."

Facing the dark muzzle, Jiang Yuan didn't even blink.

He slowly reached his hand into his jacket pocket.

"Clack, clack, clack!"

The surrounding bodyguards, thinking he was reaching for a gun, instantly raised their weapons and aimed.

But what Jiang Yuan pulled out was neither a gun nor a checkbook.

When his hand came out of his pocket, his palm was still empty.

But in the next second.

A very faint humming sound suddenly came from the air.

Jiang Yuan's palm made a gentle grasping motion in the void.

It was like magic, yet also like creation out of thin air.

Countless points of light, invisible to the naked eye, converged, compressed, and arranged themselves in his palm.

"Since you like stones, I'll give you one."

Jiang Yuan opened his hand.

"Ding."

A crisp, pleasant sound rang out.

A perfect diamond, the size of a pigeon's egg, completely translucent and without any impurities, slid from his hand. It rolled a few times on the dirty tablecloth before finally stopping in front of Blood General.

In this tent filled with blood and sin, the brilliant light refracted by the diamond stung everyone's eyes.

The purity, cut, and size of this diamond were enough to put all the collections in Blood General's shabby cabinet to shame.

"This is just a greeting gift."

Jiang Yuan leaned back against the chair and looked at the dumbfounded Blood General, his tone lazy:

"Now, can we have a proper talk?"