Chapter 16 Making Money Is Important

He didn't dare to stay for even one more day, not even changing his passport, and immediately rushed to Dubai at the fastest speed.

Why Dubai? It was simply because it offered a visa on arrival and then facilitated easier transfers to flights destined for other places—that was all.

Upon arriving in Dubai, Luca still appeared heavily burdened with worries.

Gao Yi noticed that Luca's fear was genuine, given that he willingly spent money to stay in an expensive five-star hotel.

It was a five-star hotel, which Gao Yi had never stayed in before. He was curious about everything inside, but after learning that the hotel's daily room rate was as high as two hundred dollars, he first felt heartache over the steep price and then thought it wasn't too bad for the two of them to share a room.

Then, before Gao Yi had a chance to truly enjoy the five-star hotel's services, Luca managed to buy flight tickets, and they flew from Dubai to Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone was visa-free for Chinese people, and Gao Yi could enter with the passport he had on hand. Also, Sierra Leone was a neighboring country to Liberia.

This frantic journey was almost entirely spent on planes, with no opportunity for a proper conversation.

And now, even after arriving in Sierra Leone, having run far away, Luca still looked as if he was facing death. Gao Yi really couldn't stand it anymore.

"What exactly are you afraid of? Just because Andic is the top assassin organization?"

Luca shook his head, then nodded, and tried to smile, trying to appear indifferent, "You don't understand, uh, the Andic Group is formidable, but that's not why I'm afraid of them. No, I'm not afraid of the Andic Group."

"You can't even speak clearly anymore, and you say you're not afraid?"

Gao Yi frowned at Luca, then suddenly said, "Do you have some enmity with the Andic Group?"

Luca sharply turned to look at Gao Yi, fear in his eyes.

Gao Yi was startled and said, "Don't tell me, you're the one with a grudge against the Andic Group?"

Gao Yi had always thought Luca was scared because he, Gao Yi, had killed two of the Andic Group's assassins, but Luca's reaction made it clear that it wasn't just his own issue or rather, not only his issue.

"I'm not! I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!"

Luca's triple denial came with a hint of panic.

Gao Yi, impatient, said, "Come on, stop pretending. Your fear is beyond what's normal. So, you're not worried about me having a problem, you're worried about yourself, or perhaps it's because my issue combined with yours makes you feel more at risk, more terrified, right?"

Luca looked lost, "You... Really... Not an assassin?"

"If you're going to talk, do it fast. If not, let it go."

Luca nodded, whispering, "Yeah, better not to talk."

Gao Yi was exasperated; he had just wanted to nudge Luca into confessing by taking the contrary stance, but Luca really chose to keep silent.

"You knew I was a target of the Andic Group, but you weren't scared then. It was only after you knew I'd killed two people from the Andic Group that you started to feel scared."

Gao Yi was just making a wild guess, but Luca's situation was too obvious. Even though Gao Yi wasn't good at reasoning, a simple follow-up led him to a reasonable conclusion.

"You figure the Andic Group, being a large assassin organization, wouldn't bother avenging a Scavenger or waste effort chasing down a minor figure they killed along the way. But now that two assassins have died, they would seek revenge, and that's why you're scared. No, if they wanted revenge, they'd go after me, and I'm not scared. So why are you scared to death?"

Luca's face remained fraught with worry, but he showed no reaction to Gao Yi's words.

Suddenly, Gao Yi thought of a possibility and said, almost in disbelief, "Don't tell me you're also someone who got mistakenly targeted by the Andic Group? No, not mistakenly. You are a survivor the Andic Group failed to kill!"

Luca's expression finally changed, and looking at Gao Yi, his eyes filled with terror. Then, he said feebly, "What kind of person are you, exactly? How do you know my..."

Luca stopped pressing because Gao Yi's conclusion was based on following the clues.

"You really are someone the Andic Group wants to kill?"

Gao Yi wasn't scared; he was just surprised, so he asked urgently, "Why? What happened to you?"

Luca swallowed and hesitated for a moment before blurting, "I... I was... I once was... a staff member for... an assassin."

Gao Yi looked at Luca for a moment, "Staff member? Like a follower?"

Luca's mouth twitched, and he finally nodded, whispering, "Yes, just a follower. You know, almost all famous assassins have their own crews, and I was part of such a crew."

"A famous assassin, you were under his command, and then this assassin was killed by the Andic Group?"

Luca nodded, murmuring, "Basically, yes. But the assassin I followed belonged to a renowned assassin organization with a long history."

Glancing at Gao Yi, Luca continued in a low voice, "I wasn't part of this organization. I just was... how should I say it..."

"You weren't qualified to join this assassin organization."

Luca glared at Gao Yi with disgust, but in the end, he nodded.

Gao Yi's summary was accurate, even if it was a painful truth.

"So what are you afraid of? The Andic Group's target isn't you. You've been fine until now, and you've been working as an assassin broker, so it indicates that you won't have any issues in the future, right?"

Luca whispered, "Previously, the... ah, the assassin who introduced me to this business was very powerful and very famous. No one knew his real identity, yet the Andic Group managed to set a trap that wiped us all out. I had just joined, so I luckily escaped. Maybe I wasn't important enough to attract the Andic Group's attention. But it's different if I'm with you."

Gao Yi found the situation rather troublesome and pondered for a while before asking, "Who was the assassin you worked for? How long ago did this happen?"

Luca hesitated for a moment, "It's been six years."

"Six years? Then what are you afraid of? If there were any real danger, you'd be long dead by now. Oh, I see. You've got a psychological trauma."

At this point, Gao Yi suddenly remembered something and his face changed.

Luca couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, did you think of something?"

"When we completed the task, my face was captured on camera. You must have been captured too."

Luca said in a low voice, "That's what I'm worried about. The casino entrance surely has surveillance."

Gao Yi grimaced, "The whole process of me taking action was also live-streamed to the Dark Web. Could that be dangerous?"

Luca shook his head, "That was recorded through the Dark Web's own video feature, only the evidence reviewers on the Dark Web can see it. It wasn't a live broadcast for everyone, so don't worry about that. I'm just afraid that the casino surveillance might get into the hands of someone who could then release a warrant for us or put up a bounty on the Dark Web. That would be troublesome..."

Gao Yi said cautiously, "Yeah, do you think they would?"

"I don't know, so that's why I'm scared!"

Gao Yi was also not sure, now begun to worry as well, but after thinking it through, he shook his head, "Don't be afraid. Which casino would admit to having someone killed at their entrance? They'd be trying to hide it, not expose it voluntarily."

"Er, maybe."

Gao Yi continued, "You know what Tachileik is like. How could their police issue a warrant for us, let alone spend money on a Dark Web bounty?"

"Hopefully that's the case..."

Luca was still absent-minded, while Gao Yi said with a look of utmost care, "Stop thinking about it. Right now, let's focus on one thing: let's complete this big task first, earn the money. Even if we think about hiding, we first need enough money to do so."

Luca immediately agreed, "I completely agree. Even if we want to escape, we need money to do it. Let's do the task first, and earn big!"