Chapter 33 Renting a House
"Hmph... hum... hum..."
"Manager, manager, we're here."
"Hmm, huh? Oh, oh," Li Pan rubbed his face after being awakened by Ah Qi, "Are you there? Wait in the car, listen to my instructions, and be ready."
Then he picked up the suitcase with the spine, opened the door and jumped off the floating car, jumping back and forth among various illegal buildings and rooftop walkways. Don't take the ordinary route, and face the crazy looks of passers-by, and end up on the dirty streets.
This is the so-called 'commuting area'. In the era of New Tokyo, this area used to be a suburban village, a subway and bus hub, and the six blocks nearby were residential areas for livestock, small industrialists, and self-employed people. There were small one-bedroom apartments. In the courtyard, there are low-rise residences and large apartment buildings. The population density is extremely high and it was once a very prosperous area.
It's just that the industry as a whole is in a recession now. Companies, factories, and armies are all laying off people everywhere. But after all, they used to be the middle class, citizens who still had some money. If they lost their jobs, they could still set up a stall and start a small business, or start a small business. You can support your family by doing live broadcasts on the Internet, so that places like suburban industrial areas will not directly go bankrupt. Coupled with the geographical advantages and population base, you can live here and commute no matter where you go to work. The population mobility is also very high. The subway stations are always overcrowded. Li Pan has also thought about renting a house here. The rent is about 10,000, um, just think about it.
Of course, there is no pure land in the Night City, and it is also one of the areas where gangs compete most fiercely. There are six gangs in six blocks. But after all, it is the main gathering place for the working class, whether it is the Ye family or Takamagahara, the Red Tengu or the San The alpha dogs are not crazy enough to start a war here and exterminate all the social workers who can still make money for everyone. Therefore, generally no one uses military weapons here, and the struggle in the 'commuter area' is generally maintained at the level of low-intensity assassinations.
As soon as I put on my glasses and connected to the internal communication of Shibaban, I heard two people complaining.
Eighteen, "He actually slept with his eyes open. It's so disgusting..."
Rama, "I thought his nose was blocked. It's really scary..."
"Hey! Don't speak ill of your boss on the communication channel! Eighteen, Just keep an eye on me. If anyone dares to scare me, I'll burn his brain immediately. You're welcome!"
Eighteen, "Oh, I got it. You're sorry."
Tsk, this kid is not cute at all.
Li Pan squeezed through the crowd and came to a commercial street and found a Chinese restaurant. Under the sign of "Peace Hotel", an old man wearing glasses, prosthetic legs, undershirt, shorts and flip-flops was settling accounts.
"Old Wu, business is not bad."
The old man took off his glasses and glanced at him,
"Oh, broom, you shaved your hair. Why, instead of coming to work for me, you went to wear dog skin? What a pity, you kill fish It's quite neat."
"Hey, fish killing, I have nightmares about killing your fish.
Okay, let's get down to business, let's use your place to discuss some business." "
Okay, it seems like you're a fool. It's really good. But since we're talking about business, I don't need to teach you the rules." "
Hey, it's a little cheaper. How about I call you uncle?"
"Okay, you can call me uncle and I'll give you more. I’ve got a drawer of xiaolongbao for you to eat, and the rest will be of the same size.”
“Wow! Okay, okay, let’s get started.”
So Li Pan directly handed over 20,000 yuan in cash.
Of course this money is not for Xiao Long Bao.
Old Wu is similar to the priest in that he is also a broker. After all, when trading in the Night City, no one can guarantee whether the other party will bring someone out to take advantage of the situation, so this kind of guarantee from a well-connected middleman is indispensable.
And the 'commuting area' is actually one of the largest gang black markets in the Night City. Every gang is here to do business and launder money, so no one wants to get a bloody head and affect the flow of money. The gain outweighs the loss and offends others.
In order to ship the goods this time, through Shiba, he contacted an underground clinic that Li Pan knew before, and initially reached a consensus on the transaction. Then Li Pan found Lao Wu to be the middleman, so that the other party could believe Li Pan's sincerity and come to see the transaction.
Li Pan also worked in the back kitchen of the Peace Hotel before. He knew that this place was also a gang stronghold, a place used for negotiations. As the name suggests, peace and peace. Gangsters also need to eat. If you want to fight, go out and fight. Anyway, don't do it here. Open fire in a place like a restaurant.
Of course, there are always risks in black market transactions, but with Lao Wu and the gang he represents coming forward to guarantee, if the other party does not have the consciousness to start a war, they will not really play any tricks, and the risks can always be minimized.
Li Pan waited in the private room of the Peace Hotel for a while, finishing the xiaolongbao in two or three mouths. The robot maid in cheongsam also came to eat with two guests.
One of them is black and one is white. The black man is obviously a gang member. He has a gorilla arm and a regiment badge tattooed on his chest. He should be a veteran of the Space Marine Corps. This kind of person is reduced to a gang. I don’t know if he is drug-induced. Addiction or addiction to murder. The white man is a technician wearing glasses. He seems to be a drug addict. There are many needle holes in his neck, but he is still mentally normal at the moment.
Li Pan didn't recognize these two people, but he also knew that they were sent by the counterparty to inspect the goods, so he stopped talking and opened the suitcase and handed it to them for inspection. He hugged the rice bowl and started eating. He spent 20,000 yuan to order it. a table of dishes.
Those artificial organs can be scanned with equipment and data exchanged, but the performance of neural enhancement needs to be tested. The white man took out various equipment from his bag and tested the spine. At the same time, the light in his pupils flashed, obviously communicating with the black man in a secret channel. .
Anyway, the products were all genuine and of high quality. Li Pan didn't worry about them not liking it, so he just kept eating. After he replenished the food twice, the other side was satisfied.
The black man took out a black currency card from his arms and said,
"I want all the things. The price is two million."
In fact, those things are sold for about the same price on the black market. Of course, they must be using illegal virtual currency. When it comes to paying bills, you can't expect gangsters to do business and pay taxes honestly through public accounts.
Li Pan also took a look at the communication card. The various virtual coins in the virtual currency communication card were valued at between 500,000 and 4 million. According to the general rules of black market transactions, taking the median value within a month, an estimate of two million is about the same.
Just when Li Pan was about to agree, Shiba said a few words in his ear, then he pursed his lips and smiled,
"Not enough."
The black man frowned, "Don't you think two million is enough?"
Li Pan said with a smile, "You think I don't You know, QVN doesn’t know when it will go offline. These virtual coins will definitely plummet, and the two million may be worthless." The black man hesitated, "
Then
what do you want? Barter? ? You also know what kind of business we are in, right? Do you want combat enhancers? They are not allowed to be sold on our territory."
Li Pan poured the remaining gravy and sauce soup into the rice bowl, stirred it evenly and ate it. Soak rice.
"Is it enhanced to the level of a cyberpsychosis enhancer? Forget it...
I think about it, just virtual currency is fine, but considering the risks in the current financial market, I want 10 million." "
You want too much . Cum."
The black man shook his head but did not refuse.
So Li Pan knew there was something going on,
"You are in a hurry to trade, and you also know that the black money in your hands will depreciate, right? But money laundering is not that easy. If you increase the amount in a hurry, causing the channel deviation value to increase and be discovered by the tax bureau, it will be more gain than loss. So instead of laundering money
, If you have this black gold in your hands, you might as well cash it in now while you have the opportunity. These equipments are genuine, and you won’t lose even if you buy them at the original price. What’s more, it directly eliminates the cost and risk of money laundering. It's very cheap!
You make a profit, but I lose!"
The black man hesitated for a moment and glanced at Li Pan. The blue light in his pupils flashed, and he was clearly communicating with the gang boss. Finally, he nodded, put the communication card into his neck, waited for a while, then pulled it out and handed it to Li Pan.
The other party added a bunch of account information and various illegal currencies through various channels. Now the virtual currency in the card is estimated to be between 2 million and 20 million.
"Okay, happy transaction, give them airdrops."
So Hei Bai and Hei Bai sat and watched Li Pan sweep away the rice bowl and lick every plate clean.
On the other side, the floating vehicle also went to the designated coordinates to deliver the goods to the gang's warehouse. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and there was no gangsterism or robbery.
Li Pan also had enough to eat and drink, so he left his suitcase with the black and white pair and walked out of the Peace Hotel.
"Okay, everyone, now let's talk about the harvest distribution of this mission. In a word, I am the general manager, I will take half, and the rest will be divided equally among you. Kotaro will also have a share. Does anyone have any opinions? Let me tell you now. "
Aqi Rama didn't have any objections. Shiba still calculated accurately, "Just divide it according to 10 million?" "
Where can I get 10 million now? How many points are left after cleaning the virtual coins I got this time? .
This activity is considered a team building activity. After deducting the necessary cleaning expenses, and then deducting 10%, it will be counted as your operating commission, and the remaining part will be used as the team’s income distribution. If anyone does not want to take cash for the time being,
or If you have your own virtual currency processing channels, you can communicate with Shiba privately whether you accept it or not."
Shiba thought for a while, "Okay."
Kotaro also confirmed in a private message to express his approval.
"Then this is my rule. Anyone who joins the group will get a share, and those who don't obey the command will not get a penny. The meeting is over. Ahem, you go back to the office to make a report. I'll take a look at the monster." This time I borrowed the company's help
. When I use my car to do personal work, I have to go on a business trip and do a task or something to explain to the company.
So Li Pan came to the place where this mission took place, a real estate agency in the commuting area to look at houses.
"Haunted house? There are still haunted houses these days? Wow! Only two thousand a month? Really! It's not a yin-yang contract, right?" "Oh,
Mr. Li, do you think I have money and don't want to make it? I can make it clear to you. , Fourteen tenants who lived in that room died in a row. It would have been a gang vendetta, but the surveillance cameras couldn't catch the suspect at all. He either jumped off the building, cut his wrists, or swallowed sleeping pills. Something would happen within a week at most. Property management I don’t care about you and the landlord, but we are forced to deal with it anyway. It’s really annoying. I really advise you to think clearly. Cheap is not good.” Li Pan must admit that this middle-aged real estate
agent is right . , he felt a blast of cold air as soon as he entered the apartment. It was a seven-story old townhouse apartment in a pretty good location. The average price started at least 8,000 a month. There were security guards at the door, but there were no drug addicts or homeless people wandering around. Come in.
But this apartment is surrounded by dozens or hundreds of high-rise buildings. There is no light at all. It is dark, especially the legendary haunted house. There is no light in the corner at the end of the corridor on the seventh floor. It looks very dark. Eerie.
"The house is not bad. It has four bedrooms, two living rooms and two bathrooms. It is more suitable for a family to rent. The transportation is convenient nearby. There are shopping malls, hospitals, schools and police stations..." The agent babbled and stood at the door to introduce, probably because he felt it was
unlucky. , and dared not come in.
Li Pan put his hands in his trouser pockets, walked in and walked around twice.
This time's mission was also a group of intelligence analysis masters from the head office who had nothing to do but had enough to do. They found urban ghost stories by surfing the Internet. Mader is either a haunted building or a haunted house, with nothing new at all.
But to be fair, the feng shui of this house is not quite right.
As soon as Li Pan walked in, he felt that although the agency had put some cheap furniture, he could clearly see that this apartment, with four bedrooms, two living rooms and two bathrooms, was perfectly symmetrical. It's as if a huge mirror is placed on the central axis, projecting the apartment on one side as it is, while deliberately hiding the things behind the mirror.
"Who was the first person to die in this apartment?"
"Who knows, what's so strange about two people dying in the Night City? It's also because this room was so frequent that it took three consecutive jumps for a while to attract attention. Well, just from the window sill over there."
Li Pan went out and took a look. It's on the seventh floor. To be honest, it's a little more prosthetic these days. Even if someone throws it out, it's not like he won't die if he falls headfirst to the ground... "
I Can you try staying here for one night?"
It was broad daylight, and Li Pan looked around but couldn't see any problems.
"Mr. Li, please be considerate, it's difficult for me to handle."
Li Pan gave him a hundred.
"Here's the room key."
Tsk, I don't know if I'll be reimbursed for a hundred yuan...
But don't tell me, except for ghosts, gods, monsters, etc., this house is really good, with four bedrooms and two living rooms. Two bathrooms, really quite spacious. The location is quite suitable, with convenient transportation and complete living facilities. It's seven floors and he can get up in two jumps and two climbs. You can also park a floating car on the rooftop of the top floor and take it directly to the roof after get off work. It’s perfect! And really, it only costs 2,000 yuan a month. Damn it, even if it is a warehouse, you still have to rent it, Mad... "
Wow! That's really good! Is it really only 6,000 yuan? That's a lot of money!"
Well, well ? ?
Li Pan walked out from the balcony. What a coincidence, there was another agency bringing a client to see the house. But yes, the landlord must be eager to rent it out quickly to recover blood. Who cares whether you are a bad house or not. And it’s true that someone else’s two thousand and you just call it six thousand... Maybe it will be easier to rent out this way...
"This gentleman, you are..."
"It's unlucky for you to come, I have rented first..."
"Hey! Yes! You!" The female tenant suddenly jumped up, "This is a formal suit! You are the one from last night!"
Li Pan was stunned for a moment, and recognized her after looking at her, "Oh, it's you, little wild cat."
"Who, who? It's the little wild cat! Why are you here! You can't be a stalker!" This girl
is really a goth that we met yesterday at a rock night in the park. Today she is still wearing heavy makeup and dressed up in a fashionable style. Sister Yu's whole body style was completely different. She also wore a blond wig, a different set of perfume necklaces and earrings. Li Pan took a second look to recognize her.
"Damn! Who's following you? Sorry, I've already rented this room. Huh, 6,000, right? It seems you didn't make it clear, Mr. Agent." Li Pan glanced at
the agent, who also felt guilty.
But the little wild cat jumped up, searching for real estate information in his eyes,
"Wait, wait, wait! This is wrong! The rental has not been registered online yet! You haven't completed the formalities yet! I rent first, I rent first! Do it first formalities!"
"Ah, ah? Hey! You're stupid! You didn't know you were being tricked! This house is not clean!"
Li Pan quickly grabbed her.
But the little wild cat sneered, "People have died before. How can there be no death in the Night City? I'll rent it for 6,000, right?" Li Pan took out a black
kite and put it on the agent's head, "How dare you!"
The agent burst into tears. ...
"Hey! Why are you like this!" The little wild cat jumped up and scratched, "I finally found such a cheap house! At this price, I can only rent in an industrial area! Hey! You have the heart to let me and the Whirlpool Gang Let's live together!"
"Tsk..." Li Pan also had a headache for a moment.
"Two, two..." The agent stared cross-eyed at Black Kite's muzzle and sweated, "Well, since you two know each other and this is a two-family house, why not share it?" The little wild cat was stunned, "Share it
? "
The agent laughed, "Yes, yes, the rent can be cheaper, only 3..." "
Ah!? How much!? I didn't hear!?" Li Pan put the gun over and poked him.
"One thousand one thousand a month! I suddenly remembered that the landlord has recently lowered the price. If we rent together, it only costs one thousand a month for each person!" "Oh Snow! One thousand
a month! This house in the commuting area only costs one thousand a month. ! Hahaha! I rented it, I rented it! Hahaha!"
The little wild cat laughed heartily, hugging Li Pan's neck and jumping up and down.
"No, no, it's not a matter of money! Well, it's really just a matter of money..."
Li Pan was also dizzy because of her noise, but she still tried to make a last effort,
"Hey little wild cat, are you the first one?" Are you coming to the Night City in one day? Is it really okay to share a room with a stranger?"
After hearing this, the little wild cat looked at him seriously and said,
"Are you not the kind of lunatic who sells organs?"
Li Pan felt guilty, "No, it's not. , I am a serious company dog, this is my business card..."
The little wild cat laughed and stretched out his hand to Li Pan,
"That's good, that's good. Li, don't look at me like this, I've also practiced Women's self-defense! Haha!
Anyway, this is our first meeting! We will be roommates from now on, wearing formal clothes.
My name is Nana, Nana Toyama, you can call me Xiaoqi."
"Xiao, Xiao, Xiao, hiss... "
Li Pan took a deep breath, controlled his expression, and shook her hand with a serious face, "
I'd better call you Miss Toyama. Please take care of me in the future."
(End of Chapter)