Chapter 418: Lives Are Still Cheaper

“Young Master Xu, may I sit in your car?”

Ye Tao stood outside the car window, took a deep breath, and looked at Xu Shaochen while speaking.

Yes, the person who specifically stopped the car to see Xu Shaochen was indeed Ye Tao.

“Please.”

Xu Shaochen raised a playful smile, then shifted his position slightly. He was curious to hear what Ye Tao wanted from him.

Could it be that after being beaten up last night, he’s started to enjoy it? Ye Tao opened the car door and sat inside.

“Long Yi, how long until we reach the hotel?”

Xu Shaochen asked.

“Boss, about ten more minutes.”

Xu Shaochen nodded and looked at Ye Tao, saying: “You heard that.”

Ye Tao understood. He had ten minutes, which was more than enough.

“Young Master Xu, I want to apologize for what happened last night. It was all because that bastard Ma Chengwu manipulated me, sowing discord…”

“Enough. If it’s just this nonsense, then don’t bother. The more you talk, the more foolish you appear.”

Xu Shaochen frowned, rudely cutting off his words.

Ye Tao’s face turned alternately pale and flushed with shame. He indeed felt humiliated by being used by Ma Chengwu, realizing how foolish he had been.

“Young Master Xu, I want to follow you.”

Ye Tao gritted his teeth and revealed his purpose to Xu Shaochen.

“Big brother, forget it. What good would following me do? You can’t even have children.”

Hearing this, Xu Shaochen laughed and said, what was this guy thinking?

Ye Tao replied seriously: “Young Master Xu, I’m not joking. I’m serious.”

“I’m not joking either. I’m serious too.” Xu Shaochen smiled. Looking at him, he said slowly, “Lots of people want to gain benefits from following me. What makes you special? What qualifications do you have? Hmm?”

Is this the legendary ‘if you can’t beat him, join him’?

However, Xu Shaochen’s side isn’t a dump where any trash can be picked up.

What’s the point of keeping someone who doesn’t bring benefits around? As a pet?

“Young Master Xu, don’t worry. I will definitely show you my sincerity.” Ye Tao spoke with determination. He already had a goal in mind.

Xu Shaochen smiled but didn’t take it seriously. There were very few things in this world that could truly move him. He asked, “Does Ye Yang know about this?”

“I’ve told Young Master Ye.” On this point, Ye Tao wasn’t foolish, but he knew that his relationship with Ye Yang would definitely grow distant in the future.

But that didn’t matter since his relationship with Ye Yang wasn’t that deep anyway.

Abandoning Ye Fan and siding with Xu Shaochen was truly a move that benefited him. At least his status on the surface would now match Ye Yang’s.

Xu Shaochen nodded: “Alright, get out of the car. Come back when you actually have something to show me.”

As Xu Shaochen finished speaking, Long Yi parked the car by the roadside.

“I will, Young Master Xu.”

Ye Tao replied earnestly, then opened the car door and stepped out.

Watching Xu Shaochen drive away, Ye Tao stood for a moment, then dialed a number: “Come pick me up at the intersection to the left of Songshan Hotel.”

Soon, a black BMW drove up. Ye Tao opened the door and got in.

The driver was a bearded middle-aged man named Gu Jun. He had once worked with private armed forces in the Myanmar-Vietnam area. He was extremely loyal to Ye Tao, a man willing to give his life for him.

He hadn’t followed Ye Tao last night. If he had been there, the conflict would definitely have escalated.

“Did you find the person I asked you to?”

Ye Tao rubbed his temples and asked wearily. These past two days had certainly been the most exhausting for him.

“The people from Yuenan are ready to act at any time. But, Young Master, that thing is very important. Are the risks we’re taking really worth it?”

While driving, Gu Jun voiced his concern. He felt somewhat guilty. In hindsight, he shouldn’t have told Ye Tao about this matter.

That object had caused private armed forces in Myanmar-Vietnam to fight to the death, with even local government troops getting involved. If they really got their hands on it, it would be like poking a hornet’s nest.

Hearing this, Ye Tao chuckled lightly: “Xu Shaochen wants to see sincerity. Do you even know what sincerity is? Do you think it’s just about that object? No, it’s that we’re willing to offend so many people just to send him a gift. That’s sincerity.”

“He needs to see that I’m a good dog, willing to do anything to please him. Only by showing my value can he make use of me. Understand?”

“Young Master…” Gu Jun felt uncomfortable hearing Ye Tao refer to himself as a dog.

Ye Tao interrupted him: “Do you think I’m degrading myself too much? I’ve merely found my proper place for the first time. The most pitiful thing is not even having value to be used by others.”

“Don’t worry. Once we get that thing, he’ll protect us. No one will stand by while someone beats the dog they’ve raised, because that’s a slap to their face. Xu Shaochen won’t allow it.”

Gu Jun didn’t speak further, but he felt that Ye Tao had changed too much and too quickly.

After leaving Songshan, his personality had drastically changed, and after returning to Songshan now, it had changed again. Whether for better or worse, he couldn’t tell.

Ye Tao also fell silent. He felt that he was growing.

Ever since leaving Songshan and arriving in Yijing, he had learned how to lower his pride and flatter others.

After returning to Songshan, he learned how to make himself valuable.

People, after all, grow through continuous setbacks and the harsh blows of reality.

As for that object, it’s said to have been found inside a pyramid.

The rumors outside are wild, but Ye Tao and many others only see it as an expensive antique.

The local armed forces in the Myanmar-Vietnam area were fighting over that object just to sell it at a high price and get a substantial amount of military funds.

While he could buy it from those armed forces with money, he didn’t want to, because he didn’t have enough money, and his father wouldn’t agree to spending so much on an antique.

Besides, if not enough people died, and not enough parties were offended, how would Xu Shaochen see his sincerity?

So it’s better to just steal it. It didn’t matter how many people died during the heist because they were just outlaws anyway.

After all, compared to antiques worth billions nowadays, lives are still cheaper.

Xu Shaochen had no idea that Ye Tao really went looking for “sincerity” for him, assuming he was just joking.

By now, Xu Shaochen had already returned to the hotel.

“Young Master Xu, I was just about to see if you were back.”

At that moment, Ye Yang’s door opened, and Ye Yang stepped out.

“Is something up? Let’s talk inside.”

Xu Shaochen nodded at him and then took out his room card to open his room.

Ye Yang followed him inside, looking around the room as he said, “Young Master Xu, I was planning to go to Jiangzhou to find you. There’s something I need your help with.”

Owing more favors and repaying them slowly. Is there a better way to deepen friendships? Of course, without getting too intimate.