readx; Chapter 228 [Wealthy Night Banquet]

I remember watching the movie "Journey to the West" many years ago, there was a fragment in it: the second leader of the Axe Gang picked up the demon mirror to take a self-portrait, and it showed a pig's head, which scared him and shouted: "Pig! ”

Frankly, I'm in the same mood at the moment!

I almost called out that classic line subconsciously. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Because the face that was close at hand, the fat on the cheeks of the face, the eyes that had been squeezed into two gaps that were almost invisible, and the nose that looked like garlic...... All this has almost detached itself from the concept of the human face......

Thankfully, my memory reminds me that I happen to know a human with a pig's face—one happens to know.

I took a deep breath: "Gao Yang! Hello! ”

Gao Yang still looks obscene, holding a glass of red wine in his hand, smiling obscenely, and wearing a clown-like suit - in fact, the suit itself is good - but in the face of a pig wearing a suit, how to look at it makes people feel uncomfortable.

"I didn't expect to see you here, but you don't seem happy." Gao Yang grinned.

I glanced at him and said lightly, "What about you?" Aren't you here too? Aren't you standing in the corner like me? ”

"Why not?" Gao Yang shrugged his shoulders, put his head next to my ear, and smiled, "What a fun thing it is to stand here and observe...... Look at these people......" He stretched out his finger and pointed, casually looking at the old and young people in high-end dresses in the hall, and smiled: "Do you feel anything?" ”

"Feelings?" I frowned.

Gao Yang smiled incomprehensibly: "It's as if we are standing in the real world, and they ...... It's just a tank of goldfish in the bathtub. ”

"Goldfish?" I whistled and laughed, "You are the first to compare the U.S. Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State to goldfish." ”

Gao Yang shrugged his shoulders - this action made the fat on his face tremble, and his voice was still so lazy: "Why not? They are in their world, and they are very happy to play...... Today you calculate me, tomorrow I will eat you again, the day after tomorrow everyone will be friends, no matter how big the day after tomorrow everyone will turn against each other...... I'm standing outside and watching the excitement anyway, and whoever lives or dies has nothing to do with me. ”

I was silent for a while, looked at him deeply, and said slowly: "Gao Yang, you are a smart person!" ”

Gao Yang immediately shrunk his neck and said with a grin: "Forget it, I'm just a wreck with no ambitions, it's enough to have wine, women, and money every day." It's you...... Hey. ”

I shook my head, "How did you end up here?" According to your temper, you don't like to participate in this kind of banquet, huh? ”

Gao Yang smiled faintly: "You don't understand this, I am the son of a gambler, if there is anything in the world that attracts me, it is the gambling table." The party at John Depp's house, how can you play a few games in the evening - there are rich people here, but there are few real masters......"

I glanced at him: "You are not short of money. ”

"Yes, I'm not short of money, but I love games! Gambling money is a game I love! I'm here for the game - it's just a game, and if there is no game in this world, what's the point of living? Besides, is there a safer casino in the world? It's safer here than the most reputable casinos in Las Vegas......" Gao Yang pointed to the security guards standing around the hall: "Look at those people, if I'm not mistaken, they should all be special forces, maybe they are SEALs, that ...... The tall man looked like an officer, maybe a lieutenant...... Maybe there's some kind of Distinguished Cross or something...... And the waiters who are walking back and forth......" he pointed and snickered, "Why are there a few CIA agents secretly mixed in here?" You must know that tonight this is the concentration of the upper class society in the United States, and the security level is definitely the highest level, and tonight it is definitely safer than the White House...... I bet if Uncle bin Laden sends someone to drop a bomb here tonight, the whole world will have to fly the flag at half-mast tomorrow! ”

I was amused by his words, but Gao Yang changed his words: "What about you? How did you get here? I'm here to have fun, but you seem to be looking for trouble...... It's as if you're not afraid of trouble by nature! Aren't you troubled enough? ”

"There's always trouble, and I'm just naturally more attracted to trouble than the average person." I had just finished saying this when I saw John Depp coming towards me from afar.

Gao Yang pursed his lips and said in a low voice: "Look, your trouble is coming, I'll go first." With that, he patted me on the shoulder.

"Have a good time at the table tonight......" I smiled - my smile was very sincere, and I had great respect in my heart for such a man - he was a really smart man, and I said lightly, "And ...... Thanks for the suggestion! ”

"What?" Gao Yang was stunned for a moment.

I smiled implicitly, "Thank you anyway." ”

I tapped him on the shoulder, and walked up to John Dypp.

"Why is a man standing in the corner?" John Depp said to me with a smile on his face.

"Nothing, meet a friend." I replied simply.

John Depp glanced at Gao Yang, who had already walked away, and said with a smile: "You mean him?" That's an interesting person. ”

I was noncommittal and smiled casually: "Don't you have to accompany those VIPs?" ”

"You're the real guest of honor for me tonight!" John Depp smiled lightly: "You come with me, I'll take you to see something interesting." ”

With that, he led me around the side of the hall to the back, through a side door, and into a small elevator upstairs.

We walked through another hallway, and he led me to a large mahogany door, and said with a light smile, "Go in." ”

I smiled slightly: "What's in it?" Do you want me to shout at Sesame to open the door? ”

John Depp laughed, pushed open the door and walked in.

I took a deep breath and muttered in a voice that I could only hear, "It's just a tank of goldfish......

The room is large, and it can be seen that this is a VIP lounge, which is simply furnished, but it feels very heavy and luxurious. There are no windows in the room, but the ventilation system is very good, and it doesn't feel depressing at all. There was a thick carpet on the ground, and I bet that even if someone as heavy as Gao Yang came to run around on it, there would never be any footsteps!

There were already two men sitting in the room, one of whom I knew but didn't expect to see here, the old Denel of the Dawson family, and the other I didn't know. When they saw me walk in, both of them stood up and greeted me with a smile.

The old man, whom I didn't know, smiled at me and stretched out his hand, and said lightly in an understated tone, "Hello! Mr. Chen Yang, I'm Martin; Locke. ”

His tone was very flat, but when he said that name, I couldn't help but feel a thud in my heart!

The old man in front of him is the current head of the Locke family, the helmsman of the largest arms dealer in the United States! When it comes to real power, he is even greater than the president of the United States...... He had a very thin face, looked older than I had expected, and blue eyes with a piercing gaze. His hair was a little gray but meticulously combed, and there were deep and subtle wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, which added a bit of old age and majesty to him.

I took a deep breath and said in the smoothest voice possible, "I didn't think you'd see me in person, Mr. Locke!" ”

Denel said softly on the side: "You don't have to be too polite, you are qualified to come here." ”

I smiled lightly, glanced at old Denel, and suddenly smiled: "You are here too...... To put it this way...... You're ready to work with the Locke family? ”

Old Locke's voice was very pleasant, and he smiled: "Young man, Old Denel said a lot of extraordinary things about you in front of me, which made me very interested. ”

I sighed, "I think he's pulling me into the water, you know, I'm a very lazy person, and I'm most afraid of trouble." ”

Old Locke was noncommittal to my words, but said in a very deep tone: "But we still chose you in the end, you know, we have a lot of choices. ”

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

John Depp smiled beside me and said, "Just look at it." ”

Then we walked to the middle of the room, and John Depp didn't know where to take out something like a remote control, and pressed a random button, and the wall facing me suddenly slowly opened, and the two sides of the wall were closed in, and a large screen was exposed inside the wall. Then the screen flashed, and I was surprised by the image on it......

It was clearly a room - very similar in furnishings and furnishings to the one I was staying in, and probably one of the lounges here.

But the two people in the picture, a man and a woman, surprised me very much.

The young man inside was sitting on a chair, his face was very pale, his eyes were blood-red, his chest was rising and falling violently, and he seemed to be very emotionally unstable. This person Huo Ran is Wang Hao!!

He looked a lot thinner and haggard, his face that was originally very sunny and handsome, but now he looked as pale as a vampire, his eyes were deeply sunken, his lips were already a little blue, the suit on his body had been thrown aside, and the top button of his shirt had been torn. He picked up a bottle of wine, bit the lid open with his teeth, and poured it into his mouth.

The young woman standing next to him, biting her lip and looking sad and sad, stretched out one hand, as if she wanted to pull Wang Hao, but she couldn't bear to pull him harder, and the other hand covered her mouth, trying not to let herself cry - but her tears had already flowed.

"Susu ......," I couldn't help but sigh under my breath.

"You know both." John Depp said with a blank face: "I can tell you that they are now in the downstairs room, just one floor below where you are standing now...... But don't worry, they won't hear anything we do here. ”

I glanced at John Depp, and he continued: "Wang Hao came to us, and it can be seen that he has been having a bad time lately, so he has decided to take refuge in us, and it seems that he also knows a little bit about our unhappiness with the Dawson family. ”

Old Denel sighed: "His stupid actions have completely angered Mike!" This week, Mike sent someone to kill him. But I secretly and deliberately let him go and let him slip away. ”

I sneered in my heart: you let him go? I just don't want to get into trouble! After all, if Wang Hao is really dead, then this account will definitely be counted on the head of the Dawson family - if it is just an ordinary person, the Dawson family will just kill him, but Wang Hao is a person with a bit of identity, and it is always the trouble of the Dawson family to kill such a person! Old Denel doesn't want to be in trouble for Mike - you know, with the support of the Locke family, Mike won't be a family for a few days, and the future leader of the Dawson family will definitely be Old Denell! He didn't want to leave anything in trouble!

I frowned: "Wang Hao, why is he like this?" ”

Old Locke smiled faintly: "It's nothing, he came to ask for our cooperation, but we rejected him." It seems that he is also smart enough to know that we are now enemies of Mike, and that he can only survive if he is sheltered by us. But in my opinion, he has no value, and he himself, and his company, that billion-dollar fund, has no attraction to us. So I refused. ”

John Depp said softly, "Father didn't even see him. ”

"Please be seated, Chen Yang." Old Locke pointed to the seat behind me and smiled, "You know, not everyone can walk into this room. The seat you sit in, the president of the United States comes, and he sits there. ”

I just sat down, and when I heard this, I couldn't help but have a bitter taste in my mouth, and said with a wry smile: "It seems that you really think of me, at least I don't have more than a billion dollars." I can't compare to Wang Hao in this regard. ”

Old Locke pointed to his head and said lightly: "But your value here is far more than that number - Old Denel told me how you helped Mike become a parent, and your plans to help Mike develop the Dawson family, frankly, I appreciate it very much." In fact, I even agree with Denel Sr. that if you are given twenty or thirty years and Mike develops slowly according to your plan, maybe you can one day really go to that level and turn the Dawson family into a second Locke. ”

I smiled wryly, "What's the use of that?" Will you allow a second Locke family to appear? ”

"No, it won't." This time it was John Depp who spoke: "We will not allow a potential enemy to grow slowly. ”

"Okay." I glanced at the screen again, and then turned my gaze back to Old Locke: "I think Old Denel has reached some kind of agreement with you, otherwise he wouldn't be here, then I'm sure that with your power, you can completely deal with Mike - no matter how powerful Mike is, he can't fight the American political axe!" With the power of the Locke family, it can almost be regarded as half of the American political axe! So, what else do you need me to do? What can I do for you to take advantage of? ”

Old Locke glanced at Denel, and Old Denel sighed: "Chen Yang!" If you have a deeper understanding of the Dawson family now, except for Mike and me, no one can have a deeper understanding than you, you must know that Mike's plans, what legalization and corporatization, are almost all formulated by you with him! We need a smart person! Clever people who know the Dawson family! A brain! A mastermind! I'm old, and I'm not up to the job, and the current members of the Dawson family are a bunch of idiots! So, I need you to help me run the Dawson family together! There's no one better fit than you! ”

"Helping you run the Dawson family?" I laughed, "When?" After Mike died? ”

To my surprise, John Depp replied very simply, "Yes!" ”

His tone was very casual and his voice was not loud, but no one would think he was joking!

My heart sank, and I knew - Mike was dead this time!

Locke Sr. added: "Of course, it is impossible to follow exactly what you and Mike had planned - the future development of the Dawson family must be within the framework allowed by the Locke family. ”

I smiled lightly, glanced at old Denel with a slight mockery, and said coldly: "That is, to turn the Dawson family into a puppet of the Locke family?" A follower? ”

Old Denell's face didn't change at all, but he said lightly: "It's not as bad as you think." Remember that parable of mine? We continue to be a car, but we can develop into the best car in the world! Instead of dreaming of one day catching up with a plane! ”

I turned my head to look at Old Locke and said slowly, "Is this a temptation or a threat?" If I say no, if I refuse, then am I going to die here tonight? Or will you make me disappear from this world? ”

"Of course we won't." John Depp smiled, "That's not our style - but you'll make sure you're on our side now until the Dawson family has a smooth change of head." But Chen Yang ...... I don't see what reason you have to refuse. ”

"Oh?"

John Depp said: "By cooperating with us, you will have the greatest benefit guarantee and safety guarantee!" Together with Denel Sr., you will control all of the Dawson family's business rights! In other words, you can almost be considered an invisible parent! You should understand what kind of identity the Dawson family heads are. How much benefit this status can bring you! At the same time, you will become an ally of our Locke family, and you will receive our strong support for your future career development! You should understand what this promise means! In other words, you've almost reached the pinnacle of power that ordinary people can only dream of! It only takes you a few years - and you'll be on a real equal footing with the big guys downstairs! ”

I took a deep breath, then slowly spit it out, and said slowly, "It's tempting indeed!" It's true! I can imagine what you're saying - it's tempting! ”

My mood suddenly became extremely calm, I looked at Old Locke, and said lightly: "A year or two ago, maybe I would have promised you, because at that time, I was still a small person, a little person who wanted to get ahead!" It was also at that time that a big man took me into this world, and took me to fully appreciate the strangeness of this world, as well as my deception! I must say, I was eye-opened! The world is indeed alluring - the pinnacle of power! Hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as a status and aura that ordinary people can't reach...... I know that if I refuse this, you will definitely take me for a fool, an idiot! But for now, I'm going to say ......"

My gaze slowly swept over the three people in the room, and then I said slowly, word by word: "I refuse!" ”

Old Denel frowned: "Why?" Aren't you still satisfied with our terms? Or what you need, you can tell us. Chen yang! What do you need? ”

"Free!!" I exclaimed, "I want freedom!" ”

I looked at the three men in the room, and in a sense, they were all real bigwigs, the head of the Locke family and the future head of the family - even the elder Denel would definitely become the head of the Dawson family in the future - after Mike's death, it was almost certain!

"Just now, on my way here, I once asked a man a question, and I asked him, if a person has a knife in his hand, would you rather be the hand holding the knife, or the knife? The man told me that he would rather do nothing! No knives, no hands! Obviously, you're all the same hand with the knife! And I, although I have always worked hard, hope to one day be a hand with a knife! But in fact, all along, my character was that knife! I'm using this as a weapon in someone else's hand! I was also unwilling! I am not willing to be used by others all the time! I also used to have ambitions to get rid of the fate of being a knife through my own struggle! I want to be the hand with the knife! So I've been working on it, and then struggling and swaying in one whirlpool after another, trying to get out of my fate! But I can't get rid of it! ”

"Now I realise that I was wrong all along! It is those ambitions of mine, those aspirations in my heart, that make me always want to get rid of but can't! I used to think about being that hand! But it never occurred to me that there was another way to go! That is, not a knife, and no hand!! Freely!! No freedom, nothing!! I don't want to be a tool in anyone's hands anymore! I don't want to be a knife in anyone's hand anymore! I don't want to be taken advantage of by anyone anymore!! ”

"Maybe you don't understand! But I'm really tired of it now! What do you ask me for? I can tell you that I want a simple life! I want to be free! I don't want trouble! I just want to do what I love! I just want to be the father of my children, the husband of my wife, I just want to go home every day and hold my beloved woman! Even if it's just sitting in the living room and watching boring TV! I just want to smoke and drink every day!! ”

I said so much in one breath that I didn't realize that I was standing up excitedly.

Old Denel was already a little silly, while Old Locke was brooding. John Depp looked at me, his expression calmest.

"Chen Yang!" John Depp was the first to speak: "I'm sorry! ”

"I'm sorry what?" I smiled softly.

"Say sorry for bringing you here!" John Depp said slowly in his characteristic calm tone, "Now I can understand what your heart wants. So be it! How about we make a deal? ”

"Deal?" I frowned.

John Depp laughed, and he smiled gently: "Yes, the deal!" You can't help Mike with anything more from today! That's the condition I'm proposing! And then...... Half a month later...... You're free! I promise that in the future, we will have others! No one will ever trouble you again! We won't ask you to do anything more! ”

"What you said is true?" I was stunned.

"Yes!" John Depp nodded: "My friend, you make it difficult for me, but...... I promise you! He turned his head and glanced at old Locke: "Father! Please grant my request too! Because, I already regard Chen Yang as my friend! As his friend, I hope to be able to help him achieve his wishes! I'm also reluctant to force my friend to do something he doesn't want to do. ”

Old Locke's gaze hung over my face for a full ten seconds, and then he suddenly smiled and said lightly, "Okay! I grant your request. Because you said it, he's your friend. ”

Old Denel's face was a little dull: "Chen Yang, are you sure?" ”

"I'm sure!"

"Alright, Denel." Old Locke said lightly: "I have promised John, this is my promise." ”

Now that old Locke had already spoken, old Denel didn't say anything more.

"So...... Can I go now? "I looked at old Locke.

"Yes." John Depp replied to me, "You can leave here at any time, you are our guest tonight, of course you have absolute freedom!" You can go out through that door for as long as you want and take the elevator back to the lobby. He stood up and sent me to the door with a smile.

I turned to look at Locke and Denel and said loudly, "Thank you both!" ”

Then I whispered to John Depp, "Especially you! Thank you! Counting that time in Las Vegas, you've already helped me twice! You really are a good person! ”

The corners of John Depp's mouth rose, and he smiled faintly: "I still have to say, I'm not a good person, but we're friends, aren't we?" ”

"Yes!" I smiled sincerely: "In the future, I will occasionally come to the United States to go on vacation to Las Vegas, and the next time I see you, I must have learned to play cards!" ”

John Depp blinked and smiled, "I hope so, but I like your particular way of gambling more." ”

Closing the door to the room, I stood alone in the living room, breathed a long sigh of relief, and sighed in a low voice: "A tank of goldfish...... Hehe. ”

I glanced at the elevator door at the end of the hallway, and the image I had just seen on the screen in the room occurred to me.

Maybe I should go downstairs to that room to see our old friend now, shouldn't I?

I walked into the elevator and pressed the floor below......

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