Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1600 - 769: Having a Powerful Ally at the Top of the Food Chain

Vrrr vrrr vrrr—

The black briefcase by the table suddenly started vibrating.

He reached over, pulled open the zipper, took out an old brick-style phone, and hit the answer key.

A raspy voice processed through a voice changer came from the other end:

"How’s the situation on your side?"

The man leaned back against the rattan chair, eyes sweeping over the security guards patrolling in the distance, and lowered his voice:

"The intel you gave me is off. The security level here is two tiers higher than expected, thermal imaging sensors and Hidden Guards everywhere, this place is nothing like a normal hotel. The difficulty on this job just went way up."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

The voice on the other end instantly turned cold.

"You have to pay more."

The man sounded flat, like he was haggling at a wet market:

"The deposit has to go up by thirty percent. My boys are putting their lives on the line for you; we’re entitled to a decent price. As long as the final payment hits on time, we keep working."

The voice clearly froze for a beat, then snapped back in anger:

"You sewer rats think you can jack up the price on me?"

"Your demands are just too high, that’s all."

The man picked up his coffee cup and explained lazily:

"You don’t just want a series of explosions, you want to draw in every cop that catches wind of it and keep them tied up for at least twelve hours."

"When you do the math on that, whether my boys can exfiltrate safely is a complete unknown."

"Of course, if you think the price is too steep, then this job ends here. We can refund the deposit anytime."

He held the phone, expression steady, like he wasn’t worried at all about the other side rejecting his demand.

The other end went quiet for a moment.

A few seconds later, the raspy voice came back, calm again:

"I can give you the money, but if you move too slow and screw up my plans..."

"Heh, don’t worry."

The man’s lips curved slightly, a faint arc appearing:

"I already have a perfect plan. I can guarantee a hundred percent you’ll be satisfied."

"Pei Tianci, you better remember this."

The voice on the other end suddenly called him by name, volume rising.

Hearing his name, the man’s eyes behind the lenses narrowed at once, and the smile at the corner of his mouth vanished.

The other side let out a cold snort, his tone dripping with superiority:

"What our organization is capable of is beyond the imagination of mercenaries like you."

"Daozai is still lying in that underground clinic, and Gui and Song En’s families—where they’re hiding right now—we know perfectly well."

"If you dare take the money and play games, not only will every last one of you die, but not a single person you care about will live."

"Remember, I want results within three days. Otherwise, get ready to collect their bodies!"

With that, the other side hung up directly, leaving only the busy tone beeping in his ear.

Pei Tianci moved the phone away from his ear, stared at the screen for two seconds, then quietly stuffed it back into the briefcase.

A short-haired woman in a server’s uniform came over carrying a tray, set two drinks and a stack of nuts on the table, and smoothly sat down opposite him.

It was Du Juan, in a different disguise.

"Brother Tian, what did they say?"

She used the motion of tidying up the tray to ask in a low voice.

"They raised the money."

Pei Tianci lifted his iced Americano and took a sip; the ice knocked crisply against his teeth.

Du Juan noticed the change in his expression and didn’t press further.

Pei Tianci put the coffee cup down, one eyebrow lifting:

"Du Juan, have you pinned down the security layout of the resort?"

Du Juan gave a slight nod, then reported:

"There are four fixed Hidden Guards on the top floor of the main building and the high ground behind the mountain, outfitted with heavy firepower. They only deploy in emergencies."

"The patrol teams in the outer gardens and inside the building swap shifts every thirty minutes. The grounds here are huge—besides the main building and several auxiliary buildings, there’s a big golf course and a separate villa zone in back."

"On top of that, the hotel’s internal surveillance network is extremely dense. Each floor’s elevator lobby and every corridor intersection have high-def facial recognition cameras, and some areas even have infrared sensors installed."

"The security staff’s comms channels are specially encrypted; outsiders can’t easily cut in."

"That said, I managed to snag a full architectural floor plan of the resort and found that the underground pipe network and a few load-bearing walls have monitoring blind spots. We can plant more blast points there."

As she spoke, she pulled a folded blueprint from under the tray and slid it over.

Pei Tianci took it, unfolded it, and skimmed it.

Du Juan paused briefly, then went on:

"Brother Tian, your earlier guess was right. This resort is definitely not ordinary; the East City Association behind it has poured in security resources way beyond a standard hotel."

Pei Tianci looked at the route markings on the blueprint and spoke coolly:

"On the surface this is a resort, but underneath it’s really the East City Association’s underground casino and money pit. Plenty of big shots come here regularly to unwind and talk business."

"With that kind of massive interest at stake, the East City Association is going to take it very seriously. They’ll never allow outside forces to sabotage it and damage the reputation they’ve built up."

Du Juan agreed completely:

"So taking everything into account, I think the auxiliary building with the rehearsal hall is more suitable as the main battleground. The hotel’s main building is big, has many floors, and with all that tight security, operating in there would be way more troublesome."

Pei Tianci refolded the blueprint and slipped it into the inside pocket of his suit:

"Plans never keep up with changes. We can make the TV station crew’s auxiliary building our primary focus, but we can’t completely write off the hotel either."

"If necessary, we may fall back to the main building, use those more valuable VIP guests to pressure the police, and buy ourselves a window to retreat."