Chapter 369: That’s Not Haggling
Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
With Madam Grace was busy rescuing her son and Luther’s people were busy rescuing their old boss and serving their new boss, the only two forces from the money-laundering organization that had stayed behind in China decided to temporarily ignore the organization account that should be quite important.
Certain things might be important, but it did not mean that they were irreplaceable. For Jennifer, how to make use of this opportunity to expand her forces was the most important, and for Madam Grace, even though she could afford to lose a son, this was an interesting and completely new experience for her.
These people’s attitudes provided more than enough time for Han Chu to find and locate a suitable buyer.
…
“This is a special agent from Egmont. He came to negotiate and discuss the price with us because he heard we have something valuable on our hands.” When the information inside the code was only half-way decoded, Han Chu brought back a black-haired, black-eyed man who looked like he had a mixed heritage due to his impressive facial features. Han Chu made the introduction and said, “Ol’ K, show him part of the information you’ve decrypted. Mr. Ray wishes to confirm the authenticity of our information.”
The FATF or Financial Action Task Force was an official, intergovernmental organization and thus followed many of the international laws. This formed a contrast to the Egmont Group, who had less rules. In fact, strictly speaking, the ways most Egmont agents obtained their information could be seen as illegal like through whistleblowing, leaks, and so on… As a seller of illegal information, Han Chu admired a group who found a way around the rules like Egmont. Moreover, if they were willing to pay the price and not intent on brainwashing him to surrender the information with the value of love and justice, Han Chu believed that he would admire them even more…
Ray got his phone and, with a few clicks, pulled out a business chart of a certain big companies on the screen of the old phone. He compared it to the information that Ol’ K had pulled up. He examined the charts and referenced the numbers. Then, Ray put his phone away and nodded. Very politely, he pushed the laptop back to Ol’ K. “The data has no problem, and it is very important to us.”
“In that case, name your price.” Han Chu was calm.
“…” Ray was stumped. Then he saw the data that kept on surfacing on Ol’ K’s computer, and he gasped in shock and suppressed his excitement. Even so, he could not stop himself from repeating with emphasis. “This store of information is very important!”
After a pause, he stressed, “Not only for us.”
“I know, so with this information in your grasp, your group will be able to do many things,” Han Chu replied calmly. “So, your price is?”
Finally realizing that the man before him did not have any intention of sharing the information freely for the sake of humanity, Ray sighed with regret. “If that’s the case, I’ll need to contact my superior. As you should know, a group like our has a limited budget.”
Without financial support from the government, without a large-scale method to collect money, Egmont’s source of income was kind donations and the reward they obtained after resolving a financial crime. Sometimes, the victim might present them with part of the recovered fund as thanks. In reality, other than the few official clerks and a small number of members at the group’s headquarters in Canada, most of the members were freelancers and volunteers. In other words, these people belonged to other official bodies and had permission from their government to assist and share information with Egmont for ease of investigation.
Therefore, compared to an actual official organization, even though Egmont enjoyed respect from most, in reality, they were very strained.
To be frank, they were poor!
It was a sad story indeed.
“200,000? No, no, you’re not going to get anything with that price, trust me…” Even though Ray moved out onto the balcony, closed the door, and turned around while lowering his voice on the phone probably to preserve the organization’s image, this did nothing to stop the alien Sister Shuang’s curiosity. Although, to be fair, she was not really eavesdropping; Ye Shuang only needed to stay where she was and pay attention to the movements outside. Her good hearing would naturally capture what Ray was saying.
“The man does not possess a great sense of justice, and his nationality has already decided that he will not have the same stance as us.” Ray tried his best to explain. “I’ve already compared part of the information; the chip is really valuable to us. Not only that, I hear it also contains the location for a bunch of illegal military firearms. If we purchase this, we’ll be able to give that to another department to collect some favor…”
Ye Shuang turned around to ask Han Chu, “By the way, Brother Han, are there parts about the illegal military arms on the chip?”
Han Chu looked at her confusedly like he thought that this was a strange question to ask. “Of course, that part will be isolated to hand over to the government, or do you have any other idea?”
“…Not really.” Ye Shuang silently lit a candle for Ray. “Are you sure it’s okay not to tell our buyer that?”
“They’re an anti-corruption organization, not an anti-terrorism group,” Han Chu said matter-of-factly. “Military arms are illegal, and naturally, this should go under the government’s jurisdiction. Do they serious think they’re going to get information about the military arms for free by purchasing the other set of information?”
So called tragedies always happened due to misunderstandings. Ye Shuang listened to the conversation and a number that went up. She silently removed her conscience and decided to swallow this news.
“Much apologies, but we’ve finished the discussion.” Ray soon returned from the balcony. He carried a bright smile on his face like he had just obtained a victory. “After approval from the group, I can provide 2,000,000 for this set of information. Is the price acceptable to you?”
“The currency?” Han Chu asked with a frown.
“The currency of your country, of course,” Ray answered.
Han Chu opened his lips and was about to say something when Ye Shuang pulled on his shirt and leaned into his ear to whisper, “I think their bottom line is about twice of the offering price.”
This was what she heard on the phone.
Thus, Han Chu asked for a bigger price without a shift to his expression. “We’re only selling it at 4,000,000.”
Ray was temporarily silenced. He was in disbelief at the man’s accurate asking price. At the same time, he was slightly impressed by the man’s boldness. “Don’t you think you’re asking for too much? We’re not haggling at the market; you can’t purposely call for a high price, hoping that we’ll get to a middle point eventually.”
Even if it was a haggle, rarely would someone have such an exaggerated demand at the very beginning.