hooklinebooks Chapter 4: The Urgent Countdown to Debt
Chapter 4: The Urgent Countdown to Debt
In the early morning in Ruili, the air is filled with the unique humidity and dusty smell of the border region. This is the largest jadeite rough trading market in the country, and also Lin Yu's "hunting ground".
Although yesterday's battle gave him over 500,000 yuan in working capital and a valuable piece of imperial green jade, Lin Yu's brows did not unfurrow.
The phone screen was lit up, and the black app interface looked like a greedy mouth.
[Mission Progress: 570,000 / 1,000,000]
[1 hour and 32 minutes remaining until mission failure.]
[Warning: If the mission fails, the debt will increase by 1 million.]
"We're still short over 400,000..." Lin Yu rubbed his sore eyes.
He was currently in front of an open-air raw material stall on Old Myanmar Street in Ruili. Unlike a public auction, this place was more like a large "dumping ground," with tons of waste piled up there, costing tens or hundreds of yuan per kilogram, depending entirely on one's eyesight and luck.
"Lin Yu?"
A clear voice came from behind him. Lin Yu turned around and saw a girl in camouflage, with healthy tanned skin, staring at him with wide eyes. She was Acha, his childhood sweetheart who grew up in Xishuangbanna, and now a special police reserve officer with a tomboyish personality.
"Acha? What are you doing here?" Lin Yu asked, somewhat surprised.
"I went back to my hometown on vacation, and I heard you were here..." Acha looked him up and down, her brows furrowed. "I heard something happened to your family? And that Zhao Kun, did he come looking for trouble?"
Before Lin Yu could answer, a screeching sound of brakes interrupted their conversation.
Three black Land Cruiser Prados drove recklessly into the market, blocking the stall exits. The doors opened, and Zhao Kun, dressed in designer casual wear, swaggered in with the four burly men from yesterday.
"Hey, Young Master Lin, you're pretty fast." Zhao Kun toyed with a walnut in his hand, a sinister smile on his face. "What, hiding in Ruili to collect scraps to pay off your debts?"
Upon seeing this scene, the surrounding stall owners and jade gamblers quickly distanced themselves. Such scenes of debt collection were common on the Yunnan border, and no one wanted to get involved.
"Zhao Kun, are you ever going to stop?" Lin Yu stood in front of Acha, looking at him coldly. "The debt agreement says one month, and it's not time yet."
"One month is the total." Zhao Kun walked up to Lin Yu, their noses almost touching. "But don't you know the rules? Since it's a 'good faith deposit,' it has to be calculated by the day. If you can't come up with five million today, I'll treat it as a 'breach of contract.' I know this market well. If this stall gets shut down, this broken rock of yours will become our debt settlement."
Five million? This is clearly extortion!
Lin Yu's heart sank. He knew Zhao Kun was deliberately picking a fight, trying to drive him into a corner.
"I don't have five million." Lin Yu took a deep breath. "But I'm in the business world. Give me three days."
"Three days?" Zhao Kun sneered, waving his hand to his men, "Smash this stall! If you're not going to do business, then don't do it at all."
"stop!"
Suddenly, Acha let out a delicate shout and flashed forward, blocking the path of the burly men. Although she looked petite, her grappling and fighting skills were no joke. The men hesitated to advance.
Zhao Kun narrowed his eyes, looking at Acha with some surprise: "Oh, you have an accomplice? Little sister, don't meddle in other people's business. This is a debt of ten billion. Can you handle it?"
"Debts are debts, but is causing trouble a rule of the underworld?" Acha refused to back down.
"Fine, very well." Zhao Kun was furious, pointing his finger at Lin Yu's nose. "Lin Yu, I'll give you a chance. Since you're gambling on stones, then go for it big. Aren't there machines here that broadcast the stone cutting process live?"
Zhao Kun pointed to a smart stone-cutting machine connected to a large screen next to him. It was a "cloud viewing" live-streaming device that the stall owner had set up to attract customers from other places.
"If you can double your initial investment within an hour and reach a turnover of ten million, I'll believe you have the ability and let you go. If you can't..." Zhao Kun smiled sinisterly, "then don't blame me for being impolite and leaving your hands behind!"
This is being forced into a corner.
Lin Yu glanced at his phone; the countdown had changed to 58 minutes.
There is still a shortfall of more than 400,000 in the task.
"Okay." Lin Yu nodded. "It's a deal."
He turned around and looked at the stall piled high with scrap. Since speed was the priority, he had no choice but to gamble on those "unfathomable" rough stones.
"Boss, I want those few pieces." Lin Yu pointed to a few inconspicuous grayish-white stones in the corner, priced at a total of 98,000.
"Lin Yu, are you crazy?" Acha exclaimed anxiously. "That's scrap material that several groups of people rejected. You can't even tell anything from the outer layer. Ninety thousand yuan down the drain?"
"We'll try anything, no matter what," Lin Yu said in a low voice. "Acha, do me a favor. Turn on the live stream and make the title 'Bankrupt Rich Kid's Last Stand: 90,000 Yuan for 9 Million.' Make sure it attracts viewers."
Acha was stunned for a moment. Although she didn't understand what Lin Yu wanted to do, she knew that she could only trust him now. She turned around and ran to operate the control panel of the stone-cutting machine.
The live stream started soon.
"Hey everyone, today we're live-streaming the cutting of a gemstone! The star of the show is this handsome guy, who's supposedly going to try and win ten million with just 666! Everyone, give him a thumbs up!"
Although Acha has a wild personality, she has a loud voice, and just a few words from her attracted the attention of the onlookers and online viewers.
Lin Yu ignored the surrounding noise. He took a deep breath and placed his hand on the pile of scrap.
"System, this is my last bit of capital. Lend me some 'energy'."
The phone vibrated, and the black app popped up a notification: [Host detected to be in dire straits. 'Overdraft Mode' activated: Temporarily borrows intermediate-level abilities, but requires paying high 'interest' (subsequent missions will be doubly difficult). Confirm?]
"confirm!"
A current several times stronger than yesterday instantly flowed through Lin Yu's body, his eyes instantly became bloodshot, and his vision became like X-rays, penetrating through the stone.
The first piece is empty.
The second piece is cracked.
The third piece...
Lin Yu's hand stopped on a rock that was only the size of a fist, with a pitted and uneven surface that looked like dog poop.
Under the system's view, deep within this stone lies a cluster of purple, as clear as spring water! Moreover, it is a rare "spring with color" (violet with green), and although it is not large, its texture and water content are excellent!
"This is it." Lin Yu picked up the stone, then randomly picked two more to use as cover, and headed straight for the stone-cutting machine.
"Shall we cut it?" the stone-cutting master asked.
"Wipe it." Lin Yu pointed to the edge of the "dog shit" rough stone, "Gently wipe it from here."
Start the sander.
Everyone held their breath. Zhao Kun crossed his arms, a mocking expression on his face, as if watching a clown performance.
"Sizzle sizzle..."
The sanding strip wore away a layer of skin.
The chef stopped and rinsed it with water. The cut surface revealed a faint purple hue, but it was very dry and had little moisture.
"It's collapsed." Some people around shook their heads.
"This material is no good; it's too dry and purple."
Zhao Kun laughed loudly: "Lin Yu, you've lost 90,000 yuan, but you still have 900,000 yuan left? Don't tell me that's all you're capable of."
Lin Yu said expressionlessly, "Keep wiping, deeper."
The foreman glanced at him and continued working.
I wiped another centimeter.
Suddenly, the sander made a strange sound, as if it had cut into something hard.
"It's green!" the master exclaimed.
When the powerful flashlight shone on it, the purple color instantly became richer and more translucent, like a piece of purple glass, shimmering in the sunlight!
"Glassy jadeite with spring-like colors?!"
"My God! Such a small piece of material actually yielded glassy jade?"
The chat room exploded with comments.
"I'll offer 500,000!" a jeweler who had been watching shouted out the price.
"Six hundred thousand!" another voice immediately raised the price.
Lin Yu didn't stop; he pointed to the other two stones: "Keep cutting."
The next ten minutes were nothing short of a miracle. The other two stones, while not yielding imperial green, did produce high-quality, icy-textured jadeite with floating patterns. Together, the three stones instantly sold for 120 million!
Lin Yu looked at the amount that had just been deposited into his mobile banking account.
120 million.
Adding to the previous 57, it has now exceeded 100 million!
"System, transfer funds."
Lin Yu silently recited in his heart.
The numbers on the phone screen instantly dropped to zero, and the money was directly "swallowed" by the system.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for completing the preliminary task for the "Small Goal".]
[Reward Distribution: The basic "Eye of Treasure Appraisal" has been unlocked for permanent use.]
[System module upgrade: Unlocked basic functions for "Business Analysis" and "Risk Prediction".]
A warm current flowed through his body, and Lin Yu felt his mind was clearer than ever before. The complex business data and market fluctuation curves seemed to be directly imprinted in his mind.
He looked up at Zhao Kun, who was staring in disbelief.
"Zhao Kun," Lin Yu's voice was eerily calm, "I can give you the five million in earnest money right now. But I don't intend to give it to you."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Kun came to his senses, his face darkening.
"What I mean is, I will repay this debt. But I won't let you lead me by the nose." Lin Yu stepped forward, his aura actually overpowering Zhao Kun. "Moreover, it won't be long before I make your boss spit out everything he's swallowed, with interest."
Zhao Kun was startled by Lin Yu's gaze, but he quickly recovered and became enraged: "Kid, don't push your luck! Since you have money, hand over the five million first!"
Just then, several SWAT vehicles with flashing lights arrived and surrounded the scene.
"Don't move!"
Acha flashed her identification and looked coldly at Zhao Kun: "I recorded the entire conversation. Threatening with a weapon, extortion—Zhao Kun, you are suspected of serious illegal activities. Come with us."
Zhao Kun's expression changed drastically: "You...you're a police officer?"
Lin Yu looked at Zhao Kun, who was pinned to the ground, then turned to Acha and nodded: "Thanks."
"Don't thank me." Acha put away her ID and looked at Lin Yu. "Those stones just now, did you just guess or are you really that skilled?"
Lin Yu smiled and looked at the bustling market in the distance.
"Acha, this is just the beginning. I not only want to pay off the ten billion, but I also want to bring the Lin family back to its former glory."
On my phone, a new task has just been added:
[Use the "Business Analytics" capability to establish the first jade processing factory in Ruili.]
[Reward: Intermediate "Eye of Treasure Appraisal" (can see through antique artifacts).]
Lin Yu clenched his fist. Antiques? It seems that his next step is not only to collect jade, but also to enter the antique market.
"Let's go," Lin Yu patted Acha on the shoulder, "I'll take you to eat rice noodles to celebrate our escape."
Sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the streets of Ruili. Lin Yu knew that his path to success had only just begun.