Zeng Shisan, You're Just a Fool

"Not only can I call Zeng Shisan with just a few words, but I can also make him bring the ruby. Do you dare to bet?" Uncle Qi's words made both Tom and Uncle Wei hesitant to believe.

"Have you ever thought about why Zeng Shisan would spare my sorry old dog's life in this situation?" Uncle Qi's voice grew smaller as he spoke, "I bear a great deal of responsibility for what happened, so... let me bring Zeng Shisan here and create an opportunity for you, Tom, to seize the ruby."

Being able to summon Zeng Shisan would indeed be the best option.

Tom had just discovered that the blue crystal could make him invisible, but as soon as he moved a little too much, the invisibility effect disappeared. So he could only stay still. In that case, what better way than to summon Zeng Shisan to his side than to ambush him like this?

Tom and Uncle Wei exchanged a glance, and Uncle Wei asked, "Qi, are you sure about this? Or are you planning to tell Zeng Shisan about Tom's situation in exchange for your own life?"

Uncle Qi burst into laughter, but after a few laughs, the pain from his wound made him grit his teeth.

"Wei, I've been in this game for decades. When have I ever failed to rely on betraying others to save my own life? I wish Zeng Shisan would be eaten alive by ants right now. If you help me fulfill this wish, I'll die with a smile on my face."

Uncle Wei nodded at Tom, indicating that he could accept it. That was tantamount to Uncle Wei personally vouching for Uncle Qi.

"To increase your trust, let me have a few words alone with this young man. Once I've spoken, he'll know my sincerity."

Uncle Wei immediately led the others far away, leaving them space to talk.

"Tom, do you know why Zeng Shisan spared my life?" 

Tom didn't give a direct answer. "Zeng Shisan isn't sentimental, so it's not because he took pity on you for being his former boss."

"That's right. Actually, it's very simple. I've seen the gems you brought before."

"Seen them before? How long ago?"

"Six months ago! That night, I took Zeng Shisan, along with Qiang Zai and a few brothers, for a massage. On the way back, we saw a man in black lying on the ground, with a handcuffed briefcase on his wrist."

"Six months ago?" Tom was surprised. There were no tiny people at that time.

"The man in black was dead, so I had my brothers tie stones to the body and sink it in the Longyan River. I brought the briefcase back and opened it. There were quite a few red and yellow gems inside, probably bigger than the blue one you have now. At the time, I hid them away, thinking I'd wait a year or so and then make a move."

"I've seen those gems before besides Li Qiang. Only Zeng Shisan. We didn't think much of it until you brought those gems over. When I held them and pondered for a while, they seemed familiar. That's when I guessed that the gems in your hand might have the same origin as the ones in that briefcase."

"So... Zeng Shisan was in a hurry to find me to inquire about the source of the gems?"

Uncle Qi leaned against the cardboard box, nodding slightly, "That's right. So when you said the gems were dug out of the bodies of mutated ants, do you think I would believe you?"

No wonder Uncle Qi kicked Tom when he mentioned mutated ants. Because six months ago, he had seen many gems, coupled with the gun without bullets, Uncle Qi naturally suspected that Tom had a connection to the dead man in black.

"Cough... cough..." Uncle Qi coughed for a while. Tom patted his back to help him breathe, then he continued, "Zeng Shisan found some clues a few days ago and turned his gems and crystals into weapons. Now, besides the idea of feeding camp members to insects, he naturally thought of my box of gems. Hehe... that briefcase was hidden very well, only I knew about it. He covets that thing, so naturally, he wants to spare my sorry old dog's life."

But this didn't make sense. The gems were dug out of bodies of mutated creatures. Six months ago, there were no tiny people, so how could there be such magical gems?

Either those gems were of a different type from the current ones, or... before everyone was shrunk, there were organizations... possibly the fanatical Darwinists' organization, already experimenting with shrinking people.

"What else was in the box besides the gems?"

"It seemed like there was a memory card, but I felt that some things were better left unknown, so I didn't touch it."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Ah." Uncle Qi sighed, "When you're old, there are some things you can't keep to yourself anymore. Come closer, let me tell you where the box is hidden."

Tom leaned in and heard a place name, which was very unfamiliar to him.

"Remember it?"

Tom silently repeated it three times in his mind and nodded, "Remembered."

"When you have the chance and conditions, go find that box and uncover its big secret. For now, let's deal with the problem of Zeng Shisan."

After that, Uncle Qi straightened his clothes and hair. Tom only then noticed that Uncle Qi's hair was all white.

It seems that Zeng Shisan's affair has hit him hard.

"Help! Someone, help!" Uncle Qi shouted loudly.

Soon, the guards at the door were alerted and peeked in, "Old Ghost, what are you yelling about?"

"Tell Zeng Shisan to come see me!"

"Are you out of your mind, Old Ghost? When Thirteen Brother comes to see you, it's your death sentence. Now, Thirteen Brother doesn't have time for you."

"Go tell him, tell him I've figured it out, I can tell him the address of what he wants."

The guard hesitated, not quite understanding, but then thought of Zeng Shisan's angry demeanor and felt that maybe Zeng Shisan had indeed given instructions. He pointed at Uncle Qi fiercely, "Alright, come with me. I'll take you to see Thirteen Brother. If you dare to deceive me..."

"I'm not going. Even my last good leg was crippled by Zeng Shisan. As the one who used to treat him well, if he won't come to see me, then forget it."

After hesitating for a moment, the guard decided to go and report, "Old Ghost, you better not deceive me, or you'll see how I deal with you when I come back."

"Wait! When he comes, bring the ruby too. I need to take another look at that thing to be sure. If he doesn't bring the ruby, I won't say anything."

Not only did he dare to call for Zeng Shisan to come, but he also dared to make multiple requests? The guard was now even more certain that there was some deal between Zeng Shisan and Uncle Qi. He immediately ordered the others to guard the gate and quickly ran to find Zeng Shisan for instructions.

"Uncle Qi, are you sure Zeng Shisan will come?"

"Of course, I've been bossing this dog around for eight years. Don't I know his temperament? As long as he doesn't find out about the whereabouts of that box, he'll definitely come. You better hide quickly, so you don't trip him up and expose yourself."

Tom quickly found a corner to sit in, then raised his hand to indicate his position before activating the blue crystal to enter invisible mode.

Sure enough, Zeng Shisan arrived soon after, accompanied by ten henchmen, four of whom carried loaded rifles.

As soon as they entered, the henchmen drove out everyone else in the room, and then Zeng Shisan swaggered in, "Old Ghost, have you finally figured it out?"

"Yeah, anyway, I'm going to die sooner or later, Uncle Qi, I might as well be released sooner."

"Don't worry, if you obediently tell me the location, I'll make sure you eat and drink well, and guarantee you won't die."

Uncle Qi burst into laughter, "Zeng Shisan, this act is getting boring. You've been roaming the world for eight years, and isn't everything you know taught by me? I know what you're up to with just a twitch of your butt. Why bother with these empty words? And where's the ruby? Bring it over. Let me take a closer look."

Zeng Shisan rolled his eyes impatiently, then pulled out a large ruby, one hand resting on his hip holster, and swaggered over.

"Here, take a good look. This is the last time you'll see this thing. I don't know why that guy values this thing so much, he even exchanged ten rifles and fifty bullets for just a crystal."

"Hehe!" Uncle Qi carefully examined the gem, "The effect of this thing is even greater than ten rifles."

"What? How do you know?"

"Even if I call you stupid, you still don't accept it. Qiang Zai is smarter than you."

As soon as he heard Li Qiang's name, Zeng Shisan became furious, "Stop mentioning that dead man to me."

"But isn't it true? What capital do you have to make the other party spend so much on this stone? I've told you countless times, nobody does a losing deal. If he spends a hundred bucks on you, he's thinking of making a thousand bucks from you, fool."

After being taught a lesson by Uncle Qi like this, Zeng Shisan immediately became furious and shouted, "Old Ghost, I've told you not to call me a fool again." He was about to slap Uncle Qi, but Uncle Qi dodged, and he quickly threw the ruby towards the corner where Tom was.

"What?" 

In the empty corner, Tom's hand suddenly appeared out of thin air, catching the ruby, and then his entire body slowly became visible.

"What... what is this? Tom? You can... turn invisible?"

Tom touched the ruby with the blue crystal and said, "Uncle Qi was right, you are a fool."

"You... what did you say? Kill him!" Zeng Shisan drew his gun and fired a shot at Uncle Qi first, then turned the gun towards Tom's corner. The four henchmen among the onlookers also quickly drew their guns and aimed at Tom before pulling the triggers.

Bullets sprayed on Tom's body, tearing apart his roughly sewn clothes, but unfortunately, the reduced potency of the bullets was not enough to penetrate Tom's reinforced skin at the moment. Apart from leaving large holes in his clothes, there were no bruises left on him.

Bullets flew everywhere, and everyone couldn't believe what they were seeing. Bullets actually couldn't hit him?

The bullets obtained in exchange for the gem were limited after all. Those holding guns only had one magazine each, and only Zeng Shisan still had one. As he retreated, he changed the magazine, continuing to fire, but the bullets splattered everywhere, still having no effect.

"How... is this possible? You... you... stay away from me." 

Tom grabbed his gun, and the bullets exploded in the chamber, rendering the gun completely useless.

Tom quietly deactivated his defensive reinforcement, only activating the ruby, grabbed Zeng Shisan by the neck, and lifted him up.

"Wu... wu, let... let me go."

Tom slammed Zeng Shisan on the ground like a toy, continuously pounding him repeatedly on the ground, causing dust to fly up in the astonished eyes of everyone. It took a while before he stopped.

"Wow..." Seeing the display of Tom's divine power, and then turning around, the ten henchmen dropped their guns or crude knives and ran out.

Outside the door, the few henchmen who were guarding the people were also stunned when they saw this scene, and they quickly raised their six guns.