Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1515: Chapter 242: The Stingy Boss

If someone asked Claudia whether a small broken pistol could take down a dozen enemies with submachine guns, she would answer without hesitation that it was absolutely impossible—until these thugs in front of her all collapsed before her eyes.

Bang bang bang—bang!

The last one to fall was the shouting thug leader… his expression ferocious, unable to believe it.

Claudia started to tremble slightly, perhaps it was because she was too frightened, she still held the pistol pointing at Luo Qiu, but she didn’t seem to notice this, and swallowed nervously, saying in a trembling voice: “They… they’re all dead… but, but I didn’t shoot?”

She really hadn’t fired… oh, except for the first accidental shot, the sudden gunfire wasn’t from her little broken pistol.

All of this happened as fast as lightning.

“I know.” Luo Qiu reached out to gently press down the pistol in Claudia’s hand, “It wasn’t you.”

“Then…?” Claudia was taken aback, then suddenly thought of something and quickly looked towards where the thugs had come from.

At this moment, she saw two figures slowly walk out from the shadows. When Claudia looked closely, she found that these two were Aria and the mysterious Mr. Otto!

They were also holding firearms… it turned out that the ones who shot all these thugs from hiding were them!

“Didn’t you already leave? Why are you back?” Claudia looked at Aria, frowning as she asked.

“Who said I wasn’t a person of my word?” Aria replied nonchalantly, “Since I took Otto’s money to lead him into the desert, I naturally have to safely escort him out of the desert. I just went out to find some equipment, how could I just leave like that?”

Claudia didn’t quite believe her, still holding a grudge for being scared by that corpse prostitute trick, but she was somewhat grateful for Otto’s intervention in saving them, “Thank you for saving us, Mr. Otto!”

“This was just a small part, their people might soon catch up. Let’s leave this place first,” Otto said, surveying the surroundings before turning to leave, “Follow me.”

…

Under Otto’s guidance, the group quickly left this underground pyramid—along the way, they encountered no surprises, and there were no traps around.

However, along the way, they saw some blood stains on the walls from time to time.

Aria explained that this group of thugs had been excavating this place for many years, most of the traps inside the pyramid had been disassembled by them directly, and you wouldn’t face any danger even if you walked with your eyes closed.

As for how the thugs dismantled the traps inside the pyramid… one could guess half by just looking at the blood on the walls—don’t forget, these thugs would capture lone travelers too.

Later, to prove that there really weren’t any great dangers here, Aria brazenly walked a few steps with her eyes closed, then slipped and fell flat, making Claudia hold back her laughter.

“Finally out!”

The exit was a sand dune, with a stone-paved passage leading directly to the surface… it was already night outside, and the temperature difference in the desert between day and night was huge. Claudia couldn’t help shivering as soon as she came out.

Otto skillfully ran to the other side of the exit sand dune, dug through the sand, and unexpectedly saw a large piece of canvas—this was originally covered with canvas, underneath which was a small stable.

“Camels!” Claudia couldn’t help but feel a bit delighted.

Aria snorted and said, “I got these two camels secretly, and I had to sneak out several times to place them here.”

Claudia couldn’t help but ask, “You escaped so many times, how did you keep getting caught?”

Aria rolled her eyes and said, “What do you understand? This place is so remote, without enough resources, I’d die of thirst before even getting far! Do you think escaping this camp means safety? Wrong, this vast desert itself is a big prison! Escaping this bandits’ camp was just the first step of our escape!”

Claudia stuck her tongue out, this was something she hadn’t learned from books… although she didn’t like Aria, she secretly admired her life experience.

At this moment, Claudia remembered something and instinctively looked towards Mr. Otto, asking curiously, “Mr. Otto, didn’t you say you wanted to stay and protect the relics in the pyramid, so why…”

Otto said calmly, “That was just an excuse. I needed to stay to prevent Aria from escaping and being caught again, ensuring she could say a few words for me next to those thugs. Otherwise, she’d be dead already. Now that everything is ready, I naturally have no reason to stay… I can’t protect the relics here by myself, the best way is of course to leave and then contact the local government to clear out these bandits.”

“Regardless, Mr. Otto saved us,” Boss Luo suddenly interjected, “What are your plans now?”

“It’s not about our plans, but yours.” Aria came forward directly, “We definitely plan to escape, but you…”

“What do you want?” Claudia frowned, having a bad feeling.

Aria now smiled brightly and said, “You see, these camels were placed here through my escape efforts, and the supplies were collected bit by bit by me. We saved your lives down there, and now you want me to provide camels and supplies for free, and even take you out of the desert?”

“I understand now.” Claudia snorted coldly, “After we leave the desert, I will pay… I’ll pay for two people, is that okay?”

“Words alone aren’t credible.” Aria shook her head, “What if you run off after leaving the desert, who will I cry to?”

“There’s nothing here, if you want me to pay, at least give me a cellphone?” Claudia said angrily.

Without saying a word, Aria threw something into the stable and shortly after pulled out a suitcase—this was exactly the suitcase that was taken from Claudia by the thugs when she was captured.

“Here, this is your cellphone.”

“So you were prepared all along…” Claudia opened her mouth, feeling as if someone held a knife to her throat and asked her to buy something.

She stared resentfully at Aria, snatched her cellphone, and then said coldly, “Tell me, for two people, how much in total?”

“`

“Fi… Five hundred thousand US dollars!” Aria chuckled and said, “How about it, a million US dollars to buy a chance to get out, it’s worth it, isn’t it? Little white-skinned girl!”

“What! A million?” Claudia screamed in surprise.

Aria, however, raised two fingers and pointed with the gun in his hand, sneering, “It’s a million per person… a total of two million, thank you for your cooperation.”

“You’re blatantly robbing us!” Claudia said angrily, “Where am I supposed to get that much money! All my possessions together don’t add up to that much!”

Aria shrugged and said, “That’s not my concern, I just want the money. Either you give it to me, or I’ll take the supplies and leave, regardless of whether you live or die.”

“Aria, that’s enough.” Mr. Otto frowned at this moment.

Unexpectedly, Aria sneered, suddenly swept the gun he was holding, knocking the gun in Mr. Otto’s hand to the ground… Just as Otto was astonished, Aria had already pressed the gun barrel to Mr. Otto’s chest, “Mr. Otto, you too… Please give me one million, thank you.”

“You?” Otto’s frown deepened.

Aria said calmly, “Sir, you know, my biggest wish is to become a rich man! Now I have this opportunity. I know if I don’t seize it, I will probably spend my whole life as a desert guide! At best, I’ll earn some tips when I’m lucky, but if I’m unlucky, I might die in the desert. I just want a comfortable life, so don’t push me to act! Mr. Otto, you’re a smart man. Smart people should know how to choose at this moment, right?”

Mr. Otto slowly exhaled, then nodded, “But I don’t have that much on hand, but I can tell you about an opportunity to make even more money than this passage fee.”

“Mr. Otto, I’m just a small fry with no big ambitions to search for treasure.” Aria shook his head, “I know my abilities very well. I just want a little money to live comfortably… You keep this wealth opportunity for yourself! Just give me the passage fee now.”

Mr. Otto silently took the phone that was handed to him from Aria.

“Now, it’s your turn, little white girl.” Aria smiled contentedly, then looked at Claudia and Boss Luo again.

“I… I don’t have that much! Even if you kill me here, I can’t give you two million!” Claudia shook her head, feeling a sense of despair.

“Hmph.” Aria didn’t mind either, pointing the gun at Luo Qiu, making it very clear that if the woman couldn’t, then the man should pay—either way, as long as he got the money, everything was negotiable.

Boss Luo pondered and said, “Mr. Aria, if we don’t pay, you will take all the supplies and camels and leave us behind, right?”

Aria shrugged, “I will leave you a pack of biscuits and half a bottle of water… How about it, am I not merciful enough?”

“Thank you.” Boss Luo nodded and said calmly, “Then all we need is a pack of biscuits and half a bottle of water.”

Claudia was dumbfounded at once… Eh, wasn’t this new classmate supposed to be a rich kid from an eastern country?

Aria was also dumbfounded… How could someone really not care for their life?

“You don’t care for your life?” Aria frowned and said, “A pack of biscuits, half a bottle of water, how long can you last? In the desert, you won’t last half a day, I’m not joking!”

“Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Aria.” Boss Luo persisted, “However, we really only need a pack of biscuits, half a bottle of water.”

Aria opened his mouth, pondered for a long while, and finally gritted his teeth, “If you can’t come up with a million, then eight hundred thousand will do!”

Boss Luo still shook his head, joking, when did he ever leave home with money—with large purchases, he always used the maid’s petty cash!

As for other situations to turn money around, that was life-threatening… This boss who loved to go to the supermarket during sales to stock up would hardly use his time for money swapping ability!

“Seven hundred thousand… The least is seven hundred thousand per person!”

Boss Luo still shook his head, insisting that only half a bottle of water and a pack of biscuits were enough.

Aria really had never seen such a stingy, only in but not out, guy who wanted money over life, was instantly angry to the core—but he didn’t want to just kill the other side, he only wanted money, and killing wouldn’t gain him anything?

“Five hundred thousand! This is your last chance! Fifty thousand per person! Any less… Any less and you’ll stay here to feed desert scorpions!”

Boss Luo still shook his head and stated that if, besides half a bottle of water and a pack of biscuits, they could also give them a box of matches, he would be grateful.

“Do you believe I’ll kill you now?” Aria, in a furious rage, said viciously.

Boss Luo calmly said, “The gunshot might alarm the bandits at the camp… maybe the camels can outrun their SUVs.”

“You… You’re killing me with anger!” Aria grabbed his head and rubbed it hard, “I’ve never met such a miserly guy like you! Fine! You want to stay here and wait to die, suit yourself!”

With that said, Aria pulled over a camel, mounted it, brought the supplies, and shouted to Mr. Otto, “Are you coming or not? Since I received your money, I won’t back out! If you can’t keep up with my speed, don’t blame me!”

Mr. Otto looked at Boss Luo, as if thinking of something, “Aria, I’ll give you their money, what do you say?”

“You’re still generous, dear Mr. Otto!” Aria turned around and dismounted from the camel, bowing, “Your most loyal servant at your service, sir!”

Mr. Otto shook his head, once again took out his phone, transferred the passage fee to Aria, then turned to Boss Luo and Claudia, “If there’s anything, let’s talk after we leave here.”

Claudia didn’t speak, just quietly arranging her suitcase…her belongings were obviously rummaged through by the bandits, leaving the contents in disarray.

She slightly distanced herself from Luo Qiu, seemingly having some thoughts about Luo Qiu’s unwillingness to pay until the end…

But Boss Luo didn’t care about such things, because, at this moment, he heard a faint sound… it was the voice of the Red Lamp Spirit from within the Magic Lamp.

The Red Lamp Spirit told Luo Qiu that this Otto was the one who previously summoned the spirit of nature and had his three wishes granted…