"Mr. Jin, hello."
Cao Yi politely greeted.
"Oh wow, that 'Mr. Jin' sounds really nice! Please, Daoist, take a seat."
Big Gold Tooth quickly stood up, beaming and gesturing for them to sit.
Cao Yi smiled as he walked towards a nearby table with a waiter, recalling information about Big Gold Tooth.
Big Gold Tooth's surname is Jin, but his first name is unknown; he is the second child in his family, greedy and timid, making a living by selling antiques to both locals and foreigners.
Legally, his actions are criminal, but he hasn't been caught because eight out of ten antiques he sells are fakes.
He comes from a Reverse Digging family but didn't inherit the trade due to severe asthma.
The gold tooth that earned him the nickname was extracted from a corpse in an ancient tomb.
His long-term cooperation with the tomb raiders has established a strong relationship with them.
This time, he served as a middleman between the Global Mining Group and the tomb raiders.
"Mr. Ma, oh, I forgot, according to you Americans, I should call you Mr. Mark. Please sit, Mr. Mark."
Big Gold Tooth warmly invited Mark to sit down.
Once seated, Big Gold Tooth mysteriously took out an exquisite sandalwood box from his bag, carefully opened it, and pulled out a questionable large pearl, raising his voice: "Mr. Kai and Mr. Hu aren't here yet, so let me introduce my collection. This night pearl was buried with Empress Dowager Cixi; the tomb raiders risked their lives to extract it from her mouth, containing the essence of heaven and earth, preserving corpses for ten thousand years!"
Cao Yi almost laughed.
Cixi's tomb was dug up in 1928 by the warlord Sun Dianying. At that time, the current tomb raiders hadn't even been born yet.
Seeing the two unresponsive, Big Gold Tooth calmly put the pearl away, took out another sandalwood box, opened it, and solemnly revealed a rusty copper mirror, saying deeply: "I see that ordinary items don't impress you; do you know Emperor Qin Shi Huang? His tomb was also excavated by the tomb raiders. This is his treasured mirror, the Qin Wang Zhaogujing."
With a crash, a beer bottle clinked, and the glass door swung open, letting in a gust of cold wind.
Next, a middle-aged man with wavy hair held back by a red headband, wearing a large overcoat and barely fitting the description of overweight, stumbled inside.
Big Gold Tooth jumped up as if a spring was pressed against his butt, rushing forward with a grin to introduce: "Oh wow, let me proudly introduce this guest; he is none other than the 82nd descendant of the tomb raider lineage, the renowned figure in grave exploration, Wang Kaixuan!"
Cao Yi clearly saw a flicker of disdain on Mark's face.
The title of tomb raider sounds impressive, being upper-tier in the Reverse Digging hierarchy, but they still can't shake off the fact that they are grave robbers.
Shirley Yang likely insisted that Hu Bayi quit the profession not only because she didn't want him to take risks, but also because she looked down on that identity.
Big Gold Tooth whispered something to Wang Kaixuan, then pulled the drunken Wang over, tugging at a pointed, cone-shaped item around his neck, inlaid with gold thread and darkly translucent, boasting, "Luke, Luke, this is the legendary tomb raider token, a symbol of the genuine tomb raider!"
"Ugh!"
At some point, Wang Kaixuan had removed his hat and began to vomit into it.
Soon, an unpleasant odor filled the air.
Cao Yi, enhanced by Golden Core transformation, almost joined in the vomiting.
"Oh dear, Kai, what are you saying? Sit down quickly."
Big Gold Tooth hurriedly helped Wang Kaixuan sit, taking the hat, and was shocked to see its colorful contents.
Mark, who had been silent, finally spoke up: "Hello, I am Mark, the legal representative of Global Mining Group. Our board chairwoman, Ms. Ying Caihong, is very interested in ancient Chinese culture and values the professional skills of tomb raiders, instructing us to invite you to join us."
Wang Kaixuan, still upset over his past disagreements with Hu Bayi and Shirley Yang, bluntly refused, "I'm not going."
Big Gold Tooth, who was nearly broke and desperate for money, ignored Wang Kaixuan's refusal and quickly quoted a price: "Then let's say, this job is worth, hmm, five, no, ten thousand U.S. dollars."
"Deal, it's settled."
Mark raised his hands in agreement, confident, as ten thousand dollars was a trivial sum for Global Mining Group.
Big Gold Tooth almost slapped himself; had he known the other party would be so easygoing, he would have asked for at least twenty thousand.
But the words were out, and he couldn't take them back. He quickly turned his gaze to the drunken Wang Kaixuan.
"Kai, what do you think?"
The implication was clear: Kai, don't agree too quickly; this is a rare opportunity.
"I disagree."
Wang Kaixuan suddenly raised his head, half-opening his eyes, loudly rejecting.
Big Gold Tooth felt a wave of relief; Wang Kaixuan was cooperating after all.
"Brothers for so many years, tomb raiders thrive together or perish together. Hu Bayi has completely betrayed the revolution…"
Wang Kaixuan mumbled.
Turns out, he was still stewing over his anger at Hu Bayi, not actually cooperating with Big Gold Tooth.
"Don't, Kai, with money, who cares about betrayal; we're not afraid of anything!"
Seeing Wang Kaixuan's defiance, Big Gold Tooth panicked; if this cash cow slipped away, who knows how long it would be until the next opportunity.
Wang Kaixuan, fueled by alcohol, grumbled and didn't speak further.
Big Gold Tooth, noticing this, turned around, slicked back his hair, and confidently said to Mark, "Since everyone is sincere, how about we add another five thousand?"
Mark smiled, raising three fingers.
Big Gold Tooth felt disappointed: "Three thousand? That's too little."
Mark shook his head and stated clearly, "I mean to offer you three times that."
Big Gold Tooth's expression froze, then he beamed with joy and agreed, "Good, it's settled."
"Then let's sign the contract."
Mark pulled out a contract from his briefcase and tossed it over.
"Alright," Big Gold Tooth grinned as he received the contract, remembering to ask, "Are you paying in cash or check?"
With a crash, a wine glass shattered on the floor.
"Is being rich that impressive? I really look down on those who act like big shots just because they have money!"
Wang Kaixuan, red-faced and swaying, yelled loudly.
Big Gold Tooth approached to calm Wang Kaixuan down, but his small frame couldn't restrain the drunken Wang, who pushed him aside and snatched the contract.
"You think you can throw money at me?"
Wang Kaixuan waved the contract at Mark, shouting.
"Kai, Kai…"
Big Gold Tooth collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, as if he were suffocating.
"Hey, your friend is sick!"
A waitress standing by the bar shouted loudly.
"Old Jin!"
Wang Kaixuan suddenly snapped awake, dropping the contract and rushing over, "Old Jin, how are you? You're having an episode again; where's your medicine?"
Big Gold Tooth, panting, managed to say, "Medicine, I just ran out; I haven't had the chance to buy more."
Wang Kaixuan panicked, turning to Mark and shouting, "What are you waiting for? Call an ambulance!"
Just as Mark was about to respond, a light voice echoed.
"Why not let me give it a try?"