Chapter 57

Thanks to one person for the reward on a lonely night, and to lzwq for the reward; also thanks to ahua tian yue xia za for the evaluation ticket.

A black woman in a white outfit, with black hair cascading over her shoulders, stepped forward and said at once: “Hello, I’m an employee of Weihe Venture Capital, my name is Ge Er.”

Ge Er looked around at the menacing figures, her heart trembling—each one clad in black special operations gear that completely concealed their bodies and faces, leaving only sharp, piercing eyes exposed, each holding a black submachine gun; no one here looked like a good person.

“Welcome to my luxury little yacht, madam—it doesn’t have a name yet. If you’d like, you can help name her.” Ye Nan stood up, making a welcoming gesture, but unfortunately, his exploration suit was too bulky, making his movements painfully slow.

“Hello, sir, I’m an employee of Weihe Venture Capital.” Ge Er smiled awkwardly, walking up to Ye Nan and extending her hand.

Ye Nan extended his own hand, encased in a heavy glove, and shook hers—but the glove was too thick and too cumbersome, making him look ridiculous and preventing him from even feeling the warmth of the lady’s hand.

“Those damn researchers should all just die, die, die. They said it’s just like ordinary fiber? Pfft—if ordinary fiber were this bulky, no one would buy it.”

“Forgive me for asking, sir—who exactly are you?” After shaking hands with Ye Nan, Ge Er felt a bit more confident and asked.

“Madam, shouldn’t you introduce yourself before asking about others?” Ye Nan picked up a wine glass from the table, then remembered he was wearing this damned bulky exploration suit—he hesitated, embarrassed.

“Sorry, madam, I can’t personally invite you to drink—I can’t even hold the glass properly—but help yourself. Everything on this ship belongs to me.”

“Including them?” Ge Er pointed at the group of mercenaries beside her and smiled.

“Oh, no—not them. They were hired by someone else to search for something. I have nothing to do with them. I’m here just to enjoy myself, and I only wanted to explore the jungle out of pure interest.” Ye Nan smiled and added, “Won’t you introduce your friends?”

“Let me introduce them.” Ge Er immediately replied: “This man in the black short-sleeve shirt is Jack, this is Kerr, this is…” She finished introducing everyone, then put on an embarrassed expression. “Could you please take us back to New York?”

“No.” Ye Nan shook his head. “We’ve only just arrived here and don’t want to leave so soon. Ladies, if you can come, why can’t you go back?”

“Our boat broke down.”

“Evans drank too much, fell overboard, and our boat exploded with a bang.” Jack stepped forward and said: “Respected sir, may we rest on your vessel? We have payment to offer.”

Jack pulled out a bottle. Inside, a brightly colored spider lay lifeless. “This is a type of stone spider we found, called Lababatu. We can give it to Mr. Ye Nan as our payment.”

“No.” Ge Er stepped forward and snatched the bottle away. “This is a gift for Weihe Venture Capital. We can’t hand it over to anyone else.”

“Enough, Ge Er.” A man around twenty-six, wearing a white T-shirt, walked over—Ma Deng—snatched the bottle from her. “Stop showing off. Right now, we need to get back.”

"Respected sir, as Jack said, we offer this as payment for our stay here. We know this primitive forest well—let me introduce Paul Sha, from the Shuer tribe. He can serve as your guide, whether you're searching for something or simply sightseeing..."

Paul Sha was a man in a black vest, his arms covered in a mysterious tattoo pattern; he looked wild overall, but when his eyes met Ye Nan’s, he instinctively lowered his head.

"What’s wrong, Paul Sha?" Ma Deng patted Paul’s back and glanced at Ye Nan, who offered only a faint smile.

“You’re awfully perceptive, Ma Deng.” Ye Nan smiled. He knew Ma Deng had seen through his intentions, but he didn’t care—they were all his fish, and he could slice them however he pleased.

Thinking this, Ye Nan burst into laughter. “Fine. Welcome aboard this nameless little yacht.”

“Yes, sir!” Ge Er immediately brightened and led the group down the dock, eager to rest.

They were utterly exhausted. Exploring this primitive forest demanded more than experience—it placed a physical burden far beyond imagination.

Jack walked at the rear. Just before entering, he turned back, made a silent gesture to Ye Nan, then jogged down to rejoin the group.

“Found it!” Ye Nan watched Jack’s gesture, a faint smile crossing his face. Jack’s silent message had been clear: they’d found the Blood Orchid. A surge of delight flashed through him.

“Though the plan changed, getting the exact location of the Blood Orchid is still excellent. But those damn pythons…”

The moment Ye Nan thought of the pythons, his head throbbed. All of them had mutated after consuming the Blood Orchid, possessing extraordinary vitality. Killing them wouldn’t be easy.

“Good thing we’ve got these mercenaries—they’ll serve as our pathfinders.” Ye Nan thought to himself.

“Mr. Ye Nan, it seems you’ve truly equipped yourself completely.” Ai Li lowered her head and whispered softly into Ye Nan’s ear.

Jack’s silent gesture had been unmistakable. She’d noticed it naturally, and combined with its meaning, it was obvious: before this group, Ye Nan had already hired others to search for the Blood Orchid. Unfortunately, they’d failed—they’d located it but couldn’t retrieve it, and had barely escaped in disgrace.

Ai Li had no objection to such tactics. During her own expedition days, she’d bribed many people: locals, tribal chiefs, even members of other expedition teams.

Her methods varied: dollars, gems, and of course deception—like passing off glass as gems. The things she’d done weren’t exactly honorable.

“Naturally, isn’t it? I never put all my eggs in one basket. But unfortunately, they failed. A pity.”