Chapter 25: With an Observation Port, It's a High-End Version

Echeng, underground arcade.

Li Chang was sitting in a racing seat playing a game when he suddenly heard the boss's voice.

"Ah Chang, get ready to buy a boat!"

He quickly stood up and saw Zheng Hai, his face flushed with red, obviously having just drunk quite a bit of alcohol.

Drunk Zheng Hai put his arm on his shoulder and, reeking of alcohol, ordered:

"Here's three hundred thousand now. Go buy the remaining four boats immediately. I'm going to make a big score!"

Seeing Zheng Hai's swaggering, ambitious display, Li Chang couldn't help but ask:

"What big business is this, boss?"

"Of course, it's about nice cars!"

With few people in the arcade during the day, Zheng Hai spoke directly:

"A batch of Lexus from Xiangjiang has arrived, the latest LS400!

Previously, a Shanghai guy spent 930,000 to buy one. The car dealer plans to get another batch from the US, smuggling them in at a cost of less than 300,000, then flipping them for a 500,000 profit!

Recently, the Hong Kong police have made big moves. They've taken a liking to my fast boats. I've already promised to bring in at least ten cars; one boat isn't enough!"

"Nine hundred thousand?!"

Li Chang, of course, knew about the Lexus, but hearing of such an expensive Lexus was his first time.

In fact, the LS400 was a model Lexus launched to compete with the "Tiger Head Benz," featuring electric sunroofs, leather interiors, electric adjustable front seats, power windows, rearview mirrors, and a series of other luxury configurations in the 90s, which would still be considered rich even twenty years later.

Currently, this car sells for 35,000 USD in North America, but if imported through customs into the mainland, it costs over 700,000; in the hands of individual sellers, it exceeds 900,000, and it's still a case of having a price but no market.

The water route is different; transporting one from a US dealer costs only over 200,000 yuan, with profits so high they're terrifying.

Even if Zheng Hai gets a share of 100,000 yuan profit per car, the price difference is still quite considerable.

These ten cars this time are just a test of the waters; there will only be more in the future.

Compared to electronic products and other items, although cars aren't very heavy, they take up a lot of space; "Tax-Free No. 1" can just barely fit one.

The reason Zheng Hai was so eager to take on the entire business was to accumulate capital to participate in it.

If he himself were a car dealer, one car would be worth several hundred thousand!

Moreover, smuggled cars are different from other things; the buyers are all figures with connections reaching the heavens, making it very convenient to build good relationships.

One speedboat is far from enough; Zheng Hai had just sold all the cargo from the last shipment and had ample funds to buy a new boat.

These past few days, he had also asked around everywhere and learned that Tang Wen and Wu Lao Er were heavily reselling diesel engines of unknown origin, which actually made him believe Tang Wen could get high-horsepower motors.

However, the moment he thought of Tang Wen rejecting his invitation and instead hooking up with someone else, Zheng Hai felt very displeased.

"Ah Chang, have you found out which faction is connected to Tang Wen?"

"Not yet. I can't find a single useful clue."

"Forget it. Once we deal with that kid, we'll be able to make contact. Such a person must have connections in Japan too; maybe we can cooperate to make some money."

Due to the idea of doing the smuggled car business, Zheng Hai changed his previous plan to drive out the "Dragon from Across the River" and instead wanted to connect with the other party.

In his view, high-power marine motors must also be smuggled goods from Japan; more paths mean more money!

Of course, if Tang Wen knew this intended thought, he would surely tell him that this path isn't in Japan, but in Minsk!

Having received the boss's instruction, Ah Chang drove a Hiace H50 van to get the money and buy the boat, but as he turned a corner upon leaving, he almost collided with a truck.

After slamming on the brakes, he realized it was a very retro, old-style truck, and immediately rolled down the window to curse, "Damn your old mother!"

But the truck had already passed the intersection, so he could only grumble about bad luck.

"Brother Shiba, you really didn't bring it this time, right? You absolutely cannot let anyone see it in the city."

Wu Lao Er, squeezed into the passenger seat with Tang Yi, was restless, constantly glancing around the whole way to see where a heavy machine gun could be stowed.

Echeng is not like the countryside; flashing this thing would cause a major incident.

The one who answered him was Tang Yi:

"Don't worry. We are a legitimate shipbuilding enterprise; how could we use such things? That's all nonsense."

After making the phone call yesterday, Tang Yi and Tang Shiba came to Echeng to buy books, and bringing Wu Lao Er along was just to guide the way.

The route to Echeng was mostly main roads, so nothing went wrong, except the ten-wheel truck's style was too eye-catching; elderly people on the roadside almost thought they had traveled back several decades.

Actually, the most eye-catching part was the observation window (machine gun port) on top of the cabin; Wu Lao Er somehow always felt there was something there.

The address for selling books was somewhat remote, and Wu Lao Er wasn't very familiar with the city, so he had to stop and ask for directions from time to time.

Passersby all cast curious glances at the military-style truck. After not long, Wu Lao Er saw a car coming from the opposite direction on the road and suddenly thought of something, saying:

"Brother Shiba, our car seems to have no license plate. What if we run into traffic police?"

He only thought of this problem after seeing the license plates of other cars; running around in the town before was naturally fine, but in the city, one still had to be careful.

However, Tang Shiba said:

"License plate? What license plate?"

"..."

Looking at Tang Shiba and Tang Yi's puzzled gazes, they seemed to truly not know about this matter.

Wu Lao Er could only helplessly explain:

"Just like you need a driver's license to drive a car, cars also need license plates. Without plates, you'll get points deducted and fined."

"Is that so."

Tang Shiba sighed with relief, then smiled and said:

"Don't worry; we won't get points deducted or fined."

"Why?"

"Because you need a driver's license to get points deducted. If you don't have one, how can they deduct?"

Tang Yi: "Exactly, exactly."

"..."

Wu Lao Er wore an expression of utter confusion, recalling the scene from a few days ago when they were speeding down a country road; his heart gave two traitorous thumps.

Although driving without a license isn't particularly rare these days, your attitude is way too nonchalant!

But compared to a wild snake, this was actually trivial.

The atmosphere in the cab fell into an eerie silence; fortunately, there were no traffic police on the road, and they finally arrived at their destination with a scare but no harm.

The residential compound on the address had a guard post; the gatekeeper naturally came out to stop the vehicle, but upon seeing the ten-wheeled truck, he instinctively stepped back, scrutinized it from head to toe, and then wore an expression of disbelief.

"Uncle, we're here to find..."

Wu Lao Er was about to explain when he saw the gatekeeper already leaning in, resting against the vehicle and listening to the sound of the truck's engine.

That wasn't all; the old man even lay flat on the ground to inspect the truck's undercarriage, frightening Wu Lao Er into urgently telling Tang Shiba to hold the brakes firmly, then getting out to help the man up.

The gatekeeper brushed the dust off his pants and asked with a bewildered expression:

"A full-time four-wheel-drive universal truck with locking differentials, and the engine is an old model too; genuine American goods. Where did you guys drive this thing from?"

"Uncle, how did you know?"

"Back in the day, I was a truck driver; I drove captured vehicles like this to transport artillery shells. Yours even has a machine gun port—high-spec version!"