[How did this guy get smart all of a sudden?
How the hell did he figure all that out?]
Moore's expression turned a bit ugly, but he quickly sorted out his thoughts, calmed down, and looked at Chen Che with a cold sneer.
"So what? What does that even prove? Just because I recommended you go to a casino, now I'm the one framing you?"
"Don't you think it's all a bit too much of a coincidence? You recommend Tasting's casino, I lose money, I meet Young Master Chen at the casino—he cancels my gambling debt and gives me a bit of cash.
Then, the boss's arms shipment gets hit by some mysterious group.
You dump all the blame on me.
The boss comes back furious, nearly strangles me to death.
Good thing I didn't die; if I did, wouldn't the whole chain of evidence come full circle?
And you, the real traitor, just get to walk away…"
"If that's not a setup, what the hell is?"
Moore started to change the subject, staring right at Chen Che as he said, "All this is just your side of the story. What really happened at the casino, what you did or said to that Young Master Chen—only you know. All we hear is from your own mouth.
You have no proof. I do."
Moore said this and ordered his men to bring over a document, laying it on the table and looking over at An Nishang. "Chief, he's still trying to trick you!"
"These are some transfer records. The account here has had dealings with Tasting Commerce Association for a long time. Every so often, all sorts of businesses under Tasting use a special account to wire money to this account.
Right before the arms incident, an unknown account transferred a huge sum into your account.
The sender account's already been deactivated, so there's nothing conclusive, but it's clearly linked to Tasting Commerce Association.
Justin Commerce Association even transferred a massive sum to this account on top of that!
I kept digging and finally tracked the account back to you… Chen Che!"
"How do you explain this account? And this giant sum of extra money? That's not just the money Young Master Chen gave you for the chief's personal clothes, right?
The total in this account hits a whopping 500,000 Beta!"
Beta Coin is the currency issued by the Night Empire.
A kilo of melon flesh costs about two Beta Coins.
Five hundred thousand Beta Coins would let an average person live comfortably in the Ninth Special Zone for half a lifetime, never worrying about food or drink.
That's a hell of a lot of money.
"So why would Tasting Commerce Association give you all this cash? Isn't it because you sold the chief out!"
"Bullshit." Chen Che, recalling the details from memory, calmly said, "That's just an independent account I use for business. The boss knows I've got various business dealings!
As for the partner being Tasting Commerce Association, well, I didn't realize that.
Half the economy in the Ninth Special Zone is run by Tasting Commerce Association. How's a small fry like me supposed to tell who belongs to them like you can, Captain Moore?
Besides, I just did some business with them.
I can even provide the ledgers and check everything line by line!
As for that mystery account—you say it might be Tasting Commerce Association's and sent me a giant transfer… Shouldn't I assume this whole thing's a setup?
C'mon, this is way too stupid, right? This account isn't all that private. If I really betrayed the boss, would I be dumb enough to collect a giant payoff with my regular business account? Wouldn't I basically be wearing a sign saying "traitor" on my forehead?
Would you be that dumb, Captain Moore? I doubt it."
Chen Che's argument was solid; both sides kept trying to tear down each other, locked in a standoff.
Moore listened to Chen Che's explanation without losing his composure; instead, a weird, sly smile crept onto his face.
"True, that would be stupid—but what if you planned to skip town right after betraying the chief?
My investigation found all the money in that account's already been transferred out.
If your conscience is clear, why'd the money vanish into thin air? Am I not entitled to assume you knew betraying the chief meant hell, so you planned to take the cash and run?"
Honestly, Chen Che was right.
That extra giant sum really was planted by Tasting Commerce Association to frame him.
A perfect job blaming it all on Chen Che.
But neither Tasting Commerce Association nor Moore had expected Chen Che would survive An Nishang's rage.
They hadn't counted on Chen Che transferring out the funds, either.
Moore had no clue where the money had gone.
In fact, Chen Che moving the cash looked just like someone prepping to run for it.
So Moore just ran with it, churning the waters even more.
Chen Che's heart skipped a beat.
The money's gone?
How is that possible?
He frantically searched his memory.
But couldn't remember ever moving that money himself.
Shit, what the hell is going on? Why do I have zero memory about this cash? What the hell did the original owner do?
Was the original just an idiot? Why move the money? Didn't that just make you totally unable to explain yourself?
Every eye in the room locked on Chen Che, waiting for his answer.
An Nishang's peach blossom eyes reflected Chen Che's figure, waiting for his reply.
Moore quickly picked up on the slip.
[He doesn't dare say where the money went?
Tsk… Is this pretty boy hiding more secrets?
The gods are on my side!]
Moore's whole plan had just been to stir things up and shift attention away from Chen Che's tough questioning, but he accidentally stumbled on a jackpot.
Moore pressed harder, step by step: "Come on! You knew you betrayed the chief, got scared, and took the money to run, right?!"
Fuck, why don't I remember a thing?
No way—I can't let this black man lead me by the nose. Gotta think of something fast… Got it.
Chen Che acted like he was really struggling, gave An Nishang a quick look, hurried over to her side, and grabbed her hand, saying, "Chief, this was a stupid thing I did before, but if I tell you, you can't be mad! I've changed, I swear!"
An Nishang's seductive red pupils locked onto Chen Che, her voice calm: "Talk."
"Phantom Night Tour…"
Chen Che hesitated, and slowly spat out those four words.
The room instantly went dead silent.
An Nishang's expression stiffened. She locked eyes with Chen Che, her long, snow-white fingers squeezing his face, forcing him to look up, eyes boring into his as she asked stiffly, "You went?"
[An Nishang's jealousy up to 40%…]
Holy shit, the she-devil's actually jealous of me?
Without a shred of dignity, Chen Che immediately latched on to An Nishang's thigh, saying, "Chief, all that dumb crap was the old me! You said you wouldn't blame me…"
Dignity, backbone, whatever—save it for when I've got power. Staying alive comes first right now.
Chen Che's totally shameless act eased the tense mood for a second. An Nishang let out a long breath; now wasn't the time to squabble. She steadied her voice: "Keep going."
Chen Che coughed twice. "I was just curious, so I went in to look around, but who knew those women were real illusionists… Lost my head for a second, and that's how I got suckered out of the money…"