Chapter 3

The bus entered the mountains and drove for a while, passing through a village before stopping in front of a yard that looked like a warehouse.

In the warehouse yard, two young men were guarding. Seeing the bus approach, they quickly opened the gate, and the bus stopped on the drying ground in the yard.

The middle-aged man had no intention of returning the phones to everyone and said that all the goods were inside the warehouse.

Walking into the relatively spacious warehouse, there were several piles of items covered with waterproof cloth. Chen Hai couldn't tell what was under the piles. At this moment, the two young men outside walked over and glanced at Chen Hai and the others.

"Open it for them to see the goods," the middle-aged man said.

The two strong young men pulled back a waterproof cloth in the corner of the warehouse, revealing a pile of old items, including tripods, seals, and pots...

There were about seventy to eighty items, but most were in poor condition, with only seven or eight in perfect condition.

"How do we trade?" Everyone's eyes sparkled, but they didn't forget the key issue.

"First, pick the items, agree on the price. If you can transfer the money on the spot, we will arrange a car to take you away with the goods. If you can't transfer the money on the spot, we can send someone with the items to the city to get the money..." The middle-aged man, who looked like a construction site technician, revealed a sharp look in his eyes, no longer looking ordinary, indicating that he was the one in charge, "Of course, although we can't confirm the age of these items, if you think you can just name a price to get rid of us, I advise you to think again."

At this moment, the other three people and the driver brought over the black tripod.

When the black tripod was moved into the warehouse and placed with the other items, it no longer stood out as much.

Chen Hai was still thinking about the strange scene earlier and the peculiar mental pressure the black tripod gave him. Although there were many other old items in the warehouse, none gave him the same special feeling.

He casually pointed to the black tripod with the dragon head and asked, "What's the price for this?"

The middle-aged man held up one finger.

Chen Hai thought the middle-aged man was asking for 100,000, but when he saw Gu Fatso frown, he knew the price was even higher.

Chen Hai took a deep breath, thinking that since Gu Fatso had already dealt with the middle-aged man, he must have inquired about the price of the black tripod. If it were just 100,000, Gu Fatso would have already taken it, and wouldn't have continued to take the risk.

One million!

Chen Hai didn't expect the price to be so high. Seeing that others were also interested in the black tripod, he kept silent. The others also didn't speak, clearly dissatisfied with the middle-aged man's price.

Everyone was willing to take the risk for a big win, but the age of these old items wasn't confirmed, and there was no market price to measure them. There was also no confirmed buyer to take them. Taking such a big risk for a mysterious and damaged tripod for a million was beyond everyone's expectations.

No one asked for a price, but they didn't stop squatting down to study the items. Chen Hai also joined them.

There were only about seventy to eighty damaged tripods and seals, and none gave the same cold and hot alternating feeling as the black tripod.

Of course, in the antique market, authenticity and condition are more important. The dragon-headed black tripod, being an ancient and peculiar item, might not be easy to sell, but a few people were interested. If the price was right, they might not mind taking it.

These few people had more wealth than Chen Hai could imagine. Chen Hai frowned, thinking that the black tripod was too peculiar, and not taking it might not be a bad thing. He was looking for other items worth buying.

Su Qian seemed a bit restless, often glancing at the warehouse door, which had no windows.

Apart from Chen Hai, who couldn't help but look at Su Qian, no one paid attention to her unease.

"What's going on?" Chen Hai wondered, seeing that Gu Fatso was also somewhat distracted today, which wasn't their normal reaction.

Suddenly, the phone in the middle-aged man's hand rang.

After answering the call, the middle-aged man's face changed drastically. His triangular eyes fiercely scanned everyone, revealing a cruel look. He quickly moved to the side, lifted a corner of the waterproof cloth, picked up a double-barreled shotgun, and pointed it at everyone, angrily shouting, "Who the hell called the police?"

Everyone was stunned, looking at each other.

Although the middle-aged man only had a shotgun, the gun muzzle was unpredictable, and everyone was pale with fear, not daring to speak, not knowing what was happening.

"Old Zhou, what are you doing? No one called the police, don't joke with us like this," Gu Fatso asked calmly.

The five or six young men took out crowbars, wrenches, and a butcher knife with a steel pipe handle, and angrily surrounded them.

They also didn't expect anyone to call the police. The sudden change made them flustered, but they looked even more vicious towards Chen Hai and the others, wishing to beat the person who called the police.

Chen Hai was also stunned, not knowing who among them was the police informant, but he understood that the middle-aged man must have arranged for someone to watch the road and saw the police cars enter the mountains.

If the police really rushed in, he wasn't afraid, as they hadn't started the transaction yet, and these matters had nothing to do with them. However, he was afraid that any rash action before the police arrived might cause a misunderstanding, leading to an unjust death.

Seeing that no one spoke, the middle-aged man, holding the double-barreled shotgun, was anxious and at a loss. After a while, he decided to leave quickly rather than be caught by the police. He raised the shotgun and shouted,

"Move all the items to the bus! San Pao, guard the gate. If anyone tries to run, beat them to death!"

Under the threat of the shotgun, Chen Hai and the others dared not resist and hurriedly moved the items onto the bus.

Except for the black tripod, the other items were not as heavy as they imagined. They could hear the sirens, and the items were already on the bus. Chen Hai and the others were also pushed onto the bus. Then, the middle-aged man and three others moved two large wooden boxes onto the bus.

When the lids of the large wooden boxes were opened, everyone's faces turned even paler.

The two boxes were filled with detonators.

This group had used explosives to dig graves, but at this moment, putting two boxes of detonators on the bus was not to take them to dig graves.

Hearing the sirens, it seemed that the police cars were blocked in the village ahead.

The middle-aged man must have arranged for people to incite the villagers to block the police cars. Although Chen Hai wasn't worried about what the police would do to them, he hoped the police cars would be blocked and unable to pass, so that the middle-aged man wouldn't need to keep them as hostages against the police.

However, this was unlikely, as several police cars were sounding their sirens, and it was impossible for a group of villagers to block them all.

The driver, flustered, started the car, but the steering wheel wasn't straight, and the car rushed towards the roadside drainage ditch. He slammed on the brakes, causing everyone to be thrown around. Chen Hai hit his waist on the corner of the seat, gasping in pain, and Su Qian fell into the aisle.

The bus couldn't stop in time and tilted towards the drainage ditch, sliding in. Then, it hit hard...

Although the car didn't flip over, everyone was dazed and disoriented. Su Qian was thrown between two rows of seats, and the black tripod fell towards her.

Su Qian screamed in fear, but the dragon-headed black tripod was blocked by the seats and didn't fall directly on her. However, it pressed on her leg as the car tilted.

Seeing the door open, Gu Fatso and the others reacted first, rushing to the door to try to escape. If they didn't escape now, they would definitely be taken as hostages when the police surrounded them.

Chen Hai wanted to pull Su Qian up, but the black tripod was heavier than he imagined. Chen Hai and Su Qian pushed and pulled hard, but it didn't budge. Su Qian was trapped between the two rows of seats, and no one came to help in the chaos.

"You bastards want to die!" A young man blocked the door, holding a bundle of detonators and a disposable lighter, threatening to light the fuse and scare Gu Fatso and the others back.

"Why..." Gu Fatso shouted.

"Get back!" The young man screamed.

The young man, emotionally agitated, flicked the lighter, and the flame danced near the fuse. Chen Hai was terrified, and Gu Fatso and the others hurriedly retreated, afraid of provoking him.

Whether the young man was too agitated or desperate, the flame somehow touched the fuse.

The young man, seeing the fuse sizzling, threw the bundle of detonators and jumped off the bus.

Gu Fatso and the others scrambled out of the bus. Chen Hai, at this moment, no longer cared about Su Qian and tried to crawl out of the broken window— the ignited detonators were only a meter away from Su Qian, and there were two large boxes of detonators in the bus. If they all exploded, he might not even find his bones.

"Chen Hai, I like you!" Su Qian shouted from behind.

Chen Hai was stunned, his body stiff at the window. He turned back and saw Su Qian trapped between the seats, tears streaming down her face, not knowing if she was scared or in pain from her leg being crushed by the black tripod.

"Damn you!" Chen Hai shouted at Su Qian, but despite his anger, he couldn't leave her to jump out of the window. He rushed to the ignited detonators, grabbed them, and threw them out of the bus door.

"Bang!" The detonators hit the bus frame and bounced back into the bus.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" Chen Hai, seeing the fuse almost burned out, his heart pounding, scrambled forward, grabbed the bundle of detonators, and threw them out of the bus door again.

The bundle of detonators exploded violently in mid-air.

Under the strong shock wave, Chen Hai was thrown into the bus, the intense pain in his back almost tearing his nerves apart.

Seeing Su Qian's terrified eyes, Chen Hai turned his head and saw the dragon head of the black tripod deeply embedded in his back, blood gushing out, staining the black tripod. Chen Hai's head tilted, and he fainted.

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When Chen Hai woke up, his back was in excruciating pain. He vaguely saw Su Qian and Gu Fatso sitting with two police officers in the front seats, talking quietly. Gu Fatso was smoking nervously, and Su Qian's jeans were stained with blood, indicating that her left leg had been injured by the dragon-headed black tripod...

Chen Hai didn't see the others but understood the relationship between Gu Fatso, Su Qian, and the police from this scene. He had noticed their unusual behavior on the way, but hadn't thought about it at the time.

Chen Hai felt cold and weak, the dragon head of the black tripod still embedded in his back, seemingly draining his blood. His consciousness was fading, as if a black hole was sucking his soul away.

This is the feeling of dying, Chen Hai thought he was about to die.

"You don't talk, the ambulance will be here soon," Su Qian, seeing Chen Hai wake up, limped over in pain, comforting him.

"Was what you said just now true?" Chen Hai struggled to sit up, the pain almost tearing his nerves, but even if he died, he had to ask this question.

Seeing Su Qian's eyes dart away, Chen Hai felt a chill, thinking that his efforts to save her were not worth it, and that he had been used by this woman. He cursed, "I f*** your mother!" and his consciousness shattered.

Chen Hai didn't know that at the moment his consciousness completely collapsed, the dragon carved around the black tripod suddenly glowed, and a dragon-shaped shadow about a foot long struggled out of the black tripod. In the next moment, it seemed to tear through space, disappearing in front of Su Qian.

"What's wrong, Xiao Su?" The middle-aged police officer turned around, seeing Su Qian stiffly sitting in the aisle.

"Chen Hai is gone," Su Qian couldn't control her inner sorrow, tears streaming down her face as she tightly hugged Chen Hai's cold body...

[End of Chapter]