NOVPUB77: Chapter 77: Gunfight (Please Favorite, Follow, and Vote for the Monthly Ticket)
77: Chapter 77: Gunfight (Please Favorite, Follow, and Vote for the Monthly Ticket)
“This kind of hardcover book is always like this,” He Ao had completed the transfer and took the book from Roger’s hands, “The inner layer of the cover uses cardboard, and the outside is covered with a layer of calfskin, fabric, or thick paper, which makes it easier to preserve and look more expensive.”
He Ao flipped through the book in his hands, “For example, the cover of this book is cardboard covered with a layer of printed thick paper.”
“Every trade has its tricks.”
Roger laughed.
Then he led He Ao outside to the shopfront, took out a black metal object about one centimeter wide and two centimeters long, carved with cloud patterns, from a drawer, and threw it to He Ao.
“What’s this?”
He Ao caught the metal object and pressed it lightly, and three metal contact points slowly emerged from one end of the metal body.
These three contacts were standard Federation data transfer interfaces, equipped with magnetic adsorption, usually used for data transfer between devices.
He Ao’s smart bracelet also had these three contacts, only they were concealed.
It seemed this metal body was some kind of digital device.
“Cryptocurrency hardware wallet,” Roger said as he ushered He Ao out of his little shop, “You can store your private keys in this hardware wallet, and use it to authenticate when you pay or transfer money.
Just touch your bracelet with that contact point, and you’ll be able to see the instructions for using this gadget.”
In the Copy World, cryptocurrency is a generic term for a series of decentralized currencies that use cryptographic principles to ensure transaction security and control the creation of units.
The core of cryptocurrency is no different from toy money used by children, but because the total amount of the currency is fixed and the transactions are highly confidential, it can, in a way, be used as a general equivalent or for speculation, much like gold and other precious metals.
In a sense, it could be considered digital gold.
Most importantly, it’s not a centrally issued currency, and creating an account doesn’t require real-name authentication.
It can’t be tracked by the Federation government, making it a natural currency suitable for black market transactions.
Therefore, some well-established and widely recognized cryptocurrencies have nearly the same status as federal coins in the black market and some trading markets and can be exchanged for federal coins at a certain rate.
“I think you might want to start depositing some money into it soon.
You’ll probably need it when it’s time to run.”
Roger pushed He Ao out of his shop, stuffed a piece of paper into He Ao’s hand, lit a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and pressed the button to close the roller shutter door.
He slowly turned around and walked deeper into the shop, “Stay alive, Old Geezer.”
He Ao unfolded the piece of paper in his hand, which read:
[Christos Campaign Office phone: 207-357-3379]
He Ao watched the roller shutter door closing bit by bit, tucked away the piece of paper, then turned around, and started limping toward the street with his walking stick.
—
“Hey, old man, it’s Yi Jiali.”
Yi Jiali supported the steering wheel with one hand and connected her bracelet’s communication to the car’s smart system.
“Hmm, are you here to pick up the book you left behind yesterday?”
The familiar elderly voice came through the phone.
“Yes, do you have the book?
Can I come and get it now?” 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
Hearing He Ao’s words, Yi Jiali’s nervousness relaxed, it was okay as long as the book wasn’t lost, after all, a book cost several hundred federal coins, which was too expensive, “Are you at the library now?”
“No, I’m nearby the library,” the elderly voice paused, “I’ll send you an address.”
“Okay, I’ll be there shortly, goodbye old man.”
Yi Jiali opened the address sent by He Ao and then set up the navigation.
—
“Hmm.”
He Ao sat on the couch in the cafe, and hung up the phone.
He took his gaze back from the pedestrians outside the glass window and looked down at the book in his hands.
His gaze lingered on the thick cover of the book.
In fact, after Yi Jiali left last night, he had flipped through this book and found nothing unusual.
But just now, Roger’s words made him notice the book’s thick cover.
The cover of “Dauntless Dawn” wasn’t like that of other hardcover books, where the heavy paper outer layer is tightly adhered to the inner cardboard.
Instead, there was a slight separation.
He Ao picked up the book, leaning back on the couch, and slowly raised the book at an angle where his left hand was just out of everyone’s line of sight.
His eyes scanned every corner of the book’s cover, eventually discovering a slightly fresh, as if newly glued, area in the lower right corner of the inner cover.
He pried open the glued area, and a thin, translucent piece of plastic the size of a little fingernail’s cap immediately slid into his hand.
It appeared to be a type of micro storage chip that usually required special equipment to read, which He Ao’s current wristband couldn’t handle.
Thus, he clenched the chip in his palm, closed the book he held, and slowly walked out of the café.
The moment he stepped out of the café, he glanced at a black sedan parked at the end of the street and then calmly walked forward, blending into the crowd before slipping into an alleyway at an opportune moment of visual obstruction.
By the time the people in the black sedan regained their vision, He Ao’s figure had already vanished from their sight.
“Mr.
Aaron, we lost him.
Should we go out and search?”
A tall man pushed open the car door, gazing at the dense throng of people on the street.
“No need,” a calm voice came from the phone, belonging to Najia’s driver, “He will meet with that female lawyer, just keep a close eye on her later on.”
The tall man glanced toward the place where He Ao had disappeared and sat back down in the sedan.
As time passed, the noisy street gradually quieted down, and the flow of people was slowly diminishing as the hours went by.
There were four people sitting in the sedan: a driver in a gray-brown overcoat and three men in black suits.
Right now, all three men had their right hands tucked inside their coats, silently watching the direction of the street’s end.
The roar of an engine grew from a distance as a silver sedan pulled up in front of the café.
A slender woman in black boots stepped out, her lush black hair flowing as she looked around before entering the café with a hint of perplexity.
Through the café’s transparent glass walls, one could see her gesturing with her hands as if she was asking about someone’s whereabouts.
The waiter understood her description and pointed outside as if to indicate the person had already left.
She thanked the waiter somewhat dejectedly and slowly exited the café.
Then, her hand was suddenly seized and jerked into a side alley.
Bang——Bang——Bang——
Three successive gunshots shattered the street’s silence.
Three men in neat suits, wielding handguns, burst out of the sedan.
Panic-stricken shouts, the sound of footsteps, jostling, the orderly crowd was instantly thrown into chaos.
Yi Jiali, pulled into the alleyway, looked in surprise at the elderly man with a head full of silver hair.
Before she could voice her doubts, she saw the Elderly whip out a small, exquisite pistol from his coat.
Then, holding the gun, he extended his arm outside the alley.
His index finger rested on the trigger.
Bang——
Bang——
Bang——
