Irritation flooded Leandro.
Argh! I loathe spies! They’re best at deceiving others’ trust and feelings, utterly reprehensible!
Despite his fury, Winnie remained unperturbed.
Instead, she chuckled softly. “Okay, I’ll lay my cards on the table, then. I don’t know.”
“What did you just say?” Picking up the gun, Leandro pointed it at her forehead. “It seems that your identity is indeed fake! Who exactly are you? And who sent you here?”
Winnie straightened in her seat.
“I’m Vivian. But since Big Black Bear is here in person, I can’t quite continue using his identity to impersonate him. Indeed, I’m not Big Black Bear, but I only pretended to be him out of desperation. No one had ever heard of the name Vivian, but I had to survive. I really have a formulation, so I needed a buyer, money, and someone to protect me. Thus, I borrowed the moniker. But Boss, is it truly that important whether I’m Big Black Bear? Even if I’m Vivian, I can still help you complete your orders! Why must you place such importance on this moniker?”
Leandro’s eyes narrowed into slits. “I’m not concerned about that moniker! I just don’t want to be duped! I don’t want to be in the dark even after I’ve been stabbed in the back!”
“I’ll never betray you as long as you pay me!” Winnie lifted her left hand in a gesture of swearing an oath.
“Hmph! Previously, I didn’t know you were lying to me, so I promised you an equal share of the profits. But now—”
Without Leandro having to spell it out, Winnie voluntarily offered, “I’ll give half of that to Mr. Big Black Bear here. With him here now, my workload will be halved. As such, I naturally won’t hang on to the substantial profits without sharing them. I’m here anyway, so my fate hinges on you at the end of the day. I’ve been here for a long time, but I don’t even have a phone and have no way of contacting the outside world. What else is there for you to be suspicious of, Boss?”
Regretfully, Leandro shook his head. “Harold has always been an exceedingly cunning man, yet you managed to win him over. I’ve got to admit that you’re indeed a capable person. I don’t dare trust you.”
Nonetheless, Winnie merely chortled. “I understand, but as distance tests a horse’s strength, so time reveals a person’s integrity. As long as you spare me, Boss, you’ll know in the future that everything I’m saying right now is only for the sake of better survival. I don’t need you to make a decision right away. You can consider it carefully or even forge a collaboration with Mr. Big Black Bear here first as long as you spare me.”
As she mentioned sparing her several times, Leandro burst into laughter. “It looks like you’re really terrified of dying.”
“Of course! To tell you the truth, I first chose to seek Harold out to collaborate because he had firearms. I felt that a collaboration with him would be a much safer option. But then, he’s far too ruthless for the average person to deal with and I was no exception.”
Hearing that, Leandro was tickled pink. “Hah! Are you sure about that? You’re definitely the biggest surprise he’d ever encountered in his life. After all, you blew his factory up!”
In response, Winnie heaved a sigh in exasperation. “Boss, you’ve mentioned that too many times to count! If I hadn’t done that, I would’ve ended up dead. Put the gun away first, okay? Or would you rather have a dead body than a helper?”
In the face of benefits, there were no permanent enemies. Needless to say, Leandro was reluctant to kill her, for he could see the benefit she might bring him.
At that precise moment, his phone rang without warning.
He took his phone out and glanced at it, only to start snickering.
“I almost forgot that your man is still in my hands. You’d best obey me to the letter. I can tell that you care about him quite a bit.”
Winnie stole a peek at his phone screen and glimpsed a video call request.
Flashing him a smile, she replied, “You’re right. Actually, I’m also afraid at times, so I wish to have someone who treats me sincerely by my side. I find Chris to be a pretty good fit, so I hope you’ll spare him, Boss.”
Leandro guffawed triumphantly. “That depends on your performance.”
“I’ll do my best! Can I please talk to him? I think I need to see him.”
At her words, Leandro couldn’t help letting out a bark of laughter. “What’s wrong? You’re now afraid and want some comfort, huh?”
Looking at him, Winnie fibbed, “Well, no matter how strong a woman is, she still needs some emotional assurance sometimes.”
Leandro didn’t bother speaking further, handing his phone to her directly.
Winnie accepted the video call request. In no time, Christopher’s face appeared on the phone screen.
“Are you okay? What happened earlier? Why did you hang up abruptly?” Christopher questioned, bombarding her with question after question.
Winnie first glanced at Leandro, who had been staring at her. Then, she shifted her gaze to Christopher on the screen.
In an even voice, she explained, “I’m fine. Boss came over just now, so I chatted with him for a bit. I’m truly happy to see you. As per our agreement previously, you’ve got to rest well and follow the plan devised by the doctor. I’ll go over and visit you soon.”
In truth, Christopher couldn’t shake off the feeling that the matter wasn’t that simple. He suspected that she was in danger.
Hence, he used Morse code to convey a message to her.
He asked her whether she had run into trouble.
To that, Winnie answered in the negative and told him to execute the plan without worrying.
Still, Christopher was worried. Concern was written all over his face.
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