Looking at the address sent to his phone, along with Mulan's note that her time was limited, Ethan didn't hesitate.
Scaling the school wall was a fluid, practiced motion. Wade Qi wasn't around at this hour. Ethan told him to head directly to the meeting spot, then hailed a cab himself.
If the teacher didn't see him in class, so be it. In school, two types of students could skip class without much fuss: those who were beyond teaching, and those who were beyond learning.
The meeting place was a café in the commercial district. Ethan entered and scanned the room, but didn't see Mulan.
His phone rang. He answered.
"Go further in. Upstairs. To the left."
Following the instructions, Ethan finally spotted Mulan seated in a corner on the second floor, positioned before a large plate-glass window. She wore a baseball cap and a pair of oversized sunglasses perched on her high nose bridge.
As Ethan sat down, Mulan's eyes swept over his school uniform. "You really are a high school student?"
"Obviously." Ethan spread his hands, then dropped his backpack onto the table. "Are we in danger?"
"No," Mulan shook her head.
Ethan smiled faintly. "You call me in a hurry, you're disguised like this, and you chose this specific spot where you can see everyone entering or leaving the café while hiding yourself behind this wall. Seems like you're worried someone might find you."
"Fine," Mulan admitted. "There might be some risk. One hundred and twenty million... that kind of money isn't easy to move. This isn't Macau. There are many ways to avoid paying. Cao Yuan is blocking the payment. I've been trying to find a way the last couple of days. Here."
She took out a gold bar marked "1Kg."
"Today's gold price is six hundred thirty-two per gram. One of these is worth six hundred thirty-two thousand. I'm giving you one hundred of them."
She picked up a bag from the seat beside her, revealing a stack of gold bars inside.
Glistening.
Ethan swallowed hard. Over sixty million dollars, right before his eyes! Enough to live on for generations!
"Hurry, pack them," Mulan urged.
Ethan didn't waste words, opening his backpack, which contained only a few books.
"You came prepared?"
"You told me to come get the money. I didn't know how you'd give it to me, so I just tried to maximize the carrying space," Ethan replied.
The hundred gold bars filled the backpack to bursting. The first time he tried to lift it, he failed. It weighed over two hundred pounds!
Slung over his shoulder, it wasn't impossibly heavy—he'd done manual labor since childhood—but an average person, even in their twenties, would struggle to carry it.
"The remaining fifty-plus million, I'll handle a different way. This is—" Mulan started.
"Wait." Ethan stood up. "I don't feel safe carrying this. I need someone to keep watch. Why don't you come to the car with me?"
He had already spotted Wade Qi's car pulling up through the window. He planned to stash this load in the car first. With Wade Qi watching it, he'd feel secure. Carrying this alone was too much psychological pressure.
Mulan thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."
They headed downstairs. Ethan, in his school uniform, carrying an obviously heavy backpack, didn't look out of place. What student's backpack didn't weigh dozens of pounds these days? Ethan's only worry was that the straps might snap.
Pushing the café door open, they stepped outside,walking straight into a couple.
"Students skipping class to date at this hour," the man muttered.
Mulan, in skinny jeans, white sneakers, a baseball cap, and large sunglasses, radiated a youthful vibe that made her age hard to guess.
Ethan ignored them and kept walking. But the moment he took that step, a familiar sense of danger prickled the hairs on his neck, identical to the feeling during Wade Qi's surprise attacks during training.
Ethan spun around. The female half of the couple was already reaching for Mulan. Beneath the woman's sleeve, Ethan caught a glint of metal.
Without a second thought, Ethan threw his arm around Mulan, pulling her close.
Before Mulan could process what was happening, she felt a wave of warmth, her face pressed against Ethan's.
Before she could understand, a powerful force shoved her away.
Ethan stumbled forward a few steps. Reaching back, he felt his backpack. A slash had been cut through it. If it weren't for the gold bars inside, that knife would have plunged straight into his heart.
"Damn it! On a fucking losing streak lately! Run!"
He grabbed Mulan's hand and sprinted forward.
Wade Qi had seen the commotion the moment he arrived. He jumped out of the car and charged over.
The man and woman tried to press their attack, but Wade Qi subdued them in two swift moves.
By then, Ethan had already pulled a pale-faced Mulan to the car. Even behind the sunglasses, her terror was visible.
"Get in!" Ethan yanked the car door open and pushed Mulan inside, his hand briefly brushing against unexpected softness in his urgency.
Mulan let out a sharp gasp, but Ethan had no time to process it as he moved to get in himself.
"Look out!" Mulan screamed.
Ethan ducked instinctively. A machete sliced through the air where his neck had just been, embedding itself in the car door with a heavy thwack.
Cold sweat drenched Ethan's back. That strike was aimed to kill!
"Shit!" Ethan, still in a low stance, wrapped his arms around the attacker's waist and used his momentum to hurl him away. The machete clattered to the ground.
Ethan saw two more assailants charging toward them. They seemed to have materialized out of nowhere.
He heaved the heavy backpack into the car, then snatched up the fallen machete, holding it ready as he faced the two new threats.
The two attackers flanked him, exchanged a look, and rushed him simultaneously, their blades swinging.
Instead of retreating, Ethan met their charge. He ducked under one swipe and, staying low, lashed out with his own weapon in a series of short, sharp arcs. He saw one assailant's jacket tear open, flesh splitting and bleeding.
Not daring to overcommit, Ethan surged forward a few more steps, then dropped his weight suddenly, planting one hand on the ground. Pushing off with his feet, he spun his body a full 180 degrees. The machete-wielder chasing him hadn't finished turning before Ethan landed two solid chops on his back, then sent him sprawling with a powerful kick.
The remaining attacker, wounded in the abdomen, tried to rush Ethan but was swiftly knocked down by Wade Qi, who had closed the distance.
"Mr. Chen, there are too many of them. This isn't right. We need to go!" Wade Qi urged.
Ethan nodded and moved toward the car. But just as he was about to get in, he took a deep breath. "Wade Qi, you take her first. Get the contents of that bag to the casino. Tell Serena to inform Uncle Kun. Make this incident as public as possible! Find a way to get me out later!"
"Mr. Chen, what are you planning?"
"Getting stabbed at a night market, now getting hacked at a café!" Ethan snarled. "I need to fucking figure out what's going on!"
With a final glance at Mulan, whose face was ghostly white, Ethan slammed the car door shut.