Chapter 39: The Assassin

In the wartime second-hand market, there are bargains to be found every single day.

Over the next few days, Li Yi'an practically scoured every second-hand market in London, searching for antiques—particularly those originating from China. While many foreign museums were interested in Chinese antiquities during this era, there were still countless treasures scattered among private collections.

He walked away with something almost every time, both Chinese and foreign artifacts. After a few days, despite having traded away over two hundred cartons of cigarettes, he had collected enough items to fill a small museum.

His days were spent scavenging by sunlight and playing poker by night, entangled with two little succubi.

Life was quite comfortable, but comfortable days always come to an end. A few days later, on a Wednesday, Li Yi'an boarded a seaplane bound for the United States once again. As the Imperial G-class seaplane took off from the River Thames, he took a lingering look at London.

His expression held a hint of reluctance; after all, this was where he had earned his first pot of gold, not to mention the two little succubi he was leaving behind.

And New York?

That was home!

Arriving in a new place, the most important task is to settle the essentials: food and shelter. Although he had visited New York several times before, those stays were initially in hotels and later lived out of the office.

But now, with long-term plans to develop in New York, that would no longer suffice.

Before his arrival, the company had already rented a residence for him—a typical brownstone. Pushing open the first heavy solid-wood door, he found a glass door behind it.

"Boss, what do you think?" Zhu Yihai asked, looking for a bit of praise. "This is the living room, here is the kitchen, and there is the study. Under the stairs is the entrance to the basement; it has two bedrooms and a bathroom, which you can rent out or use for domestic staff. Upstairs, there are three bedrooms, and the back door leads directly to the yard..."

It had taken Zhu Yihai a full half-month to find this house. While the residents here weren't necessarily aristocrats, they were certainly among the affluent class.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad. Yihai, you’ve worked hard," Li Yi'an said. He knew exactly why Zhu Yihai was so proactive; he felt threatened. After all, the Carl Metal Company was far larger than Zhenhua Company, and since Li Yi'an held no official position at Carl, Zhu felt a certain professional imbalance.

"By the way, did you find the person I asked for?"

What kind of person was he looking for? A bodyguard, of course. Although the Carl Metal Company had already hired over a hundred security guards—all of whom, like Carl, had been part of the German-American Bund and were the type to wear uniforms, much like the Nazi Stormtroopers in America—Li Yi'an felt that his own people were more reliable. After all, he would eventually have to leave the United States one day.

Afraid that his boss would think him incompetent, Zhu Yihai quickly explained, "Boss, you said you didn't want anyone affiliated with the gangs, so it was definitely hard to find someone in Chinatown. Even so, I found one. They say he was a soldier once, a personal guard for a certain Great Marshal. He has exceptional martial arts skills and a sharp eye for marksmanship. Mr. Situ from the On Leong Merchants Association tried to hire him several times, but he refused."

"A Great Marshal's personal guard?" Li Yi'an asked with curiosity. "Oh? Why couldn't they hire him?"

"He said he doesn't join gangs."

Li Yi'an burst into laughter. "Well, we think alike on that." Even without meeting him, Li Yi'an felt a sense of favor toward the man simply for his refusal to join a gang.

"By the way, keep a close eye on our cooperation with the Gambino family, Yihai. Stay in touch with them and figure out what we need. That is where the real money is made!" After saying this, Li Yi'an looked at him earnestly and added, "Yihai, I trust you to handle things. Only when you are in charge of these matters can I truly be at ease."

These simple words made Zhu Yihai quickly reply, "Since the Boss trusts me so much, I will certainly not let you down!"

In that instant, Zhu Yihai, who had been worried about his future status in the company, stopped worrying. Right, what was the Carl Metal Company anyway? It was just a smokescreen. The Boss was running such a massive operation; if he were to attract the attention of the IRS, things would get messy. That was why he had bought Carl Metal.

With that realization, Zhu Yihai finally had his position clearly defined: I am the Boss's right-hand man!

Thinking that the Boss must be exhausted from his travels, Zhu Yihai promptly excused himself.

After Zhu Yihai left, Li Yi'an sat on the sofa for a while, looking at the spacious living room. He knew that in a sense, this house was his first real home in this world.

But it felt like something was missing.

Hmm, a few little succubi...

...

The man before him was about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, of medium height. If he stood in a crowd, almost no one would notice him.

"You were a soldier?"

"Yes, Boss."

"You were a Great Marshal's personal guard?"

"Not exactly, but I was a bodyguard for important figures."

"Have you killed anyone?"

"I have."

Ding En remained as sparing with his words as ever.

"Are you carrying a gun?"

"I am."

With that, he drew a pistol from the small of his back.

"Let me see."

As he took the gun, Li Yi'an couldn't help but smile. It was a Broomhandle Mauser. He was very familiar with this weapon.

"It seems you really were a soldier. Tell me, why did you come to America?"

"I won't lie to you, Boss. I am a wanted criminal by the government. I had nowhere left to hide, so I fled to America."

"Oh?" Li Yi'an asked, intrigued.

"In the twenty-fourth year, I participated in the assassination of the traitor Wang Zhaoming. After it failed, I had no choice but to flee."

Whoa!

Li Yi'an's expression changed instantly. He had originally just been looking for a bodyguard, never expecting to find a man of such caliber.

"So, if you are worried about being implicated, Boss, I understand."

Ding En's words made Li Yi'an roar with laughter. "Implicated in what? Traitors deserve to be executed by all. Very well, you're the one!"

Ding En was stunned. His identity was sensitive; no one in Chinatown dared to hire him. Even the On Leong Association only wanted to use him as a tool. That was why he didn't stay in Chinatown—after all, he had also participated in the assassination attempt on that man in Chongqing. He never expected this man to be so indifferent to all of that.

Before Ding En could react, Li Yi'an asked, "When can you start? By the way, can you drive?"