The plane slowly landed at New York Kennedy International Airport.

As soon as Lu Li got off the plane, he immediately took the extended Rolls-Royce arranged by Qin Liang to the hotel.

Well, Shen Xia also enjoyed the benefit, not needing to squeeze onto the airport shuttle bus.

The hotel originally booked for Lu Li by the Nathan Hot Dog Contest was quite ordinary.

However, Qin Liang rebooked a high-end park-view suite for him at the Central Park Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Naturally, Lu Li went to the better one.

It's said that this suite costs about 34,000 to 35,000 US dollars per night.

Qin Liang mentioned this before coming and didn't bring it up in the car.

Not only booking the hotel, Qin Liang originally wanted to book a first-class seat for Lu Li.

But Lu Li and Shen Xia had arranged to travel together, so he declined the offer.

The Rolls-Royce stopped at the hotel entrance.

A bellboy immediately came over to open the car door.

Lu Li, Qin Liang, and Shen Xia got out of the car.

He saw Qin Liang naturally slip a fifty-dollar tip to the bellboy.

Suddenly, Shen Xia exclaimed, "Oh, is your hotel here?"

Lu Li hadn't reacted yet and turned his head to ask, "What's wrong?"

Shen Xia, feeling somewhat embarrassed, said, "This hotel's room rates seem a bit pricey. I think I'll find another place to stay."

With that, she signaled that she was about to leave.

Lu Li was still a bit puzzled by it all.

Until he heard the front desk inside interacting with the guests checking in.

He found out that the cheapest room here costs eight or nine hundred US dollars per night.

Only then did he understand why Shen Xia wanted to look elsewhere.

Even though Shen Xia is a physicist, her salary isn't very high.

As far as Lu Li knows, Shen Xia's annual salary is around 300,000.

If she really stayed in this hotel for two or three nights, she'd lose a month's wage.

Despite being on a work trip, Su Cheng University wasn't going to reimburse such an expensive hotel expense.

Lu Li was about to say something.

Qin Liang was quite the perceptive one.

Seeing that Shen Xia and Lu Li came over on the same plane, he assumed they had a close relationship.

To flatter Lu Li, he immediately called out to Shen Xia, "Miss Shen, it just so happens that I booked an extra room here. Canceling it now would incur a penalty; why don't you stay for now?"

Shen Xia could easily see through Qin Liang's pretext.

She waved her hand, "Thank you for the offer, Mr. Qin, but it's unnecessary. I'll find someplace nearby to stay."

At this point, Qin Liang cast an inquiring glance at Lu Li.

Lu Li quite enjoyed interacting with Shen Xia.

Naturally, he hoped to have someone to chat with when free.

He nodded slightly at Qin Liang.

Understanding the gesture, Qin Liang said something that even Lu Li hadn't expected.

He smiled and said, "If Miss Shen is unwilling to stay in the extra room I booked, that's fine too. Mr. Lu's suite is a two-bedroom; how about you stay with him?"

Lu Li: "..."

You're misunderstanding me here!

What Lu Li intended to signal was for Qin Liang to persuade Shen Xia, saying that connections could lead to cheaper hotel rates.

He hadn't anticipated that Qin Liang would interpret it this way.

It was clear Shen Xia still wanted to refuse.

Seeing that Qin Liang had already said that, Lu Li could only follow along, saying: "Well, having another bedroom empty is quite a waste. If you don't mind, you can stay with me. Of course, if you're uncomfortable with it, I wouldn't insist."

Since Lu Li had put it that way, refusing again would essentially mean rejecting both sides' "friendship."

Given her relaxed personality, Shen Xia didn't reject staying with a "friend."

She said with a smile, "Since you're willing to let me stay, how could I mind? Sure, let's stay together, but let me cover half of the room fee, or I'd feel uneasy."

Clearly, she wasn't aware that half the room fee for Lu Li's room would still be higher than a normal room elsewhere.

As the saying goes, clear accounts foster good relationships.

Shen Xia's attitude further endeared her to Lu Li.

He decided he would later present her with the cost as if it were half of the lowest room rate here.

This way, Shen Xia could stay comfortably without any burden.

Lu Li laughed and said, "Great, someone to share the room cost with. Shall we head up now?"

With the bellboy helping with luggage, the three completed the check-in process and took the elevator to the higher floors.

...

Arriving at the room.

Qin Liang continued introducing the surroundings to Lu Li and Shen Xia, "The transportation here is quite convenient. It's close to Fifth Avenue, Times Square, Broadway, and the Empire State Building. At most, it takes less than twenty minutes to drive to the furthest one. Oh, by the way, have you watched 'Friends'?"

Shen Xia nodded, "Yes, I've seen it."

Lu Li, who had also watched the classic American show, nodded gently.

Qin Liang, while opening the door for Lu Li and Shen Xia, said with a smile, "The Central Perk Café in 'Friends,' though it has 'Central Park' in its name, is actually set in Greenwich Village near Washington Square Park, not in Central Park. Of course, that was a set, fictional. The Central Perk Café you see in the show still exists in Warner Brothers' Burbank studios in California."

As he was speaking, there was a "click" sound, and the door opened.

Qin Liang opened the door and stepped aside to let Lu Li and Shen Xia enter.

Lu Li walked in and found the suite absolutely stunning.

Over a hundred square meters of space.

A master and a secondary bedroom.

High-end sofas, table lamps, artistic oil paintings, everything was complete.

Most importantly, standing inside the room and looking out the window, the view of the Manhattan area was panoramic.

While admiring, Qin Liang said, "Mr. Lu, Miss Shen, I'm going to adjust my jet lag, you two chat first. If you need anything, come next door, my room is right beside."

Lu Li and Shen Xia acknowledged.

Qin Liang gently closed the door and left.

Lu Li and Shen Xia settled their luggage.

A moment later, the hotel front desk called to say someone was looking for them.

Lu Li learned it was Zhang Guocheng, Xiaolin, and Wang Yu and told the hotel staff to bring them up.

Zhang Guocheng, Xiaolin, and Wang Yu were certainly reluctant to stay in such an upscale hotel, hence they weren't staying together.

At this moment, the group gathered around the sofa.

Zhang Guocheng glanced at the movement from Shen Xia's room, then turned back to Lu Li and asked, "Mr. Lu, is it convenient for us to speak now?"

Lu Li understood he was questioning whether Shen Xia was trustworthy.

He glanced at the secondary bedroom and casually said, "I think it's fine, but if you have concerns, you can lower your voice."

"Alright." Zhang Guocheng nodded slightly, "Then I'll brief you on the person's information and how to carry out the mission."

Lu Li leaned back on the sofa, "Okay, go ahead."

Zhang Guocheng said, "Our target is a middle-aged man named Jin Zhouzhou, forty years old, this is a photo taken of him previously."

Saying that, he took a photo from Xiaolin's hand and handed it to Lu Li.

Lu Li reached out and took it to look.

He found the photo depicted a genteel middle-aged man wearing glasses.

Judging by the photo, he seemed quite tall, about 1.85 meters, and rather handsome in appearance.

He silently memorized this person's face.

As he examined the photo, Zhang Guocheng continued, "Since Jin Zhouzhou fled to the Ugly Country, he's been relying on an organization called California Eighteenth Street..."

He briefly introduced the situation of California Eighteenth Street.

Lu Li learned that the organization had 15,000 members.

It's one of the largest underground forces in California.

It currently has members in thirty-two states.

Naturally, it includes New York as well.

Moreover, the organization has close ties with the Mexican Mafia.

There are also some unclear relationships.

In simple terms, it has backing.

And a very influential one at that.

Lu Li asked, "Are you suggesting I just go into their lair and capture him?"

"No, no." Zhang Guocheng hurriedly waved his hand, "We all know you're incredibly capable, but the Eighteenth Street organization has formidable firepower. We certainly hope you don't have to risk yourself unnecessarily."

Lu Li asked, "Then how should I proceed?"

Zhang Guocheng reached back again.

Xiaolin immediately handed over a new photo.

Zhang Guocheng glanced at it and handed it to Lu Li, "Take a look at this woman's photo."

Lu Li didn't know what he meant by that, but still took the photo and looked at it.

In the picture, the background was a maple leaf forest.

There stood a fair-skinned, beautiful blonde in a revealing outfit.

This woman was exceedingly beautiful.

The blue eyes beneath her lush blonde waves exuded a subtle hue.

Her face bore a striking resemblance to Annie Hathaway.

Yet her figure wasn't as "explosive" as typical European and American women.

On the contrary, it was just right.

Perfectly fitting the Huaxia aesthetic.

Zhang Guocheng introduced the woman's information, "Her name is Julia Giannini, twenty-five years old, she's the main financial backer behind California Eighteenth Street. Allegedly, she's part of the California Consortium, with her family secretly owning assets worth hundreds of billions of US Dollars, and Julia Giannini is the family's second heir."

Lu Li looked at Zhang Guocheng oddly, "You're not suggesting I use a honey trap on this woman, are you?"

"Haha."

"Mr. Lu, you're quite the joker."

Xiaolin, Wang Yu, and the others laughed.

Zhang Guocheng chuckled and shook his head, "No, this woman is a lesbian, even if we wanted to use a honey trap, it wouldn't work. But, she's a gambling enthusiast. I heard you've earned the title of Gambling God in Macau, so we want you to approach her in a legal casino. It just so happens she's in Atlantic City these days, reportedly losing big, so we want to send you in, help her win some money to get closer, and we'll figure out the specifics later how to proceed."

Lu Li roughly understood, "So the primary task now is to build a good rapport with her?"

Zhang Guocheng nodded, "Yes, but don't think it's an easy task. Didn't I just tell you? She's a lesbian, she has a distaste for men, even with your superior gambling skill, it may not be easy to get close to her."

Back on this topic, Lu Li chuckled involuntarily, "So what if she's a lesbian? As long as she's human, I can easily approach her."

Oh please.

My high-level life pheromones are no joke.

Forget about a lesbian, I can even turn a straight guy bent!

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