CHAPTER 365: CHAPTER 351: INTEGRATING IDEAS

Eddie and Camel’s appearance has put a damper on Mountain Eagle’s cheerful mood today.

During the meal, Mountain Eagle did not conceal the potential trouble he might encounter; he sincerely sought everyone’s opinions and then decided to send Tessa and Chakdi’s family away after dinner...

Sending Tessa to meet with Tessa, she herself is not the target, and with police protection, she should be safe enough.

Mountain Eagle couldn’t involve Taigore’s lover in the fight, nor did he want Tessa to come up the mountain, so he had to find something for her to do.

Protecting Samantha and tracking down the mercenaries landing from Phuket Island became Tessa’s tasks.

However, Shasili, who came with Samantha, firmly refused to leave, staying close by Sofia’s side and fully taking on the role of an assistant.

Upon hearing that Mountain Eagle might be in trouble, Chakdi originally wanted to stay and help, but Mountain Eagle chose to let him take his wife and child and go first.

Just signed the contract today, a monthly salary of 5,000 Thai Baht, Mountain Eagle didn’t have the heart to let Chakdi, who had serious injuries, risk his life with him, not even voluntarily.

To buy time, dinner was somewhat rushed...

In about half an hour, Chakdi, with Chami reluctantly in tow, quickly left Sunset Mountain in the car driven by Butcher.

Yuliy, who had an injured leg, drove another car, responsible for taking Samantha to Ko Lanta.

After all the people who had to leave had gone, Chris Jon, who was in charge of the financial operations, looked at Mountain Eagle worriedly and said, "Boss, isn’t it a bit too dangerous for us with so few people? Why not call in Killing Bee and his gang?

Their price isn’t high, and we shouldn’t skimp on some things. All our equipment upstairs is very expensive, and if it gets damaged, we might lose even more."

Mountain Eagle glanced at Jon and said with a smile, "Do you want me to get a helicopter for you and just send you off to Bangkok, and maybe also find you a high-end office while I’m at it?"

Jon spread his hands and said, "I think that would work. In fact, our work would be easier to carry out in Bangkok."

As he spoke, Jon looked at Mr. Poincaré next to him and said seriously, "Mr. Poincaré is old and not a combatant, so I think it’s feasible.

At the very least, we should prepare a helicopter, ready to escort Mr. Poincaré to safety at any moment.

Boss, we can’t even properly handle guns..."

Mountain Eagle wasn’t surprised by Jon’s fear of death...

Most people in finance are sophisticated egoists, which is not really a bad trait. After all, even gangs don’t value ’loyalty’ much these days, and Mountain Eagle couldn’t expect them to stick with him through thick and thin.

The best way to manage such people is to make them fully understand their own power while keeping them within reach of one’s own influence at critical times to maintain supervision.

Of course, they must also be given benefits they can’t refuse, to raise the price of their betrayal.

Jon is currently leading the critical harvesting of Thailand, and combined with the subsequent currency market turmoil caused by the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts, these two projects, if successful, could save Mountain Eagle years of detours.

How could Mountain Eagle let Jon leave at a time like this?

Looking at the risk-averse Jon, Mountain Eagle said with a smile, "Buddy, have you forgotten something?

You and Zorn are still wanted by the United States. The fact that you helped those American soldiers steal from the Big Russian Gang is in the past, but do you think Pulichenko would forgive you if you just return the money?

I send you to Bangkok right now, do you believe you won’t even be able to last a day?"

Jon paused, then nodded in distress...

At this stage, they were only safe in Ko Lanta. Anywhere else, they would either be extradited back to the United States or be brutally dealt with by the Big Russian Gang.

After a period of recent good days, Jon quickly calmed down and said to Mountain Eagle with a bow, "Sorry, boss, I just thought, um..."

Mountain Eagle dismissed it with a wave of his hand, "You don’t need to explain to me, being a little selfish isn’t a bad thing!

I just want to remind you of the relationship between us...

I’m the boss, I provide you with the platform, opportunities, and sufficient compensation, and you serve me.

Maybe three years, maybe five years, if you can satisfy me, I will figure out a way to get you a brand new identity.

Until then, all you have to do is follow my orders and desperately earn my trust, otherwise, even if you earn money, you still have no future."

After listening, Jon said with sincerity, "I understand, boss, thank you, boss!"

Mr. Poincaré looked at Jon, who had started feeling important after recently earning a lot of money for Mountain Eagle...

He shook his head and said, "Jon, you should be very clear that you can make money in the currency and futures markets not because your skill is irreplaceable, but because the boss gave you inside information and enough preparation time.

Someone else could do just as well!"

With that, Mr. Poincaré glanced at Eddie and Camel and said with a smile, "I’ve spent my life managing assets for these mercenaries, and the most important thing I’ve learned is that once we’re tied to them, we can’t turn back.

What you need to do is gain their trust while not breaking the contract."

Mercenaries aren’t the type to call the cops after being deceived—they’ll just track you down, retrieve their money, and then dismember you.

The hacker Zorn, by contrast, seemed to take things in stride...

Aside from assisting Jon in setting up the trading equipment, the guy had developed several pieces of software on his own and had even started his own little nest egg by investing tens of thousands of dollars into funds.

What’s more, every day he was online, keeping Snowden, who was hiding out in the Golden Triangle, entertained. Through Snowden, the MIT genius delved into many areas he had never been exposed to before.

For a tech nerd, Mountain Eagle’s coffee shop was an opportunity of a lifetime.

Zorn, glancing at Jon with his complex expression, took a sip of Happy Water and cheerily said, "I think this place is great, and since the boss hasn’t made us bug out, he must be confident in handling danger.

Buddy, look on the bright side. If you feel lonely, I can give you ’Broadcast’s’ number. He offers a door-to-door babe service..."

As he spoke, Zorn sneakily glanced to the ever-so-slightly intimidating Pigeon and said, "I’ve saved up some money recently, so I’m thinking of building a house here. One of those triangle houses like you guys have would be good.

With a small attic for sleeping, the ground floor for computers and TV, and maybe a high-end coffee machine and a top-notch fridge. And if there’s a little terrace at the front, I’d be extra happy.

How about ten thousand dollars?

Ten thousand dollars out of my own pocket, and you guys help me build one too."

Pigeon glanced at Zorn who was ready to dish out ten thousand dollars, then turned his gaze towards the triangular houses they had built on the hillside over time with Butcher; he couldn’t really see them being worth ten thousand dollars.

Not being too out of place, the houses were triangular like the one Mountain Eagle lived in, constructed from a framework of treated lumber and sealed with Oriented Strand Boards (OSB).

The peak almost reached 4.2 meters high, enough to fit a loft for two people to sleep in, with space below for a separate wet and dry bathroom, a living room of about ten square meters, and a balcony facing the sea.

Insulation wasn’t needed in Thailand, so the houses needn’t be too heavy-duty. With materials readily available on site, Butcher and Pigeon managed to construct two houses in just under half a month.

One was already handed over to Sofia, who was designing the interior and ordering custom furniture.

They themselves had moved into the other one already. The two ex-Russians installed air conditioning and got some soft mattresses, moving in and instantly feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness.

Pigeon and Butcher planned to expedite the construction of new houses, hoping to provide their own dormitories to Pirate and Post Box by the time they were healed and rejoined the squad.

However, now that Zorn, sizable sucker born every minute, had made a generous offer, Pigeon felt that Post Box and Pirate could wait a bit longer.

Seeing Zorn’s eager face, Pigeon was just about to nod when Daria grabbed his arm...

"Help us build ours first. That son of a gun, Zorn, will hide in his room every day, depleting our toilet paper supplies. Living next to him does not give me or Yuliy a sense of security."

On hearing this, Pigeon nodded and said, "We are warriors after all, the materials are all provided by the boss, so we’ll just charge you 3000 dollars, I’ll discuss it with Butcher."

When Zorn saw Daria’s smiling face, he clutched his head and shouted, "Oh, this is unfair! I’m willing to pay ten thousand dollars. Why can’t I have mine built first?"

With that, Zorn looked at the Pigeon’s mocking eyes, sighed, and said, "I’ve been practicing hard recently, I’m a warrior too!"

Daria said with sarcasm, "Yes, a gaming warrior!

You’re such a loser that can’t even last 5 minutes watching adult films. Instead of daydreaming, you’d be better off getting up and running a few laps every day."

Upon hearing this, Zorn, bewildered, looked at Daria with furrowed brows and asked, "Are you showing concern for me?"

As he spoke, Zorn clutched his chest, "No way, I like your sister. You might look alike but I prefer her personality..."

Daria, amused by Zorn’s comment, drew her handgun and slammed it on the table, complaining to Mountain Eagle, "Boss, I want to drive a bullet through this disgusting moron..."

Mountain Eagle, who was whispering with Eddie and Camel, looked up and said, "Buddy, I know you’ve got some money now...

It’s good to have dreams, but just make sure your dreams don’t involve someone who could tear you to shreds any given moment!"

Zorn listened to this, sadly glanced at the furious Daria, and sighed, "I know you all want to be the boss’ babe. There’s really no need...

It’s great to dream, but better to aim for someone within reach.

I am awesome, and all you have to do is reach out to grab me, ah..."

Before Zorn could finish, Daria grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to the ground, pummeling him while he squealed and howled...

The atmosphere in the coffee shop instantly turned lively, with even the usually subdued Jon jumping up to cheer Zorn on, encouraging him to hold on for a bit longer and take a few more beatings...

The ambiance was electric, as if nobody really took the potential approaching threat seriously, but in reality, Mountain Eagle was already on high alert!

There was only one road leading to Sunset Mountain, and to bypass the surveillance along that road, enemies would have to travel through the dense tropical forest.

Ordinary teams certainly didn’t have the capability, but determined enemies would always find a way–and it was then that the downside of Sunset Mountain’s lack of fencing became apparent.

Special detection methods were needed to give early warning before the enemy got too close.

Crows can’t circle overhead 24 hours a day, and based on Mountain Eagle’s experience, the best early warning system for an individual was not high-tech gadgets but dogs, specifically big dogs with a strong sense of territory.

The military dog kit included an alert module, so obtaining a few big dogs and equipping them with the alert modules, letting them run loose at night was the best sentinel.