Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 231 Mr. K Arrives
The lobby of the Astor Hotel was busier than usual at 6 p.m. on Friday.

Travelers from Europe, wealthy people from Wall Street, and powerful capitalists from various states constantly came and went from the Astor Hotel, or chatted loudly with friends in the lobby.

The crystal chandelier cast a warm yellow glow onto the polished marble floor and dark wood paneling, while the air was filled with the scent of cigars, perfume, and the distinctive aroma of expensive leather.

Larry sat in a velvet sofa with its back against a pillar, the white porcelain coffee cup in front of him already cold. He appeared to be flipping through a copy of The New York Times, but his gaze kept sweeping across every entrance and revolving door in the lobby.

He is waiting.

Finally, the hotel doors turned again, and a travel-worn figure appeared.

"Matthew is back..."

Dunbar's voice rang in Larry's ears.

Larry nodded.

Matthew Browning traveled day and night from Boston and finally made it back. At this moment, he was wearing practical dark travel clothes and carrying a heavy suitcase.

After entering the gate, Matthew quickly located Larry's position with sharp eyes. He walked over quickly, his face showing a hint of fatigue, but more so a sense of alertness, ready to take action at any moment.

“I’m back,” Matthew said, sitting down next to Larry and placing Hou Hong’s suitcase beside him. He gave the suitcase a meaningful look.

Larry nodded silently and asked, "Nothing went wrong, did it?"

Matthew casually replied, "Actually, yes! I encountered a routine police check when I was changing trains in Hartford. Luckily, I had previously obtained a certificate for myself as a Colt senior engineer, so they didn't open my suitcase."

Larry nodded slightly. "You've really gone to a lot of trouble, making two round trips every two days. This shipment is just too important to me."

Matthew smiled. "This also shows your approval of my brother's new model, which I'm very happy to have!" Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Matthew asked...
"Are things going smoothly with the patent attorney and with Mr. Tesla?"

Larry nodded and said, "The patent lawyer is disassembling the National Cash Register company's machine, precisely avoiding all relevant patents. You can work with him to make a detailed list later, and we can apply for a patent once the small motor is in place... Mr. Tesla's progress is also good."

Matthew let out a long breath, his face finally showing signs of fatigue, and casually said, "That's good! It's good that nothing was delayed."

“Let’s go back to the room to talk!” Larry called to Dunbar and Matthew, then stood up.

Just then, Larry spotted Mr. K leading two young men, rushing into the hotel lobby and heading straight for the front desk.

Larry looked up at Dunbar, who, understanding the situation, quickly stepped forward and blocked Mr. K's path.

Mr. K looked at Mr. Dunbar, who suddenly stood in front of him, with a slight surprise on his face, but still followed the other's directions and walked a few steps to Larry.

“Boss,” Mr. K said in a low voice, without a word of pleasantries, “how bad is the situation?”

Larry put down his newspaper, pushed his cold coffee aside, and frowned, saying, "You're too late. My brother traveled day and night to make the round trip!"

Mr. K looked distressed, slapped his thigh, and complained, "Don't even mention it! Who knows what the New York police will do! They suddenly launched a massive raid, and they found all my 'hardware parts.' We actually arrived last night, but we've been detained ever since..."

"Did you cause any trouble?" Larry's face also turned serious.

Mr. K shook his head. "We insisted that we came here just to have fun, but all our gear was confiscated. They said some rich young man in New York was assassinated, and anything without proper documentation will be confiscated..."

"How many people came?"

"There are 12 of us, and the rest of us are waiting outside."

“Okay! Let’s go to the room to talk… Have your guys wait here and get them two coffees!” Larry said, already standing up.

Matthew and Mr. Dunbar immediately stood up and followed, and Mr. K tossed the two men $5 and told them to wait there.

After everyone entered the room, Mr. Dunbar peeked out and looked around the corridor to make sure no one was there before closing the door and standing guard by it.

As usual, Larry first tossed cigars to Mr. K and Matthew, then lit one for himself before telling them about how he had encountered the assassination attempt and the suspicious signs he had seen at the Waldorf Hotel.

Both men wore serious expressions. Matthew was also hearing about this for the first time, and Mr. K instantly understood why Larry had rushed him from Boston.

“This is more complicated than we thought. I’m inclined to believe it’s a coincidence, but I’ve heard the saying, ‘Be careful a thousand times over; be reckless once is enough.’ So I can only do my best to ensure our safety.”

Larry leaned forward slightly, his voice low and clear.

Both of them nodded solemnly in agreement.

Larry looked up at Dunbar, and Mr. Dunbar took a few steps forward and said to the two of them...

"I have already done some preliminary research on the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, especially their employees. I will share that with you in a bit."

Larry turned his gaze away from Dunbar's face and looked at Mr. K again. "Let's assume for now that the Waldorf Hotel's management, or someone else who is not good for Astor IV, has infiltrated the Astor Hotel. Their target may be Astor IV himself, or they may be using the environment here to plan other actions, but that's none of our business."

Our task is to determine whether something is related to us before it happens.

Mr. K immediately got into the zone, and his anxiety and fatigue seemed to vanish instantly.
"Understood. What do you need us to do?"

"Message." Larry's fingers tapped silently on the back of the sofa.

“We need to know everything that’s going on in that hotel. But we have to be like shadows, not alerting them, and certainly not attracting the attention of the hotel management or anyone who might be the assassin. If we’re discovered, we’ll go from hunter to hunt.”

Larry then began to make his plans with clear logic, explaining all the ideas that had been in his mind over the past few days.

"First, the physical environment. Mr. K, this is your top priority. I want you to become a 'ghost' of this hotel."

"You need to familiarize yourself with all employee access points, logistics entrances, freight elevators, and possible rooftop passageways without arousing any suspicion. If someone wants to tamper with the hardware, such as through demolition or fire, they will inevitably use these areas. Pay special attention to cleaning supply storage areas, boiler rooms, and banquet kitchen passageways—places that are usually overlooked but can cause the most damage."

"At the same time, assess all windows facing the street and interior courtyard, especially the ground floor and floors connected to fire escape staircases. These are potential routes of entry and escape."

"The method is to disguise yourself as a client representative who has scouted out the fund's cocktail party in advance, and use money to pave the way, but in a casual way and through 'tips' rather than intimidation. Or you can simply impersonate a boiler supplier's maintenance worker, in which case you'll need to get a set of work clothes that fit well."

Mr. K nodded immediately, his eyes already showing he was planning a route. "Understood. Work clothes, logistics area, potential points of damage. Prioritize checking the boiler room and storeroom... I'll give you a rough map by Sunday morning."

“Secondly, personnel dynamics,” Larry continued, “This is crucial to our success. Who are the new faces in the hotel? Whose behavior doesn’t fit their identity? Who is excessively gathering information?”

"You need to pay attention to some details, all the new employees who have joined in the last two weeks, especially the doormen, room service staff and maintenance workers. Mr. Dunbar has found a few key people, you need to find one or two quickly and get in touch with them during the inspection."

Mr. K nodded solemnly, glanced at Dunbar, and then focused his gaze on Larry.

"Another way is to reach out to the lower-level employees. Go to a bar, but not the main bar, but the cheap bar on the corner where they go after get off work. Bring enough cash, buy them drinks, and listen to them complain about their jobs and the new, annoying colleagues. Their gossip is more valuable than any detective report."

Mr. K pondered for a moment, "I will arrange for some clever young men to follow them. Hmm, starting tonight. I will take some men with me in a bit and keep an eye on them personally."

“Excellent!” Larry nodded. “They need to be clever and resourceful. Have them pose as idlers, or people who occasionally go to the bar, and approach the doorman, bartender, and maid respectively. There’s only one instruction: listen, don’t ask.”

Mr. K nodded again.

Larry deliberately paused for a while, waiting for Mr. K to fully remember the key points, before turning to Matthew and saying,
"Thirdly, Matthew, you need to find a few reliable and daring men from him, then take them outside the city and teach them how to use the latest automatic pistols. Uncle Dunbar, you should go with him too. It would be good if you could train even one of them. We also need to find a few security personnel ourselves who can keep things under control in critical situations."

Matthew nodded in agreement, but Mr. Dunbar asked...

"And what about you? Are you safe without my protection?"

Larry smiled, took the cigar in his hand, and said, "I'll go to Goldman Sachs first tomorrow, and then find an opportunity to go to Mr. Morgan's place... My safety can be adequately guaranteed there."

With their roles clearly defined, everyone looked enlightened and began to plan their next steps.

Larry concluded, "We must act quickly, completing the initial screening before the other party realizes they are being investigated. We're like clearing mines in a minefield; every step must be light and precise."

The three looked at Larry again. Larry took a puff of his cigar and then concluded,
“Remember, we don’t work for the Astor family. If we can ensure our own safety, we shouldn’t disturb any of their arrangements.”

(End of this chapter)