Reborn in America: I Have an Equipment Slot

Chapter 158 The Legendary Conman "Tom Hawke"

"So, how much are you willing to pay?"

Seeing Irving's assertive demeanor, as if he were about to get up and leave, the black man hesitated for a moment before quickly speaking.

"I just glanced at it. While this bag of jewelry has a considerable quantity, the truly valuable items are mostly gold pieces and ornaments. As for the other diamonds, they're not worth much..." Owen feigned thought for a moment, then said, "How about this? I can take these things, but I can only offer you a maximum of $80,000. If you're willing, we can close the deal right now. Whether it's cash, online bank transfer, or cryptocurrency, I'm fine with anything. What do you say?"

"8 US dollars...that's a bit low." The black man frowned.

To be honest, he had previously visited other pawnshops and brokerage firms, and the prices offered were all over $80,000.

If he really sells it to the other party for $80,000, wouldn't all his efforts have been in vain?

Seeing the other party's conflicted expression, Irving knew that the price had been pushed a bit too low.

After thinking for a moment, he added another five thousand dollars.

"How about this, I can give you $85,000, but I can only give you cash or cryptocurrency, not bank transfer."

"Okay, but I need the money urgently. You have to give it to me now, or forget it." The black man gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

"OK, no problem!" Upon hearing this, Owen immediately took out the receipt, wrote down the details of the items, and then had the other party sign it.

After doing all this, he got up, took a black backpack, and took out $85,000 directly from the safe, then prepared to hand it over to the other party.

But just as Irving returned to the VIP box and placed his backpack full of money on the table...

He suddenly noticed that the backpack on the table, filled with various jewelry pieces, had been moved.

Irving frowned, preparing to examine the jewelry in his backpack again.

Upon seeing this, the Black man sitting to the side immediately changed his expression and got up to leave.

Realizing something was wrong, Owen immediately pulled out a pistol from his waist, released the safety, and his expression instantly turned icy cold: "F..."

"Damn it! You dare to play tricks! Stop right there, or I'll shoot!"

Seeing that his trick had been exposed, the Black man panicked: "Hey, calm down, buddy!"

"Please don't do this. I know I was wrong, but my daughter is sick and needs a lot of money. I really have no other choice!"

Irving sneered and ignored him.

He unzipped the handbag and looked through the jewelry inside, discovering that many of the gold pieces had been replaced. Owen was so angry he laughed: "No wonder you were wearing sunglasses and a mask, completely covered up. So that's what you were up to."

Irving slowly stood up, pressed a revolver against the other man's forehead, and said with a forced smile, "Luckily, I have a good memory, otherwise anyone else would have been fooled by you. Aren't you afraid of being discovered and shot dead if you say that?"

Feeling the pressure of the gun barrel against his forehead, the black man was terrified; his legs trembled and his body was drenched in cold sweat.

He never expected that his trick would be exposed. Faced with Irving's questioning, he could only honestly answer: "I... I always lie and then move on to a different place. It's not just in Florida, but also in California, Ohio and many other places. There is no communication between the police. Generally speaking, after such a case is reported, the police will naturally put it aside if they can't find the person after a period of time."

That's why I haven't been arrested until now—"

"Never been caught even once?" Irving was speechless upon hearing the truthful answer.

It's clear this guy is ruthless; he can commit crimes in so many different places without getting caught. He must have some skill.

Irving didn't intend to take the other man seriously and send him to jail. After thinking for a moment, Irving kicked the $85,000 on the table and ripped off the other man's mask and sunglasses: "Since you're quite capable, here's the deal. You can take the $85,000 on the table, and we can redo the transaction. I can let you off the hook... but you have to agree to one condition."

"Conditions? What conditions?!" Old Black had been in despair, but when he heard Owen say that, his eyes lit up instantly, as if he had grasped a lifeline.

"I need you to join a local gang in Miami." Irving holstered his revolver and put it back in its holster, then slowly said, "And then help me keep an eye on someone. Not only will I let you go, but I'll also give you several thousand dollars a month. How about it?"

"Can I refuse?" Old Hei wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked timidly.

"Sorry, no."

Irving sat back on the sofa, then held up two fingers: "You only have two choices now. First, agree to help me infiltrate the Blood Gang and become my inside man."

Second, I'm going to call 911 now and give those officers at the Miami Police Department a boost in their performance.

"Okay, I'll choose the first one. I'll go join the Blood Gang in a bit." Old Black was sweating profusely, but he quickly agreed.

He secretly thought about how to escape later.

But Irving had anticipated this.

Upon seeing that the other party had agreed, he immediately took out his phone and called James.

Under the disbelieving gaze of the black man, James not only installed location tracking software on his phone, but also collected photos and biometric information.

They even recorded the other party's driver's license, identity information, and bank account details.

After doing all that, Irving was relieved to see James give him an OK sign. He smiled slightly, glanced at James's driver's license, and said, "Tom Hawke, right? You just saw it too, my people have collected all your identity information, including your bank account details."

As long as you behave yourself, you will be free after I disrupt the Blood Gang.

But if you disobey, or try to sneak away... I think it won't be long before FB1 issues an arrest warrant for you.

You should be well aware of the consequences of doing this —

"Don't worry, boss, I know what to do. It's just acting as an inside man, no big deal." Hearing Owen's deep threat, Tom felt a chill run down his spine.

Although the other person looks young, they have a strong presence.

But judging from his aura, this person of Chinese descent is definitely not an ordinary person.

Thinking of this, Tom nodded vigorously, behaving extremely obediently.

After seeing the other party off, Irving breathed a sigh of relief and lay down on the sofa to get some rest.

He encountered two troublesome things in just one morning.

First Jones threatened him, then the other party lured him to a suburban auto repair shop and sent three gunmen to assassinate him.

If he hadn't anticipated this and hadn't possessed the skill [Sharpshooter], he probably would have already treated the corpse as a slime.

Upon returning to the pawnshop, he encountered a black conman who traveled to various places and almost got scammed.

Fortunately, both issues have been resolved smoothly.

Irving stretched and was about to take a nap on the sofa.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

Irving was getting impatient and was about to lose his temper when he saw Fiona push open the door and walk in.

He suppressed his impatience and asked疑惑地问道, "What's wrong? Fiona, didn't I just say I was going to rest for a while? Is there something you need?"

"Yes, boss." Fiona nodded, then took out a pawn ticket and handed it to Owen, explaining, "A lady, quite old, just came in with this pawn ticket saying she wanted us to recycle something. I don't know anything about this, so—"

"Pawn ticket?" Owen took the pawn ticket and glanced at it.

Upon seeing that the item on the pawn ticket was named "Sapphire Ring" and signed Elizabeth at the bottom, Owen exclaimed, "Thumbs up!"

He stood up abruptly.

Where is she now?

"Still standing outside the counter—"

Before Fiona could finish speaking, Owen walked out of the private room and rushed towards the counter.

Owen's excited expression immediately stunned Fiona: "Could that old lady be the rich woman Catherine?"

Thinking of this, Fiona paused for a moment, then quickly followed.

On the other side, seeing Elizabeth standing anxiously in front of the counter, Owen instantly perked up and quickly greeted her with a smile: "Ms. Elizabeth, it's nice to see you again!"

"My sales assistant told me you've come to sell that sapphire ring?"

"That's right." Elizabeth nodded, feeling Owen's earnest gaze, she subconsciously sighed, "I can't help it, I've been having some financial problems lately. If I don't sell this ring my grandmother passed down to me, I'll probably be homeless soon—"

"Sigh, that's just how things are lately, the market is getting worse and worse." Sensing Elizabeth's emotions, Owen quickly composed himself and went along with it.

"It has nothing to do with the market; it's just that I spent money too extravagantly when I was younger." Elizabeth shook her head helplessly. "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."

Elizabeth calmed herself down slightly, then looked at Owen and asked in a deep voice, "Boss, you promised me you'd buy my sapphire ring for $23,000, you didn't lie to me, did you?"

"Of course!" Irving nodded quickly upon hearing this.

To be honest, Irving feels he could never have too many special items for just $23,000.

"Since that's the case, then give me the $23,000, and I'll sell you my sapphire ring—" Elizabeth said, feigning hesitation.

"Huh?" Irving was dumbfounded when he heard this.

It's often said that Americans are terrible at math, and it turns out that's actually true.

$23 is the total price of the pawned items, but he had already given the other party $000 previously.

According to pawnbroking rules, he only needs to pay $18,000 to legally own the sapphire ring.

Irving reluctantly explained the situation to Elizabeth.

Unexpectedly, the other party immediately froze on the spot.

The next second, he pointed at Irving's face and shouted, "This place is a rip-off! This is a rip-off!!"