He had just married a policewoman when he was diagnosed with criminal genius.

After they were seated, Lao Gui put on a sincere smile, as warm as old friends reuniting after a long separation.

"Master Lu, I'm sure you've heard that we've asked you here to discuss a collaboration."

Lu Chen didn't respond to the question, but calmly asked, "How do we cooperate?"

Instead of answering directly, Lao Gui first posed a question: "If I'm not mistaken, you two are a husband-and-wife team, making counterfeit money together, right?"

Lu Chen remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

Seeing this, Lao Gui's smile deepened: "Master Lu, you and your husband working together certainly ensures safety, and I admire that. However, the efficiency is too slow."

He paused, leaned forward slightly, and said in a more stern tone, "Think about it, how many prints can the two of you make in a day? At your current rate, how long would it take you to earn enough for retirement?"

These words were like a seed, falling precisely into the soil.

Lu Chen and Jiang Xue exchanged a glance, their faces showing thoughtful expressions, as if their words had truly touched a chord within them.

Old Ghost took in the changes in their expressions and felt even more confident.

He pressed his advantage, saying, "We're different. I have the manpower and equipment; we can produce five million counterfeit bills a day. Plus, we have a well-established sales channel, so we ship quickly and get paid fast... What goes out is counterfeit money, but what comes back is real money."

He took a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled: "If you join us, the quality of our counterfeit money will be a step up, with higher security and a longer circulation period. By then, you'll be able to earn enough for your retirement very quickly."

"Isn't cooperation a win-win situation?"

After saying that, he fell silent, leaning back in his chair and slowly smoking, his gaze never leaving Lu Chen's face as he waited for his response.

Lu Chen and Jiang Xue exchanged a glance and whispered a few words to each other.

After a moment, Lu Chen raised his head, a hint of interest in his eyes, yet he maintained the composure expected of a negotiator: "If we cooperate, how much money can we get?"

When Lao Gui and Xiao Ma heard this question, their eyes lit up at the same time.

In their view, the fact that the other party had started talking about money meant that the cooperation was basically secured.

Old Gui casually flicked his cigarette ash and said, "Our current selling price is 10% of the face value of the banknotes. But if it's something you made yourself, Master Lu, I think it can sell for 20%."

He paused, as if considering something, then presented his plan: "How about this, you take 10%, and the remaining 10% will be split equally between me and my men. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ma's expression immediately changed.

"Boss!" he couldn't help but exclaim, his tone clearly showing dissatisfaction.

In Xiao Ma's view, even if that guy surnamed Lu has the skills, everyone is taking the same risks: going to jail or losing their heads.

Why should those two newcomers get half the money, while our seven or eight brothers only get the remaining 10%?

Old Ghost raised his hand and gently waved it to stop Little Ma from speaking.

He remained calm and offered no further explanation.

Of course he knew what Xiao Ma was thinking.

But he knew even better that you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub.

If the benefits aren't enough, why would the other party hand over their best skills?

Moreover, Lao Gui had another plan in mind: after the cooperation, he would have a clear understanding of all the steps and processes by which Lu Chen and his team produced counterfeit money.

Once our people have learned this skill, there will be no need to keep these two people around.

By any measure, this is a very worthwhile deal.

Seeing how generous the other party was, Lu Chen had already guessed seven or eight parts of the story.

It's simply a matter of giving people a big taste of the good things first, and then letting them slowly digest it once they've come in.

However, he didn't care.

He raised this question to mislead the other party, making them believe that he genuinely wanted to cooperate.

Only in this way can he go further and make more reasonable demands.

So, Lu Chen showed a tempted expression at the right time, as if he was really moved by the 10% share.

He pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "This profit sharing... is indeed very tempting."

He raised his head, a scrutinizing look in his eyes, then changed the subject: "But Boss Zhao, you say you have people and equipment. Talk is cheap. I need to see your equipment and people with my own eyes before I can make a decision."

This statement was made neither servile nor arrogant; it expressed the speaker's interest while leaving room for maneuver, and it was also reasonable.

It's perfectly normal for a true craftsman to ask to see the other party's financial situation before deciding to join their business.

Old Ghost looked at Lu Chen, remained silent for two seconds, and then slowly smiled.

"Master Lu is a cautious person, and I like dealing with cautious people." He stood up, stubbed out his cigarette on the table, and said, "Let's go then, I'll take you to see him."

……

"It's done!"

Ding Jianguo and Zhou Weidong blurted out almost simultaneously, both showing expressions of barely suppressed surprise.

They hadn't expected the plan to go so smoothly.

From the moment Lu Chen entered the factory until now, everything has been progressing almost exactly as planned.

But Ding Jianguo knew very well that the reason everything had gone so smoothly was entirely because of Lu Chen.

First, he easily gained Lao Gui's trust by virtue of his solid technical skills.

Those professional judgments on authenticity and paper/ink identification would have been easily exposed by anyone else.

In the later negotiation stage, Lu Chen proceeded with great care, keeping the other party firmly under his control throughout the entire process.

Every word she uttered struck at the other person's weak spot.

This allowed them to penetrate deeper into the enemy camp step by step, and finally, at the opportune moment, raise this seemingly reasonable but actually fatal key question to the enemy.

"Alright, strike while the iron is hot." Ding Jianguo put away his smile, his expression quickly regaining the calm and decisiveness of a commander.

He walked to the command console and pressed the communication button: "Communication team, pay attention, follow Lu Chen's signal the entire time, do not lose track of the target. Report your position to me every two minutes."

"Communications team received."

"The action team, get yourselves into high spirits! Everyone, enter combat readiness mode and be ready to strike at any moment." His voice was lowered.

"Remember, no one is to act without my orders. We've sacrificed so much for this operation, so we must clean up the mess and leave no loose ends."

"Action team received."

After giving instructions to the two groups, Ding Jianguo turned to Zhou Weidong, who was standing to the side, and added in a deep voice, "We can't be too close or too far away. If we're too close, we'll be exposed and alert them; if we're too far away, we won't be able to provide timely support if something unexpected happens to Lu Chen and his group."

Zhou Weidong nodded in agreement and immediately turned to relay the instructions.

Ding Jianguo looked again at the slowly moving dot of light on the monitoring screen; it was a signal sent back by the locator on Lu Chen's body.

He rested his hands on the edge of the control panel, his eyes filled with a solemn expectation.

"Lu Chen, it's all up to you."