Chapter 60: Chapter 60

“A fund transfer, of course! Do you think I’m an idiot? If I am seen carrying so much cash with me, I’m going to get arrested!” Brandon’s face was full of skepticism.

He watched Casper intently. If Casper committed a single misstep, Brandon would not hesitate to crush him.

“I’ll transfer the funds to you, then. What’s your bank account number? I’ll transfer a million to you,”

Casper replied coolly. He opened his mobile banking app and looked at Brandon expectantly.

Brandon eyed the luminous screen on Casper’s phone. Even from a distance, he could clearly see the bank’s logo displayed across the top of the screen. Reassured that Casper was not deceiving him, Brandon let his guard down slightly.

“It’s six-two…” Brandon rattled off the string of numbers that comprised his bank account number.

Brandon resolved to commence negotiations only upon receiving the one million. Casper was a wealthy fellow, and Brandon was determined to milk him for as much as possible. After all, Brandon had not agreed on the conditions to let Casper go. While Casper was still transferring the million to Brandon’s account, the latter had already set his sights on Casper’s exclusive black card.

When Brandon had wrung Casper dry, he would murder him to avoid leaving a trail. There would be other opportunities for Brandon to return and slowly recover the treasure.

The idea was an alluring one. Brandon felt his spirits lift instantly, and a smile lurked unconsciously near the corners of his mouth as he reveled in his fantasy.

“Stop! You b*stard, you evil fellow! Who asked you to pay my ransom? How am I supposed to repay you?” Before Brandon could finish reciting his bank account number, Mandy had let out a loud howl of rage.

Mandy had finally realized who the man standing before her was. It was Felix’s roommate, the man who rumors said had donated a million without batting an eyelid. The fretful thought now clamored in Mandy’s mind: Even if this man successfully ransoms me, how am I ever going to pay him back? I’ll be in his debt forever!

Mandy would rather be sold off than remain in a rich young fellow’s debt for the rest of her life. After all, she was accustomed to a life of hardship and poverty.

Hot tears streamed down Mandy’s cheeks as she stared at Casper. She had clenched her jaw, and she had pressed her lips so firmly together that they had turned white. Inwardly, Casper marveled at her resolution.

“You stupid wh*re! Do you think I don’t dare to kill you?” Brandon snapped, outraged that Mandy’s outburst had foiled his plan.

“Did you hear that? He asked you to shut up,” Casper said in irritation. “Relax. You’ll be able to pay it back. I’ll buy you from this scoundrel for a million, then sell you to Flora Parlor. I believe you’ll be able to fetch a price of at least two hundred thousand. I’ll be able to get some returns on my money, at least.”

“You… You b*stard!” In her vexation, Mandy could not control the tremor in her voice. He’s an absolute beast! She fumed to herself. I’ve never met a rich man who turned out to be good.

“Hah! I like your reasoning, young man. I’ll sell this woman to you. You can do whatever you like with her. If we weren’t in such an urgent situation, I would have liked to strike up a friendship with you,”

Brandon remarked, sniggering nastily.

“What’s the rest of your bank account number? I’d like to transfer the money to you now. I can’t wait to sell this woman off,” Casper retorted. Casper scowled at Mandy, then turned to Brandon with a look of tremendous impatience.

Ding dong! Brandon’s phone chimed with a new notification. Eagerly, he fished out his phone to confirm his newly gotten gains.

However, just as Brandon lowered his gaze to look at his phone, Casper lunged forward.

The heavy blow had knocked the phone out of Brandon’s hand. Reflexively, Brandon seized the knife in his hand and thrust it at Casper with all his might.

As if rehearsed, Casper had whipped out a dagger to ward off the incoming assault. There was a ringing sound as the steel of both blades met. Casper’s dagger clattered to the floor, cleaved into two.

Brandon followed up that attack with a few successive slashes. Casper hurriedly ducked but could not entirely evade the rapid onslaught of Brandon’s wild movements. Abruptly, a gash appeared like a crimson mouth on Casper’s arm, with blood pouring from it.

Casper, however, paid no heed to it.

“Hah! You didn’t expect that, did you? I was already on defense against you. How dare you sneak an attack on me?” Brandon demanded, ignoring the throbbing pain in his head. He smiled triumphantly at Casper, brandishing his knife in his right hand.

Inwardly, Brandon was furious that his greed had gotten the better of him, thus allowing Casper to strike. Brandon’s right eye had suffered the brunt of Casper’s fist, and his head was spinning.

“Is that so? Where did that black eye come from, then?” Casper answered, sneering. He glanced at the wound on his arm and assessed that it was merely a superficial cut. Casper then turned back to Brandon and waved his hand in the air. “Your phone’s with me. You still haven’t gotten your one million, have you?”

“You punk! Do you want to die? I’ll see to it that you do!” Brandon burst out vehemently. He had endured so much just to lay his hands on that million, only to have it robbed from him in broad daylight.

Gripping his dagger so hard that his knuckles turned white, Brandon raised his knife and charged towards Casper.

Casper reeled backward. Summoning all his strength, he shoved Mandy out of the way, causing her to slam against the wall behind her. Casper himself retreated towards the exit with his gaze steadily fixed on Brandon’s wild one.

“There’s nowhere for you to run! Get over here!” Brandon bellowed gleefully. He quickened his steps, striding menacingly towards Casper with a deadly gleam in his eyes.

Casper eyed the approaching knife warily. Suddenly, his face lit up. As Casper was feeling his way out of the room, his hand brushed against a broom that was leaning unobtrusively against the wall outside.

He picked it up and pointed it at Brandon.

“I don’t think my time’s up yet!” Casper rejoined. He raced across the room with the broom pointed directly at Brandon’s face.

Brandon had never imagined that Casper would have been able to get his hands on a weapon, much less a broom at that. At the sight of a large object hurtling towards him at top speed, Brandon staggered back hastily.

“You may have a knife, but I have a broom! I’m glad that the playing field is level, at least.” Casper proclaimed, swinging his broom around maniacally. The two phones were safely in Casper’s pocket, and he stood fearless before Brandon, reveling in Brandon’s helpless fury.

“Is that so? I’ll make sure I finish you off today!” Brandon hollered through gritted teeth, maddened by Casper’s taunts. He clutched the handle of his knife, preparing to launch another attack on Casper.

Brandon’s knife, unfortunately, was rather short. In order to hurt Casper, Brandon had to engage in close combat.

“Come on, then! Is that the fastest you can go?” Casper jeered, goading Brandon into rushing forward madly. As Brandon threw himself at Casper, Casper had already braced for the attack and jabbed his broom at Brandon.