Li Du had long prepared his answer. Pointing to the clock in front of him, he said, "I"m

studying this. If I"m not mistaken, this is a Harry Winston product?"

Good responded casually, "Perhaps. I"m not too certain. This was a present from a

Hong Kong friend. He was doing business in our country and met with some trouble. I

helped him resolve it, so he gave me a couple of gifts."

Li Du was very tempted to retort, d.a.m.n it, you were the one to cause all the trouble in

the first place, weren"t you?

Of course, he was not dumb. He knew better than to say that aloud.

Good invited him to take a seat and crossed his hands on the table. He smiled. "So tell

me, Mr. Li, regarding Remonin"s diamond mine. What do you know about it?"

Li Du complied and answered, "I always had a black scarf over my eyes when I entered

or left the place. On my way there, I was unable to see much. Just in the mine, you

guessed right, I noticed an underground river which is the source of yours. It is located

right in Remonin"s territory."

Good nodded, "Keep going."

"Is there no coffee?" Li Du asked.

Good laughed heartily. "Of course, of course, I have been careless in the treatment of

my guest."

He pressed something on the table and turned to face what looked like a mousepad

resting by his elbow."Arrange a pot of coffee, Kenya Arabica," he said

A few seconds after the command was given, the doorbell rang. Several maids hurried

in, carrying a coal stove, a clay pot, mortar and pestle, and some other tools.

Good smiled. "Here, we drink coffee not like they do in America. We observe the

traditional way of brewing coffee. The method includes a complicated ritual, so I hope

you have the patience to wait. However," Good went on, "Believe me, coffee made

using this traditional method will fill the room with aroma and you will love it even before

tasting it."

"That sounds amazing, I can"t wait to try it," Li Du said.

Good nodded at him and said, "Why don"t we do it this way – I a.s.sume you have never

seen our traditional coffee brewing method. We can chat and enjoy it at the same time.

You"re Chinese, right? Your country has some sort of tea practice, am I correct? It"s the

same as how we brew our coffee, then. It"s also a form of art."

The maids started the preparations. One of them washed the exquisite clay pot. It was

placed over the warm, burning coal stove.

As the clay pot was being heated, another maid was in charge of was.h.i.+ng the coffee

beans. She skillfully removed the parchment skin and dried husk from the surface of

each bean. Then she placed all the beans together to wash them.

Another maid was looking after the fire. She added a little rosin, filling the air in the room

with a light pleasant scent.

After the coffee beans were all cleaned, the maid placed a pan above the fire and

poured the beans in. Then, she roasted the beans, stirring them with a metal shovel. A

few minutes later, there was a crackling noise and the coffee beans began to turn light

brown.

Li Du was focused on watching the maids brew coffee. It was an opportunity for him to

avoid talking about the situation at Remonin"s diamond mine.

However, while he pretended to be absorbed in the process of the coffee-brewing, he

was actually letting out the little bug so that it could continue studying the office

surroundings.

The focus of his search this time was the bookshelf behind Good. He believed that there

was a safe behind the bookshelf.

However, he was wrong. There was no safe, but a metal door with a touch-screen and a

pa.s.scode pad. The door required both a pa.s.scode and fingerprint to unlock.

This door could not, however, stop the little bug. It managed to fly in, and Li Du saw a

series of intricate compartments behind the door. There were bullets, a bow and arrows,

and fuel.

Li Du almost fainted at the sight of this. Does Good suffer from paranoia? Does he think

he is Emperor Qin? Does he really think that someone would come to his office to steal

from time to time?

The wall behind the bookshelf was very st.u.r.dy and served to store defense weapons,

nothing of particular interest.

He could not believe that there was nothing else in this office, so he allowed the little

bug to descend towards the ground.

Again, he guessed right.

There was a door under Good"s chair. Below the door was a huge s.p.a.ce holding a

humongous amount of weapons

There were pistols, rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, RPG, grenades, mortar and many

more. There were all sorts of complicated weapons of every variety.

Besides these, there were also many wooden boxes holding explosives, ammunition,

rocket missiles, sh.e.l.ls, gas masks, and also boxes containing poison gas bombs that

were marked with the skull-and-crossbones hazard symbol.

There was an a.r.s.enal below the floor, and meanwhile, in the room, the maids were still

frying the coffee beans.

By now, the beans had turned a deep brown. One of the maids retrieved the beans from

the pan and fanned them before using the pestle to pound the beans into fine coffee

powder.

Good gave Li Du a fake smile. "Alright, Mr. Li, the coffee is nearly done. Now, we get

ready to enjoy it. But before we savor our coffee, did you want to say something?"

Li Du did not answer him, but instead asked a question in an effort to change the topic

and play for time, "What are they adding into the pot?"

Good, of course, saw through his plan. However, he was not in any hurry and chose to

play along. He had all the time in the world for this game.

Hence, he explained, "Those are spices like cardamom and cinnamon. There is also a

local herb called Adam"s Health."

Li Du was just about to ask another question, but Good had lost his patience and said

with an icy-cold smile, "Don"t worry, none of these are poisonous. Even if they were, we

would drink and perish together."

Good"s casual words reminded Li Du of something. That"s right, he has poison in his

inventory!

Previously, when Good followed the lion hunter to meet Remonin, he had prepared

poison, anesthetic and other drugs, like highly potent sleeping pills.

Realizing that he could gain the upper hand, Li Du seized his chance and started to

cooperate with Good.

He described the situation at Remonin"s diamond mine, adding excessive and

misleading details as he went along. He played his cards again to treat Good like a

complete fool by lying to him.

Good was visibly excited as he listened to Li Du. After all, there were many details that

he was hearing for the first time, which his undercover spy had not learned.

The coffee had been brewed to completion. Just as Good claimed, its aroma filled the

entire office.

At the first sign of boiling, the maid brought out tiny cups and poured the coffee. She

added an inch of sugar and placed the cup in front of Good with great respect.

Good said, "Let"s pause. Mr. Li, please try the coffee first. Enjoy the delicious

beverage."

Li Du raised his cup and blew at it a few times. Before he tasted the coffee, he was

already nodding his head, satisfied. "The aroma is really alluring. This is the most

aromatic coffee I ever had in my life."

The coffee prepared following the traditional method was very strong. It was also

unfiltered, and there were some coffee grounds that settled at the bottom of the cup and

some that were floating in the drink. The taste was unique.

Li Du was very satisfied with the aroma of the coffee and Good was also quite satisfied

with his answer. Both were pleased, and when their eyes met, they both grinned in

unison.

"First, have a cup of coffee. I am very pleased with the information on the diamond

mine. After this, let"s decide on the price of the diamonds. Hopefully, your performance

will continue to satisfy me," Good said as he sipped his coffee.

Li Du remembered the poison and anesthetic in Good"s possession and smiled even

more brightly. "Satisfaction guaranteed!"