**[Today's Intelligence 01]:**
You had contact with Xu Wencheng yesterday and obtained the following intelligence—
The company Xu Wencheng works for is seeking external financing, with a funding gap of 6 million.
This investment offers an annual return rate of 20%, making it a high-quality investment worthy of long-term holding.
**[Note 1]:** This project is an industrial investment that can generate value for society.
The profits from this investment project can be doubled using Monopoly Dice.
…
"The profits can be doubled with Monopoly Dice!"
Originally, Jiang Tao wasn't particularly excited about the investment's 20% annual return rate.
But upon seeing the note at the end stating that the profits from this project could be doubled using Monopoly Dice!
This immediately piqued Jiang Tao's interest!
Even if he rolled the smallest "1" on the dice, the guaranteed return would still be 40%!
And if he rolled a 6, wouldn't that mean he'd recover his investment within a year, with the rest being pure profit??
"I have to invest in this project!"
After reviewing the first piece of intelligence, Jiang Tao decisively decided to invest in this project!
Coincidentally, he had some spare cash on hand right now.
Moreover, his father-in-law's company had been established for over thirty years.
The company's sales had been steadily increasing each year, making it a high-quality enterprise.
Investing in such a company, Jiang Tao had no worries and felt quite confident.
After analyzing the first piece of intelligence, Jiang Tao's thoughts shifted, and he continued to review the next piece.
**[Today's Intelligence 02]:**
You had contact with Shan Yang yesterday and obtained the following intelligence—
Shan Yang's wife, Hong Mei, has been cheating with a male personal trainer at the gym who is nine years younger than him.
A timely reminder could help Shan Yang cut his losses.
…
"Shan Yang's wife…"
Upon reading the content of the second piece of intelligence, Jiang Tao felt both sympathy for Shan Yang and speechless disbelief.
Jiang Tao had never met Shan Yang's wife, Hong Mei, in person, but he had seen her photos on Shan Yang's social media.
She was only about 1.5 meters tall, with a short and stocky build, a round face with thick eyebrows, and a rather plain appearance.
Moreover, from what Jiang Tao had learned, Hong Mei, like himself, came from a rural background.
After marrying Shan Yang, she had stayed at home without a job, having no source of income.
In other words, the money she spent on gym memberships and personal training sessions all came from Shan Yang's earnings!
Given Hong Mei's circumstances, landing a husband like Shan Yang, who owned a house in Beijing with no mortgage, was already a significant step up for her.
And yet, she was still dissatisfied.
"I'll find a chance to remind Shan Yang tomorrow. He shouldn't be left in the dark like a fool."
"His wife is spending his money to flirt with a personal trainer—that's just too much."
Silently mourning for Shan Yang for a few seconds, Jiang Tao's thoughts shifted again, and he continued to review the final piece of intelligence for the day.
**[Today's Intelligence 03]:**
You had contact with Xu Sha yesterday and obtained the following intelligence—
Last night, while Xu Sha was live-streaming at Oasis Water Village Park, she passed through a small grove.
In a bird's nest on one of the trees, there is a Tiffany & Co. Paloma's Melody series diamond ring worth 380,000 yuan.
**[Note]:** There are only 5 hours and 14 minutes left before the diamond ring is taken away by a bird.
…
"A Tiffany diamond ring worth 380,000 yuan!"
Upon seeing the mention of the ring in the final piece of intelligence, Jiang Tao's eyes lit up again!
He was naturally familiar with Tiffany & Co., a globally renowned luxury brand.
Although he didn't know what the Paloma's Melody series was,
that didn't matter!
What mattered was that the diamond ring was worth over 380,000 yuan!
Due to the high brand value, Tiffany's resale value was also quite good.
The second-hand market price would be around 70% of the original value.
A ring worth 380,000 yuan could fetch about 266,000 yuan on the second-hand market!
Even factoring in a 10% discount for lacking receipts or documentation,
this ring could still sell for around 230,000 yuan!
"My sister-in-law is something else—this ring could cover two years of her salary if sold."
"Alright, I'll make another trip to the park and get that ring first."
Noticing that the remaining time mentioned in the note for the third piece of intelligence was running out,
and considering that during the day, with too many people around, it would be inconvenient to act,
Jiang Tao had no choice but to get out of bed again and start putting on his clothes.
After getting dressed, he quietly left the house.
In the trunk of his Mercedes-Benz G-Class parked downstairs, he changed into a set of work coveralls.
Jiang Tao got into the car, started the engine, and drove toward the neighborhood.
Oasis Water Village Park was less than a kilometer from the Baigezhuang neighborhood.
It took Jiang Tao less than three minutes to drive to the park's entrance.
After parking the car at the entrance and getting out, he walked into the park.
Following the guidance of the map displayed on his retina, Jiang Tao quickly arrived at a dense grove and stood directly beneath the red marker.
Looking up, he shone his high-powered flashlight upward.
Sure enough, he saw a bird's nest on one of the tree branches.
*Flap, flap, flap~*
A few unknown birds perched on the treetops, startled by the noise below, flapped their wings and flew away.
At the same time, a prompt appeared on Jiang Tao's retina.
**[Would you like to spend 7,777 yuan to obtain the target item?]**
"No."
Jiang Tao decisively chose to decline.
The tree in front of him was about 20 centimeters in diameter, quite suitable for climbing.
The bird's nest was only seven or eight meters off the ground, not too high.
By climbing the tree himself, he could save nearly 8,000 yuan.
That was almost equivalent to a month's salary from his past job.
Although Jiang Tao was now a bona fide multimillionaire,
he remained frugal in his daily life.
Saving 8,000 yuan was worth it!
It was enough to cover a month's worth of good food and drink for the whole family.
Besides, he also wanted to test just how strong his current physique of 88 points was.
Turning off the flashlight and pocketing it, Jiang Tao rubbed his hands together and grabbed the tree trunk with both hands.
*Snap, snap, snap…*
His arms moved alternately upward, while his legs coiled around the trunk like the roots of an old tree.
Jiang Tao's body moved swiftly upward with his climbing motions, as agile as a monkey.
In less than 30 seconds, he had already climbed to a height level with the bird's nest.
Under the silver moonlight, he peered into the nest.
Besides four smooth bird eggs, there was indeed a diamond ring glinting with a dark golden sheen.
"That's the one!"
Jiang Tao secured himself to the tree with his left arm, reached out with his right hand, and grabbed the Tiffany diamond ring.
Who could have imagined that an ordinary bird's nest like this would contain a diamond ring worth nearly 400,000 yuan!
After slipping the ring into the pocket of his work coveralls, Jiang Tao descended the tree as swiftly as a monkey.
Supported by his immense stamina, climbing a tree was as effortless to him as breathing.
Back on the ground, Jiang Tao's face wasn't flushed, and he wasn't out of breath. Aside from some tree dust on his coveralls, he showed no signs of exertion.
"A physique of 88 points is already this impressive."
"Once I complete the two special tasks triggered by Jiang Yi and Xu Li's dad, my physique will exceed 100 points."
"A physique surpassing 100 points should perform remarkably in athletic activities, right?"
"That sports star task won't be too difficult for me to complete."
Jiang Tao mulled over this, gaining a clearer understanding of his current physical condition.
Even though he wasn't yet fully adept at controlling his body and muscles to maximize his strength,
he was already far beyond his previous self.
"I'll ask Shan Yang to help me test my running performance another day. It's probably improved a lot since last time."
While mentally planning out the next few days,
Jiang Tao didn't linger in the grove and turned to walk toward the park entrance.
It was already past midnight, and the park was quiet, with not a single person around.
No one noticed that Jiang Tao had visited and left with a diamond ring worth nearly 400,000 yuan.
Driving back to the neighborhood and taking the elevator home, it was just past 1 a.m.
After spending 66 yuan to activate [Deep Sleep Mode] for himself, he went to sleep!
The night passed uneventfully.
The next morning,
when Jiang Tao woke up, Xu Li had just returned from dropping Jiang Xue off at the school bus.
During breakfast, the conversation naturally turned to plans for the Qingming Festival.
In Jiang Tao's hometown, the Qingming Festival involved ancestral worship and tomb-sweeping traditions.
His father, being an only child with no siblings,
meant that his mother had to handle the tomb-sweeping duties for his grandparents.
After some discussion, they decided to head back to their hometown tomorrow after lunch.
Jiang Tao's family of five and his father-in-law's family of three
would drive back in two cars, providing mutual support on the road.
With the Qingming Festival plans settled,
his parents went downstairs to oversee operations at the food factory.
The factory now had over a dozen employees,
making his parents' work much simpler and less demanding than before.
They only needed to prepare the sauce for the eight-treasure pickled vegetables in a sealed room.
The remaining tasks—processing ingredients, jarring, packaging, and sterilization—were handled by other employees.
Xu Li also went to Building 62 to pick up her mother and younger sister to go shopping.
Returning to their hometown for the Qingming Festival and bringing some Beijing specialties for relatives was a customary gesture.
Jiang Tao had other things to do today and didn't join Xu Li and the others for shopping.
He was heading to Panjiayuan to meet Zhang Bo and sell some items.
Recently, he'd been busy accompanying his father-in-law's family and dealing with matters for the new company,
so he hadn't visited Panjiayuan in a while.
Now, he had accumulated a few items that needed to be sold for cash.
For example, the meteorite he had fished out from a pond in Xiaoshahe Village,
and the 400-gram gold bar he had retrieved from a fish's stomach the night before last.
These items had unclear origins and carried a hint of trouble, so it was best to sell them off quickly.
And then there was the Tiffany ring he had retrieved from the bird's nest last night.
The combined value of these three items was at least 1.6 to 1.7 million yuan, maybe even close to 2 million!
Although Jiang Tao had acquired quite a few antiques recently, he had no interest in collecting them.
He much preferred money.
Turning items into cash and then letting the money generate more money was his preference.
Driving alone out of the neighborhood, Jiang Tao first pulled over to the side of the road.
He then opened the "China Unicom Virtual Number" app on his phone.
Previously, when he had tipped off He Jing about the landlord-installed camera in her room, he had subscribed to a yearly membership on the app to get a virtual number.
Sending messages with this virtual number effectively concealed his identity.
Jiang Tao's fingers flew across the virtual keyboard on the screen.
Soon, he composed a message, found Shan Yang's phone number, and hit send!
"Brother, this is as far as I can help you."
After sending the message to Shan Yang, Jiang Tao tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and continued driving toward Panjiayuan.
Around 10 a.m., Jiang Tao parked his car at a paid parking lot near the antiques street.
After parking, he tucked the items he planned to sell into his bag and strode confidently toward the antiques street.
It was April 2, a Wednesday, a regular workday,
but the antiques street was still bustling with people coming and going, a lively scene.
Jiang Tao, familiar with the area, soon arrived at the entrance of Boya Auction House.
The shop had just opened, and there were no other customers inside yet.
When Jiang Tao entered, he saw Zhang Bo dozing off behind the desk.
"Hey! Brother Jiang! It's been a while—welcome! Sorry for not greeting you sooner!"
Seeing Jiang Tao walk in, Zhang Bo instantly snapped out of his drowsiness, stood up with a spring, and greeted him with a cheerful smile.
Jiang Tao teased with a grin, "You've got the sweet gig, just sitting there every day waiting for people to bring you money."
"Heh heh, Brother Jiang, you're joking. We're just a small operation, nothing compared to you!"
Zhang Bo smiled modestly, not daring to act too big in front of Jiang Tao, and then asked,
"Brother Jiang, you don't visit unless there's something important. Got some treasures to sell today?"
"You guessed it. I've got a few good items recently. Take a look and give me a quote."
Jiang Tao didn't beat around the bush.
He reached into the small bag he was carrying and pulled out a square jewelry box about 10 centimeters on each side,
a rectangular object wrapped in white tissue paper, and a small box with 3-centimeter sides.
Placing the three items on a small table, Jiang Tao smiled and said,
"Three items in total. Take a look."
"Alright! Brother Jiang, just a moment!"
Seeing that Jiang Tao had brought out three items at once, Zhang Bo knew a big deal was on the table!
He opened the rectangular object wrapped in tissue paper first.
Inside was a gleaming gold bar with "400g" inscribed on it.
"Bro, you always wrap gold bars in tissue paper, huh?"
Zhang Bo glanced at Jiang Tao with a playful grin.
Jiang Tao laughed, "Didn't bother finding anything else. What's the recycling price today?"
Zhang Bo replied, "Today's gold recycling price is 750 per gram."
"Alright, let's go with your price."
Jiang Tao nodded, having no objections to the price.
He trusted Zhang Bo and knew he wouldn't shortchange him over a bit of gold and risk their relationship.
"Brother Jiang, hold on, I'll test the composition."
Business is business. Although Zhang Bo considered Jiang Tao a good friend, the necessary procedures couldn't be skipped.
It was better for everyone this way.
Real gold could withstand testing, but human hearts were best left untested.
After testing, Jiang Tao's gold bar was confirmed to have a gold purity of 999‰.
It was genuine thousand-purity gold.
The recycling price came to exactly 300,000 yuan.