At this moment, Eric Bennett had already counted the check several times and confirmed that it was indeed one hundred thousand yuan. Samuel Cooper's sudden question startled him, and he nodded, thinking to himself, “Go! I’ll go! It’s just booking a room, isn’t it?”

“Hey, weren’t you supposed to keep me company tonight?” Grace Thompson said to Samuel Cooper a bit anxiously. “You’re going back on your word.”

“It won’t take too long. After all, the kid is a patient and needs to rest. I have to settle this quickly—I don’t want to trouble my boss to handle it personally, that would be a big problem.” Samuel Cooper made way for a waiter carrying a big plate of lu zhu, which was set down in front of them. “Eat up, it’s my treat today.”

Sand Sea I: Phantom Shadows of the Desert

Chapter Five: One Hundred Thousand

During the meal, Eric Bennett kept listening to Grace Thompson and Samuel Cooper chat. Samuel Cooper was very patient and didn’t ask Eric Bennett any questions, just chatted idly with Grace Thompson. Listening to their conversation, Eric Bennett grew more and more puzzled.

At first, Eric Bennett guessed that this Samuel Cooper might be an employee at a psychiatric hospital—otherwise, how could he have such a weirdo as a colleague? Or maybe he was involved in some underworld business, and Huang Yan had gotten mixed up in something shady, with Samuel Cooper as his accomplice, now here to buy his silence with money. But as he listened, Eric Bennett realized something was off. From the man’s scattered words, he increasingly seemed like a small-time businessman.

Because Samuel Cooper kept mentioning things like goods, shop, and boss in his conversation—little details that made him sound like someone selling sliced cake or a street vendor selling dried goods. Still, Eric Bennett prided himself on being a good judge of character. Even if this guy was in small business, his business was definitely different from others, because Samuel Cooper’s presence was completely unlike that of ordinary people.

It was a kind of distance, making you feel that everything he talked about was trivial, while the real secrets were buried deep in his heart—secrets he would never reveal.

From their conversation, Eric Bennett could also tell that Samuel Cooper’s boss seemed to be a very powerful and important person.

“He’s changed a lot compared to a year ago.” Samuel Cooper often used this phrase to describe his boss, but would say no more.

Grace Thompson seemed very interested in Samuel Cooper’s boss, often steering the conversation in that direction, but Samuel Cooper always brushed it off lightly. Grace Thompson really was a hopeless fangirl, completely unaware that this man was just humoring her.

Of course, years later, when Eric Bennett recalled this scene, he realized that Grace Thompson wasn’t a fangirl at all—it was just that his own ability to read people back then was nowhere near enough.

After dinner, they went to the hotel across the street. It was certainly a strange group: a man and a woman with a high school student, who was still wearing a hospital gown. Fortunately, in this society, having money means fewer problems, so this odd combination didn’t encounter any trouble.

Samuel Cooper booked a luxury suite. Eric Bennett walked in, feeling like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. When he saw the big sofa in the living room, he was so shocked he couldn’t speak.

Meanwhile, Grace Thompson took out the envelope she’d shown Eric Bennett earlier from her bag, tossed it onto the sofa, and said to Samuel Cooper, “Hurry up, you two.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Samuel Cooper had already pulled something out of his pocket that looked like an electric razor and jabbed it into Grace Thompson’s back. The device made a series of crackling electric sounds. Grace Thompson screamed and collapsed onto the sofa.

“Taser,” Samuel Cooper explained to Eric Bennett, squatting down to check Grace Thompson’s neck. Grace Thompson was still trembling uncontrollably. As he spoke, he walked toward Eric Bennett: “Don’t be afraid. My colleague left something on your back, and I need to take it back. The money is yours. I just don’t want this woman to know too much.”

Eric Bennett was dumbfounded. He felt his own back—all the scars had been stitched up by the doctor, so how could there be anything there? He thought, Damn it, you really are here to finish your colleague’s twisted business. So, this guy’s so-called shop—could it be a shop selling human-skin buns?

But in this situation, there was no point in guessing further. Eric Bennett immediately backed away.

“Don’t be scared,” Samuel Cooper continued, approaching him step by step with the taser. Eric Bennett knew this was bad—he’d seen the power of these things online. One shock and you might even wet yourself. Still, Eric Bennett wasn’t panicking. Years of wrestling with his dad at home had given him enough experience to stall for time. His eyes reflexively darted around, searching for an escape route.

The whole room was divided into two areas: one side was the sleeping area with the bed, the other was the office area with the sofa and coffee table. The so-called luxury suite just meant the office area was especially large, with a very comfortable three-seater sofa placed in the most prominent spot opposite the TV.

Now, only that sofa separated Samuel Cooper and Eric Bennett—this was Eric Bennett’s only advantage. Eric Bennett knew that when one side attacks, the first thing the other side should do is slow down the attacker’s advance. And the simplest way is to put obstacles in their path.