Chapter 256 The Perfect Candidate
Unlike bad boys like Li Qing who always like to pay with guns, Polnareff deeply understands the power of money.
As the saying goes, money makes the world go round.
It is known that: ghost = soul ≈ substitute.
So, money > substitute.
In most cases, the money ability is more useful than the stand ability.
This is really not a joke. After all, most of the Stand users in this world are working for people with money-making abilities.
As for the very few who remain...they themselves are people with the ability to make money.
Polnareff has a deeper understanding of this:
Back then, he and Kakyoin were able to defeat the enemy who possessed the ability of "Hanged Man", and the key to breaking the deadlock was actually just that small gold coin.
Money is something that can play a big role at critical moments.
Just like now…
"As long as you pay enough money, there will be people who dare to swallow even the feces in the toilet!"
"No one would turn down such a good job because they could make a lot of money ."
"Illuso, take a look—"
Polnareff shouted at Illuso in a deep voice:
"That bag of ice, and my wallet, are they still on the ground?"
"You know, after crossing the bridge, you can just turn a corner and you'll be at the station entrance... By the time you had your Stand concentrate on beating me, the ice would have probably already been delivered to my companion!"
“…”
Illuso's face darkened:
Indeed, at some point, the wallet and ice cubes on the ground had disappeared.
Apparently, someone had picked them up and sent them to the station as instructed by the line of text.
And he didn't notice or discover anything the whole time.
In this case, there would be no point in him killing Polnareff.
Because his mission is to prevent the ice from reaching the station, and to block any support from the outside for his struggling companions in the station.
Now that the ice has been sent back, Li Qing's companions will be able to enter the station with the ice soon.
"Prosciutto... Bessie..."
"Damn it... I actually made such a stupid mistake... I even forgot my 'mission'!"
Illuso became confused when he thought that his stupidity might endanger the lives of his companions and even destroy the hopes of the entire assassination team.
He regretted his carelessness and was filled with self-blame.
This strong sense of self-blame almost consumed him, causing his healthy body to become inexplicably stiff.
I am so stupid...
Why didn't I find out sooner...
If I had found out earlier, I might have been able to...
etc…
Illuso's heart sank, but then he jumped up again as if he had stepped on a trampoline:
"Asshole—"
"You're fucking kidding me!"
He couldn't help but swear.
It was like someone tricked him into buying a pair of crutches even though his legs were intact. Illuso was so angry that he almost exploded after realizing what was happening:
"Something like 'the ice has already been delivered to the station'..."
"This is just nonsense meant to mess with my mentality!"
"From the time you glimpsed the metal strip on the front of the car, to the time I realized something was wrong, to the time the truth came to light, less than half a minute had passed!"
"During this half minute, the passerby needs to see your message, pick up the ice wallet, and hesitate and make a decision..."
"With so much time wasted, how far can he go now?"
“I’m afraid it’s too late to get off the bridge!”
"If I'm really intimidated by you and lose the time to pursue you... then I'll be truly caught in the trap!"
Illuso growled and pointed out the flaw he had discovered.
And he did grasp Polnareff's weakness:
As soon as these words came out of his mouth, the forced calmness on Polnareff's face could no longer be maintained.
"I'll kill you later!"
Illuso gave Polnareff a deep look.
He had no time to waste now.
Anyway, the prey has been trapped in this mirror world with no way out, and there is no way out unless he is killed for the time being.
Just like that, Illuso held the rearview mirror tightly in his hand as a "camera" to observe the outside world, turned around and hurried towards the station.
※※※
Half a minute ago.
An old man with a cane was walking slowly from the bridge.
Of course he would not notice that when he slowly walked to the front of the car with his crutches, a pair of hopeful eyes were looking at him deeply through the mirror.
The appearance of the old man gave Polnareff in the mirror world infinite hope.
At the same time, the old man also noticed the car parked on the bridge.
The car was empty and there was no sign of its owner nearby.
The hood was propped up high, and you could faintly smell the pungent smell of gasoline.
"Is this car broken down?"
The old man thought casually.
He didn't take it seriously and just prepared to go around the car and move on.
But at this moment, the old man heard a strange rustling noise coming from the side of the car -
It sounded like someone was scratching the cement on the bridge deck with a knife, and the creaking sound was a bit uncomfortable.
The old man looked in the direction of the sound out of curiosity, but the strange and unpleasant sound had stopped.
However, he unexpectedly saw a few lines of words engraved on the ground:
"A generous reward."
"Please deliver the ice to the train station square ahead as soon as possible..."
"What's the meaning?"
"Is this some kind of prank..."
The old man frowned, thinking it was just some silly joke from a kid.
However, before he could turn away, his eyes were attracted by something next to those lines of text:
First up is a bag of ice.
Then there's a wallet.
The wallet was bulging and round.
Even if it keeps its "mouth" tightly closed, its unconcealable inner beauty is enough to conquer almost everyone's eyes.
"No way... is it true?"
The old man curiously stretched out his cane and gently opened the folded wallet with the tip of the cane.
It was like suddenly opening the lid of a jar of fine wine, the moment the wallet was opened, the moment those colorful and layered cute little things appeared...
The simple old man's breathing stagnated and half of his body went limp.
He was almost drunk.
"Oh, God..."
"You actually... you actually have so much money?"
The old man squatted down hurriedly, picked up the wallet and felt it carefully:
“It’s real money… it’s real money for sure!”
He was so excited that he was a little incoherent:
"Is all this money just the reward for delivering the ice?"
"What on earth is going on..."
The old man couldn't help feeling a little strange, and subconsciously became alert.
But this caution and vigilance were quickly dispelled by him.
Because it's just too much money.
"Maybe the TV station is filming some kind of variety show... I guess this money is a test prize for passers-by. As long as you complete the task, you can get it, right?"
No one wants to spit out the meat that has already been eaten.
So the old man unconsciously tightened his wallet and even found a reasonable reason for this strange incident.
Then, he couldn't help but cast his eyes towards the bag of ice on the ground.
If someone just takes the money and leaves, it would be theft in a serious sense. If someone pursues the matter, he would have to apologize and return the money immediately.
However, as long as he brought the ice as instructed, the money should be considered a fair reward for him.
And the train station is only a few hundred meters away from here.
He will definitely not lose out by giving it a try, but if what the message said is true and he gets double the reward, then it will be a huge profit!
After some hesitation, the old man finally made up his mind.
So he put his wallet in his pocket, then squatted down to pick up the ice.
Then, the old man held the ice in one hand and leaned on a crutch in the other, and his pair of old legs, half buried in the ground, seemed to be walking briskly.
"Double... double the reward..."
"There is actually such a good thing in the world!"
The old man was imagining this beautiful morning in his mind.
But…the good times didn’t last long.
Not only was it not long... before he could even walk down the bridge, something strange happened:
Suddenly, a suspended mirror in the shape of a car rearview mirror appeared in the air next to the old man.
What appeared in the mirror was not the reflection of the old man, but the ferocious face of a young man.
"Found it...it turned out that they didn't go far."
"You old fool... your road has come to an end!"
The man in the mirror said this with gritted teeth.
"W-what?"
The old man panicked and tried to run away with his crutches.
"Don't even think about leaving!"
Illuso yelled hysterically.
He and the person in the mirror stretched out their arms together and tried their best to catch the old man's reflection in the mirror.
Before he could even struggle, the unfortunate old man passing by was dragged into the mirror space by Illuso.
Not only him, but also the crutches in his hand and the ice pack in his arms, all these things were dragged into this mirror world by Illuso.
"Asshole!" Illuso was still furious.
He became even more furious when he saw the bag of ice that was almost delivered to the enemy.
He immediately kicked the annoying ice bag hard, sending it straight into the sky, and it flew into the river in the blink of an eye.
Only then did Illuso finally let out a sigh of relief from his tension and anger:
"I caught up...I didn't make a mistake..."
"Your plan has been completely thwarted, you damned mop-head!"
"ah!"
A scream was heard in the mirror space.
This was certainly not Polnareff's desperate wail, but the unfortunate old man's roar of collapse after experiencing incomprehensible supernatural events.
"What's going on...Who are you? Where is this place?!"
“What on earth just happened!”
The old man couldn't understand anything in the mirror space. He just yelled out of control because of fear.
“So annoying!”
There was actually a hint of murderous intent in Illuso's eyes .
He was not a good person who respected the elderly and loved the young. In his eyes, such old men passing by were just weeds that could be easily removed.
And now, because this old man wanted to make money by transporting ice without knowing what was good for him, the dreams and ambitions of their assassination team were almost destroyed.
"Don't make any noise, or I'll kill you!"
Illuso's ears were itchy from the old man's noise.
But no matter how he shouted angrily, the frightened old man refused to stop screaming.
Illuso simply didn't waste his breath.
He kicked out directly, trying to kick the old man in the mouth.
"stop!"
Polnareff's loud shout came from the side.
He suddenly jumped out from the side and blocked the kick for the old man.
"Haha...you still dare to come here on your own initiative?!"
Illuso laughed coldly.
He looked at Polnareff's body, which was already covered with wounds, and said with disdain:
"With your shaky body right now, are you still in the mood to worry about others?"
"Don't bother with this troublesome old man...you'll all be dead soon anyway!"
Illuso's voice was murderous.
But unexpectedly, he did not see any fear or retreat in Polnareff's expression, not even the most basic solemnity and seriousness.
On the contrary, Polnareff's expression was very calm, even relaxed:
"Isn't it shameless for a strong young man to come and fight with an old man?"
"Old man...don't worry, I will protect you."
"Leave this to me, and run away as soon as possible."
Polnareff carefully protected the old man behind him.
The old man also realized the danger and began to evacuate to a distance unconsciously.
"Still trying to be a hero?"
"Protect others? Are you qualified to say such things now?"
Illuso hated this kind of heroic drama of protecting the weak.
But his ridicule not only did not dampen Polnareff's fighting spirit, but instead brought out a confident smile from Polnareff.
Yes, confidence.
Polnareff suddenly had an inexplicable sense of confidence.
This inexplicable temperament is confident, unrestrained and sharp.
To describe it in metaphysical terms, it might be - sword intent.
"Do you think I just saw a random passerby and couldn't wait to entrust the 'mission' to him?"
"No... this old man actually happens to be the most perfect option."
"Because, if it was him, even if the plan failed like it did now..."
"He can also bring me the last hope."
Polnareff said this and slowly squatted down.
He picked up a cane from the ground. It was the cane that the old man brought in when he was dragged into the mirror space:
"I can't lift anything in the mirror space."
"But I can freely use anything that comes here from the real world."
Polnareff gripped the cane tightly.
His wrist trembled flexibly, and he used this plain cane to dance out a dazzling sword flower:
"Illuso, don't you want to know my Stand ability?"
"Now--"
Polnareff held his cane vertically in front of his chest and assumed a standard sword fighting stance:
"I can show you now!"
