Li Du did not recognize all of them. He did recognize two, however, and he knew them all too well.
Saying he knew them well was an understatement, actually. These were men who were essentially carved into his memory, and it felt like Li Du would never forget the two of them for as long as he lived.
Halim Stein and Gordon DK Gasol!
He had seen the two of them more times than he could count but had only observed them from a shorter distance once, which was during the postgraduate entrance ceremony. Halim Stein was the Dean and Gordon DK Gasol was the chairman of the college board of directors, so the two of them welcomed the new postgraduates.
That's right — the two of them were the big bosses of the Diploma Mill. The two of them were those who had taken all of the students' school fees as well as the research funding and ran off with it!
Their appearance was too sudden. Li Du had never thought in his wildest dreams he would meet the two of them here.
He was genuinely surprised by the people he was meeting right there on the ship. First Luo Qun, and now the two people of whom he had been thinking day and night with so much hatred. He was so taken aback that he was at a loss of what to do at this moment.
Just like when he first saw Luo Qun, he rubbed his eyes instinctively. Since he was standing at quite a distance from the two of them, he released the little bug to size them up.
He was right. Though they had changed their hairstyles and shaved off the beards, those were the two leaders of Diploma Mill who had cheated him!
Luo Qun explained in his ear, "There's no need to rub your eyes, you're not seeing things. Those two are Halim Stein and Gordon DK Gasol. They're cousins who used to manage a private college in Flagstaff called—"
"The National College of Flagstaff!" Li Du spat with his teeth clenched.
Luo Qun nodded. "Exactly. After illegally obtaining the qualifications to enroll foreign students, they took the chance to amass a fortune. They split their earnings with the board of directors they were working with and ran off with the money."
"Stein and Gasol ran off to Cuba where they spent three years living in comfort. They stayed in a huge villa, bought luxury sports cars, hooked up with girls, hired bodyguards, the whole deal. Those were great days of hedonism that they enjoyed.
"However, after the Korean trade group declared bankruptcy, they grew anxious. They cut themselves off from the lavish lifestyle and focused their energy on finding a way to return to America. They also got in touch with their contacts just to take part in this auction."
"You want to guess why they'd go to such lengths?"
Li Du stared at her in shock. "How do you know all of this, and in such great detail no less? Did you run a check on them?"
Luo Qun hummed. "You really think I went to Cuba just because I wanted to tour the world?"
Li Du's heart skipped a beat. He asked gently, "You went there just to look for the two of them? Were you trying to help me get even?"
Luo Qun reached out to smack his forehead and said, "Enough, stop looking at me like that, you're creeping me out. Aren't you so moved you could cry?"
Li Du chuckled bitterly. "You're no fun. Of course I'm moved."
Luo Qun responded, "No need for that, I just want to uphold justice, that's all. Those guys went too far! To think they cheated so many innocent, naive international students. They almost killed a fool like you, no less."
Li Du could not help but laugh as he pointed to himself. "I'm a fool?"
Luo Qun shrugged. "That's right, you're a fool. You tracked down Jonas Malone and Little John Victor, the two monsters who killed my family, but not these two scumbags who are even more high-profile? How is that possible if you're not a fool?"
Li Du could only continue to laugh bitterly. "Alright, I'm a fool."
Luo Qun pointed to the two men as she continued, "Honestly, finding their whereabouts was not a difficult task. It's just like I said earlier, those two scumbags are really high-profile. The moment they brought that wealth out of America, they began to squander it, so I could trace them through their credit card information. That said, going up against them won't be easy. They've got connections in the government."
Stein and Gasol definitely had people in the government, people who they were close to, no less. There was no other explanation for how they had obtained the license to enroll international students, much less for how they could escape to Cuba to enjoy such a lavish life after committing such a heinous crime. It was even more unbelievable that they could return to America so easily after their foray into offshore money and life in Cuba.
Li Du had tried to dig for information on the two of them and found out that they had been at the Northwest for a brief while but vanished after that. It was evident that they had left America from that part of the country, and then made a big loop at sea to Cuba.
On top of that, he also received notice that they were related to each other in another capacity. Not that the police took any action on that information — they had chosen to turn a blind eye about this case.
Li Du leaned against the railing as he eyed the two people who were preparing to board the yacht. He asked, "Why are they here at this auction all of a sudden? What is it they're after?"
Luo Qun replied, "I didn't manage to find out. Oh, right, aren't you interested in their contacts in the government?"
Li Du shook his head. "I don't care about that — why would I? Anyway, I'll deal with them the moment they're in my clutches, no matter who is backing them! F*cking scum!"
Luo Qun clapped quietly. "That's admirable, but before that happens, we still need a way to find out how they managed to join this auction. I had planned on looking for you beforehand, but then I saw an invitation with your name written on it, so things worked themselves out. I decided to just meet you here on this ship."
Li Du said, "Why didn't you call me ahead of time? You should have told me you were doing all of this, I could have sent some men to help you. Do you know how dangerous it is for a woman like you to be digging into all of this?"
Luo Qun raised her head in defiance, every bit the picture of pride. "Don't look down on me. Besides, you didn't tell me when you looked for Jonas Malone either. I just wanted to surprise you."
Li Du smiled. "This is one hell of a surprise!"
He took Luo Qun along as he searched for Bell. The man who had boarded the ship with Luo Qun seemed a little anxious as he hurried over to stop them. "What's going on, Sophie? What are you doing with this man?"
Li Du turned to Luo Qun in shock when he heard what the man called her. "Sophie?"
A blush crept up her face. She tugged on Li Du's arm as she said to the man, "I'm sorry, Mr. Hampton. I told you before that I was here to look for my brother, who got lost, and I found him. This is my brother. Thank you for helping me to board this ship, and goodbye."
The man's face fell. He seemed like he was really taken with Luo Qun, but this was nothing more than an unrequited admiration that was doomed to come to an end.
Li Du introduced Luo Qun to Bell and the rest of them, and the bunch of them shot him glances and wiggled their eyebrows. Li Du did not know whether to laugh or to cry, because it was obvious that they had misinterpreted their relationship.