Chapter 694

With the system's next mission not yet issued, Ning Chen thought he indeed could take a good break.

"Alright, alright," Ning Chen replied, "It is time to go out and relax properly. Tell me, which restaurant are we going to for dinner?"

"Restaurant?" Xu Si pouted. "Just eating late-night snacks at a roadside stall and having a few drinks wouldn't be more fun?"

591 Late-Night Snack Stall, Farewell Banquet

Ning Chen had no objection to this, so he nodded: "Fine, eating something casual is fine too."

Xu Si picked up his phone to check the time, saw that most of the other officers in the conference room had already dispersed, and said, "It is not time yet; it is only five in the afternoon. If we go out now, we probably won't find anything to eat."

Ning Chen had not eaten at a late-night snack stall for so long that, recalling it now, he had almost forgotten that taste. Hearing this, Ning Chen said, "Then let's decide tonight. Since it is still early, I want to tour the police station."

Xu Si laughed: "I really don't understand you; what is there to see in a police station?" But he did not stop him, instead hooking Ning Chen's neck and leading him outside.

Inside the police station, Ning Chen felt safe letting Hearing Chu Muyu and the others act alone; even if Chaye Society was bold, this was not the Cangbei he knew, but a strange country.

Therefore, Ning Chen turned back, waved to the few of them, and followed Xu Si outside without looking back.

Only Hearing Chu Muyu, the curly-haired one, and Xiao Ling remained in the conference room. Hearing Chu Muyu walked over, closed the conference room door, pulled a stool, and sat in front of the curly-haired one and Xiao Ling. Since Hearing Hua Ping asked who could return to Cangbei, those two had been looking at him with scrutinizing and incredulous eyes.

Just now, perhaps because there were too many people to speak up, but now that others had left, Hearing Chu Muyu simply waited for the two to ask him.

The next second, the curly-haired one stroked his chin while asking him, "Are you losing your mind?"

Hearing Chu Muyu laughed helplessly: "How could I? I have thought it through quite well."

Xiao Ling stared into Hearing Chu Muyu's eyes: "Actually, you do not need to go to Cangbei either. Even if you do not go, those police officers will go anyway; whether you go or not has little effect on the final result."

After hearing these words, Hearing Chu Muyu finally showed some expression: "How could it be the same? Without me to lead the way, they might really bump around Cangbei like headless flies."

"So you think," Xiao Ling asked the moment he finished speaking, "that once you lead people into Chaye Society's Shangshi Company, they won't die?"

Hearing Chu Muyu finally fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Ling was right; Chaye Society, as a director of a Shangshi Company, could not lack elite soldiers and generals. Earlier, when Chaye Society sent people to hunt down Ning Chen and the others, Xiao Ling knew that Chaye Society was absolutely not someone they could provoke.

Chaye Society was willing to spend money, sending more than a dozen helicopters to hunt them down, and his subordinates were numerous; the weapons equipped to each person were all the latest models.

It was just that Ning Chen's strength was too formidable; even Chaye Society had no move against him.

This time, without Ning Chen's help, Xiao Ling found it hard to ensure Hearing Chu Muyu could return alive, especially since Hearing Chu Muyu was a key target of Chaye Society's pursuit.

"I know," Hearing Chu Muyu nodded and said, "I know we might all die, but so what?"

564. Life and Death on a Razor's Edge (14)

He even said calmly: "It doesn't matter; I have long foreseen my ending. I might as well go once more; if possible, I might even be able to kill him with my own hands."

The curly-haired one raised an eyebrow: "Do you think it is possible? You, killing him with your own hands?"

Hearing Chu Muyu said: "There is nothing impossible; after all, we escaped from Cangbei, so what is impossible?"

That was true; the curly-haired one nodded and said no more.

They seemed to have seen through Hearing Chu Muyu's intentions and knew that persuading him further was useless, so Xiao Ling crossed his arms, raised his chin toward Hearing Chu Muyu, and said, "You are a good man, but I am afraid of death... We were friends at least; your behavior is no different from going to die, and I feel quite bad about it."

"It's fine, just consider me willing," Hearing Chu Muyu smiled, "It's not a big deal. Let's go; we still need to go out for dinner later."

After Ning Chen and Xu Si left the conference room, Xu Si led Ning Chen straight to Hearing Hua Ping's office.

Ning Chen asked him, "... Why are you taking me to Hearing Hua Ping's office? Is there some secret hidden in his office?"

Xu Si looked mysterious: "You will know once you go."

Hearing this, Ning Chen helplessly followed Xu Si forward. Actually, the two were not too familiar before, but after contacting each other back and forth, they became quite close. Xu Si was a carefree person, and Ning Chen could be considered naturally friendly; they became familiar just by talking.

Hearing Hua Ping's office was on the top floor. Xu Si led Ning Chen up several layers of stairs. Although not tiring, Ning Chen was somewhat unwilling: "So you brought me here just to climb stairs?"

"No, no, no," Xu Si walked ahead, "What kind of words are those... There is something placed at the old man's office door; that thing is a bit ridiculous. I will take you to see it, and you will know."

Xu Si piqued Ning Chen's curiosity a bit, and his steps up the stairs became lighter.

Finally reaching the top floor, they discovered that only Hearing Hua Ping had an office there. Ning Chen was somewhat surprised: "Does your chief live alone on an entire floor?"

Xu Si scratched his head: "Hearing Hua Ping likes quiet. When he took over our Jingju Sect, the top floor was the previous chief's office. After succeeding, he simply went with the flow and made the top floor his own office."

Ning Chen nodded.

When they reached the office door, Ning Chen saw the "thing" Xu Si mentioned right at the entrance.

It seemed to be a statue placed at the office door, with only one on the right side. The appearance was quite ridiculous; it looked like a child, but the body was somewhat strange, fat on top and thin on the bottom, with very wide feet, and a very strange face, with two eyes bulging outward.

It was a stone sculpture. The moment Ning Chen saw this statue, he wanted to ask, "Did Hearing Hua Ping carve this thing himself?"

In fact, he asked exactly that. Xu Si held back his laughter: "It really was."

Ning Chen said with some depth: "It seems our Chief Hearing Hua Ping has little talent in this area, carving out such a thing."

Xu Si also wanted to laugh upon hearing this, but he held it back: "Don't say that; at least our chief has achieved something in other fields."

Ning Chen did not want to learn about Hearing Hua Ping; he just lowered his head, reached out, and touched the statue. The texture was quite good.

Ning Chen raised his chin toward the closed Bidefang Sect door again: "What is your chief doing in the room now? Handling official business?"

Xu Si shook his head and smiled: "What official business could he possibly handle? He is just reading books and writing calligraphy in his own office; the old man is very idle."

Ning Chen had already heard the term "old man" from Xu Si's mouth twice. He raised an eyebrow: "It seems your friendship with Hearing Hua Ping is not shallow. What is your relationship?"

Hearing this, Xu Si's face stiffened a bit. He seemed not good at changing the subject and spoke somewhat stutteringly: "Ah, nothing..." Then he glanced at the time again. "It is not late now, is it? Let's go; the small stalls should be opening soon. If we go late, it will be crowded again."

Ning Chen could see that Xu Si did not want to continue this topic, so he smiled.

"What is the point of going to the stall to eat? We are just after the atmosphere," Ning Chen followed Xu Si down the stairs. "If there is no atmosphere of a late-night snack stall, we might as well find a cleaner and more hygienic restaurant to finish our meal."

"Why be so particular?" Xu Si returned to his previous demeanor, looking quite carefree. "I am a vulgar person; I really love eating those things."

Ning Chen had nothing to say. The two found Hearing Chu Muyu and the others and walked out of the Jingju Sect together.

Xu Si seemed to enjoy the off-work state. The moment he stepped out of the Jingju Sect door, he smiled broadly and sniffed, as if savoring the beautiful air outside the workplace. Seeing this, Ning Chen could not help but laugh again: "Why are you like a dog?"

Xu Si's face immediately drooped: "What kind of words are those?"

The group walked on foot. Ning Chen had to consider the personal safety of the three people behind, so he and Xu Si sandwiched the people in the middle, one in front and one in back, ensuring that at any sign of movement, they could react immediately under any circumstances.

Chu Muyu and the other two, surrounded and attacked by Xu Si and Ning Chen, strangely felt a great sense of security.

At this critical moment, Ning Chen originally did not intend to bring extra people into crowded places; after all, with more people, the crowd becomes mixed with good and bad. But then he remembered that Chu Muyu would soon assist the police in returning to Cangbei, which was essentially no different from suicide.

So this banquet could be regarded as a farewell dinner.

Xu Si was a local of this area, knowing the terrain inside out; he knew exactly which shop was on which street. Familiar with the route, he led the group through several alleys, finally arriving at the late-night snack stall Xu Si had been longing for.

When night fell, the place was indeed bustling, with many stalls fully occupied.

Xu Si walked into a small shop packed with people and shouted to the owner inside: "I'm Xu Si! Uncle! Go set up a table outside for me; I have a few friends coming to eat late-night snacks!"

The shop was booming, the smell of grilled skewers wafting into the noses of the group. Ning Chen glanced at the menu, feeling quite interested in some of the dishes.

The owner was also quick with his hands; after acknowledging Xu Si, he immediately had an assistant rush to set up the table outside. Once they found seats, Xu Si took charge of ordering the food.

By the time everything was served, twenty minutes had passed.

Xu Si seemed used to eating these things with others; his movements with the skewers were incredibly practiced, swift, precise, and ruthless. He could finish a small skewer in a few seconds.

But Xu Si was generous; he had ordered a whole table of food, so there was no worry about not getting full. Ning Chen leisurely ate a few skewers, then stopped and watched the others eat.

Chu Muyu ate with some refinement, chewing the food in his mouth. When he lowered his head, his expression was somewhat unclear, but Ning Chen could actually sense his current unpleasant mood.

Ning Chen sighed, not knowing what to say. Assisting the police in going to Cangbei was indeed equivalent to suicide; without his coordination, it would be hard to return alive.

Yet Ning Chen himself did not want to exhaust himself and make this trip again. Back then, to save Chu Muyu's life, Ning Chen had made many compromises himself. He was absolutely unwilling to let Chu Muyu face the gates of death once more.

The meal was actually somewhat gloomy, as if everyone was shrouded in the shadow of death. After a long silence, Xiao Ling finally spoke up.

Xiao Ling asked Xu Si, who sat opposite her: "Little policeman, do you have a partner?"

The moment she spoke, the corner of Ning Chen's mouth twitched violently.

On the way, he hadn't known Xiao Ling was such an enthusiastic and straightforward girl. However, as far as he knew, Xu Si was not very keen on finding a partner; his attitude showed that.

Xu Si was momentarily stunned and replied: "No." He paused, then added, "Wouldn't that be...?"

"What wouldn't that be?" Xiao Ling was somewhat confused. "I was just asking; actually, I didn't mean anything else." In the end, she awkwardly added a "Haha."

Ning Chen watched without speaking. Xu Si's age should be similar to Xiao Ling's; both were quite young. Even Ning Chen was older than them. If they just talked about it at the dinner table, it would be fine.

But neither side had that intention. Ning Chen felt both of them were somewhat awkward, so he let out a dry laugh and changed the topic for them: "Speaking of which, what exactly is the main duty of the Yuanjiubu Sect? In theory, a proper department shouldn't have this kind of atmosphere, right?"

Speaking of this, Xu Si was obviously angered: "... Heh, what good atmosphere do they have over there? I'll speak plainly. The Yuanjiubu Sect is a department established by the state organization specifically to go to Cangbei and rescue people. Their work content isn't just saving people; it also includes gathering intelligence and so on."

"It's just that this department has never really done anything human. The state, considering the work the department does is too dangerous, gives them more bonuses and subsidies every year, raising that group to be Bai Bai and plump. Who knows how much grease they've skimmed off the top."

As Xu Si spoke these words, he seemed to recall the actions of the person opposite him before. He let out a cold snort: "The head of that department is quite good at judging the situation. When dealing with ordinary people, he acts cold and indifferent, but for someone of Hearing Hua Ping's status, he uses methods of swallowing his pride and retreating to advance."

Ning Chen wanted to say that he himself had seen such things often, but looking at Xu Si's face, he said nothing. He knew he had to let Xu Si vent on his own; at this moment, he was only fit to be a listener.

"How many people does that department rescue from Cangbei every year? I think at most ten! Even if the hostages' families send all the materials to the Yuanjiubu Sect, they don't even look at them, tossing them aside like trash," Xu Si said coldly. "And I saw this with my own eyes."

"So there are such things," Ning Chen said, propping his chin. "You should call for their superiors to punish them severely, or report them to the national platform. With so many methods, there must be one that can make them correct their ways."

"A dog can't change its habit of eating shit," Xu Si stated bluntly. "As long as that group is still there, there are no measures that can improve the situation." Saying this, he ate another skewer.