Chapter 37: Intelligence: Street Haunted by the Undead

Upon hearing Roger's words, the Vulture hesitated for a while before finally agreeing.

"Fine, but this is a one-time favor, and I want the money in two days—otherwise, you'll never do business with me again!"

Like hell Roger would ever do it right once!

If it weren't for helping Vanessa, he'd never have reached out to a piece of trash like the Vulture.

It'd be more like calling the cops to arrest him for illegal possession of a large quantity of enhancers.

"Thank you." Roger pulled out five hundred dollars from his pocket: "This is all I've got—consider it a deposit."

"Hmm, it's a bit short, but for Aodisi's sake, I'll do this one for you."

The Vulture acted like a big shot, snatching the bills and shoving them into his pants pocket.

"So when do we go get the goods?"

"Don't rush—there's plenty coming in these days, and you'll get your share. Go back and wait for my call." This book is first published on Tiantian Kan Xiaoshuo, 🅣🅣🅚🅢. 🅣🅦 super convenient, providing you with an error-free and properly ordered chapter reading experience.

"Alright, make sure my stuff comes first, bro."

"Relax!"

The Vulture patted his chest, assured Roger, and saw him out the door.

Once the door closed, Roger's excited expression faded slowly. He walked step by step toward his bicycle, reached into his pocket, and turned off the phone's recording button.

"This is proof I can use to get money from Vanessa."

He wasn't lying—the five hundred dollars really was all he had. Whether the Vulture planned to stiff him or not, Vanessa would have to cover this extra expense.

As for the remaining payment after High reached his end?

Once the Vulture lands in prison, the debt will be settled naturally.

Roger rode his bicycle out of the neighborhood and called Vanessa on the road.

"Hello, Roger? Any news?" The female reporter's voice was urgent.

"Of course. Find a place—I'll play you something."

"Okay, come to the café downstairs at the Xiyatu Shibao Dasha. I'll wait for you there."

After hanging up, Roger pedaled hard and finally arrived after over forty minutes.

"Over here." In the café, Vanessa, already waiting, waved at the man.

She had short black hair cut at her ears, black-rimmed glasses perched on her pale nose bridge. A fitted skirt paired with light gray stockings accentuated her curves—strikingly alluring, reminding Roger of the white teachers he'd seen in films.

Roger walked over and sat across from her.

"How was it? Did the Vulture contact you?" Vanessa asked eagerly.

Roger smiled: "Not just contacted—I've already struck a deal with him."

He pulled out his phone and played the recording.

Because the audio was too quiet, Vanessa picked up the phone and pressed it to her ear to listen closely.

When she finished listening, her eyes sparkled: "Perfect! With this, I can request a budget from the editor!"

Any major news a reporter uncovers must first be reported to the editor, who decides whether to deploy the newspaper's resources for further investigation.

Especially for stories requiring money—this rule is absolute.

Reporters only earn so much a month; just maintaining a few Informers eats up their pay. How could they possibly afford all the intelligence fees?

So with this recording, Vanessa now had grounds to convince the editor to toss aside that damn police case closure report.

"Send me the recording first—I need to talk to the editor."

The female reporter acted swiftly, took the recording from Roger, and immediately headed upstairs to the editor's office.

Roger sipped the latte she'd ordered and sat waiting in his chair.

To be honest, he hadn't enjoyed such a relaxed moment—sitting by a floor-to-ceiling window, drinking coffee—in a long time. Since becoming a homeless man, his days were spent among trash and rats.

Bored, Roger opened his phone messages and found his last text to Zoe was from days ago.

"Have you found a place to live yet?"

Thinking of the desserts Zoe had brought him, he instinctively sent a message asking.

Soon, Zoe replied: "Not yet. I just moved out of a friend's place. Because of me, she and her boyfriend had several fights—I felt really bad."

"Also, several people have quit here recently. Work's been crazy, so I've been staying here these past few days."

Roger took a sip of coffee and replied: "With work this busy, looks like you're going to make big money."

"Hahaha, then I really owe thanks to those sudden quitters."

As they chatted, the crisp sound of high heels echoed.

Vanessa returned.

"I've already talked to the editor!" Her tone was confident, as if she'd won full support from the Times.

Roger put down his phone: "What did he say?"

Vanessa said: "We're going all in on this story—dig deep into the supply chain behind it. I need you to maintain a good relationship with the Vulture and extract as many clues from him as possible."

"So you mean I have to help him transport the goods, pretend I found a buyer, and pay him the money?"

"Exactly." Vanessa nodded. "Only then will he trust you and reveal more secrets."

"Alright."

Roger was about to ask about payment when a new intelligence alert suddenly appeared.

【Intelligence: Street Haunted by the Undead】

【Passersby report that on a certain street near Nan Gongyuan Shequ, an unnatural, pungent odor drifts every few days, accompanied by chilling, eerie sounds—as if undead spirits are at work. Investigator must resolve this within two days.】

【Reward after investigation: 1 Bronze Coin of the Ancient God, 50 USD】

Roger frowned slightly. From the reward alone, he knew this investigation task was still simple—likely just finding the street would be enough to complete it.

But the repeated appearance of similar intelligence investigations left him slightly uneasy.

A giant floating on the lake, a worker dismantling a Gundam, an old woman driven mad by her daughter's disappearance.

Now add a street haunted by undead.

Why does everything seem connected to corpses?

As Roger was lost in thought, Vanessa spoke: "What's wrong? Feeling stuck?"

"Oh, no," Roger explained. "I've just been working on a case that's left me puzzled."

"What case are you talking about?"

"The Zhu Di disappearance case. Have you heard of it?"

Vanessa exclaimed in surprise: "Of course I've heard of it—back then, every media outlet was covering it. But I'd just graduated, so I didn't know much."

"Really? I recently met Zhu Di's mother—Mrs. Jie Kui Lin. She's still searching for her daughter." Roger summarized Mrs. Jie Kui Lin's words, highlighting the key points.

After listening, Vanessa furrowed her brow: "If someone really lured Zhu Di to a secluded street, why didn't the reporters or police uncover it back then?"

Roger shrugged: "Just like the Gundam dismantling in the garage—the police closed that case too hastily."

"You're right. That's actually piqued my curiosity." Vanessa stared blankly as she sipped her coffee, then fell silent for a moment. "I'll look into the old reports. Maybe I'll find a new lead."

"If you uncover anything, it'll be Seattle's front-page headline."

"Exactly!" Whenever headlines were mentioned, Vanessa would perk up.