Chapter 41: Hyper-Sense Primordial Fluid

Night enveloped everything.

After a black private car drove into the underground parking lot of the Qingtai Hotel, it stopped near the VIP elevator.

Two people got out of the car: one was a tall, thin man in a black suit with a cold expression, and the other was a young man in sportswear wearing a baseball cap and a mask, his face unrecognizable.

"I'll wait here for you; you go ahead," the tall, thin man said expressionlessly.

The young man in sportswear looked left and right, pressed down the brim of his baseball cap to cover his face as much as possible, and then walked toward the VIP elevator in the underground parking lot.

After passing the iris recognition, the young man in sportswear entered the elevator.

The elevator doors closed, and it began to descend rapidly.

When the elevator stopped and the doors opened again, it had descended into a long, dim corridor.

At the end of the corridor stood a metal door.

The young man in sportswear walked to the door at the end and passed the iris and fingerprint recognition once more.

Behind the open door lay a vast, empty lobby; signs pointed toward the rest area, the lending office, the entertainment hall, and other zones, yet at this moment it was deserted, with not a soul in sight.

The young man in sportswear entered the staff corridor and, a short while later, arrived before an unmarked office, where he knocked on the door.

"Come in."

A woman's voice, laced with laziness, sounded out.

Inside the antique-style office, candlelight flickered, and sandalwood incense curled upward.

A woman in a black cheongsam with golden patterns, styled in a vintage fashion, lounged lazily on a sofa; she appeared to be in her late twenties, with a graceful and seductive figure, a mature and charming aura, and in her hand she held a slender jade opium pipe, her eyes beneath the smoke hazy and dreamy.

"Sister Yang," the young man in sportswear said as he sat down opposite her.

"Xiao Peidong, didn't I say it's best we don't meet?"

The woman in the cheongsam, called Sister Yang, glanced lazily at him and said, "Coming to my place and still covering yourself so tightly? Now that you've put on the public's skin, you're getting even more cowardly."

Xiao Peidong frowned and said, "If I'm discovered, I'll be in trouble, so of course I must be cautious."

Sister Yang took a drag from the jade opium pipe, biting lightly on the mouthpiece, and then said, "Then what brings Captain Xiao here tonight?"

"I've run into trouble."

Xiao Peidong said in a low voice, "I need your Yuanhong Society's help; otherwise, I may not be able to keep my position as captain."

Sister Yang looked at him and said, "We've already done everything we could to help you. After Chu Tianyao escaped from Qinghu Island Prison and lay low for so long, his first move was to help you secure this position; what more do you want?"

"But he didn't kill Chen Yanan," Xiao Peidong said, frowning.

"Kill?"

Sister Yang laughed. "You, as an Inspector, should know best: an Inspector being injured and an Inspector being killed are two completely different matters. Once Chen Yanan dies, the Inspectorate Headquarters will certainly send someone to investigate thoroughly, and then the trouble will be immense."

She studied Xiao Peidong with an amused look and said, "Just to secure your position, you want to drag the entire Yuanhong Society into this?"

"During the investigation by the Inspectorate Headquarters, couldn't we just go into hiding temporarily?" Xiao Peidong said, frowning.

"Go into hiding temporarily?"

Sister Yang sneered. "Do you know how much money my Yuanhong Society earns every day? Do you know that because of your speech at the commendation ceremony today, Captain Xiao, where you spoke so righteously about thoroughly investigating the crimes in the Xiaoshan District, the customers at my boxing arena heard the news and haven't dared to come for these past few days?"

She tapped the opium pipe on the table and then said in a calm voice, "I've noted down the money lost these past few days, Captain Xiao."

"What can I do?"

Xiao Peidong frowned slightly and said, "Even the son of the Director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau has been tracked down, and the assassins you hired from the Dark Star Society failed to silence him; do you expect me to pretend everything is fine and continue covering for you?"

"That's your problem too," Sister Yang said, glancing at him coldly. "You don't even know the strength of that Lin Qing in your squad, yet you have the nerve to blame me?"

Xiao Peidong's frown deepened.

"He's just a newcomer; who would have thought he could survive an ambush by three professional-grade hunters from the Dark Star Society? And he even saved two people?"

Xiao Peidong said in a low voice, "Didn't you say that whenever the Dark Star Society acts, it's a guaranteed kill? What's the result now? The Dark Star Society hasn't even given an explanation?"

Sister Yang fell silent for a moment and said, "The Dark Star Society has already abandoned this mission."

"Abandoned?"

Xiao Peidong frowned and said, "I recall that when Dark Star Society assassins carry out missions, there are even stronger assassins acting as overseers, right? Why didn't the overseer act?"

"What good is asking me? The Boss only gave me the opportunity to contact the Dark Star Society."

Sister Yang snorted and said, "The Dark Star Society said the overseer mysteriously disappeared. That was an elite-grade assassin, whose strength was no less than yours, yet he simply vanished into thin air, with no trace whatsoever."

"Vanished into thin air?" Xiao Peidong couldn't help but be stunned. "Lin Qing only mastered one combat technique; how could he possibly kill an elite-grade assassin of the Dark Star Society? Even I couldn't do it."

"No traces of a fight were found at the scene; Lin Qing must have survived for some other reason," Sister Yang said coldly.

"What reason?" Xiao Peidong frowned.

"How would I know?"

Sister Yang said, "For instance... perhaps Inspector-General Yuan Anping happened to pass by nearby? Or perhaps he happened to encounter those hidden smugglers? Or maybe the overseer, in order to break away from the organization, staged his own death and faked his demise to escape?"

Xiao Peidong fell silent for a moment and said, "Regardless, this Lin Qing is indeed a threat to me; your Yuanhong Society must help me."

"A threat?"

Sister Yang laughed mockingly. "It's one thing for his sister, Chen Yanan, to be a threat to you, but for a newly confirmed Inspector of just one month, to be a threat to you as well?"

Xiao Peidong said coldly, "He has been cultivating a combat technique for less than a month; in such a short time, he mastered one technique, and today he went to learn a second one; I'm afraid he won't take long to master that either."

"Moreover, he clearly already obtained the four-hundred-thousand bounty, yet he didn't purchase the High-Energy Sustained-Release Fluid; this proves that his 46th Edition Practice Method has definitely reached its limit, and it's even possible he has already mastered the 77th Edition Practice Method!"

Xiao Peidong took a deep breath. "Now his merit is also sufficient; once he masters two combat techniques, he will become the new Vice-Captain!"

Sister Yang frowned slightly.

"You know this."

Xiao Peidong stared at Sister Yang and said, "So young, and a local of the Xiaoshan District; once he is promoted to Inspector and becomes Vice-Captain, Chen Yanan will certainly report in support of him. Unless I am already confirmed, the Municipal Bureau will certainly remove me as Acting Captain and choose him to serve as Captain!"

He said slowly, "The Boss ordered me to take control of the Inspectors in Lin'an City starting from the Xiaoshan District and to lead me to the position of Inspector-General, but if I can't even accomplish this first step, there's no point in talking about the future."

Sister Yang frowned, lost in thought.

She pondered for a long while and said, "The Boss has only given me three opportunities to order Chu Tianyao; severely injuring Chen Yanan already used one; do you really want to use another on Lin Qing? Doesn't that seem too wasteful?"

"No."

Xiao Peidong immediately said, "He is a combat genius; if he dies, it might attract the attention of the Headquarters. We cannot kill him casually."

"He hasn't become a vice-captain yet. Even if he does, at worst you can switch sectors and go to another district in Lin'an City. Isn't that possible?" Sister Yang glanced at him.

"Are you suggesting we just watch him rise to power?"

Xiao Peidong sneered. "He also knows about the underground boxing ring. His sister was even injured while investigating that batch of people you collected. Do you think he will give up investigating the Crimson Oriole Society after rising to power?"

Sister Yang frowned slightly and said, "Then what do you want to do?"

"Three paths."

Xiao Peidong spoke in a low voice: "First, your Crimson Oriole Society abandons the underground boxing ring. I am coming to search tomorrow anyway; let me gain merit while the going is good. You arrange in advance to evacuate part of the operation, enough for me to secure two Second-Class Merits. I will think of a way, and within a month I should have a chance to become regular."

"Impossible!"

Sister Yang sneered: "Don't dream. Do you know how much money my underground boxing ring has earned for the Boss? Just to let you gain merit, abandon it outright?"

Xiao Peidong knew she would not agree; his expression showed no surprise.

He spoke in a deep voice: "Then the second path. Prepare five sets of the EPS series high-energy sustained-release fluid for me, and one batch of Super-Sense Original Fluid. If I can master the original Chaoyang cultivation method, that will naturally suffice as well."

"EPS series high-energy sustained-release fluid?"

Sister Yang frowned and said, "Don't you know these are contraband? Do you expect me to buy them at the Suolong Black Market? The price there is several times more inflated than the original price at the Patrol Headquarters; one set costs at least twenty million!"

She looked Xiao Peidong over coldly. "As for the Super-Sense Original Fluid? You still cannot even achieve the first step of the original Chaoyang cultivation method?"

"I still need time. Besides, the Boss originally instructed you to prepare a batch of Super-Sense Original Fluid for me," Xiao Peidong said.

"The prerequisite is that you become regular and have a chance to reach the position of Head Captain!" Sister Yang said coldly.

"If I can become regular, you will have to give it to me sooner or later. What's wrong with giving it to me early so I can smoothly become regular?" Xiao Peidong spoke in a low voice.

He looked at Sister Yang: "Either you waste one opportunity to command Chu Tianyao, letting Lin Qing end up in the same situation as Chen Yanan."

Sister Yang fell silent.

After pondering for a moment, she took a deep breath and said, "The EPS series high-energy sustained-release fluid can be given to you in a few days, but the Super-Sense Original Fluid requires time; it will probably take half a month."

"Fine, I will wait."

Xiao Peidong stood up, turned around, and left.

(End of this chapter)