Chapter 486: Tang Yuan Taking Off

Li Li Banfeng looked at Tang Yuan, thinking about how to set up the slope.

The other party was a trained agent; a normal slope might not be very suitable for her.

Tang Yuan sat opposite Li Li Banfeng, trying her best to remain calm.

From the day she entered the Dark Star Bureau, she had been psychologically prepared that one day, she might die in a mission.

Before dying, what kind of way would she use to face the end of her life?

When alone, Tang Yuan had once had similar fantasies.

Especially in the bathroom, she would take the shower head and spray herself, pretending she had suffered a fatal wound, and then try to find a way to perish with the enemy with her last bit of strength.

Of course, she had received professional training; she had methods for self-rescue after being injured. If she could save herself, that would be good, but if she couldn't, she at least had to try every possible way to finish her last words.

The last words didn't need to be long; just four words would suffice: "I did it!"

Every time she thought of this scene, Tang Yuan would be moved to tears by herself.

Now she was also about to cry, but not out of being moved, but out of fear.

Reality was completely different from her imagination; she was not as brave as she had imagined, and dying was far more terrifying than she had imagined.

Li Li Banfeng handed Tang Yuan a glass of water. "You don't need to be so nervous."

Tang Yuan held the glass of water and asked sincerely, "Is it poisoned?"

Li Li Banfeng shook his head. "I didn't poison it."

Tang Yuan placed the glass against her lips, her teeth clattering against the glass, making a constant clicking sound.

Watching Tang Yuan drink the water, Li Li Banfeng said, "I put a laxative in it."

Tang Yuan's body tightened, and some blood gradually returned to her pale face.

How could he do such a thing...

Tang Yuan felt a warm current surging in her abdomen, subconsciously clenching her peach.

Li Li Banfeng continued, "The medicine takes effect very quickly, so we don't have much time. Tell me first: you once came to the banquet at Xiaoyao Dock with Dick Chen, so why do you dare to sneak into Xiaoyao Dock to be a singer now? Why did you think I wouldn't discover you?"

Tang Yuan answered truthfully, "I used a disguise technique; you shouldn't have been able to recognize my appearance."

"Why didn't you change your voice?"

Voice?

Did he recognize me through my voice?

"I thought you wouldn't notice my voice."

Li Li Banfeng possessed the skill of Insight into Spiritual Sound, and coupled with the help of the Thread-Pulling Earrings, he was particularly sensitive to sound.

Tang Yuan had spoken at the banquet table, and Lightbulb had revealed Tang Yuan's identity afterward. Li Li Banfeng would naturally notice Tang Yuan's voice, and coupled with Tang Yuan's raw performance on stage, Li Li Banfeng quickly discovered the abnormality.

"Did you come to Xiaoyao Dock to monitor me?"

Tang Yuan nodded.

"Did you dig up any useful information?"

"Not yet."

"Who exactly is Dick Chen, whom you came with before?"

Tang Yuan did not want to answer.

She had been able to accept revealing her own information in the previous questions, but now the questions involved the secrets of the Dark Star Bureau and the Government Office. Tang Yuan did not want to become a traitor.

This slope really wasn't easy to set up. Seeing Tang Yuan remain silent, Li Li Banfeng said, "I remind you, the laxative is very powerful, so your body might leave the chair."

Why would her body leave the chair?

Because of spraying?

Tang Yuan gritted her teeth, and her stomach rumbled.

So what?

She was a person who wasn't even afraid of death; was she afraid of this little thing?

Li Li Banfeng looked at Tang Yuan and asked, "Is Dick Chen a Puluo Continent person, a Da Huan Kingdom person, or a foreigner?"

Tang Yuan said, "He is a foreigner. When you were negotiating, he mentioned it himself."

"Does he know you are an agent of the Dark Star Bureau?"

"He knows."

"Would the Dark Star Bureau reveal an agent's identity to a foreigner?"

"That's because his identity is very special."

"Special in what way?"

Rumble, Tang Yuan's stomach rumbled again.

She tried her best to stay focused, preventing any slips in her responses, but she found this very difficult.

She quickly discovered the problem.

Li Qi wasn't threatening her with the laxative; he was destroying her concentration with the laxative.

This was a special interrogation method that Tang Yuan had once studied: using methods that weren't very harmful but had a strong sense of urgency and continuous persistence to destroy the other party's thinking rhythm and concentration, thereby causing the other party to make mistakes repeatedly during the response.

Under difficult restraint and endurance, Tang Yuan gave a pre-designed answer: "Dick Chen is a merchant, a merchant assigned by the Government Office. My mission at the time was to protect his safety."

Li Li Banfeng asked, "What kind of commercial activities is he mainly engaged in?"

"You should be very clear about that; he had previously been in contact with Ma Ma Junyang." Tang Yuan was still relatively clear-headed; trying not to answer detailed questions was one of the important strategies for dealing with interrogation.

Li Li Banfeng paused for a long time, silently watching Tang Yuan's reaction.

Rumble~

Tang Yuan's face was full of sweat; she didn't seem so clear-headed anymore.

Li Li Banfeng continued to ask, "Why would the Outer Continent hand over matters in a confidential field to a merchant, and a foreign merchant at that? What is special about this foreign merchant?"

"He," Tang Yuan took a breath; the cramping in her stomach made her consciousness somewhat blurry. "I, I don't know much about his background. This is not within my scope of duty. If you want me to answer your questions, at least ask about things I know..."

Tang Yuan was about to reach her limit.

"Then let me ask you a question you know," Li Li Banfeng asked very seriously, "The tide of the Yellow Dragon Gate is coming; may I ask, young lady, what will you use to block it?"

"Tighten the gate first..." Tang Yuan took a deep breath and shook her head. She was very ashamed; she didn't know why she would talk to Li Li Banfeng about the gate.

Li Li Banfeng smiled. The slope was gradually becoming smooth; she was about to tell the truth.

"Ms. You You Xuehan, you have been lying the whole time, and every lie was full of holes.

Dick Chen's identity will be revealed sooner or later. In fact, I have already found a lot of information about him. With you, I just need to do some confirmation and supplementation.

As long as you tell me his identity truthfully, today's matter ends here. Why must you make things difficult for yourself?"

Tang Yuan shook her head and said, "You can kill me. I'm not even afraid of death; do you think this little bit of humiliation and torture matters to me?"

"It's not as simple as just this moment." Li Li Banfeng moved the flower stand beside the coffee table, revealing the camera hidden in the dark.

Li Li Banfeng adjusted the angle of the camera. "You investigated me, so you should know I have a film company. I just said you would take off from the chair; this is a rare special effects scene. I will use it in a movie, and I tell you responsibly, I won't just use it once."

Tang Yuan gritted her teeth, sweat beads sliding down from her hair. "I don't care; I am worthy of my mission."

Li Li Banfeng nodded. "I know you are worthy of your mission; you can even firmly believe you are a hero, but there are some things you cannot shake off. You taking off while riding a golden giant dragon—this matter will circulate for many years, perhaps even longer than your life."

Tang Yuan trembled even more severely.

Li Li Banfeng laid out the final section of the slope. "I told you just now, I understand most of Dick Chen's background. He is balancing the relationships between various places, and his identity will be revealed sooner or later.

If you tell me what you know, it won't have any impact on him. It's just such a simple thing to get out of your current predicament.

But if you insist on gritting your teeth and not saying it, the impact on you will be huge. Losing your reputation, you might lose everything.

The restroom is over there. Don't pay a price you can't recover from for irrelevant people and irrelevant things."

Another cramp struck; the pressure at the gate had reached its limit.

Tang Yuan, with a face full of sweat, raised her head and said quickly, "Dick Chen's real name is Chen Chen Weixin; he is the new Deputy Director of the Dark Star Bureau."

Li Li Banfeng was surprised. "The previous Xiao Xiao Zhenggong was only a Deputy Captain; why was Chen Chen Weixin able to get such a high position?"

Tang Yuan shook her head. "This is not something I can know, but I have heard some rumors: Balancers can choose their own positions. Xiao Xiao Zhenggong could have also had a higher position, but he insisted on staying in the team."

"Continue."

Tang Yuan looked at the restroom, her eyes full of longing, and said, "Chen Chen Weixin is the new Balancer after Xiao Xiao Zhenggong. He was born in Soda Kiln, studied in countries like Outer Amikan, Ocuili, Xipanni, Ingli, and Frenxi, and then lived in Rafsha for a long time. He is a classmate of Director Shen Shen Jingye.

After he took office, he has already established a certain connection with the Inner Continent, and the negotiation between the Inner Continent and the Outer Continent, which had been interrupted for many years, has also resumed."

"What type of negotiation?"

"The Outer Continent helps the Inner Continent open up some of the roads leading to Puluo Continent, and the Inner Continent gives the Outer Continent some high-purity dark energy carriers."

"The dark energy carriers you mentioned, do they refer to magic treasures?"

"Not magic treasures," Tang Yuan clutched her stomach, her eyes red, looking at Li Li Banfeng. "They are minerals, very scarce minerals. These minerals can be used to make some special equipment and weapons. The specific uses are only known to top-level personnel. This kind of thing is extremely rare in Puluo Continent and doesn't exist at all in the Outer Continent."

Upon hearing this, Li Li Banfeng's cheeks trembled slightly. "It's just restarting the negotiation now; things shouldn't be settled yet, right?"

"It's about to be settled. Dick Chen works very efficiently, and the communication between the two sides is very smooth." Tang Yuan's speaking speed was getting faster and faster.

Li Li Banfeng's eyes flashed with cold light. "Do you know what Inner Continent people will do when they arrive in Puluo Continent? Do you know that in the eyes of Inner Continent people, the lives of Puluo Continent people are no different from the mud on the ground? The Outer Continent trades with the Inner Continent for minerals, and in the end, the ones who suffer are Puluo Continent? What do you take Puluo Continent for?"

Tang Yuan said with tears, trembling all over, "This is not something I can decide..."

"Then what can you decide?"

"The gate, the gate can still be decided now, but it won't be decidable soon..." Tang Yuan cried out.

Li Li Banfeng raised a hand, signaling Tang Yuan to go to the restroom.

Tang Yuan ran away at full speed. Judging from the sounds in the restroom, she should have had a brief takeoff.

Li Li Banfeng felt this matter should be told to Sun Sun Tiecheng.

The skill of "Going Down the Slope with the Donkey"—if the slope is laid in a suitable position, it can derive a new technique called "Pouring Down a Thousand Miles," and the efficiency of this technique is obviously much higher.

More than ten minutes later, Tang Yuan returned to Li Li Banfeng with a calm expression and sat in the chair, the sweat on her hair not yet dry.

Li Li Banfeng said, "Go back and rest for a while. I've arranged for you to sing a solo tonight. You need to discuss the repertoire with the band. Remember to choose your most proficient repertoire. Forgetting the lyrics during a solo is a very shameful thing."

Tang Yuan looked at Li Li Banfeng in surprise.

He's letting me go back to sing?

Is he crazy?

Does he know what he's saying?

"You don't need to continue interrogating me?"

Li Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not for the time being."

"You don't need to kill me to silence me?"

"Currently, that's not needed either."

"Then, can you let me go?" For her own life, Tang Yuan saw some hope again.

Li Li Banfeng nodded. "I can let you go, but it's not unconditional, and it requires you to wait for a period of time.

If I let you go back now, without having made any progress, suddenly giving up the investigation will arouse the suspicion of the Dark Star Bureau and the Government Office."

Tang Yuan agreed with Li Qi's point of view. If she went back now, Liao Liao Zihui definitely wouldn't let her off easily. Next, she would have to accept a series of investigations and might even be expelled from the agent team forever.

But isn't it a bit too early to think about these things?

Could Li Qi really let her off?

She looked at Li Qi nervously, only to hear Li Qi suggest, "You should adjust your diet properly in the future."

Tang Yuan was stunned. "Diet... is there something wrong with it?"

Li Li Banfeng pointed to the glass of water. "There was no laxative in the glass."

"Then, then why just now..."

Li Li Banfeng didn't speak.

Because he had set up a very urgent slope for her.

……

Tang Yuan went to the backstage, dejected. A singer came up and asked, "How does Brother Qiye taste?"

A woman beside her said, "Oh my, why are your eyes still red? Did Brother Qiye go too hard?"

Tang Yuan didn't make a sound. She walked to the dressing table to prepare her makeup. Manager Zhang came up and said, "Miss Xiao Taohong, Brother Qiye has ordered that you have a solo tonight. Which song do you want to pick? I'll have the band prepare."

Tang Yuan's gaze was dull; she didn't open her mouth for a long time.

Several singers were whispering on the side:

"What can she sing? Yesterday, during the six-person chorus, she went off-key as soon as she opened her mouth, and she forgot the lyrics halfway through. Later, she didn't even dare to make a sound."

"She entered Brother Qiye's room, and now she has a solo tonight. What can you do if you're not convinced?"

"Let her sing. A solo will be even more shameful. I don't know what Brother Qiye saw in her!"

"You can't see this yet? Look at how fleshy her peach is; she could sit two holes into a wooden chair."

"Alright, if she has the ability, let her sing with her peach."

Tang Yuan originally didn't want to choose a song; she wanted to decline tonight's solo.

She was here to investigate Li Qi, not to be a singer.

She had just leaked important secrets.

She had just crawled back from the gates of hell; she was in no mood to compete for favor with these vulgar singers.

But for some reason, hearing these singers talk, Tang Yuan's anger burned up.

She said to Manager Zhang, "Please tell the band, tonight I'm singing 'Moon Round, Flower Good'!"

"Moon Round, Flower Good" was one of the few Puluo Continent songs Tang Yuan was relatively familiar with.

Hearing that she wanted to sing "Moon Round, Flower Good," the surrounding singers all laughed.

"Really ignorant. Is 'Moon Round, Flower Good' for her to sing?"

"Having been in Brother Qiye's bed, she doesn't know the height of the sky and the depth of the earth anymore."

Manager Zhang was also somewhat embarrassed. "Miss Xiao Taohong, you'd better change the song."

Tang Yuan frowned. "I want to sing 'Moon Round, Flower Good'. Is that not allowed?"

Manager Zhang said, "You're new, so there are some rules you don't know yet. At Xiaoyao Dock, 'Moon Round, Flower Good' is Miss Jiang Jiang Mengting's exclusive repertoire."

Tang Yuan sighed. She was about to change the song when she saw Jiang Jiang Mengting push open the door to the dressing room.

She had her own dressing room, and she had heard all the sounds from outside just now.

Jiang Jiang Mengting looked at Tang Yuan and smiled. "Let Xiao Taohong sing. We don't have that many rules at Xiaoyao Dock. Good songs are for everyone to sing together."

Tang Yuan looked back at Jiang Jiang Mengting. Jiang Jiang Mengting's smile was friendly, but there was a hint of coldness in her gaze.

Having been a secretary for so many years, Tang Yuan naturally had a sharp eye. She knew Jiang Jiang Mengting was very dissatisfied with her.

After Jiang Jiang Mengting returned to her dressing room, Manager Zhang advised, "Miss Xiao Taohong, change the song."

Change one?

Tang Yuan gritted her teeth.

They won't let me go to the restroom, and now they won't let me sing?

Is there such bullying?

Being bullied by Li Qi is one thing, but why should I be bullied by you bunch of bitches?

Forgetting reason, forgetting identity, forgetting all the missions she shouldered, she just wanted to tear the faces of this bunch of bitches to shreds!

Tang Yuan raised her head and said, "I won't change! I'm singing 'Flower Good, Moon Round'!"

……

Li Li Banfeng called Luo Zhengnan and asked him to go to Soda Kiln to investigate Chen Chen Weixin's background.

After the matter was settled, Li Li Banfeng left Xiaoyao Dock, preparing to understand the progress of the Government Office's work through other channels.

The Outer Continent wants to help the Inner Continent build a passage; this deal must be ruined. The Inner Continent having one more way out means Puluo Continent will have one more catastrophe.

Just as he walked out the front door, Li Li Banfeng faintly heard a ringing sound.

Ding-ling~

The sound was very small; Li Li Banfeng once suspected he had misheard.

But the Thread-Pulling Earrings reminded him, "Master, the sound is coming from the base of the wall."

Li Li Banfeng walked along the base of the wall for a moment and picked up a bell on a wild grass.

The bell was the size of a palm. Li Li Banfeng seemed to have seen it somewhere, but he couldn't remember for a moment.

He checked the bell up and down and saw three words written on the inner wall of the bell: Iron Gate Fort.

What happened at Iron Gate Fort?

And who sent this bell?

Li Li Banfeng held the bell and fell into deep thought.

Ding-ling!

A guest walked out of Xiaoyao Dock and got into a rickshaw.

The rickshaw puller shook the rickshaw bell and pulled the rickshaw onto the road.

……

Tang Yuan really put in hard work. She borrowed a private room from the manager and practiced word by word for an entire afternoon.

When she went on stage at night, Tang Yuan broke into a sweat and felt a splashing sound in her stomach again.

Did she really eat something wrong?

Not necessarily. Every time she was nervous, Tang Yuan's stomach would also feel a bit uncomfortable.

Don't think about the stomach thing first; think about the singing thing first.

Tang Yuan stood in the center of the stage, all the lights and gazes focused on her.

She was a secretary. Under normal circumstances, she had to walk behind the leader. Only when opening the elevator and opening the car door could she grab the front. She had to let the leader know she was there, and she had to let others know she was best not there.

Now she stood at the very front, a little afraid, but also a little excited.

The prelude started. Where is Li Qi?

Did he not come to listen to the singing tonight? Where did he go?

……

"Where did the Fort Master go? When will he be back?" Wu Wu Yongchao sat at home, pinching his chin, his face full of worry.

The female residential cultivator Li Li Zhijuan said, "If that fake foreigner really defeats the Fort Master, will we listen to him in the future?"

The residential cultivator Hu Hu Fangyuan said, "What else can we do? People have come to challenge us at our doorstep."

Dick Chen brought Dabo Dabo Ensi to Iron Gate Fort and challenged the Fort Master to come out and spar in martial arts.

A group of residential cultivators really thought it was for a martial arts competition. The Fort Master wasn't there, so they wanted to go and spar on behalf of the Fort Master.

After asking clearly, they understood the other party's intention.

People didn't come from far away for a martial arts competition; they came to grab territory.

Dick Chen's condition was that if he won, Iron Gate Fort would belong to him in the future, and he would be the Fort Master of Iron Gate Fort.

If he lost, the family property of 600,000 silver dollars would be offered in full.

The matter came too suddenly, catching a group of residential cultivators off guard.

This cannot be blamed on the residential cultivators for being simple; if it were anyone else encountering this situation, they would also be caught off guard, because this matter shouldn't have happened at Iron Gate Fort.

Iron Gate Fort is in a remote geographical location; residential cultivators are not good at management. Besides maintaining their lives, they only have a small amount of savings. Squeezing them year after year could squeeze out some oil and water, but using 600,000 silver dollars to block here really makes no sense.

Is this place, Iron Gate Fort, worth 600,000 silver dollars?

Regardless of whether it's worth it or not, people have come to challenge, and the Fort Master is not in the fort. How should this matter be dealt with?

The old residential cultivator Jin Jin Yuankang said, "People have come to challenge at the door; if the Fort Master doesn't go out to fight, it naturally counts as a loss. According to the rules, the one surnamed Chen will be our Fort Master in the future."

Everyone looked at each other and felt that what Jin Jin Yuankang said made sense.

But Wu Wu Yongchao didn't think so. "You just said according to the rules; according to whose rules?"

Jin Jin Yuankang said, "Isn't this the rule in the Jianghu?"

Hu Hu Fangyuan said, "The old senior has walked the Jianghu and is knowledgeable; he definitely understands these rules better than us."

"Bullshit!" Speaking of rules, Wu Wu Yongchao suddenly sobered up. "This isn't the Jianghu; this is Iron Gate Fort. The rules of the Jianghu don't work here; we have our own rules!"

Li Li Zhijuan nodded. "That's right, our Fort Master set rules for us."

Outside the house, Li Li Banfeng lowered his hat brim and disappeared into the night without a sound.

……

In the village outside the fort, Dick Chen rented a private residence, tidied up his portable magic treasures, and was preparing for tomorrow's battle.

Dabo Dabo Ensi found it hard to understand Dick Chen's thinking. Why did he have to take action against Iron Gate Fort?

Tomorrow he would take action against Iron Gate Fort. Dick Chen finally told Dabo Dabo Ensi the ins and outs of the matter: "I came here for that top-tier weapon you obtained."

"Are you talking about the long spear Zhao Zhao Xiao Wan?"

Dick Chen nodded. "So far, this weapon hasn't shown me any more combat power besides displaying astonishing might."

Dabo Dabo Ensi explained, "That's because the level of the weapon itself is too high; there are some powers we cannot yet control."

Dick Chen smiled. "Dabo, I said, we are close comrades. When encountering problems, you don't need to rush to defend yourself to me. I have never had any doubts about your ability.

The long spear Zhao Zhao Xiao Wan has extraordinary significance for us. We will have many actions in the future, and they will all revolve around this weapon.

The reason I came here is to find out the origin of this weapon, so as to verify the authenticity of this weapon, and also to learn the usage method of this weapon.

The long spear Zhao Zhao Xiao Wan was bought by Xiao Xiao Zhenggong from Iron Gate Fort at a high price. As for how Iron Gate Fort got this long spear, this matter must be investigated starting from Iron Gate Fort.

I don't know this newly appointed Fort Master of Iron Gate Fort, but I know he killed the previous Fort Master of Iron Gate Fort, Zhou Zhou Anju, and also killed a group of grass bandits from Flying Eagle Mountain.

Such a person will not easily cooperate with our investigation, so we must use some extraordinary means against him. Now that he is not in Iron Gate Fort, it is a very suitable opportunity for us. I will first occupy Iron Gate Fort, and after he returns, I will ask him about the origin of this long spear."

"If this Fort Master is willing to tell the truth, will you return Iron Gate Fort to him?"

"That's not necessarily true," Dick Chen shook his head and smiled. "This group of residential cultivators in Iron Gate Fort also has a certain utilization value."

Dabo Dabo Ensi was somewhat worried. "Iron Gate Fort is easy to defend and hard to attack; the process of occupying Iron Gate Fort probably won't be very smooth."

Dick Chen sighed. "Dabo, I have repeatedly told you many times, we need to rebuild a brand-new Puluo Continent, but the premise is that you must have a sufficient understanding of the current Puluo Continent.

Why is Iron Gate Fort easy to defend and hard to attack? Is it just because of geographical conditions?"

Dabo Dabo Ensi said, "The main reason is the residential cultivators in the fort; this Daoist sect itself is good at defense."

Dick Chen nodded. "That's right, the point is on this group of people. But do you know the background of this group of residential cultivators in Iron Gate Fort?

They are residential cultivators who cannot survive in other places. When there is a Fort Master, they can form strong combat power.

Now that the Fort Master is not here, they are nothing. A few threats will cause them very great shock. We can see the results tomorrow.

This battle won't be too difficult; we can thoroughly occupy Iron Gate Fort in a few hours. If an accident happens, I have a backup plan. I have invited a helper, and he is almost here too."

After five o'clock in the morning, the sound of a rickshaw bell came from outside the private residence.

Dick Chen pushed open the door and looked at the rickshaw puller outside the door with a smile. "Come in and rest for a while?"

The rickshaw puller shook his head. "No need, I'll just sleep in the rickshaw. Call me when it's time to work."

PS: Don't look down on the rickshaw puller; he is still a powerhouse above the clouds.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 487 =====

(End of chapter)