Chapter 171: Conference Call

Luo Qi lay on the sofa in the hotel as if sprawled on a king's throne. On the small round table to his right sat a bottle of fruit juice, and on the right armrest of the sofa sat a large plate holding a brownie, two macarons, a slice of chocolate mille-feuille, a fruit tart, and an opened box of egg rolls. Those had all been bought for him by Du Zhengyi, who had gone downstairs to the hotel lobby's dessert shop. He had once again inexplicably triumphed over Du Zhengyi; even if the nosebleed wasn't Du Zhengyi's fault, Luo Qi still successfully used the unstoppable nosebleed to increase Du Zhengyi's sense of guilt.

Of course, even if he died, he would never tell Du Zhengyi exactly why he had the nosebleed. He had a feeling that this little game of his would certainly not receive Du Zhengyi's support. However, he had indeed made a stupid mistake today; he had forgotten that a soldier's memories are destined to be filled with blood, and the events people remember most deeply are often those of profound pain. The bloody memories of the special forces soldier made him tremble uncontrollably for quite a while. Du Zhengyi wrapped him in a hotel blanket and attributed this reaction to the fact that his nosebleed had been far too heavy. That was why he had received so much blood-replenishing food, which was also, on the other hand, compensation for the mistreatment of his regular meals.

Luo Qi lay languidly on the sofa, picking and choosing from his cake plate with smug satisfaction. He ate a macaron and asked Du Zhengyi, "Why are macarons called 'maiden's breasts' when they're so hard?"

Du Zhengyi ignored him.

Luo Qi answered his own question, "Maybe it's 'A-cup maiden'."

Outside the window, it remained gloomy; it was almost dark. Actually, he was also quite depressed. If not for him causing such a scene, they might have already left this place this afternoon. As a result, he could only rest in the hotel now, dragging down the progress of the entire team. Although Du Zhengyi didn't say anything, he wasn't too happy either. He felt sheepish, using affectation to cover up his shame.

Du Zhengyi used this time to contact Mahjong, using his mobile phone. He gave Mahjong a rough account of their situation, notified Mahjong that they had already obtained two High-performance Computing Crystals, and also told him the news obtained from the Black Market. They discussed it for a while, and just at this moment, Wen Lin suddenly sent a WeChat message.

This WeChat message from Wen Lin came a bit urgently, and the wording was more tense than her previous messages. She also proposed wanting to talk to Du Zhengyi face-to-face; there were some details she wanted to hear Du Zhengyi's opinion on.

Face-to-face. Luo Qi scoffed at this suggestion.

Wen Lin made a video call. Du Zhengyi answered the phone by the desk; he was becoming increasingly comfortable dealing with modern human technology.

Although he didn't say anything, he still placed Luo Qi in his background so that he could also participate in this meeting.

Luo Qi lay listlessly in the sofa behind him, wrapped in a blanket, with a hotel book covering his face.

Wen Lin's face appeared on the phone screen. She greeted Du Zhengyi, then looked behind Du Zhengyi, evidently seeing Luo Qi, and also seeing the scene beside Luo Qi.

Her expression was a bit strange, "Is the Great Civet Cat King's aunt visiting?"

Du Zhengyi looked at her with an unreadable expression, and finally nodded.

This time, Wen Lin's expression was colorful. She seemed shocked for a moment, then stuttered, "I didn't know she was actually a..."

She remembered hearing the Great Civet Cat King's voice over the phone, but then immediately thought that the Great Civet Cat King was even more skilled at using human technology than she was, so it couldn't be ruled out that she had used voice-changing software, but... but none of that mattered. "No, forget it, never mind."

She shook her head, deciding to cast aside these minor details. Mortals could never see through a Mind Master; she didn't care whether the Great Civet Cat King was male or female, nor did she want to pry into their relationship. She was so weighed down by troublesome matters that she didn't want to care about other people's private affairs at all. After a while, if everything went smoothly for her, she might start a new topic in the Qionglin gossip group.

"Our informant in the Black Market confirmed your news. The six High-Energy Crystals in the Black Market were snapped up in almost a single day. The agent who came forward was the same person, Yao Yu. She is a famous broker and also a buyer with a good eye, with many clients. However, she is a freelancer and has no boss," Wen Lin said.

"You've started investigating the client behind her, right?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"Mm," Wen Lin nodded and said, "But I have a premonition that it will be difficult to have results in the short term. After you left the Zhouqiao Grass Market, Yao Yu also disappeared from there. People in this industry know the rules; after a big order is completed, she will likely vanish for a period of time, waiting for the heat to die down before coming out. By the time she shows up again, it might be too late."

"What about that man beside her? He doesn't look very smart; can he be used as an entry point?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"As you know, even if not-so-smart people get involved in big events, they probably won't know too much," Wen Lin said. "Dai Wei is an idiot who often hangs around casinos, only caring about getting money from Yao Yu."

"A shrewd woman like Yao Yu, why pay for such a man?" Du Zhengyi asked in confusion.

Wen Lin shrugged and blew a puff of air, "Maybe because he's well-endowed and good in bed?"

The pile of Luo Qi's blanket visibly stiffened, and he stretched out a hand to give a thumbs-down.

Wen Lin saw it and laughed, "Yes, truly tasteless."

Her gaze turned back to Du Zhengyi, "But you could ask that friend of yours in the tavern; he might know more than the information Qionglin could get in half a month."

"I didn't ask you to investigate me," Du Zhengyi said bluntly.

"You were parading around Zhouqiao with a beauty; my informant told me that without me even spending money," Wen Lin rolled her eyes. "Of course your whereabouts would be mentioned."

Du Zhengyi sighed and softened his tone, saying, "He has already retired; don't drag him into this."

"Fine," Wen Lin said helplessly, then added somewhat distractedly, "He is an old captain. Although I haven't worked with him, his prestige and status in Qionglin are known to all; no one would be willing to go and look for trouble with him. Although his whereabouts after retirement are a bit puzzling, everyone has their own ambitions; we won't go and harass him."

"If you can track Dai Wei, I suggest you start with him. Since he is willing to gamble, he won't be able to quit; you can try your luck at the casinos. Additionally, a large number of High-Energy Crystals were bought; there must be a use for them. In this regard, what is your opinion?" Du Zhengyi said, "This should be the purpose of you contacting us today, right?"