Chapter 105: West Warehouse (Revised)

With Qi Hengyu, a native local, joining, Yue Chengzhang immediately adjusted his plan of action.

He ordered most Supervision Bureau staff to continue conducting routine searches here; although the hope was slim, the procedure still had to be followed.

He himself, meanwhile, conducted an in-depth investigation with Su Jingchuan, Min Tianyou, Ying Duo, and the newly arrived Shen Zexi and Qi Hengyu, under Qi Hengyu's guidance.

"Official status is a hindrance here," Qi Hengyu explained concisely, "Follow me, don't speak randomly, and try not to show too much aggression."

The group left the deserted streets, and under Qi Hengyu's guidance, formally entered the inhabited area of the Fourth District.

Unlike the decay outside, the environment here remained simple, yet bore many traces of life.

Low shacks were tightly packed, drying clothes swayed in the open space, and some residents sat at their doorsteps, either mending items or silently watching outsiders.

When Qi Hengyu walked ahead, the situation was clearly different.

Some residents who had originally been wary and scrutinizing, upon recognizing him, saw their hostility fade considerably, replaced by familiarity.

Some would nod slightly at him, while others would greet him briefly in the local dialect with a regional accent.

"Brother Hengyu, are you back?"

"Little Yu, who are these...?"

Qi Hengyu usually just gave a simple reply like "I'm handling some business" or said they were "friends from the Academy."

He didn't elaborate further, and the other party usually didn't ask more, simply stepping aside silently or gesturing with their eyes for companions not to block the way.

Such trust could only be earned after living here a long time and gaining prestige through ability.

In stark contrast to them were Yue Chengzhang, Su Jingchuan, and the others.

Even when they restrained their aura, the steady composure of long-held high rank and their trained bearing made them stand out like lights in the night, utterly out of place among the surroundings.

The residents' gazes toward them were full of scrutiny and aloofness, even hostility.

Ying Duo remained the most eye-catching, his fluorescent green hair a focus in any setting, but here, compared to others, the residents looked at him much more favorably.

As they passed a relatively open clearing, several dirty children were chasing and roughhousing inside.

A girl about five or six, with two twisted pigtails, suddenly stopped chasing, widened her dark, shiny eyes, stared unblinking at Ying Duo's hair, and opened her small mouth into an "O" shape.

"Wow... glowing hair..." she murmured, completely forgetting to play.

A slightly older boy beside her quickly pulled her back, nervously glanced at Qi Hengyu, then warily stared at Ying Duo, and whispered to the girl:

"Don't get too close; those are outsiders..."

Qi Hengyu glanced over, waved his hand at the kids, signaling them to go play elsewhere.

The children obeyed him immediately and ran off, except that little girl, who kept glancing back every few steps, her eyes full of curiosity about that dazzling green hair.

Under Qi Hengyu's leadership, they wound through a maze-like alley and finally arrived before a relatively independent low tin-roofed house at the edge of the shantytown.

In front of the house lay some sorted scrap, and a middle-aged man in worn work clothes, his face dark, sat on a small stool, lowly sorting several metal pipes.

"Lao Ba." Qi Hengyu called out.

The man raised his head at the sound, and sure enough, a ferocious scar ran from his brow to his jaw, making him look somewhat fierce.

Seeing Qi Hengyu, he froze for a moment, then gave an unpleasant smile.

"Little Yu? How do you have time to come over?"

But when his gaze swept over the group behind Qi Hengyu, his smile vanished instantly—especially upon seeing Yue Chengzhang and Su Jingchuan, his eyes turned wary and guarded, and he even instinctively rose to his feet.

"I have something I'd like to ask you."

Qi Hengyu stepped forward, blocking his view, and spoke in a casual tone, as if making small talk.

"I heard you picked up a stone that emits green light recently and gave it to the barber Aqiang in the Third District?"

Lao Ba's face shifted slightly, his eyes flickered, and he unconsciously rubbed the grime on his hands, answering vaguely.

"Ah... yes, that's true—I found it in the waste street to the west; the color seemed unusual, and I heard he's been researching new hairstyles, so I gave it to him."

Su Jingchuan was about to speak when Yue Chengzhang stopped him with a glance; only then did Qi Hengyu continue in his even tone.

"Aqiang has had an accident, and that stone's origin is no simple matter, Lao Ba—besides picking up the stone, did you see anything else unusual that day, anyone or anything? Like, someone not from our district?"

Lao Ba immediately shook his head, his tone clearly evasive.

"No, no! I didn't see anything! I just picked up a stone! Little Yu, you know me—I just want to scrape by picking up junk, not cause trouble..."

He didn't want to get involved with any official "trouble."

Seeing the inquiry about to reach an impasse, Qi Hengyu fell silent for a moment, looked into Lao Ba's eyes, and lowered his voice somewhat, carrying an undeniable seriousness.

"Lao Ba, this is very important—it could affect the Fourth District's stability; consider it a favor I owe you."

Lao Ba looked at Qi Hengyu's earnest gaze, then at the obviously non-ordinary "Academy friends" and official personnel behind him, and his inner conflict deepened.

He remained silent for a long while, his eyes darting between Qi Hengyu, Yue Chengzhang, and the others; finally, he let out a heavy sigh, as if making up his mind.

"Ah... Little Yu, it's just what you asked..."

Lao Ba lowered his voice, also feeling helpless.

Qi Hengyu was clearly attending Mitra Academy, yet it seemed he had come back especially for this matter.

Was it the Supervision Bureau, reaching him through Mitra Academy, that had recruited Qi Hengyu to help? They surely wouldn't become a stain on the children, would they?

"That day... our people sensed that someone from outside had brushed the edge, the disturbance was minor, likely just passing by, not daring to go deeper."

"Our people kept watch on them, but they did nothing, just made a circuit and left; we also avoided conflict with them—better to let sleeping dogs lie."

He paused, glanced toward the west, and lowered his voice further.

"But... judging by the direction they left, it should be that old warehouse at the farthest corner of the west."

He added an explanation.

"You know our Fourth District used to be a huge dump; now only this eastern part we cleared ourselves is inhabited."

"The western area is too vast; we lack the manpower and resources to clear it all, so we tidied a small section, separated out a few warehouses, and rented them to outside forces for money and supplies."

"As long as they pay their rent on time and don't cause trouble here, we usually don't bother to manage what they stir up inside."

The western warehouse area, a place tacitly allowed to exist by Fourth District residents, is a "lawless zone."

It is undoubtedly the ideal place for Undercurrent to conduct illegal trades.

"Thanks, Lao Ba," Qi Hengyu said solemnly.

Lao Ba waved his hand, sat back on the horse stirrup, lowered his head and continued fiddling with his metal pipe, as if he hadn't said anything just now.