Chapter 408: 410. Chapter 404: A Wedding Gift

410. Chapter 404: A Wedding Gift

Mr. Qiaobafu didn't just have one big house—his bank was also a big house, and it even had a dedicated vault, which Lans actually quite wanted.

"You… ahem, speaking of Qiaobafu, what happened to him?"

Lans said very casually, "He might be going bankrupt. He's trying to sell off his old stuff to the bank, but the bank isn't going to give him any inflated price."

"So maybe we'll have a chance to get some things from him."

When Mo Lisi heard this news, he was still somewhat astonished and sighed with emotion, "For people who've lived here a long time, the name Qiaobafu is a brand!"

"I know a lot of people went to his bank to withdraw money, but I didn't know they were actually on the verge of collapse!"

Only the bank's senior management and Lans knew about Mr. Qiaobafu selling off his collection. Although Mo Lisi knew many people and had cooperative relationships with quite a few of them, this kind of high-level information was still beyond his reach.

"Someone's running on his bank again—what's it for this time?"

Mo Lisi's expression turned a little odd. "You don't know?"

Lans spread his hands, somewhat baffled. "Should I know something?"

Mo Lisi observed him for a moment, decided Lans really didn't know, and only then explained the reason. "Because everyone's heard that the fees on the police side are going to be reduced. A lot of people are withdrawing money, planning to start some small businesses."

"You know, the main reason opening a storefront wasn't profitable before was that the gangs were collecting money, and the police side was collecting money too. Now we're not collecting, and you're planning to reduce the amount of that other fee."

"A lot of business operators can already foresee more profits, so soon there should be a wave of doing business in the Imperial District!"

After hearing this, Lans nodded in considerable agreement. "Indeed it has something to do with me—I hadn't thought of that!"

"But this just goes to show we were right on this issue."

He ended the topic. "How's your recovery been lately?"

Mo Lisi shrugged. "Okay, but only okay. The doctor says it's basically impossible for me to recover to how I was before, but once my fractures heal, I'll be able to walk again."

He didn't actually show any sign of dejection, but in reality his condition was worse than he let on—multiple organ damage. Even if he could recover relatively well in the short term, that recovery came at the cost of burning through his life.

The doctor said his lifespan probably wouldn't be very long, and he'd get sick easily in the future.

Faced with this situation, Lans had no good solution either.

Perhaps sensing what Lans was thinking about, Mo Lisi took the initiative to comfort him. "Don't overthink it—at least I'm still alive, right?"

Lans came back to himself and made a suggestion. "Is there a girl you like?"

Mo Lisi couldn't keep up with Lans's leap in thinking. It took him several seconds to react. "Why the sudden question?"

Lans took out a cigarette, originally planning to offer him one too, but considering two of his lung lobes had been cut out, he ultimately didn't hand it over. "Lisa and Agent Agent Pang Da are getting married."

He exhaled a puff of smoke with a huff. Mo Lisi's face was full of disbelief, but at the same time he felt it all made perfect sense.

They'd known each other for several months now, and had done everything they should and shouldn't have. Marriage seemed to have become a matter of course. "I didn't expect them to actually be able to get married."

Lisa used to serve the Bay Area's rich at Red High Heels, and those rich men's tastes were all on the heavy side—otherwise they wouldn't have come to Red High Heels to place orders.

Strictly speaking, Lisa could be considered half one of them, so Mo Lisi didn't feel… that it was all that inappropriate. He just thought maybe it'd take longer, or that they might not get married at all.

Lans also found it somewhat incredible. He could only say Lisa had her own way of handling Agent Agent Pang Da. "We can't show up at their wedding, but I'm planning to give them a gift…"

Agent Agent Pang Da had been busy preparing for the wedding these past few days.

Marrying Lisa was a decision he made after careful deliberation. On one hand, he was truly madly in love with Lisa—

She was beautiful, had a great figure, and was very bold in bed, letting him experience thrills he'd never known before!

Although sometimes he wondered why Lisa knew so much. He'd asked a few times, and Lisa always used "I specially learned it to please you" as her reason, which moved him deeply!

Young, beautiful, pretty, and able to fully satisfy his every kink in bed, plus her dependence on him—Agent Agent Pang Da simply couldn't find any reason to break up with her, or not marry her!

Even the mere thought that if he broke up with Lisa, some other man would come enjoy everything he had once enjoyed, was unbearable to him!

After discussing it with Lisa for a while, the two set a wedding date. At the same time, Lisa's family would come from out of town to attend their wedding.

His family had also met Lisa and was very satisfied with her, not feeling she'd overreached by marrying Agent Agent Pang Da.

On top of that, Lisa's period seemed to be late recently—everything was heralding good news!

He was going to become a father!

Those who've never been fathers find it hard to understand the emotional changes that come before becoming one. And for Federation people who place great importance on family ties, having a child means truly becoming a "man."

That sense of responsibility, that sense of mission, would not allow him to retreat!

A new life was staring him in the face; everything was moving in a better direction!

His colleagues in the office all knew his good news was approaching, and a cheerful atmosphere surrounded him!

A little past three in the afternoon, he was handling some work when the phone on his desk suddenly rang.

He grabbed the receiver without looking. "This is the Hazardous Materials Administration, Special Agent Agent Agent Pang Da speaking."

"Do you fix radios over there?"

Agent Agent Pang Da didn't react at first. "This is the Hazardous Materials Administration, not a repair shop…"

He paused mid-sentence, then remembered—this was the arrangement between him and Lans.

He quickly glanced at the colleagues still working around him; no one was paying attention. "You need to go to a repair shop to get it fixed."

"What?"

"You don't know where one is?"

"You should call the police or the fire department… alright, alright, I know a place, it's at…"

He gave an address, then hung up. The colleagues around him looked over. "Wrong number?"

Agent Agent Pang Da's heart was already starting to race. He nodded. "Yeah, wrong number. I don't know if our phones are just similar—he said he was dialing a repair number."

Saying so, he paused. "But luckily it's resolved."

He also casually complained a bit about how sometimes the phone would mysteriously not connect, or lines would cross, and someone would suddenly join his call, then he went back to work.

Agent Agent Pang Da's heart was pounding violently. After quite a while, he finally calmed his emotions, packed up his things, and left early.

An agent of his rank could come in late and leave early—as long as he had a suitable reason.

As for what counted as a suitable reason—investigation, case handling, or contacting an informant were all good ones.

In fact, most of the time the internal management system of the Hazardous Materials Management Bureau isn't that strict; they don't really audit what agents do after leaving the office.

Whether they actually go investigate cases, or just go home and sleep.

He drove around the city streets twice, then arrived at the place they had arranged beforehand — a private club that runs some oral-business trade.

Active-duty law enforcement personnel coming to a club like this for leisure isn't illegal, nor does it violate any law, because all the services here are legally permitted.

At most it puts him at moral risk, but moral risk is only a moral issue, and besides, this place is very discreet.

Soon he saw Lans, and when he saw Lans again his expression shifted slightly.

Officer Lukaer had already been buried, and some people in the Hazardous Materials Investigation Bureau believe this matter can't be separated from the Lans family.

Although the police department's conclusion was "random robbery and homicide," how could a Hazardous Materials Management Bureau agent be so easily robbed and killed?

Those who support conspiracy theories aren't only found among the lower classes of society; they are widespread among the privileged classes as well.

In fact, because they have come into contact with more unbelievable things, some of them believe even more strongly than the common folk that everything is a conspiracy by the rulers!

Including Agent Agent Pang Da — he also feels this matter has something to do with Lans, so he's a bit nervous right now.

"Congratulations!" — the first thing Lans said was something that caught him completely off guard.

He stared blankly for a good while before squeezing out a smile and asking, "Who?"

"Me?"

"Congratulations for what?"

Lans sat with his legs crossed, his toe tapping lightly. "Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!"

Agent Agent Pang Da's expression changed slightly. "Thanks, but don't interfere in my life, and don't contact my family!"

His family and his pregnant Lisa gave him enough courage to meet Lans's gaze.

Lans looked at him very calmly, his eyes like a stone — or rather, like a stretch of water without the slightest ripple.

There was nothing earth-shattering about it, yet it still gave off an indescribable pressure.

In the end, Agent Agent Pang Da's gaze shifted slightly away, missing Lans's eyes.

Lans tilted his chin up a fraction. "Actually, even if you didn't say it, I wouldn't go bother your family — on the premise that there's no misunderstanding between us!"

"Regarding your upcoming wedding, I'm also very concerned. After all, we're very good partners, so I plan to give you a wedding gift."

"For you, for Lisa, and for your unborn child."

Agent Agent Pang Da's tightly pressed lips lost their color. "You've been watching me?"

Lans held up one finger and shook it. "No — to be more precise, I've been protecting you and your family."

"Don't worry, Agent Agent Pang Da. I want you and your family to be safe even more than you do. Only this way can we cooperate for a long time to come."

He paused. "Aren't you curious about what I'm going to give you?"

Agent Agent Pang Da took a deep breath. He didn't like this feeling, but right now he had no choice but to accept the outcome.

He forced a smile. "What is it?"

Lans placed a card on the coffee table and slid it over. "These are the locations of two bars, plus a warehouse — there should be a few tens of thousands worth of liquor left inside."

"I believe these results can help you fill the gap left by Officer Lukaer."

The name Officer Lukaer seemed to trigger something in Agent Agent Pang Da. After a slight tremor in his eyeballs, he asked softly, "Lans… I want to ask, is Officer Lukaer…"

He kept his head lowered. Although he already had a vague feeling about this in his heart, at this moment he was still a little nervous.

Lans's crossed foot tapped again. "If he didn't die, how could you move up?"

"Senior Agent Agent Agent Pang Da?"

Hearing those words, Agent Agent Pang Da's heart was very complicated.

First, he felt a tremendous fear — because the death of a senior agent and the death of ordinary agents or even outside personnel carry completely different impacts on him!

It's like the wars among ancient nobles: they could recklessly wage war without fearing defeat.

The reason is that after losing a battle they could pay to ransom themselves back; losing only meant losing some wealth and some farmers.

They could keep acting as they pleased, as long as they still had money.

But once a noble was refused ransom and killed, the nobles' attitude toward war became cautious — they didn't know whether the next person to be refused might be themselves.

Before something happened to a senior agent, no one believed they would dare lay a hand on a law enforcement officer of that level — until this very moment!

In fact, Agent Agent Pang Da now even hoped to verify that Officer Lukaer had died from a vagrant's spontaneous robbery-homicide, rather than being taken out by Lans.

Because if that were the case, it would mean that once he became a senior agent, he would be safe.

But now he knew that even if he became a senior agent, he might not be safe.

People like Lans are crazy, completely lawless — it's even said they killed the police chief!

Thinking about all this, Agent Agent Pang Da felt that Jingang City must be a place overlooked by God — otherwise, how could so many evil forces grow unchecked here?

The more criminal cases he came into contact with at work, the more a sense of powerlessness he felt.

"What?"

"Don't you like my gift?"

Agent Agent Pang Da immediately came back to his senses. "No, no, I like it very much… the gift you gave me."

Lans nodded. "You'll most likely become a senior agent. I don't need you to protect us — just do what you're supposed to do, and let us know whenever there's any sensitive information."

As he spoke, he took a suitcase from beside the sofa and placed it in front of Agent Agent Pang Da. "Open it."

Agent Agent Pang Da glanced at Lans, then finally opened the suitcase — it was full of money.

"There's fifty thousand here. I can't attend your wedding in person, so this is another token of my regard."

Looking at so much money, even Agent Agent Pang Da felt his heart waver.

He owed Lans a sum of money — exactly fifty thousand — which couldn't help but make him overthink.

"Once you're married and have a child, there'll be many places where you need money."

"Your child's education, Lisa's recovery, your parents will surely come stay for a while too — you can't just keep them in a little hotel forever."

"You can go buy a new house, a bigger one, one that the whole family can live in, or whatever you want."

"Agent Agent Pang Da, I know you still have some resistance toward me, but I hope you can understand, we are the best of friends!"

"Senior Agent isn't your final destination, and even the Director of the Jingang City Hazardous Materials Management Bureau shouldn't be your final destination — you should go further!"

As he spoke, he put down his crossed leg, then stood up. "Alright, I have to go. You can enjoy yourself a bit before you leave — I've already paid."

"Wait about twenty minutes before you leave, so no one uses these things to make trouble for you."

Agent Agent Pang Da rose to his feet, watched Lans leave, and let out a heavy sigh.

Just at that moment, right at that moment, someone suddenly knocked on the door, and then they brought in a girl whose eyes were covered, fixed to a strange frame.

She wasn't wearing any clothes, except for a pair of white athletic socks.

Lisa had been pregnant for some time now, and he was a little afraid — he hadn't had sex at all during this period.

Seeing this young girl now, seeing her snow-white skin, seeing her covered eyes, an emotion that Agent Agent Pang Da didn't want to admit but undeniably existed began to churn inside him!

He reached out and lightly touched the girl's body, and the girl reacted very visibly, as if she'd been electrocuted.

Where he touched her, goosebumps visibly rose.

He swallowed, his breathing growing coarse and heavy. He walked to the frame, placed his hand on her, and gently, inch by inch, stroked her — as if caressing a work of art!

That evening, when he got home, he hugged Lisa tightly. Guilt and remorse churned ceaselessly inside him; he felt he was truly not a fucking human being!

"What's wrong with you?" Lisa sensed some change in his emotions.

At this moment Agent Agent Pang Da could only hide these churning emotions, but the fragments from that afternoon kept flashing through his mind from time to time.

"Nothing, it's just been a while since I've seen you — I missed you terribly."

Lisa couldn't help but laugh. "You're acting just like a little kid right now!"

As she spoke, she pulled Agent Agent Pang Da to the sofa in the living room. On the coffee table were some basic portfolios with wedding dresses and formal wear inside. "Come take a look too…"

That night was, without question, a sleepless one.

Officer Lukaer's death, the locations of those bars, the fifty thousand in cash now tucked into the storage room ceiling, and that young, fiery body — and Lisa beside him, and the child in her belly…

All of it wove together like a spell, making him feel terrified, yet unable to let go.