Chapter 115: Actions Set in Motion |
"Keep trying to contact him. Send someone to stake out the airport, and report back to me immediately if anything happens."
When the call ended, the screen showed a total talk time of twenty-five minutes.
"There is no need to worry. He will definitely come looking for you on his own," a lazy voice drawled from behind him. "Why else would he return?"
Shi Shixin turned away from the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city's night view, making his way back to the sofa.
This was supposed to be a deeply romantic and atmospheric evening. Although he currently lacked the energy to fully indulge, he could at least enjoy the mood—until a single message ruined it all.
The moment he sat down, an arm wrapped around his neck.
The figure who had been reclining on the sofa leaned into his chest, nestling closely against him. "He must have come back because he couldn't survive out there anymore. Even outsiders can see that. If we show a little tolerance and take him in, it will earn you a good reputation."
"I paved such a perfect path for him back then! I prepared everything and spent a fortune smoothing things over, but he never listened. He is completely ungrateful! I knew back then he would amount to absolutely nothing! And look at him now—a jobless vagrant who has been scraping by in the Tenth District for years. A son of Shi Shixin, living like lowlife scum! After causing me so much trouble, he still has the nerve to come back!"
"Oh, stop being so angry. You need to watch your health. It is a good thing he returned. He is only in his twenties, still young enough to be taught. There is plenty of time..." The woman beside him realized she had missspoken and quickly shifted her tone. "He will have to come begging you for help eventually. Do you really think you won't be able to keep him in line?"
"I won't be coming around for the next few days. It is a sensitive time right now, so you need to keep a low profile too."
The woman on the sofa sat up cross-legged and tossed her hair, showing a hint of dissatisfaction, but she still followed him to grab his coat. "When will you come over earlier to spend some time with A'yu? He misses you terribly. He scored perfectly on his last exam, ranking first in his class."
"I don't have the time lately. Buy him a gift for me and take him out to have some fun."
Shi Shixin slipped his arms into his coat and left without another word.
The heavy click of the closing door drowned out a soft sigh from inside the room.
His car was waiting in the underground garage, with the driver and his assistant standing by the open doors.
Even after he settled into the back seat, the veins on Shi Shixin's forehead continued to throb, and his chest felt uncomfortably tight. His assistant quickly took his arm, using a detection device to check his pulse and blood pressure. Fortunately, it was nothing serious.
His private doctor had warned him to avoid excessive stress, cut back on drinking, and keep his emotions in check. His body was failing him, but with proper care, he could still buy himself a few more years.
But how could he possibly stay calm under these circumstances?
"Are we returning to the villa in the Qingshan District?" the assistant asked.
"Yes—no, don't go there. From now on, take me to the property next to the branch operations zone. Keep it low-profile."
Being a director at the Charity Foundation used to be a glorious position, but now, all that extravagance felt completely out of reach.
Ever since that internal investigation, Shi Shixin had been forced to tuck his tail between his legs and lay low.
The car drove out of the underground garage, leaving the upscale residential complex behind. The assistant poured him a glass of liquor, but Shi Shixin only took a small sip before setting it down with a deep frown.
Now, he was reduced to drinking this weak, watered-down nonsense just to preserve his health. But what was the point of living another ten years if he had to live like this?
Getting old really stripped all the flavor out of life.
Shi Shixin set down his glass. "What time does his flight land?"
"Tomorrow at 3:00 PM, Boss Shi."
"Send a few more men to the airport. You must intercept him the moment he arrives and bring him straight to me."
His arrangements were already thorough, yet an unshakable sense of unease lingered in his chest. For a fleeting moment, the brilliant city lights flashing past the window seemed to morph into countless ambitious, watching eyes.
He definitely wasn't the only one who had received the news. Those vultures eyeing his position surely knew as well.
If someone else got to that boy first and used the situation to stir up trouble...
If he had known better, he would have never had this son.
That boy had never brought him anything but grief.
As his car merged into the bustling night traffic of the Second District, the sky over the Ninth District was still bright.
Inside the offices of the Alliance, Investigator Scarlett raised her handgun and aimed it squarely at the doorway.
A blurry silhouette drifted past the frosted glass wall, walking past her office door before taking two more steps and backing up.
"Scarlett, did your informant codenamed 'Deer Hunter' return to the Second—" A colleague poked his head into the room, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw the muzzle of a gun pointing right at him.
Scarlett's expression practically screamed, 'Annoy me one more time and I'll blow your brains out.'
The colleague froze stiff.
A few seconds later, Scarlett shifted her gaze away from the iron sights, her eyes darting to the side. "What were you saying?"
"Uh, I..."
...
Partner John, sitting at another desk near the door, stood up and blocked the colleague like a brick wall. "If you want the latest updates, go ask the superiors. We filed our reports." He shoved the man out of the room without another word, casually straightening the shooting target hung on the back of the door.
"These intelligence nerds are so annoying." Scarlett ejected the magazine, field-stripped her handgun into pieces, and began reassembling it from scratch. "If they want this intel line so badly, why don't they coordinate with him themselves?"
"Maybe they just don't want a certain colleague taking over the case," John replied.
"Asking me every single damn day... If I have to micromanage everything, doesn't that make me his mother?"
Having reassembled her gun, she unceremoniously propped both feet onto her desk, leaning back until the front legs of her chair lifted off the floor.
"This New World Society sure is arrogant. They transfer their communicator without giving us a heads-up, and now the intel has completely stopped. Hey, do you think they're trying to pick a fight? How about I submit a request to launch a hostile organization investigation and just uproot them entirely?"
She was willing to try absolutely anything to escape the dreary chore of office work.
Short of outright breaking regulations, she had attempted every trick in the book.
John was already used to her explosive temper, knowing she was just venting her frustration—or at least he hoped so. He offered a serious piece of advice:
"The higher-ups are still debating whether to classify them as a friendly organization. If you submit a request for a hostile investigation right now, it might actually get approved... I don't think this counts as a provocation. They likely know that 'Deer Hunter' has a unique family background, which is why they assigned him to the role of communicator. He could very well inherit his father's connections within the Charity Foundation, opening up new channels for them to spy on the Management Authority."
Scarlett rolled her eyes at him. "You're dreaming. Once he gets back to his hometown and sits on a mountain of gold, he could quit on us at any moment. So much for an intelligence network... If I can't secure a new communicator, we will be stuck in this office forever. We might even end up getting sent on a business trip to the Second District. We have to figure something out."
"I heard the Second District has amazing food. Want me to put together a dining guide?"
"God, John, you can't always—" The desk phone suddenly rang. Scarlett snatched the receiver and barked, "Hello? Who is this?"
The person on the other end said something that made Scarlett's eyes go wide. She sat up straight, the front legs of her chair hitting the floor with a loud thud.
A familiar smile crept onto her face—the kind she usually only showed when heading into a firefight or watching a spectacular disaster unfold.
"...I can't believe something like this actually happened... Interrogation Room 4, right? Fax me the files. I'm heading over immediately."
She slammed the receiver down with a clatter. "Let's go, John. We are going to interrogate Deer Hunter's sweetheart."
"Didn't his girlfriend go missing?"
"It's a figure of speech—as long as you catch my drift."
Scarlett had always been a woman of swift action; when she said it was time to move, they moved.
The two of them grabbed the files, marched through the corridors, and took the elevator down to the first underground floor. Scarlett led the way, pushing open the doors to Interrogation Room 4 with both hands. John brought up the rear, casually tapping the nearest button by the door until it glowed red, changing the sign above to [IN USE].
The door locked shut behind them.
The interrogation room was narrow and suffocating, bathed in the icy chill of harsh white lights. Behind the desk sat a petite woman. Both of her hands rested on the tabletop, tapping with a hint of impatience. She tried to look brazen and fearless due to her reliance on outside backing, but Scarlett could tell at a single glance that she was trembling.
Without a doubt, the woman was merely putting up a brave front.
Seeing the two of them enter, the woman looked up and declared, "I cannot stay here all day. I have a lot of work to do."
"Don't worry, I won't bother with standard procedures. Let's get straight to the point. Special Commissioner Angie of the Tenth District's Heart Language Department, why have you met with this man on multiple occasions?"
Scarlett snatched the photographs from John's hand and slapped them onto the table.
She leaned forward, planting her hands firmly on the desk, taking in every ounce of panic that flashed across Angie's face.
"On the dates you two met, I found some unusual data access logs. It is glaringly obvious that you accessed highly classified information for your own personal motives.
"I suspect you have been secretly contacting outside organizations, supplying them with intelligence, and engaging in work as a spy.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
The man in the photographs was none other than Shi Rang.