Thud.
The moment the shop door closed, Xia Zhiqiu vanished.
Wang Dong's expression was grim. One Sequence 6 was already annoying enough, but now a Ghost Messenger had appeared!
It was common knowledge that the Corpse Bearer pathway was the most loathsome within its sequence; even with his own transcendent items, he didn't dare claim he could suppress a Ghost Messenger.
Because of the damn Qi family, Wang City was about to fall into chaos.
Old Liang tidied up the items in the shop and smiled.
"Bureau Chief Wang, it's not us you should be watching, but the outsiders."
"Many people have come to Wang City lately, all aiming for the Qi family's divinity."
"We locals might exercise some restraint to avoid wrecking our own home, but those people are different."
Wang Dong sneered.
"I'll beat down whoever makes the first move. I'll make an example of them!"
...
Evening.
Beidao Hotpot.
"Uncle Huang, really, there's no need. We're not strangers."
"Besides, Nannan is so cute. Anyone who saw her would have helped."
Yin Yang waved his hands repeatedly, pushing back the 50,000 in cash Uncle Huang handed him.
"Xiao Yang, I really have to thank you this time. If you hadn't found Nannan, I can't imagine what would have happened next."
Uncle Huang's wife wiped her tears, her eyes full of gratitude.
Nannan, meanwhile, was focused on her food, seemingly recovered from the shadow of the kidnapping.
Manager Lin also tried to persuade him.
"Xiao Yang, just take it. It's a token of appreciation from your Uncle Huang and his wife."
Yin Yang still refused firmly.
"Earning money isn't easy. Keep it, Uncle Huang. I can't take it."
"I didn't do much, just made a phone call."
Yin Yang was resolute in his refusal.
"Meow~"
Canned Food scratched Yin Yang's pants, signaling he'd finished his crab stick.
Yin Yang instinctively passed over a cooled meatball from his bowl; Canned Food grabbed it and walked off.
"Uncle Huang, if you really feel bad, then just cover my coffee for a year."
"I drink it every day. You can settle the tab at the end of the month. How's that?"
Lin Zhen realized Yin Yang truly didn't want the money and raised her hand with a smile.
"I agree. I'll charge him a premium so we can fleece Uncle Huang a bit."
They joked around, finally smoothing over the awkwardness of the situation.
Manager Lin blanched some vegetables in the pot.
"Did the human trafficker talk yet?"
"Not yet. He's stubborn. Xiao Yang was right; the man is indeed a transcendent."
"But no matter how tough he is, we'll crack him at the Security Bureau!"
Uncle Huang's tone grew sharp at the mention of the trafficker.
"Meow~"
Canned Food scratched again. Yin Yang handed over some beef, and the meowing stopped.
"Speaking of which, quite a few young girls have gone missing these past two years, all around six or seven years old."
Uncle Huang nodded, gripping his chopsticks tightly.
"Yeah. Just from what I know, nearly fifty little girls have vanished."
"What?"
Lin Zhen gasped. "Fifty? That's a major case. Didn't the Security Bureau investigate?"
Uncle Huang shook his head.
"They didn't disappear all at once, but in batches."
"And they didn't leave a single clue, as if they vanished into thin air."
Lin Zhen looked at Nannan. If Yin Yang hadn't found her today, she would have 'vanished' too.
Uncle Huang downed his drink and sighed.
"Two years ago, a young man joined the Security Bureau. He was a transcendent at a young age and very ambitious."
"The chief had me mentor him; it's a tradition. He was smart and kind, often helping the elderly and weak in his district."
"There was a family named Liu—an old woman living with her granddaughter."
"The son reportedly died in a hit-and-run elsewhere, and the wife remarried the following year, leaving the old and the young alone."
"The boy knew they had it hard, so he'd give them his bureau bonuses."
"Until the granddaughter went missing."
"We searched for a week. Not a single clue!"
"It was as if the surveillance cameras all malfunctioned. No useful footage at all."
"Old Mrs. Liu went to the Security Bureau every day, staying until she almost lived there."
"The boy searched day and night. He lost weight within three days."
"He searched for a month with no results. The higher-ups had to shelf the case."
"A security officer's energy is limited; we can't spend it all on one search."
"That was the day Old Mrs. Liu died. She hung herself from the poplar tree in front of the bureau."
"The next morning, the boy resigned."
"I saw him again two weeks later."
"His internal organs were gone, and his ribs looked like they'd been run over by a car."
Uncle Huang's arm trembled, his eyes red.
"The Qi family sent him back. They said someone dumped the body at their door and they didn't know who he was, so they brought him to us."
Uncle Huang's wife stopped him. "Hey, the child is here. Why are you saying all this?"
"Meow~"
Canned Food scratched again. Yin Yang gave it a fish ball. The atmosphere grew quiet as the hotpot bubbled.
After a few seconds, Manager Lin sighed. "People..."
...
Night.
"Had enough?"
"Meow~"
"Meow~~"
"I know. It's late; they're probably closed. I'll take you first thing tomorrow. I'll make sure you're the most popular guy with all the lady cats."
"Meow~"
Yin Yang rode a shared bike with his 'creditor' in the basket.
Back at the apartment, he saw Little White Rabbit, Zhou Kexin, waiting at the door.
Yin Yang wasn't surprised. He locked the bike and patted the basket.
Canned Food didn't leave; it followed him like a little sidekick.
"I know what the Qi family is preparing,"
Zhou Kexin said immediately upon seeing him.
"Come inside."
Yin Yang opened the door. Canned Food slipped in just before it closed.
Click.
Yin Yang turned on the light. "What are they preparing?"
"They... they're preparing the promotion ritual for the head of the Qi family!"
"He's going to advance to Sequence 5 and become a Demigod!"
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