Chapter 151 Property Deed

Hu Xiong had naturally never seen these two individuals. He lowered his voice and asked, "Whoa, this pair consists of an old man and a youth. How can someone so young already be the No. 30 of our General Investigation Bureau?"

Qin Shenggen, standing beside him, tugged at his sleeve and whispered a reminder, "Watch what you say. These two are actually about the same age."

"Old Qin, I may not be as worldly as you, but don't try to pull my leg." Hu Xiong looked from the toddler-like figure to the old man. About the same age?

"Have you never heard of the Jiang brothers?" Qin Shenggen pointed at the two and said, "They are twin brothers who have practiced Yin-Yang esoteric arts since childhood. Because of the cultivation method they practice, the elder brother, Chang'an, retains eternal youth, while the younger brother, Changze, has grown old before his time."

Reminded thusly, Hu Xiong finally recalled them. These two were formidable experts ranked sixteenth and seventeenth within the Investigation Bureau.

The two had grown up and practiced martial arts together since childhood, possessing such formidable rank and strength even when calculated separately.

"Mr. Chang'an, Mr. Changze, welcome." Zhang Guiyuan stepped forward, shook hands with the two, and turned back to introduce them, "These are the leaders of the Third Team within our Bureau."

Although Chang'an possessed the appearance of a toddler, his movements and demeanor were deeply mature.

He nodded slightly and asked, "Is there any latest news regarding the Evil Star?"

Zhang Guiyuan shook his head. "Not yet. Rumors only indicate that the Evil Star will descend within the boundaries of Nanlin City, but the exact location remains unknown."

Chang'an and Changze exchanged a glance, and Chang'an said, "Just arrange a place for us to stay for now."

Qin Shenggen, Hu Xiong, and Xia Yi did not follow them; offering a gesture of welcome at the door was quite enough.

The vast majority of top-tier experts in the General Investigation Bureau possessed immense pride and had little inclination to socialize with others.

Watching the retreating figures of the two, Qin Shenggen could not help but feel envious, saying, "Look at how courteous the Bureau Chief is acting. If only I could make it onto the General Investigation Bureau's elite ranking list..."

"Stop dreaming. You'd be better off chatting more with your little sweetheart," Hu Xiong glanced at him sideways. In broad daylight, how could the man already be daydreaming?

Hu Xiong's eyes were similarly filled with envy. Talent was something one could simply not beg for.

He could not help muttering to himself.

The practice of esoteric arts was truly a gift bestowed by heaven.

Ninety-nine percent of those top-tier experts possessed peerless talent, and the remaining one percent—dammit—were born masters!

Stories about some worthless young man relying on his own efforts, sweat, and mediocre aptitude to make a counter-attack and beat a crowd of gifted experts to the ground—

There was only one possible explanation: he was cheating.

Of course, talent also came in varying degrees.

Logically speaking, Hu Xiong and the others were not lacking in aptitude, but compared to these top-tier experts, they fell slightly short.

"By the way, I heard your Third Team recently took in a new recruit? Haven't seen him yet," Qin Shenggen said as he handed a cigarette to Hu Xiong, asking with a smile, "I heard he was specially recruited? When are you going to bring him over for us to meet?"

"Get lost, get lost, get lost. Didn't Xia Yi fall for your birdbrained tricks before? He dug someone up from the outside, only for you to immediately lure them away," Hu Xiong spat disdainfully.

Qin Shenggen glanced at Xia Yi and hurriedly said, "Don't talk nonsense. That was decided by Bureau Chief Zhang, what does it have to do with me?"

Xia Yi, however, paid little mind to such matters. He spoke up, "Let's discuss this properly and assign our tasks."

"Assign what tasks? The three of us will just charge to the front lines," Hu Xiong said, biting down on his cigarette. "Same old rules: let the youngsters hide in the back, and only let them step up if things get truly desperate."

"Mmm."

Soon, the day of the Evil Star's descent arrived.

Noon.

Inside the detective agency, Li Changqing was inspecting the talisman papers and other items on his body.

"Tonight, stay safely at home and don't go anywhere," Li Changqing reminded Tang Xiaoyu beside him while checking the talismans.

Tang Xiaoyu knew that this matter was unlike previous ones and carried considerable gravity.

She nodded repeatedly and said, "I know."

"If you're scared, lock the doors and windows tightly. If worst comes to worst, go over to Big Sister's place," Li Changqing asked, "There's still time; shall I walk you over first?"

"No need." Tang Xiaoyu hurriedly waved her hands.

Li Changqing felt profoundly uneasy at the moment, issuing one instruction after another.

Tang Xiaoyu nodded repeatedly at his side.

"I'm leaving then." Li Changqing glanced downstairs, where Hu Xiong's car was already waiting on standby.

No one knew when that Evil Star would arrive.

Perhaps at night, or perhaps during the day.

"Um..." Tang Xiaoyu hesitated, as if she had something she wanted to tell Li Changqing.

Standing by the door with his outer coat draped over his shoulders, Li Changqing stopped and turned back. "Still something else?"

Tang Xiaoyu smiled. "I'll tell you when you get back."

"Alright."

Li Changqing stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Tang Xiaoyu let out a sigh at that moment, retrieving a property ownership certificate from the drawer of her bedroom.

This was a property she had secretly gone out to buy.

Ever since she and Li Changqing had gone shopping together last time, it had been on her mind.

Over three hundred thousand Lang coins—no matter how she thought about it, that was nowhere near enough to rebuild the castle-like orphanage from her dreams.

That dream was simply too far out of reach.

So Tang Xiaoyu had bought this apartment instead.

"This way we can get married!" Tang Xiaoyu happily wiped the already immaculate property certificate once more, gazing joyfully at the document in her hands.

...

Downstairs.

Li Changqing got into Hu Xiong's car, where Baichuan was already sitting in the passenger seat.

Hu Xiong chuckled and said, "What took you so long? Old Bai and I have been waiting downstairs for nearly half an hour."

Li Changqing gave him a sideways glance and said, "What's the rush? Where are the experts? Didn't they assign one to our team?"

"There are only two of them and three teams, how are we supposed to divide them? We just let those two experts operate independently and play it by ear," Hu Xiong said as he lit a cigarette, asking, "Where to now? That Evil Star could appear at any moment."

"I don't mind," Li Changqing said casually.

Baichuan said calmly, "Otherwise, let's go to a coff—"

"Then it's settled, we're going to the internet cafe," Hu Xiong laughed heartily.

With that, he started the car and drove toward an internet cafe in the downtown area.

Li Changqing: "???"

Why on earth did this fellow Hu Xiong suddenly want to go to an internet cafe?

Hu Xiong turned his head and asked, "Changqing, do you have any experience making friends online?"

"You're looking to hook up with a female net-pal, aren't you?" Li Changqing read the smile on Hu Xiong's face instantly and could not help warning him, "Cyber-romance requires caution."

Soon, the three of them arrived at the internet cafe.

This internet cafe was not of a high grade, and the furniture and furnishings inside were rather antiquated.

Li Changqing did not harbor any aversion to internet cafes; in fact, he was quite curious about what internet cafes in the Vermilion Bird Federation were actually like.

After all, in his previous life, he had also frequently skipped class to play games at internet cafes.

Baichuan, however, could not stomach the smell of cigarette smoke inside the internet cafe and said, "I'll go find a coffee shop..."

"Fine," Hu Xiong said, leading Li Changqing inside to fire up two terminals.

Li Changqing could not help complaining, "You've got a lot of nerve. The Evil Star is about to appear, and you still have the leisure to go chase female net-pals?"