Chapter Thirty-Three: Has the Undercover Identity Been Exposed?
Holding the envelope in his hand, Li Changqing’s gaze was tinged with delight. Truly, it was as if fortune had smiled upon him—the target of the undercover operation had fallen into his hands with such ease.
He sensed, then, that Guan Wenyan beside him was quietly edging closer, his eyes fixed intently on the envelope.
Hmm.
What was this fellow planning? Could it be...
Li Changqing frowned slightly, observing Guan Wenyan’s demeanor. Pretending not to notice a thing, he casually handed the envelope over to him.
Guan Wenyan caught it reflexively, stunned. He had been prepared to snatch it by force, yet Li Changqing had simply tossed it to him?
“Gou Zhen and Qi Hongshan are truly scoundrels, handing out two fake lists,” Li Changqing said, his expression full of dissatisfaction.
“Fake?” Guan Wenyan examined the seal, felt the envelope, his brow furrowed in uncertainty. If it was fake, any attempt to seize it now would be pointless—but what if it were genuine?
Li Changqing, meanwhile, walked aside with his phone, dialing Hu Xiong’s number frantically.
Damn it, don’t mess with me! You promised to protect me in secret!
He realized from Guan Wenyan’s suspicious demeanor that this was not as simple as he’d hoped. In this deserted place, if Guan Wenyan harbored murderous intent...
Beep... beep... beep...
Finally, the call was answered, and Hu Xiong’s tired voice came from the other end: “Hello, Detective Li, what’s up?”
Li Changqing asked in a low, serious voice, “Where are you?”
Hu Xiong paused, then replied, “Just near your office, keeping a close watch on the surrounding streets. No suspicious persons have appeared so far...”
Li Changqing could no longer contain himself and muttered angrily, “If you’re keeping watch, haven’t you noticed that I’m no longer there?”
Hu Xiong: “...”
“Haha, I was just taking a shower. Oh, you sent me a text too? When was that?”
Damn it, you only noticed the message now?
Li Changqing spoke softly, “I’ll be brief—I managed to get two lists from the Shadow Cult. Guan Wenyan by my side is suspicious...”
After hanging up, Li Changqing took a deep breath, regained his calm smile, and with hands behind his back, returned to Guan Wenyan’s side as if nothing had happened. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to see my master, let you meet him.”
Guan Wenyan was still weighing the authenticity of the two lists, but his attention was drawn to Hu Qideng. “You’re taking me to see Elder Hu?”
Li Changqing nodded with a smile. “Yes, I just mentioned you to my master. He wants to meet you, and said he has something important to entrust me with—a matter too complex for the phone.”
Something important?
Guan Wenyan’s heart stirred; for now, he set aside any thoughts of acting against Li Changqing. The envelope was in his hands; if it was real, he could always take it away.
The two, unlike Gou Zhen and Qi Hongshan’s underlings, hadn’t bothered to buy a car. They walked three streets before reaching a remote bus stop, but at this hour, the buses had stopped running.
Occasionally, a private car from the nearby factories would pass by.
Li Changqing took out a hundred Lang coins, stood by the roadside, and waved the money to hail a ride.
Soon, a passing car stopped. Upon learning their destination was Mingzheng Orphanage in the city, the driver gladly agreed to take them.
Naturally, the hundred Lang coins were not negotiable.
The car sped through the quiet night; few vehicles were on the road.
With a stranger present, Li Changqing and Guan Wenyan said little.
Mingzheng Orphanage was a private institution in Nanlin City. Babies and orphans sent here were often transferred to other orphanages for adoption. Over time, few people in Nanlin City brought children here.
The orphanage was nestled in dense woods at the intersection of the city’s eastern district and Donghai district, surrounded by land awaiting development. According to city plans, residential buildings should have been built here, but the newspapers said it was still under planning.
A two-lane asphalt road cut through the forest, bright streetlights lining the sides.
Soon, the car slowed to a stop outside Mingzheng Orphanage.
A tall wall surrounded the place, with iron wire and electric fencing atop.
After paying, Li Changqing walked to the two-meter-high iron gate and pressed the doorbell.
Guan Wenyan followed, scanning the surroundings and whispering, “Is Protector Hu here?”
“Yes,” Li Changqing replied, saying no more.
With a creak, the iron door opened. Hu Xiong, dressed in white pajamas with a cigarette habitually dangling from his lips, fixed his gaze on Guan Wenyan, stepped aside, and said, “Here you are? Come in.”
Li Changqing entered. The orphanage had a vast courtyard, with a lawn, seesaws, slides, and other toys for children.
In the distance stood three small buildings.
Guan Wenyan frowned. As soon as he stepped inside, suddenly, Hu Xiong clamped a hand over his mouth and locked his arm around his neck.
Guan Wenyan’s eyes widened; he struggled for a moment, then went limp.
Li Changqing stood to the side and asked, “Did you kill him?”
“He’s just unconscious for now,” Hu Xiong chuckled, expertly searching Guan Wenyan’s body and retrieving two confidential letters before hoisting him onto his shoulder. “Come on, let me show you around our Thirty-Sixth Bureau.”
Li Changqing eyed the orphanage-like buildings curiously. “This is the Thirty-Sixth Bureau?”
It wasn’t quite what he’d imagined.
Led by Hu Xiong, he entered the building on the far right.
It was a five-story office building; inside, a man about twenty-eight or twenty-nine sat on a chair by the entrance, on duty and yawning over a book.
“Old Liu, this is our new recruit at the Thirty-Sixth Bureau,” Hu Xiong said with a laugh, tossing him a cigarette.
Old Liu propped his chin with one hand, looking drowsy. He took the cigarette, took a drag, revealing yellowed teeth as he chuckled, “Not bad, the young man’s got spirit.”
With that, his attention returned to the book.
Li Changqing glanced at the title: "Middle-aged A Bing."
Judging by the title and the way the man's eyes sparkled as he read, it was probably not a serious book.
“Let’s go.”
Hu Xiong clearly found nothing unusual in this.
They entered the elevator. Though the building had only five floors, there were three basement levels below.
Beside the floor buttons was a keypad. Hu Xiong entered the code skillfully and took them to the third basement.
“This is where we detain people at the Thirty-Sixth Bureau,” Hu Xiong said, flicking his cigarette away and striding inside. He kicked open a cell door, placed Guan Wenyan on a steel chair, and bound him tightly with chains.
Just as he finished tying him up, Guan Wenyan regained consciousness. He opened his eyes, looked around, and thought grimly—could it be he’d fallen into the Shadow Cult’s trap?
Was his undercover identity discovered?