"Xie No-Meat!"
Chen Shu arrived at the pork stall, where Xie Sunan was currently swinging his cleaver around out of boredom.
"You're here?" Xie Sunan lifted his head slightly and pulled out a pair of sunglasses from his apron pocket, looking supremely mysterious.
"Did you bring the money?" His gaze locked onto Chen Shu.
Chen Shu's body trembled as if infected by the atmosphere, his eyes taking on a profound depth. "Of course I brought it. Where's the goods I asked for?"
"Right here!"
Xie Sunan pulled out several photos from his pocket and placed them face-down on the pork stall.
"I need to inspect the goods first!" Chen Shu said coldly.
Smack!
The fierce Xia Bing instantly snatched the photos away and said, "In broad daylight, what kind of gangster handoff routine are you two playing at?"
"......"
Neither of them could keep up the act anymore. Chen Shu stood to the side looking through the photos.
The person in the photos was Wang Bage. Despite his face mask, his sleazy figure was still vaguely recognizable.
One showed him in front of a convenience store, carrying two large bags. Another captured his departing back, and the final one depicted an abandoned factory.
"I can confirm he's living inside there for sure!"
Xie Sunan wiped his pork-oil-stained sunglasses on his apron and carefully tucked them away. "I should warn you though—there are Beast Tamers inside! More than one!"
Chen Shu furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin. This was going to be a bit tricky...
Though there were Beast Tamers, the highest level would only be Level 9 at most—there was absolutely no way they'd be Black Iron rank.
What kind of Black Iron rank Beast Tamer would stoop to selling fake medicine? That would be completely absurd!
"Xia Bing, let's go!"
Chen Shu picked up the photos and nodded.
In that instant, a gleaming cleaver suddenly appeared!
The overwhelming stench of pork made Chen Shu's head spin, and he couldn't help but shout, "In broad daylight, are you trying to chop someone?!"
"Cut the crap! I knew you little punk wasn't being honest! Trying to pull a double-cross on me?"
Xie Sunan flicked his right hand, attempting to execute a beautiful knife flourish.
But who knew the pork grease would make it slip, sending the cleaver flying right out of his hand.
"Holy shit!"
Chen Shu instinctively jumped backward, barely dodging the cleaver as cold sweat broke out all over him.
"You actually tried to slash me?!"
"Uh... mistake... just a mistake..."
Xie Sunan's face turned awkward—he hadn't expected to mess up like that. Fortunately, he hadn't hurt anyone.
Chen Shu snorted coldly. "You think one 'mistake' settles it? I almost died right there—compensate me for emotional distress!"
"Bro, the cleaver flew toward your lower half. There's no way it could have been life-threatening."
"And you even know it flew toward my lower half? I'm the only son in my family for nine generations—if you'd ended my family line, my Chen ancestors would come haunt you every night."
"......" Xie Sunan was utterly speechless. If he'd known, he wouldn't have tried to show off.
"Fine, forty thousand and we're settled!"
"Just go back to selling your pork. What are you even playing at?"
Chen Shu pulled out his phone, transferred the money, and left with Xia Bing.
If Xia Bing hadn't paid him back, he'd originally planned to use Medium-Grade Strength Potions as collateral anyway—it wasn't like he could sell them now.
"Driver, take us to this place!"
Chen Shu showed the photo to the taxi driver.
"Isn't that the abandoned factory in the west district? What are you two doing there in broad daylight?"
The driver took the photo and immediately recognized the factory's location.
"Just wandering around for no reason!" Chen Shu flashed a grin.
"......" The driver shook his head and drove the two toward the west district.
An hour later.
"The road ahead isn't passable, so I can only drop you here."
Chen Shu and Xia Bing nodded, arriving at the desolate west district where the surrounding weeds had grown a full meter high, creating a scene of utter abandonment.
Nanjiang City had been developing its other districts in recent years, leaving the west district lagging behind by just a teensy bit.[1]
"Let's go!"
The two found a small path and headed forward. According to the driver's directions, the abandoned factory was just up ahead.
"It really is here!"
Chen Shu immediately spotted the factory ahead—it matched the photo exactly.
Not bad, Xie Sunan—you can actually be relied on! You managed to track down such a remote location.
"Hm? Someone's there?"
Chen Shu suddenly heard movement and hid with Xia Bing in the tall grass.
They saw a person wearing a face mask despite it being the height of summer, dressed in layer upon layer of clothing and carrying a large bag.
"Wang Bage?"
Chen Shu narrowed his eyes, recognizing him instantly.
Xia Bing asked, "Chen Shu, what's the plan?"
At the thought of capturing a criminal soon, the justice-loving girl was getting a bit excited—it felt like starring in an action movie.
"Just stay quiet and watch—let a professional handle this!"
Chen Shu tossed down his backpack and pulled out from inside... a urea fertilizer bag.
"Huh? Why does this bag look so familiar?" Xia Bing let out a soft exclamation.
Ignoring her, Chen Shu gripped the bag and approached with nimble, silent steps.
Not only were his movements agile, but he didn't make a single sound.
A phrase instantly came to Xia Bing's mind: See that? This is what you call professional!
Wang Bage had temporarily stopped—wearing so many layers in the middle of summer was making him unbearably hot.
"Damn it, I should've never taken this money!"
His face was filled with regret. He'd thought it was just a small-time scam, but when it suddenly escalated to over ten million yuan, he'd been completely stunned.
"Sigh..." He let out a breath and prepared to keep walking.
"Huh? Why did the sky suddenly get dark?" Old Wang's expression froze, but immediately after, darkness engulfed him completely.
"Crap! A sneak attack!"
Old Wang's reflexes really weren't just for show—he was about to kick his legs to break free.
But the next second, he was knocked unconscious.
Chen Shu dragged him into the grass and couldn't wait to start stripping off his own clothes. The scene was already getting a bit inappropriate to watch...
"Ah! Chen Shu, you don't need to be that perverted, do you?!"
Xia Bing immediately covered her eyes with her hands—but still peeked through her fingers.
"What did I do?"
Chen Shu froze, then realized what she was thinking.
"Holy crap, your mind is seriously in the gutter—he's a guy!"
It seemed Xia Bing had let her imagination run wild. Sure, Chen Shu wasn't exactly a good person, but at least he wasn't a pervert!
But then Xia Bing nodded very seriously and said, "Exactly—the problem IS that he's a guy!"
"Oh, give me a break!" Chen Shu's mouth twitched. "Sis, I'm just trying to disguise myself as him so I can infiltrate and check out the situation. What are you even thinking?!"
"Oh... oh..."
Though Xia Bing nodded, her gaze remained extremely suspicious.
After all, Chen Shu was a bit abnormal—he was capable of doing just about anything.
Chen Shu didn't want to explain anymore. He quickly finished his disguise, put on a new face mask, and walked toward the factory.
"Wait for my signal!"
"What's the signal?!" Xia Bing hurriedly called after him.
"Ha~lle~lu~jah~"