Chapter 46: The Survival Strategy of a Small Fry

Shanghai, Tongren Road.

In a dimly lit basement, the local leader of the Stray Dogs organization—Cripple Boss—was leaning on his cane, his face filled with worry.

He had initially hidden here to escape the Hunter’s pursuit, unwilling to confront her head-on.

However, just an hour ago, everything changed.

Cripple Boss received news that the Bell Society’s operation in the apartment building had failed, and two people were captured on-site.

They had fallen into the hands of Vigil Keeper, and the likelihood of them staying silent was low. In other words… if Vigil Keeper decided to continue investigating, he would definitely be implicated.

Ugh, it’s giving me a toothache…

Cripple Boss furrowed his brow, took a cigar, took a deep drag, and then quietly asked the refined middle-aged man beside him: “Advisor, I don’t really want to leave. If my cooperation with the Bell Society is found out and I’m brought to the Supernatural Arbitration Court, is there any possibility of struggling out of it?”

“I don’t think so.” The advisor thought for a few seconds, then replied, “Protecting players who tried to kill Vigil Keeper and causing two large-scale criminal incidents in the city… just these two charges, you’re guaranteed the death penalty.”

Cripple Boss was stunned for a moment, then decisively stood up and responded: “Then I’ll leave. Have someone arrange it, tonight, I’ll go to Xiangjiang District to lay low at Bell Society.”

“The Vigil Keepers has already caught Bell Society’s people, I’m afraid if you leave now… you’ll need to make arrangements.” The advisor reminded.

Cripple Boss blinked, suddenly took out his phone, and dialed a number: “Yes, I failed, I need your help… Alright, I won’t leave Tongren Road until someone comes to pick me up. Got it.”

After hanging up the phone, Cripple Boss turned to the advisor: “Forget it, no need to arrange anyone. The higher-ups told me to stay put on Tongren Road, someone will come to pick me up.”

“What if the Vigil Keepers…” The advisor was clearly a bit uneasy.

Cripple Boss interrupted confidently: “We need to show some strength. Notify our friends, let’s make Tongren Road a little livelier tonight… Before dawn, I’ll leave.”

“That should be no problem.” The advisor nodded with a smile.

…

Shanghai, High-speed Rail Station.

A man hurriedly pushed his suitcase through the exit. He looked tired, his complexion pale, appearing quite unlucky…

“Mr. Yan!” A tall middle-aged man opened the car door.

“Back to the unit.” Yan Duoduo threw down his suitcase and stepped into the car.

Two minutes later, the car headed straight for “Duoduo’s Pet Paradise.”

The regular positions of Vigil Keeper are classified into four levels: “Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow.” The Yellow level corresponds to players at the second stage, such as Huang Wei, Gu Nian, Xu Peng, and others. They are known as Yellow Vigil Keepers or Yellow Robes, because their official uniform consists of classic yellow robes, although they don’t wear them except in necessary situations.

On the other hand, the Mystery level corresponds to players at the third and fourth stages, also known as the Mystery Robes, which have a distinctly Chinese classical style.

Yan Duoduo and the middle-aged man who came to pick him up were both Mystery-level Vigil Keepers, and also the senior and deputy star officials of Shanghai, responsible for the work affairs of the entire region.

“Mr. Yan, Huang Wei is already heading to the Pet Paradise…” The deputy star official, Chen Hanyan, who had been transferred from headquarters along with Yan Duoduo, said. He was gentle, steady, and a good judge of character, but he lacked a bit of decisiveness in certain matters and was very protective of his superiors.

Yan Duoduo had a bit of a cleanliness obsession. He carefully picked up a wet tissue in the car, wiped his slender, fair hands, and then answered indifferently: “Don’t mention Huang Wei. How did the operation at the apartment building go today?”

Chen Hanyan paused for a moment: “One seriously injured, the situation’s not looking good. But I’ve already applied to headquarters, they will send someone to assist, making it more convenient. Additionally… there are four with minor injuries.”

“Mm.”

There was no visible change in Yan Duoduo’s expression. He diverted the topic and asked, “Did you monitor the thing I asked you about?”

“The scouts have already gone to Tongren Road.”

“Mm, keep an eye on them. The rest, we’ll wait for news from Qingfu District.” Yan Duoduo neatly folded the used wet tissue and placed it in the trash can.

At this point, the two stopped talking, and only the sound of tires brushing against the ground could be heard inside the car.

Chen Hannan glanced at his young partner out of the corner of his eye, feeling inexplicably tense. 

He had gone to the Capital to report in person, but unexpected events kept happening, and he almost lost his position. What was meant to be a moment to show his face had turned into a loss of face, with the higher-ups definitely scolding him. If anyone else had been in his shoes, they would have exploded by now, or at least complained in front of him. After all, in all of Shanghai, there weren’t many who could make him show his personal emotions… 

But since Yan Duoduo got into the car, he hadn’t said a word, his expression calm to the point that… Chen Hannan began to feel uneasy. 

…

The car stopped at the entrance of Duoduo’s Pet Paradise. Yan Duoduo and Chen Hannan walked through the lobby and went up to the second-floor office.

As soon as they entered, Chen Hannan saw Huang Wei sitting on the sofa, leisurely pouring tea.

He really admired the chief of the Qingfu District. He used to be carefree, but now he was completely shameless, and his behavior was downright brazen. This guy had privately allowed Ren Ye to go off on his own, causing an uproar in headquarters and putting a lot of pressure on Shanghai’s leadership. Now that the superior was back, instead of going to greet him, he was leisurely drinking tea?

Clear-headed and foolish, utterly lacking political insight…

“Old Huang,” Chen Hannan called out.

“Ah, Mr. Yan, Mr. Chen!” Huang Wei immediately stood up and greeted them with a flattering smile.

“The results are decent, but you need to report to Mr. Yan properly,” Chen Hannan patted Huang Wei on the shoulder with a friendly gesture and gave him a meaningful look.

Huang Wei stiffened and blurted out, “Mainly because the leadership gave good directions.”

“…!” Chen Hannan almost spat out a mouthful of old blood, his expression stunned.

What did the leadership direct you to do? Did they direct you to allow Ren Ye to go rogue? Did they direct you to almost get the protagonist’s father killed? Did they direct you to almost tear down the apartment building?!

“It mainly concerns your situation!” Chen Hannan helplessly said before leaving and closing the door.

Yan Duoduo gave Huang Wei a faint glance, slowly removed his suit jacket, which he had been wearing for three days, and walked straight to the bathroom.

Old Huang sat on the sofa, completely oblivious, took a sip of the freshly poured tea, and relaxed.

“Ah!” 

Yan Duoduo stood in the bathroom, pausing for three to four seconds before finally exhaling, “Go to the cabinet and bring me my change of clothes.”

“Oh!” 

Old Huang quickly ran to the cabinet, took out a fresh set of clothes, and handed them to Yan Duoduo in the bathroom.

“So, Officer Huang, do you have time?” Yan Duoduo asked while washing his hands, glancing at Old Huang. “Let me report to you about the work situation on the Capital’s business trip.”

“Hehe…!” Old Huang did not respond but instead smiled foolishly, “Thanks to you holding up under the pressure from headquarters, otherwise, the fact that I privately allowed Ren Ye to go rogue… would have gotten me disciplined.”

“I’ll give you three minutes to convince me… not to punish you,” Yan Duoduo said, then lowered his head to wash his face.

Old Huang, straightforward as always, did not tremble like others nor shirk responsibility: “You don’t know how rampant those Stray Dogs were in the game room. The old cripple’s assistant almost wouldn’t let us leave, even getting physical. This involved Ren Ye’s father’s safety, so it’s understandable he was anxious. If it were me, I’d be anxious too. Only animals wouldn’t be, right?”

Yan Duoduo stiffened for a moment, feeling like this subordinate was insulting him.

Old Huang continued: “But to be honest, it wasn’t until Ren Ye got out of the car that I realized he was going rogue. At first, I wanted to chase him, but then I thought… the people causing trouble in Shanghai from Bell Society clearly had local organizations helping them behind the scenes. Catching them in a short time would be difficult. Also, this involves the success or failure of Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate, and there are only four or five days left… I couldn’t afford to delay. So… I decided to let Ren Ye go rogue and fish out these people. But as it turns out, it’s a risky move, and I won’t do it again next time.”

“And the result?” Yan Duoduo asked while picking up a towel.

“The result is that Ren Ye’s family is fine. We have one seriously injured and four lightly injured on our side, and I’m willing to take responsibility,” Huang Wei said seriously. “As for the criminals, aside from Mr. He and the little dwarf, we killed three on-site and captured two, and they’re being interrogated. Oh, and we also found an envelope at the scene. I briefly looked through it, and it contained important information about Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate, which will greatly help Ren Ye. This must have been bought by Bell Society members at a high price, haha, in the end, it worked out in our favor.”

Yan Duoduo’s eyes brightened as he turned to look at him. “Has the accuracy of this important information been verified? What did Ren Ye say?”

“We traced back the details of the battle. This envelope fell from Mr. He, so it’s definitely crucial,” Huang Wei quickly added. “…Ren Ye briefly looked at the contents, and he currently thinks it’s very important because it relates to the tomb of the former princess of Qingliang Prefecture.”

“Oh.”

Yan Duoduo finished wiping his face and glanced at his watch. “There’s just over an hour until midnight. Before midnight, you must get the confessions from the two captured Bell Society members. The direction of the confession should be: who sheltered them and provided them with help. One more minute, and I’ll remove you from your position and send you to Star Gate to dig mines!”

“No need for an hour. I’ll have news for you as soon as I get back,” Huang Wei responded firmly.

Yan Duoduo raised his hand and pointed towards the door.

“Heh, the tea is quite good,” Huang Wei remarked as he drank from his cup, then hurried toward the door.

On his way out, he stopped, thinking for a moment, then turned and called out to Yan Duoduo. “Mr. Yan, the situation downstairs is tough, but it’s even tougher for you. Honestly… if it were any other leader, I wouldn’t have dared let Ren Ye go off on his own.”

Yan Duoduo paused at his words, then waved his hand helplessly. “You’re really a blunt person, go, go!”

“Heh…” Huang Wei chuckled and dashed off.

A little while later, in the lobby on the first floor, Chen Hannan was watching Huang Wei with his hands behind his back, sighing helplessly. “Got scolded, didn’t you? Got punished, didn’t you? Old Huang, you’re not young anymore. No matter the organization, you can’t escape the ways of the world…”

“No, no. I had tea with Mr. Yan, and we chatted. He’s quite happy,” Huang Wei interrupted, responding casually.

Chen Hannan was stunned. “Happy to slap you four times?”

“No, really! I explained the situation to him. I’m going back now to get the confession,” Huang Wei said excitedly. “I think Mr. Yan wants to kill someone, but it’s not me, I swear!”

Chen Hannan was somewhat surprised. “You didn’t get punished? Then you’ve got something, huh…!”

“I have, but not much,” Huang Wei licked his lips at Chen Hannan. “The main thing is, you did a great job with the look earlier. You were trying to tell me that Mr. Yan likes sincerity… I got it.”

“?!” 

Chen Hannan was stunned. Is that what I meant?

“Sincerity is good. You’re quite perceptive,” Chen Hannan replied nonchalantly.

“I won’t thank you for a great favor. I’ll get some medicine from Xu Peng and bring it to you later,” Huang Wei flashed a grin, then dashed off.

Chen Hannan looked at his retreating figure, suddenly feeling a bit sentimental. “I was overthinking it. Cats have their way, and mice have theirs. Everyone here has their own way of surviving… It’s quite good…!”

—

About half an hour later.

Chen Hannan suddenly arrived on the second floor, his expression serious as he spoke to Yan Duoduo, who had just finished washing up and changing clothes. “Old Zhou from the Supernatural Arbitration Court has arrived. He’s probably here because of the incident on Tongren Road. Do you want to hide?”

Yan Duoduo buttoned his cuff and asked indifferently, “Why would I need to hide? Where is he?”

“He’s in the car outside,” Chen Hannan replied.

“Perfect, I wanted to go over there anyway. Let’s go see him,” Yan Duoduo picked up his suit jacket and gently reminded him, “Also, let everyone know.”

“Mr. Yan, if the Supernatural Arbitration Court gets involved in mediating this, then… you should either refuse in person or be firm about it. The work relationships could get tense, or even break down,” Chen Hannan said with a furrowed brow, advising, “I mean, it’s better to avoid him for now, wait…!”

“Heh, it’s fine,” Yan Duoduo interrupted, waving his hand.

…

Lianhu Road No. 88.

After Huang Wei returned, he immediately rushed to Gu Nian and asked, “Did you get the confession?”

“Got it,” Gu Nian replied casually while applying a face mask and enjoying a late-night snack, looking as carefree as a temporary worker.

“So fast?! How did you do it?”

“I borrowed four pills from Xu Peng, they’re his latest product, I don’t even know what effect they have,” Gu Nian smiled slyly. “The two Bell Society idiots ate half a pill each… they threw up all their parasites in the toilet. Now, they’ll say anything.”

“Wow!” Huang Wei replied helplessly. “But that’s quite something. Go get Ren Ye. There’s going to be a big move tonight.”

“What kind of move?” Gu Nian asked curiously.

“Revenge!”