Chapter 310: Code and Chaos

Lu Xin gave the small, pitiful, and oddly obedient monster huddled in the corner a warm smile.

It said its name was Hide-and-Seek, a code name assigned by the Black Table.

It belonged to a team codenamed Hell, sent here to eliminate witnesses from the White Tower Town experimental base and retrieve leaked materials. However, after Lu Xin’s friendly persuasion, it had given up on that plan and released everyone in the convoy to await a fair trial.

Boss Gao Ting and the rest of the convoy were unharmed, not even suffering any lingering effects. But having been under its influence for so long, they felt like they were waking from a long dream. They looked at each other, a sense of unreality hanging in the air.

Finally, they all turned to the monster squatting in the corner. Lingering fear was evident in their eyes, despite their friendly words.

“What exactly is this thing?”

“It’s terrifying. Should we just smash it?”

“A monster like that probably can’t be smashed to death. We should boil a pot of water and stew it…”

“…”

Amidst the terrifying stares, the little monster hugged itself tighter, burying its head in its tentacles.

“As long as everyone’s okay. Check yourselves, make sure everything’s still attached…”

Lu Xin reassured the old drivers in the convoy before turning to a man in a clean suit with a neat side-part. His clothes clearly set him apart from the drivers, and he too seemed to be just coming to his senses.

“So, you’re…”

Facing Lu Xin’s question, the young man shook his head slightly and extended his hand. “Hello.”

With so many people around, he avoided using Lu Xin’s code name. “My surname is Li. I’m with Qinggang’s Central City office. You can call me Mr. Li, or just Li Gang. This was incredibly dangerous. Luckily, I was alert and left you a code earlier. Otherwise, that monster might have gotten me and this entire convoy…”

He shot a glare at the monster huddled in the corner, looking like he wanted to give it a good kick.

“?”

Lu Xin paused, then quickly asked, “Mr. Li, hello. But what code are you talking about?”

“You didn’t see the code I left?”

Li Gang looked slightly surprised. “The note in your room? I got here early, but you’d already left with the convoy. I saw the note, but before I could arrange anything, that monster showed up. Time was critical, and I knew I couldn’t escape, so I folded the note to leave you a crucial piece of information…”

“A crucial piece of information?”

Lu Xin was startled. “What was it?”

“You didn’t notice?”

Li Gang’s expression turned odd. “I folded the note diagonally, pointing it towards a menu on the wall.”

“…”

Lu Xin was momentarily baffled. “What good does that do?”

Li Gang’s expression grew serious. “How could it be useless?”

“Folding the note told you I’d been here. Folding it to a sharp corner signifies danger in our profession. Plus, things were urgent. I could only point the folded corner at the menu on the wall. Specifically, I pointed it at the ‘Scallion Octopus Salad’. It was meant to tell you the opponent was a monster with octopus-like tentacles…”

Lu Xin was completely stunned. “…”

Li Gang let out a breath. “Time was tight, that was all the information I could leave. Any problems?”

“There’s no problem with the note you left…”

Lu Xin replied after a pause, “…the problem is, I didn’t interpret it that way…”

“Hmm?”

Li Gang tilted his head slightly, narrowing his eyes as he sized up Lu Xin.

The atmosphere turned slightly awkward.

“Mr. Li, you’re amazing…”

Lu Xin thought for a moment, a smile spreading across his face. “Leaving so many clues in such a short time.”

Li Gang, who had already adopted a defensive stance, was taken aback by Lu Xin’s praise.

“You dealt with the monster without even noticing my clues…”

He spoke slowly, testing the waters, “…that’s quite impressive too?”

The smile on Lu Xin’s face broadened. “Far from it. I even got injured…”

“Huh? Where are the wounds?”

“They were…”

Lu Xin searched himself, then said with disappointment, “…already healed.”

“Hiss… Truly amazing…”

“It’s nothing, really. Just my constitution. Mr. Li, leaving a code like that without any abilities, now *that’s* truly impressive…”

“Hehe, just average. I only ranked second in my class during the special training course…”

“Who was first?”

“Have you heard of Chen Jing?”

“Oh! Oh, then Mr. Li, you really *are* amazing…”

“…”

The atmosphere instantly became quite harmonious.

Nearby, Little Zhou watched them both with admiration, having only overheard snippets.

Judging by their expressions, they both seemed incredibly mysterious and professional.

…

“Anyway, the immediate attack has been dealt with.”

Lu Xin smiled. “So, what should we do now?”

Li Gang’s expression turned serious. “The fact that they sent such a powerful monster… or maybe an Ability User, though I’ve never seen one like *that*… shows how important this matter is to them. It also proves how threatening the materials we have are. We can’t guarantee they don’t have other plans. The most important thing now is to secure the evidence.”

“Evidence?”

Lu Xin thought for a moment. “It’s all with me right now. Can I just hand it over to you?”

Li Gang was clearly taken aback. “Hand it over… just directly hand it over to me?”

“Yes!”

Lu Xin explained, “Actually, I just came to Central City to visit relatives. Stumbling upon this was purely accidental. Out of professional obligation as a special pollution cleaner, I gathered some evidence along the way, but I don’t really have the energy to handle this myself. You’re Qinggang’s top representative here in Central City, right? So, if I give the evidence to you, I can rest easy…”

“Actually, I’m not feeling too confident myself…”

Li Gang looked at Lu Xin’s trusting expression and felt a little unsure.

But who could turn down that kind of trust? He hesitated for a moment before asking, “What evidence do you have?”

Lu Xin immediately called Boss Gao Ting over, retrieved the files from his bag, and laid them out for Li Gang:

“This file was recovered from the White Tower Town experimental base. It seems to be their research data, giving us an idea of what they’re working on. We also suspect this convoy was targeted because the materials they were transporting might be crucial for those experiments. So, we kept a small sample.”

“Then there are these drivers. They witnessed what happened in White Tower Town, so they can serve as witnesses, right?”

“And…”

Lu Xin turned his head towards the monster trembling in the corner, surrounded by the wary old drivers. “There’s that one too.”

“It should count as… physical evidence, right?”

“…”

“This…”

Li Gang seemed overwhelmed, whispering, “This… this is all incredibly important. With this, we can follow the trail and likely uncover those conducting forbidden experiments. It’s just…” He hesitated, a flicker of unease crossing his face.

“Are you sure you want to hand all these people and items over to me?”

Lu Xin replied, “Of course. Aren’t you Qinggang’s highest representative in Central City?”

Li Gang felt even more inadequate. “But I’m basically a one-man operation right now…”

“In that case…”

Lu Xin understood. The man from the office was clearly worried that if he took possession of the evidence, it would be easier for their opponents to steal it back.

And, of course, his life might be forfeit along with it.

So he smiled, turned, and walked over to the Hide-and-Seek monster curled up in the corner, looking at it gently.

He asked in a negotiating tone, “Do you want to be a cooperating witness?”

The monster hugged its small body tighter, tentacles constricting, head lowered in silence.

“Woof…”

Suddenly, the Skinned Dog darted out from beside Lu Xin and barked once at the monster.

The monster flinched in fright and silently nodded its head.

“It’s good that you can recognize your mistakes and change.”

Lu Xin looked at it with approval, speaking gently, “Don’t worry. As long as you help with this matter, Qinggang will consider reducing your punishment. We’re quite lenient in Qinggang. We might not necessarily execute you. Perhaps just assign you as a D-level operative, have you undertake some high-risk missions occasionally, maybe cooperate with scientists on some research…”

The monster’s tentacles tightened further, its head burying even deeper.

“I’ve secured a helper for you.”

Lu Xin turned back to Li Gang, smiling. “He’s very good at Hide-and-Seek. With him here, he can watch over these files until Qinggang’s support personnel arrive, right? See? Is there anything else I need to worry about regarding the follow-up work?”

“You secured a helper for me just like that?”

Li Gang looked from the monster in the corner back to Lu Xin, the hairs on his arms standing on end.

“This is theoretically a monster capable of making everyone in an entire city disappear. How come you seem a bit…”

He paused, searching for the right word. “…unimpressed by it?”

“Am I?”

Lu Xin paused too, thinking carefully. “Could it be that it just projects a rather weak aura?”

Li Gang glanced back and nodded subconsciously. “It does seem a bit like that…”

Lu Xin let out a sigh of relief, smiling. “See? It’s really not my fault!”

“Wee woo wee woo…”

Just then, a chorus of police sirens erupted outside the motel.

“Put your hands where we can see them!”

Numerous police cars converged, parking row after row outside the motel. A large contingent of police officers, armed with guns, flashlights, and riot shields, stormed into the building, weapons raised and aimed at everyone inside.

“Police? Why are the police here?”

Li Gang instantly threw his hands up, exclaiming, “Who called the police?”

“I did.”

Lu Xin raised his hands too, squinting against the harsh flashlight beams directed his way.

“I called them as soon as the trouble started. Didn’t expect them to take this long to arrive…”

“…”

Li Gang stared, stunned. “You’re holding such important files, you’re in an unfamiliar place, and you *called the police*?”

Lu Xin looked surprised. “Is there a problem with calling the police when you run into trouble?”

Li Gang: “…”

He found he couldn’t even argue with that logic.

…

“Nobody move! Anyone reaches into their pockets, they get shot!”

Just then, from behind the officers, a slightly balding middle-aged man yelled through a megaphone, “Who is Gao Ting?”

The group of old drivers were completely stunned.

Seeing Lu Xin obediently holding his hands up, they quickly did the same, their faces a mixture of confusion and apprehension.

Gao Ting, hearing her name called, stepped out from the crowd, hands raised, and shouted towards the police:

“I am!”

“We’re the ones who called earlier! The problem’s already resolved…”

“…”

“What resolved?”

The middle-aged man with the megaphone sneered. “We received a report from the Dadi Group alleging you stole confidential materials. You’re coming with us for investigation… The rest of you are accomplices! Take them all away!”

“Huh?”

Hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded.

Lu Xin frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping through the crowd behind the police officers.

He spotted someone twirling sports car keys, with Manager Wang standing beside him.

Zhao Hui.