Chapter 520: Unexpected Reunions and Hidden Agendas
by xennovel“What the hell?”
Red Serpent’s words were downright chilling. Lu Xin and Gecko stared blankly.
But it was clear that Gecko was pondering even more deeply than Lu Xin; his expression flickered between bewilderment and a spark of excitement…
……
Both were utterly shocked, and Group Leader was even more stunned. Held in Red Serpent’s hands, he was completely dazed.
Staring vacantly at Red Serpent, he wavered between hesitation and anger. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, when facing the woman in front of him with a look of grievance, his reprimands never came out – his face only grew more confused…
After a long pause, he finally seemed to recall something, his lips moving: “You… you are…”
“I’m Hong Mei…”
Suddenly, Red Serpent’s agitation spiked as she wrapped her arms around his neck, crying, “Dad, you really don’t remember me?”
“Hong… Hong Mei…”
Group Leader, still being held, looked lost, yet his body began to tremble uncontrollably. Gradually, a mix of excitement and dawning realization lit up his face. Abruptly, he broke free of her embrace, cupped her face in both hands, and, eyes widening as he scrutinized her, murmured with growing passion, “Hong Mei, it really is you…”
“I must be dreaming, right?”
“My dear daughter, how is it that I find you here?”
……
Red Serpent, watching Group Leader’s emotional turmoil, grew even more animated herself.
Rubbing her still not fully red eyes, she sobbed, “I’ve been in Heichao City for ages, bullied day after day. I wanted to come meet you, but I was afraid you’d ignore me. So, I asked some friends to bring you here…”
“Uh, look—my friend kindly brought you here, and you still managed to bruise his eyes…”
……
……
Gecko rubbed his bruised eyes, his expression completely blank.
Watching from the side, Han Bing couldn’t help but turn away, his shoulder trembling.
The scene was so touching that even Lu Xin couldn’t stay indifferent; he stole a questioning glance at Han Bing.
In a low voice, Han Bing said, “This is Red Serpent’s ability – one of the suggestion types.”
“Ability Users come with all sorts of powers. During training, to quickly differentiate them, we even borrowed classifications from the Technology Church – dividing them into groups like Distortion, Suggestion, Influence, Domination, Parasitation, Theft, and Destruction.”
“Red Serpent can distort someone’s perception through suggestion and manipulate their emotions.”
“No matter who the target is, once she activates her ability, she can make them appear as a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter…”
“…even as a father with altered desires or a reincarnated grandfather.”
“Of course, the effect of the ability does depend on the degree of distortion.”
“Posing as Group Leader’s long-lost daughter is much easier to pull off than masquerading as his long-lost grandfather.”
……
Lu Xin marveled, “Qinggang truly is a nest of hidden talents.”
For instance, this ability, if used to claim someone’s inheritance, could work wonders.
Lost in thought, he turned around to see Group Leader apologizing repeatedly to Gecko, while shooting a reproachful look at Red Serpent as if to say she need not have gone to such lengths—how could he not recognize her?
After all, he had built such an enormous legacy, yet remained lonely and isolated…
Scanning his surroundings, he noticed that in Satellite City Three he had barely four wives and three daughters, and in Main City, just two sons in high school.
And he even promised, “Rest assured, Red Serpent.”
He admitted that he’d been most unkind to her and her mother, so in the future, a large share of his fortune would be reserved for Red Serpent.
After speaking, he cautiously inquired, “Which one is your mother again?”
Red Serpent coyly told him to figure it out on his own. Before long, more than a dozen possibilities flashed through his mind…
……
……
Following an emotionally charged reunion between father and daughter, Group Leader was utterly convinced that this unexpected ‘daughter from above’ truly belonged to him. As time passed, his affection for Red Serpent grew rapidly, surpassing his feelings for his other relatives, and even evoking a deep sense of indebtedness and indulgence – he’d have his underling fetch a ladder to the heavens if she ever desired the stars.
When the moment was right, Han Bing discreetly signaled to Red Serpent…
“Dad, actually, we’re here because we need your help with something else,” she said.
Instantly, Red Serpent wiped her tears away and softly addressed Group Leader.
Group Leader immediately asked with concern, “What’s the matter? Speak up, dear daughter. In Heichao City, there’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Red Serpent replied, “I want to be the wife of the Administration Hall Chief.”
Group Leader paused, “I really can’t do that…”
Red Serpent glared at him in dismay.
In a flurry, Group Leader blurted, “Don’t panic, don’t panic. I’ll figure something out – first, I’ll deal with his current wife…”
Red Serpent gave Lu Xin an understanding nod.
Lu Xin marveled inwardly; he noticed Red Serpent’s clever tactics. By first proposing something Group Leader couldn’t do, she deepened his guilt, and then smoothly segueing into another request, making his compliance far more likely. Not only did it prevent suspicion, but it also deepened their bond…
Lost in thought, he stepped forward with a smile, “Actually, we need you to help investigate something for me.”
Group Leader shot Lu Xin a glance, furrowing his brow slightly, then asked Red Serpent, “Who is this man?”
Red Serpent immediately shook herself and bashfully said, “He’s my boyfriend.”
Group Leader suddenly understood, casting a scrutinizing look at Lu Xin, then curiously asking Gecko, “Then he…”
Red Serpent replied, “He’s my husband.”
At that, Gecko broke into a delighted smile, though he quickly sensed something amiss as he shot Lu Xin a resentful glare.
Lu Xin: “?”
Gecko seemed to plunge into the drama a bit too quickly – it felt almost as if I was being cuckolded…
“No wonder you’re just like my daughter – that trait really suits me…”
Group Leader, no longer surprised, complimented him and then turned to Lu Xin, asking, “What do you need?”
Glancing at the note Han Bing had given him, Lu Xin whispered, “I need you to investigate an unusual chain of Black Grass transactions over the past month.”
On that note, Han Bing had already detailed everything they needed to examine and inquire about.
Their main goal now was to locate the pollution source in the city and decipher its specific logic.
To that end, she had meticulously analyzed the details.
Heichao City was vast, divided between Main City and Satellite City. Even the most rampant pollution would follow a process.
One thing was clear: the pollution in Heichao City hadn’t suddenly blanketed the entire city. Such a massive shift would have created an obvious anomaly, noticeable to everyone – instead, people were subtly affected.
Since the spread of pollution takes time, the onset of insomnia among those affected would also occur in stages.
Those first exposed to the pollution would be the earliest to experience desperate sleep needs, consuming large amounts of insomnia medication.
After the Red Moon era, with most industrial facilities collapsing, the production of medication wasn’t nearly as abundant.
Thus, Han Bing deduced that the demand would shift to another commodity – Black Grass.
Black Grass, known for its anesthetic and hallucinogenic properties, could ease the symptoms for the insomniacs.
Since an abnormal demand for Black Grass would disrupt normal business, tracking its flow over the past month could reveal the areas where the pollution first spread.
Of course, there was no need to explain all this in detail to Group Leader.
Lu Xin directly requested that they investigate the unusual Black Grass flow over the last month.
Originally, Group Leader had started to ask why Lu Xin was concerned about this, but when Red Serpent clung to his arm in a coquettish manner, he immediately changed his mind and laughed, “I just assumed you were interested in this. Dear daughter, trust me – only fools like this stuff…”
“But if you want to track its flow, it’s a piece of cake…”
“Not to mention, in this Satellite City Three, half of the Black Grass business is under my control. Just check the ledgers.”
……
With that, he stood up, ready to head back to the company to inspect the ledgers.
To avoid complications, Lu Xin and the others obviously wouldn’t follow him back; instead, they exchanged a knowing glance with Red Serpent.
Red Serpent caught the hint and, acting coquettishly, requested that Group Leader bring the ledgers here for checking.
Driven by a father’s love, Group Leader readily agreed, smiling as he went downstairs to instruct his aides to fetch the ledgers.
Red Serpent linked her arm with his as they headed down, while Gecko trailed behind as a bodyguard to prevent any mishaps.
Once in the corridor, they could still hear Group Leader’s booming laughter, “Look at you, already married and I had no idea…”
“That guy – marrying my daughter is a blessing he earned in his past life, you know?”
“Don’t you dare treat my daughter poorly…”
“If you dare treat her badly, it won’t just be a bruise – I’ll break all three of your legs, got it, Group Leader?”
“Understood, Group Leader…”
“Call me Group Leader, call me Dad, and listen…”
“?”
Lu Xin felt a twinge of sympathy for Gecko; this was a situation where one could easily end up getting the short end of the stick.
But he hadn’t expected that just as he felt pity for Gecko, Gecko’s own voice rang out, “Hehe, Dad…”
Lu Xin was momentarily at a loss.
What’s going on? It almost seemed like Gecko was actually happy…
……
……
“Finding the pollution source is one challenge, and decoding the pollution logic is another…”
Not bothering to guess Gecko’s thought process, Lu Xin lowered his head to study the note from Han Bing.
On it, the key areas of the investigation had already been roughly outlined.
“Yes, once we pinpoint the pollution source and understand its logic, we’ll have the upper hand.”
Han Bing stifled a laugh and said, “Heichao City isn’t affected by field-type pollution, so there has to be some logic behind it.”
Lu Xin nodded, then suddenly remembered something and asked, “How did you figure that out?”
“I just secretly yawned…”
Han Bing replied, “If it weren’t for so many things to do, I’d have fallen asleep by now.”
“That means I haven’t been polluted.”
“I’ve been monitoring with a Mental Detection Device continuously, and I haven’t spotted any abnormal influence from mental powers. This confirms that Heichao City isn’t suffering from field-type pollution – it must be spreading through another model.”
“One of our major tasks is to uncover that model.”
……
Lu Xin suddenly felt a pang of sympathy.
Ability Users are often mentally troubled. When they get excited, it’s normal for them to go days without sleep.
Han Bing, being just an ordinary person, had been running around for several days and now staying up so late – it was really taking a toll on her.
But that was fine; if Han Bing ended up unable to sleep, that would be a real problem.
“How should we trace this pollution logic?”
Steeling himself, he asked Han Bing.
Han Bing had already made up her mind and said, “Let’s go check on that pair of siblings.”
Together, they left the hotel room, crossed a thick carpet, and quietly arrived in front of the room where the siblings were staying.
They quietly opened the door and stepped inside. The room was eerily silent except for a monotonous cartoon playing. A five- or six-year-old boy, clutching a biscuit, sat huddled on the sofa, intently watching a phone. When he saw them, he shot a nervous glance their way.
Beside him, a little girl lay on the bed, her head resting on her arm as she dozed off.
She was still dressed, clearly so exhausted that sleep had overtaken her.
The little boy, seeing Lu Xin and Han Bing, looked frightened and reached out as if to tug his sister.
Han Bing raised her index finger and shushed him softly, then turned to Lu Xin.
Her earlier hunch had been confirmed: in this sleep-deprived city, this little girl seemed untouched by the sleep theft…