NOVEL WEB 15: I Said
Envying the forms of living beings, water can take on myriad shapes, with no fixed state or form. Conveniently, Queen’s Boulevard was located in the Linjiang District, where water was abundant.
Ribbit ribbit, a water-formed frog hopped and splashed on the ground, lifelike.
Seeing this, one bouncer went inside to report, while the other stayed to greet them.
“You may enter. Have a good time.”
Without a guide, the two girls could only proceed on their own. Bai Ling seemed to know the way, heading in one direction as soon as they entered.
Yuan Xiaoning followed closely behind, afraid of getting lost. The bar’s main hall was quite crowded, the lighting not particularly bright. From afar, they could hear singing from the stage.
“Beautiful lady, care for a drink?” someone appeared in front of them, holding a glass. “I made it myself, the trendy sparkling wine, mixed with a touch of youthful charm.”
Yuan Xiaoning was about to say she was a good girl who didn’t drink, when she heard Bai Ling’s voice from beside her:
“She’s taken.”
The bartender saw a pair of crimson eyes and inexplicably shuddered, quickly apologizing.
“I told you not to wander off,” Bai Ling held Yuan Xiaoning’s small hand, leading her onward. “Stay close.”
“I didn’t wander off… he…”
It was clearly the other person who approached them.
Passing through the corridor behind the main hall, the lighting became brighter, and there were fewer people. Bai Ling headed towards the second floor further inside, but was stopped by two women.
“Sorry, you can’t pass through here.”
“I’m here to see your boss,” Bai Ling said calmly. “You’d better ask him.”
“But…”
The woman in the jacket was about to finish speaking when she suddenly heard a voice in her earpiece. She responded softly, “Yes, boss,” then nodded to Bai Ling: “Follow me.”
Going up to the second floor, they first entered a reception room. The room beyond was where the boss was.
Bai Ling stopped at the door, turning to Yuan Xiaoning: “Wait outside for a while.”
“Oh, okay.”
Yuan Xiaoning understood. If negotiations failed, Bai Ling would take lethal action immediately. Not letting her in was to avoid frightening her with the gruesome sight of the person’s death.
Pushing the door open and walking through a short corridor, Bai Ling met the boss here, Tianhai City’s middleman, Luo Zhoucheng.
A man in his thirties, wearing high-end grey casual wear, well-groomed overall, like an upper-class person on vacation.
“You’re here,” he said. “Have a seat.”
On the table were two fax papers, describing today’s coffee shop explosion at Tianhai Plaza, and the case of the headless corpse on the small building’s rooftop.
A beautifully dressed woman entered from a side door, pouring tea for both of them.
“Since you know who I am, just tell me directly,” Bai Ling didn’t even look at the woman pouring water. “Who’s the client?”
In the reception room outside, Yuan Xiaoning found a spot on the long sofa. The two women guarding the stairs earlier also came over, bringing some tea, fruits, and snacks.
“Little sister, you’re quite big. How old are you this year?”
“Second year in university.”
“So pretty and cute. You came with that girl from before?”
“Mm-hmm.”
After chatting for a bit, they became somewhat acquainted. These two women guarding the stairs, the one in the jacket was called A-Lan, the one in the tank top was Tingting. Both were spiritual ability users with some combat capability.
After some casual chat, Yuan Xiaoning curiously probed: “Isn’t this place a bar? How did you get into the business of trading lives?”
“The bar is just a place to gather people. Our real purpose here is to provide some well-paid commissions for special groups of people. The employers don’t necessarily have abilities themselves, as long as they can afford the price.”
“The cleaner jobs are things like bodyguarding, escorting, safekeeping valuables. The darker ones are intimidation, destruction, theft and robbery, or revenge killings,” Tingting continued. “But we’re just intermediaries. We’re not involved with either the employers or the operatives.”
Yuan Xiaoning recalled the people singing, drinking, and dancing downstairs: “Are there so many ability users looking for business here?”
A-Lan smiled: “Of course. Spiritual awakening is very random, most were once ordinary people. Having gained special abilities, they naturally wouldn’t want to work hard like before. Just like that guy, what’s his name…”
“Peter Parker,” Tingting said.
“Right, Peter Parker.”
Yuan Xiaoning was slightly stunned: “What does this have to do with Spider-Man?”
“You see, even a fictional superhero like Spider-Man would use his photos to make money,” Sister Lan said. “Let alone ordinary people without such high moral standards.”
Tingting sighed: “Once you’ve seen the ocean, it’s hard to be content with streams.”
“Then, if the target of an assassination comes knocking,” Yuan Xiaoning tentatively asked, “would you provide information about the client?”
Sister Lan and Tingting exchanged a glance, shaking their heads.
“That’s something only the boss can decide. Let’s talk about something else. Little beauty Ning Ning, you and that girl, are you… you know?” Tingting made a gesture.
She curved her fingers into two circles, then interlocked them.
Yuan Xiaoning’s little face reddened: “How did you tell?”
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Luo Zhoucheng shook his head: “I can’t tell you the client’s information. It’s a matter of my credibility. I welcome Miss Bai to the bar as a guest, but if you’ve come for this, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.”
He took out a large cigar from the cigar box, cut it, and held it. The beautiful woman immediately came over, retrieving a lighter from the drawer.
“I don’t like the smell of smoke,” Bai Ling said.
“Then I apologize. Please leave,” Luo Zhoucheng didn’t care.
He bit the cigar, leaning towards the lighter in the beautiful woman’s hand. This sensible woman had been his life assistant for a long time, always deeply loved and trusted.
But several seconds passed, and the lighter still hadn’t been pressed.
“I said,” Bai Ling enunciated each word, “I don’t like the smell of smoke.”
Luo Zhoucheng looked up to see the woman motionless, her face still frozen in a certain frame of smile.
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“It’s very simple, one look and you can tell, you two…”
Yuan Xiaoning lowered her little head, waiting for a long time but not hearing the rest. Her heart leaped with joy.
“Haha, I knew you were trying to trick me. Nice try shaking the mountain to scare the tiger. Actually, I was just joking earlier too, just reverse-tricking you.”
She thought these two couldn’t come up with anything, but then she realized they had “paused in time.”
Yuan Xiaoning stood up and glanced inside, then quietly sat back down.
Not sure what’s going on, better behave.
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Luo Zhoucheng remained silent for a long time, until large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
“He… didn’t come here personally. He sent messages by phone, made online transfers. Even the phone number was virtual. I only know he signed as ‘Mr. Gray.'”
Observing Bai Ling’s expression, Luo Zhoucheng continued: “However, after today’s case report came out, he contacted me using another number, increasing the reward, asking me to find more capable operatives.”