Looking at the message from Su Yue, Lin Li thought for a moment before replying.
"I’ve already prepared the potatoes and beef we’ll need. No need to go to the market for ingredients tomorrow morning."
Su Yue found typing a bit of a hassle, so she switched to a voice message. "Alright, since you’ve already got the ingredients, just come over a little earlier tomorrow."
Lin Li played Su Yue’s voice message, a pleasant sound drifting from his phone’s speaker. He replied with a simple, "Okay."
Then, remembering that the day after tomorrow was September 1st, he added another message.
"School starts for the students the day after tomorrow. You’ll have to go back to work then, won’t you?"
"Yeah! I was just talking about the start of the school year with some of my colleagues in our group chat today.
But I’m a music teacher, so at the very start of the term, I don’t have much to do. It’s mostly just lesson planning in my office, so I won’t be too busy..."
The two chatted for a little while longer, but seeing how late it was, they decided to call it a night.
Lin Li set his phone aside and went to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and took out half a watermelon that had been chilling all day.
Returning to the living room, he turned on the TV. He settled in to watch the day’s news, holding the chilled half-watermelon and leisurely scooping out mouthfuls with a spoon.
...
The night sky, like a black curtain, was dotted with countless stars.
Stretches of farmland surrounded the area, with a few small log cabins scattered among them.
In one of the log cabins near the highway, a young man with a crew cut stood before a window.
Li Ying, an elite member of the Canglan Society’s intelligence department, had escaped from the Investigators’ grasp while injured. For some time now, he had been holed up and recuperating in this safe house, one he’d set up long ago.
After these past few days of rest, Li Ying’s injuries had almost completely healed.
Previously, his superior had ordered him to investigate the specific power level of a young man named Lin Li. Back then, he had been too seriously injured to begin the investigation, but now, he was finally ready.
However, before starting that investigation, he first had to find the man he suspected of betraying him. He needed to confirm if that guy was the reason the Investigators had come knocking last time.
It was already midnight. Even though the city remained boisterous after nightfall, the main streets would still grow somewhat deserted after twelve a.m.
Only a few scattered vehicles drove along the wide street, a far cry from the constant stream of daytime traffic that always seemed on the verge of a jam.
CREAK.
The door of the log cabin opened, and Li Ying stepped out.
He looked up at the clusters of stars. Occasionally, a shooting star would streak across the night sky, vanishing in an instant.
’I hope this investigation goes smoothly. I can’t afford to have the same bad luck as last time.’
Before the shooting star vanished from the night sky, Li Ying made a wish.
He then walked briskly toward the distant highway. The log cabin behind him, where he had stayed for some time, would no longer be his safe house.
Once a safe house had been used, it was never used a second time. This was a rule the cautious Li Ying had set for himself.
...
After dark, the bar—exceptionally quiet during the day—entered its liveliest hours. Though it was now past midnight, the place was bursting with energy.
Colorful lights hanging from the ceiling flashed with a dazzling array of hues.
Deafening music filled the entire bar. On the dance floor, scantily clad men and women moved their bodies with abandon.
Li Ying pushed open the bar’s main door and walked in. His objective was crystal clear; he cut straight through the pulsating crowd on the dance floor and headed for a hallway in the back.
"Sir, this area is not open to non-staff..." A security guard in a black uniform stopped Li Ying as he was about to enter the hallway, politely explaining the situation.
"I’m here to speak with your Manager Liu," Li Ying stated his purpose.
The tall, sturdy security guard paused when he heard Li Ying was looking for Manager Liu. A strange expression crossed his face as he replied.
"Sir, the Manager Liu you’re looking for resigned several days ago."
"..." Li Ying fell silent at his words, his eyes narrowing slightly. He then asked the guard for the exact date of Manager Liu’s resignation.
’That bastard resigned the morning after the Superpower Administration Bureau’s Investigators came for me.
He must have heard from the Investigators that I escaped and was afraid I’d come for revenge, so he packed his bags and ran immediately.’
Li Ying compared the time of his subordinate’s resignation with the time the Superpower Administration Bureau’s Investigators had tracked him down, and the pieces started to fall into place.
He stopped questioning the security guard, turned around, and left the clamorous bar.
...
"Hello, this is Li Ying, number 707."
"I need your help finding someone."
"Male, thirty-five years old, unmarried. Surname Liu, given name..."
"I’m counting on you. Please find his current location as soon as possible."
After leaving the noisy bar, Li Ying went to a tree lining the road. Leaning against its trunk, he took his phone out of his pocket, dialed a special contact number, and told the operator what he needed.
After ending the call, Li Ying patted his pocket, reaching for a cigarette.
Only then did he remember that he’d been hiding in the log cabin ever since he was injured.
Once healed, he had come straight here to find the subordinate who betrayed him without stopping to buy cigarettes on the way. So, of course, he had none to smoke now.
"Fucking bastard. Took my money, then turned around and ratted me out to the Superpower Administration Bureau. Playing both sides for cash, you really have some nerve..."
"Don’t think you can betray me, find a place to hide, and get away with it. Just you wait."
Unable to have his smoke, Li Ying muttered curses under his breath and headed for a convenience store by the road.
...
At 1:30 in the morning, inside a dim, air-conditioned bedroom, Lin Li slept peacefully under a thin blanket.
Outside the entrance to Ping’an Garden District, under a large tree across the street, Li Ying stood with a cigarette dangling from his lips.
He stared at the residential complex across the street, took a deep drag, raised his hand to remove the cigarette from his mouth, and slowly exhaled a plume of white smoke.
The target lived in this complex, Ping’an Garden District. As a cautious and meticulous elite member of the Canglan Society’s intelligence department, it was his standard practice to case a location in the middle of the night.
’Next, it’s time to execute the plan I’ve been devising in that log cabin.’
Li Ying scanned the several residential buildings inside Ping’an Garden District, his gaze finally settling on Building Three. The young man named Lin Li lived in apartment 601 of that building.
Just as Li Ying was observing the target’s building, two small figures were strolling slowly along the top of Ping’an Garden District’s perimeter wall.
The two small figures—one black, one white—were on all fours, walking along the narrow wall as if on solid ground, moving forward with a steady gait, not at all worried about falling off.
"Meow... Look over there," the Little Black Cat in the lead suddenly stopped and turned to look at the human figure standing under a large tree across the street.
"Meow... Isn’t that just a human smoking? What’s so interesting?" the Little White Cat following behind said nonchalantly, glancing where the other was looking.
"Meow... I have a weird feeling about that human. It’s so late, yet he’s not at home sleeping," the Little Black Cat said.
"Meow... Never mind him. I see a big rat," the Little White Cat replied, unconcerned. It spared the human smoking under the tree one last glance before looking away.
It began to scan its surroundings and soon spotted a large, gray rat crawling out of a sewer entrance within the district.
...