Chapter 360: Eccentricity
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Men are proud creatures. Some people would not mind losing anything else, but not their face. A typical example was Chen Zuan.
As a youthful young man like he was, how could he bear the name of someone with no kidneys…
It was a huge insult to Chen Zuan, who was constantly boasting of his flirting skills. Thus, he was determined to save his reputation.
But the thing was, his had never split before. Chen Zuan was certain that it was a mere accident!
After returning to their room, Chen Zuan put down his cards and kept drinking water. Soon, he had the desire to pee again. Having rushed to the toilet, he realized that there were no more branches at all. Chen Zuan was ecstatic, and forced his remaining urine back!
He ran back to the room, “Stop playing and follow me! I have said that mine will not split, and now it’s time to prove it. Screw that shower-head. I’m still the Little Gamble Lord of the Capital!”
Lu Shu raised his eyebrows, “Sure. Let’s go and have a look.”
In the toilet, Chen Zuan took off his pants, “Have a good look!”
Cheng Qiuqiao was stunned, “Brother Zuan, are we here to witness the birth of a new Guinness World Record? Ten branches?! A brand new height?!”
Chen Zuan was shocked too, and the ten branches were changing positions and speeds like a fancy fountain. A walking fountain?! It would be just perfect with a background music like Happy Birthday!
What the h.e.l.l!
Thanks to Chen Zuan’s vigorous efforts, his nickname had upgraded from Chen the Five Branches to Chen the Ten Branches.
Dammit!
“From Chen Zuan’s distress, +999!”
Although Chen Zuan thought it was his own issue, Lu Shu had realized it since long ago that he would get distress points as long as he himself was the cause of the negative emotions.
It had never occurred to Chen Zuan that someone would use his magical abilities to do that!
Lu Shu wondered what would be on Chen Zuan’s mind, if one day he finally found out about Lu Shu’s water-type power and linked it to this day.
In the recent two days, Lu Shu had made a fortune in distress points. Despite the significant contributions from the little fatty, it was not even close to that from the factory director and others. Currently, he was already halfway towards igniting the third star…
Cao Qingci had finally come back late at night. When everyone was waiting for the information she gathered, she sat alone on her chair, deep in thought, without muttering a single word.
Lu Shu was curious, “How? What did you find?”
The group was operating in an agricultural wholesale market as their hiding place. In fact, their business was flouris.h.i.+ng and they could make a sum solely by collecting rental fees from stall owners.
But they wanted more. Now, their power was quickly building up through unscrupulous means.
Unlike other black markets, the information showed that this one only took in things, but never sold any.
It was very strange. No matter how rich their market was, it was not possible for them to use everything they took. Could it be they were hatching a conspiracy?
But how would they put their evil plan into place, with a Heavenly Network on top which comprised seven Heavenly Kings, including two Cla.s.s A masters…
The local climate was against them, as though newbies were directly thrown into top-level game settings… If it were a game, players would certainly launch complaints against the customer service center but this was not. In fact, the customer service was their most challenging boss character…
Cao Qingci cast Lu Shu a peaceful glimpse, “Very concealed. Didn’t find anything.”
A reticent girl, Lu Shu thought, I was actually hoping you would tell us more…
But Cao Qingci’s words reminded Lu Shu that those markets he visited before were both easy to find with lousy hiding methods. At the very least, it was obvious that those in the abandoned car factory were not well-intentioned individuals.
It was a different case here. They were smarter and blended their trading in an agricultural market so that one could hardly distinguish the foes from the innocent.
Earlier on Lu Shu had already noticed the strangeness in their mission. It was not due to the nature of their task, which was rather normal compared to other groups, but the ability of their team. It simply did not make sense for the Heavenly Network to purposely form a strong team for no reason.
“Let’s go take a look too tomorrow. There should be a lot of people there if it’s an agricultural market. Thus, it’s more inconspicuous for us to conduct our investigations separately,” someone suggested.
Chen Zuan was more at ease after Lu Shu’s return, and eager to divert the others attention from his embarra.s.sing branches, “Yes! Let’s go there tomorrow night!”
Everyone turned to him with an astonished look. Lu Shu laughed, “Will there be people at night at an agricultural market? Why? You wanna pick leaves for our dinner?”
Chen Zuan had never been to an agricultural market before. Ashamed, he asked, “Then what time do you suggest?”
Lu Shu deliberated, “Noon.”
“Why noon?”
“Because sooner or later something bad will happen,” Lu Shu answered confidently.
Chen Zuan, “???”
Cheng Qiuqiao: “???”
His ability to distort meanings was admirable!
…
On the next noon, the team scattered themselves in the market, conducting their own investigations. Four were loitering outside while three were inside for field reconnaissance. Indeed, the market did not appear any different from an ordinary one. But Lu Shu had confirmed against the doc.u.ment that the owner of the seafood wholesale stall in the southwest corner was a member of the black market, a Cla.s.s E.
Some market managers were also identified.
But there was a problem, some were missing.
The material showed that there were twenty-one in total, but only sixteen were spotted in the market. What about the rest?
In order to avoid unnecessary attention, field investigators Lu Shu, Chen Zuan and Cheng Qiuqiao bought something inside. Lu Shu took a bag of buns for the group, Chen Zuan had a roasted chicken in his hands, while Cheng Qiuqiao had a stick of coriander…
It was said that Cheng Qiuqiao only had 30 plus yuan left in his pocket for the month. Hence, he was on budget…
“Now, we need to confirm the whereabouts of the remaining five,” Lu Shu proposed, “Otherwise, they may run away. In that case, even if we kill those sixteen people in the market, we still fail our mission.”
Everyone agreed. It was possible that the five might be the prime culprits. If they still remained at large, not only would their task be unsuccessful, it would also become a stain on their records.
Lu Shu guarded outside the market until almost midnight, but none of them came out. Confused, he sneaked in, but only to realize that the market was completely empty!
Weird. It was the only exit. So where did the sixteen of them go?
There was something strange about this market. Maybe they had a hiding place underground!