Chapter 136: The Underground Network
Chapter 136: The Underground Network
Li Zian woke up at exactly five in the morning, not a minute more, not a minute less. His body clock was as accurate as a timer.
But yet again, he was alone.
Awakened forcefully.
Those ten Taozi from yesterday felt like a waste.
His condition was really too abnormal. Li Zian looked at his body and suddenly felt that this Cauldron physique still had great untapped potential—he just hadn’t found the way yet.
If he could uncover the secrets of the symbols and patterns on the Great Sluggish Cauldron, he might find the path. But his only clue had been cut off.
Where was Gushi Dayueer, that White-clad Woman, now?
Where was Huang Bo?
There was another thing he couldn’t figure out: Huang Bo was clearly an old, scruffy man, yet he was slightly stronger than him. Could there have been some martial arts manual among the skeleton Huang Bo had stolen, allowing him to cultivate it into an ultimate martial skill?
After spacing out for a bit, Li Zian went into the bathroom to shower, then headed to the kitchen to make breakfast.
After preparing breakfast, Li Zian called Tang Qing and asked her to come up and eat.
Tang Qing had indeed been working late at the Worry-free Workshop and had ended up sleeping there. When Li Zian called, she was still asleep.
Li Zian left food for her, then went out with Yu Meilin.
Kun Li was already waiting by the Bentley car. When Yu Meilin and Li Zian approached, she opened the door in advance. Yu Meilin got in first; when Li Zian entered, Kun Li nodded at him as a greeting.
Li Zian didn’t like her much, but he couldn’t be rude either. He greeted her back: “Morning.”
The car started, and Li Zian suddenly remembered what had happened the day before. He said, “Kun Li, please keep an eye out during this period. If anyone suspicious approaches Meilin, stop them ahead of time.”
“Mm,” Kun Li responded without asking any questions.
Yu Meilin grew a bit nervous: “Zian, did something happen?”
Li Zian said, “Yesterday I met a client who was very suspicious. That guy wanted to harm me. I’m worried he might target you, which is why I reminded Kun Li to protect you.”
“What client?” Kun Li asked.
Li Zian said, “His name is Pan Renlong. He asked me to treat his father, Pan Guoqing, the Chairperson of Qinglong Group. But I discovered that Pan Guoqing wasn’t the real person—probably a body double. Both father and son are Chinese Americans, probably with US citizenship. That Pan Renlong seems to work at the Consulate.”
Yu Meilin said worriedly, “Why would the father and son want to harm you?”
Li Zian smiled bitterly: “I’m also investigating, but I have no leads yet.”
Kun Li said, “Your Divination is so powerful. Why don’t you just do a Divination to find out?”
Li Zian replied, “I did a Divination yesterday. It was a very bad Hexagram, but the Hexagram Interpretation didn’t say why they want to harm me. I’ll try another Divination in a couple of days. Anyway, both of you should be careful during this time.”
“Should we call the police?” Yu Meilin sounded a little nervous.
Li Zian shook his head: “It’s useless. The other side is clever; I have no evidence. Calling the police won’t help and might alert them. But don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”
“How did he try to harm you?” Kun Li asked.
Li Zian said, “Virus. That patient’s body had a highly contagious Virus. The patient was deliberately poisoned, then they had me go treat him.”
Yu Meilin said angrily, “You went to save him out of kindness, and he harms you in return? That person’s heart is absolutely black!”
Li Zian said, “I didn’t want to tell you this originally, because I didn’t want you to worry. But I thought the other side might also target you, so I decided to tell you. Later, after we finish our business, I’ll prepare some medicine for you. If you take it, that Virus won’t be able to harm you.”
If he directly mentioned blood, Yu Meilin might not drink it. He’d have to find a way to handle that later.
Kun Li said, “I’ll look into that Pan Renlong later.”
Li Zian said, “Don’t act recklessly. That guy is a soldier—I noticed when we shook hands. The index finger on his right hand had a thick layer of callus, probably from pulling the trigger often. Also, that guy looks particularly strong. If he works at the US Consulate, he likely has Diplomatic Immunity. You can’t beat him.”
“So we just do nothing?” Kun Li’s temper was still fiery.
Li Zian said, “Just protect Meilin well. I’ll handle the rest.”
Kun Li paused, then said, “Alright. If you need me to do anything for you, just say it.”
She seemed to have become more cooperative, quite different from her previous attitude.
But Li Zian knew that Kun Li’s willingness to help probably also stemmed from wanting him to do a Divination to find her parents. Still, he wasn’t the type to reject someone’s goodwill, so he said, “Thank you.”
“Kun Li is one of us; no need to be polite. You can ask her to do anything you want,” Yu Meilin said.
Li Zian smiled but didn’t say anything.
Not exactly anything—he had asked Kun Li about Hank before, and Kun Li hadn’t told him.
Kun Li was truly loyal to Yu Meilin.
“You actually care about me a lot, don’t you?” Yu Meilin looked at Li Zian.
Li Zian said, “You’re Xiaomei’s mom; of course I care about you.”
Yu Meilin was about to say something else when Li Zian’s mobile phone rang with an incoming call.
Li Zian took out his mobile phone and glanced at it, then said, “Don’t speak—it’s that Pan Renlong calling.”
Yu Meilin nodded.
Li Zian swiped to answer the call: “Hello? cough cough…”
Yu Meilin looked at Li Zian with a strange expression. Why was he coughing all of a sudden? She felt a bit worried and wanted to ask if he had caught a cold, but then remembered what Li Zian had just said and closed her mouth again.
Pan Renlong’s voice came from the mobile phone: “Master, your cold hasn’t gotten better yet?”
“cough cough…” Li Zian coughed violently a few more times before saying, “It’s nothing—just a cold. I’ll get better even without medicine. Is Mr. Pan doing alright?”
“My father’s condition has improved. I called specifically to thank you.”
“No need to be polite. As long as Mr. Pan is fine, that’s what matters.”
“When my father’s health gets a bit better, I’d like to invite you for a meal. I hope you’ll honor us with your presence.”
“No problem… cough!” Li Zian said.
“Alright then, Master, you carry on with your work.” Pan Renlong hung up.
Li Zian’s eyes turned cold.
The only reason Pan Renlong called him was to check if he was dead.
“Kun Li, what do you think about this?” Yu Meilin asked Kun Li instead of Li Zian.
Kun Li, while driving, said, “If the other side wanted to kill your husband, he’d have many ways to do it. But he specifically used a method a normal person wouldn’t use. And you two have no grudges between you. I think he might have another purpose.”
“What purpose?” Li Zian asked.
“To see if you can cure yourself. Maybe he wants to prove something from you,” Kun Li said.
“What does he want to prove?” Li Zian hadn’t thought of this possibility.
Yu Meilin asked, “Chuntao went with you, right?”
Li Zian delayed for two seconds before saying, “Mm, she went with me. I gave her medicine, so she’s fine.”
He didn’t want her to ask more, so he just said it.
Of course, the incident with Taozi at the Hotel could definitely not be mentioned.
Yu Meilin only asked that one question and didn’t inquire further, but she glanced at Li Zian out of the corner of her eye.
Kun Li said, “Zian, do you know why I said that?”
This was the first time she used such a familiar address. Li Zian felt a bit unaccustomed to it: “Go on.”
Kun Li said, “He called to confirm your condition. If his goal was simply to make you die, he’d have had plenty of opportunities while you were at his house. But instead, he gave you money and let you leave.”
Li Zian pondered Kun Li’s words.
Kun Li continued, “Right now the most important thing is to find out the other party’s real identity, what friends he has, places he frequently visits, hobbies and interests, etc. In short, investigate everything about him—the more detailed, the better.”
“But I’m not the police, and he’s a staff member at the US Consulate. How can I investigate him?” Li Zian wasn’t unaware of the need to investigate; he simply didn’t have the means.
Kun Li said, “Have you heard of the Underground Network?”
“Underground Network? No.” This was the first time Li Zian had heard of it.
Kun Li said, “On the Underground Network, as long as you have money, you can do things you want to do but can’t. If you want someone dead, just go on the Underground Network to hire a killer. You can even buy military intelligence on the Underground Network. Plus guns, drugs, and other shady stuff—you can buy them all.”
Li Zian felt tempted: “I didn’t know such a network existed. How do you get on to buy things? Teach me.”
Kun Li said, “My Underground Network account from my Mercenary days is still active. I can go online and recruit hackers and detectives to investigate. Those people will surely find out all about Pan Renlong’s background.”
Li Zian said, “Alright. How much money do you need? I’ll transfer it to you.”
Kun Li said, “I estimate about a hundred thousand US Dollars should be enough.”
Li Zian said, “A hundred thousand US Dollars is roughly seven hundred thousand RMB. I’ll transfer it to you.”
After all, this money came from Pan Renlong anyway—using Pan Renlong’s money to investigate Pan Renlong seemed quite fitting.
Yu Meilin said, “I’ll give Kun Li the money. It’s more convenient from my side.”
Li Zian said, “This is my matter. I can’t let you pay—I’ll cover it.”
Yu Meilin looked at Li Zian: “Your matters are my matters. Remember, we are husband and wife. No matter what happens, we face it together.”
Li Zian didn’t know what else to say.
They were a plastic couple, sure, but her words weren’t wrong—shouldn’t husband and wife share hardships?
Of course, some couples split when disaster strikes.
It all depends on how you think and what you do.
Before they knew it, they had arrived at New Star Company.
The guard at the gate was a new face—not Wei Dayong.
Wei Dayong was now the deputy Section Chief of New Star Company’s Security Section. Even a minor official was still an official, so of course he wouldn’t be guarding the gate anymore.
The guard opened the gate but, before Kun Li could drive the car in, five vehicles approached from the road behind. The lead car was a Toyota Land Cruiser, followed by a Hongqi L5, and then three Toyota Alphard.
Li Zian recognized that Toyota Land Cruiser—it was Ge Jun’s vehicle.
The Hongqi L5 was a luxury car, worth several million RMB. It was a domestically made car that in the past only leaders were qualified to ride in. Now they accepted civilian orders, but it was limited to 100 units—truly not something you could buy just with money; you needed connections too.
He just didn’t know who was in that flashy car.
But whoever it was, they were here to cause trouble. If they were just here to collect a debt, why would they make such a grand entrance?