Chapter 8
Chapter 8
The Special Security Bureau.
Compared to the peace and quiet of the daytime, the main hall had gradually become a hive of activity as evening fell. Countless uniformed staff members were scrambling to handle their tasks. Telephones rang incessantly, but no one had the time to answer them.
Just as everyone’s stress levels were reaching a breaking point, a slender hand casually reached out and picked up a desk phone receiver. “Special Security Bureau.”
The person who answered the call squinted lazily, his voice carrying the characteristic rasp of someone who had just woken up.
“Right, I understand.”
The young man hung up the phone and looked up, momentarily stunned.
He saw that the crowd, which had been working feverishly just a moment ago, seemed to have been hit by a pause button. They were all staring at him intently.
Realizing what was happening, the young man shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint you all, but Ping’an Apartment, No. 14 Huicheng Avenue, Jian’an District has officially fallen and become a Live Stream Room Beginner Instance. Who among you is free to go evacuate the surrounding citizens and take some statements?”
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately averted their eyes and returned to their work. Excuses began to flood the young man’s ears, one after another.
“Director Shang, I still have two Advanced Instances to file. I really don’t have the time.”
“What a coincidence. I have to go out on field duty in a bit. No time here either.”
“My next live stream starts in five minutes…”
“Director Shang, don’t look at me like that. I haven’t even finished the rule summary report you dumped on me earlier. How about I give you the pen and you write it yourself?”
Shang Yan immediately turned his head away, pretending he didn’t know the person. “Since everyone is busy, I suppose I’ll go myself. Sigh, there’s just no end to the things I have to worry about~”
With that, he slipped away as fast as his feet could carry him.
It was a good thing he ran fast, or he surely would have been collectively mobbed by his subordinates.
How could a man so lazy he didn’t even want to lift his eyelids have the face to say such things? Truly shameless.
Not far away, a young girl who was processing her induction paperwork stared blankly at the lounge chair the young man had just occupied, her expression dazed.
The older woman leading her through the onboarding rolled her eyes, ruthlessly shattering her fantasies. “Director Shang has a ‘White Moonlight’ in his heart that he can never have. Don’t even think about it.”
The girl snapped out of it and instinctively pressed for details. “A White Moonlight? Did they go abroad?”
She didn’t look disappointed; instead, her face showed a hint of gossip-hungry curiosity.
One could only blame the internet for how thoroughly the term ‘White Moonlight’ had been stereotyped. The first thing people thought of was a story where ‘the White Moonlight heartlessly abandoned their poor boyfriend for the sake of their future, going far away to lead a life of luxury,’ leaving Director Shang behind to grieve and struggle through his days by clinging to sweet memories of the past.
The older woman shook her head. “Dead.”
“What?” The girl’s wandering thoughts were cut short, her face full of shock.
The older woman repeated herself patiently. “Director Shang’s White Moonlight is dead. If they were just abroad, it would be a simple matter of a plane ticket, wouldn’t it? Why would he be ‘unable to have’ them? Otherwise, with that textbook-level playboy face of his, do you think he’d stay single for three whole years? It’s impossible.”
The girl’s eyes sparkled as she gasped, “That’s so devoted~”
Seeing that the girl wasn’t ‘falling into the abyss’ of a crush, the older woman felt relieved. She briskly handed over the work ID and adopted a businesslike tone. “Kong Xianya, right? Follow me. Your work area is in Logistics.”
Kong Xianya clearly had little interest in the work, continuing to chatter away. “How did Director Shang and his White Moonlight meet?”
Annoyed by the questioning, the older woman flashed a professional fake smile. “WeChat me 50, and I’ll tell you.”
[WeChat Pay: 50 yuan received.]
The older woman’s mouth twitched. This girl was way too into gossip.
This fifty yuan felt like a hot potato in her hand!
But since she had taken the money, she could only offer a perfunctory and brief explanation. “Supposedly, when they first met, Director Shang saw the White Moonlight using a ham sausage to tease a dog. Then, instead of giving it to the dog, they ate it right in front of the dog’s face.”
“That’s it?”
“Yep, that’s how he fell in love.”
In an instant, the rose-tinted filter in Kong Xianya’s mind shattered into a million pieces.
White moonlight? More like a Little Prankster!
The older woman nudged the dazed Kong Xianya, pushing her toward the logistics department. “Alright, this is where you’ll be working from now on. I’ve got things to do, so I’ll be off.”
Kong Xianya wanted to chat a bit more, but as soon as she stepped through the door, a colleague she didn’t recognize grabbed her. “You must be the new hire. Quick, organize these files and get them back to me in thirty minutes.”
Kong Xianya: “…”
This work environment… was certainly pure and unpretentious.
**
Meanwhile, Qiao Yu had bought a jar of canned yellow peaches and was slowly making his way upstairs. The old wooden staircase creaked and groaned with every step, looking as if it were ready to give out at any moment.
Qiao Yu walked on his tiptoes, moving with extreme caution.
When he reached the third floor, he suddenly heard a familiar voice. To his surprise, the other six streamers had abandoned their shut-in status and were gathered around a small child.
Brother Crocodile seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw Qiao Yu approaching and quickly ran over to his side.
“Why is everyone out here? And why are they surrounding a kid?” Qiao Yu asked curiously.
Brother Crocodile glanced at the little girl squatting in the corner playing with a twig and said helplessly, “That’s Li Xiaoqin’s daughter, Hou Yuanyuan. Everyone’s trying to see if they can get some clues about the Instance from her, but Hou Yuanyuan seems to have autistic tendencies. She won’t talk to anyone except Li Xiaoqin. As for why everyone’s out… it’s because Wulong Tea used a very useful Clue Card. This apartment is safe between 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM.”
Following Brother Crocodile’s gaze, Qiao Yu nodded thoughtfully.
So the Slightly Chubby Man streamer was called Wulong Tea.
Then, he gave Man-Eating Crocodile’s scrawny frame a complicated look. Everyone’s names really were… a bit of a misnomer.
Over there, Suit Man had shed his initial coldness. With a very kind expression, he leaned over to talk to Hou Yuanyuan. “Hey there, little one. I’m not a bad guy. We just moved in today and wanted to ask you a few questions. If you can answer them, I’ll give you this whole bag of candy. How does that sound?”
As he spoke, Suit Man pulled a bag of White Rabbit milk candies from his pocket, trying to lure Hou Yuanyuan.
Seeing this, Qiao Yu felt a bit of a headache coming on.
No matter how you looked at it, Suit Man looked like a rather clumsy kidnapper. It would be a miracle if the kid paid him any mind!
Sure enough, Hou Yuanyuan remained focused on the twig in her hand, doodling on the ground and completely ignoring Suit Man.
So there they were, a group of grown men blocking the third floor, all of them at their wits’ end.
“This isn’t working. Maybe we should be a bit more forceful? Scare her a little, and maybe the kid will talk to us?”
The suggestion came from a low-profile streamer, a tall, thin man in his early twenties wearing black-rimmed glasses.
Wulong Tea frowned and leaned back, his face wearing a familiar look of mockery.
Does this guy have a low tolerance for stupidity?
Qiao Yu shook his head and refocused his attention on Hou Yuanyuan.
Although the little girl was squatting in the corner in silence, her large, rolling eyes were very lively. She didn’t look autistic at all…
As for the other streamer’s suggestion, no one agreed. The idea sounded unreliable, and Hou Yuanyuan was Li Xiaoqin’s daughter. If they ended up being resented by Li Xiaoqin because of it, the loss would outweigh the gain.
Just as everyone was stuck on what to do, Qiao Yu, standing by the stairs, suddenly started singing: “Who says those who stand in the light are the only heroes? Love your walk through the dark alleys, love the way you never kneel…”
Hou Yuanyuan’s arm, which was holding the twig, stiffened slightly. She looked up toward the voice.