Stealing the Pen: Kirin's Primordial Lotus

Chapter 581

As Hua Yu's memories gradually faded, her thoughts were drawn to Zhang Dianshan, whom Hei Xiazi had mentioned. Zhang Dianshan reminded her of another similar figure: Zhang Qishan.

"Brother, what did Zhang Qishan go through back then? Why did he suddenly become so unrecognizable?" Hua Yu's tone revealed curiosity and confusion about Zhang Qishan.

Zhang Qiling listened quietly to Hua Yu's question, his hand gently stroking her hair, as if soothing a frightened deer. After a moment, he slowly spoke, "Ayu, you have to understand that humans are the most complex creatures in the world. No one can remain the same all the time."

Zhang Qiling lowered his head slightly, placed his lips close to Hua Yu's ear, and whispered softly, "Power is something that can quickly change a person. When a person has money, they will desire more wealth; and when they have accumulated a considerable amount of wealth, their desire will turn to power. Once they gain power, their mentality often undergoes earth-shaking changes."

Hua Yu closed his eyes tightly, feeling the comfort brought by Zhang Qiling's massage. He responded lazily, "Perhaps... But in this world, there are still many people who are dedicated to serving the people. Those who are obsessed with money and power are only a minority after all."

After Hua Yu finished speaking, she closed her eyes and said nothing more. She lay quietly on Zhang Qiling's lap, as if time had frozen in this moment. Zhang Qiling gently stroked Hua Yu's hair, feeling his breath and body temperature, enjoying this moment of tranquility.

At the same time, Hei Xia Zi left the Hua Mansion and hurried towards his glasses shop. His pace seemed a little anxious, as if there was something important waiting for him to deal with.

When Hei Xiazi entered the optical shop, the shop assistants did not greet him warmly as usual. Instead, they just quietly made a gesture and continued to serve the customers in front of them. Hei Xiazi saw this and understood what was going on. He nodded slightly and walked straight into the shop.

When passing by some familiar customers, Hei Xiazi would stop to chat with them and recommend the more expensive glasses in the store. He was an excellent speaker and could always skillfully persuade customers to buy those expensive products.

However, Hei Xia Zi's mind was not entirely on business. He chatted with customers while keeping an eye on the goings on in the store. Finally, after talking to one customer after another, he finally came to the small room in the store.

Hei Xia Zi gently pushed open the door, walked into the room, and then went straight to the familiar desk. He skillfully opened the drawer where he usually kept the documents. However, just as he was about to touch the documents in the drawer, he suddenly realized that something was wrong - the drawer seemed to have been moved.

Hei Xiazi's brows knitted slightly, his intuition telling him that the contents of the drawer might have been leaked. He did not continue to open the drawer, but slowly stood up, poured himself a glass of wine, and then sat on a chair, quietly waiting for the waiter to come in.

After a while, the door of the room was opened and the waiter walked in. After noticing that the information he had collected according to the boss's investigation was not on the table, his face froze. "Boss, it was my negligence that allowed a mole to appear in the store!"

Hei Xia Zi waved his hands helplessly, a wry smile on his face: "Forget it! Even your boss has suffered at their hands, what can a small fry like you do?"

The clerk became even more anxious upon hearing this. He kept picking at his fingers, as if this could ease his inner uneasiness. "Heiye, what should we do now? We can't just sit there and watch a mole hiding in this store!"

Hei Xiazi's sunglasses flashed silver in the sunlight, and he raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a sly smile, "What are you afraid of? Having a mole here is actually a good thing for us. At most, they can sneak in when we're not paying attention and take a look at the information or something. Do you think they would dare to blatantly install a bug here?"

After receiving Hei Xia Zi's instructions, the guy felt a little relieved, but he was still a little worried. While he continued to complain about the traitor, he carefully groped around the secret room to see if there were any strange electronic equipment installed.

When the clerk's hand touched one of the drawers of the desk, he suddenly felt that there seemed to be something under the drawer. His heart tightened, and he quickly reached back and touched it. Sure enough, he touched a small square box under the drawer.

"Mr. Hei, what do you think this is?" The waiter handed the small box to Hei Xia Zi with a suspicious look on his face and asked softly, as if he was afraid of being heard.

Hei Xia Zi took the box and felt it was a bit heavy. He couldn't help but frown and thought to himself: This thing is not available in China!

Seeing this, the clerk quickly explained, "I was packing up just now when I accidentally touched this small box. It seemed a bit strange, so I brought it over to show you. Do you think this is the kind of monitoring device they use in those movies?"

After hearing this, Hei Xiazi raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a half-smile. "A monitoring device? This is a new thing. But even if it is a monitoring device, so what? We didn't say anything shameful."

He placed the box on the table and examined it carefully. It was completely black, its surface smooth as a mirror, without any obvious markings or switches. Hei Xiazi fiddled with it for a few times, but couldn't find a way to open it.

At this moment, the guy suddenly had an idea. He remembered that he had seen a similar plot in a movie before, so he reached out and felt around the side of the box. Sure enough, he touched a small bulge, pressed it lightly, and with a "click", the box opened.

"Hey! I guessed it right!" The guy shouted excitedly and pulled the things out of the box.

"That bastard actually installed these things right under my nose!" the clerk cursed indignantly, "I'm going to get him to pay for it!"

Seeing this, Hei Xiazi quickly stopped the man and said, "Don't be impatient, let's see what this thing is first."

He looked closely and saw that the thing looked like a miniature microphone with a thin wire attached to it. Hei Xiazi immediately understood that this was indeed a monitoring device.

The guy's eyes flashed, "Heiye, do you need me to go..." As he said that, he made a gesture of beating someone, obviously wanting to settle the score with the person who installed the eavesdropping device.

Hei Xia Zi waved his hand and said, "No need. Although we are better off now than before, we were once listed here! We have to follow the rules now."

Hei Xia Zi raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a sly smile. He casually threw the small square box to the guy next to him, and then looked at this mysterious object with interest.

"Hey, this is really a good thing!" Hei Xiazi couldn't help but admire it. "It's a pity that our country doesn't have this type of thing at all!"

As he spoke, he gently squeezed the small square box in his palm, feeling its texture and weight.

"But," Hei Xia Zi changed the subject, "we are all employed by the government now. We can't just use those old-fashioned methods to solve problems like before, right?"

The guy looked at Hei Xia Zi with some confusion, not understanding what he was up to.

"Mr. Hei, what do you mean..." the waiter asked tentatively.

The smile on Hei Xia Zi's face grew more pronounced. He picked up the small square box between two fingers, waved it in front of the waiter, and said, "What a great token of our loyalty! With this, why would we even bother trying to capture someone? It's like a ready-made military medal! Once we hand it over, those who crave the medal will desperately try to find out where it came from."

When the guy heard what Hei Xia Zi said, his eyes suddenly lit up and the confusion on his face was instantly replaced by a smile.

"You are worthy of being Mr. Hei. Why didn't I think of such a good idea?" The guy said admiringly.

After receiving the compliment from the waiter, Hei Xiazi's face was so full of excitement that he almost wanted to turn his nose up to the sky. "That's right! Otherwise, the person sitting in my seat would be you instead of me!"

Hei Xia Zi laughed wildly towards the sky. The people working in the eyewear store outside the secret room couldn't help but shudder when they heard the laughter, but they were used to it.

After all, in the eyes of the shop assistants, their boss always goes crazy every now and then, as if it is a regular program every time the boss comes.

The man took the small device that Hei Xiazi handed him and said, "Master Hei, what should we do with this information now? We can't open our secret room to those people! After all..."

The guy glanced around the secret room, and Hei Xia Zi naturally knew what the guy had not finished saying.

Hei Xiazi just waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "What are you afraid of? The higher-ups know what Hei Ye did before, but now we've all turned over a new leaf. These things haven't crossed any bottom line. They're just for self-protection at most. They won't interfere. At most, they'll just ask a question."

The guy finally felt relieved after getting Hei Xia Zi's guarantee.

After Hei Xia Zi solved the problem, he calmed down for a moment. He took the tampered information from the waiter's hand, flipped through it twice, and then closed it and handed it back to the waiter. "How is the information I asked you to investigate?"

The man lit the information Hei Xia Zi handed him with a lighter and threw it into a copper basin in the secret room. "Hei Ye, some of the information you asked me to investigate is very old and difficult to find. Furthermore, I encountered considerable obstacles during my investigation. I guess it must have affected certain people's interests. On my way back, I encountered several groups of inexplicable people."

Hei Xiazi understood clearly, "Although not many people know about the things I asked you to investigate, they are still there. After all, those things involve the stools under their buttocks. They will always be frightened, but they dare not really take action."

The man nodded repeatedly after hearing this. "It's exactly as you said, Mr. Hei! They approached me but didn't dare to actually do anything to me. It's like they wanted me to speak up so they could find something to hold against me, but they didn't want me to say anything in case their rivals found out."

Hei Xia Zi stroked his chin and smoked a cigarette. "It's normal. After what happened back then, those who were capable have climbed up the ladder, and those who weren't are already eighteen years old. Caution is ingrained in them, so it's normal for them to act like this."

The guy agreed deeply with Hei Xia Zi's words and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Hei Ye, you are absolutely right! When are we going to deal with this thing?" As he spoke, he raised the small machine in his hand high and looked at Hei Xia Zi with anticipation, as if waiting for Hei Xia Zi to give further instructions.

Hei Xia Zi raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a half-smile, and replied slowly: "Don't worry, buddy. Let's let them be frightened for a few more days, so that they will be even more restless. I will come to the store again in a few days. You have to keep a close eye on this store and see which traitor is behind this." At this point, Hei Xia Zi's voice rose slightly, and he was obviously very angry about the behavior of the traitor.

Hei Xia Zi pondered inwardly: Although he had retired from the bloody world of the past, that didn't mean he was weak and vulnerable. He wouldn't tolerate anyone playing tricks on his territory, especially this kind of betrayal, which was simply crossing his line. Since someone was so reckless, he would show no mercy and make the traitor pay the price.

After receiving the clear instructions from Hei Xia Zi, the man did not dare to delay and quickly wrapped the thing carefully in a tissue and hid it close to his body like a treasure. He knew that this thing was very important to Hei Xia Zi and there must be no mistakes.

Then, Hei Xia Zi instructed his assistant to orally state the information that needed to be investigated. After all, the paper document was no longer useful, and it was likely that even the relevant information stored in the computer had been contaminated, so even if he looked at it, it would be futile.

Hei Xia Zi and his assistant left the secret room one after the other and came to the glasses shop in front. Hei Xia Zi stood at the back door and first observed the situation inside the store.

"Today, Hei Ye is happy! Let's treat you to some water! Xiao Luo, why don't you give the ice water that Hei Ye bought to your brothers!"

Hei Xia Zi suddenly walked into the store from the back door and looked at every waiter in the store while distributing ice water.

Xiao Luo followed behind Hei Ye, holding the well water that he and Hei Ye had drawn from the well before, which he poured into bottles and then put into the refrigerator to freeze.

When Xiao Luo distributed the ice water to each waiter, he didn't dare to look up at them until he distributed it to a waiter who had just arrived. That person asked a question that made Xiao Luo's heart tremble.

"Brother Luo, what good thing happened to Hei Ye? He even offered us some water!"

"Hei Ye has always been generous. Who knows what happy things have happened to him. Just do your job well."

"Brother Luo, this water isn't cheap! It costs thirty or fifty yuan a bottle outside!"

"Drink your water! Don't ask too much about the boss's affairs. It won't do you any good."

Xiao Luo wrote down the facial features of the person who asked the question, and when he returned to Hei Xia Zi, he whispered a few words to him.

After getting the news from Xiao Luo, Hei Xia Zi also glanced at the new guy inconspicuously.

"I understand. When I come back in a couple of days, keep a close eye on him and don't let him get away!"

Xiao Luo nodded and left through the back door to throw away the trash.