Chapter 40: Game Administration

After seeing Liang Wei off, Li Ao felt that what she said was nonsense.

Following Tang Weining's whereabouts, the video footage from Liang Wei's residential complex was retrieved. Only Tang Weining went upstairs alone, and there was no so-called girl wearing a mask.

But out of rigor, Li Ao still asked someone to check Tang Weining's travel records. The real-name identity system for train tickets showed that there was an ID card of someone named Tu Lanxun who bought the ticket at a similar time and location as Tang Weining.

This was nothing, as hundreds of passengers traveled from Lucheng to Fushi every day. Perhaps it was just a coincidence. But Xiao Zhang shouted:

"Captain Li, that's not right. The train surveillance video captured this blue-painted Xun, but the angles are all wrong. They only show the back and profile, so the figure is unclear. And he's wearing a mask. How could this be such a coincidence?"

They couldn't confirm her identity, and it might not even be Tu Lanxun, but someone who was using the berth because the original passenger was not there.

Li Ao frowned and checked the surveillance footage of Tang Weining before he entered the station. The parking lot surveillance camera was broken and was covered with a layer of mist and rain. The surveillance cameras along the street didn't capture anything. There was no trace of Tang Weining in any of those cars. It was really strange.

"Check this Tu Lanxun, find out where she comes from, where she lives now, and what social connections she has." Li Ao said. Xiao Zhang took the order. Before leaving, he felt that he seemed to have heard the name Tu Lanxun on the news, but he couldn't remember it for a moment, so he kept his mouth shut.

Old Wei laughed and said, "It's not a big deal for Tang Weining to have a girlfriend. She hasn't done anything illegal. We've already found out that the injuries on his body were self-inflicted."

Li Ao glared at him and said with a fierce look: "You go too!"

A policeman came in and knocked on the door, saying, "Captain Li, someone's looking for you. Director Meng wants you to come in."

Li Ao gestured for Xiao Zhang and the other two to go ahead and went upstairs. Meng Baojian, the deputy director of the branch, was facing the door, searching for something in a cabinet. Seeing Li Ao coming, he said, "Hey, Li Ao, do you have any tea leaves I can share? Hurry up! I haven't had tea in years."

Li Ao was wondering when he turned around and saw a person sitting on the sofa. He broke out in a cold sweat. Years of criminal police training him to be extremely sensitive to people in different places, but this person, he did not even notice him when he walked up to him. It was not until the other person moved his shoes that he woke up from his dream.

"You're Captain Li, right?" The woman on the sofa stood up and, smiling, extended a slender hand with jagged joints, the roughness of frequent power exercises. "Game Administration Bureau, Director of the First Office, Wen Chong."

Gaming Administration? This wasn't the first time Li Ao had heard of this department. He had only glimpsed it a few times in the news and internal information, but had never had any formal contact with it.

——Incidents involving strange things that the Public Security Bureau is unable to handle will generally be transferred to the Gaming Administration Bureau, abbreviated as the Gaming Administration Bureau.

Nowadays, no one dares to underestimate the word "game". It no longer represents the root cause of teenage depravity that parents are strictly guarding against, but a real monster that eats people without leaving any bones.

Could it be that the Tourism Bureau came today for the case he was working on?

He had shaken hands with Wen Chong, who had calluses all over his fingers and palms. A few of them could be called gun calluses, while many more were from unknown instruments. Li Ao was quick to realize that Director Wen Chong, in her early forties, wasn't just an office worker; she was a martial artist.

Director Meng couldn't find any tea leaves, so he just poured Wen Chong a cup of water and said, "Li Ao, the Tang Weining case can be transferred. Here, Director Wen is here to take it over personally. You've worked hard lately."

Li Ao refused to give in: "But there are still clues that have not been investigated clearly."

Director Meng glared and raised his leg to kick him like he did ten years ago, but out of consideration for Wen Chong's presence, he just said in a loud voice: "Obey orders!"

Li Ao was about to argue when Wen Chong suddenly asked, "What clue is missing?"

Wen Chong pulled out a photo. It was a clear portrait of a young woman. The shape of her skull and the height of her nose resembled the one on the train surveillance camera. Li Ao was stunned. Wen Chong spoke directly, neither disrespectful nor servile. "Is it her? If so, just sign the transfer documents. That's why I'm here."

For a moment, countless possibilities flashed through Li Ao's mind. Could Tu Lanxun be an internationally wanted criminal? Or perhaps something strange? A thousand words finally converged into one sentence: "...Okay."

As soon as the document was opened, the urge to say no took over again, because the document itself was concise and could be accompanied by a long list of confidentiality clauses.

——It is forbidden to disclose the existence of the Gaming Authority.

——It is prohibited to disclose the personnel and positions of the Tourism Administration.

— and any investigation matters. (Note: Tu Lanxun.)

"Okay." Li Ao put away his pen reluctantly. From now on, if he mentioned the part of this case related to Tu Lanxun again, he would face a warning or even punishment. The same would apply to Lao Wei and Xiao Zhang. All previous investigation records would also have to be deleted.

Before leaving, he couldn't help but ask, facing Director Meng's gaze, "What's going on with that girl? Can I know why?"

Wen Chong folded the document, not being offensive, and said, "Okay, but this one is confidential too."

"The recent work our department is carrying out in Lucheng may involve her, so we are conducting a special investigation into the case."

Li Ao subconsciously analyzed: "Which one is involved, an informant or a suspect?"

Wen Chong smiled but said nothing.

#

Tu Lanxun felt that his small shop was almost full.

Bai Xiaoju and the computer ghost, one on each side, one up and one down, one left and right, the other wasd, played an old-fashioned web game together. A pile of aromatherapy chocolate plum cookies, worth as much as gold, lay spread out on the table.

She didn't intend to ask for money. After Teacher Xu was swallowed by N, all his savings over the years went to Tu Lanxun, about 200 grams of broken gold, which was enough to make a large gold biscuit.

Tu Lanxun asked: "Why is gold your common currency?"

N sat with his legs crossed, reading the wordless book deep in the shelf, not even looking up: "What do you living people like to burn for your graves?"

Tu Lanxun: "Ghost money, yellow paper, and...gold ingots!"

Could it be that the gold ingots burned for the deceased can all turn into real gold? N's peach blossom eyes drooped, and his lips curled up: "It's related to tomb sweeping, but it's not what you think. There is another algorithm."

That's right, if it were that easy, each ghost would be a gold miner.

While they were discussing money, Bai Chao stood up and walked over to Tu Lanxun, stacking three gold cookies and pushing them towards her like chips. Bai Chao said kindly, "Miss Tu, thank you for treating me to chocolate earlier. You saved my life, too. This little gift is nothing but a token of respect."

Tu Lanxun gently refused: "No, no, I've already received my reward."

Bai Chao insisted: "You are the benefactor of our entire family."

Bai Chao chuckled and put three gold cakes into Tu Lanxun's pocket, which she had accidentally exposed. Tu Lanxun was curious: "Sister Chao, weren't you placed in the White Porcelain Angel by Teacher Xu right away? Where did you get so much money?"

Bai Chao smiled slightly: "It should be a memorial service at home." It seems that Tang Weining burned a lot of incense.

After returning to the convenience store, Bai Chao said one more thing. The memory that she left in the anchor after her death and has not been retrieved until now is the happy memory with Tang Weining.

Tu Lanxun felt a little conflicted. He felt that Tang Weining was quite miserable, but part of his misery was caused by himself. If he had not hidden Bai Chao's body out of fear of punishment, Tang Pengan might have been in jail long ago, and Teacher Xu, who was living in Tang Guangming's body, would have been sent to an orphanage.

The notice about Tang Weining has been issued. He was given a suspended sentence and his freedom was preserved, but it was a foregone conclusion that he would be dismissed from his teaching position at Lu Agricultural University. Since he is still lying in the hospital bed, he has to consider changing jobs in advance.

There weren't many news reports about him. Bai Chao's internet celebrity ID was cancelled, and the voices of Lu Nong students discussing Tang Weining's hiding of the body could not be heard on the Internet, as if someone was suppressing the news.

It’s better not to meddle in other people’s affairs. Tu Lanxun couldn’t see through Bai Chao’s expression, so she turned around to count the money. She weighed her pockets, and the full bag of gold made her waist ache. It was really a happy distress.

Eight hundred thousand. This is her current estimated savings amount.

Before she knew it, Tu Penglai had nearly collected one-fifth of the five million yuan she owed. Tu Lanxun couldn't help but feel that hope was just around the corner.

"Hello." Tu Lanxun stood in front of N, without any embarrassment. He looked at him with his bright black eyes and smiled, "Thank you for your help this time. I guess you don't think much of the money. Is there anything I can do for you?"

She felt sincere, but N laughed back, "How can you be sure that I don't care about money?"

Tu Lanxun choked for a long time, then closed his eyes and said, "Okay! How many points do you want?"

"Forget it, no money."

"Then what do you want?" Her voice was a little higher. She was reluctant to be manipulated and would rather give money.

In return, N snorted softly. He then crossed his other leg, his shattered eyes vacant and unfocused. He no longer looked at Tu Lanxun, but said dismissively, "I haven't made up my mind yet. Let's save it for now."

#

The operation of 24h Sunshine Convenience Store (nickname: Broccoli Store) is officially on track.

Tu Lanxun restocked the goods again and watched the driver walk out of the convenience store with unsteady steps. She felt deeply that letting N control the distributor's employees was not a long-term solution. She had to find someone who dared to enter the development zone to be responsible for transportation.

Seeing that it was time to go to the gold shop as agreed with his friends, Tu Lanxun asked the computer ghost to guard the house. Bai Chao and Bai Xiaoju had already found an empty house nearby and were not often in the shop.

The private gold shop was called Dragon and Phoenix Family. The owner was a middle-aged man with a grin, chubby, and a large head perched on a thick neck. He introduced his friend's name with a blue-painted Xun, and the man's attitude became even more mysterious. He moved the old scale aside and took out another new one from the cloth covering the counter. "Please."

Three and one-eighths of a gold cake and a small pile of broken gold grains were placed on it, and a number confirmed by the blue-painted xun popped out. The boss smiled and said, "To test the gold, we need to cut it first and then burn it. It will take a while, so please feel free to look around."

Tu Lanxunzhen turned around and walked around the store. She knew that someone had to be watching when checking the gold, but she felt relieved because the invisible N was watching the boss.

The gold shop displayed some gold jewelry, which had more diverse styles than those in the specialty counters. There were many old items, most of which were gold jewelry inlaid with precious stones and with complex craftsmanship.

Suddenly, a bright and clear yellow light attracted Tu Lanxun's attention, and it led to a precious plane, which was very different from other trivial and tiny things.

Tu Lanxun walked over and saw an octagonal mirror the size of a palm. It had a convex and polished curved surface in the middle. It was bright enough to reflect people, but the clarity was not as good as modern mercury mirrors, and the shadows were slightly distorted.

If this thing was not gold-plated but pure gold, it would have a terrifying price tag.

She looked through the glass several times, and suddenly, her eyes blurred and something flashed in the golden mirror!

Looking closely, the face in the mirror was distorted and changing, the lips were exaggeratedly curved, smiling, but the eyes looked aggrieved.

After several seconds, two bloody tears fell from the eyeballs. Two drops of red water flowed out from the surface of the golden mirror, flowing straight down and cutting off the overly upturned corners of the mouth.