Chapter 34
Qiao Yan went to the corridor as soon as it was light to call Zhou Yi, and she answered immediately.
"It's rare to see you calling me," Zhou Yi said cheerfully. "What do you want?"
Qiao Yan wasn't good at small talk, so Zhou Yi's decision to skip that step was quite considerate. "Why did you step down?"
"That's really not tactful at all." Zhou Yi laughed, annoyed. "Did Shu Juan tell you something?"
"No, it's just that I've run into some trouble lately," Qiao Yan explained to her. Then she asked, "Who were the people who took photos of the bodies before?"
There was silence on Zhou Yi's end. After a long while, she replied, "I was demoted all the way back then, and I wasn't allowed to participate in many things anymore. The only thing I knew was that Jiang Qi is now at the height of his power. It's ridiculous. If his father were still alive, he would probably be horrified to find out that Jiang Qi is sitting in my seat."
"You know nothing else besides these?" Qiao Yan leaned against the wall.
"Qiao Yan," Zhou Yi called her name again, "I can't know."
Qiao Yan nodded. "I understand. What about taking photos of the body?"
"There were only a few people in charge of taking photos, and they had nothing to do with the higher-ups. It was the archives department that was in charge," Zhou Yi said. "But Jiang Su was probably in the archives department back then. The two brothers didn't get along. Why are you asking about this?"
After hearing this, Qiao Yan realized the implications and thanked Zhou Yi, saying, "It's nothing, just a guess."
After hanging up the phone, the door behind Qiao Yan opened, and Nan Yayin poked her head out. She looked around before coming out of the room. "Are you leaving?"
Before Qiao Yan could answer him, he immediately asked, "Can I go with you?"
"I won't get in your way." He didn't want to stay here waiting for her, as he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her, which usually didn't end well.
Qiao Yan noticed the bloodshot in his eyes and smiled in resignation, "Okay, then you'll have to stick with me."
Shuyin asked Xiaolu to take care of her, and the experimental building had its own security system, so it was very safe to stay here.
Qiao Yan greeted Shu Juan and then took Nan Ya Yin into a hovercar and headed towards a courier company.
She laid out her plans for the day to Nan Yayin: "The sooner we find the sniper, the better."
"Why?" Nan Yayin asked, "You're still alive, and his goal still exists."
“Those people are very cautious; they clearly know more than the average hired assassin.” Qiao Yan opened his terminal and went to a website. The content and layout were very rudimentary, consisting only of a dialog box.
"What is this?" Nan Yayin looked at the conversation above: target, commission.
"The assassin's own official website." Qiao Yan flipped through the webpage. "I noticed that the assassin had burn marks on his face, so I was wondering if I could find him here."
But the result was not as expected; it was clear that he wasn't interested in it.
Nan Yayin watched Qiao Yan's conversation with the people inside, but didn't find anyone with burn marks on their face.
"He doesn't rely on websites to do business?" Nan Yayin noticed that Qiao Yan was still chatting with someone.
“But it seems that he has colleagues who know him,” Qiao Yan said. “It’s not uncommon to see people with scars all over their faces. They said that the man was born into the military, his movements were very disciplined, and he called himself D in the circle.”
"They found it so quickly!" Nan Yayin exclaimed in surprise, but after seeing the large sum of money at the end, she understood why. "They're giving so much just for asking for a name!"
He calculated that the final payment was only 450,000!
“Desperados won’t reveal their whereabouts unless they’re paid enough. After all, we don’t know where they are, but their colleagues might not.” Qiao Yan watched as the car approached its destination. “He told me that D is now working as a courier for Kuaida Company, which is exactly what we found when we first met him.”
"They even know that." Nan Yayin shuddered. "Trust between people is so easily broken."
Qiao Yan saw through his thoughts and comforted him, "They are not ordinary people anymore. They face exploitation and betrayal every day. If they don't betray others, someone else will betray them."
After the car came to a stop, Qiao Yan and his companion got out and went to the company under the pretext of conducting an investigation to inquire about a person with burns.
People in the company immediately recognized him; his name was Li Dong. They mentioned that he had burns not only on his face but also on his arms, describing it as quite horrific.
"He always wraps himself up tightly so as not to scare others," the employee said with some sympathy. "Actually, it's quite pitiful. This kind of injury looks like it will never go away."
"How long has he been here?" Qiao Yan asked.
The employee thought for a moment, "It's been two years, I heard. I heard it was hard for me to find a job before because of the scar."
"I heard he lives here." Qiao Yan tapped the table. "Could you take me to see him?"
The employee hesitated for a moment, "It's not really appropriate to take you there, but I can give him a call."
"Is he at the company lately?" Qiao Yan thought to herself, "Wasn't he staking out Xuan Niao Park yesterday? How could he possibly be back?"
“Yes.” The employee dialed the number. “I live right next door to him. I happened to see him when he came back, and he even gave me a bottle of beer. What are you looking for him to investigate?”
Qiao Yan didn't answer, only vaguely saying it was a return visit, that she was concerned about him.
The employees found that the two people did look friendly, and since they weren't going to take them to the dormitory anyway, they figured a phone call to confirm would suffice.
He dialed the number several times but no one answered. He scratched his head in confusion, "He always answered the phone very quickly before. Maybe he's still half asleep."
He glanced at Qiao Yan, "How about... you reschedule for another day..."
Qiao Yan sensed something was wrong. Nan Ya Yin quietly tugged at her sleeve, clearly they were thinking the same thing.
To silence them.
"Quickly, take us to his residence immediately." Qiao Yan slapped the table impatiently. "He has attempted suicide before. We are here to check on him."
The employee was startled by her sudden aura and hurriedly said that the dormitory was in the building behind, leading the people towards the dormitory building without stopping.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw there was no body below the high-rise building, "I didn't realize he had suicidal tendencies."
Li Dong lived in the innermost room on the third floor. Before the group even got close, they could smell a strange odor.
"No way." His close employee ran a few steps to open the door, but it was locked.
"I'll go to the security office to get the key."
Just as he was about to turn and run, he saw Qiao Yan raise her foot and kick it, loosening the bolt. Another kick and the door was teetering on the edge.
Only then did the group see the scene inside. Li Dong was sitting against the wall, holding a gun. The wall to the left of his head was stained red with splattered blood, like an extremely bizarre painting.
The employee opened his mouth wide but couldn't make a sound for a moment. After two seconds, he shouted the word "die" as if a cassette tape had jammed.
"Someone's dead! Someone's dead!" he gasped as he ran downstairs.
Qiao Yan didn't stop him, but squeezed Nan Yayin's hand and said, "Don't be afraid, you can call the police for me."
She didn't let Nan Yayin into the house, but went in and took a look by herself.
Seeing a scratch on his wrist, it was then confirmed that this person was indeed the sniper.
Qiao Yan opened the terminal to take pictures and record. His room was in a mess, but there were no signs of a struggle, as if it was caused entirely by suicide.
It's highly unlikely that she was silenced; her employees said she was still alive yesterday, so if that's true, she probably died not long ago.
In the early hours of the morning, before Xiao Lu posted the photos, they didn't know the sniper was the deliveryman. And as soon as they confirmed it, the deliveryman was dead, and a crucial lead was lost. Qiao Yan realized they were still wearing listening devices; how did they manage that?
A flash of light appeared not far away, and Qiao Yan instinctively dodged, a bullet grazing her ear.
She ran out and grabbed Nan Yayin, "Get back in the car, it's time to go home today."
We can't catch him now; his marksmanship isn't good, so he's probably not an important character.
"What happened to your ear? I just heard the sound of glass breaking, did you cut yourself?" He put down the terminal. "What happened?"
Qiao Yan pondered what to say, but in the end, she simply frowned slightly and said, "It's nothing, just a minor scratch."
The wound wasn't large, and the bleeding stopped quickly, forming a scab on the ear.
Qiao Yan had been feeling a bit of a headache, and now in the car, the headache was even more unbearable. She rubbed her head, hoping that the discomfort would subside quickly.
This feeling is very familiar; it's during the vulnerable period. How could it happen so suddenly!
Qiao Yan's breathing quickened. It couldn't be now, it couldn't be now. She had to deal with this first, otherwise it would be too dangerous. She needed suppressants; she had to call Shu Juan to ask if she had any in the car.
"What's wrong with you?" Nan Ya Yin reached out to touch her, but saw her suddenly open her eyes and look at him, so he stopped his hand.
Why do we need inhibitors? Qiao Yan suddenly thought, aren't there Omegas here?
Shu Juan said that Nan Ya Yin and her pheromones were 99% compatible, and that they could safely get through the susceptible period just by relying on pheromones, but she was thinking about more than that now.
What if there are more than just pheromones?
Alphas in their vulnerable period are like innocent yet cruel children; their thoughts are often simple, and they choose the option that makes them happier.
From pheromones to the formation of a knot, the pleasure of satisfying desires made her forget what time it was just a fleeting fantasy.
Her last shred of reason made her bite her index finger, and the pain brought a sense of clarity that allowed her to say with difficulty, "I want to get off the bus."
"Get off the bus?" For some reason, Nan Yayin sat closer. "Where are you going after you get off?"
Qiao Yan looked up at him, confused. "I don't know."
"Your period of high susceptibility has arrived?" The scent of sage quietly approached, enveloping Qiao Yan little by little. "You're just in your period of high susceptibility."
His hand, which had just stopped, reached forward again and hugged Qiao Yan. He heard her sigh of contentment.
Just like Qiao Yan had comforted her, Nan Ya Yin gently patted her back, saying, "It's alright, it'll be fine soon."
Nan Yayin's terminal was abandoned to the side, with a short message displayed just before it went dark: If Qiao Yan dies, I'll give you all her money.
The message was automatically deleted very quickly.
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