Laying the Trap (Requesting Monthly Votes~)

Qin Lan paced back and forth in front of her desk.

The Yin-Yang Twins had cleanly eliminated the new demon cultists relying on intelligence from the Coordination Bureau. They were already on their way back, but due to the exceptional interrogation speed of Marn and Hu Weifeng, the cultists ultimately ended up as the souls of the dead under the hands of these two Tier-IV ability users.

And that was the problem—they had failed to capture anyone alive.

Having already realized something was amiss, the cultists had all displayed a desperate readiness to die during the resistance. Unlike normal people, these madmen harbored no fear of death itself, even viewing it as some kind of mystical ritual.

By comparison, they feared their fate after being captured far more.

Therefore, before the Yin-Yang Twins could react, they had slaughtered all the demon worshippers.

However, that was merely the story told by the Yin-Yang Twins. Qin Lan strongly suspected that the Yin-Yang Twins had simply gotten carried away in a killing frenzy and casually made up an excuse to brush her off, considering that they were Tier-IV ability users, after all.

"This is troublesome now..." Qin Lan had originally intended to follow the vine to pluck the melon and directly capture the key members who could truly influence this operation, but now the clue was completely broken.

She sighed. Over the years, Qin Lan had long since understood that smooth progress was something that could only be encountered by chance, and she might encounter various kinds of troubles at any moment.

And her job was to solve them.

Knock, knock.

Qin Lan walked behind her desk and stood still.

"Come in."

The person who pushed the door open was Ren Shizhi.

"Why are you here?" she asked with a frown.

He smiled and said, "I heard we ran into some small problems?"

Qin Lan looked at him suspiciously: "This is not the time for you to stir up trouble. If the issue with the hell cultists is not handled properly..."

He raised a hand and pressed it downward. "I know, I know. That's why I'm here to talk to you. I don't know if Marn told you, but Huang Qingfeng once approached him..."

Qin Lan crossed her arms, adopting an "I'm listening" posture.

"...I also told him that Huang Qingfeng sought him out because he needed Marn's ability. You can probably imagine what these politicians use memory erasure for, right?" Ren Shizhi said candidly. "Huang Qingfeng currently has a piece of intelligence in his hands..."

Initially, Ren Shizhi had been somewhat apprehensive about approaching her so directly. Although this would easily make Qin Lan believe it, once exposed, he certainly wouldn't be able to shake off his involvement—which was precisely why this approach was credible.

Who would court death by choice?

What reassured him was that Huang Qingfeng had also placed himself in the middle of it; if something went wrong, both of them would definitely be finished, so Huang Qingfeng must have subsequent coping measures in place.

Qin Lan was both shocked and angry. "You actually want to use this as a condition to trade with me?"

Ren Shizhi smiled and shrugged. "Not us, it's Huang Qingfeng. If it weren't for your sister, you wouldn't even have the qualification to talk to him on equal terms."

Qin Lan said with a cold face, "If it weren't for my sister, I would have already run up to him and put a bullet right through that fat head of his, and you are the one who doesn't even have the qualification to talk to me on equal terms."

Ren Shizhi maintained his smile as he looked at her. "But you do have a sister, don't you?"

He knew very well that Qin Lan's threats would only remain verbal because she was bound by all sorts of things and simply couldn't negotiate any terms based on her ability alone.

Once someone has something they care about, their hands and feet become tied.

Qin Lan said with cold eyes, "You will pay the price for blackmailing me today."

She agreed.

Ren Shizhi smiled and said, "Then I'll be waiting."

It was a success.

The most interesting part was that the intelligence she fought so hard to obtain was actually what they truly wanted to give Qin Lan—a trap prepared specifically for Marn.

When Qin Lan had to pay a heavy price to obtain this intelligence, she wouldn't doubt the potential problems inherent in the intelligence itself. After all, if this matter were disadvantageous to her, why would they set up so many obstacles?

People always believe that things they obtained through bitter effort are good.

"What intelligence?" Qin Lan asked. "If it's not worth it, I won't agree to the trade."

Ren Shizhi said, "There is a retired demon cultist in East New State who can figure out what these madmen are currently doing and where the summoning ritual might take place just by looking at a few things.

"However, he possesses very strong spiritual perception. If a powerhouse capable of threatening him were to go, this old cultist would definitely notice and leave in advance. Therefore, if you want to meet him, you must never dispatch a dangerous ability user."

In other words, ability users like Qin Lan herself could not approach him.

"Then how are we supposed to make him help us?" Qin Lan asked doubtfully.

Ren Shizhi explained, "When I said he is retired, I mean this old cultist no longer worships demons. Moreover, in order to enjoy his remaining years in peace, he reached an agreement with the Supervision Department and the Special Operations Department, trading intelligence for his own safety.

"Therefore, if you want, Huang Qingfeng can arrange this meeting, but we must not frighten him.

"Furthermore, if we want to get his help, we have to convince this fellow, and we cannot dispatch combat personnel of that caliber."

Qin Lan instantly had candidates in mind—Marn and Hu Weifeng. They were also the only suitable combination.

And Marn and Hu Weifeng had already proven that when they joined forces, they could "convince" almost anyone.

"If he really can provide suitable intelligence, I will let Marn go help that bastard superior of yours wipe his memories, but on the condition that this actually works," Qin Lan said, looking at him.

Ren Shizhi said nonchalantly, "He has always been very patient with such matters; the one who will suffer while waiting won't be Huang Qingfeng."

Qin Lan shook her head with a cold face. "Go tell your master, I agree to his terms."

Ren Shizhi smiled and said, "I'm glad we could reach a consensus."

With that, he turned and left the office.

From beginning to end, Ren Shizhi never felt that acting as a dog for Huang Qingfeng was a disgraceful thing.

Aside from being able to bend his back low enough, he also had to cleanly and efficiently accomplish everything ordered from above. His execution capability was even much stronger than those diligent and conscientious employees, which was the most basic prerequisite for being a dog.

But this did not mean Ren Shizhi truly cared about nothing. Facing Qin Lan's sneers and taunts, he didn't feel the slightest ripple in his heart because he knew he was the winner.

When she saw the corpses of Marn and Hu Weifeng, Ren Shizhi would smile even happier than now.

The same went for when he was bowing and scraping to Huang Qingfeng.

Even if, in the other party's eyes, he was at best a good dog, it didn't matter; he even relished it.

Because Ren Shizhi could easily imagine the scene of the other party bending their back even lower.

In the not-too-distant future...

He would be the one with power and influence.