Chapter 15 The Cuique Building

Late night, 11:30 PM.

Two shadowy figures appeared at the entrance of a residential complex in the Shakou District.

"This complex is so dilapidated, are you sure Kong Liangping lives here? He's the captain of the Public Security Brigade, would he live in a dump like this?" Kou Beiyue craned his neck, peering into the complex. "You're still young!" Zhang Yuanqing chuckled.

"Look at this complex. On the surface, it looks old and worn, but the security is tight. Officials like to live in places like this. Luxurious apartments and high-end complexes are for the wealthy." Shakou District was quite a distance from Kangyang District. After the two met up, they slurped down a bowl of noodles before taking a cab over, a journey that took a total of one and a half hours.

Zhang Yuanqing paid for the noodles and the cab fare.

He learned that Kou Beiyue only had a few hundred yuan left, all of which he'd used for accommodation.

It just goes to show, without the ability to earn money through stealing or robbing, even a Spirit Realm Walker couldn't make a living. "Let's scale the wall," Kou Beiyue said, eyeing the fence equipped with a high-voltage pulse net.

"Scale the wall? No, that's not elegant." Zhang Yuanqing walked straight towards the security booth, saying, "Follow me." Kou Beiyue watched his back as he quickly walked away and could only hurry to keep up.

Zhang Yuanqing arrived at the window of the booth and knocked. An old man sitting inside playing on his phone looked up. The next moment, his pupils lost focus, and he sat there blankly. Zhang Yuanqing gestured for Kou Beiyue to follow him, taking the lead into the complex.

He was becoming increasingly adept at using his Charm.

The two entered the complex, found Building 3 according to the numbers, and then nimbly climbed up to the second floor hallway, successfully entering the building. Outside Room 202, Zhang Yuanqing rapped his knuckles on the security door.

*Dong, dong.*

After knocking for a while, footsteps approached the door from inside.

"Who is it?" A middle-aged woman's voice called out. A figure stopped at the door, peering through the peephole at the two people outside. "Property Management!"

"What is it?"

"We're calling to inform you that your car parked downstairs has been scratched. The owner of the other car is waiting down there, you should go take a look," Zhang Yuanqing said, easily spinning a lie. "What?"

Upon hearing that her car had been scratched, the middle-aged woman's already limited wariness vanished. She quickly opened the door, ready to go downstairs to demand compensation. But as soon as she opened the door, she froze, standing there blankly, her consciousness trapped in a never-ending hallway.

She was caught in a ghost wall.

Zhang Yuanqing stepped past the woman and entered the house, Kou Beiyue immediately followed.

The first thing they saw was a lavishly decorated living room. From the furniture to the appliances, everything exuded high-end luxury. It was hard to imagine someone spending so much money decorating a place in an old complex like this. It was more suited to a high-end complex, a villa, or a large apartment.

Passing through the living room, there was a bedroom and a bathroom on the left side of the corridor, and the master bedroom on the right.

The door to the master bedroom was half-open, light spilling out. A middle-aged man with a receding hairline was sleeping on his side. Hearing footsteps, he opened his eyes and asked, "Who is it? What are you doing knocking on my door in the middle of the night? Who are you people?!"

Seeing the two strangers enter, he abruptly sat up, his eyes wary and vigilant, his gaze instinctively darting to the hands and waists of the two "thugs," observing whether they were carrying weapons. Zhang Yuanqing ignored him, turning back to see Kou Beiyue's face was gloomy, his breathing rapid, his eyes flashing with hatred and resentment.

The two thugs' silence seemed to give Kong Liangping confidence. He threw back the covers and got out of bed, scolding,

"You two small-time crooks, do you know who I am? You dare to break into the home of the Public Security Captain, you want to spend the rest of your lives in prison? Who are you working for?"

His aura was strong, his face flushed, unlike ordinary people who would be fearful and timid. He grabbed his phone while picking up a baton from the built-in balcony of the bedroom, viciously swinging it at Zhang Yuanqing's head. Zhang Yuanqing kicked him straight in the belly.

Kong Liangping's nearly two-hundred-pound body flew backward, the baton falling from his hand. He rolled twice on the ground, clutching his stomach, his features twisted in pain, but he couldn't even scream. "I'm going to kill him!"

Kou Beiyue summoned a military dagger, his face ashen, and strode forward.

Zhang Yuanqing slapped him away, grabbed Kong Liangping's thinning hair, and slapped him twice, instantly swelling his fleshy cheeks. Kong Liangping finally managed to gasp for air and screamed loudly.

"Shut up!" Zhang Yuanqing frowned.

Kong Liangping continued to scream, seemingly trying to attract the attention of the neighbors. As the captain of the Public Security Brigade, he was more cunning than the average person.

Zhang Yuanqing grabbed his hair, pressing his head down. *Bang*, with a dull thud, the scream stopped abruptly. Blood spurted from Kong Liangping's nose, and his mouth was full of blood and foam. His nose was broken, and his front teeth were knocked out. Zhang Yuanqing sneered, "Try screaming again!"

Kong Liangping didn't dare to scream, his voice filled with fear: "You, you want money, right? Take anything you want from the house, take anything..."

"We don't want money, we just want to ask you some questions."

"Wh-what questions?" Blood was already flowing into his mouth, but Kong Liangping didn't dare to wipe it away.

"Do you remember Kou Yusi? The case you handled two years ago," Zhang Yuanqing asked. Kong Liangping was stunned for a moment, then after two or three seconds, he finally remembered the person and said:

"You, who exactly are you? I handled that case. That girl was very pitiful, her beast of a younger brother..." Before he could finish, Kou Beiyue roared like a little lion:

"Shut your mouth, you're the beasts!"

Zhang Yuanqing reached out to stop him, saying, "This guy is a seasoned veteran, don't argue with him. Follow the plan."

Kou Beiyue took a deep breath, suppressing the anger surging in his heart, squatted down, and pinched Kong Liangping's neck, crimson symbols appearing in his eyes. The Charm skill at the Extraordinary stage required a considerable amount of time to completely control a person.

The fastest method was to use violence to force a confession, beating Kong Liangping until he talked, but Zhang Yuanqing, although he had killed people, couldn't bring himself to commit torture. He had a psychological block.

While Kou Beiyue was using his Charm on Kong Liangping, Zhang Yuanqing walked out of the bedroom, brought the dazed middle-aged woman back to the living room, and then lurked in the dark corridor, listening to see if the neighbors had noticed anything amiss and were about to call the police.

Fortunately, Kong Liangping's house had good soundproofing. The commotion they made wasn't too loud or prolonged, and the residents on the same floor hadn't noticed anything unusual. Zhang Yuanqing quietly retreated back to the living room, closed the security door, and opened his Attribute Panel, cursing inwardly.

Two points of Morality Value had been deducted.

What a loss. Tomorrow, he'd donate some money to charity through Guan Ya to earn back the lost Morality Value. He sat on the sofa in the living room and waited. About half an hour later, Kou Beiyue's voice came from inside: "Okay."

Zhang Yuanqing immediately got up and went to the bedroom, where he saw Kong Liangping sitting on the edge of the bed in his pajamas, his nostrils stuffed with tissues to stop the bleeding, his expression uneasy and restrained, like a student who had done something wrong. "I used Charm to make him confess leniently and resist strictly," Kou Beiyue whispered, "He's very honest now, he'll answer anything you ask. The effect will last for twelve hours."

*Did he even need to use Charm for "confess leniently and resist strictly?"* Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself, looking at the frightened Kong Liangping and asked, "During your time as captain, what illegal and unethical things have you done?"

Kong Liangping remorsefully confessed his wrongdoings, which included accepting bribes, extorting the families of detainees, having inappropriate relationships with female subordinates, and patronizing prostitutes. Zhang Yuanqing thought, *This is a good one. If the Devil's Eye Heavenly King knew about this, he'd peel your skin off.*

"What about Kou Yusi's case?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

"That was an order from Director Lu, the deputy director of our Public Security Bureau. He asked me to handle the case, fabricate evidence, and frame Kou Yusi's younger brother. It was all his instructions. I was just following his orders. Director Lu promised that as long as I helped handle this case, he would promote me to captain."

"Do you know who killed Kou Yusi?"

"It should have been someone from a special department," Kong Liangping said.

The public security officers of the Public Security Bureau knew of the existence of special departments, but most people didn't know that the employees of these special departments possessed supernatural abilities. Even if they did know, they would sign confidentiality agreements. Although it couldn't completely eliminate "rumors," it greatly restricted their spread.

Of course, the higher-ups of the Public Security Bureau certainly knew about Spirit Realm Walkers, such as the captains and directors.

Some wealthy businessmen and high-ranking officials were very superstitious about feng shui and fortune-telling, and they were particularly fond of certain "reclusive masters," which was the source of this. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at Kou Beiyue and asked again:

"Why did the people from the special department kill Kou Yusi?"

Kong Liangping showed a hesitant expression. This seemed to be a secret that couldn't be spoken. After a dozen seconds, his personal will was suppressed by the power of Charm, and he truthfully said: "Because that woman was a sparrow raised in the Cuique Building."

*What does that mean?* Zhang Yuanqing and Kou Beiyue looked blank.

The former was confused because he didn't understand what the Cuique Building referred to, while the latter simply hadn't heard the words Cuique Building and didn't understand at all. Kong Liangping explained:

"The Cuique Building is what we call it in our circle. I only found out about it after I became the captain. It's actually a separate residential complex, with only two buildings, located at 38 Xinyuan Road in a relatively remote part of the Shakou District. The person in control behind the scenes is called Master Wu, whose real name is Wu Xingye. He has many companies in Songhai, and his assets are said to be worth hundreds of millions. Master Wu used to be in the underworld, starting out by organizing prostitution and running underground casinos.

"Later, he got into pyramid schemes. In addition to helping him cheat people out of money, the pyramid scheme team also specialized in deceiving pretty girls from out of town, sending them to the Cuique Building for training, turning them into playthings who didn't dare to resist, for some dignitaries to amuse themselves with. Director Lu and the leader of that special department are regulars at the Cuique Building, and there are many others like them."

Zhang Yuanqing felt the veins on his forehead throbbing.

Kou Beiyue's chest rose and fell, and the veins on the back of his hand holding the military dagger bulged. He squeezed out a sentence through his teeth:

"My sister quit her job and went into business with her fellow villagers, and she was tricked into going there... It's my fault for being useless, always making her worry about my future, and causing her anxiety about making money... She was in there for a month, I can't imagine what she went through..."

Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath: "How long has it been? I mean, how long has the Cuique Building been around?" Kong Liangping thought for a moment and said, "Almost ten years, I guess."

"No one has ever investigated it?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

"From time to time, girls would escape and report it to the Public Security Bureau, but it was quickly suppressed, and the escaped girls were sent back to be tortured for a few days until they behaved themselves. Anyway, they were just beaten. Once they were beaten until it hurt and they were scared, they became obedient. The other women inside saw that escaping was useless, so few dared to resist. As long as they behaved and served Master Wu's guests well, they wouldn't lack food or clothing, which was better than losing their lives, right?"

A place for indulging in pleasure, a place to satisfy the desires of important figures... No wonder Chi Yu'an wanted to kill to silence them. This involved more than just simple imprisonment and abuse; it could bring out a whole string of influential figures.

Zhang Yuanqing suppressed the anger in his heart: "Do you know Master Wu's address?"

Kong Liangping said, "I don't know. But he's usually in the Cuique Building. He's there about three or four days a week. Because many important guests go there every day to have fun, he has to accompany them to play cards, lose money, and then pick young and beautiful girls to serve them."

"Do you have a photo of him?" Zhang Yuanqing said.

Kong Liangping shook his head: "He's very low-key, he doesn't take pictures. I can describe his appearance. He's about 1.8 meters tall, in his forties, with a full beard and a mole on his right cheek." Zhang Yuanqing silently memorized it, turned to look at Kou Beiyue: "Knock him out. We're going to take a trip to the Cuique Building."

"I want to kill him," Kou Beiyue said.

Zhang Yuanqing said in a deep voice: "No, he's an important witness."

Kou Beiyue said, word by word: "I don't need a witness, I want blood for blood." After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Zhang Yuanqing: "You, go out for a bit."

In the young man's eyes, there was anger, there was pain, and there was a hint of entreaty. Zhang Yuanqing opened his mouth, but didn't say anything more, and withdrew from the bedroom, closing the door.

The night was deep, and the time was exactly midnight. Zhang Yuanqing bought a pack of cigarettes at a 24-hour convenience store. The two people who didn't know how to smoke took a puff and spat it out as they walked along the empty and silent street. Zhang Yuanqing rarely had such a strong urge to "have a smoke" like he did now.

"If you kill him, it's unlikely that we can hide this after dawn. We don't have much time left," Zhang Yuanqing said, exhaling a puff of smoke that hadn't been inhaled. Kou Beiyue was full of fighting spirit, his face no longer gloomy, and he said:

"Then let's go to the Cuique Building now, kill that Master Wu, and rescue the women inside." "Stupid!" Zhang Yuanqing snorted coldly:

"If you kill him, Chi Yu'an will have to thank you with all his might. What we have to do is bring down a deacon. Sigh, if it was just him, that would be great, but this matter is very serious, and involves too many people. We don't know if there are other deacons or official Spirit Realm Walkers involved besides Chi Yu'an. This matter is very troublesome to deal with."

Kou Beiyue thought for a while and said, "Then what about reporting it?" "Report it?" Zhang Yuanqing thought about it and said:

"To go through the proper channels, you need evidence to report it. At least control some of the evidence before the Elders will accept it.

"As for the others, don't forget, some wealthy and powerful figures are also involved, and they're not under the control of the Five Elements Alliance. The Five Elements Alliance only controls Spirit Realm Walkers. You don't know, the higher-ups are actually very wary of the Five Elements Alliance overstepping its authority and interfering in 'secular' matters.

"In addition, these types of incidents can only be reported with a real name, anonymous reports will most likely be suppressed, because too many people are involved. But reporting with a real name is equivalent to exposing ourselves, which is very detrimental to us."

Kou Beiyue didn't care: "Let's go to the Cuique Building now to find evidence. What's there to be afraid of? A man dies, the bird faces the sky. I've been risking my life in instances, I've long been wearing my head on my belt." He belatedly reacted and looked at Zhang Yuanqing: "Then you don't have to participate. I've already ruined my reputation anyway. My parents don't recognize me, and Xiao Yuan doesn't want me anymore. When I die..."

"Everything will be over."

Zhang Yuanqing also looked at him: "If it was me two months ago, I probably would have chickened out, thinking that self-preservation was important. But now, I'm an Orderly profession. Even an Evil profession like you knows to eliminate evil and promote good. If I chickened out, how could I be worthy of my salary of fifty thousand a month?"

"Besides," he revealed an incomparably arrogant smile:

"I already have superpowers. Why should I have to endure these shitty things, and these people who are just like beasts?" P.S. I'll post this with the mistakes first and correct them later.