Chapter 655 No Such Person

The ringtone rang for a while, but Annie didn't come to open the door, so Zhang Yuanqing walked out of the bedroom and opened the security door himself.

Standing outside the door was a seven or eight-year-old boy with big eyes and delicate features, a rather cute boy.

This was the landlord's child.

He held a food container in his right hand and an aluminum can in his left. The can had the words "Tieguanyin" written on it.

"Hello, Uncle!" the little boy said politely.

"It's brother, not uncle. Say it again," Zhang Yuanqing corrected.

"Hello, Brother!" Zhang Yuanqing quite appreciated the little boy's ability to read the situation. He nodded with satisfaction and asked, "What's the matter?"

The little boy looked down at the food container and said crisply, "Afternoon tea. My mom asked me to bring it over, along with some tea."

Zhang Yuanqing stepped aside. "Come in."

He led the little boy inside, took the food container, and placed it on the coffee table. Opening the lid, he saw a plate of pastries and a plate of sauce-red glutinous rice balls in the double-layered food container.

"Tangyuan (sweet glutinous rice balls)?"

"No, it's tang bu shai (glutinous rice balls in ginger syrup)."

What is tang bu shai? Zhang Yuanqing took out the pastries and tang bu shai while asking, "What's your name?"

"My name is Cao Chao, and my English name is Robin," the little boy said.

? Zhang Yuanqing was stunned for a moment, and after a long while, he squeezed out a sentence: "Good name. Well, I'm talking about the Chinese name. Who chose the name?"

"Dad."

"Does your dad like to watch Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"

"How did you know?" Cao Chao's little face was full of surprise.

I also know that your dad must really like Cao Cao. I hope he admires Cao Cao's great talent and strategy, not his, uh... Zhang Yuanqing used chopsticks to pick up a "tangyuan" and tasted it. He only felt it was smooth, fragrant, soft, and not too sweet. The sweetness of brown sugar and the aroma of glutinous rice echoed between his taste buds.

Unexpectedly delicious.

He opened the aluminum can again and smelled it. The fragrance of tea was refreshing. The quality of the Tieguanyin was not bad.

This should be the landlady's return gift. After all, the new tenant had paid so happily, directly paying half a year's rent plus three months' deposit, a full 50,000 Federal dollars.

At this moment, Zhang Yuanqing saw the little boy named "Cao Chao" looking at the expensive snacks in the glass plate, quietly swallowing.

The snacks were bought by Annie in the supermarket.

"Help yourself if you want to eat," Zhang Yuanqing said.

"Mom doesn't let me eat snacks. I'll get beaten," Cao Chao shook his head, drooling.

"Oh, then don't eat them." Zhang Yuanqing wasn't one to force people.

"I'm not very afraid of Mom's beating either." The little boy followed his heart's desire and grabbed a handful of snacks.

He stood by the coffee table, sticking out his little belly, concentrating on eating. Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to ask the little brat about the landlord's family.

Cao Chao's father was called Cao Qing, from Guangdong province. He immigrated to the Free Federation with his parents when he was a child and started a small restaurant business. After decades of operation by two generations, he now owned six chain restaurants and two snack bars in Chinatown. He was also a big landlord with six houses.

The landlady was called Yang Xiujuan. When she married Cao Qing, the family only had two restaurants. In those days, the Chinatown area wasn't very safe. They often encountered people who ate and ran, law enforcement officers who solicited bribes, and the local Chinese gangs causing trouble.

The complex and chaotic security environment made Yang Xiujuan develop an extremely irritable temper. She simply couldn't survive without being fierce.

"Every time Dad and Mom quarrel, Dad will scold Mom for being a tigress, and then Mom will beat him. Sometimes my sister will also call Mom a tigress, and Mom will beat her. Only I never call Mom a tigress because I'm afraid of getting beaten." For the sake of some snacks, Cao Chao sold out his family's information.

"But you just said 'tigress' three times," Zhang Yuanqing pointed out keenly.

The little boy's face changed, and the snacks in his mouth instantly lost their flavor.

"I won't tell your mom. Tell me about your sister," Zhang Yuanqing said.

The little boy was immediately relieved, and the snacks in his mouth became delicious again. He gnawed on chocolate-covered nuts like a hamster, and talked about his fighting sister.

In Cao Chao's eyes, his sister was a veritable demon, moody, snatching his snacks and toys, and liked to beat him up, and the reason was simply that she didn't like him.

Spare the rod and spoil the child; your sister is enlightened... Zhang Yuanqing finally understood why this child's desire to survive was so explosive at such a young age. He had a grumpy mother and a sister who loved to fight. If his desire to survive was a little weaker, he would have died young.

"My sister also knows magic, so I don't dare to resist her," Cao Chao said with lingering fear.

"Magic?" Zhang Yuanqing's heart moved. He deliberately said, "That's all to fool kids."

"No!" The little boy, questioned, frowned slightly and said loudly, "She showed it to me. She can discharge electricity, like Pikachu."

As he spoke, he clenched his fists, strained like he was pooping, and roared, "Ten thousand volts!"

Zhang Yuanqing sensed Cao Chao's emotions. He wasn't lying and was telling the truth.

In other words, that little girl named Cao Qianxi is a thunder mage? Uh, no wonder she's irritable and loves to fight. I remember that the characteristic of thunder mages is irritability, anger, and justice, well, relative justice, so thunder mages in the Heavenly Punishment hold the position of prosecutors... Zhang Yuanqing's mind raced, and he asked again:

"When your mom and dad fight, does she release ten thousand volts?"

The little boy shook his head.

That's right. Generally speaking, the probability of the whole family being Lingjing Xingzhe (Spirit Realm Travelers) is extremely small. It can't be so coincidental. But maybe? If this family were all Spirit Realm Travelers, then it would be easy to understand how they earned this family fortune... Zhang Yuanqing thought for a while and asked again:

"Are your parents away from home for a few days every month?"

"How do you know?" the little boy asked in surprise.

This brother is so amazing. Not only does he know that Dad loves to watch Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but he also knows that Mom and Dad are often away from home.

He was a little scared, suspecting that he knew about him wetting the bed last night.

Zhang Yuanqing grabbed a handful of snacks and stuffed them into the little boy's pocket. "I guessed randomly. Don't tell anyone what I said today. If you do, you can come to my house to eat snacks anytime. Go home now. I'll bring back the box and dish after I'm done eating."

"Okay!" Cao Chao nodded happily and rushed out of the bedroom like a whirlwind.

Watching the little boy leave, Zhang Yuanqing ate two more tang bu shai before Annie came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a bath towel with a turban on her head. A few strands of golden hair fell, revealing a mature and lazy charm.

The bath towel wrapped around her heavy chest, the snowy ravine bottomless. The hem of the bath towel reached her thighs. Her two beautiful legs were long and straight, round and well-proportioned, and as white as condensed milk.

"Ah, Cult Master, what are you eating? Does Annie get a share?" The blonde beauty approached happily, looking like she was attracted by the food and had no time to change her clothes.

Zhang Yuanqing handed over the chopsticks.

Annie used the chopsticks awkwardly, picked up a "tangyuan" and stuffed it into her small mouth. The sweet and soft taste made her eyes light up:

"What is this?"

"Just think of it as tangyuan."

"What is tangyuan?"

"Never mind, just eat it..." Zhang Yuanqing picked up a piece of pastry and ate it. "I just found out that the landlord's family are all Lingjing Xingzhe. Isn't that a coincidence?"

Annie, chewing on the glutinous rice ball, widened her beautiful eyes in surprise, and then her face sank: "They may be from the government, or government informants, or members of loose cultivator organizations. Should we change places?"

Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment and shook his head. "No, just pretend we don't know. Let's observe first, try to get the landlord's family's goodwill. Maybe we can use them in the future."

Annie said "Oh" and picked up another tang bu shai. She accidentally didn't hold it steady. With a snap, the ball fell into the deep ravine in front of her chest.

Annie quickly looked at Zhang Yuanqing and said aggrievedly, "It, it fell in..."

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the brown sugar staining her white chest and said unhappily, "Why are you telling me? Do you want me to help you take it out?"

".......I'll go wash it right away." Annie got up in a hurry and walked towards the bathroom. When she turned her back to Zhang Yuanqing, she curled her lips.

Hmph, she seems to have forgotten that I'm an illusionist. She deliberately threw the ball into her chest to seduce me. How ridiculous. Am I so easily seduced... Zhang Yuanqing looked at Annie's round buttocks and struggled to move his gaze away.

The "perfect figure" and "charm" of the Love Desire occupation have a fatal attraction to an adult male, like a mouse seeing rice, a cigarette meeting a match.

..........

Cao Chao returned empty-handed to room 301 next door and howled, "Mom, I'm going to my room. The brother next door said he'd return the bowl when he's done eating."

He rushed to his room.

The landlady strode after him and grabbed the back of her little son's collar. "What's stuffed in your pockets?"

"Nothing!" Cao Chao hurriedly protected his pockets with his small hands.

"Stuffing it so full, does she think I'm blind?" Without saying a word, the landlady bent down, grabbed her son's ankle, turned him upside down, and shook him.

Chocolates, milk candies, preserved fruits, and shortbread cookies fell out of his trouser pockets with a clatter.

"The brother forced them on me. I told him I didn't want them," Cao Chao dumped the blame with a strong desire to survive.

"Pretty rich, huh?" The landlady glanced at the snacks and gathered them up. "Confiscated."

Cao Chao forced a smile. "Okay, all for Mom to eat."

Then he gave his father, who was enjoying afternoon tea at the dining table, a weak, helpless, and pitiful expression.

Cao Qing was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man of average height, slightly overweight, with a small belly, and regular features. At first glance, he looked very calm and dignified, but a shrewd and slick look occasionally flashed between his eyebrows.

His hairline wasn't high, but his hair was a little sparse. He wore a pompadour hairstyle popular in the 80s and 90s, and his clothes were also very ordinary: gray pants, a black T-shirt, and a pair of flip-flops. You couldn't tell that he was the owner of a chain restaurant at all.

Cao Qing ignored his son's pleas for help and said while drinking tea:

"My daughter said that the new tenants in 403 are a couple, and the woman is a foreigner? What do you think? Are they reliable? Paying half a year's rent at once and giving three months' deposit. No one is that stupid, right? Don't get tricked. What if they become rent dodgers after living here for half a year?"

"My judgment of character is better than yours!" The landlady retorted and said, "The young man graduated from Songhai University, and the foreigner is a foreign language teacher. I think their education is pretty good. How about letting them tutor our daughter's homework? Hiring a tutor is too expensive."

Cao Qing chuckled and shook his head. "Let's see."

.......

The next morning.

Zhang Yuanqing got up and washed, sitting at the dining table eating the love breakfast carefully prepared by Annie: toast, milk, fried eggs, bacon, and sausages.

All high-calorie foods.

Zhang Yuanqing actually wanted to eat xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), youtiao (fried dough sticks), and soy milk, but considering that Annie got up early in the morning and worked hard, he didn't want to pour cold water on her.

After breakfast, Zhang Yuanqing took a taxi to the company where Chen Shu worked.

Chen Shu worked in a large company in her early years. After accumulating some experience, she resigned, went abroad, found a few partners, and started her own foreign trade business, becoming her own boss.

That foreign trade company was in New York Harbor, very close to the Statue of Liberty.

New York Harbor is the largest port in the Free Federation. Half a century ago, its throughput reached the hundred-million-ton level. In recent years, its cargo volume has continued to break records.

It was New York Harbor and Manhattan's Financial Street that made New York County this world-class metropolis.

The two took a ferry across the sea and set foot on the headquarters of the Sea God Church: New York Harbor.

Chen Shu's company was called "Lianhua Trading." Following the navigation, Zhang Yuanqing and Annie found the company in an old office building.

The receptionist was a meticulously made-up Chinese woman, but her appearance was at most plain.

Zhang Yuanqing went straight forward and said in Chinese: "Hello, I'm looking for Chen Shu, the general manager here."

The smile on the receptionist's face had just bloomed when she heard this and was suddenly stunned. "I'm sorry, sir, our general manager is not called Chen Shu."

Not called Chen Shu? Zhang Yuanqing frowned. "Then maybe the position has changed. I'm looking for Chen Shu, one of your company's shareholders. Can you help me check?"

The receptionist shook her head. "I'm very sorry. If you know our company's shareholders, you can call her to notify her..."

Before she finished speaking, Zhang Yuanqing said impatiently, "Check for me!"

His dark brown pupils became transparent, and his language seemed to contain the magic of making people obey.

The receptionist showed a look of panic and obedience, and stammered, "You, you wait a moment..."

She leaned over and tapped the keyboard. After a moment, she raised her head, her expression fearful and helpless:

"I'm sorry, we don't have this person in our company."

Don't have this person? My fists are getting hard... Zhang Yuanqing gritted his teeth, thinking that he was really blinded by lard to actually believe Chen Shu. Not a single word that old woman said was true.

The two had no choice but to return the way they came. On the ferry, Zhang Yuanqing said in a low voice:

"Annie, when you were Mr. Bill's assistant, did you ever see my mom?"

Mr. Bill and Annie knew his real name and even knew that Chen Shu was his mom.

Annie shook her head. "I served Mr. Bill at the end of last year. He's a good boss and doesn't care about women. I just need to do my job well."

Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath. "Call Mr. Bill and ask... Never mind, don't ask. Bill and my mom are partners. They're in cahoots."

He needed to observe Chen Shu in secret even more.

This time in New York County, he would definitely make that riddle-telling mom take off her disguise and reveal her true form.

Returning to Manhattan by ferry, Zhang Yuanqing went to "Rainbow Bank" in front of him and deposited 500,000 Federal dollars into the bank card issued by the Hunter Guild.

Then he opened the Bounty Hunter app, entered the backstage, and selected the bounty mission:

#Summary of the Demon Lord's Lovers in the Free Federation#

Mission details: The buyer hopes to provide the basic information of the Demon Lord's lovers, including but not limited to family background, position, organization, level, photos, and detailed stories of their relationship with the Demon Lord.

Bounty hunters need to be assessed, have points, and a certain level to accept missions, but bounty missions have no restrictions. These days, customers who send money are always the bosses. Who would set a threshold for the bosses?

Zhang Yuanqing's other purpose in coming to the Free Federation was to find the Demon Lord's beloved lover and collect map fragments.

Hopefully, the Demon Lord's lovers don't include that Heavenly Punishment Chief Executive Officer. Otherwise, I can only give up collecting fragments and kneel down to the Demon Lord, sincerely and earnestly shouting: 666.

Zhang Yuanqing prayed in his heart.

The two took a taxi back to Chinatown. Annie was craving roadside snacks and dragged Zhang Yuanqing to buy a cage of soup dumplings.

On the way home, they happened to see the landlord's youngest son, Cao Chao, playing with a basketball on the side of the road.

Just then, the roar of an engine came. Four motorcycles sped through the crowded street. One of the motorcycles deliberately approached Cao Chao, suddenly slowed down, and the rider on the motorcycle raised his foot and kicked the little boy to the ground.

The riders laughed and quickly drove away.

The basketball rolled and rolled, rolling to the center of the road.

Cao Chao was in a hurry and hurried to pick it up.

Zhang Yuanqing frowned. He sensed that the rider was deliberate, his emotions mixed with revenge, pleasure, and naked malice.

"Beep beep~" A black car drove quickly, and the suddenly appearing child caught the driver off guard, who honked the horn frantically.

Cao Chao trembled and was frightened in place.

In the distance, in front of a snack stall, a long-haired girl screamed, "Cao Chao, come back..."

She dropped the food in her hand and rushed up like a madman, but the distance was too far and there was no time to save him.

Just as she was despairing, she suddenly saw a figure dart past, snatching Cao Chao before the black car and quickly retreating.

The speeding car brushed past him.

........

ps: I'll post the wrong words first and correct them later.