Gong Changfa noticed that his repeated requests for ability-enhancing potions had gone unanswered. He couldn't possibly imprison Lin Yue; doing so would mean antagonizing Yuzhou, and he might need to cooperate with them in the future. This was unacceptable.
After much deliberation, Gong Changfa said, "Then you write an IOU. Once Yue Hengyi is rescued, I'll speak with him personally. I believe Yue Hengyi is not an ungrateful person."
Gong Changfa was choosing to board the train before buying a ticket. As long as Yue Hengyi was rescued, he wouldn't worry about not getting paid.
Lin Yue considered it. This seemed to be the only way. They had to rescue Yue Hengyi first, and then leave the matter with the Chosen Bureau to Yue Hengyi.
Lin Yue then asked, "How can you help me?"
Gong Changfa was direct. He had someone bring in a table and spread out a map in the small room. "I was under quarantine review for half a year. During that time, I wasn't idle. I know every nook and cranny of Yanjing City. The Heavenly Dragon Bureau's prison was previously a winery, a place a family used to store wine. Wines from Diannan, Xijiang, and even France were stored there."
"Rich people really have too much time on their hands. It's just drinking wine, why build a dedicated winery?" Cao Fuli muttered, feeling that he couldn't understand the minds of the wealthy.
Most people drank cheap spirits, or even homemade distilled liquor without a specific brand name, collectively called corn wine or sorghum wine. Those with a bit more money could afford small bottles of pine nut wine and buckwheat wine. Even wealthier individuals drank well-known brands, and the truly rich had cabinets specifically for red or white wine, which was also a symbol of status.
But even the wealthiest couldn't build a dedicated winery, could they?
It turned out that the extravagance of the rich far exceeded Cao Fuli's imagination. If one wanted to drink wine, they would simply build a winery, storing wines from all over the world. As long as there was a place that produced wine, they would go and purchase it, whether domestic or imported, and store it in the cellar. This was true understated luxury with substance.
Speaking of which, Gong Changfa said with a hint of nostalgia, "I was fortunate enough to visit this person's home once. The wine tasted truly excellent – rich and mellow! It wasn't particularly strong on the palate, but the aftertaste lingered. Most remarkably, one could taste wines from all over the world. Staying in the wine cellar during the sweltering heat of June felt cold..."
"Hey, hey, hey, you're getting off-topic," Cao Fuli interrupted, unable to stand it any longer. He was supposed to be describing the prison, not rambling on like he was showing off places no one else had been to.
Reminded by Cao Fuli, Gong Changfa immediately remembered the main point. It wasn't the time to reminisce; it was time to describe the prison's layout.
"Ahem," Gong Changfa cleared his throat and continued, "After the doomsday, the winery owner died, and his family never claimed his body, likely having turned into zombies. The winery was then nationalized. Nearby buildings became the Heavenly Dragon Bureau's base, and the winery became the Heavenly Dragon Bureau's prison. This prison housed all sorts of ability users, but in reality, only Yue Hengyi had been captured here."
"So, to rescue Yue Hengyi, we have to enter the cellar. That's not good. The prison must be covered in cameras; it's impossible to get close," Lin Yue frowned.
Li Keyi said, "I can turn invisible. I can help with the rescue."
"Don't even think about it. The winery's surveillance is all infrared. As long as you have body heat, you can't hide from the cameras," Gong Changfa said calmly.
If it were ordinary optical cameras, Li Keyi's invisibility would make entering the prison a simple matter. However, with the prison being equipped with infrared cameras, it would be difficult to infiltrate.
"Then what do we do?" Lin Yue quickly asked.
At this point, Li Keyi was probably the only one who could move freely throughout the city due to her invisibility. Now that she learned her invisibility was useless against infrared surveillance, Lin Yue was at a loss.
Gong Changfa pointed to his head and said, "Don't worry, I'm here. I know a secret passage or two that others don't."
"Then just say you have a secret passage. Why introduce all that?" Cao Fuli couldn't help but ask.
Gong Changfa had just introduced so much information that it seemed impossible to rescue Yue Hengyi, who was imprisoned in the cellar. But now, Gong Changfa suddenly mentioned a secret passage. Wouldn't it have been better to directly say there was a passage leading straight there?
"This passage isn't easy to navigate because it's a sewer," Gong Changfa shrugged helplessly. If there were an easily discoverable route, Gong Changfa would have mentioned it long ago.
"Don't forget, the North China Plain was just hit by a typhoon. The ground is covered in sewage, all of which flows into the sewage pipes. In those pipes, there are countless rats and cockroaches. Can you stand it?" Gong Changfa continued to ask.
"We have to endure it even if we can't. We're all in this together with Yue Hengyi. Let's rescue him first. Speaking of which, how do we enter the cellar through this sewer?" Lin Yue asked resignedly.
Gong Changfa explained, "To store fine wines, the winery uses refrigeration in the cellar. With a cold storage, there's water, so they dug a drainage channel connected to Yanjing's sewer system. Almost no one noticed this, and it was only because I was bored that I studied Yanjing's sewer system."
Recalling his time in quarantine, Gong Changfa still felt a lingering fear. Being under house arrest indefinitely would have been truly desperate. Fortunately, Ke Yiming and Yun Laizhe had returned from the sea.
At this moment, Ke Yiming remembered something and quickly asked, "Right, Lin Yue, I contacted my mother-in-law in Jinling today to ask about my wife. She vaguely told me that Gu Yanxiao went to Yuzhou. What does that mean?"
"Gu Yanxiao? Oh, Doctor Gu. She..." Lin Yue felt awkward upon hearing the question, thinking, "Why is he asking about this now?"
"Why aren't you speaking? Do you know or not?" Ke Yiming suddenly felt something was wrong. Why wasn't Lin Yue clarifying this matter? Could it be that his wife was in trouble?
Lin Yue reluctantly admitted the truth, "Actually, I don't want to discourage you, but Gu Yanxiao remarried. She married someone named Lu Kaiwen in Yuzhou. Do you know him?"
"Grumble..." Hearing this, Ke Yiming's teeth clenched, almost grinding to dust. He said, "Know him? How could I not know him? Good! I considered him a brother. We hunted the Yangtze River Dragon together, and now he's played a trick on me by taking my wife!"
Ke Yiming had expected to reunite with his wife after returning home from a near-death experience and live a stable life. He swore he would never go out to sea again.
However, Ke Yiming suddenly heard that Lu Kaiwen had married his wife. Although his hair was still black, he now felt as if a green hat had appeared on his head.
If his wife had remarried someone else, it would have been acceptable. After all, he had been missing for more than half a year, and his wife couldn't wait forever. But remarrying a brother he knew was something he couldn't tolerate. Others might do such a thing, but could Lu Kaiwen do it?
"What are you planning to do?" Lin Yue asked.
"What am I planning to do?" Ke Yiming sneered and said, "Of course, I'm going to Yuzhou to settle the score with Shen Feng. Others might not know about this, but Shen Feng must know. Not only did he not stop it, but he also watched my wife remarry someone else. It's too much! I'll confront Shen Feng first, then deal with Lu Kaiwen. No one can stop me!"
As the saying goes: "A friend's wife must not be insulted!"
No matter when or for what reason, playing such a trick on a good brother is immoral. Ke Yiming wasn't particularly hot-tempered, but he was certainly not someone who could be easily bullied. Having encountered such a situation, he couldn't stand it.
After speaking, Ke Yiming immediately stood up, preparing to leave.
Yun Laizhe quickly stopped him, saying, "Yiming, calm down. You are a member of the Ability Administration. After returning to the country, you should report immediately, otherwise, you will be defying the law and lack discipline. Report first, then go to Yuzhou."
Yun Laizhe and Ke Yiming, a pair of unfortunate brothers, had also returned from the sea. Stranded in a foreign land with no relatives, they could only fight side by side, developing a deep bond during that time. Now, Yun Laizhe couldn't bear to see Ke Yiming make a mistake and quickly reminded him.
However, Ke Yiming couldn't care about that anymore. He said directly, "No need. The Ability Administration only has Qin Kewei left, and he's mentally unstable. Why should I report? I'm going to settle the score now. First, I'll kill Lu Kaiwen, then question Shen Feng. If he doesn't give me a proper answer, I'll cause chaos in Yuzhou."
If one can bear it, one should. But if one cannot, then one must not. A man's most important thing is his dignity. But his wife remarrying his friend had completely stripped Ke Yiming of his dignity. This time, Ke Yiming had to pick up his dignity.
With that, Ke Yiming walked out.
Gong Changfa smiled and said, "Ah Zhe, your good brother is going to do something dangerous. Aren't you going to chase after him? You know, Shen Feng is not someone to be trifled with. If you kill him, it won't be good."
Yun Laizhe thought about it carefully and agreed. He immediately chased after him, saying, "I will bring Ke Yiming back."
Seeing Yun Laizhe leave, Gong Changfa felt a surge of satisfaction, thinking, "Excellent! With these two gone, the ability users they brought back can be brought under my control. These are the true Chosen Ones. By the time Ah Zhe returns, I will have regained power."
Gong Changfa had discovered something in recent days: although the ability users brought back by Yun Laizhe and Ke Yiming had joined the Chosen Bureau and were under his command, they still habitually consulted Ke Yiming and Yun Laizhe when carrying out tasks, which diminished Gong Changfa's authority.
Just as Gong Changfa was worrying about how to establish his own prestige, the incident of Lu Kaiwen forcefully taking his friend's wife occurred. Now, Ke Yiming and Yun Laizhe had left Yanjing for Yuzhou, which coincidentally gave Gong Changfa an opportunity to establish his authority in the new organization.
Meanwhile, Lin Yue looked at the Yanjing pipeline map and came up with a good idea. He then said, "Captain Gong, do you have anyone under you who can melt steel? I need to borrow them. I already have a plan to rescue Yue Hengyi."
"There is such a person among the ability users brought back by Ke Yiming. I'll have him help immediately. What's your plan?" Gong Changfa immediately recalled such a talented individual among the ability users brought back by Ke Yiming and began to inquire.
Lin Yue said seriously, "The enemy's information advantage comes from their control over Yanjing's insects. Wherever there are insects, they can conduct surveillance. I plan to create a diversion. Some people will distract the enemy head-on, while I, along with the person who can melt steel, will enter the sewer to rescue Yue Hengyi."
"No problem. Once Yue Hengyi is rescued, he must be made to drink three cups of punishment!" Gong Changfa readily agreed.