Chapter 244

Interlude Five: Setup

[November 25, Monday, 23:40]

[Balance Commercial District · B Block Unloading Area]

“Haha, so you’re Lu Huangze?”

With her razor-sharp straight hair and rebellious attitude, the young woman standing on the unloading platform wore an expression of blatant disdain, as if she was looking at some filthy sewer rat that had just crawled out… Perhaps this wasn’t far from the truth, after all, “Lu Huangze” was known as the biggest rat boss in the commercial district.

Of course, all of that was in the past.

I sighed and replied, “Yes, but my current name is Lu—”

“Huh? Stop!”

She interrupted me with a mischievous look, “Who cares about your current name? I only helped Ling Mengjie and Zixi because they needed it. Don’t try to butter me up!”

I had no intention of doing so, as her strong personality didn’t seem easy to get along with. But who was this Zixi?

“I understand, then let’s keep our interaction to the bare minimum.”

She was introduced by Thunder Meow-Meow to assist me. Seemingly quite powerful within the commercial district, she merely spoke to the security guard, allowing us entry into the unloading area, which was supposed to be restricted to merchants.

“Do you remember what Meow-Meow said? You’re setting up some kind of trap here… Hey! You don’t plan to detonate any bombs in the commercial district, do you?”

Why would she think that?

I explained weakly, “I’m not a terrorist. The matter is already over, and doing that wouldn’t benefit me.”

“No way, no way! Don’t tell me you really think changing your gender and identity will make the merchants forgive you? Besides, it wouldn’t be surprising for Lu Huangze to plan a retaliatory attack. After all… you hate us so much, don’t you?”

“…I’m not who I used to be.”

“Hmph, who knows what you really are? You say such nice things.”

Ignoring her sarcasm, I asked, “Speaking of the matter, Miss Xia Lu, Thunder Meow-Meow mentioned you found a suitable location for the trap. Could you show us the way?”

“…Did Meow-Meow tell you my name?”

“Though she didn’t say anything, I still remember you. Your female group, I recall, was called Rakshasa Ghosts, right?”

She hesitated slightly before continuing in a sarcastic tone.

“Not bad, the leader of the Roshi Mon Gate is remembered even after all this time… Oh no, I forgot, you’re nothing now.”

I remembered her well; the infiltration of Roshi Mon Gate had something to do with her. However, I didn’t want to discuss this issue with her. I urged, “It’s late, please don’t waste time. Can you lead us there quickly?”

“Are you telling me how to do my job?”

Since every word I said made her retort, I decided to stay silent.

She noticed my intent and said, “Hmph, bring your people and follow me.”

By “my people,” she meant the three current researchers who were originally bodyguards, led by Miss Xin Zi. They were brought along as drivers and porters since the barrier generator warning lights were quite heavy, weighing around a hundred pounds, which I couldn’t possibly carry.

I waved to Miss Xin Zi outside the warehouse, and she drove the small van backwards onto the unloading platform. Xia Lu kicked three electric pallet trucks over, and when she saw the three beautiful black-clad women getting off the van, her mouth twisted again.

“These ladies are your bodyguards? Do you have ‘those’ preferences?”

She seemed to misunderstand something.

“They’re the bodyguards of my current boss.”

Tonight we were acting under the pretense of being bodyguards, so Miss Xin Zi and the others had removed their white coats and put on black suits. They were all young women, which could easily cause Xia Lu’s misunderstanding. Unless Xia Lu herself had such preferences, it would explain the situation.

Xia Lu pointed at the pallet truck and continued, “Use the pallet trucks to load the items. Even though business hours are over, there might still be merchants and security guards around. If the items look suspicious, cover them with cloths. I don’t want to give too many explanations.”

“It should be fine. Everything has been disguised as warning lights.”

“Pallets?”

Miss Xin Zi opened the back door of the van, and Xia Lu glanced inside.

“Oh, they’re barriers. Since they’re already set up like this, no need to cover them. Just say they were purchased by the engineering department… Let’s load them up.”

The three beautiful bodyguards began moving the items according to Xia Lu’s instructions.

“Hey, what is this thing for? Will it affect the guests?”

This person was strange. Despite her obvious dislike for me, she kept asking questions like she was reading a book of ten thousand questions.

I explained, “It’s a cage with an effective range of twenty meters. If the place is sufficiently remote, it shouldn’t affect anyone.”

When the barrier activates, it produces a visible blue curtain, which will soon become invisible, but there is still a chance of it being discovered.

“Don’t worry, I picked a place where there aren’t even any merchants. No one will be around. Although I don’t know who your target is, how do you plan to lure them there?”

“That’s none of your concern. There are still many adjustments needed for the plan itself.”

“Hmph, Ling Mengjie helped us recently. If you disappoint her, I won’t go easy on you.”

Is Ling Mengjie meddling again behind my back?

Even though she’s busy with her own affairs…

Moving the critical barriers onto the pallet truck, Miss Xin Zi reported, “Everything is ready, Miss.”

“Follow me.”

Xia Lu waved us into a larger freight elevator, pressing B1 for the underground level of the shopping street.

“Is there a suitable place on the shopping street?” I asked.

My requirements were for a quiet passage with no operating shops on either side, yet adjacent to a bustling area, and with few tourists… I understood these demands were unreasonable, but only such an environment could help us catch the elusive Mysterious Girl A.

“Don’t ask so many questions. Follow me and you’ll see.”

Although Miss Xin Zi was puzzled, I didn’t ask, so she remained silent and pushed the cart behind us.

After walking for about ten minutes, although we had taken the elevator down from B Block, it felt like we were far beyond its boundaries. It was clear we were away from the commercial district center, but it was hard to pinpoint exactly where.

The passage was spacious but old and yellowed, with a mix of food smells in the air. The shops were decorated festively, and above the passage hung a sign for “Balance Night Market,” indicating it was a food street.

“Ah, we’re here.”

Xia Lu pushed open a safety door, and the red seal on it was torn off.

“Even the leader of Roshi Mon Gate wouldn’t know about this place, right?”

The underground shopping street had many abandoned alleys due to their remote locations. These alleys were often rented cheaply by gangs and sometimes occupied illegally, as the streets lost their commercial value due to constant expansion.

But this entrance clearly didn’t fit that description.

The facilities were intact, and the layout didn’t resemble shops. The passage itself was clean, suggesting recent maintenance.

“Where are we now?” I asked.

“Underneath the Balance Food Company.”

Xia Lu smiled and added, “It’s my family’s company.”

There was a major shareholder with the surname Xia in the Board of Directors of the Balance Group, and considering the security guard’s attitude towards Xia Lu, her background became clear.

“So you’re a wealthy young lady?”

She turned to face me, almost pointing at me with her chin, her attitude proud.

“Did you realize that too late? Our Rakshasa Ghosts were established to protect merchants from thugs, so early members were mostly young people from merchant families. Although we absorbed some gangsters later, fundamentally, we are very different from you. Sending invitations without proper investigation was the reason for your initial failure.”

The spy planted in the “Rakshasa Ghosts” never reached the core group, and the lower-level organization structure was similar to other gang groups, so no information was obtained.

Thinking about my failure made me uneasy.

“Let’s not talk about that. Tell me why you chose this place.”

Xia Lu smiled triumphantly and continued, “Although it’s on the outskirts now, this place is actually the starting point of the entire Balance Commercial District. Because the old street nearby hasn’t been demolished, the expansion has moved northeast along the riverbank. This passage was the old office area left behind, separated from the outer streets by only a wall. Doesn’t that fit your requirements?”

I pointed at the wall and asked.

“Though it’s adjacent, is the neighboring street really bustling? This is an edge area far from the center, and the facilities look quite old.”

If Xiao Kai were to go to a secluded corner, it might arouse suspicion from Mysterious Girl A. Therefore, a well-known bustling street was necessary.

“Really? You’ve been hanging out in the underground street for a whole year and didn’t know about this famous Underground Night Market… But it’s normal for someone who spends all day in bars not to know. The food here isn’t for people like you.”

Is it really that famous?

I looked around the passage. Only after Xia Lu finished her taunt did I ask, “Then let’s set up the trap here. Is there space above and below this area?”

“The level below is a parking garage, and above is the ground floor shops. Both can hold your barriers.”

That would be enough.

“Miss Xin Zi, set up the barrier generators here. Hang those in the parking garage and hide them above the ventilation ducts to prevent her from breaking through the barriers and escaping.”

“Understood!”

Facing a master whose magical skills far surpassed ours, relying on these barriers to remain effective was unrealistic. However, if we could immobilize her momentarily, we could use [content censored by law] to render her immobile.

Though somewhat crude, catching her was the most important thing.