Chapter 434: Chapter 411: Another Liger Gang
"Give it back to me." Duan Wen saw her beloved treasure hanging limply, and she gripped the flute tightly.
"Weren’t you giving it to me as a gift? I’m accepting it now." Xiao Lin ignored her furious glare and turned to look at the man behind her: "If you tell us who you are, perhaps there’s still a chance for you to survive."
Consort Ling brought Duan Li over to Xiao Lin’s side, and Duan Wen raised the flute to her lips; the sound emerging from it was increasingly low and mournful. Xiao Lin frowned as a mist spread from Duan Li’s chest. Consort Ling behind him hadn’t noticed this mist slowly enveloping her.
"Xiang Fei, get out of here!" Xiao Lin shouted loudly at Xiang Fei while coiling the snake in his hand and flinging it toward Duan Wen.
Just as the snake’s head reached within half an arm’s length of Duan Wen, she caught it. Consort Ling, hearing Xiao Lin’s warning, took a step back, watching the mist spreading from Duan Li and feeling a chill in the air. The clothes stuck to Duan Li’s back were already half melted away.
"The Miao siblings?" he muttered their identities: "The Miao siblings who were sold by the Lion from the underground three years ago?"
Duan Li retreated to Duan Wen’s side, severed the snake’s body between her and Xiao Lin with one slash, scooped her up by the waist, and leaped off the rooftop. Xiao Lin and Consort Ling rushed over, but the Duan siblings had already unfolded their gliders, drifting away with the wind.
"Liger Gang people?" Xiao Lin raised an eyebrow, presumably having an idea of who they were.
"When I first joined ’Black Crow’ three years ago, they had already left."
"Yeah, I’d like to ask, why am I seeing you here?" Xiao Lin tilted his head; his right arm still tingled, and the spot on his left hand where the venomous fang bit had a small black hole. Tossing away the half-snake body in his hand, Xiao Lin’s voice turned colder: "If you don’t want your hands so much, I wouldn’t mind spending some energy chopping them off to save myself the trouble of treating them later."
He was a doctor, and for disobedient patients, he was rarely patient in teaching them. While Consort Ling’s right arm bandage was stained with the blood from parallel wounds. "You have a habit of self-abuse, I don’t. There’s a medical kit downstairs, handle it yourself." For uncooperative patients, his method was abandonment.
Moving his right arm, there were no issues with the bone, though the muscle was slightly damaged. It would heal with a little adjustment, but it was a pity for a good snake.
Yelling came from the stairway, sounding like the neighbor lady, along with a familiar voice.
"Officer, I was at home watching TV when suddenly a man walked in through my balcony door, then walked through my room and out, and I saw creepy crawlies all over the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling, scaring me to death!"
Personnel in professional uniforms were clearing the hallway, using tools to search every corner.
"Ma’am, were you the one who reported this?" Wu Shuang took notes in her notebook, noting that a typical residence with a sudden influx of toxins was evidently a deliberate act. She stared at the tightly closed door next door, feeling utterly helpless.
"Yes, yes, that’s him, that’s the man who jumped onto my balcony." The lady suddenly pointed at the person behind Wu Shuang and shouted.
"Hello, Officer Wu! It’s been less than five hours since we last met. Isn’t it fate?" Xiao Lin grinned at Wu Shuang.
"Ma’am, don’t worry. This gentleman is indeed your next-door neighbor; he’s a doctor, not a bad person." Wu Shuang shot Xiao Lin a glare and explained to the reporting lady, who, amidst her chatter, was coaxed back into her own house.
"Is it just you handling cases at the City Police Department?" Xiao Lin leaned against the wall, noticing Wu Shuang’s dark circles and feeling a bit of sympathy: "Is it a lack of officers, or do you have a penchant for self-abuse? What woman wears herself out like this?"
"Young Master, if you didn’t keep causing me trouble, I wouldn’t be this worn out." Wu Shuang put away her pen, goosebumps creeping all over her at the sight of toxins everywhere: "Who’s after you this time?"
"Ah, maybe my home’s fragrance is too alluring, so they all rushed in without restraint, hahaha." He opened the room for Wu Shuang to enter. "Who’s going to show up in Xia Xue’s room? You look too scary going outside like this, and besides, isn’t there a problem with that area? Have you been adjusting it according to my instructions?"
"I haven’t had time for that, constantly running around because of your cases, not getting anywhere." Wu Shuang rolled her eyes helplessly.
"Is your department very busy recently? I noticed that when I last looked for you."
"Some hooligans cause a ruckus everywhere all day long, claiming to be from the Liger Gang. They’re quite arrogant," Wu Shuang said blandly.
Xiao Lin seemed to have expected it: "Oh, the Liger Gang again!"
"Liger Gang people never venture into the city center; their activity area is in the Western Suburb. I suspect someone’s using their name to cause trouble."
"They’re just kids being exploited." Xiao Lin said, grabbing Wu Shuang’s hand, suddenly twisting her back with a crack.
"Ah! What are you doing!" Wu Shuang winced at the sudden pain.
"Feel any better?" The same fate awaited the other hand as Xiao Lin lifted both and braced his knee against her back, applying force, eliciting another cracking sound from the joints, while Wu Shuang cried out in pain.
"You’re getting back at me."
Xiao Lin chuckled twice, and the sound of a door closing was heard at the entrance: "Try moving now, do you feel more relaxed?"
Wu Shuang skeptically moved a bit while sitting in place. Her upper body did indeed feel less tense, and her neck didn’t have that swollen feeling anymore.
"Really! How did you do it? I might ask my colleagues to stretch me like this when I get back."
"This shouldn’t be tried randomly. If the force isn’t applied correctly, it’s easy to damage the cartilage in the joints, and the spine could get twisted. Don’t blame me if you end up disabled."
"Hah, you’re making it sound so terrifying." However, after hearing Xiao Lin’s explanation, she gave up on the idea. "Alright, I need to head back to the department. Do you need to go anywhere? I can drop you off."
"The repair shop, I need to pick up my car today." Xiao Lin thought of his QQ and felt a pang of heartache.
"Wasn’t your driver’s license revoked?" Wu Shuang remembered she was the one who issued the revocation notice.
"You think my license can be revoked just like that? My license isn’t something just anyone can revoke, and the reasons you stated aren’t even valid." He deliberately waved his license in front of Wu Shuang.
"Having you on the road is a menace." Wu Shuang said viciously.
"It’s your privilege to have such a handsome menace around!"
"Why don’t you just drop dead?" Wu Shuang got into the car, stepped hard on the accelerator without waiting for Xiao Lin to fasten his seatbelt, and shot onto the road. Just then, a truck veered out from the side, and Wu spun the steering wheel one and a half times, brushing past the truck before getting back onto her driving lane.
"You almost crashed!" Xiao Lin pointed at Wu Shuang and shouted, they were just a hand’s distance away from slamming into the truck and ending up as minced meat.
"I calculated it perfectly, it’s skill." Wu Shuang took it lightly, continuing to step on the accelerator. "Compared to you, I’m nothing."
Xiao Lin wisely shut his mouth; discussing cars with a woman is foolish, discussing driving skills is even more suicidal.
"Yesterday, when we went to the underground city, there was a report saying Zhang Teng was spotted at Jingshan." Wu Shuang said while handling the steering wheel.
"If Zhang Teng hasn’t made a move yet, don’t startle him. Instead, we could release some news to lure the mantis out."
"Who’s the yellow bird then?"
"Park at the corner ahead, I’ll walk from there. You can’t park there." Xiao Lin pointed to the front.
"Is there an auto repair shop nearby?" Wu Shuang looked at the street name. This place was a marketplace for hotel glassware; who would open an auto repair shop here? "Are you repairing your car with glass?"
"The person fixing my car works with glass." Xiao Lin winked playfully at Wu Shuang and waved goodbye, walking into a large building.
"Seriously, everything is so mysterious." Ignoring Xiao Lin’s departing back, Wu Shuang floored the accelerator to get back onto the road, hearing the roar of car horns behind her, Xiao Lin could only shake his head, feeling sorry for those who hurriedly slammed their brakes, concerned about their engine lifespan.
The hotel supplies market was quite large, each small shop partitioned out displayed various instruments, appearing delicate and artisanal. After circling the ground floor, Xiao Lin returned to the entrance, it was only eleven in the morning, a bit early, he annoyingly ran his fingers through his hair and headed towards the basement level.
After descending the escalator and walking past a row of shops, there was a large glass craft production area. As expected, one shop still had its shutter down. This was the only unopened shop here. Xiao Lin reluctantly trudged over, knocking hard on the metal door, awkwardly chuckling to the passing curious gazes.
A rattling sound followed, the shutter was raised halfway. "You’re early." A buzzing, muddled voice came from inside; Xiao Lin bent down and squeezed through the small opening.
"Can’t you open it wider?" He complained while closing the shutter all the way.
Inside the shop were several large glass tanks and an army cot with a person lying on it, covered by a blanket from head to top. Although this was a small store in a wholesale city, the sound insulation here was top-notch, just one shutter cutting off external and internal sounds.
"Opening higher wastes resources." A lazy voice came from under the blanket, a pair of feet sticking out, judging by the strong ankles, this person was very slim.
"Open earlier and do business, then you wouldn’t have to worry about this." Xiao Lin nonchalantly found an empty chair to sit on.
"They’re already downstairs, you should hurry down and not disturb my sleep." A hand reached out from under the blanket, picked up a remote from the floor, and pressed the green button. A metal board beneath the army cot was raised and moved to the side, revealing a gap.
"Not coming down, what’s the point?" Xiao Lin stared at the gap; in reality, one could directly enter the underground garage from outside the building, why bother crawling through this hole, really puzzling. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (), your support is my greatest motivation.)