Star Gate

Chapter 46: Contentment (I)

It was four o’clock in the afternoon on July 14 when Li Hao left the Veteris Institute. Silver City’s rainy season was forecasted to start on July 18 and would run for a prolonged period of time.

“Three more days,” Li Hao murmured to himself as he biked back to work. It would start raining on the 18th, so he didn’t have much time left. One could trust the forecast as Silver City’s Weather Bureau was rather accurate.

He rolled into the Inspectorate, thoughts chasing each other in his mind. He needed to clock out for the day and Wang Ming had mentioned that he was treating them tonight. As someone perpetually single and the acclaimed nice guy of Classified Affairs, Li Hao wouldn’t turn him down. That didn’t suit his image.

……

The Department of Classified Affairs.

Wang Ming brightened slightly when he saw Li Hao return. Curiosity flashed through his eyes as he continued listening to Chen Na’s overview of how to process documents. Despite how brief this flicker was, Li Hao clearly noted everything.

The reaction would go overlooked if Li Hao wasn’t paying attention to him, but since Li Hao was, some of the signs were easily detected. Wang Ming plainly wasn’t a deeply shrewd and deliberative person. Perhaps that was due to a truly younger age, or perhaps he was similar to Li Meng and this was his first mission.

I bet they know about teacher injuring Li Meng. This guy hadn’t been so curious when Li Hao left. Perhaps he was also wondering what his teacher had taught him. Passing on a secret art had been the excuse that Yuan Shuo employed.

“You’re back, Brother Hao!” Wang Ming was a very polite soul who didn’t put on airs. He easily greeted Li Hao with respect usually shown toward older people.

“Mmhmm, I’m done for the day.” Li Hao nodded with a faint smile.

“What done for the day!” Chen Na giggled. “More like you don’t want to cook and came back for dinner! You’re back even though the day’s over. You’re thinking about that meal that Little Ming said he wants to treat us to, aren’t you!”

Little Ming!

Li Hao held back his mirth. Chen Na had probably heard him call Wang Ming that and followed suit.

Resignation flickered in Wang Ming’s eyes, but he didn’t give voice to it. He bobbed his head in tacit acceptance of his new nickname. “I found a good restaurant. We can head there as soon as everyone’s done. I hope it suits both of your tastes.”

“I don’t care, I eat anything.” Li Hao was naturally even more easygoing than Chen Na. “Are we the only ones?”

“Just you two for today because I’ve troubled you all day. I’ll treat the others in the department tomorrow!” Wang Ming quickly responded.

Li Hao returned to his seat without another word and quickly handled some documents. The end of the work day arrived after a brief flurry of activity.

……

Five thirty. The main entrance to the Inspectorate.

Wang Ming’s eyes lost their focus when he saw Li Hao’s bicycle. “Brother Hao, are you taking your bike there?”

He hadn’t driven his car to this posting and neither had he had time to buy one. Li Hao was very courteous and said he’d take the newcomer to the restaurant, but here he was with his shabby bike! Although Wang Ming had seen the bike at lunchtime, who would’ve thought that this would really be all that the guy had to his name!

“It’s not far!” Li Hao smiled. “Just ten minutes up ahead. You can take the car instead if you want, Sis Na is driving.”

“How about both of us ride with Sis Na…”

The changing of the times had turned their ancestor’s treasure into lethal poison. According to Night Watcher investigations, Li Hao might be the only surviving direct heir of the eight families—the caveat being that he really was the heir to the sword of the Lis.

The organization hadn’t been certain before, but Wang Ming was one hundred percent certain now. He held the sword in his hand!

“Brother Hao, this is a nice looking sword!” Wang Ming praised with interest. “Do you want to sell it?”

“Nope!” Li Hao immediately refused. “Don’t even think about it, it’s a family heirloom. If I sell it, my old man will crawl out of the ground and beat the shit out of me! Besides, I’ve had it appraised before. It’s not worth much since it’s made of metal.”

“Now now, each to their own. I’m definitely interested if Brother Hao wants to sell it. I can’t make any big promises, but I can pay one to two hundred thousand for it!”

“That much?” Li Hao jerked with surprise. “One to two hundred thousand?”

Wang Ming sighed inwardly when he registered the bike slowing down. What everyone made of the world was indeed very different. One to two hundred thousand? If this was a Sunflare supernatural object, those supernaturals would pay one hundred times the price. What was ten million star coins?

There were nearly one hundred million people in Silver Moon and only how many Sunflares. Each of them yearned for strength, so they wouldn’t bat an eye at spending that sum. Of course, he couldn’t quote an overly high price as that would lead to suspicion instead of temptation.

“That’s right, we can discuss anything in this range. If you sell the sword, Brother Hao, you might be able to move to a new place.”

Li Hao bobbed his head and made some quick calculations. “Don’t be messing with me now. Houses in the neighborhoods around the Inspectorate go for three thousand. If I really do sell it for two hundred thousand, I can move to a new building with two bedrooms!”

“You got it!” Wang Ming felt the sword was in the bag. “I don’t have that much money on me right now. I’ll go home on my next vacation and ask my family for it. Brother Hao can tell me more about it later.”

I can’t take it right now, Li Hao needs to be its catalyst. We can talk about this transaction if he survives and still has the sword.

As for taking it by force… the Night Watchers wouldn’t stoop to those levels. They didn’t need to, normally speaking.

It suddenly felt that Wang Ming had completed half of his mission in one fell swoop. He’d confirmed Li Hao’s identity, confirmed that the sword of the Lis existed, taken a look for himself and touched it, and confirmed that it was a supernatural object. There could be no doubt about it, the next target was Li Hao!

They arrived at the restaurant while they chatted. Wang Ming alighted to grab their private booth and place orders while Li Hao went to park his bike.

……

By the street.

Li Hao parked his bike and took out his communicator to dial a number.

“Speak!” Liu Long was as aloof as ever.

Li Hao lowered his voice with a mix of trepidation and unease. “Chief, are our communications at risk of being monitored?”

“No!” Liu Long replied curtly, already sensing that something was amiss. “Where are you?”

“A restaurant called the Jade River!”

“What happened?”

“Chief, I seemed to be tailed by a supernatural!” Li Hao was so nervous that his voice was nearly inaudible. “Not tailed, but followed right next to me! We have a rookie in Classified Affairs called Wang Ming. I gave him a ride to dinner and uh, I have an old family heirloom that I keep on me. He insisted on taking a look at it and I thought nothing more of it since he’s mundane. But when he touched my heirloom, I sensed a burst of mysterious power!”

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