Chapter 44: Diving
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Xu You’s business trip had drained both his brain and his body. Between making up lessons and surviving a high-speed chase, he felt completely justified in ordering three buckets of wings to recover. He’d originally planned to share them with Shi Wenze and Lin Su, but Lin Su was currently limping around the room in a suspicious display of pain, one hand on the back of his neck and the other supporting his lower back. His expression was strained; his mood, clearly frazzled.
So Xu You decided, with great righteousness, to embrace the single life in peace. He grabbed his fried chicken and bolted upstairs, leaving the lovebirds downstairs to continue suffering through their romantic woes.
Shi Wenze offered gently, “Want me to take you to the hospital?”
“No need. I’ll try the massage device first.” Lin Su reached for the vibrating phone on the table. He’d thought it was the food delivery guy bringing the grilled octopus, but the screen flashed with a different name: Du Siyue. He had no interest in answering a pointless call like this.
“Don’t hang up yet!” Du Siyue said quickly. “I just wanted to say thank you!”
“For what?” Lin Su asked, tone flat.
“For introducing me to Song Tao from Jiayong Auction, duh,” Du Siyue replied cheerfully. “I just bought that Cang Daming painting from him a few days ago—you know, the one you said was ugly? ‘Lake Baikal: Blue’? Anyway, I gave it to one of my dad’s clients, and bam! Deal closed on the spot.”
“I no longer think it’s ugly,” Lin Su muttered through clenched teeth. “You’re banned from bringing that up ever again.”
“Understood. Not another word, especially not in front of Shi Wenze,” Du Siyue promised solemnly. Then he paused, suspicious. “Why does your voice sound so weird today?”
Lin Su winced. “I’m massaging my back. It hurts.”
Du Siyue didn’t even need to ask. The reason for that back pain was obvious. His voice suddenly turned serious. “You better not be getting pregnant before marriage.”
The call ended with a cold and ruthless beep-beep-beep. Du Siyue didn’t mind at all. He was still riding high on the joy of making money and was already plotting a suitably grand gift for Lin Su.
. . .
The power of the White Tiger couldn’t be underestimated. That one blast had been far too much for Yu Feizheng. He remained unconscious for nearly two full days before finally waking up groggily in the hospital. Once awake, he didn’t resist much. He admitted to everything fairly quickly.
Yu Feizheng had been obsessed with metallic skeletal structures since he was a child. In college, he poured at least half of his energy into that passion, spending sleepless nights on forums chatting with experts. Before long, he had earned a bit of a reputation in the field.
“In my junior year, they approached me,” he said. “At first, it was just to modify a prosthetic for a mountain goat. That kind of job was simple for me, so I did it easily and got paid a lot.”
“Who are ‘they’?” Shi Wenze asked.
“I don’t know their names. I just called the guy ‘Brother Zhang,’” Yu Feizheng replied. “But the jobs kept getting more complicated. Eventually, they started sending a car to pick me up and take me to an underground research facility, where I worked with a bunch of other metalworkers. I was in charge of skeleton modification.”
“Where was the location?”
“No idea,” he said. “Every time I got in the car, they blindfolded me. In the beginning, I didn’t think it was anything illegal—or maybe I had a hunch, but I didn’t want to think too hard about it. I lied to myself. The money was good, and I figured I’d just work a few years and leave.”
But in the end, he never did leave. Whether it was fear of threats or simple human greed, he stayed. They even had him take a regular job at a car repair shop to maintain his cover.
Shi Wenze continued, “How did you meet Linghu Tangtang?”
“One time at a café, my phone died. She paid for my order. That’s how we met.”
Yu Feizheng had never dated before. He didn’t think he was tall or handsome, and his job was nothing special. The only thing he had going for him was a decent amount of money. So he spent a lot—buying gifts, treating her. At first, Linghu Tangtang thought he was some hidden rich kid. It took several conversations before she found out he was just a regular metalworker.
But she didn’t mind. She was just a little surprised—was secondhand car repair really that profitable? After that, she started stopping him from buying her expensive gifts. She was clearly a good person. Wanting to propose quickly made sense. But that kind of thing was only for law-abiding citizens. Sister Ya, the Pengniao officer helping with the interrogation, scowled. A criminal trying to ruin an innocent girl’s life? Where’s your conscience?
Yu Feizheng bowed his head in shame. “I’ve wronged her.”
“You can tell her that yourself—and maybe earn a lighter sentence,” Shi Wenze said. “Who sent you to Qiong City?”
“A woman,” Yu Feizheng replied. “After the proposal incident went viral, they asked me everything that happened. When they found out the mechanical bird carrying the ring had gone missing, they told me to break up with Tangtang, quit my job, and come here.”
That ring was still with the Demon Management Bureau. Shi Wenze reassured him, “We’ll return it to you one day.”
Sister Ya pressed on, “What’s your relationship with that Qiongqi, Qian Dagang?”
“There isn’t one really. That same woman arranged for us to be roommates. She wanted me to repair his damaged steel wings and do some other upgrades. I didn’t have anything better to do, so I agreed.”
Qiongqi had been extremely guarded, barely spoke, and their conversations rarely strayed beyond food, drinks, and body mods. Nothing helpful for the case. As for the woman behind it all—Yu Feizheng really didn’t know who she was. He’d never spoken to her directly. The only thing he’d heard was her code name—“Sister SA.” As for what “SA” stood for—Sasa, Sally, Samantha—he wasn’t sure.
After finishing, Yu Feizheng hesitated, then added, “But I do know she attended an international conference on the eighth of this month.”
“International conference?” Sister Ya asked sharply. “How do you know that?”
“On the eighth, Qian Dagang went to see her. He came back less than two hours later and said she was in a meeting with a bunch of foreigners. Told me to go again in three days.”
“The meeting was in Qiong City?”
“Yes.”
Sister Ya had someone look into it, and sure enough, there was a Global Hospitality Industry Analysis Conference scheduled at Shuiyue Bay in Qiong City on the 8th. The moment the hotel industry was mentioned, Shi Wenze immediately thought of the Chicken Feet Boss.
After the interrogation, he reported the matter to Bai Tianchi. His colleague quickly pulled up some files. The Chicken Feet Boss’s full name was Cheng Facai—just hearing it sounded very rich. His business had flourished, whether it was hotels for monsters or for humans. He operated legally and with integrity, and he had no criminal record. He also hadn’t attended the global conference.
“Any female participants with the initials S.A.?” Shi Wenze asked.
“Male or female, there’s no one with those initials,” Bai Tianchi replied. “It’s probably just a nickname. I’ll have someone dig into it right away and see if we can track her down.”
In theory, they could have just interrogated Qiongqi for answers—but the guy had been beaten so badly that the medical team concluded he wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon. Still, they assured everyone there was no life-threatening danger. Surviving that level of beatdown? They called it a miracle of life.
Only Xu You and the others at the Chengdu bureau knew that this was exactly how Shi Wenze fought—either he struck to kill, or every strike was non-lethal but brutal. Somehow, the latter was even scarier.
Shi Wenze spent the whole day at the Monster Regulatory Committee. When he returned that evening, Lin Su was using a little octopus-shaped massager while helping Xu You with homework. At the sound of the front door, they both looked up. The scene was so domestic it made Shi Wenze feel a brief, surreal sense of peace. The only issue? Their “kid” was practically giant-sized, sprawled across the table like a Saint Bernard—always eating, never studying, seriously messing with household harmony.
“Study by yourself,” Shi Wenze said coldly.
“What kind of attitude is that?” Xu You threw down his pen. “Don’t you have any good news to share?”
“Yeah, the grocery store across from the hotel has everything for two yuan,” Shi Wenze replied, then physically relocated Xu You—book and all—so he could sit beside Lin Su. “How’d he do today?”
“He did okay,” Lin Su answered. “Definitely easier than tutoring you in high school.”
Xu You burst out laughing. “Hahahaha!”
Shi Wenze sighed. This family was never going to have a peaceful father-son relationship.
While Lin Su went to the kitchen to get water, the two academically challenged men left in the living room devolved into a friendly wrestling match. Lin Su found himself oddly charmed by the whole thing. Maybe he should consider buying a house in Qiong City after all.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Du Siyue called again. As usual, the call was more about filling silence than conveying anything urgent—this time to announce that he’d bought a place in Hucheng.
Lin Su stirred his coffee. “Why’d you buy at Tangchen Yipin? Are you moving to Shanghai?”
The two men on the couch went quiet. Xu You whispered, “Did I hear that right? Tangchen Yipin?”
Shi Wenze nodded. “Yeah.”
“Didn’t Lan Weiwei mention at Que Mountain Hospital that the perv patient lived there too? Isn’t that place supposed to be ultra high-end? Lately it’s been popping up everywhere. Feels like everyone lives there… except us.”
Shi Wenze shared the sentiment. He, too, wanted to question the universe. Fortunately, Lin Su had no interest in luxury real estate. He just wanted to get back to Chengdu, take possession of their new place, and start renovating. That kind of simple, honest mindset only made Shi Wenze fall harder for him.
Later that night, around ten, Shi Wenze wrapped him up in the blanket and pressed their foreheads together like a kid refusing to let him move. Lin Su couldn’t help but think his distressed dinosaur-print pajamas were something of a lucky charm—he’d definitely have to bring back more of them.
“What’re you thinking about?” Shi Wenze asked.
“About the house,” Lin Su replied.
Shi Wenze shifted, drawing him closer. “How long is your mother staying in Chengdu?”
“She didn’t say she’d be heading back anytime soon. Probably a while.” Lin Su paused. “She saw the place too—said it was really nice.”
Shi Wenze let out a low hum. “So… when are we letting the parents meet?”
Just a second ago, it was still “your mother,” and now it was “the parents.” That escalation was faster than the country’s high-speed rail system—going from rural poverty to domestic bliss in a single breath. What a scheming pretty boy. But Lin Su was even calmer than he was. “Let’s arrange it once we’re back.”
Shi Wenze took the chance to ask, “So… does this mean I’ve officially won you over?”
“Nope.”
“Oh.”
The rules for a bar exam weren’t even this strict. It really went to show how well-deserved the inspection team’s reputation was. Still, even without chasing the case all the way down, they were able to enjoy some of the rights in advance. With their fingers laced together, the two were just about to explore the mysteries beneath the little dinosaur blanket when the phone on the nightstand suddenly began vibrating with a vengeance. In the haze of passion, the sound was shockingly jarring. Lin Su nearly jumped out of his skin. He was rapidly coming to terms with the fact that being romantically involved with a public official required a very strong heart. Shi Wenze patted him reassuringly, then answered the call from sister Ya.
“I’ve found a likely candidate for ‘Sister SA,’” she said. “Name’s Dou Yixuan. Harpy-type. She’s the CEO of two coastal resorts, currently single… and her ex-boyfriend is Cheng Facai.”
Shi Wenze paused. “…She dated Cheng Facai?”
“Yeah, though it didn’t last long—just a few months,” sister Ya replied. “Their hotels even ran a joint promotion. Gave out tons of coupons. But once they broke up, Cheng Facai’s place kept honoring them while Dou Yixuan’s resort immediately canceled all discounts. They even announced customers could get a refund on the difference if they were unhappy. Pretty ruthless.” Which suggested the breakup hadn’t been all that amicable.
“There’s more,” sister Ya went on. “Still not confirmed, of course—we haven’t screened all the attendees yet. But there’s something else I wanted to ask: could Mr. Lin help us out? We’ve got some French documents that need urgent translation.”
Shi Wenze glanced down at the man in his arms. The phone volume wasn’t low, so Lin Su had already heard. He nodded.
“No problem,” Shi Wenze said. “When do you need them?”
“As soon as possible. I’ll send them to your inbox right now,” she said. “As for compensation… well, you know how the hourly pay is, not much. But Director Bai said he’d talk to Chengdu and get you a few extra days off in return.”
Shi Wenze hadn’t expected to be used as a bargaining chip, but he had to admit, the organization was thinking ahead. Lin Su was clearly satisfied with the trade, too. In the early hours of the morning, he was still hard at work translating the documents, stealing glances at the handsome man beside him every time his eyes started to blur. Who needed treasure when the French files came with a real-life jade beauty? And he even got a few kisses in between.
As participant profiles were printed and screened one by one, Dou Yixuan remained the strongest candidate for “Sister SA.” The problem was, she’d recently dropped off the radar. Though confirmed to still be in Qiongtown, no one knew exactly where. Bai Tianchi had searched around during the day with no results.
“It’s not the tourist season for local hotels,” sister Ya explained. “I heard she only does high-level video meetings twice a month.”
Her last public appearance had been that international conference. Shi Wenze speculated, “What if she’s undergoing modification herself? That would explain her semi-disappearance. I think we should also investigate Cheng Facai.”
“We’ve already informed the team in Chengdu,” Bai Tianchi replied. “Also, something else came up about half an hour ago—Qian Dagang’s primary physician made a new discovery. They found a fragment of bone lodged in his fractured spine that clearly didn’t belong to a Qiongqi.”
“What kind of bone?”
“A phoenix bone. It’s being rushed through cross-checking with materials Chengdu sent over. No results yet, but I’d bet there’s a ninety-nine percent chance it came from the same phoenix.”
“You’re saying he grafted ancient phoenix remains into his body?” Xu You looked stunned. “Did he want to fly to the Wildlands himself?”
“The spiritual energy in the fragment wasn’t enough to achieve flight,” Bai said. “Plus, Qiongqi was essentially sent for Yu Feizheng to practice on—he’s low-tier in the organization. The doctor suspects Qiongqi was some kind of experiment, a test to see if phoenix bones could be transplanted into other monster bodies.”
Combining that with Shi Wenze’s earlier theory, if Dou Yixuan really was the mastermind, she had at least two contingency plans: building a mechanical phoenix and attempting to become one herself—to reach the Wildlands by any means necessary.
Xu You clicked his tongue. “You’d think they’d stop lusting after that reserve already. Sounds like we’ve got a few more days before anything happens with Dou Yixuan. If there aren’t any more arrests planned, can Shi-ge and I head back?”
“As far as I know, things are quiet in Chengdu,” Bai said. “But I’ll call Director Zhou. Might try to keep you here for a few extra days.”
Xu You raised an eyebrow. “We only booked the hotel for a week.”
“No worries,” Bai replied generously. “We’ll reimburse the extra nights.”
“It’s 18,888 a night,” Xu You said smoothly. Bai turned pale. That had to be illegal. Were they just casually abusing travel expenses now? Somewhere far away in Chengdu, Zhou Yuansong suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Of course, Xu You eventually revealed the 18,888 figure was a joke. Chengdu’s Monster Affairs Bureau could maintain its clean and cheerful image. Bai let out a long sigh of relief—he’d been dancing on the edge of whistleblower duty for a solid ten minutes.
As for whether Zhou would agree to let them stay longer—that was a battle between department heads. Shi Wenze and Xu You had no intention of interfering. Who would say no to a working vacation like this?
Lin Su lounged in a beach chair, sipping from a fresh coconut while admiring Shi Wenze in nothing but swim trunks. Somehow, the drink tasted even sweeter. They were in the most luxurious suite available, with private access to the beach. No random tourists in sight. The only “extra” presence was Xu You, who seemed perfectly happy with his life—surfing, kayaking, and occasionally smacking the water with his tail when no one was looking. Watching him made Lin Su start to feel a bit curious about water sports himself.
“Is scuba diving hard?” he asked Shi Wenze.
“Not at all,” he replied. “I’ll take you.”
“But I can’t swim.”
“Still not a problem.” Shi Wenze sounded so confident that Lin Su decided to go for it and asked for a wetsuit. While he was changing, Shi Wenze grabbed Xu You and whispered something in his ear.
“Can I say no?” Xu You asked.
“Nope,” Shi Wenze said with a grin.
“Dinner’s on you when we get back to Chengdu.”
“Deal.” With that, Xu You dove into the ocean, tail flicking once before he disappeared beneath the waves. Lin Su sat on a rock as Shi Wenze helped him with the gear. “Where’d Xu You go?” he asked.
“Probably back to the room for a snack,” Shi Wenze said, then guided him through a round of hand signals. He squeezed Lin Su’s hand. “Come on. Step forward slowly.”
Maybe it was his bit of white dragon lineage, but Lin Su didn’t mind the cold seawater at all. Shi Wenze had expected to spend a while coaxing him in—but Lin Su dunked his head under without hesitation. Glug! “Whoa, whoa—slow down!” Shi Wenze called out, quickly swimming after him.
Sunlight filtered through the water in glittering rays. Lin Su looked around, eyes full of wonder, then slowly let go of Shi Wenze’s hand, signaling that he wanted to go deeper. Patrick the starfish would’ve been proud. This was his SpongeBob, setting off for the deep sea. Time to go find the Krusty Krab.
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