Chapter 713: Major Incidents
Tang Xiu hurriedly left Zhang Xinyue’s beauty parlor and came outside, and immediately asked after boarding the car, “Awu, tell me the specifics about the situation.”
Awu did not start the car but handed over a pile of doc.u.ments, saying, “The murderers’ methods used in the four homicide cases happened in Shanghai last night were extremely cruel. A team of four from the state’s Special Department who were involved in the incident were also killed. Based on the statistic, the total number of casualties and victims is 16, and the four murder scenes are in the north, south, west, and east of Shanghai.”
“Was there any similar cases before?” asked Tang Xiu with a deep frown.
“Yeah, there have been three murder cases in the past two days.” Mo Awu nodded. “One of them was a case with the beasts we already know, the Stygian Club’s a.s.sa.s.sination agents, while the other two were similar to last night’s case. I suspect that the real culprit of these six murder cases should be of the same group of people, but I still can’t figure out their motives yet.”
Tang Xiu pondered for a moment and then took out his mobile phone to call Li Xiaojie. What surprised him was that this man, who was a member of the national intelligence department, did not even know what happened. However, he told Tang Xiu another matter. Some members of the Special Combat Squad had secretly rushed to Shanghai.
“What is their purpose?” Tang Xiu touched his chin as a pondering light flashed in his eyes.
Mo Awu did not disturb Tang Xiu, and only asked after Tang Xiu took out a cigarette and lit it, “So, where are we going now, Boss?”
“To the Paradise Manor!” Said Tang Xiu. “I don’t know whether these criminal cases are related to Shanjenna or not, but the situation in Shanghai is very obvious. Some undercurrent is currently happening here. There’s no way that all these incidents are accidental. Thus, you will a.s.sign some people to stay hidden in the Paradise Manor to ensure Shanjenna’s safety.”
“Affirmative,” replied Mo Awu.
Tang Xiu returned to the Paradise Manor and went to see Qin Shaoyang first to tell him about Zhang Xinya’s decision. Afterward, he went to the foreign-styled building and saw that a heavy container truck was moving down the road. It had delivered the research equipment needed by Mo Yi.
“Shanjenna, you are not to leave this building without my permission, there’s something happening out there now. Shanghai is currently very dangerous, and I don’t want for any unexpected accidents to happen,” said Tang Xiu straight to Shanjenna just after he arrived.
“What danger?” Shanjenna’s face slightly changed; she thought it was the a.s.sa.s.sination agents sent by the Stygian Club to hunt her down again. It had to be noted that the Darksoul Scent was still on her, and if other a.s.sa.s.sination agents had come to Shanghai, they would definitely be able to track the smell and find her here.
“There have been major incidents and murders in Shanghai recently, and some people from China’s Special Department were involved in the cases; even the military was said to have moved as well. I still can’t figure out the motive, so I’ll stay here for the time being. Also, I’ve already a.s.signed my men to stay around the vicinity to protect your safety.”
Shanjenna nodded with a solemn expression. What Tang Xiu said to her was like a shot of tranquilizer that suppressed her fear. After all, she knew that Tang Xiu and his men were incomparably formidable. If they could not protect her, then there would be no safe place anymore under the sky.
And yet, she was very curious about something. Who could be so bold as to commit such wanton killing in China? She knew some things of this country and naturally knew that they would definitely meet a bad end against the entire country. Suddenly, her body trembled as she recalled something and hurriedly said, “I know something that might be useful to you, Mr. Tang.”
“What is it?” Asked Tang Xiu.
“When I fled all the way from Europe I had no fixed route at all, then I accidentally stumbled across a business deal after half a month in the run. I do not know the specific details about that deal, but I know that it was something related to a technological product that can be applied to weapons. When they talked about it, they said that they would come to Shanghai in the near future to carry on the transaction.”
“Who is the other party?” Asked Tang Xiu immediately.
“I don’t know.” Shanjenna shook her head. “I did not pay attention at that time, I only remember that there was a caucasian man named Austin Cole. That’s right, he said that he has quite a few strings in a certain state-owned enterprise company, and that he has full authority to carry on the transaction and is willing to bear the consequences if things go wrong.”
Tang Xiu turned his head toward Mo Awu and said, “Investigate this state-owned enterprise as well as the details of this Austin Cole guy.”
Mo Awu did not move, and after being silent for a while, he slowly said, “I think I know this SEO company, Boss. I also know this Austin Cole. This state-owned enterprise engages in a pharmaceutical industry and deals with drugs and medical equipment, but behind it is a very mysterious arms dealer company in Europe. Austin Cole is the third person in the rank of this SEO and controls half of its armed forces. I once interacted with him in the past. He’s a ruthless fellow.”
“So, he’s an armed smuggler, but why did he come to China?” Tang Xiu frowned. “Could it be that he wants to do business here?”
“I don’t know about that.” Mo Awu shook head. “The members of this SEO company stay mostly in the dark, especially those three guys at the top. They are the epitome of a fox’s slyness, the vigilance and cautiousness of a rat, as well as the ferociousness of a wolf. Very few people dare to provoke these guys in Europe.”
“Send our men to carry on an investigation on this Austin Cole, whether he really came to Shanghai,” said Tang Xiu. “I am not someone from the government, but these people came to Shanghai and wantonly killed people here. So I’ll clean them up since I’m here.”
“This matter is perhaps not as simple as it looks, Boss,” said Mo Awu. “If this is really the work of that SEO company they must have quite a huge target, else they would not easily come to China and neither would they choose such a major city like Shanghai as their destination.”
“Just do the investigation!” Said Tang Xiu. “We’ll further discuss after we get some results.”
“Understood!” Replied Mo Awu, striding out of the room.
Tang Xiu then glanced at Shanjenna and said with a smile, “I will give you a handsome gift if the people commiting murder in Shanghai are really from this SEO company like you said.”
That piqued Shanjenna interest, as she asked curiously, “What handsome gift?”
“If I were to tell you now and the results of the investigation turned out to be different than what you said, you’ll be disappointed,” said Tang Xiu with a smile. “So I’ll make you look forward to it while waiting for the investigation results. Anyways, work well with Professor Mo, my men will take care of the security issues.”
“Got it!” Shanjenna shrugged her shoulders and nodded.
Tang Xiu did not stay there for long. After going to Ouyang Lulu’s residence, he directly entered the room, his gaze sweeping over the gift boxes he received last night. He then walked over and opened the first gift box. He immediately started upon seeing a pair of white jade pendants inside, and what surprised him was that the white jades contained spiritual qi within.
“Eh, this is a magic tool?” After a moment’s observation, the surprised expression on Tang Xiu’s face turned more intense.
He immediately opened the second gift box. Inside was a manual of a fist style ill.u.s.tration, and the manual should be around for many years judging from its yellowed pages. After opening the third gift box, Tang Xiu’s breath slightly stagnated as a well-preserved Millennium Ginseng was presented before him.
“This gift…” Tang Xiu recalled Ji Mu’s att.i.tude and gestures last night.
Though he was the owner of the Magnificent Tang Corporation as well as a member of Beijing’s Tang Family, it was not enough to make Ji Mu spend so much money. One must know that this pair of white jade pendants could definitely be sold at a sky-high price to people who could appraise fine objects. On the other hand, this 2,000 years old wild ginseng was at least worth nine digits. Even the fist style ill.u.s.tration manual could be sold at a huge profit to people in the martial arts circle.
“What is his purpose?”
The thought filled Tang Xiu’s mind as he slowly opened the fourth gift box, which was also the biggest one. When the item inside was presented before him, he still got startled despite having seen a lot of treasures before.
It was a zither made of white jade!
Its body was cast from white jade while the strings were from an aquatic dragon’s tendons. The Fire Bead was embedded on the right side while the Water Bead was inlaid in the left. The body of the zither was pattern engraved and a surge of spiritual power circulated through the whole body, giving off a dazzling sense of aesthetic on its own.
“This is a priceless beauty.”
Tang Xiu furrowed his brows, and the baffled expression on his face got even more intense.
After a long time, he dialed Ji Mu’s cell number and straightly spoke after he accepted his call, “Ji Mu, I’ve seen your gifts. If you have time now, come to the Paradise Manor, there are some things we need to discuss clearly.”
“Did you like the gifts I sent you, Brother Tang?” Ji Mu did not answer Tang Xiu but raised a question instead.
“All of them are great items, no one would dislike them,” said Tang Xiu.
“Then my purpose has been accomplished, Brother Tang.” Ji Mu smiled. “You are someone who can appreciate good items, and maybe you can use them well. Those articles will be wasted if I keep them, so they are yours since I already gifted them to you.”
“Just come here and have a chat with me,” said Tang Xiu. “You can request one thing from me as long as it’s not too demanding.”
“…”
Ji Mu was silent. His purpose was very simple. He just desired to follow Tang Xiu and directly learn those peerless abilities, but he did not know whether he should raise the issue now. It would be equal to a transaction if he were to do that, but all of his efforts to reach his goal would be completely for naught if the deal did not work out.
“Is there a problem?” Asked Tang Xiu.
“Just wait for me,” said Ji Mu. “I need two hours to get there.”
Tang Xiu hung up the phone and looked at the items in front of him, and then picked up the one-foot wide white jade zither. Back when he played in the opening ceremony at Shanghai University, he could definitely have played a more wonderful music if he had this white jade zither then.