Chapter 1057: Perplexed and Smitten (117)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Staring at the icy cold expression on her face, the man knew that something must have happened and he hurriedly whipped out his mobile phone to call his colleague who was on duty last night.
However, none of his multiple calls went through. “He’s been on duty for the entire night s.h.i.+ft, he must be sleeping now.”
“Bring me to him, then.”
“Now? I’m still on duty,” the man said hesitantly.
“It won’t matter if you’re away for half an hour.”
Knowing who she was, the guard on duty dared not dally and hurriedly brought her to look for the guard who was on duty the night before.
There were dormitories in the management office meant for security officers and staff on duty who did not want to go home, like the one last night.
They reached the lobby two minutes later, and the three of them entered one after another.
The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor.
The man keyed in the pa.s.sword and led them inside.
The dormitory was rather clean and tidy, devoid of any overwhelming stenches or odors. The man walked toward the bunk bed and patted his colleague who was sleeping. “Da Liang, wake up.”
The man moved and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Da Liang, one of the residents, Ms. An, would like to ask you about something.”
“I want to sleep, we’ll talk when I’m awake.”
“You mean, you’re telling me to wait?” said An Xiaoning.
The man on the bed turned over and squinted at her.
He then hurriedly sat up and asked, “Ms. An, is something wrong?”
“Did anything unusual happen in the estate when you were on duty last night?”
“Anything unusual? What do you mean?”
“Were there any issues with the surveillance cameras in the estate?”
“Any issues?” The man nodded and answered, “Yeah, all the screens went blank for several minutes.”
“What time did that occur?”
“At about… eight or nine o’clock last night. I thought it was faulty, and I was preparing to check on the situation when it miraculously fixed itself.”
“My subordinate went missing in the estate last night, so I hope you’ll cooperate with me. Can you do that?”
Shock was written all over the man’s face. At the thought of his deceased colleague, he frantically said, “Of course. But Ms. An, I hope you won’t spread this around to the other residents in the estate, lest their feelings get affected.”
An Xiaoning knew what he meant.
“Well, that’ll depend on whether or not you’re willing to cooperate with me.”
“Ms. An, rest a.s.sured, we’ll definitely cooperate and a.s.sist you in the investigations.”
“Okay. You may go.”
They headed downstairs again and An Xiaoning asked, “Are there any secret exits in our estate?”
The guard on duty nodded and answered, “Well… there definitely are, but only the staff members like us are aware of them. Residents don’t know of their existence at all. That’s because the back doors and secret exits are used for special purposes. For example… people who are in the spotlight. There are quite a few of them who live in this estate. They have no choice but to go out via those exits in order to avoid the paparazzi. Hence, they’ll pay us a fee to use those exits.”
“Where are the secret exits?”
“Ms. An, please come with me.”
An Xiaoning followed his lead to the back door, which was large enough for cars to pa.s.s through. She took a close look at the cameras without uttering a word.
Seeing that she did not plan to check on this, No. 5 asked, “Sis, should we get the police to investigate on this exit too?”
“No need for that. If they were to leave, they would definitely use the main exit. There are so few people who use the secret exits. Wouldn’t they have made it easier for us to find out who they are if they were to go out via this secret exit? If I were the culprit, I would either bring No. 8 out of the estate or hold him captive within the premises of the estate.”
At this exact moment, Fan s.h.i.+xin called.
An Xiaoning answered, “How’s it going?”
“Young Madam, the Flying Tigers have already verified Sister Zhang’s current location, and she’s now at the black market in D City.”
“She’s at the black market in broad daylight? What is she doing there?” An Xiaoning asked.
“She’s buying some slaves.”
“Got it. s.h.i.+xin, stay out of this for the time being. Focus on the company matters and go to the office first.”
“Yes.”
After ending the call, An Xiaoning looked at the guard on duty and said, “Record the live feed from the surveillance cameras opposite my mansion for the next three days. No. 5, stay here and monitor the situation. I’ll make a trip to D City on my own.”
“Sis, why don’t I go on your behalf? I know that Sister Zhang.”
“No, you won’t be able to manage on your own. She definitely isn’t alone. I’ll go instead.”
“Alright, then. You must be careful, Sis. Why don’t you bring No. 6 and No. 7 along too?”
“No need for that.”
She drove straight to the airport where she waited for forty minutes before boarding the next available flight.
D City was not too far away from A City.
At this time, it was raining cats and dogs in D City. She exited the airport to see that there was a stormy breeze all around and that the sky was covered in gray clouds.
The temperature was much lower here than that in A City.
An Xiaoning hailed a taxi and made her way to the building that housed the black market.
Humans were scarce in the vicinity of the building, perhaps because it was still daytime.
However, there were a few cars along the stretch.
An Xiaoning alighted from the taxi and covered her head with her hands while scurrying toward the building.
Clad in a surgical mask, she entered the elevator, which descended to the third bas.e.m.e.nt.
Just like she had expected, there were very few patrons during the day.
She scanned the people inside and continued walking toward the holding area without stopping.
Not long after, she caught sight of Sister Zhang’s henchman, Liang.
He was standing in front of a part.i.tion door together with a few other bodyguards, keeping his hands by his side and his eyes fixed in front.
He was behaving just like a stern bodyguard.
An Xiaoning stepped forward and removed her mask. The moment Liang saw her, he instinctively retreated backward and stared at her in astonishment. “What do you want?”
“Where’s your master?”
“What do you want?”
“I want to see her. Cut the c.r.a.p,” said An Xiaoning, who then raised her hand in a bid to hit him.
Liang quickly stopped her by saying, “Wait a minute.”
He turned around and opened the door.
“Sister Zhang, An Xiaoning would like to see you.”
“Okay, let her in.” Sister Zhang was not surprised at all, seemingly having already expected that An Xiaoning would look her up.
An Xiaoning entered to see that there was a fair-skinned and pretty… man sitting on Sister Zhang’s lap.
Adjectives used to describe a woman popped up in An Xiaoning’s head, precisely because the man had a feminine appearance — he was rather pet.i.te and svelte.
He had the visual appeal of a woman.
“The Flying Tigers have already informed me that you had checked up on my location. I was initially planning to leave, but I decided to stay here a while longer to wait for you to show up, lest you miss the chance to see me.”
“Did you take Yun Chen away?” An Xiaoning asked with her brows raised.
“Ms. An, you need evidence before you can accuse others. Do you really think I’d be waiting here for you dauntlessly if I had really abducted your subordinate? Of course, you have the right to believe that I’m just saying this on purpose, but I really didn’t take him away.”