Chapter 306: A Difficult Mission
The bathroom door opened a small crack, and a fair, lotus-like arm reached out, holding Zhang Yang's coat. Zhang Yang froze for a moment. Through that narrow gap, he could clearly see most of the scene inside the bathroom.
Although Tang Qiqi had wrapped a towel around her completely bare, snow-white body beforehand, because she was tall, the towel only covered the twin peaks rising proudly on her chest and the mysterious place below. Everything from the upper thighs downward—those white, slender legs—was almost completely exposed. The moment Zhang Yang took the coat, she instantly shut the door.
But in that fleeting glimpse, Zhang Yang vaguely saw a tiny red mark just below her upper thigh. The moment was too brief, and the bathroom was steamy, so he couldn't be certain if it was really there.
He wanted to open the door again immediately to confirm, because if it was true, he would have completed a hidden M-level mission.
But Ao Tian's letter made him afraid to delay even a second longer. He put on his coat and rushed out of the room, ran downstairs, got into the car, and sped toward Wenlin Alley.
When he arrived at the scene, he found the alley completely empty.
When he walked to the spot where Cheng Jisheng had died earlier, he discovered that even the bloodstains were gone—let alone any bullet shells.
Zhang Yang stood stunned in the empty alley, staring blankly at the pitch-black sky. Had everything that happened just now been a dream?
If not for the shattered glass all over the ground beneath the inn confirming that he had indeed been here earlier, Zhang Yang might truly have believed everything from less than eight hours ago had been an illusion.
Right—his phone!
Zhang Yang trembled as he pulled out his phone, found Ao Tian's previous call, and dialed it.
But the phone was turned off.
Zhang Yang tightened his brows. Ao Tian's letter was far too strange. It felt like a farewell message.
And now the scene was cleaned so eerily spotless. On the way to the hotel with Tang Qiqi, the police cars had only just arrived.
From arriving at the hotel, reading the letter, and rushing back, not even fifteen minutes had passed. Yet in those fifteen minutes, they had cleaned the entire scene without leaving a trace. It was unbelievable.
But he had no better options. He called again several times—still turned off.
Ao Tian… I hope you're safe.
Looking at the empty alley, Zhang Yang had no choice but to walk back to the car.
Just as he was about to leave, he looked up and unintentionally noticed a surveillance camera at the street corner.
"Right, there's surveillance here." Zhang Yang immediately thought of the super search system that Xu Danying had just created.
He drove while calling Xu Danying. She should still be on the fifth floor. He had almost forgotten about that little girl.
"Brother-in-law, are you okay? You scared me to death just now. Why did you go to Lijing Hotel?" Xu Danying suddenly lowered her voice. "Brother-in-law… are you and that Tang Qiqi… doing that… that…"
"What 'that that'? And how do you know I went to Lijing Hotel?" Zhang Yang was speechless.
"Did you forget we have that system at home?"
"Oh!" Zhang Yang thought for a moment and immediately understood. They must've been worried and used the system to search for him. Once he entered the hotel, they probably felt embarrassed to keep watching and shut it off.
"Yingying, I'm outside now, not at the hotel." Zhang Yang quickly clarified, afraid of misunderstanding.
Xu Danying hesitated. "You're outside?"
"Yes, I'm right outside Haixin Inn. Can you help me with something?"
Xu Danying still sounded unsure. "But brother-in-law… didn't you just go into Lijing Hotel? I saw you!"
"Just check the surveillance here and you'll know." Zhang Yang raised his hand to look at the time—it was already eleven.
"Eh? Brother-in-law, you really are there. But why did you go back?"
"I'm looking for someone. First, pull up the surveillance footage outside Haixin Inn from earlier."
"After you get the footage, screenshot the person who shot Cheng Jisheng, then use the super search system to track him down."
"Okay, brother-in-law!" Xu Danying answered immediately.
After hanging up, Zhang Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief. With the super search system, finding Ao Tian wouldn't be a problem.
When he returned to the hotel, Tang Qiqi had already showered and changed. Zhang Yang had never seen her in a skirt before. Seeing her in a black short skirt paired with a crimson vest made his heart stir.
Tang Qiqi's height was similar to Yang Fei's—around 1.72 or 1.73 meters. Ao Tian probably didn't know her size well, so the skirt he bought was a bit short. What should've been a knee-length skirt had become a miniskirt.
Her long, white legs were completely exposed. When she moved, the skirt swayed. Maybe because she wasn't used to wearing skirts, whenever her steps widened, and with her not wearing safety shorts underneath, Zhang Yang would catch glimpses of something faint and enticing—enough to make anyone's heart race.
"What are you staring at?" Seeing Zhang Yang's dumbfounded expression, Tang Qiqi looked flustered. She frowned as she stared at his wet clothes. "Go change."
"Yeah." Zhang Yang checked the time—11:15 PM. Less than an hour remained before the hidden M-level mission deadline. According to the system, the pink mole should be on a Star Mender. Of the confirmed ones, there were Yang Jing, Xu Danlu, Gao Qi, and Tang Qiqi standing before him.
Yang Jing, Xu Danlu, and Gao Qi were already confirmed not to have it. Which meant the pink mole was almost certainly on her.
But how was he supposed to tell her?
He couldn't just walk up and say, "Lift your skirt and let me check the top of your thigh."
That would be insane. Even though they had slept together, Zhang Yang hadn't forgotten her loyalty score was negative. Even if her attitude toward him had improved greatly, there was no way it had improved enough for her to casually lift her skirt and show him such a private place.
If only the little demon were here—he could ask her for something to knock Tang Qiqi out quickly. Problem solved.
Zhang Yang took less than ten minutes to shower. The clothes Ao Tian had prepared fit him well. Another wave of emotion rose in his heart. Was Ao Tian alive or dead right now?
If knowing too much put Zhang Yang in danger, wouldn't Ao Tian also be in danger?
Would those people really spare him?
The letter had clearly sounded like a farewell. He must have already known his fate.
Zhang Yang rubbed his wet hair. What a busy New Year's Eve this was turning out to be.
As he walked out of the bathroom toweling his hair, he suddenly felt something was off.
Looking closely, he saw the hotel room door was open. Then he turned toward the bed—his coat was neatly folded on the bedside table, the black case with the SSG69 was untouched, but Tang Qiqi was gone.
"Tang Qiqi?" Zhang Yang called out, but there was no answer. He ran to the hallway and glanced around—but saw no sign of her.
Stunned, he returned to the room and found a note placed on his folded clothes. The handwriting was delicate—clearly Tang Qiqi's.
"Zhang Yang, thank you. Without your help, I couldn't have avenged my foster father. Now it's time for me to leave. I will remember you."
"Tang Qiqi, you idiot!" Zhang Yang clenched the note. She didn't even have money with her—where could she possibly go? Especially in such a dark night.
"Dummy!"
Without another thought, Zhang Yang grabbed the case and rushed out—even forgetting his coat.
He sprinted to the lobby and asked the dozing security guard. But the guy hadn't noticed whether Tang Qiqi had gone out.
Zhang Yang estimated she couldn't have gone far. He jumped into the car. There were two straight roads leading left and right from the hotel entrance.
Zhang Yang closed his eyes briefly and, without overthinking it, sped off to the left. Water splashed high as the tires cut through puddles. After two or three minutes, just as he was about to lose hope, he saw ahead—beside a telephone pole—a lone figure walking slowly.
Crimson vest. Yes—it was her!
"Tang Qiqi!" Zhang Yang jumped out of the car and ran toward her.
Tang Qiqi froze. She turned her head just in time to be pulled into Zhang Yang's tight embrace. She could clearly hear the rapid thumping of his heart.
"You little fool, where were you trying to run? Trying to scare me to death?" Zhang Yang scolded in a rapid-fire burst. "Do you know how dangerous it is outside? Do you have money? Spade Eight may be gone, but what about Diamond Nine?"
…
"Zhang Yang… I'm sorry!" Tang Qiqi trembled as she wrapped her arms around him in return. "I didn't mean to…"
"I just… I just…" She buried her head in his chest, arms tightening around his waist.
"No more just. Let's go home." Seeing her safe made Zhang Yang finally relax a little.
Just as he reached for her hand, Tang Qiqi suddenly rose on her toes. Her soft cherry lips pressed against his, sealing them together.
She had probably never kissed before—her movements were clumsy. But the full curves of her chest pressed against him instantly ignited Zhang Yang. A desire rose from below and spread through him like fire.
Zhang Yang almost violently pried apart her closed lips and captured her small fragrant tongue, sucking it eagerly. Tang Qiqi trembled, her breathing growing heavier and more urgent.
Under the dim streetlights and the cold night wind, the two were wrapped in a heat all their own, clinging desperately to one another.
Zhang Yang's hand slid downward, boldly cupping her full breasts. Tang Qiqi's body stiffened, leaning back, but she soon went soft.
"T-the car…" she murmured before losing herself, pointing instinctively at the spacious Audi behind them.