Chapter 21: Aftermath
"The human trafficking incident last night will naturally be handled by the family, but for other matters, you need to be careful." Qin Ming glanced at Ling Xiao and said with a meaningful tone, "There's news that Shizhi Xuan is annoyed about being ambushed by us, but he's more concerned about the box that was stolen by someone unknown. He has mobilized his forces and started searching the entire Los Angeles for a man wearing a monkey-face mask. You need to be careful."
"Hmm, I expected that!" Ling Xiao sighed softly. Such a thing had long been within his expectations.
Ling Xiao couldn't be sure if Shizhi Xuan knew that the box contained vibranium, but no matter who wanted that box later, they would definitely pressure Shizhi Xuan after learning of its loss, and he would have to give an explanation.
"You also need to pay attention to something." Ling Xiao looked up, scanning the fair, long legs of the beauties walking past him, and lowered his voice to Qin Ming, saying, "Any intelligent person, with a little investigation, can discover the connection between you and me. I'm not worried about myself, but you..."
"I know!" Qin Ming knew what Ling Xiao was talking about. The Japanese would find that the number of times the monkey-faced man appeared was inextricably linked to himself. As long as they weren't stupid, they would keep a close eye on him, and might even directly target him.
Taking a sip of his apple cocktail, Qin Ming said in a low voice, "If there's nothing too special during this period, let's not contact each other anymore. If anything happens, Xiao Qi will come to find you. As for myself, I'm alone anyway. I don't believe anyone would dare to lay a hand on me while I'm staying at Boss Zhang's house."
Hearing Qin Ming say this, Ling Xiao looked at him with some surprise, and asked doubtfully, "You wouldn't be eyeing the Zhang family's little daughter, would you? Be careful, Zhang Xiaotian might chop you to pieces!"
"What are you talking about?" Qin Ming glared at Ling Xiao in annoyance, saying somewhat displeased, "Xiao Xuan isn't even sixteen yet. Am I that kind of scum?"
"Don't say it, you really are!" After saying that, Ling Xiao himself laughed. He raised his wine glass and lightly clinked it with Qin Ming's, then said with a smile, "Oh, right, there's one more thing I need your help with. Could you help me investigate who, over a decade ago, especially within the Nisshin-kai in Los Angeles, was most skilled at killing with a knife—a single, low-angle stab aimed at the kidney, causing the victim to go into immediate shock. Especially those individuals who have disappeared in recent years."
"Why are you looking into this?" Qin Ming looked at Ling Xiao with some confusion. Seeing that Ling Xiao didn't speak, he shook his head and said, "Such a matter isn't easy to investigate. I'll have to go back and ask the elders in my family; perhaps they'll have some recollection."
"I appreciate your trouble. I owe you one for this." Ling Xiao raised his glass and clinked it with Qin Ming's. Ling Xiao had never mentioned Beckett's matter to Qin Ming; after all, it was better not to let him know about things involving collusion with the police.
Qin Ming gently shook his head and said, "What are you talking about? If we're really counting, I don't know how many times I've owed you."
Ling Xiao smiled helplessly and said, "Have a good time tonight. Be careful on your way back. The Japanese might already be watching you."
"I know." Qin Ming was very sober now. As he walked into the crowd, he said, "I won't be going back to my place tonight. Someone might already be watching it. So, I'll have to stay at your school tonight. Haha!"
Watching Qin Ming, while speaking, already flirting with a petite, beautiful blonde woman with bright eyes and white teeth, Ling Xiao could only shake his head helplessly and chuckled softly.
Ling Xiao had always stood on the periphery of the crowd, his gaze sweeping around. The surroundings were filled with people seeking pleasure, and not a single person's gaze fell on Qin Ming. It had always been like this, which truly made Ling Xiao breathe a sigh of relief.
If someone had really targeted Qin Ming here, given the current situation, Ling Xiao would have no choice but to find a way to act here.
After a slight distraction, Qin Ming's trace was no longer in Ling Xiao's sight. Ling Xiao couldn't help but laugh. If he remembered correctly, Qin Ming should have left with the petite beauty he had flirted with earlier. As for what they were doing, Ling Xiao didn't need to say more.
Qin Ming is currently only a small hall master in the Four Seas Association, but Zhang Xiaotian highly values him. Qin Ming's strength is also ranked first among the younger generation, not much different from the older generation.
Moreover, he is still very young. If Zhang Xiaotian were not in his prime, rumors might have spread about Qin Ming taking over. "Praise to kill" is not uncommon anywhere, and if they encountered a narrow-minded gang leader, they might secretly act against Qin Ming.
Of course, Zhang Xiaotian is not a broad-minded person either, but this guy has great ambitions. How could a small Four Seas Association accommodate him, a Dragon? Just wait and see, Ling Xiao has a premonition that perhaps in the future, the entire Chinese underground world in LA will be under his command.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" A fair hand lightly waved in front of Ling Xiao's eyes, waking him from his contemplation.
Ling Xiao looked at Nadia, who appeared before him, smiled gently, and whispered, "Nothing, just thinking about some things. But you're a bit late. By the way, you look really beautiful today."
"Thank you!" Nadia looked at Ling Xiao's lingering gaze on her and smiled contentedly.
Nadia was wearing a beige hollow-out plaid shirt today, with a black bra underneath, exuding immense charm.
"What would you like to drink?" Ling Xiao withdrew his gaze, looked towards the bar, and asked in a low voice.
Nadia casually said to the bartender who came over, "A tequila, please!"
"Wow!" Ling Xiao couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice. This kind of drink seemed a bit strong for the current occasion. She was truly a rose with thorns!
"Haha!" Seeing Ling Xiao's somewhat exaggerated expression, Nadia couldn't help but laugh. Taking the tequila handed to her by the bartender, Nadia drank it in one gulp, then looked up, raised an eyebrow, and said to Ling Xiao, "How about it, do you want one?"
"I'll pass. I'll stick to beer." Ling Xiao smiled slightly. For someone like him, although it was unlikely he would get drunk no matter what he drank, his strict self-discipline didn't allow him to relax in this regard.
Nadia signaled the bartender to get her another drink, then leaned sideways against Ling Xiao and softly asked, "I heard you've been researching methods to combine Eastern medicine and gene pharmacology recently. How's the progress?"
Ling Xiao took a small sip of the beer in his hand and said frankly, "Eastern pharmaceutical companies are doing very well in this area. They crush and recombine various traditional Chinese medicinal materials at the micro-particle level, allowing the various drugs to react fully and maximize their efficacy. However, for Eastern medicine, what's truly important are the inherited medicinal formulas of each family. These things are deeply hidden, and I can't get them out!"
"Oh!" Nadia knew these things very well. She turned around and directly poured a glass of tequila down her throat, the golden liquid flowing down her smooth neck.
The men who saw this scene couldn't help but swallow, and Ling Xiao was naturally no exception. He was only a twenty-one-year-old young man, in the prime of his energy. His previous indifference had already consumed a lot of his mental energy, so how could he suppress this fatal temptation now?
Ling Xiao turned around and tightly embraced Nadia.
Suddenly, Nadia pushed Ling Xiao away, let out a charming laugh, then turned and walked away, her steps incredibly fast, giving Ling Xiao no chance to catch up.