Chapter 551: Storm Clouds Gathering

"As expected, they've grown suspicious."

Chen Ling stood on the second floor of the Jinghong Building, his hands resting on the railing, his gaze lingering on the casino and dance hall across the street. To a casual observer, the two establishments appeared normal, but to someone as observant as Chen Ling, the subtle differences were clear. Overnight, several tramps, rickshaws, and disgruntled passersby appeared around the Grand World Dance Hall. While there were still many customers, most were likely plainclothes officers. Li Ruohong, lacking experience in such matters, probably hadn't noticed anything unusual and was unaware that his dance hall had been tagged as a "suspected Twilight Society stronghold." Chen Ling was even certain that people from the Fleeting Life Syndicate had already begun monitoring the dance hall, meaning he could no longer enter it as freely as yesterday, nor could he brazenly stage another grand show right under their noses.

However, this was no problem for Chen Ling. He had no desire to use the same tactic twice, and even without entering the dance hall, he still had ways to continue "packaging" it.

"Frequent 'accidents' and exaggerated performances would only make the Fleeting Life Syndicate more suspicious, backfiring on us... It's better to let things take their natural course for the next few days.""Yesterday, I left a few 'Easter eggs' in the dance hall. At this stage, letting them discover things on their own might be more effective than my direct intervention.""Besides, with those two spies from the Wuji Realm inside the dance hall, I don't need to intervene much to achieve excellent dramatic effect..."

Chen Ling quickly assessed the situation and planned the next stages of his "script." Just as he was about to go downstairs, he caught sight of several plainclothes officers guarding the casino entrance, exchanging words. Then, one of them glanced towards the Jinghong Building, appearing quite puzzled.

Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly."So they've noticed this playhouse... That's understandable. After all, there's been recent conflict between here and the dance hall, so it's bound to attract some attention.""However, my background can't be reasonably explained at the moment. If they really start investigating me, things could get tricky..."

Chen Ling pondered as he turned and descended the stairs.

As soon as he reached the first floor, he saw Kong Baosheng jogging in from outside, carrying a stack of items. The two "door guardians" at the entrance glared menacingly at him, but Kong Baosheng seemed accustomed to it by now and simply ignored them.

"Mr. Lin, I've bought all the newspapers you wanted.""Good, just put them down."

Chen Ling returned to his rocking chair, taking the stack of newspapers in his hand. He began to read through them one by one, while eating the fruit Kong Baosheng had prepared. These were newspapers from Red Dust City from the past six months, picking up exactly where Chen Ling's last visit left off. Learning from previous experience, this time Chen Ling had only asked Kong Baosheng to buy non-entertainment newspapers, filtering out most of the irrelevant information. Seeing this, Kong Baosheng didn't approach to disturb him. Instead, he took out ingredients he'd bought on his way, entered the kitchen, and began to cook.

The rhythmic thud of the cleaver on the cutting board mingled with the occasional rustle of turning newspaper pages. This blend of sounds, steeped in the warm sunlight, enveloped the entire playhouse in a leisurely, slow rhythm.

"Excuse me, can one watch a play here?" a passerby asked cautiously as they walked past the playhouse entrance."Watch your mother! Get lost!!"

The two door guardians glared, and the passerby fled in terror. This was the second customer they had scared away that day. Although opera audiences were sparse in this era, there were still some. Even with the newly opened Jinghong Building's low profile, given the street's foot traffic, people would occasionally inquire. Despite scaring away another customer, the young man holding the baseball bat wasn't feeling particularly pleased. He glanced back at the tranquil playhouse, and inexplicably felt like a mere guard dog.

"Seriously, we're ruining his business, and he's not even a little bit angry?" he asked, baffled."I don't know, his composure is too stable. He even smiled at us just now.""He's faking it... he definitely is!""I think so too. Deep down, he must be furious, but he just doesn't show it... In the end, he's just a phony pushover."

Chen Ling casually placed one newspaper back on the table and picked up the newest one. Seeing the headline, his eyebrows suddenly rose.

"Beidou Conglomerate Chairman Mu Chunsheng is holding a birthday banquet... Those two spies seemed to have mentioned it, too."

Chen Ling's gaze shifted to the main article. The banquet seemed to be of a grand scale, not only inviting numerous celebrities, *huadan* (female opera roles), and famous performers from Red Dust City, but also a large number of prominent figures from the political and business spheres. Most of the names were familiar to Chen Ling.

"Whale Shark Conglomerate Chairman Su Xiaohong, Paradise Conglomerate Chairman Pang Shan, Dinglu Conglomerate Chairman Lu Yuanzheng, Huang Conglomerate Chairman Huang Suyue... Huh??"

Seeing the last name, Chen Ling paused. He remembered Huang Suyue vividly; he had even swindled her out of 500,000 when he first arrived in Red Dust City. The then-struggling heiress of the Huang Conglomerate had, in just six months, transformed into the chairwoman of one of the new five major conglomerates. Chen Ling thoroughly flipped through related newspapers and discovered that on the very day he had left Red Dust City six months prior, Zong Wen, the chairman of the Huadu Conglomerate, had been skinned and killed. The already tottering Huadu Conglomerate completely collapsed, while the Huang Conglomerate reacted fastest, acquiring Huadu's assets and foundations at all costs, and rapidly developed into a new powerhouse in Red Dust City within just half a year.

It seemed the hint he had left her before his departure had indeed played a role."But... who killed Zong Wen?" Chen Ling mused. Whoever could kill Zong Wen with such brutal methods must be a bitter enemy, holding a deep-seated grudge. But how did they breach the Huadu Conglomerate's security, quietly approach Zong Wen, and carry out such a prolonged killing?

Chen Ling pondered for a long time, then set that newspaper aside, redirecting his attention to the news about Mu Chunsheng's birthday banquet.

"If nothing unexpected happens, Li Ruohong will definitely attend this banquet, and he'll secretly bring those two spies with him... A seemingly lively and joyous birthday celebration, yet secretly involving a conspiratorial confrontation between two great realms. The waters here run truly deep...""But that's good. The deeper the water, the better for me to fish in troubled waters... If all goes well, I can not only solve the casino's predicament but also deal with those two spies from the Wuji Realm, while simultaneously solidifying my position in Red Dust City.""The only question is, what role should I play in this banquet...?"

Chen Ling rubbed his chin with one hand, lost in thought.