Chapter 552: Old Friend

Police Headquarters.

"Director, an invitation from Beidou Consortium," a police officer said, walking into the office and placing something on the desk.

The director, who was writing, paused his hand, looked up at the invitation, slowly straightened himself, and took the invitation.

"That old man is having a birthday and actually sent me an invitation?"

"It's not just you; the Electricity Bureau, the Price Bureau, and several other directors have also been invited... Mu Chunsheng has been operating in the main city for so many years, and his network is extremely deep. He has connections in almost every corner of both the political and business spheres. If it weren't for the Floating Life Scroll always staying out of human affairs, his invitations would probably have reached the heavens."

"Be more confident," the director said unhurriedly. "He definitely sent invitations up there too; it's just that no one paid attention to him."

"So, will you attend this birthday banquet, or not? Shall I decline on your behalf?"

The director didn't answer. Instead, he lightly tapped the desk with his knuckles, as if deep in thought.

"Any developments at the nightclub these past few days?"

"Our plainclothes officers have been secretly investigating for a few days, but haven't found anything unusual... I'm not sure if it rained too heavily that day, or if Li Ruohong had the place deliberately cleaned, but the floor is spotless, with no bloodstains left. We also haven't found the body that was supposedly severed by a single slash. Other than business not being great, there's nothing strange."

The director nodded slightly. "That's normal. The people from the Twilight Society are always extremely cautious; it's not that easy for them to reveal weaknesses... What about that so-called VIP Room 001?"

"Speaking of that room, Li Ruohong seems to have become alert. The rooms on that side have been sealed off, supposedly for renovation and maintenance. Our people didn't want to tip them off, so we didn't sneak in to search... But for all these days, we haven't seen anyone come out of there. Instead, Li Ruohong occasionally goes in and comes out after a few minutes."

"Oh?" The director's eyebrows subtly rose.

"There's another suspicious point... No, I'm not sure if it even counts as one," the officer said, his expression hesitant.

"Xiao Liu, you've been with me for a long time. I trust your instincts and judgment. Feel free to speak your mind."

"Yes," the officer paused for a moment. "These past few days, I've had them secretly examine the trash dumped from the nightclub. After all, from a certain perspective, you can reconstruct what happened inside a nightclub through its garbage..."

"Good idea. And? What did you find?"

"Bandages, large quantities of blood-stained bandages," the officer said in a deep voice. "These bandages seem to be a bit old; the bloodstains on them have already turned black. Only someone with a very severe injury would need so many bandages. At first, I thought these bandages might have been used to deal with the missing body, but on second thought, blood doesn't flow out for long after a person dies, nor would such a large amount of bandages be needed. So..."

"Are you saying, the severely injured associate who was snatched by the Twilight Society back then?"

"Exactly. I suspect the person they took from us is hiding in VIP Room 001 of the nightclub... Of course, this is just a deduction, not yet conclusive evidence."

"I understand."

The director's gaze gradually turned serious. He looked down at the birthday banquet invitation in his hand. After a moment of hesitation, he opened it and calmly stated, "It seems I have no choice but to attend this birthday banquet... Li Ruohong is Mu Chunsheng's nephew, and he will certainly be there. I need to find a suitable opportunity to personally speak with this 'Twilight Society member' and probe him."

"And the nightclub?"

"Once Li Ruohong leaves, security at the nightclub should relax a bit. You should take the opportunity to conduct a more thorough search and see if there are any other clues... But remember, maintain control and don't alert them."

"Understood!"

Chen Ling pondered the birthday banquet for a long time.

By the time Kong Baosheng had finished cooking and served the steaming dishes, Chen Ling was still sitting at the table like a statue, his brow furrowed one moment, relaxed the next, then sinking into deep thought again.

Kong Baosheng had wanted to urge him to eat while the food was hot, but seeing Chen Ling's solemn expression, he held his tongue... In his mind, Mr. Lin was likely troubled by the lack of customers at the opera house. Although he appeared indifferent to it all, he must have been just as anxious as Kong Baosheng himself.

Anyone who bought an opera house only to have no customers would be downcast.

Since Chen Ling hadn't picked up his chopsticks, Kong Baosheng didn't dare to either. He sat obediently, watching Chen Ling in thought... It wasn't until a series of hungry grumbles echoed from his stomach that Chen Ling snapped back to reality and looked at Kong Baosheng, puzzled: "Why aren't you eating?"

"If you're not eating, sir, I don't feel right eating either."

"There's nothing to feel bad about... I was just lost in thought," Chen Ling waved his hand. "Let's eat first. I need to go out after we finish."

Kong Baosheng began eating while asking, puzzled, "Sir, are you going to buy something? I can help with that."

"No," Chen Ling replied calmly, shaking his head. "I'm going to meet an old friend."

Evening.

At the busiest intersection of Hongchen Main City, a towering Western-style building stood silently in the twilight. Unlike other brightly lit high-rises, this building had a classic yet understated design. An old pendulum clock rotated slowly on its roof, reflecting a pale golden light in the setting sun.

At the entrance of this building, four powerful, gilded characters drew the attention of passersby, who paused to look:

—Huang Corporation.

Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Western-style building, Huang Suyue stood in a white nightgown before a massive floor-to-ceiling window, her eyes reflecting the myriad lights of homes gradually illuminating in the twilight. It was unclear what she was thinking.

"...Our Huang Corporation's contracts are the fairest in the entire Hongchen Main City. Neither the profit-sharing ratios nor the artists' restrictions are as predatory as those of the former Huadu Corporation. That's why, after Huadu Corporation collapsed, almost all the artists originally under their banner immediately signed new contracts with us."

"Within half a year, the number of artists under our Huang Corporation skyrocketed, now accounting for sixty percent of Hongchen Main City's artists. Even many artists originally under the Beidou Consortium risked incurring astronomical breach-of-contract fees to re-sign with us..."

"However, our Huang Corporation has risen too quickly and lacks sufficient foundation. Furthermore, the contract situation has angered the Beidou Consortium, and our industry-wide presence is slowly being eroded... If we don't take action soon, I'm afraid we'll quickly become the next Huadu Corporation."

"Miss... no, Chairwoman, what should we do?"

In a corner of the room, Uncle Quan, with temples streaked with grey, held several documents and sighed helplessly.