He answered the old man’s earlier question frankly.
Since he had decided to make some money here, it was bound to happen sooner or later, something he couldn’t avoid.
“As expected, you do have some skills.”
The old man suddenly exclaimed again, and Li Chonglou couldn’t help but ask, “So you know me?”
“I’ve heard of you.”
Without changing his expression, the old man casually tossed the corpse aside and walked back to a fixed-line telephone.
Under normal circumstances, Li Chonglou could leave now. Once the old man finished his call, he would receive a notification about his payment within a minute.
Only those who were submitting a task for the first time would stay to confirm the information before leaving.
However, this time, he wasn’t in a hurry to leave. The old man in front of him clearly knew something.
“Where did you hear about me? I don’t think I know anyone at the headquarters.”
Old Master Tie smiled and didn’t answer directly. He made the call first.
“Task for Number One, yes, it’s been verified.”
After finishing, Old Master Tie hung up the phone and leisurely sat back down.
“It seems they’ve decided to recruit you, and even gave you the 001 identity card.”
Old Master Tie picked up the teapot and poured a cup for Li Chonglou as he spoke.
“Thank you. Senior, please explain it more clearly.”
Li Chonglou calmly met Old Master Tie’s gaze. For some reason, he felt a subtle threat from this old man who was clearly over sixty years old!
He had walked too fast to see or hear the discussions about himself in the hall earlier.
Li Chonglou knew nothing about this extraordinary old man in front of him.
Old Master Tie clearly saw this and chuckled before introducing himself, “My name is Tie Shan, but I’m several generations older than you, so just call me Old Tie.”
Old Master Tie usually only allowed those close to him to address him that way. For outsiders, calling him Old Tie was sufficient.
Li Chonglou simply nodded, waiting for him to continue.
Old Master Tie continued, “That girl Xiao Qian always thought I merely protected her, and that you were the choice made by the higher-ups. But in reality, the one I wanted to protect from the very beginning was you.”
These words were like a thunderclap in clear skies, and Li Chonglou was stunned.
“You, you really know me?”
No, that wasn’t the right question to ask! However, since the words were out, Li Chonglou didn’t change his phrasing. After a slight recovery, he frowned deeply.
He was certain he didn’t know anyone at the Capital Headquarters. Even if he did, they would be Lin Qianqian’s senior brothers, but those were his enemies, and more importantly, they didn’t know him either!
If Old Master Tie hadn’t said the last sentence, he could have understood it as being because of Lin Qianqian. But the last sentence clearly implied that he knew him before Lin Qianqian!
And he had proactively intervened to protect him?
As Li Chonglou asked, his mind was racing, trying to analyze whether this person was friend or foe.
To his surprise, Old Master Tie didn’t hide anything and said directly, “Kid, don’t be nervous. If I had hostile intentions, I wouldn’t have protected you. I was the previous boss of the headquarters, and I know your identity. Long Yi was also brought out by me.”
“Hmm?”
Li Chonglou’s eyes widened. Long Yi, wasn’t that the codename of his Dragon Group leader? He was his senior?
Was this old man his leader’s leader?
Thinking of this, he instantly felt foolish.
“Heh, no need to get so excited. I’m an old man, my bones are practically dust, I can only move my mouth.”
Although he said this, Li Chonglou could still see a clear look of pride on his face.
The sheer volume of information was overwhelming, and Li Chonglou struggled to discern the other party’s intentions. He could only cautiously ask, “Um, Senior Old Tie, I wonder if you are here for…”
Old Master Tie immediately rolled his eyes dramatically.
“What, you mean I helped you with some ulterior motive?”
“Heh, no matter what, Long Yi is my student. Do you think I need a reason to help my own student?”
Li Chonglou breathed a sigh of relief, quickly bowed to Old Master Tie, and said, “Then thank you, Senior Old Tie. I have some urgent matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now. I’ll buy a good gift to thank you later!”
After speaking, Li Chonglou tried to leave quickly. However, as soon as he moved, Old Master Tie’s reprimand blasted into his ears.
“Stop!”
His voice was full of energy, and no one would dispute if someone said it belonged to a man in his thirties!
Li Chonglou instinctively froze and slowly turned around, just in time to see Old Master Tie’s grim expression.
It’s over, he had truly fallen into the wolf’s den this time. He just didn’t know what they wanted this time.
Li Chonglou sighed inwardly, and at the same time, he heard Old Master Tie speak in a completely different tone.
“You brat, you really are a sharp one. You think you can dismiss me with just a thank you?”
Li Chonglou coughed lightly, “Senior, didn’t you just say you were helping me as a favor, because my leader was your subordinate?”
When Old Master Tie heard the words “subordinate,” he was momentarily stunned, but he quickly remembered that he had just said Long Yi was his student.
“Uh, this is the righteous path. Don’t use your underworld terms. This is called a teacher-student relationship, much more reliable than your boss-subordinate connections.”
Li Chonglou didn’t deny this. In this era, many bosses and subordinates were merely bound by self-interest. Green Bull and A Niu were not isolated cases.
This was the norm.
However, wasn’t this topic straying again!
Li Chonglou looked at Old Master Tie, a hint of deep helplessness flashing in his eyes.
Seeing that he didn’t respond, the latter finally brought the conversation back, “When I said that just now, it was merely humility, do you understand humility!”
Li Chonglou still didn’t respond.
“Forget it. It seems that at your age, you’re all driven by hot-blooded passion. I’ll be direct with you. The reason I helped you this time, though it’s related to Long Yi, is primarily because…”
Before Old Master Tie could finish, Li Chonglou directly interrupted, “Um, if I recall correctly, you initially said I was their choice? Meaning, my affairs have nothing to do with you, Senior?”
The old man’s entire face froze. Only then did he realize that he had slipped up from the beginning.
But what he didn’t expect was how quickly Li Chonglou reacted! And how thick-skinned he was! He could use this as an excuse to refuse?
Old Master Tie vaguely remembered that even when he had made a rare exception to speak up for someone, he hadn’t felt this… awkward.
He had met his match!