Heedless of the veiled threat, Li Chonglou paid it no mind.
Even less so Bai Jing, a soldier trained in special forces. If she faltered at mere words, how could she possibly handle dangerous missions?
"We'll see!" Bai Jing's lips curled with a hint of disdain.
She already found Yang Qian, that clueless fellow, utterly irritating.
His face was still swollen, yet he dared to issue threats.
He was practically begging for another beating!
At this moment, Li Chonglou's thoughts were entirely absorbed by the base in his hand.
Its external appearance remained unchanged, yet internally, a tempest raged.
"Finally found it. If my senior sister knew, she should rush to Zhonghai immediately, right?"
"Only by obtaining this can the mystery of Shi Boqiong's whereabouts be solved."
"Master, Senior Sister, I, Li Chonglou, will use all my luck in this life to find Shi Boqiong and change your destinies!"
Li Chonglou was never a saint, nor was he so benevolent as to consider the welfare of all humankind.
He only wished for those he cared about to be safe and sound.
Thus, even though his Master had spoken of a great cataclysm that might engulf humanity, he paid it little heed.
Furthermore, in his previous life, he had transmigrated back at the age of seventy, and humanity had not yet perished.
His Master had said it would be anywhere from a decade to sixty years.
There was still plenty of time.
A man who does not plan for the distant future will find sorrow close at hand, but looking too far ahead was merely wishful thinking.
The present, however, was real.
"Boss Li, don't worry. While the Hu Yang Group is powerful, if they try to cause trouble for you, how could I stand idly by?" Tong Zhaolin, seeing Li Chonglou lost in thought, mistook his silence for worry about Yang Qian's threat and offered his assurance.
His call brought Li Chonglou's thoughts back from the tide. His gaze cleared, and he nodded, replying, "Let's not speak of him. Find a place, I have something I wish to ask Boss Tong."
Tong Zhaolin immediately led the two away.
They ascended to the VIP lounge on the third floor.
"Thank you, Boss Zeng, for helping us out and giving us such a generous gift," Bai Jing, with her sharp mind, expressed her gratitude on behalf of Li Chonglou.
During the auction just now, had it not been for Tong Zhaolin's timely appearance and declaration to pay for Li Chonglou,
He might have been unable to leave even after successfully acquiring the item.
She knew full well this was Tong Zhaolin's overture of goodwill, and thus could not ignore it.
"Not at all, not at all. You are my esteemed guests, and on my own turf, how could I stand idly by?" Zeng Zhaolin offered a perfunctory reply.
He then inquired, "What is it that Boss Li wishes to ask me? I will answer anything you ask."
Since receiving instructions from the Vice President, Tong Zhaolin's attitude towards Li Chonglou and Bai Jing had been poles apart.
He was so much more enthusiastic.
"It's like this, where did Libao Zhai obtain this piece of meteorite from?" Li Chonglou got straight to the point, placing the base in his palm.
From the moment he received it, it had remained in his grasp, never once loosened.
The entire base had become warm.
The patina on it seemed to have been polished to a sheen by his touch.
But it still looked unremarkable.
Even Tong Zhaolin, the broker, could not discern anything special about it.
He hadn't expected Li Chonglou to ask about this and immediately shook his head with a smile, saying, "It's quite a coincidence. I have a partner in Yong'an who shares the same surname as Boss Li."
"This item was sent to me by one of his subordinates, who wanted me to use it as a reference to investigate its origins and history."
"Unfortunately, before the item arrived, that person died."
"Even my partner was stabbed to death by a small-time punk. Wouldn't you say that's unlucky?"
"I spent several days investigating this item, but couldn't find its source, so I put it up for auction. Who would have thought Mr. Li would take an immediate liking to it."
"Could it be that you know its origin?"
Tong Zhaolin appeared exceedingly candid. His explanation perfectly matched what Li Chonglou already knew.
His heart instantly felt enlightened.
Yan Bin must not have wanted Li Hanlong to know he was searching for his birth parents, hence he had asked Tong Zhaolin for help.
As a result, he was killed so brutally. With Li Hanlong's death, the artifact smuggling ring was exposed, and he was assigned a mission to this place after joining the Eagle program.
Encountering this treasure, everything fell into place so naturally.
It could be said that fate had a hand in everything.
No one had expected that what was sought for so long would be so easily obtained.
His senior sister would surely be delighted if she knew, but alas, he was on a mission now, and for safety's sake, he could not contact anyone.
He had even changed his phone number.
For now, he could only keep the base in his possession.
Under no circumstances could he reveal even the slightest bit of information to anyone.
So, after some thought, he replied, "The person you entrusted to investigate should be named Yan Bin. He grew up in an orphanage with a good friend of mine."
"He died, and my friend then entrusted me to find his belongings at all costs, to clarify his life's story and fulfill his dying wish."
"Who would have thought we would meet today? It truly is destiny's arrangement."
Li Chonglou wove a tale of truth and falsehood, embellishing it extensively. In any case, he did not need to be truthful with Tong Zhaolin.
As it happened, Yan Bin had indeed asked him to investigate his own background, so this explanation was perfectly aligned.
As expected, Tong Zhaolin's face flushed slightly, appearing somewhat ashamed.
Someone had entrusted him to investigate, yet that person died. To test Li Chonglou, he had prematurely arranged this auction, and this item was purely meant to fill a gap.
He hadn't expected it to involve so many complications.
"Since that's the case, I, Tong, can also provide an explanation to that child," Tong Zhaolin said with feigned sincerity.
Li Chonglou and Bai Jing observed this, but neither chose to expose him.
Next, the topic shifted to his batch of goods.
Now that Tong Zhaolin no longer harbored any doubts, business matters proceeded smoothly.
They agreed to transport the goods to Zhonghai in three days, then meet to appraise them and sign the contract.
Li Chonglou had intended to seize the opportunity to discuss Xingzhi Group, but due to the overwhelming events of the day, his mind wasn't on that matter; it was consumed by the base in his heart.
Therefore, he held back.
Eager to return to the hotel, Li Chonglou prepared to leave with Bai Jing.
But Tong Zhaolin stopped him, "Boss Li, haven't you forgotten that Yang Qian is blocking your way ahead?"
"I believe you wouldn't want to stir up trouble, so let's use the underground route."
Libao Zhai had its own underground parking lot for employees, while guests parked in the above-ground lot.
Yang Qian had called his men to surround both the front and back entrances. If they left, conflict was inevitable.
Although Xingzhi Group was not afraid of Hu Yang Group, such mutually destructive conflict was utterly unnecessary.
Li Chonglou also did not wish to encounter that spoiled rich second-generation heir again.
He left his car at Libao Zhai and rode with Tong Zhaolin back to the hotel.
Outside Libao Zhai, countless burly men in black suits and sunglasses stood guard at the front and back entrances, with over thirty of them.
The scene was spectacular, attracting the attention of passersby, but no one dared to approach.
Those who didn't know would have thought it was an exercise.
These men waited for over two hours, but Li Chonglou did not appear.
When the report reached Yang Qian, he was so enraged that his spirits went berserk, and veins bulged on his forehead as he roared, "Smash it! Smash his car!"
At his command, the car Bai Jing had driven was instantly reduced to a pile of scrap metal.
Yang Qian roared from outside the gate, "You little brat, don't think it's over. If I don't find you, I'll write my surname backward. Just wait for me, young master."
After issuing his threat, he led his men away.
Meanwhile, Li Chonglou, who had long since returned to the hotel and was engrossed in studying the base in his room, had no idea of Yang Qian's antics.
He had carefully wiped away much of the black lacquer from the dark base.
Revealing the Widmanstätten patterns characteristic of meteoric iron.
The appraiser had not been wrong; this base was indeed extraterrestrial iron.
But what they didn't know was that this piece of meteorite contained an extremely mysterious power, the key to activating the Shi Boqiong.
Following his memory, Li Chonglou traced the ancient and mysterious symbols carved on the base.
In his previous life, he had accidentally dripped his blood into the symbols, which activated the Shi Boqiong, allowing his soul to transmigrate through time and space and be reborn into this body.
He wondered if it could be activated without the Shi Boqiong.
Acting on his thought, Li Chonglou bit his finger fiercely. A drop of blood dripped onto the base.
*Hummm...*
Instantly, the small base trembled in his hand. The blood, as if drawn by some magical force, began to flow along the patterns of the symbols.
It enveloped the entire base in an instant.
The next second, wherever the blood traced, a red light flashed.
Brilliant and dazzling.
*Crack!*
Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open. Bai Jing appeared at the doorway, staring at the base glowing red in Li Chonglou's palm, her eyes wide with astonishment.
"This is bad..." Li Chonglou's heart jolted.
He had been too focused on unlocking the clues to the Shi Boqiong through the base, forgetting to observe his surroundings.
He had even missed the sound of Bai Jing's footsteps before she opened the door.
Damn it.
As his heart trembled, the base seemed to sense his inner turmoil. With a whoosh, the red light extinguished.
It reverted to its unassuming appearance.
"What is this thing?" Bai Jing, snapping out of her stupor, asked in surprise.
"A toy. Is there something you need?" Li Chonglou attempted to brush off Bai Jing with a casual remark.
Unfortunately, he had underestimated the intuition of an Eagle special forces warrior.
Bai Jing lunged forward, intending to snatch the base,
but Li Chonglou deftly dodged.
"Let me see it. I suspect you're in possession of an illegal weapon!" Bai Jing's beautiful eyes held a hint of playfulness as she deliberately accused him.
At the same time, she lunged at Li Chonglou, trying to grab the item.
"If you've discovered it, then I must silence you," Li Chonglou responded, playing along with her.
He dodged again with ease. He had intended to hide it and change the subject.
But he hadn't expected that although Bai Jing's skills were inferior to his, her reaction was extremely fast.
As she was dodged for the second time, she swiftly grabbed his right arm with her left hand.
With a fierce pull,
The force of her weight combined with immense strength caused Li Chonglou to lose his balance.
They became entangled, and with a *thump*, they fell onto the bed.
He landed on top of her.
Li Chonglou pinned Bai Jing tightly beneath him.
Immediately, a faint, lingering fragrance assailed him, causing him to freeze completely.
This position was incredibly intimate, a pose only couples would adopt.
Though they were nominally a couple, they actually had no relationship.
But their bodies were honest. The scent and softness of Bai Jing stimulated a fiery heat throughout his body.
Bai Jing's pretty face also instantly turned crimson.
She immediately exerted all her strength, trying to push Li Chonglou, who was pinning her down, away.