The senior walked at the forefront. He came over and patted my shoulder. I quickly said, "Senior, Zhou Yingying didn't come? Did something happen?"
The senior laughed heartily, but he didn't answer me. Instead, he stepped into the house and gestured to a short, thin young man behind him, saying, "I've recruited a new young man. Come over and take a look."
I sized up the young man. He looked somewhat familiar, as if I'd seen him somewhere, but I couldn't recall where.
He was too thin and small to be a martial artist. I wondered what the senior's intentions were in recruiting him.
Since the senior said so, he must have seen something special in him, perhaps I was just unobservant.
I shook my head, indicating I couldn't tell.
The senior laughed heartily again. "Since even you can't tell, it seems my efforts weren't in vain. Alright, I won't play guessing games with you. Didn't you notice she's someone you know?"
It dawned on me. Could this thin young man be Zhou Yingying in disguise? No wonder she looked a bit familiar.
"No need to guess. Didn't you say I didn't bring Miss Zhou? See if she's the one you're looking for?"
This time I recognized her. I scratched the back of my head sheepishly and said with a blush, "I really didn't recognize you."
Zhou Yingying: "Don't say you didn't recognize me. The senior did such a good job with my disguise that I don't even recognize myself."
The senior: "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's get down to business. We've received word from Brother Huo. He wants Miss Zhou to go find Brother Hui, and he's provided the meeting location and password. Let's discuss our next steps."
According to Brother Huo's phone call, Brother Hui hadn't specified his exact location, only a meeting point where someone would take Zhou Yingying.
This was a bit different from our plan. I had hoped to find out Brother Hui's detailed whereabouts so we could raid his hideout. Instead, we only got a meeting location. This meant Zhou Yingying would have to go alone to the rendezvous. Once they took Zhou Yingying, it would be difficult for us to track her whereabouts, especially since we were in unfamiliar territory.
The senior: "Don't rush. The meeting is set for dawn tomorrow, so we still have time to plan. We'll find a way."
The senior's men had already retired to their rooms. The senior brought food with him and placed it on the coffee table. I was indeed hungry, so I opened a packaged meal and started eating without waiting for them.
Zhou Yingying had gone to the bathroom to remove her makeup. I knew how uncomfortable it was to wear a disguise, how confining it could be on the face.
Halfway through my meal, I suddenly remembered the study room that hadn't been opened. I told the senior about what happened and handed him the key.
The senior took the key and examined it, saying in surprise, "This is the key to the long-lost 'Heart-Linked Lock'. It has to be opened in sequence, and each key has a specific insertion depth requirement. A millimeter too much or too little, and it won't open. It's understandable that you couldn't figure it out after fiddling with it for so long. It seems this room must hold a great secret, otherwise, it wouldn't be made so complicated."
This was close to my guess; there must be a hidden secret that couldn't be revealed to others.
"Let me try," the senior said, standing up and heading towards the study room I had mentioned.
The senior didn't act immediately. He examined it carefully for a while longer before inserting the key.
Like me, he tried each key one by one. He pulled out the one that could turn slightly, then he carefully inserted the other two, trying them one by one, until one also turned at a certain position. Then he tested the remaining key.
He tried for a long time. With a click, the lock opened.
I breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the senior with admiration. If it were me, I wouldn't have been able to open it even if I racked my brain!
Who would have thought it would be opened this way? Don't all keys open when fully inserted?
The senior pushed the door open with some force, and a peculiar scent wafted out.
It was definitely not a musty smell from being closed up too tightly, but a special fragrance, causing even the senior to sneeze twice.
The room was very dark. The windows were probably completely covered by thick curtains, and with the sun setting, the room was pitch black.
I wanted to turn on the light, but after searching for a while, I couldn't find the switch.
The senior was more experienced. He took out his lighter and lit it, providing some illumination. Then he went and pulled back the thick curtains.
With the light from outside, the furnishings of the room came into view.
There were no bookshelves or similar furniture in the room. In the center was a large platform, covered with a large white cloth.
I found the light switch, and the room became much brighter.
The senior frowned, staring intently at the platform covered by the white cloth.
The platform was at least two and a half meters long and one meter wide, with a significant bulge in the middle, completely concealed by the white cloth.
The senior gestured for me to grab one end while he went to the other. We gently lifted the white cloth.
As we moved, there were slight clinking sounds from beneath the cloth. We carefully raised the cloth high and then set it aside.
On the platform were many distillation apparatuses, similar to those in our chemistry class, along with many bottles and jars. Some of the bottles and jars contained white powder.
"Ctmd."
The senior suddenly uttered a curse word, startling me. In an instant, I understood the purpose of these devices.
Indeed, this was a drug manufacturing studio belonging to the Xie family!
Needless to say, the white powder was the finished product he had made.
No wonder he kept the room so mysterious, not even letting his wife and daughter know what was inside. It was for this reason.
Previously, I had always thought that Brother Hui was the mastermind behind all the drug trafficking, and Xie Jiabao was merely an accomplice. Now, it seemed they were two of a kind, neither of them good. Just these devices on the platform were enough to warrant him being shot ten times over.
I picked up my phone and dialed a number.
I explained the situation here. The person on the other end said they understood and hung up.
I told the senior that we would leave this to the police and then discuss our own matters. The senior's anger had not completely subsided. He followed me out of the room, not forgetting to lock it securely.
Zhou Yingying had already returned to her room to rest. We went to the senior's bedroom.
The senior closed the door and motioned for me to sit down, then said, "Tomorrow, we'll do this: let Zhou Yingying meet with the contact person as planned. Our men will be ambushed around the area. Ideally, we'll capture the contact person and then find a way to extract Brother Hui's stronghold from them. We'll then lead our men directly there!"
"This might work, but what if they have an ambush too? If we get exposed, not only will all our plans go down the drain, but we might even reveal our target."