On the way back, Chen Fan's phone rang again.
It was an unfamiliar number.
This satellite phone had been left by Xiang Jingzhong. Besides the few calls Chen Fan had already made, the only origin of this number would be the Xiang family.
Frowning slightly, Chen Fan pressed the answer button.
"Chen Tianjiao?"
As soon as the call connected, a voice filled with authority came through.
"It's me, who are you?" Chen Fan asked.
"I am Xiang Yuntao."
Chen Fan was stunned.
Xiang Yuntao was none other than the head of the Xiang family, and the father of Xiang Jingzhong and Xiang Jingzhu.
"So it's Uncle Xiang, hello."
Chen Fan said.
"Let's skip the pleasantries. You know why I'm calling. Do you have any leads now?"
Xiang Yuntao asked in a deep voice, though he didn't sound particularly anxious.
However, with his status and position, his emotions were usually hidden, and this call itself indicated his underlying worry.
"There are some clues, but they don't point to Jingzhu's whereabouts yet."
Chen Fan said, "As long as she's alive, I'll bring her back."
"Good, I believe you."
Xiang Yuntao said, "I hope you bring her back soon. As long as you save Jingzhu, the Xiang family owes you a great favor. You can ask for anything."
Chen Fan smiled and said, "A reward of one hundred million, I don't need anything else."
"You..."
Xiang Yuntao was taken aback, a little speechless, and said, "Fine, let alone one hundred million, even two hundred million is fine."
After hanging up the phone, Chen Fan didn't dwell on it. He sat in the car, lost in thought.
Currently, he was looking for new leads from both Matsushita and the submarine, but it would take time to get useful information. The progress was still too slow.
He had to find Su Xiang Jingzhu as soon as possible. The longer the delay, the more danger Xiang Jingzhu would be in.
Upon returning to his residence, all Chen Fan could do for now was wait.
Before long, Yingzi returned.
"My King, after leaving the unfinished building, they drove away with the target at the street corner," Yingzi told Chen Fan. "We couldn't track them down."
This was, of course, expected and not surprising at all.
In modern cities, with so many people, so many human activities, and various modern means of transportation, tracking was the most difficult.
Especially with such limited clues.
Waving his hand, Chen Fan said, "Get some rest early. Yingzi, you'll come out with me tonight."
As night fell, Chen Fan drove out of the residence with Yingzi.
Under the night sky, Dongying City was brilliantly lit, a cosmopolitan metropolis, exuding extreme prosperity.
Beneath this night, who knew how many secrets were hidden.
After driving around, Chen Fan arrived outside an old street.
The road here was very narrow. He parked the car, got out, and silently approached a residential house.
This was Matsushita Tasuke's residence. After a brief observation, he disappeared from the street corner and circled around to the back of the house.
At this time, Matsushita should have gone to a izakaya for a drink.
He quietly entered the house and took a quick look around but found nothing.
Matsushita hadn't contacted him, which meant he hadn't found any leads either.
He stood by the window, looking out unobtrusively. After a search, he looked towards the northwest, at a small building about fifty meters away.
"Yingzi, at eleven o'clock, there's a building that can observe this position. Go in and take a look!" Chen Fan commanded.
"Yes, my King!"
Yingzi, hidden in the darkness, replied in a low voice and soon became silent.
Chen Fan continued to watch the outside from the darkness.
His purpose was simple: he wanted to see if the news released by Matsushita had attracted the attention of those who had captured Xiang Jingzhu.
*Crack.*
Suddenly, there was a movement downstairs. Someone opened the lock and entered, their footsteps very light, almost imperceptible.
Someone had actually taken the bait, and he was lucky enough to run into them directly?
Chen Fan moved stealthily, like a civet cat, to the ground floor.
He saw a graceful figure searching in Matsushita's room, illuminated by the faint light of a mobile phone.
Chen Fan shook his head helplessly. He thought he had caught a fish, but it turned out to be someone with the same objective as him.
He gave a light cough.
This cough sounded like thunder in the other person's ears.
The person turned around rapidly, putting away their phone. Unable to see Chen Fan's face clearly, they lunged forward and threw a fierce punch.
The force of the punch made the air emit a low explosion.
Chen Fan reached out and easily grasped her wrist.
In the darkness, her expression changed drastically. She struck with her left elbow and delivered an extremely sharp knee strike, aiming straight for Chen Fan's vital points.
Chen Fan pulled and twisted with his right hand, using his elbow to pin the woman down. He retracted and extended his legs, hooking them around the woman's ankles. With a slight exertion of force, the woman was thrown heavily onto the floor.
To prevent her from struggling, Chen Fan pressed down on her, pinning her so she couldn't move.
"My King, nothing found."
Yingzi's voice came through Chen Fan's earpiece.
"See if there's anything suspicious around," Chen Fan said.
"Yes!"
As Chen Fan spoke, the woman recognized him and scoffed, "It's you?"
Chen Fan released his grip and stood up, saying, "Why are you here?"
"Aren't you here too? It seems your reaction isn't bad; you know how to investigate." The woman said.
"I released the information."
Chen Fan said indifferently.
"You..." The woman was stunned, disbelieving. "You had Matsushita Tasuke release the bounty notice?"
"Yes, I was hoping to catch a fish, but it turned out to be you." Chen Fan said.
The woman was extremely displeased and said, "Who are you? What's your name?"
"Haven't you contacted your superiors?" Chen Fan asked casually while waiting for Yingzi's reply.
Mentioning this, the woman became resentful.
After investigating the unfinished building that morning, she had her subordinates contact their superiors domestically, asking them to restrain the Xiang family from interfering with her operations.
As a result, the reply she received was to recall all personnel, including herself.
This angered her. How could she place her hope on outsiders instead of supporting comrades?
She refused to withdraw and requested to remain in Dongying City to continue the investigation and search for Xiang Jingzhu's whereabouts.
Her superiors didn't strongly insist on her withdrawal but gave an incredible order: cooperate with the helper hired by the Xiang family, which was Chen Fan.
If it weren't for the thousands of miles separating them, her hot temper would have allowed her to argue with her superior.
However, on this matter, her superiors showed no signs of compromise.
This also made her unable to accept it, feeling that her superiors were treating the situation lightly.
After all, she and Xiang Jingzhu were actually good colleagues and friends.
"Hmph, why do you care so much? Tell me your identity. I want to see what kind of big shot you are and what qualifications you have to make me cooperate with you?" The woman said angrily.
Chen Fan was speechless and said, "My name is Chen Fan. As for my identity, you should confirm it with your superiors. You might not believe me even if I told you."
"You..." The woman was furious, saying, "Your existence will only make things worse."
Chen Fan ignored her.
Yingzi's voice came through his earpiece, "My King, nothing suspicious found."
"Then let's withdraw," Chen Fan said. "It seems the enemy is very cautious and won't fall for this."
With that, he walked towards the exit.
Seeing Chen Fan completely ignore her, the woman frowned, getting angry, and said, "What's so great about you? I'll find the person before you do."
"Hu Huo, you think too highly of yourself. If your master, Bai Que, were here, then perhaps." Chen Fan suddenly said leisurely.
The woman was stunned. She looked at Chen Fan's disappearing figure at the doorway in disbelief.
She hadn't revealed her codename, so how did this person know it, and even know her master's codename so clearly?