Chapter Nineteen: Rand Factory

Wait, why am I so eager to save that narcissist? Is it because of the memories from Li Changqing’s past? Kelly Losetti and the former Li Changqing were extremely close friends. In fact, the previous memories of this body have had no small impact on his subconscious—for example, when out in public, he always minds his manners, from the way he speaks to how he eats and converses. Then there’s the black trench coat, the felt hat, the cane. Of course, his greed for money is innate.

Li Changqing took out a business card, stared at the number printed on it, hesitated for a while, then finally dialed Baichuan’s phone.

“What's the matter?”

“May I ask if you have time? Could we meet?”

“No time.”

The call was cut off immediately.

That bastard. Li Changqing took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and dialed again. Soon, the call was answered once more.

“I have some very important information for you. In an hour, at my detective agency?”

“Important information?” On the other end, Baichuan was silent for a moment. “I’ll be there in half an hour.”

Then the call ended. From under the felt hat, Tang Xiaoyu couldn’t help but remark, “Li Changqing, isn’t this a bit of a trick?”

“Aren’t their Bureau Thirty-Six lacking cases? I’m helping them boost their performance.”

Half an hour wasn’t enough time to get back by bus, so he hailed a cab and rushed to the detective agency.

When he arrived at the entrance, Baichuan was standing outside, dressed in a clean white tracksuit. However, he was so thin that the clothes seemed a bit oversized.

“Something came up, so I’m a bit late,” Li Changqing said as he walked over and unlocked the door. “Let’s talk inside.”

“No need. Just get to the point.”

Standing in this dust-laden corridor was testing Baichuan’s patience—he had already waited here for quite some time.

“Very well.”

Seeing his reluctance to enter, Li Changqing realized he’d save a cup of tea. He went on, “I’ve discovered something strange in an abandoned factory—there have already been two cases…”

“Wait, you didn’t call because of the Shadow Cult?” Baichuan’s gaze darkened with anger. He had been standing in this filthy corridor for so long! His clothes were surely covered in dust. Baichuan just wanted to get the information from Li Changqing and go home for a thorough shower.

“Listen, let me finish. A detective friend of mine got into trouble yesterday. He had taken on a case and, while tailing a woman, witnessed her being struck by a car…”

Li Changqing hurried to explain before Baichuan’s patience ran out completely. In truth, he had considered asking Bureau Thirty-Six to investigate the abandoned factory, but his reasons were insufficient. He couldn’t very well say he’d been bitten by something in there and his body was stiffening. Judging by Baichuan and Hu Xiong’s previous conversation, they likely weren’t aware of his gradual stiffening. Now, thanks to Kelly Losetti, he had a perfectly legitimate reason.

Baichuan squinted, took out a handkerchief, and began wiping his clothes. “Did the woman have any breath? How did she look?”

Clearly, he was starting to take an interest in the case.

Li Changqing recalled the scene and said, “She looked no different from an ordinary person.”

“So, what’s the factory’s address?”

Li Changqing frowned, thought for a while, and shook his head. “I know the way there, but not the name of the place.”

He had just crossed over at the time; how could he remember the exact name? He only knew roughly how to get there.

Baichuan covered his nose with the handkerchief, unwilling to breathe in the corridor’s dust, and headed downstairs. “Let’s go. Take me there.”

“Now?”

“The sun hasn’t set yet. Should we wait until the time when the yin energy is strongest?”

Li Changqing quickly closed the office door and followed. “I mean, just the two of us?”

Baichuan glanced back. “Three. Isn’t there a female ghost in your hat?”

“I mean, don’t you need to notify more people from Bureau Thirty-Six? The factory…”

Baichuan walked to the curb, sat in the driver’s seat, and looked at Li Changqing. “Are you getting in or not? Enough nonsense.”

Li Changqing had no choice but to get in the passenger seat, pointing out directions as Baichuan drove toward the abandoned factory.

The car was spotless, almost pristine. Sitting in the passenger seat, Li Changqing finally couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Bai, is Bureau Thirty-Six specialized in handling evil spirits?”

“Would we be handling people, then?”

“Is Bureau Thirty-Six large?”

“Not really.”

“Are there many monsters and ghosts in this world? Are they powerful?”

“Many, but not powerful.”

Baichuan’s expression remained unchanged as he calmly answered these questions, which he found exceedingly dull.

Li Changqing didn’t press further. He had hoped Baichuan would elaborate, giving him a chance to learn more about these matters. But Baichuan’s answers cut off every topic. There was no room to continue.

Following his directions, the car slowly pulled up to a factory district about five kilometers away.

This area was filled with sprawling factories, many of them churning out thick, black smoke that billowed into the sky.

They stopped in front of a factory gate. The sign for Land Factory was rusted; from the iron gate, one could see that the factory grounds were overgrown with weeds. Beside the main gate, the security booth had pools of stagnant water, covered in moss.

Li Changqing had investigated Land Factory before. Three years ago, it went bankrupt due to poor management. The plan was to sell off the assets to pay debts, but negotiations stalled. No one ever took over the factory after that.

“Mr. Bai, the factory has five workshops, three dormitory buildings, and three large warehouses for storing materials.”

Li Changqing explained as he stood nearby. He vaguely remembered that it was in one of the workshops where he’d gotten into trouble. The memory was still vivid.

“Get out.”

The two approached the rusty iron gate, which was locked from the inside. It was two and a half meters tall, topped with sharp spikes.

“Mr. Bai, there’s a small hole over there you can crawl through.”

Having been here before, Li Changqing pointed out a half-meter-high hole beside the gate—one could squeeze through it.

“No need for that.”

Baichuan stepped back a few paces, then suddenly dashed forward, kicked off the gate, and vaulted into the air, flipping neatly over and landing inside.

He turned and unlocked the gate. “Come in.”

From inside the felt hat, Tang Xiaoyu couldn’t help but remark, “Li Changqing, compared to him, you’re utterly pathetic…”

“In my hometown, people like him would get two words.”

“What words?”

“Show-off!”