Sneaking Around

Even if he wasn't considering joining the organization now, successful cooperation was the foundation of trust. Therefore, Zhang Anxia told He Ao to name his price, and He Ao couldn't really ask for an exorbitant amount.

"My fees are always reasonable," He Ao reassured Zhang Anxia, as it seemed Zhang Anxia's organization wasn't particularly wealthy. Then, he thought for a moment and added, "I need to contact Lao Liu and have him help retrieve surveillance footage and set up some road defenses."

Liu Nan was carried on the young man's shoulder, traversing a dark and eerie path. Her physical fitness was not enhanced like He Ao, Zhang Anxia, and the others. On the pitch-black path without streetlights, she could barely see anything.

Most of the surrounding houses had their lights off, and everything was so dark. Only the young man carrying her was silently moving forward.

"Hello,"

Liu Nan patted the young man's back, trying to talk to him. She was carried directly on his shoulder, her legs locked around his chest, her waist resting on his shoulder, and her upper body hanging down. She could only reach his back.

"What do you want? I can give it to you directly. How much money do you need? Life isn't easy for anyone, and I can understand you. Let me go, and I'll transfer the money to you. I won't call the police..."

The young man didn't respond, still grunting as he hurried along.

"Really... I'm not lying to you..." Liu Nan squeezed her sleeve, feeling the hard texture. "You know my dad is the chairman of Wanhe Enterprise. We can afford the money. He taught me from a young age to be honest. If I say I won't call the police, I really won't."

The young man didn't respond, simply tightened his grip on Liu Nan's leg with his hand. The intense pain overwhelmed her, causing Liu Nan to cry out in pain.

"Speak again and I'll kill you."

The young man's tone was cold as he continued to hurry forward.

Liu Nan glanced at the dark surroundings, endured the pain, and fell silent.

These strange people didn't seem to be solely after money.

"Help me watch the stall," He Ao hung the 'Closed Today' sign on the stall, locked his small cabinet, and had Yuan Nan Nan sit in his spot. "I've already contacted the police. Someone will come to protect you later. Don't worry, there's surveillance here, it's safe."

In fact, Yuan Nan Nan had always been safe. If the other party really wanted to capture her, they would have taken her when they captured Liu Nan, not let her run back to find He Ao.

And when He Ao mentioned the surveillance, the short-haired girl in the corner who was normally eating Cold Noodles suddenly paused, then continued to eat her noodles slowly.

At this time, there weren't many people eating at He Ao's stall, only a few scattered individuals, and they were sitting quite far away, so they basically couldn't hear He Ao's voice.

After comforting Yuan Nan Nan, He Ao looked back at the short-haired girl but didn't say anything, slowly walking towards the depths of the street.

The short-haired girl watched He Ao disappear step by step into the night, let out a long sigh of relief, then looked around again and noticed a camera at the top of the street pointing directly at this spot.

Then she quickly finished her noodles in a few bites, grabbed her suitcase, and left in the opposite direction of He Ao.

She walked for a while to make sure no one was chasing her, then started to jog. She ran for a long time, until there was absolutely no one around, before stopping and gasping for air.

"What are you hiding from?"

A soft question suddenly came from beside her ear.

"Ah!!!"

The girl was startled by the sudden 'greeting', her ankle twisted, and she fell directly to the ground.

Seeing her fall, He Ao quickly reached out.

He grabbed the suitcase.

Bang—

The girl fell hard on her backside.

She looked up, staring blankly at He Ao, then rubbed her butt and stood up. "Don't you have any gentlemanly manners? You didn't even help me up."

"Can I see what's in your suitcase?"

He Ao looked at her calmly.

"S-s-sure..."

The girl looked at his cold eyes and felt that if she refused, she would be violently killed by this person in the next second.

She had even imagined herself being dumped in the wilderness.

"I have already obtained your consent, so checking your belongings does not violate your privacy."

He Ao looked at the suitcase. It had a combination lock, but the girl hadn't locked it. He pressed a switch, and with a 'click—', the suitcase opened.

A multi-layered folding internal structure was revealed, filled with various bottles and jars.

However, there were some things He Ao recognized, such as foundation, eyeliner, and lipstick.

He had expected it to contain various things, jewelry, contraband, or weapons, but he didn't expect it to contain these items.

"This is?"

He looked at the girl in confusion.

"M-m-makeup..." the girl stammered in reply. He Ao's aura was too cold, completely different from the enthusiastic owner who had just sold cold noodles. It was a bit scary. "I'm a makeup artist."

"Makeup artist?"

Although He Ao had never heard of this profession, it sounded like a very reasonable one. He slowly closed the suitcase, carefully zipped it up, and returned it to its original position.

"It's someone who professionally helps people with makeup."

The girl explained.

She always felt that there was something wrong with He Ao's actions, but he had asked for her permission and hadn't touched anything, so it seemed quite reasonable.

"There shouldn't be anyone here who needs your help with makeup?"

He Ao returned the suitcase to the girl.

He had noticed the girl's peculiarity long ago, but hadn't paid attention at first.

It wasn't until he noticed that the girl seemed to have been eavesdropping on his conversation with Yuan Nan Nan, and that slurping the noodles one by one was clearly stalling for time.

If this was just an ordinary customer with a 'peculiarity', He Ao wouldn't have bothered with her.

But this girl seemed too sneaky, so he decided to fish a bit and see what she was really trying to do.

"I-I-I... I have a client nearby..."

The girl didn't know why she was answering He Ao's question, but she didn't dare to refuse.

Clearly, she was lying, and she wasn't someone who was skilled or used to lying. She didn't even know that speaking with certainty and looking directly at the other person when lying would increase her credibility.

But He Ao didn't have time to argue with her now.

He took out his phone and glanced at the time, then looked at the girl. "When I mentioned surveillance and the police, you paused for a moment, and then you left immediately after I did. Are you very afraid of the police?"

"Ah?"

The girl was startled subconsciously, and then a bad premonition surged in her heart.

He Ao's gaze shifted behind her.