Misfortune Never Comes Alone

Chen Nan was holed up in his rented apartment, a two-bedroom, one-living-room unit on the sixth floor with a fully equipped kitchen. Now, only instant noodles and his phone were his companions, the typical setup for a loser.

But in secret, Chen Nan wasn't even fit to be a loser; at the very least, losers weren't threatened with their lives.

Another difference was that within this roughly sixty-square-meter room, Chen Nan couldn't afford to be idle.

While paying attention to his phone, he was doing sit-ups, pulling himself up on the cabinet crossbeam, and doing obstacle runs around the room. He was constantly exercising.

Because he didn't have the luxury of lying in bed scrolling through his phone.

Even though this place wasn't safe long-term, if he needed to transfer immediately or encountered unexpected danger, he had to ensure his body had sufficient mobility.

This short-duration training, while not achieving any decisive results, at least prevented his body from becoming stiff.

In the intervals while waiting for useful information from his set surveillance feeds, Chen Nan also conducted online investigations and debugged monitoring equipment.

Among these, one question puzzled Chen Nan.

That was, remote monitoring devices required a network connection to function.

He hadn't seen any mention of this in the equipment manuals he purchased, yet the machines operated normally during debugging. What was going on?

This also made Chen Nan think about the network situation here.

Specifically, in all the communication networks he had encountered, he had never seen a wired connection.

Could it be that network communication here relied entirely on spatial signals?

But the problem was, the technological civilization in this place, by all appearances, was similar to Earth's ancient past, about a thousand years ago. It was impossible for them to have reached such a level.

So, what was this network all about?

Of course, this was just a minor question. Chen Nan only harbored a slight suspicion and didn't delve deeper.

What he was more focused on was other information he had found online.

That was, information about missing persons across the Qingyang Kingdom in recent years.

Although he had investigated to this extent, and his preparation might not be very useful now, he still wanted to check.

As expected, the disappearance times and ages of some missing persons roughly coincided with the times orphans were admitted to the orphanage.

Combined with what he had witnessed that night at the orphanage, Chen Nan knew that, at the very least, the trafficking of children and their placement in orphanages was basically established.

After spending an agonizing day browsing this information, Chen Nan's surveillance software finally sent a notification.

He immediately opened the surveillance software and turned on the camera. The screen showed many people in a dimly lit room.

Facing the camera was a person who bore some resemblance to Wang Yifu, but with significantly less cunning and more ferocity.

To compensate for this deficiency, the person's face was filled with a fierce intensity.

Looking at his face, one would absolutely believe he was capable of killing without batting an eye.

Chen Nan estimated this person was Wang Yide, and he was clearly seated in the center.

He was surrounded by his usual subordinates, and among them, Chen Nan could see "Ghost Head" and "Water Duck."

"Second Brother, the brothers left behind in Taiping Community found no trace of that brat returning," Ghost Head said respectfully.

This Second Brother was indeed Wang Yide. He was smoking a cigar that looked like dried feces, took a puff, exhaled smoke, and flicked the ash. "So he vanished into thin air again?"

Ghost Head said, "This Chen Nan is slippery as hell."

Wang Yide let out a cold snort. "Why aren't you calling yourselves useless! He escaped right under your noses? Do I need to repeat his importance to us? You've all got blood on your hands. If this kid reports us, none of us will get away with it!"

Ghost Head chuckled, "Second Brother, what kind of trouble can a kid like that cause? We've greased palms in various departments. If he reports us, it won't do anything; it'll just expose him."

Wang Yide shot him a cold glare, making Ghost Head flinch. If only he had a hard shell to back him up, it would have been a perfect image.

"If he were to report us, that would be one thing, but there's been no movement," Wang Yide said as if to himself. "This proves he's no ordinary person, his thinking and courage far surpass any of yours. A ten-year-old child... truly possesses the talent of a Transcendent. We must eliminate him!"

Ghost Head immediately said, "Second Brother, don't worry. We'll send more men. We'll focus our investigation on places like train stations, parks, dark corners, beggar dens, and inns."

Wang Yide snorted, "But it's been ineffective all this time. Don't you realize anything?"

Ghost Head immediately said, "Second Brother, we don't have that kind of capability."

"Useless!" Wang Yide cursed, but he was inwardly pleased. He said, "This is where the kid's complexity and extraordinary courage come in. Blending in with the students, who among you could have thought of such a thing? A truly brilliant tactic! You should learn something from this. He definitely won't be hiding in dark places or public areas."

Ghost Head asked, "Then where will he be?"

Wang Yide cursed, "Stupid! We can investigate places like inns, but this kid must have anticipated that."

Moreover, he had already done something like that: finding someone to rent a place to hide.

A place like this could evade the surveillance of the patrol officers, and naturally, it could also evade ours.

Melding into the common folk, not revealing himself at all, it was like throwing a drop of water into a river; you'd find it very difficult to locate it again.

Great wisdom!

You need to focus your investigation on the rental advertisements in various residential areas, understand?"

Ghost Head feigned confusion, then exclaimed as if suddenly enlightened, "So that's how it is! It seems no matter how wise that kid is, he still can't escape your calculations, Second Brother?

We'll go now then!"

Wang Yide waved his hand, and these people retreated.

Only Wang Yide remained in the room, cigar smoke almost shrouding his head.

I don't have such devious ideas, he thought, these are all from my cunning eldest brother. But now, this counts as my wisdom.

A knock sounded on the door. Wang Yide stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray and said lazily, "Come in."

Four or five more people entered. Each of them looked very ordinary, the kind who wouldn't attract anyone's attention in a crowd.

As soon as they entered, they stood respectfully.

Wang Yide gestured to the sofas and said, "Sit down and talk. What kind of act are you putting on, pretending to be honest in front of me?"

After the men sat down, one of them, known by the nickname Big Grey Wolf in the underworld, said with a smile, "Boss Wang, we have a new batch of excellent merchandise. You know, if it weren't good stuff, we wouldn't be here."

Wang Yide lit another cigarette, took a puff, and exhaled a long stream of smoke before saying, "You guys don't know, but things have been a bit tight recently. We're not too keen on doing this kind of business anymore."

"Oh, Boss Wang, who doesn't know that in Wu City, you three siblings have the final say?" Big Grey Wolf chuckled. "No matter how tight things get, can it still blow down your great tree?"

Wang Yide suddenly felt annoyed, especially when he heard the word "tree."

However, this guy wasn't as cautious as his elder brother, so he impatiently said, "Bring them in to have a look!"

Big Grey Wolf gave a look, and his subordinate went out.

Before long, a line of children, about six or seven of them, with vacant stares, entered the room.

The subordinate shook a small bell in his hand, and with a jiggle, the children moved, like Taoist priests driving zombies.

Big Grey Wolf smiled and asked, "Boss Wang, how is the quality of this merchandise?"

The children were all handsome with well-proportioned bodies.

Wang Yide was very satisfied, and his previous irritation vanished. He said, "Same as usual. Go collect your money."

Big Grey Wolf, however, sat firmly and said, "Boss Wang, this is a one-off deal for us, fraught with great danger. But for you, these children are like money trees…"

Wang Yide slammed the table and said coldly, "We're all in the same business, don't play games with me. We have other channels to get children. Don't cut off your own supply. Besides, when you bargain with me, you should know your place. Your brothers are here, so I'm saving you some face."

Big Grey Wolf's face indeed turned a bit ashen, but he instantly smiled again and said, "It was my mistake, Boss Wang. I won't keep you any longer."

Wang Yide waved his hand, and these "honest men" also left.

He pressed the summoning bell, and some people came in, put the children into bags, and then left.

Of the three matters handled today, two were now complete.

Before long, the third group of people also arrived.

These individuals looked like very proper businessmen, possessing a rather imposing demeanor.

At this moment, Wang Yide could finally speak to them with respect.

They were discussing the trade of narcotics, a deal involving a massive sum of money.

This was also why there would absolutely be no surveillance in this room. Because the business conducted or the matters discussed here were all illicit.

As they were old clients, this deal was quickly concluded. Wang Yide personally saw them out and then returned.

Sitting down again, he ordered some wine and food to be brought in and began to eat and drink. He inexplicably felt a sense of unease and needed alcohol to calm himself.

And this unease, at its root, was all related to that "tree." That damned Big Grey Wolf had mentioned "tree" twice!

Can our Wang Clan, this great tree, really have a day when it falls? Wang Yide took a sip of wine and then slammed the cup to the floor.

No, I must go see Third Sister tomorrow! Wang Yide muttered to himself.

Then, naturally, some people, all girls, came in to clean up.