Eco-Friendly Package

After Liu Dongli reported the matter of the Benevolent Charity to Ai Qing, a series of dazzling operations unfolded.

Within ten minutes, a black-plated sedan rushed in front of him. Two people politely invited them into the car and took them to the strange organization where he had been interrogated last time.

By the time he entered, the so-called Benevolent Charity had been completely exposed.

In the conference room, the middle-aged man who had presided over Huai Shi's interrogation last time had a grim expression and remained silent.

Only Ai Qing flipped through the still-warm documents in her hand, page by page. Soon, she looked up. "There's quite a lot of explosive material... A shell company that's obviously used for money laundering, yet it has so many donors, many of them prominent figures in the city. No wonder the Special Affairs Department couldn't find anything after investigating for so long... This time, there won't be any leaks, will there?"

The middle-aged man coughed dryly and said in a parched voice, "The Special Affairs Department is the Special Affairs Department; other departments are other departments."

"It would have been great if it were like this earlier. Why bother being a lackey for those old men?"

Ai Qing glanced at him. "How many people are involved?"

"Quite a few..."

The middle-aged man sighed. "According to the investigation, this foundation regularly invites masters to give lectures on positive energy to the donors, sharing their experiences in spiritual sublimation and health preservation.

Most of the content consists of unreliable meditation and self-hypnosis, mixed with some random traditional Chinese studies..."

"No wonder," Ai Qing sneered. "These are the things the old leaders like. If this company is truly related to the current case, then quite a few people are in trouble, aren't they?"

"The Special Affairs Department is the Special Affairs Department—"

The middle-aged man helplessly reiterated his previous statement. "No need to test us. In the face of right and wrong, we know where we stand. Please rest assured, Inspector."

In the back, Huai Shi quietly nudged Liu Dongli with his elbow. "Hey, is the Inspector that amazing?"

Liu Dongli rolled his eyes and lowered his voice. "The Astronomical Society, as a subordinate department of the UN, has members all over the world. Its main purpose is to curb the spread of border toxins and crimes committed by Ascendants... You can think of it this way: as long as it involves Ascendants or border relics, she has the authority to intervene. Once she's officially appointed, she can sign a black letter and wipe out your entire family. What do you think?"

"That powerful?" Huai Shi was stunned. "Does Dongxia agree to that?"

"The main members of the Astronomical Society's leading body—the Unified Bureau—are the five permanent members of the Security Council, you know." Liu Dongli said in a low voice. "This is a case of 'governing yourself'."

While the two were whispering, Ai Qing and the middle-aged man at the front of the conference table seemed to have exchanged some terms. After receiving Ai Qing's promise not to expand the scope of the crackdown, his expression clearly improved.

On the table, a voice came from the walkie-talkie:

"The operational personnel are in position."

The middle-aged man glanced at Ai Qing. "Patch the signal through. The operation begins."

The large screen on the wall lit up instantly. Huai Shi could vaguely make out the perspective of a helmet-mounted camera. He saw a group of people, heavily armed from head to toe, carrying various firearms. Upon receiving the order, car doors were opened, and a group of people rushed out.

This anti-terrorism force, whose origin was unknown, seemed to have a pre-planned attack strategy. Their movements were not the least bit hesitant. Within two minutes, they had secured the entire parking lot. One team rushed towards the surveillance room, while another team sealed off the entire office building, both inside and out. They lowered the gates, locked them, set up a cordon, and even cut off all signals and fiber optics.

Only through the shaking of the helmet camera's perspective could Huai Shi see the scenery outside the window.

Good heavens, is it really that exaggerated?

This was clearly the most bustling area in the center of Xin Hai City. Below the dozens of floors, crowds of people were surging, it was the liveliest time before the end of summer vacation. No one would have ever imagined that a surprise raid was being carried out directly above them.

Outside the corridor door, a ram was silently set up.

With a single command, there was a deafening bang.

Amidst the roar, before the people inside could react, several stun grenades were thrown in. After a burst of light and loud noise, armed soldiers swarmed in, and in an instant, they controlled the outer perimeter of the entire Benevolent Charity.

The rest of the team breached the inner doors. First, a scream was heard, followed by two loud gunshots, and then screams. Finally, a sharp voice remained:

"Don't shoot, I surrender, I surrender!"

Soon, through the camera's perspective, a disheveled middle-aged man was brought out. He had a gunshot wound in his leg and his face was covered in tears and snot. He shouted, "I want to surrender! I want to surrender! I'll confess, I'll confess everything! Master told me to do it! I don't know anything, I really don't know anything!"

After a period of chaos, the captain reported to the camera, "He's transferring funds. All liquid assets have been transferred abroad. We found a plane ticket to France in his office..."

He was preparing to flee.

In the stunned conference room, the middle-aged man's expression also turned grim.

If there was still a possibility of misunderstanding before, now it seemed there was truly something fishy going on inside.

"—Interrogate him!"

The middle-aged man almost snapped the pen in his hand and ordered hatefully, "Get the full story!"

Ten minutes later, the pen in his hand was indeed snapped.

Wang Hai, nicknamed Wang Hai the Mangy, with the 'mangy' from mangy. This was the name of the 'master'.

According to the public security system records, this guy had been engaged in superstitious money-making for over twenty years, scamming the pensions of old men and women. He had been caught twice and then disappeared. When he reappeared, he had become Pastor Wang of the Savior Heavenly Father Society, and his business had grown uncontrollably.

And the person caught in the office was one of his many disciples, Tu Tai, who was specifically responsible for managing the front and laundering money, cleaning the money his master had scammed, and then disguising it as bearer bonds and valuable assets.

Tu Tai, a graduate of a prestigious university, had joined purely for the money and didn't think much of his master. He had secretly embezzled quite a bit of money. Wang Hai, on the other hand, had kept many secrets from his disciples, trusting only his eldest disciple who had always been by his side. The two had been using each other, and as long as they had mutual interests, they had coexisted peacefully. Now that disaster had struck, Tu Tai decisively turned in his master, confessing everything he was asked, even volunteering information, including the illicit drug business his master had been secretly conducting and an accidental witnessing of a 'miracle'.

"A miracle?" the chief interrogator asked.

"Yes, a miracle."

Tu Tai took a sip of water and wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "Wang Hai always kept a box, and I don't know what was inside it. Every time he led people in prayer, he would hide that box under the pulpit... When opened, it emitted a very pleasant scent, and after smelling it, people felt invigorated and fearless of any difficulties. The people who came to my classes didn't know; they all thought he was some kind of master. Bah, he's just an old swindler. I suspect those illicit drugs he brought out are also related to that thing..."

The box.

Ai Qing couldn't help but glance at Huai Shi.

It finally connected.

Huai Shi breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. The mastermind had finally been caught, and he wouldn't have to live in constant fear anymore.

He could finally return to his normal life, get promoted, get rich, marry a beautiful woman, and reach the pinnacle of life...

The people in the conference room had lost interest in listening further. Only Huai Shi was eagerly waiting for the follow-up, wanting Tu Tai to elaborate on how his master gave blessings to female believers...

"Whoa, you pervert, you installed a camera?"

"Confess! Where did you hide the hard drive?"

But soon, they received bad news from the scene: Wang Hai was going to run.

Tu Tai, with his sharp senses, had always known this line of work wouldn't last long. He kept a close watch on all sorts of information. When he noticed a change in his master's account, he knew something was wrong. Out of caution, he booked a flight to France immediately, planning to lie low for a couple of days. He never expected it would be too late.

Currently, Wang Hai was holding his final prayer in Old Pond Town, outside Xin Hai City, clearly intending to flee that very night. To avoid any further complications, they had to act quickly.

However, Ai Qing fell silent.

As if pondering a question that couldn't be answered no matter what, she stared blankly ahead, ignoring the urging of those around her.

After a long while, she finally looked up, let out a long breath, her expression grim.

"Indeed, with this, many things fall into place. All the clues are sound, but something still feels off..."

She suddenly turned her head, her slender eyes fixing on the young man behind her. "Is there anything else you haven't told me?"

Yeah, I've hidden a lot. What about the Crow, the Book of Destiny, the Awakening... How could I possibly mention things that would cause trouble?

"No!"

Huai Shi shook his head decisively. "I've told you everything I can! And I've told you everything I can't!"

He looked impassioned, as if ready to sacrifice himself, but inwardly he was terrified, afraid Ai Qing would have Liu Dongli question him again.

What if the Book of Destiny gets revealed?

Judging by the Crow's tone, it seemed like a formidable item. Until the binding was removed, Huai Shi wouldn't dare reveal anything!

Seemingly believing him, Ai Qing silently withdrew her gaze.

"Then let's start the operation immediately."

She looked at the middle-aged man. "However, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances... although time is pressing, before we implement the plan, it would be better to figure out what this so-called Savior Heavenly Father Society is really up to.

After all, border relics are involved. No one knows what they're hiding, and besides, aren't there Ascendants hidden among them?

This is all necessary intelligence—"

"Hm?" the middle-aged man asked, confused. "What do you mean, Ms. Ai?"

Ai Qing glanced behind her and said nothing.

The middle-aged man saw Liu Dongli and immediately understood. He stood up, shook his hand, and said warmly, "On behalf of the Special Affairs Department, I thank you for your help and support, Mr. Liu."

"What?"

Liu Dongli was dumbfounded, not knowing what was happening. Instinctively, he felt something was wrong. "I didn't, I'm not, don't just..."

Before he could finish, Ai Qing interrupted him. "Perfect. Besides Liu Dongli, there's also a civilian volunteer who has dealt with them and is willing to cooperate with us..."

As she spoke, Ai Qing looked at Huai Shi, who was gloating behind her.

"—With the two of them infiltrating first, it will definitely be fine."

Huai Shi's smile froze on his face. He immediately jumped up, turning into a pathetic repeater: "I didn't, I'm not either!"

"It's just a reconnaissance mission. With so many backups, we're not necessarily going to die."

"You yourself said 'not necessarily'!" Huai Shi protested indignantly. "Weren't we supposed to be the bait? How did we suddenly become infiltrators?"

"Isn't it common for the client to change the requirements?"

Ai Qing propped her chin with her hand, appraising him leisurely. "At worst, I'll add another eight hundred to your allowance."

Huai Shi immediately became enraged.

"Forget eight hundred, even eight thousand..."

Before he could finish speaking, a notification chimed from his waist: "Alipay transfer of eight thousand yuan received!"

Huai Shi froze, his expression immediately stiffening. "You think this little money can make me back down!"

Ding!

Another soft chime, and the gentle female voice announced again: "Alipay transfer of eight thousand yuan received."

"This is life-threatening! What if I really die!"

Huai Shi's eyes widened. "Don't you have any death benefits!"

Ai Qing withdrew her gaze, her phone flashing as she sent the last transfer.

"—Alipay transfer of seven hundred yuan received."

Seven hundred?

Why were the death benefits only seven hundred!

She had already given him sixteen thousand earlier! Why would they give so little after he died!

Huai Shi didn't know whether to feel grief or anger, or if he should have asked her for a little more.

"Little brother, seven hundred is already quite a lot."

His fellow sufferer, Liu Dongli, leaned in and clicked his tongue in admiration, "After using the coupon, you can get an eco-friendly package from the East Suburb Crematorium, and they'll even throw in a box!

Remember to leave a five-star review for a free wreath, and specify the style before you order—after all, you'll be staying for a long time, so pick one you like."

Ten minutes later, Huai Shi and Liu Dongli were crammed into an armored vehicle, embarking on the road to Old Pond Town with a sense of tragic grandeur.

As they set off, he inexplicably shivered.

It felt like falling into an ice cave.