Since the woman in blue didn't seem to intend to leave the pedestrian street immediately, Xiang Kun didn't rush over to put the Ballpoint Pen Tip into her bag. Instead, he continued to follow her from a distance until her friend came over, and they went to a dessert shop together.
Xiang Kun went into the imported snack shop next to the dessert shop, pretending to choose snacks with a basket, but his attention was actually focused on the woman in blue and her best friend.
The woman in blue clearly works and lives locally, and the fact that they met in this city, which was Xiang Kun's decision yesterday, along with other information, suggests that she was likely a local contacted by "August's Kasumi," and that they were definitely not acquainted, having only a simple employer-employee relationship.
He had actually already prepared several plans in his mind, thinking about how to get information about the mastermind from the woman in blue after confirming that there were no other people following him, or at least how to contact and hire her.
These methods include posing as an official to investigate, pretending to be a charlatan to strike up a conversation, and investigating the other person's identity and profession before making contact. However, all of these methods have hidden risks, and he is hesitant, thinking about whether there is a better plan.
Unexpectedly, when the woman in blue's friend arrived, she immediately began to explain the whole story in detail...
"Damn it, I knew it wasn't going to be anything good the moment I heard what he was saying. He wanted 1,000 at first, like he was trying to fob me off with a beggar's money? I asked for 5,000 directly, and in the end he gave me 3,000, plus 200 for clothes, 200 for a taxi, and 100 for a drink!"
"With these clothes, the oil transfer is definitely not 200, it's 79! Two drinks cost 52 yuan! Didi (ride-hailing service) costs 20 yuan! This job earns a total of 3349 yuan!"
"It's definitely not good news! Go to that coffee shop, the one on the east side of the pedestrian street, don't miss it! Wear a blue shirt, go at two o'clock, buy two drinks, and say someone is coming to see me, and after you see them, say one thing to them."
The woman in blue cleared her throat and said in perfect Mandarin, "What you want to know is all in **town."
"I waited from 2 to 3 o'clock, and there was this bastard! Luckily I got the money first, otherwise that son of a bitch would have said I didn't finish the work and wouldn't have paid me!"
Then, lowering his voice, he said to his companion, "I suspect they might be spies or drug dealers!"
Her companion was also somewhat taken aback, and lowered her voice, saying, "Then you still dare to...?"
"I'm not afraid of anything! That idiot wearing sunglasses thinks he's never contacted me before and I don't recognize him. That idiot has contacted Xiao Qin many times before. He's the guy who makes fake documents on ** Street, living on the second floor above the watch repair shop! His real name is Zhang Jin'an, everyone on the street calls him 'the Certificate Forger.' If the police or anyone else comes looking for me, I'll throw him out!"
"If you can't reach me at any time, go find Brother Hua. If Brother Hua doesn't care, go find the police. I have a recording here."
Xiang Kun unconsciously leaned a little closer to the wall of the dessert shop, as if he were carefully examining the goods on the shelves.
"Sir, this is imported from Korea. As you can see, the expiration dates are all the latest. If..." the sales clerk in the store came over and introduced it enthusiastically.
Xiang Kun held out his left hand in front of him. "Stop! I'll see for myself!"
Inside the dessert shop, the woman in blue took out her phone and played a recording for her companion. The recording wasn't very clear, so it was obviously not a phone call recording, but rather a secret recording made face-to-face. However, the content was still basically audible.
"... Sir, our fees are standardized. 2000 is the base price. It's not that we have to lower the price just for accompanying you to a coffee shop for drinks. Besides, according to you, this is considered a customized request, which requires additional payment. We don't care about our clients' privacy; we only focus on the quality of service..." The woman in blue spoke very standard Mandarin in the recording, with a soft voice and steady pace, making it very pleasant to listen to.
"... So... it's just about ordering two drinks, sitting for an afternoon, not even an afternoon, just disappearing... it shouldn't cost 5000! That's too expensive!" The other voice was a male voice, and it sounded a bit urgent.
"Sir, I offer discounts to regular customers, but this seems to be your first time contacting me?"
"First time... I didn't... No... This has nothing to do with whether it's your first time or not, it's a simple matter. If you don't want to do it, I'll find someone else..."
The woman in blue spoke calmly and unhurriedly, "Sir, you must know we offer the best service and prioritize privacy. Well, since this is a customized service, there will be at least a 50% increase on the base price, making it 3000 yuan. Then, you'll need to reimburse any other activity costs. Is that acceptable? If you can't accept this price, then you'll have to find someone else. But can anyone else be as professional as us? Hehe..."
"Well... how about 3000 then? You have to stay until at least 3 PM, and remember what I told you to say..."
"Don't worry, 'everything you want to know is in **town,' I guarantee you won't be wrong by a single word. By the way, sir, I must first state that we don't care about things outside of our services, and we won't pry into our clients' privacy, but what we do cannot violate national laws and regulations."
"Don't worry, it's just passing on a message, it's nothing."
After the recording finished playing, the woman in blue said to her companion, "I'm sending you the recording. If I ever lose contact, just find Brother Hua or the police and report that idiot!"
Xiang Kun was pretending to buy snacks next door, heard this and his cheeks twitched slightly; he almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.
This girl in blue has such a wonderful personality!
This saved Xiang Kun a lot of trouble.
However, judging from the information she revealed, the person who invited her to the "Long Time No See Cafe" is still a local working and living person, which means that this person is still not the vampire behind "August's Kasumi".
Following the keywords "street" and "watch repair shop" given by the woman in blue, Xiang Kun found the location on the map and then took a bus there using the navigation.
After finding the watch shop and the small building, Xiang Kun didn't rush to find the "Certificate Forger" Zhang Jin'an. Instead, he first took a walk around the area, observing the locations of all the surveillance cameras. He also used his sense of smell and hearing to perceive the surrounding information and determine if there were any other hidden surveillance.
Around 6 p. m., Xiang Kun stood in the shadows of the alley next to the watch repair shop, keeping himself in the dark.
Based on his senses, he knew that there were four people on the upper floors of the watch repair shop, from the second to the fourth floor. On the second floor, there was only one man living in the room on the right, typing away on a keyboard. The room smelled of all sorts of messy odors, indicating that it was rarely cleaned.
Moreover, judging from the scent that Xiang Kun carefully discerned, this person was definitely not a vampire, and his physical condition was extremely poor.
Xiang Kun already had several plans to get information from Zhang Jin'an, but after a brief moment of thought, he decided to make things quick.
At 6:50, the food Zhang Jin'an ordered online arrived. After watching the deliveryman leave, Xiang Kun pulled his baseball cap down, then walked in through the back door of the watch repair shop with his head down. He went straight to the second floor and knocked on Zhang Jin'an's door, saying in a somewhat hurried voice, "Hello, I just delivered the food. I forgot one of the side dishes..."
"What side dishes? Everything I ordered has arrived..." a groggy voice came from inside, and then the door opened.
The moment the door opened, Xiang Kun shoved it open, sidestepped, and rushed in with his head down. He covered the man's mouth with one hand and twisted his arm with the other, pressing him tightly against the wall. Then, he hooked his leg and closed the door again.
"Behave yourself! Zhang Jin'an, do you know what you've done wrong?!" Xiang Kun said in a low voice behind Zhang Jin'an.