Pristine Condition

The corridor was silent and deserted at midnight.

Qing Chen heard the six people outside quickly enter Song Niaoniao's house password, then push the door open, enter, and quickly close it.

The other party's actions seemed very discreet; they walked quietly to avoid making any unnecessary noise.

After the door closed, there was no more sound from the room.

Qing Chen realized that Song Niaoniao had probably installed a polymer soundproofing layer throughout the house to ensure the privacy of her living environment, so even he couldn't hear the sounds inside.

He sighed inwardly, realizing this was very disadvantageous for his rescue efforts, as he didn't know what was inside the house.

Qing Chen glanced back at his window, where the beautiful and dazzling holographic neon lights were still intertwining and changing, and in the distance, holographic fireworks were celebrating the new year.

The fireworks were colorful, and after they exploded, various animals would even jump out.

In this era, holographic neon lights have completely replaced the role of fireworks. Every city at night, holographic neon lights are like a grand party.

At one point, Qing Chen even felt as if he had stepped into the movie "The Great Gatsby," where the daily parties were dazzling and beautiful...

However, beneath this dazzling facade, countless filth and sins still lurk.

The words the shadow spoke before leaving were quite intriguing. The other party was actually asking: You can guess that this was arranged by me, but if you guess wrong, Song Niaoniao will die. Will you go to save her?

Qing Chen even felt that the shadow might be waiting to see how he would react.

He gently opened his own door and silently walked into the dimly lit corridor.

The silenced pistol was already in his hand, ready to serve his will at any time.

Knock knock knock.

Qing Chen calmly knocked on Song Niaoniao's door.

He listened intently, but was surprised to find that the soundproofing in this Inner World was even more effective than he had imagined; he couldn't hear anything even when he was standing at the door.

Qing Chen silently raised his pistol and stood to the side of the door to prevent the thugs inside from opening the door and firing.

He knocked on the door again, but still no one answered.

Qing Chen glanced back at the corridor where the five people were, then raised his hand and fired two shots at the door lock. With a click, the door opened.

Loud music emanated from inside the room, and faintly, Song Niaoniao's singing could be heard.

It was as if a carnival was being held.

Qing Chen quickly kicked the door open, and only then did he see that there were seven young men and women jumping around on the sofa inside.

Song Niaoniao, the owner of the house, was wearing a birthday hat and holding a piece of cake in her hand, looking as happy as an angel.

The six people who came in earlier, some were holding electric guitars, some were playing trumpets, and they were playing a rock version of Happy Birthday.

To Qing Chen's surprise, one of them was someone he had met before.

At this moment, Song Niaoniao had already taken off her heavy scarf and coat and was wearing a pink short-sleeved T-shirt.

Even though Qing Chen had found her photos online, he still thought the girl was very beautiful.

But the girl was staring at him blankly, her eyes filled with shock and incomprehension.

Fortunately, Qing Chen reacted quickly and had already hidden the gun behind his back. Otherwise, the other party would not only be shocked and confused, but would probably have screamed like in the elevator.

"Happy birthday," Qing Chen said sincerely to the girl.

His toes were digging into his shoes, and the moment of embarrassment almost made him dig a three-bedroom apartment out of the ground.

Qing Chen could even imagine that the shadow of the Qing family was probably already laughing hysterically and pounding the ground.

The other party must know the identities of these people. After all, these six people were only one door away from the Shadow when they were closest. How could the Shadow not know the identity of someone who gets close?

Qing Chen speculated that these six people were probably not arranged by Shadow, but Shadow immediately came up with a plan after discovering their arrival, and his playful nature was aroused.

Then, the shadow deliberately misled him with words, making him think that an assassin had arrived outside the door and was waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

At this moment, Qing Chen wanted to find Yingzi and then question her with a heavy heart, "Why do you love to play around so much?!"

It's important to understand that it would be extremely difficult for an ordinary person to deceive Qing Chen, but this Shadow is the most sophisticated of all con artists. With just a simple trick, he can completely manipulate Qing Chen.

By this time, Qing Chen had already recognized the six people; they were all well-known music producers in the Federation's entertainment industry.

The kind that everyone is familiar with.

He quickly scanned the table; there were no drugs, no Dopamine pills or other such things to liven things up. It was a clean and tidy party.

This is probably where Song Niaoniao, a top-tier celebrity, usually gathers with her friends.

That's why such expensive soundproofing materials are used to cover the entire house.

The musicians stopped playing, looked curiously at Qing Chen, then at Song Niaoniao. One of the female guitarists exclaimed, "Wow, Niaoniao, you actually had a man hidden away!"

Another young man shouted, "Niao Niao, you said you weren't dating, but you've found such a handsome boyfriend?"

The others looked at Qing Chen with curiosity. He was dressed in a clean white tracksuit. As for his appearance... even if he debuted in the Federation right now, he would definitely attract a lot of female fans if he sang just one or two songs.

It was precisely this appearance that led them to mistakenly believe that Qing Chen had come to attend Song Niaoniao's birthday party.

It has to be said that this is indeed a world that judges people by their appearance. If you're good-looking, you can look like a good person even if you're hiding a gun on your back.

Song Niaoniao didn't hear what they were saying at all. Instead, she looked at Qing Chen incredulously and asked, "How did you get in?"

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Your door wasn't closed properly."

Song Niaoniao glanced at everyone. "This wasn't someone I invited; this is a bad person!"

The girl directly defined Qing Chen's identity.

Qing Chen was even more embarrassed.

With more friends around her, Song Niaoniao seemed less afraid of Qing Chen: "Inspector, do you know this is a violation of human rights? Please leave now, and please don't harass me anymore!"

A girl sensed something was wrong and looked at Song Niaoniao: "Are these your sasaeng fans? They actually came to your house!"

After saying that, the girl looked at Qing Chen: "My father is Li Menglin, the captain of the seventh branch of the Immigration and Customs Administration. Do you believe I can summon PCE agents with just one phone call right now?"

Qing Chen sighed, "No, no, everyone has misunderstood."

He couldn't explain why he came. Everyone else was having a happy birthday celebration, and he was saying he suspected that criminals were trying to kidnap him.

People won't believe it anyway.

Moreover, he even shot and broke the door lock...

As for Li Menglin, he was indeed an acquaintance.

When he was arresting Li Menglin, he also investigated Li Menglin's close relatives, so he had seen the girl's photo.

Qing Chen couldn't understand how the fat, big-eared Li Menglin could have such a delicate daughter.

The girl's Li Zhaoen, a well-known violinist in the Federation who can play many instruments.

In the girl's eyes, Li Menglin was already a member of the Federation's power structure, but to Qing Chen, Li Menglin was nothing more than an informant.

Whether Li Menglin is considered part of the power structure or whether he is Qing Chen's informant is irrelevant to the mistakes Qing Chen has made, so he can only admit his mistake and apologize.

Moreover, what Qing Chen is thinking about now is what to do with the locked gun ports, this is damn...

I have no choice but to run.

After they run away, have Yang Xuyang talk to Li Menglin and try to calm things down.

Qing Chen stepped outside, smiling broadly, and said, "Happy birthday everyone! May you all have many more birthdays to come..."

After saying that, he stepped out the door and turned to leave, almost running away.

At this moment, Li Zhaoen and Song Niaoniao discovered that Qing Chen had broken the door lock. Li Zhaoen immediately picked up the phone and called his father, Li Menglin, saying that there was a pervert in the Utopia Tower who was trying to ambush Song Niaoniao.

Qing Chen listened to all this, he thought to himself, "What kind of mess is this?"

He quickly packed his things, grabbed his kettle, tea leaves, and a change of clothes, and went out again.

However, just as Qing Chen was preparing to stay at the Intelligence Department One period, two middle-aged men brushed past him.

The familiar gait and posture made Qing Chen frown.

The two middle-aged men gave him a cold look, but did not stop and continued walking towards the end of the corridor.

At this moment, Li Zhaoen, who was at the end of the corridor, saw two middle-aged men approaching and asked curiously, "Were you sent by my father? The kid behind you is the pervert I was talking about, it's him, grab him quickly!"

The middle-aged man glanced back at Qing Chen, but showed no intention of making a move. Instead, he continued walking towards the end of the corridor, "Your father sent me to protect you."

Qing Chen retreated to his room after pondering all his thoughts. He had made a judgment: firstly, these two people were definitely not good people; secondly, they had probably been eavesdropping on Li Zhaoen's phone calls, because Li Zhaoen had called Li Menglin to give his location, which led to these two coming to his door.

When the two burly middle-aged men arrived at Li Zhaoen's side, they looked back into the corridor, confirmed that Qing Chen was no longer there, and suddenly grabbed Li Zhaoen, quickly pushing him into the room.

The small door to the room closed again, isolating the sound, as if it had created two separate worlds.

Inside the house, Song Niaoniao saw that Li Zhaoen was being restrained and immediately sensed something was wrong. She turned around and ran into the house to get her pocket pistol for self-defense.

But the middle-aged man was faster; he had already drawn his gun and pulled the trigger.

The bullet struck the door frame next to Song Niaoniao, startling the girl so much that she stood frozen in place like a statue.

The middle-aged man calmly said, "Finding this opportunity wasn't easy. Please cooperate and transfer the money we need, and then you'll be free."

Song Niaoniao asked weakly, "How much money do you want? My parents manage all my money, I don't have any..."

The two middle-aged men exchanged a glance, then said, "Then let your parents transfer the money to our account."

At this moment, another middle-aged man walked to the side and quietly answered a phone call, "Yes, it's been found. Don't worry, it's intact. The customer will be satisfied."

As they spoke, it sounded like they were discussing the quality of the goods.

I just arrived in Wuzhen and found that the guesthouse arranged by the Internet Conference didn't even have a decent table. I'm still thinking about where to write, and I'll try to update another chapter before 11 p. m.