An Han, An Han

"Boss, four servings. Make two of them less spicy."

Four people in Patrol Bureau uniforms sat down at the stall, one of them placing the order with the owner.

"Sure thing, coming right up."

Xiao Wang sat off to the side, eating slowly and quietly. He did not look toward the Patrol Bureau again or turn to look at the Patrol Bureau personnel, though he very much wanted to ask them a few questions.

But he knew that any move he made at this moment could later become grounds for suspicion.

Fortunately, the four officers began talking among themselves.

"Did you hear about what happened on Kiln Ridge Street yesterday?"

"How could I not? I heard the firefight was intense. Two people from Second Squad were even wounded. The other side had fierce firepower. In the end, Captain Hu stepped in and took out their machine gunner, lifting the suppressive fire before they managed to take them down."

Xiao Wang listened intently. When he heard the words "Captain Hu," his attention sharpened even further.

He guessed that this "Captain Hu" was very likely Hu Guangzhong, the man he was looking for.

After all, the odds of two out of five Patrol Bureau squad captains being surnamed Hu were not very high.

"Captain Hu still fights that hard? I heard he's about to be transferred to the inner city. Wonder if it's true."

What he heard matched the information Aries had given him. He could now basically confirm that the "Captain Hu" they were discussing was Hu Guangzhong.

The conversation continued.

"Why would he transfer to the inner city? In another two years, shouldn't he be promoted to deputy chief? If he transfers now, that deputy chief position will definitely be gone. Besides, even if he's a captain, it probably isn't easy to transfer into the inner city, is it?"

"Who knows? Maybe he just wants to live in the inner city. What's it like there? We wouldn't know. As for whether he can get transferred, I heard he has connections in the inner city."

As they spoke, one person suddenly warned them to be quiet. "Lower your voices. That's Captain Hu's car. Don't let him hear us."

As soon as he said that, the others immediately lowered their voices.

Xiao Wang looked up toward the entrance of the Patrol Bureau and, sure enough, saw a jeep driving out through the gates.

He immediately memorized the jeep's license plate: Yuan A4834.

Xiao Wang watched the jeep, wanting to note more distinguishing features—or better yet, for Hu Guangzhong to show himself—but neither happened. The jeep had no particularly obvious features and looked almost identical to the other vehicles coming in and out of the Patrol Bureau. Hu Guangzhong never appeared either. With a press of the accelerator, the jeep vanished from everyone's sight amid the sound of its engine.

After seeing Hu Guangzhong's car leave, the Patrol Bureau officers behind him resumed their conversation.

"Still, whether he transfers or not, Captain Hu's strength is beyond doubt. If it hadn't been for him in yesterday's Kiln Ridge Street incident, who knows how many casualties those Second Squad guys would have suffered before taking the other side down."

"What's there to say? I heard that back when Captain Hu was at the military police academy, he was already a formidable figure. His rapid pistol fire was practically dead-on every shot, and he wasn't weak in hand-to-hand combat either. I heard he could go toe-to-toe with someone whose martial arts muscle control was around 500."

"That's true enough. In terms of marksmanship, he's definitely first among the five captains. In close combat, he's only a little worse than Deputy Captain Wen Lujia. That's why people say he's the most likely to take over the deputy chief position."

As they chatted, the stall owner brought over their prepared food. The moment he approached, they fell silent. Once he left, they shifted to another topic.

Taking advantage of the moment, Xiao Wang got up and left as well.

He had now obtained two important pieces of information. First, Hu Guangzhong's license plate. With the plate number, he at least had something to track. Second, Hu Guangzhong was very strong. Killing him would probably not be easy, and there was a high chance he would need to make a long-term plan.

By the time he returned to Zhongxing Martial Arts Hall, it was already dark.

After entering the martial arts hall, he found no one there. Xiao Wang checked several rooms, but still found no one. Finally, he spotted a note left for him on the table in the main hall. It said that the three of them had gone out to make deliveries, told him to sort out dinner himself, and reminded him not to forget his training.

"Since that's the case, maybe I should take this chance to go home and have a look. I haven't been home for days."

Thinking this, Xiao Wang picked up the phone and called home.

Zhou Xuanyu answered.

"Big Bro?"

"Mom's cooking."

"Oh, okay."

After a while, Qin Fengying picked up the phone.

"Auntie, I'll be coming back to stay tonight."

"Wonderful. We'll wait for you to eat. Your uncle isn't home yet either."

After ending the call, Xiao Wang packed up his things, locked the martial arts hall's front door, and headed home.

Forty minutes later, he arrived safely.

After entering, Qin Fengying had already prepared the food, and Zhou Zhengxiong had returned as well. He was washing his hands. When Zhou Xuanyu saw Xiao Wang, he immediately ran over and hugged his leg. "Big Bro, you're back!"

Xiao Wang patted Zhou Xuanyu on the head and went to the kitchen doorway. "Auntie."

"Ah, sit for a while. Dinner will be ready in a moment."

When Zhou Zhengxiong came out after washing his hands, Xiao Wang greeted him as well. "Uncle."

"Mm."

Xiao Wang felt as though the few days they had not seen one another had been a very long time.

He had not felt it while staying at the martial arts hall, but once he returned home, it was as though everything was still the same, yet as though many things had changed.

Knowing Xiao Wang was coming back, Qin Fengying had specially made two extra dishes.

The family gathered around the table.

Zhou Zhengxiong kept to his usual habit, turning on the radio and listening to the news while eating.

"Wang, are you getting used to living at the martial arts hall? No one there has been bullying you, right?"

The moment they sat down, Qin Fengying asked impatiently.

"I'm used to it. Master and my senior brothers are all very good to me. Auntie, Uncle, don't worry."

"That's good. Like I said before, if you're not used to it, move back home."

"I know. Thank you, Auntie."

Zhou Zhengxiong ate while listening to the radio. Only after Qin Fengying had finished asking did he speak. "How is your martial arts training going? Are you getting results at the martial arts hall?"

"I've improved a lot. Master and my senior brothers have both helped me greatly."

"That's good."

As the family ate, Qin Fengying asked many more details about his daily life, and Xiao Wang answered them all one by one.

After dinner, Xiao Wang and Zhou Zhengxiong lay on the sofa.

"About the tuition—you said you'd solve it yourself. I don't know how you plan to do that, but I'll do my best to help you gather some money too. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"Thank you, Uncle. Don't worry about the tuition. I have a way."

After Qin Fengying finished washing the dishes, she came to the sofa too, and the family began chatting about the interesting things that had happened to each of them over the past few days.

Almost at the same time.

Outer City, Baifeng Road, Room 302 of a residential building.

An Han carried her clean clothes into the bathroom, preparing to take a shower.

After entering the bathroom, she set down her clothes, then turned on the showerhead. But she did not bathe. Instead, she stood against the wall between the shower area and the bathroom door.

Then she extended her hand beneath the showerhead, letting the running water make a rushing sound.

As the sound began, she turned her head toward the door. Sure enough, a shadow appeared beside it.

An Han watched calmly, with almost no emotion visible on her face. There was no fear, nor was there disgust. She was very calm.

Before long, another shadow overlapped the first.

After seeing the second shadow appear, An Han waited a moment before calling out loudly, "Auntie, could you bring me my comb?"

After she called out, she saw one shadow move away. Then a voice echoed from the living room. "Your comb? Wait a moment."

After a while, she saw the remaining shadow by the door leave as well. Then the door opened, and her adoptive mother handed her the comb.

An Han took the comb. She neither combed her hair nor took a shower. Instead, she put on her clean clothes, waited for a while, then directly opened the door and walked out of the bathroom.

"Xiaohan, are you hungry? I'll cook you something. Your uncle is hungry too."

An Han looked at her adoptive father and mother, who were sitting casually on the living room sofa. "I'm not hungry. Sit down. I'll cook for you."

As An Han spoke, she walked into the kitchen. Before long, she finished cooking and brought the food before her adoptive parents in the living room.

"Just leave the dishes after you're done. I'll wash them tomorrow morning. I'm going back to my room first."

After saying that, An Han returned to her room and lay down on the bed fully clothed.

At this moment, she seemed somewhat unsettled.

Listening to the sounds of eating from the living room, she stared at the ceiling. A vicious yet faintly excited expression appeared in her eyes.

There was even the hint of a smile.

"In that case, it's better for you to be on your way sooner."