Chapter 154: Pillow Talk

Following the burglary, Su Dao'an hired a specialized security company to redesign the security protocols and tighten management for the Yun'an Group building.

After careful consideration, Lu Feng picked up his pen and wrote a letter to the old man far away in Yunshan. The letter detailed the matter of the Thousand Gold Formula along with his own thoughts, and concluded by asking for the old man's opinion.

Currently, Lu Feng was the chief successor of the Yunshan lineage and was destined to take charge of Yunshan in the future, but for now, the old man still called the shots, so any matters concerning the Thousand Gold Formula still required his input.

Letters could not be delivered directly to Yunshan by post, but the villagers at the foot of the mountain regarded the old man on Yunshan as a deity. Thus, addressing it to the village was sufficient, and someone would eventually carry it up the mountain.

...

After the police finished gathering evidence for the Yun'an burglary case, the investigation stalled.

Lu Feng did not believe that the public security, procuratorate, and judiciary under Wang Yongye's administration would make a genuine effort to solve a case concerning Yun'an, so he called Guo Yanzhi directly.

"Fatty Guo, there's a new case I need your help to investigate."

"If you want to investigate a case, please look for Officer Guo. I am merely a university lecturer," Guo Yanzhi replied earnestly.

"Then please ask Officer Guo to come to the phone."

Guo Yanzhi's voice instantly turned stern and resonant. "Hello, this is Officer Guo, leader of the Intelligence Squad under the Second Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Municipal Bureau. You don't need to say it; I've already guessed what case you want me to look into—it must be the burglary at the Yun'an Corporation. Rest assured, the leadership of the Municipal Bureau attaches great importance to this case, and I will follow up on it."

Hearing this fat man's voice, Lu Feng could vividly imagine him putting on a deadpan expression with sheer bravado, making him thoroughly punchable.

As for the fact that the Municipal Bureau didn't even have a Second Criminal Investigation Detachment, such units existed solely within Guo Yanzhi's own imagination.

To reach such a level of self-hypnosis was truly something else.

Having entrusted the matter to a professional, Lu Feng left it at that.

Guo Yanzhi moved quickly, producing results by the third day and calling Lu Feng.

"Hello, this is Officer Guo. I am calling to inform you that the police have identified the suspect who sneaked into the Yun'an Group headquarters building to steal valuables from the safe. He is a habitual offender, a notorious jewelry thief known by the alias Doberman. However, we've encountered difficulties in apprehending the suspect, and we may need the assistance of underworld forces," Guo Yanzhi said in a deadpan voice over the phone.

"Can the police mingle with underworld forces?" Lu Feng asked, feeling a mischievous urge to tease the fat man.

"To be a proper police officer, one inevitably has to deal with the underworld—developing informants or even going deep undercover," Guo Yanzhi replied solemnly.

"Very well then. Whose assistance is needed? Let me see if I can help," Lu Feng said.

"Tang Long."

Of course, Tang Long had no time for such trivial matters; his entire focus was currently pinned on a woman's belly—and not for the sake of lust, but out of obsession with the child growing inside.

For a man in his fifties, the desperate yearning for a child late in life was impossible to understand without having experienced it.

As for the task of tracking down Doberman, it was handed over to Bra Straps Keung.

Bra Straps Keung wasn't the best fighter, but capturing someone didn't require him to make a personal appearance. He dispatched a few men who chased Doberman all the way to Macau and nabbed him right at the gaming tables.

...

Pepper spray and folding torture benches were brought out, and the infamous jewelry thief Doberman quickly became cooperative.

Bra Straps Keung saved Lu Feng the trouble by softening the man up first before inviting Lu Feng over for questioning.

In the dimly lit soundproofed VIP room upstairs at the nightclub, Lu Feng leaned back against the sofa, watching the somewhat battered and miserable thief Doberman.

Doberman was a man in his thirties of medium build and ordinary appearance—the type who would instantly vanish if thrown into a crowd.

Having already received a thorough beating from Bra Straps Keung, his face and body were covered in bruises, and he barely had the strength left to breathe.

"What did you steal at Yun'an?"

Doberman looked up at Lu Feng, then lowered his head again, whimpering with utmost grievance, "I already said I'll confess to everything, why are you still hitting me..."

"Beat him again!" Hearing a useless sentence, Lu Feng stood up directly and turned to leave.

"Don't! No, no, no! I'll talk..." Doberman pleaded hurriedly, "I stole a pile of documents from the safe, along with one hundred thousand in cash, some gold bars, and a computer hard drive. That's all, there really isn't anything else."

Lu Feng sat back down on the sofa, smoothed out his clothes, and continued, "What were you trying to steal?"

Doberman had already realized that the young man sitting before him was also a ruthless character, so he had no choice but to answer truthfully, "I was looking for a book called the Thousand Gold Formula."

Things matched Lu Feng's speculation; the master thief had indeed been aiming for the Thousand Gold Formula.

"Who ordered you to steal it?"

This time Doberman hesitated and did not answer immediately.

Without uttering a single superfluous word, Bra Straps Keung flicked open a switchblade and stepped forward.

"I'll talk! It was a lackey of Babee Chicken who approached me, promising fifty thousand to break into the Yun'an chairman's office, and another fifty thousand if I found the item they wanted," Doberman blurted out in panic.

Babee Chicken was a subordinate of Kun Jiu from the New East Society, a fierce and vicious up-and-coming enforcer.

However, the last time Yuan Jianhui had brought Babee Chicken to make trouble at the Belle Nightclub, Lu Feng had knocked him flat with a single kick.

"Babee Chicken?"

Hearing this name, the most astonished person wasn't Lu Feng, but Bra Straps Keung.

Frowning, Bra Straps Keung looked at Lu Feng and muttered under his breath, "Could this be the work of the New East Society?"

Lu Feng curved his lips into a smile. "The methods are too petty. If the New East Society were behind this, they certainly wouldn't have a mere foot soldier's underling hire someone. I reckon even Kun Jiu might not know about this."

"Now that young master Feng mentions it, you're right. Kun Jiu isn't that foolish," Bra Straps Keung flattered him before asking, "Would you like me to find out who supplied the money?"

"How long will it take?"

"That's simple. Grab one of Babee Chicken's underlings and beat it out of them. Besides, I already have a pretty good idea of the target," Bra Straps Keung said.

"Alright, go find out."

Bra Straps Keung immediately sent his men to work.

A little over an hour later, the men called back with results.

Leaning close to Lu Feng's ear, Bra Straps Keung whispered, "Found out. The money came from Yuan Jianhui. Babee Chicken is truly an idiot; I suppose that good-for-nothing is going to catch some serious hell from Kun Jiu."

...

That evening, Bra Straps Keung went to report to Tang Long.

"Doctor Lu, what favor do you need?" Tang Long sat in the living room sofa wearing formal silk pajamas.

"We caught a jewelry thief named Doberman—the very guy who broke into the Yun'an chairman's office a few days ago," Bra Straps Keung replied.

"What did he steal that has Doctor Lu in such a rush?"

"He didn't manage to steal anything major, but the item he was after is called the Thousand Gold Formula, seemingly a secret medicinal recipe belonging to the Yun'an Group. Word has been circulating for a while that someone has been hunting for this formula," Bra Straps Keung said.

Tang Long nodded and waved his hand. "Understood, you may leave. If Doctor Lu asks for your assistance again, do your best to help."

"Understood." Bra Straps Keung acknowledged the order and turned to leave.

...

Returning to his bedroom, Tang Long pulled back the covers, slid into bed, and reached out to stroke the woman's belly.

Ruan Yali slapped Tang Long's hand away, feigning annoyance. "Touching it all day long, aren't you sick of it?"

"Of course not," Tang Long said, his face beaming with a smile.

"What did Ah Keung come to talk about?"

"Nothing much, just a minor matter."

"I heard them. They were talking about the Thousand Gold Formula—I actually heard whispers about that myself not long ago. I was thinking, once the baby is born, we ought to set him up with some legitimate businesses. Opening a pharmaceutical company would be quite nice." Ruan Yali began whispering sweet persuasion into his ear.

Tang Long glanced at Ruan Yali without answering. "Go to sleep."