Chapter 8 – No Money

　　Li Yiming and Qing Qiaoqiao looked at the Maserati parked in front of Hanzhou's Golden s.h.i.+ne Nightclub. "There's no mistake, he's in there."

　　The city's sophisticated surveillance network finally proved its usefulness. After Li Yiming provided the license plate number, it took Eyegla.s.ses less than five minutes to find the exact location of the vehicle.

　　"Oh yeah, did you bring any money?" As they were about to enter the building, Li Yiming suddenly asked. 'She's driving a Land Rover, I'd bet on her having at least some cash…'

　　"Y-, Yes…" Qing Qiaoqiao was not quite sure how to answer.

　　"Do you have enough?" Li Yiming asked once again to confirm.

　　"A few thousand yuan in cash…, And a few hundred thousand in my debit card… Why?"

　　"Nothing…" Li Yiming sighed. 'As expected, she's loaded.'

　　* * *

　　Following behind his butler, Guo Tai arrived into the living room in his pyjamas with a concerned look. "Mr. Guo." Eyegla.s.ses and Qing Linglong stood up from their seats.

　　"National Security?" Guo Tai was expressionless.

　　Eyegla.s.ses did not bother with an introduction and directly gave Guo Tai his ID. The latter handed it to his butler without even looking at it. The butler, by now, had recovered his composure, and, after a slight bow, turned away and left to verify its authenticity.

　　"What are you here for?" Guo Tai sat down in the host's seat with a condescending air.

　　"Mr. Guo, surely you have heard the news about the a.s.sa.s.sination of your subordinate, Mr. w.a.n.g Jianjun recently, have you not?" Qing Linglong spoke out instead of Eyegla.s.ses. The latter sufficed for the task of silent intimidation, but his indigent temperament put him at a disadvantage in a face-to-face negotiation.

　　"I've heard about it. So what? Any progress?" Guo Tai's impa.s.sivity remained unbroken.

　　"We've narrowed it down to a prime suspect."

　　"Oh?”

　　"The culprit is called Zhang Qiang. A man of Chinese descent with no nationality. He served in the U.S. Navy SEALs, and joined international mercenary organizations after his retirement. He's a bloodthirsty person, both cruel and immoral. As long as he's paid, he'll do anything. We have enough evidence suggesting that he's been part of many incidents, even civilian ma.s.sacres. Our current estimates show that at least 152 people have fallen victim to him, including women and children…" Qing Linglong's confidence dwindled as she regurgitated the information Eyegla.s.ses had prepared.

　　"What does this have to do with me?" Guo Tai's brows furrowed into a slight frown, and he asked with more doubt.

　　"There's enough evidence to show that you will be his next target."

　　"Ah?" Guo Tai's countenance finally changed. "What evidence?"

　　"As of right now, there have been 132 victims related to the viaduct collapse. Zhang Qiang's adopted daughter is one of them."

　　Guo Tai kept silent with a frown. The butler returned just in time with four imposing-looking men behind him, most likely bodyguards. He gave the ident.i.ty pieces back to Eyegla.s.ses and nodded at his master.

　　* * *

　　Inside the corridors of the nightclub, Li Yiming stared back at Qing Qiaoqiao with a bizarre look. "So you asked, and he told you. Just like that?"

　　"How else?" Qing Qiaoqiao answered nonchalantly.

　　Just a moment ago Li Yiming considered the difficulty of finding Guo Xiang in a nightclub with several hundreds of private rooms and three big halls with dance floors a nearly impossible task. Then, he saw Qing Qiaoqiao approach a head waiter, smile at him and ask, "Can you tell me where Mr. Guo, Guo Xiang is?"

　　"Second table in the Windy Flowers and Snowy Moon Hall," answered the waiter politely.

　　'What? This is the Golden s.h.i.+ne! There's no way a customer's privacy can be breached just like that! How did this guy even get his job?' Li Yiming was shocked.

　　"If he's that rich, why would he want to stay in a hall?" Qing Qiaoqiao pushed on the b.u.t.ton in the elevator and arranged her hair using the mirror on the walls of the compartment. 'Things will get troublesome in such an open place…'

　　"He's a rich second generation, and he wants to show it… How can a little private room satisfy his desire to flaunt?"

　　 * * *

　　"Why did he kill w.a.n.g Jianjun?" Guo Tai's question was clever. First, he avoided all mention of himself, thus lowering the risks of being dragged into the affair. At the same time, he would be able to get the information he wanted.