Thinking this through, he steeled himself and said, "Brother-in-law, tell me the truth, how can I help you?"
Hong Zhi hesitated for a moment, as if assessing the credibility of his brother-in-law, before finally beckoning him to come closer.
…………
On the other end, Wen Zheng had just come out of the police station when he received a call from Bai Shuang.
"How are you?" Bai Shuang asked seriously. "You were sprayed with a sleeping potion. Why didn't you tell me yesterday? Who was that person who took you home? Was he reliable?"
Wen Zheng said, "How did you find out so quickly... It's not very reliable."
"Aren't you worried?!" Bai Shuang asked, exasperated. "Do you want me to help you investigate? Or do you want to find someone yourself? Is Wendy still in Xia Country?"
"Yes, I just spoke to her."
Bai Shuang gave a sarcastic snort and explained the current situation to Wen Zheng with dissatisfaction.
"The Hong Zhi you posted yesterday, after investigation, is the HR manager of the Xia Guo division of the Survival Space game. According to his position, he should not have access to internal game department information. However, the HR department is special, and the relationships within the company are intricate and complex, so anything is possible."
"Um."
Bai Shuang continued, "Let's assume for now that he passed the information to his nephew Hong Zhenyu, and through memorizing the pass conditions and preparing in advance, he cheated and deceived the audience to get rewards... It would take a long time and the profits would be considerable. As long as he wasn't discovered, his money would keep flowing in. Unfortunately, this is just a guess based on the relationships between the characters, and there is no evidence. As for filling in the blank on the stone slab, he could also say that he suddenly had a burst of energy and was in good form."
Wen Zheng listened to the phone call as he walked slowly, able to see the gate of Wutongyuan residential complex in the distance. He said, "Leave the cheating lead to me. I'll expose him completely, and then we'll call the police. Otherwise, why would I contact Wendy?"
"Oh—" Bai Shuang finally cheered up a bit and said with a smile, "Okay. Is there anything I need to do?... Wait, oh dear, your idiot colleague Jin has made a move, my people are following him..."
"Drugs?"
"Smart." Bai Shuang: "Then I'll hang up. Go play by yourself. If you need anything, call me. Eat well."
Wen Zheng hung up the phone and stood at his doorstep, lost in thought.
Big Black has been found, so the case can naturally be dropped. But at the police station, he insisted on watching yesterday's video footage.
At 10:47 PM, Big Black suddenly appeared in front of Little Yellow Hair's pet shop. Big Black arrogantly grabbed Little Yellow Hair's trouser leg and led him outside.
The blond-haired boy got into an automatic taxi, and the cat jumped in too, driving towards the street where he had fainted.
The street was relatively quiet, with fewer security cameras than in commercial areas, and his figure was completely hidden by the trees. The blond-haired cat accurately followed the cat behind a tree, dragged him to the car, got in, and drove towards Wutong Garden.
The whole process is clear and matches what Little Yellow Hair said yesterday, but there is one question that cannot be explained at all—where was Big Black before?
How did it discover itself, appearing in front of the security camera at the entrance of Little Yellow Hair's shop, without leaving a trace?
The police were also baffled by this problem, and even asked to see Dahei, but Wen Zheng refused with a stern face. The police then asked him about his unconsciousness last night, and Wen Zheng only said that he was drunk.
Previously overlooked clues resurfaced—why was Dahei lying in the middle of the road covered in wounds? Where was it before? Why could it smash Shanyu's phone with a single claw, and even break its own Rubik's Cube, which it claimed even a road roller couldn't crush?
Just how many mysteries does Dahei hold?
Wen Zheng took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind, and opened the door. The smart home assistant had just uttered a "now" when he abruptly interrupted it. Dahei was still fast asleep in the bedroom.
Wen Zheng walked towards the bathroom. There was one thing that could determine whether the footage from the surveillance camera was real or fake.
In the laundry basket, the suit that was supposedly taken off by the blond-haired guy yesterday was crumpled and piled up. The suit was made of a vintage material, breathable and comfortable, but not as durable as modern clothes. If the blond-haired guy had dragged it on the floor, it would definitely have left marks.
Wen Zheng took out the clothes and spread them out—they were completely smooth.
The author's note: [We still don't know what the smart home system was trying to say that day.]
Smart home management system: Pshaw!
(Because the other site is rushing to meet its ranking, today's extra chapter should be after 12 o'clock. If you wake up tomorrow morning and find that I haven't updated, then keep chopping off my pigeon head and giving me negative "coo coo coo coo" messages...)
Chapter 36
Wen Zheng threw the suit back into the laundry basket and leaned against the washing machine for a while to recover.
There is no conclusive evidence to prove everything yet, and his wild speculations won't solve the problem.
If the surveillance footage conflicts with the clothes, or even if there's something wrong with the clothes, it's easier to explain. Otherwise, what kind of person, and what kind of ability, could arbitrarily tamper with the surveillance content, or even change the footage?
Even a top-tier hacker like Wendy couldn't do that.
What if it's a supernatural force? Like... a monster?
Wen Zheng's expression was somewhat strange.
He was already in a secret service, so he knew more about the Otherworld. But as far as he knew, humanity hadn't discovered any of the alien races depicted in myths or movies.
In contrast, their warriors who have the ability to enter the warp are more like "alien races".
Even if Dahei really is a demon, it's still a cat, so the fundamental nature of it doesn't conflict. After all, it's cute.
Wen Zheng forced himself to brainwash himself, walked into the bedroom, and carefully reached out to stroke the tip of the big black dog's tail.
The warm and soft sensation instantly eased Wen Zheng's heart.
He stared at the sleeping Big Black for a long time, his gaze deepening slightly.
There is ample time.
After thinking it over, he sent a new message to Bai Shuang, mentioning the blond-haired owner of the pet shop.
***
In the Survival Space Points Mall, pedestrians come and go in an endless stream.
Wen Zheng walked between two rows of shelves, his gaze casually sweeping over the various small trinkets, while Deng Puyue followed behind, talking incessantly.
"My dear Zheng-ge—can you tell me what you're up to?! Did you hear what I just told you?! Bai Shuang told me that Shan Yu has a relative working in the Xia Kingdom division of Sheng Kong! I heard he's in a pretty high position! Doesn't that sound terrifying? Doesn't that make him even more likely to be a scheming woman? Seriously, trust me, my intuition is incredibly strong..."
"Which is better, a Jeep or a motorcycle?" Wen Zheng asked.
"What?" Deng Puyue didn't react, staring blankly at the two keychains in Wen Zheng's hand. One was a Jeep model, and the other was a motorcycle model; both models were pretty cool and stylish.
It's basically useless.
"Zheng-ge," Deng Puyue suddenly became wary, "Don't tell me you're in a relationship and trying to pick up girls?"
"...I don't pick up girls."
"Is that for picking up girls? Yeah, girls usually like cute cat keychains, who the hell would want a big Jeep?"
"Shut up."
Wen Zheng looked left and right, unable to make up his mind, so he simply put them all into the basket he was carrying and turned to go to the next shelf.
Deng Puyue had never seen his brother Zheng stroll around like this before. He hesitated several times before finally saying cautiously, "Brother Zheng, I won't call Shan Yu an idiot anymore, okay? Don't do this, it gives me the creeps..."
The C-row shelf features animal keychains, each one fluffy and incredibly realistic. Many girls gathered in small groups to pick them out, occasionally letting out silly giggles from being charmed by their cuteness.
Wen Zheng walked past them without changing his expression, his eyes scanning the room, and finally spotted a black cat keychain in an inconspicuous corner on the ground floor.
"It doesn't look like Dahei at all." Deng Puyue commented objectively: "How should I put it, these kittens make you want to hold them in your hands, but when I see Dahei, I want to ride on its back."
Wen Zheng turned and stared at him until he changed his mind: "I won't ride, I was wrong, I can't ride it anyway... Okay, I won't think about it anymore. Close your mind."
Although this cat keychain didn't quite capture the essence of Dahei, it was the only black cat on the entire shelf, so Wen Zheng tossed it into his shopping basket as well.
Deng Puyue only realized what was going on when Wen Zheng went to the stationery section and bought the most expensive sixteen-color ballpoint pen and a small notebook.
"Are you going to give this to the king?"
The survival space's points shop is 90% filled with various decorations and clothing. Stationery is one of the few practical items, but it's only usable in basic matches and is locked in the menu when entering large-scale dungeons.
“I apologized to him for my bad attitude last time,” Wen Zheng said as he paid at the self-service machine, “if he’s still online.”
Deng Puyue sighed with emotion: "Actually, you were somewhat understandable that time. I was already annoyed, and you yelled at me several times. The king's reaction seemed abnormal, as if he had been traumatized. What did you say again? I've forgotten."
Wen Zheng couldn't remember at first, but after forcing himself to recall, he managed to remember one.
"I'm saying you don't understand, or you do understand something, something like that."
As if preparing, he scanned his card on the self-service machine to pay while explaining, "I don't really think he doesn't understand, it's just that in that environment, when two people are arguing, I instinctively stopped the person I know and am closer to... It was my fault."
Deng Puyue nodded: "I understand perfectly, it's just politeness. Especially those acquaintances who barely know each other, it's the most troublesome. You want him to shut up, but you're afraid of ruining things, so you make your own people shut up. Me too, I once took my cousin out to play and we ran into a bratty kid and his bratty parents. My cousin got into a fight with the kid, and I thought it was better to avoid trouble, so I scolded my cousin and told the bratty parents that the kid was just being unreasonable, and then I pulled him away. But five years later, my cousin still remembers it. On my birthday, he threw cake at my face and mocked me for being incompetent..."
Wen Zheng: "..."
Thinking about it carefully, that makes sense.
It's a common problem for many people to be polite and courteous to strangers but domineering towards relatives and friends. Although Wen Zheng knew he was closer to the king, in the end, when they argued, he, as a friend, sided with the other side.
That alone was enough to anger the king, not to mention that his words had struck a nerve with the king.
An apology should be sincere. He looked up some tips online before entering the points mall to buy these small gifts.
Deng Puyue said, "What kind of travel guide did you read? Aren't two keychains too few?"
"Yes." Wen Zheng nodded: "I exchanged all the points in my account for custom clothing vouchers."
"…Holy crap?" Deng Puyue almost jumped up: "All your points? All those points that you haven't exchanged all these years, your ancestral points!?"
"He's quite vain, so he'll like it, right?"
"Yes," Deng Puyue said sadly, "Anyone who can create such an amazing face must also enjoy dress-up. Besides, you didn't give him clothes from a ready-made store, but a custom gift certificate; he can spend it however he wants..."
Speak of the king, and the king has arrived.
[DaWang0719], who hadn't been online since then, finally popped up an online notification, and Wen Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.
He was pushed out of the mall by Deng Puyue, into the revolving passage, and back to the hall where the central crystal was located. After tentatively sending a message, he quickly received the other party's coordinates.
Looking into the distance, the king was standing in front of a crystal statue in the corner, seemingly looking at something.
"Your Majesty," Wen Zheng called to him, "I apologize for last time."
The king turned and stared at him for a while, his expression complicated: "You have nothing to apologize to me for. Alright, if you want to talk to me, let's find a quiet place."
So the three of them teamed up to enter the instance, then teamed up to leave, leaving their bewildered teammates behind, who automatically appeared in a lounge with a roaring fireplace.
Before the king could even put on airs, Wen Zheng handed him a motorcycle keychain: "A little gift."
The king took it, pretending not to be interested, but couldn't help turning its realistic little wheels.
"And this set of stationery." Wen Zheng handed over a ballpoint pen.
A hint of surprise flashed in the king's eyes. He took the ballpoint pen and saw that it had sixteen different colored buttons. He started pressing one button after another, turning it around and pressing it in circles.
Deng Puyue: "…………" I always feel that his brother Zheng knows the king a little too well.
"Also, this is a custom clothing voucher. You can use it to scan clothes in the real world in the character creation interface, or customize them in your character space." Wen Zheng sent the voucher through the system, and the king's eyes lit up even more.