The Morgans were indeed a Hunter Family Faction.
And Hunter Family Factions weren’t squeamish about bloodshed.
Even a fool knew how precious an Illusion capable of restoring one’s youth was. At the very least, it was far more valuable than the life of an old woman with one foot in the grave.
...If she never walked out of this office building again, no one in the world would co looking for her.
Mai Mingle leaned against the tiled wall, her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach. Through her clothes, the Snake Belt bulged slightly, pressing against her forearm.
It was her lifeline.
The mont she walked out of the showers, a covert war to protect that lifeline would begin.
Her greatest advantage in this war was that the Morgan Family had no idea the person before them was their adversary. In other words, she didn’t need to attack. She just needed to not make any mistakes.
’...If I were Fu Tailan, a director of a Hunter Family Faction, what questions would I ask?’
’How would I probe them? How would I dig for information?’
Lost in thought, Mai Mingle washed her hands, feet, face, and neck without even realizing it. She shoved her tired, aching, and cold feet into her shoes, then pulled the new clothes on directly over her pajamas.
It was a fall-and-winter hoodie. The thick layer added another level of concealnt over the Illusion, which put her a little more at ease.
She even borrowed a comb from the young woman at the front desk, carefully neatening her hair before heading out—like a warrior, fully prepared and marching off to battle.
"No, no, you don’t have to give it back,"
The receptionist waved her hands frantically, as if to keep the comb several ters away. "You can have it. Really, just keep it."
She paused, looking Mai Mingle over. "You clean up real nice. How did you end up on the streets?"
"Just bad luck," Mai Mingle said with a smile, tucking the comb into her pants pocket. "Who am I seeing next?"
"Just a mont," the receptionist said, picking up the phone. "Sister Longzhen? She’s all cleaned up... Yes, that’s right. Oh? Okay, I’ll bring her over now."
The conversation was perfectly mundane—just a subordinate being told to bring soone to her boss. But that "Oh?" seed tinged with an out-of-place surprise.
’Is it related to their whispering earlier?’
Mai Mingle licked her lips, steadied her nerves, and did her best to keep her expression neutral. She followed the receptionist around four or five corners before stopping at the door of a private office.
"Mr. Fu?" the receptionist asked, knocking on the door.
"Co in," a deep, steady male voice replied.
As Mai Mingle entered, she saw a man standing before a floor-to-ceiling window. He turned his head toward her.
She had no idea what an important figure in a Hunter Family Faction was supposed to look like, but now that she saw him, she felt this was exactly it.
The man wore a crisp, immaculate suit, and his features were square and stern. Though he was middle-aged, she could tell he must have had a rather charming face in his youth. But ti had not been entirely kind; the sagging line of his jaw made him look a little soft. Just a little, not much.
"Sit," Fu Tailan instructed as he sat down on the other side of the desk.
Mai Mingle took a seat in the visitor’s chair.
The office didn’t seem to be used often. There were almost no personal belongings, making it look like a showroom model. ’That makes sense,’ she thought. ’Hunters shouldn’t be sitting in offices all the ti.’
The only sign of recent use was a few small plates of snacks on the desk. Fu Tailan jutted his chin toward them. "Help yourself."
Mai Mingle was already full, but she had to keep up the act of a starving holess person.
The mont he finished speaking, she quickly popped a grape into her mouth. Then, after a mont’s thought, she simply picked up the plates and swept a few blocks of cheese and all the crackers into her pockets. The last small bunch of grapes wouldn’t fit, so she grabbed them in her hand.
’Nice acting,’ she praised herself internally. She could tell Fu Tailan was actively resisting the urge to frown.
"When did you see the woman?" he asked, getting straight to the point.
"This morning," Mai Mingle replied. She had already rehearsed her answers to a host of potential questions. "I don’t have a watch, so I don’t know what ti."
"Where was it?"
Mai Mingle nad a location far from the Chinese restaurant.
"I know you said her face was covered. But think back. Was there anything morable about her?"
"Well... let’s see..." Mai Mingle furrowed her brow, pretending to think for a mont. "She was very generous."
Fu Tailan stared at her, his expression growing even more severe. He was clearly not amused.
"You seem to rember what she told you quite clearly," he said, leaning back in his chair. His fingers started tapping on the desk, one beat after another.
"Hah, don’t even get started," Mai Mingle said, having prepared for this. "Those strange things she said... I don’t know if it was a code or what, but I couldn’t rember it at first. She made morize it and repeat it twice before she’d give the money."
"And she was that confident you’d actually make the call?"
Mai Mingle had considered how to answer this question as well.
"She said it was a matter of life and death. She gave the money and told to make the call, so she’d done her part. If I didn’t call and soone died, that blood would be on my hands, and her conscience would be clear."
As she spoke, she touched her forehead and chest, making a rough sign of the cross. "I don’t want a death on my conscience. God is watching. If I don’t make the call, I’ll never get into heaven."
Fu Tailan fell silent, lost in thought, but Mai Mingle couldn’t relax.
’The conversation is still revolving around the "mysterious woman." That ans he’s suspicious of , the informant. He wants to know who the real source is.’
’He keeps asking about soone who doesn’t exist. Even though I ca prepared, I can’t let my guard down. I’m afraid I’ll slip up sowhere.’ Her palms were starting to sweat.
’This is so frustrating! You know where Jonah is, so go rescue him already!’ If she weren’t afraid of blowing her cover, Mai Mingle would have given them a piece of her mind.
"Why don’t you wait here at our company for a while," Fu Tailan said with a grim smile. "You can leave when we tell you you can."
Mai Mingle’s heart sank, but she fought to keep her expression from betraying her.
"Why is that?" she asked, scratching her head with one hand. "I want to leave, but I can’t? That’s kidnapping."
"Legally speaking, it is. So what?"
Fu Tailan was completely unfazed. "I can tell you why, and it would be better for you if you just stayed put. There should be security caras near the place you ntioned. Even if there aren’t, we can find people who were nearby.
"A woman bundled up from head to toe, talking to a holess person for that long on a busy street—that’s bound to attract attention. Once we find the surveillance footage or a witness to confirm your story, you’ll be free to go. I’ll even give you so money myself and see you out."
Mai Mingle didn’t even hear that last part. She just sat there, stunned, her mind a complete blank.
’Right... seems like they’ve put caras up in a lot of places now...’
She hadn’t thought of that at all.
It wasn’t her fault. For most of her life, the very concept of a "security cara" hadn’t existed.
She couldn’t rember how old she was when she first heard of "security caras." She only rembered the last ti she’d noticed one—in the hospital, when her health was already in steep decline.
"Any problem with that?" Fu Tailan asked, his eyes still fixed on her.
’What could she do but nod?’
’I just have to get through this first. I can find a chance to run later.’
"Alright, I’ll have soone—"
Before Fu Tailan could finish his sentence, there was a hasty, urgent knock at the door. This ti, before he could give permission, the door was pushed open and Longzhen strode into the room.
"Mr. Fu, we have a situation," she said, not even glancing at Mai Mingle as she walked to Fu Tailan’s side and whispered, "Jonah is—"
’Jonah?’
A jolt went through Mai Mingle. But in the split second she looked up at Longzhen, she suddenly realized sothing.
While Longzhen was speaking, Fu Tailan’s eyes never left her.
...as if he were waiting to see her reaction.
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