Guo Long opened the bag to find a thick stack of cash. He nodded gratefully and watched Chen Yong get out of the car, saying, “Brother Chen, although you’re repaying a past favor, I’ll never forget that you bled for me today!” He was no longer the impulsive young man from back then. For his future plans and destinations, it was better Chen Yong didn’t know.
Meng Qing watched Guo Long drive away, a slight smile playing on his lips. He opened the client and pulled up the Hening city road map, with three small dots moving along the streets – tracking devices on the gun, camera, and Guo Long himself.
He waited by the roadside, and a yellow taxi stopped beside him. He opened the door and sat in the back seat. Yu Yi in the passenger seat turned around and asked, “Where did he go?”
Meng Qing smiled, “Century Hotel.”
—
Century Hotel sounded grand but was actually a small inn. Its location was good, just behind the train station on a small street. As soon as you exit the station, you could see its large red sign.
Fifty meters from Century Hotel was another chain hotel called Daily Hotel. Meng Qing and Yu Yi got out of the taxi and checked into Daily Hotel, with Meng Qing booking two adjacent rooms, 212 and 214.
Meng Qing let Yu Yi choose her room for the night, and she selected room 212. Meng Qing opened the door to room 214 and gestured for her to enter first. “Come, let’s listen to what Guo Long is doing now.”
Yu Yi walked into the room and looked around. Meng Qing sat directly on a sofa chair and opened the listening program, immediately hearing a toilet flushing, which made him grimace slightly.
After leaving the bathroom, Guo Long opened the camera, thought for a while without knowing what to say, then closed it again. He called to order room service. Initially reluctant, the service staff agreed after Guo Long offered an extra hundred yuan on top of the meal cost.
Meng Qing muttered “idiot” under his breath, then turned to Yu Yi, “Are you hungry?”
“A bit,” Yu Yi replied. She had only eaten a sandwich and was actually quite hungry.
“Anything you don’t like to eat?”
“No,” she shook her head. After spending a month in the criminal detention center, she was no longer picky about food.
“Want beef?”
“Okay.”
Meng Qing ordered two self-heating curry beef rice boxes.
As they heated, the aroma gradually spread, and Yu Yi commented on how good it smelled. Meng Qing, however, said, “These meals smell good, but eating too many becomes monotonous. This is advice from a senior.”
Yu Yi couldn’t help but smile. She wasn’t impressed by his self-proclaimed seniority, but in terms of mission experience, he was indeed more experienced than her.
By this time, Guo Long’s ordered food had arrived. After paying and tipping the service staff, he began eating voraciously. Objectively, Guo Long was even hungrier than Meng Qing and Yu Yi, so his wolf-like eating was understandable. However, the chewing and swallowing sounds from the listening device were unbearable.
Meng Qing disgustedly turned off the shirt pocket listening device and switched to the camera’s listening device, which was much quieter.
After finishing his meal and letting out a big burp, Guo Long finally started recording video. Though his logic was chaotic and timeline jumbled, he roughly explained the things he and Sun Xingdong had done in Longnan City over the years, mentioning some witnesses and evidence that Sun Xingdong couldn’t deny.
Meng Qing listened patiently for a while, then told Yu Yi, “Your turn next. He’s in room 19.”
Yu Yi nodded, preparing to leave the hotel room, when Meng Qing reminded her, “How much energy is left in your bulletproof system?”
Yu Yi looked down at her client terminal, “About thirty percent.”
“To be safe, let’s change the battery,” he said. He stood up, walked to her side, opened her client terminal, and selected the 712-type battery.
Yu Yi withdrew her arm, her cheeks slightly flushed. For some reason, Meng Qing’s touch always made her inexplicably nervous, but not unpleasant.
Meng Qing took off his top, pointing to the central position on his chest, “This is the bulletproof system battery.”
Yu Yi now noticed a rectangular patch on his vest, barely noticeable if not looked at closely.
“Watch,” Meng Qing gently peeled off the thin rectangular patch, “Just replace this. Try changing it yourself.” He handed the battery to Yu Yi.
Yu Yi understood he wanted her to replace the battery herself. She had been too embarrassed to stare at his chest earlier, but now she had to look directly to change the battery.
The black vest was stretched tightly over his body. Yu Yi tried to focus her gaze only on the central part of his chest, telling herself he was teaching her as a senior, and she shouldn’t be nervous.
However, her hand trembled, and her face burned.
She carefully tried to put the battery back in the spot he had just removed, but she couldn’t seem to secure it. The more anxious Yu Yi became, the more difficult it was.
Meng Qing had been looking down at his chest, about to make a joke to help her relax. When he looked up, he saw her face, just inches away, flushed. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, her eyes focused and anxious on the battery placement.
Her face showed a frustrated expression of not being able to do it right, her lips unconsciously slightly parted.
In that instant, something seemed to lightly bump his chest. The battery, the mission, everything seemed to fade away. His heartbeat became intense, and unknowingly, he leaned closer to her.
Yu Yi finally managed to position the battery, with the last half easily clicking into place. She sighed in relief and looked up, suddenly realizing how close Meng Qing was. Her upward glance caused their lips to lightly brush against each other.
Yu Yi quickly leaned back, turning her face away, her heart raced, her mind blank.
Meng Qing, seeing her panic, apologetically said, “Sorry, I… didn’t mean to…”
Yu Yi lowered her eyes, shyly shaking her head. In truth, she didn’t blame Meng Qing. She felt he wasn’t the type to take advantage, and it was probably just a coincidence.
The atmosphere became awkward, neither knowing what to say.
Suddenly, a loud noise of something falling came through the monitor, startling both Yu Yi and Meng Qing.
“Damn!” They heard Guo Long curse, followed by rustling sounds, then him muttering, “Looks like it didn’t break…”
Meng Qing couldn’t help but laugh, “He dropped the camera.”
Yu Yi also smiled slightly, “I’ll go now.” Still feeling awkward, she avoided Meng Qing’s gaze, stood up, went to the bathroom to change her bulletproof system battery, and left Meng Qing’s room.
Chapter 54: Drug Trafficking Group (7)
Guo Long’s room was on the ground floor of the Century Hotel. The front desk staff was looking down at her phone when Yu Yi entered. Yu Yi walked directly to room 19’s door and waited quietly.
Soon, Meng Qing sent the action signal. Yu Yi knocked softly.
Guo Long had just finished recording a video. He was thinking of having his friend hide something before immediately leaving Hening City and finding a place to hide.
As he searched through his phone contacts, there was a knock at the room door.
Guo Long cautiously asked, “Who?!” while reaching for the gun at his waist.
Yu Yi mimicked the delivery service staff’s accent, “It’s me, from earlier delivering food.”
“What is it?”
“The shop owner’s wife said she can’t find her ring and asked me to check if it fell in the takeout bag.”
“No,” Guo Long flatly refused, continuing to scroll through his contacts. But the knocking persisted. Guo Long, getting angry, limped up and yanked open the door, shouting, “I said no…”
Midsentence, he stopped, looking like he’d seen a ghost, staring wide-eyed at Yu Yi. This was the woman who had ambushed and chased him earlier.
