Chapter 165: A Lead
Chapter 165: Chapter 165: A Lead
Lin Jingjing pressed her lips together, giving Captain Li a speechless look. She knew it; this couldn’t be good.
To investigate this matter, Yun Yiyou had specifically established a new department. Lin Jingjing was appointed its general captain, and Mo Xuan was the deputy captain.
Mo Xuan, never afraid to speak his mind or take action, had been promoted to deputy captain just like that.
"How did I become the general captain?" Lin Jingjing looked exasperated. The pressure was suddenly immense.
’If I can’t solve this case, will I be stuck in this position forever?’
"I’m the deputy captain?" Mo Xuan was shocked. He had totally ripped into that guy on the stage the other day, yet the man had overlooked it and made him deputy captain.
’It’s just ridiculous.’
Yun Yiyou droned on and on before finally moving to the next countermeasure.
The meeting dragged on for so long that their stomachs started to growl.
No wonder Captain Li had told them to grab some snacks.
After what felt like an eternity, the moment they heard the meeting was dismissed, the group bolted out the door.
’Starving! I’m absolutely starving!’
Once outside, they made a beeline for a nearby restaurant. As they ate, they overheard the owner complaining to her husband.
"Can’t you do something about Xiao An? So many people have gone missing lately. What if he gets taken too?"
"You have to stop him from hanging out with those shady characters. They’re a bad influence."
"I keep having these dreams where Xiao An is crying, begging me to save him."
The owner’s voice choked with emotion as she spoke, tears welling in her eyes. It was obvious she was terrified.
Her husband comforted her, pulling her into an embrace. "Honey, don’t let your imagination run wild. They wouldn’t dare come to the Capital Star to abduct people, right?"
"Nothing will happen."
While comforting her, the man thought to himself, ’When Xiao An gets home from school, I have to warn him to keep a low profile for a while.’
’He can’t just be running all over the place.’
"How can you say it’s fine?" The owner was still worried. "The King doesn’t care whether we common folk live or die. What are we supposed to do if it really happens to us?"
With that, her tears finally fell.
"It won’t," the man said, shaking his head. He activated his Star Ring. "The King has already formed an investigation team, and the leader is none other than the great Captain Lin!"
Hearing this, the owner relaxed slightly.
The five of them had heard the entire exchange, and now all eyes were on Lin Jingjing.
’Looks like her reputation has already spread to every corner of the Empire. Everyone knows the name Lin Jingjing now.’
’But I wonder if anyone knows about the rest of us.’
"The five of them are incredibly capable, and they care about ordinary people like us."
After hearing the owner’s words, the other four averted their gazes.
’So people do know about us after all.’
Just then, the Xiao An they had been discussing walked in, followed by a group of people who looked like a bunch of young punks.
"Mom, Dad, these are my friends. I wanted to introduce you."
’A clean-cut kid like him hanging out with friends like these... He’s definitely falling in with a bad crowd.’
When the owner saw the group behind Xiao An, she felt faint. ’Not these hooligans again.’
’Is Xiao An going through a rebellious phase?’
But as parents, they couldn’t embarrass their son in front of his friends. The couple forced a smile. "Hello. Have you eaten? If not, I can whip up a bowl of noodles for you."
A girl with purple hair rubbed her stomach and chuckled. "We wouldn’t want to be a bother, ma’am..."
The girl was dressed provocatively, with lip and ear piercings. She had the look of a delinquent.
The five of them slowed their eating, their eyes drifting over to the group, subtly sizing them up.
’So even in the interstellar era, we still have these flashy, rebellious kids?’
’I guess... every generation has its punks.’
’They’re actually pretty good-looking, though. The weird getup somehow works on them.’
The owner agreed; a few bowls of noodles wouldn’t be a problem.
Xiao An was certainly an enthusiastic host. After getting everyone seated, he ran into the back and came out with a bunch of fruit to pass around.
Half the bag was gone after he gave one piece to each of his friends. Business had been slow lately, and Lin Jingjing’s party of five were the only other customers in the shop.
Xiao An noticed the leftover fruit, and after a moment’s thought, he walked over and offered a piece to each of them.
"Our family grows this fruit. You should try some," Xiao An said to the five of them with a cheerful grin. "If you like it, you can buy some from the store. My mom’s family are fruit farmers."
As he spoke, he even made sure to share his mother’s account.
"This is my mom’s Star Ring account."
’The kid looks like he’s only a teenager, probably in high school.’
’He seems like a good kid.’
One of the punks at the other table chimed in, "Their fruit is delicious. You should buy some and try it."
"Thanks."
They finished their meal and were about to leave when they overheard the group of punks talking.
"That guy, Cui Xiaoshou, the one who came from off-world a while back? He’s disappeared."
"How’d he disappear?"
"He said he found a job. Went to work, and then... nothing. No word from him since."
"Maybe he’s just busy?"
"Nah, he’s vanished. A friend who came to the Capital Star with him went to his supposed workplace to ask, but they said they’d never even seen the guy."
"He was probably abducted by that terrorist group."
"You think... he’s been turned into one of those monsters by now?"
The thought made them shudder. "That’s terrifying. These days, you can’t even be sure you’ll stay alive just drifting from place to place."
"Can’t get enough to eat, can’t afford decent clothes, no Star Coins, no jobs... Feels like we’re just a waste of space in this world."
Hearing this, the team stopped dead in their tracks. This was a lead.
Lin Jingjing turned and walked back to their table. "This Cui Xiaoshou you were just talking about—where did he find that job?"
"Do you have his contact info?"
They seemed surprised that anyone would want the contact information for that kind of shady operation. One of them looked up and said earnestly, "Miss, you all look like decent, promising people. You shouldn’t get mixed up in that sort of thing."
"It’s fine. We just want to see how bad they really are," Lin Jingjing said with a smile, shaking her head. She then added, "From now on, if you come across any similar situations, you can report them to me. There’s a five-hundred Star Coin reward for each valid tip."
Five hundred Star Coins!
’For such easy work?’
Hearing this, they were shamelessly tempted.
Wasn’t this way better than hauling heavy things at the machine factory?
They worked day labor at that factory for only 100 Star Coins a day.
And here was this woman, offering five hundred Star Coins just like that.
’We’ve hit the jackpot!’
"Sending it to you now," one of them agreed.
’Only a fool would pass up free money.’
The two parties exchanged contact information, and the punks sent the account details to Lin Jingjing.
True to her word, Lin Jingjing promptly transferred five hundred Star Coins to them.