Night of the Apocalypse

At that moment, Gao Li’s attention was suddenly drawn to a mechanical blade placed on the bedside table! He couldn’t help but walk over.

Shen Qiu noticed this and felt a twinge of concern, thinking this could be trouble.

“Mr. Shen Qiu, what is this?” Gao Li asked with a smile.

“It’s a prop for cosplay,” Shen Qiu replied calmly.

“It’s rare to see such an exquisitely made prop,”

Gao Li said as he reached out toward the mechanical blade.

Shen Qiu’s mouth twitched slightly. This time it was troublesome; even if he could argue that it was just a prop, the sharpness of it clearly classified it as a controlled weapon.

Just as Gao Li was about to touch the mechanical blade, a strange clattering sound suddenly came from Zheng Duo’s direction.

Both Shen Qiu and Gao Li turned to look.

They saw Zheng Duo standing in front of the bookshelf, reaching for a beautifully crafted gift box placed on the top shelf.

“Stop!” Shen Qiu immediately called out to prevent him.

Upon hearing Shen Qiu’s words, Zheng Duo did not insist on taking the box but withdrew his hand instead.

He then turned to Shen Qiu and said, “Mr. Shen, can we take a look at this box?”

“No! That’s my personal property,” Shen Qiu replied without hesitation.

“Mr. Shen, under normal circumstances, we shouldn’t be so rude, and we don’t have the right to invade your privacy. However, this is an extraordinary time, and to eliminate any potential sources of danger, we kindly ask for your cooperation.”

Zheng Duo seemed to be negotiating with Shen Qiu, but his tone left no room for rebuttal.

“Mr. Shen, we’re not trying to make things difficult for you; we hope you can support our work. We are also here to ensure public safety.”

Gao Li also urged him to cooperate.

Of course, they would not use their authority to pressure someone unless absolutely necessary, as it could easily lead to conflicts.

Shen Qiu’s expression changed several times before he finally compromised.

“Okay, I can show you, but I must open it myself.”

“Alright!” Zheng Duo responded, not being too rigid about it.

Shen Qiu stepped forward, reached up to take the box down, and gently opened it.

Gao Li and Zheng Duo leaned in to closely examine the opened box. Inside was a sky-blue flower accessory that was crystal clear and full of mystery.

“What is this? It’s so beautiful!” Zheng Duo exclaimed, genuinely praising the jewelry.

“It’s an accessory made from Star Orchid!” Shen Qiu explained calmly.

Gao Li observed the jewelry and, the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed, causing his eyes to narrow.

Zheng Duo continued to inquire with great interest.

“Mr. Shen, about this accessory—”

Before Zheng Duo could finish his question, Gao Li seemed to think of something and interrupted him.

“Alright, thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Shen. Zheng Duo, we should go; we have another place to investigate.”

“Uh, okay.”

Zheng Duo nodded, though he was unsure why Gao Li was suddenly in such a hurry.

Seeing that they were about to leave, Shen Qiu had no intention of keeping them longer and smoothly said, “Take care, no need to see you off.”

“Sorry for the trouble, and thank you for your cooperation.”

Both Zheng Duo and Gao Li bowed to Shen Qiu before leaving.

Once they exited the neighborhood, Zheng Duo curiously asked Gao Li, “Why are we leaving so suddenly? That flower was so beautiful!”

“Since you think it’s beautiful, let’s hurry and leave.”

“Why? Is there something wrong with that thing?”

“That item is incredibly expensive. It’s made from rare Star Orchids and crafted through complicated processes for immortality treatment, making it into jewelry that ordinary people can hardly access.”

Gao Li explained to Zheng Duo.

“Are you saying he’s a high-profile person? That seems unlikely, right?”

“I don’t know if he is, but since we have no evidence to prove he went missing, let’s not complicate things any further.”

“I understand.” Zheng Duo quickly nodded in agreement.

Inside the house, Shen Qiu looked at the Star Orchid accessory in the box, displaying an extremely complex expression.

After a moment, he carefully closed the box and placed it back on the shelf.

At that moment, Shen Qiu’s phone rang.

Buzz, buzz—

Shen Qiu picked up the phone to check; it was a call from the businessman, and he promptly answered it.

“Shen Qiu, when are you free to grab a meal together?”

Huang Lang said cheerfully.

“No need to play games. The person has already left. But you responded pretty quickly.”

Shen Qiu sat back in his chair and spoke to Huang Lang.

“Haha, you really are something. You went missing and still managed to come back alive.”

Huang Lang said excitedly.

“Are you wishing I would hang up?”

Shen Qiu replied irritably.

“Not at all! When others go missing, it’s usually the end, but you’re different. I have high hopes for you.”

Huang Lang said with a sly grin, though the credibility of that statement was uncertain.

“Alright, enough chit-chat. How many people went missing at Tianqing Canal, and how many came back?”

Shen Qiu asked, knowing that Huang Lang must have paid close attention, or else this guy wouldn’t know he finished his work early.

“A total of 3,121 people have gone missing so far! Besides you, no one else has come back alive. However, there is one person whose status is uncertain, and that is Tang Kexin. She was the primary missing person when the report was made, but later it was revealed that it was a false report.”

Huang Lang said with a grin.

Upon hearing the data from Huang Lang, Shen Qiu’s eyelids involuntarily twitched. He had thought the death rate would be high, but he didn’t expect that besides him, only Tang Kexin had survived.

While Shen Qiu was lost in thought, Huang Lang asked with a sly smile, “Brother, let me ask you something. When you went to that world and came back, did you bring back anything good?”

“Yes.”

Shen Qiu narrowed his eyes and replied after thinking for a moment.

“Really? Brother, I’ve always treated you well. Why don’t you sell me whatever you brought back?”

Huang Lang said excitedly. It wasn’t surprising that he was so thrilled; anything brought back from there would be worth a lot, even a scrap of paper.

“Hmm, that’s possible.”

Shen Qiu contemplated for a while before agreeing. He had carefully considered that the most valuable items he brought back were blueprints, chips, books, and the like, and he wouldn’t sell those to Huang Lang.

Shen Qiu knew Huang Lang well enough; given his greedy nature, he would definitely sell those items overseas for a huge profit.

What he really intended to sell to Huang Lang were the jewels. The situation was becoming increasingly chaotic, and it was hard to say when things would collapse.

At that time, jewels that seemed the most valuable might lose all their worth. It was better to take advantage of the current stable situation when wealthy people still valued these jewels and could offer a good price.

“Then I’ll go find you right away.”

Huang Lang’s tone was urgent, as if he wanted to fly over immediately.

“No rush. I’m currently in a precarious situation, and the KPI department might still be watching me. Let’s wait until the situation calms down before we trade.”

Shen Qiu rationally declined Huang Lang’s request.

“You make a good point. Alright, I’ll wait a little longer.”

Although Huang Lang was a bit anxious, he understood that haste makes waste and agreed to Shen Qiu’s suggestion.

“By the way, there’s something I need your help with,”

Shen Qiu suddenly asked.

“Brother, what are you saying? What kind of relationship do we have? As long as I can do it, I won’t hesitate!”

“Help me get a gun and some bullets.”

“Uh? This…”

“Don’t joke around with me. This shouldn’t be difficult for you, right? Also, I need the weapon for self-defense, not for anything illegal.”

“Brother, you really misunderstood me. If this were a while back, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But right now, there’s no way. Sky City has entered a special state of alert. You’ve seen the patrols and searches everywhere; it’s impossible to get one. Even if you managed to get a gun, it wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing. You might just get caught with it.”

Huang Lang explained with a bitter smile.

“Really no way?”

“Temporarily, there really is no way.”

“Alright, let’s leave it at that for now.”

Shen Qiu sighed and hung up the phone.