The cat, who still could not figure out the situation, became even more confused. From the tone of Lin Jia’s voice during the call, it was clear that the person on the other end had not brought good news. Now, that news was mixed with what the cat thought was its real self, making everything look like a tangled mess.
“It was a tangled mess.”
Lin Jia closed the laptop and stood up to change clothes.
To avoid the cat doing something without knowing anything and causing more trouble, Lin Jia put on a dark red plaid coat. While adjusting the waist buckle, he said to the cat, “Sharp Knife has been taken down by the inspection team.”
The cat froze. “Ah?!”
“How did it suddenly…” Halfway through speaking, the cat fell silent.
Even the cat could figure it out. Boss Zhou had agreed to help Lin Jia put Deputy Chen into Fish Belly, and Yan Xu had gone along too. Deputy Chen might not bother with people at the bottom of Underwater Wold, but Yan Xu was not necessarily the same.
Yan Xu could wipe out a group of nearly a thousand people whenever he wanted. Not to mention, Sharp Knife only had a little over twenty people. This was settling accounts after autumn.[mfn]It refers to “秋後算賬”, a Chinese idiom. means: waiting until later to punish or take revenge on someone[/mfn]
The cat found the blind spot: “Who called?”
Lin Jia adjusted his cufflinks. “Xiao Yao.”
The cat was puzzled. “Wasn’t it raided?”
Everything was in order, so Lin Jia calmly put his phone in his coat pocket. The cut and material of the coat had clearly been chosen carefully. When the phone was put in the pocket, no bulge appeared. The entire outfit remained neat and attractive, yet low-key.
Unlike the cat, who wanted to understand the situation, Lin Jia showed no trace of urgency. “The inspectors only took Old Zhou away. They found a large number of controlled knives in the villa.”
After leaving the hotel, they took a taxi to the place arranged with Xiao Yao—a café.
Lin Jia was not part of a gang. As a capitalist, he preferred not to discuss matters in abandoned factories or other hidden places.
The moment Xiao Yao saw Lin Jia arrive, he stood up immediately.
He looked anxious and didn’t even have the mood to order. Lin Jia ordered after they sat down.
Not many people had the leisure to enjoy the afternoon in a café at Underwater Wold. Even though the autumn and winter sunlight was the perfect temperature, the dense clouds in the sky blocked its color. The “fish clouds” that sank and rose never ceased to oppress the people of Underwater Wold, making it hard for them to breathe.
There weren’t many people in the café, and the seats around their table were empty.
The cat jumped onto another chair and heard Lin Jia ask Xiao Yao, “Tell me the situation.”
Xiao Yao’s anxious expression instantly turned angry. “The night before yesterday, very late, Yan Xu suddenly brought people over. Without saying anything, they searched the villa. They found the knives we had hidden. The boss took it all on himself to protect us, and then Yan Xu took the boss away.”
Lin Jia: “There shouldn’t be a prison in Underwater Wold, right?”
Xiao Yao shook his head. Without the influence of any faction objectives, he understood what Lin Jia meant and explained, “No. Only the inspection team has a small black room. In general, as long as the fine is paid, the person can be released.”
Lin Jia parted his lips. “The fine to take Old Zhou away is sky-high.”
Xiao Yao nodded. “Twenty million.”
The cat looked shocked.
What did twenty million even mean? Even with good luck, a complete fish spirit could only be exchanged for 1.2 million coming out of the three-star cloud layer.
Xiao Yao nearly ground his back teeth to pieces.
The Sharp Knife account plus everyone’s accounts totaled only two million, but the inspectors asked for ten times that amount.
Lin Jia seemed to picture the situation and asked, “Did you make a move?”
Xiao Yao’s face turned pale as he lowered his head. “I couldn’t hold back and hit an inspector.” He hurriedly explained, “I really didn’t use much force, but the inspector was diagnosed as having a first-degree serious injury.”
No matter how much Xiao Yao complained about how hateful the inspectors were and how much he condemned the twenty million, under the weight of the controlled knives and the first-degree serious injury, his words were slander against the inspectors. It would not affect the inspectors’ reputation, much less affect the reputation of Deputy Chen, the superior of the inspectors.
Xiao Yao regretted acting on impulse, which gave the inspection team an opportunity.
Accompanied by Xiao Tian, Xiao Yao swallowed his anger and went to the inspection team to apologize. However, the inspection team refused to release the man without 20 million yuan. They claimed that “Sharp Knife” had repeatedly disrupted the order of the Underwater Wold. If they released him so easily, Sharp Knife wouldn’t realize his mistake and might recklessly use his weapons against innocent people in the future.
But Sharp Knife simply couldn’t afford the fine. No matter how Xiao Yao tried to guarantee it, the inspection team would not relent. Later, Xiao Yao finally understood that Yan Xu did not want to release anyone and was not concerned about the fine. What Yan Xu wanted was the unfavorable evidence against him in Boss Zhou’s hands.
Boss Zhou had once used this evidence to attract Deputy Chen.
Xiao Yao’s worried expression returned: “If Yan Xu can’t get the evidence, he’ll definitely take it out on Boss. But if he gets the evidence, maybe he’ll silence Boss, too. Not only Boss, but also everyone in Sharp Knife…”
Lin Jia had already expected this reason. He was also willing to meet Xiao Yao because of this. In Fish Belly, Yan Xu tested Lin Jia to see if he knew Boss Zhou, and Lin Jia denied it. However, afterward, Boss Zhou transferred 400,000 to Lin Jia in two installments. Although Lin Jia had been cautious and the transfer account was not Boss Zhou’s, tracing it was only a matter of time given the Management Office’s authority.
Lin Jia also had a connection with Sharp Knife.
Lin Jia asked: “What is the evidence?”
Xiao Yao: “A photograph.”
The waiter brought the drinks. Lin Jia took a sip and asked, “Specific.”
Xiao Yao shook his head. “The boss said it was too dangerous, so he didn’t tell us. I only know it’s a photograph. I don’t even know where the photo is.”
Xiao Yao truly did not know what to do, looking at Lin Jia like looking at a life-saving straw: “What should we do?”
If they didn’t provide the evidence, Boss Zhou would definitely be in trouble. But if they gave the evidence, maybe Boss Zhou and even all of Sharp Knife would have no way to live.
Lin Jia looked at the dispirited Xiao Yao and said lightly, “The ones who should panic and be at a loss are them.”
Xiao Yao looked up blankly. “What…what do you mean?”
Lin Jia’s slow, low tone landed heavily on others’ hearts: “They did so much for the evidence in Old Zhou’s hand. They care about the evidence as much as you care about Old Zhou’s life. They can use what you care about to get what they want, and you can also use what they care about to get what you want.”
Xiao Yao clenched his fists and stared without blinking as Lin Jia continued speaking.
Lin Jia said calmly, “They used Old Zhou’s life to force you to hand over the evidence. Can’t you imitate that?”
Xiao Yao swallowed nervously. “Use the evidence to force them to release him…”
Lin Jia drank coffee.
Correct.
Xiao Yao said, “But I don’t know where the evidence is.”
Without knowing where the evidence was or what it contained, Lin Jia had no confidence in threatening Yan Xu—so how could he use the evidence to force Yan Xu to release someone?
Lin Jia: “The base was already searched by the inspectors?”
“Mm.” Xiao Yao said, “They searched inside and outside the villa, even the small yard. They even turned over the soil.”
Lin Jia understood in his heart: “The evidence is on Old Zhou.”
Xiao Yao froze. Because he was worried about Old Zhou, he had to ask: “How do you know?”
Lin Jia asked back: “For something this important, where could Old Zhou hide it?”
Underwater Wold was unlike the normal world. It was unstable, and the evidence was important, so it was impossible for it to be placed outside his sight. That left only the villa.
However, the inspectors had searched the villa and found nothing, leaving only Old Zhou himself as a possible hiding place.
Xiao Yao shook his head. “Probably not. The inspectors searched Boss’s body and found nothing.”
Even after taking Old Zhou away, the inspection team issued a 20-million fine, which proved that they had not found the evidence on him. Lin Jia thought for a moment and asked, “What did Old Zhou do when they took him away?”
Xiao Yao recalled: “Boss… changed clothes. Yan Xu agreed.”
Lin Jia paused, knowing the evidence was most likely in the clothes he changed into. He frowned lightly and softly asked, “Didn’t Yan Xu search the clothes he changed out of again?”
“No, Boss had worn that set of clothes for a long time. They even smelled sour.” Xiao Yao said, “Probably Yan Xu thought they were dirty.”
If the evidence was sewn into the clothes, then it indeed would not be easy to find during a body search. However, Boss Zhou changing clothes was obviously a case of “There is no silver here, three hundred taels.”[mfn]“There is no silver here, three hundred taels” is a Chinese idiom — 此地无银三百两 — meaning: trying too hard to hide something actually makes it more suspicious[/mfn] Yet, Yan Xu’s suspicious personality prevented him from searching a second time.
Lin Jia said nothing, only gave the cat a meaningful glance.
Although Sharp Knife Villa had been temporarily sealed, no management personnel were standing guard or forbidding others from entering.
Xiao Yao climbed over the wall first and then opened the door for Lin Jia.
After Lin Jia entered the villa, Xiao Yao took the clothes that Boss Zhou had left behind.
Even from far away, Lin Jia could smell the clothes, which made it impossible for him to search them for evidence. Since Old Zhou’s life was at stake, Xiao Yao patiently felt through the clothes, bit by bit, until he finally found the photograph inside the fabric layer of the trouser leg.
Xiao Yao lowered his head to look at the photo. After a while: “Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!”
His three exclamations showed how shocking the photo was.
After looking at it himself, Xiao Yao handed the photo to Lin Jia.
However, Lin Jia did not reach out to take it. Instead, he lowered his eyes and looked at the photo on Xiao Yao’s outstretched hand.
Judging from the wear on the photo, it had existed for many years.
It was a group photo of about a hundred people with red handwriting on it: Broken Cloud Established on X Year X Month X Day.
Despite the nearly one hundred faces in the photo, Lin Jia immediately spotted Yan Xu.
It wasn’t because he was familiar with Yan Xu; it was because Yan Xu stood in the middle of the first row in the photo, grinning widely at the camera. His smile was vivid and full of youthful spirit.
Beside Yan Xu was Deputy Chen. In the photo, perhaps Deputy Chen was not yet Deputy Chen, but rather a member of Broken Cloud.
Of course, in the same photo, Yan Xu was also not yet the captain of the inspection team; he was only a member of Broken Cloud.
Since Deputy Chen was the founder of Broken Cloud, Yan Xu’s presence beside him in the photo made his identity worth reconsidering.
Lin Jia smiled without much emotion.
A group of newcomers caused trouble, so the Management Office created a holding area. Later, these newcomers established Broken Cloud. One of the people who established Broken Cloud then entered the Management Office and became deputy director.
Because of this deputy’s background, the Management Office only appointed one Deputy Director.
Later, this Deputy Director gained a capable assistant, and only then did his status rise—who would have thought that this assistant had the same background as the Deputy Director?
No wonder Deputy Chen was attracted to the evidence in Boss Zhou’s hands. If such evidence fell into the hands of Deputy Chen’s enemies, things would get interesting.
Xiao Yao suddenly exclaimed and pointed to someone on the edge of the group of about a hundred people. “Boss used to be a member of Broken Cloud, too.”
Even more interesting.
“Then next is…” Xiao Yao opened his mouth.
He had the evidence in hand, but he had only ever used knives to force people into compliance. He had never used a photo to force someone into compliance, so he did not know how to use it.
Lin Jia: “Give it to me.”
After multiple copies of the photo were printed, the original was placed in a sealed plastic bag. Only after the plastic bag blocked the photo’s smell did Lin Jia put it into his coat pocket.
Xiao Yao drove Boss Zhou’s shabby little car and took Lin Jia and the cat to the inspection team.
In the car, Lin Jia casually asked: “Last time at Bounty Hall, there were three people with Deputy Chen. Aside from Yan Xu, who were the other two?”
Xiao Yao didn’t think much of it and replied, “The woman is Shan Xuan, Deputy Chen’s assistant. The man is Xu Ying, the finance manager of Underwater Wold.”
Lin Jia did not let Xiao Yao follow him; he only brought the cat into the inspection team.
He said he wanted to see Deputy Chen and Xu Ying.
In an extremely secret meeting room only one door away, Yan Xu leaned lazily against the wall, spinning a key ring on his index finger.
Inside were three people: Lin Jia, Deputy Chen, Xu Ying, plus one cat.
Lin Jia placed the plastic-sealed bag on the table.
Xu Ying took it and handed it to Deputy Chen.
This action alone showed how much Deputy Chen trusted Xu Ying.
Seeing how direct Lin Jia was, Deputy Chen directly asked: “How many copies did you make?”
Lin Jia said: “A lot. They’re hidden separately in various places across Underwater Wold.”
Deputy Chen’s face fell, and a thick killing intent appeared in his eyes.
Lin Jia showed no fear and only glanced once more at Xu Ying. Xu Ying’s face had also darkened, and the gentleness from buying coffee earlier had disappeared completely.
Underwater Wold was unstable. Too many people had nowhere to stay, making do here tonight and somewhere else tomorrow night. It was so unstable that hidden things were not safe.
Everyone in the meeting room was smart. Lin Jia did not need to explain anything further; Deputy Chen understood. Lin Jia had personally hidden the items. He would only retrieve and destroy them one by one if he and his people stayed alive.
Deputy Chen tightly gripped the original photo. Although Broken Cloud no longer existed, if he could do it over again, he definitely would not have formed Broken Cloud with Yan Xu.
Broken Cloud symbolized shattering the cloud layers. However, for various reasons, they could not coexist peacefully with the Management Office. In the eyes of the Management Office, Broken Cloud opposed them, and in Broken Cloud’s eyes, the Management Office was an obstacle. In those years, there was frequent friction between Broken Cloud and the Management Office, and neither side benefited.
This continued for a long time until someone finally realized that their focus had strayed from the original intention. Since both Broken Cloud and the Management Office wanted to leave Underwater Wold, their discord would only hinder their progress.
The Management Office tried to “recruit” Broken Cloud, and Broken Cloud accepted the offer.
It was at this time that Deputy Chen joined the Management Office and Broken Cloud was handed over entirely to Yan Xu. Deputy Chen did not have an easy time in the Management Office; the people of Broken Cloud could not understand him. Whenever Broken Cloud needed a favor from the Management Office, they always brought up Deputy Chen’s name.
This made Deputy Chen’s position difficult and irritated him.
He once quarreled with Yan Xu over this matter, but Yan Xu dismissed him with one question: Was Deputy Chen’s original intention for entering the Management Office to improve Broken Cloud, or to make Broken Cloud listen to the Management Office?
Broken Cloud’s existence did not improve the situation! That was what Deputy Chen thought at the time. He didn’t say it aloud, but Yan Xu saw through it.
Yan Xu seemed to understand something. He gave a mocking smile and promised not to do it again.
Under Yan Xu’s management, Broken Cloud grew stronger day by day. Its prestige once surpassed that of the Management Office, which made the Management Office’s situation difficult. Without prestige, how could the Management Office maintain order in Underwater Wold?
They found Deputy Chen, hoping he could solve the problem.
Deputy Chen went to find Yan Xu again, but before he could speak, Yan Xu told him that he had discovered a cloud layer—the largest in the sky, almost covering heaven and earth. The cloud layer was shaped like a whale.
Yan Xu believed that shattering the cloud layer would allow them to leave Underwater Wold. However, it would definitely not be easy, so Yan Xu had to go personally.
This became another point of disagreement between Deputy Chen and Yan Xu. The Management Office had long ago discovered this giant cloud layer and named it J0001. They had not announced much information because they discovered that almost all cloud layers moved around J0001. For many years, J0001 had never descended. If J0001 were shattered, it would be unclear whether they could leave Underwater Wold, but all the other cloud layers would definitely descend.
From the Management Office’s perspective, Deputy Chen tried to stop Yan Xu, but Yan Xu did not listen.
At that moment, Deputy Chen firmly believed that Broken Cloud no longer needed to exist—it had already caused him too many problems.
Deputy Chen and Broken Cloud went their separate ways. He was already familiar with everything about Broken Cloud, so striking it was easy. With Deputy Chen’s help, the Management Office forced Broken Cloud’s complete fragmentation, rendering it weaker than before.
The Management Office would not pursue members of Broken Cloud who were willing to leave. For those unwilling to obey, however, the Management Office was not polite.
Crushing, coercion, threats, exploitation…
Through all kinds of methods, Broken Cloud’s power shrank bit by bit.
But Yan Xu disappeared.
Deputy Chen was worried. During that time, he often looked up at the “whale cloud” in the sky. The cloud layer had not descended, yet he felt that Yan Xu had gone to J0001.
If Yan Xu had died in J0001, that would be one thing. But if Yan Xu…
Soon after, Deputy Chen encountered a badly wounded Yan Xu. Deputy Chen touched the gun behind his waist. After Yan Xu saw him, he unexpectedly asked, “Chen Chi, what month and day is it now?”
Deputy Chen asked: “Why?”
Yan Xu pressed his palm hard against his forehead. “It feels like my memory is a bit disordered. Also, why did the Management Office seal the base? Can you do your job or not?”
After confirming that Yan Xu had a psychological issue, Deputy Chen detained him.
In the past, Broken Cloud had too many members, and the Management Office did not know all of them. Also, due to the unstable relationship between Broken Cloud and the Management Office, Broken Cloud had never submitted member records to the Management Office. Yan Xu did not like showing off, so very few people knew he was one of Broken Cloud’s founders or that he managed Broken Cloud. Deputy Chen dealt with those who knew one by one.
Yan Xu, unaware why Broken Cloud had suddenly disappeared, joined the Management Office and helped Deputy Chen. The Management Office did not even know that Yan Xu had belonged to Broken Cloud.
Sometimes Yan Xu would remember a little. Deputy Chen knew Yan Xu was an unstable bomb, so he threatened him directly: “I know there are still some people who want to restore Broken Cloud. They hide in the corners of the Underwater Wold, wanting to ‘restore the fallen dynasty.’ For old friendship’s sake, I haven’t bothered them. But if you don’t want Broken Cloud to disappear completely, go ahead and betray me.”
After the threat, he added, “I saved you. When you had nowhere else to turn, I took you in. Yan Xu, stay and help me.”
However, Deputy Chen missed one person—Zhou Zhengxing.
It was only when Zhou Zhengxing came to him some time ago that Deputy Chen remembered him. Zhou Zhengxing was an old member of Broken Cloud. He was injured in Fish Belly once, and feeling he had become a burden, he left Broken Cloud early. Thus, he escaped a human disaster that turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
His thoughts gathered back. Deputy Chen put down the original photo and looked at Lin Jia. “You have thought it through, doing this.”
Lin Jia: “Since I came to find Deputy Chen, I have naturally thought it through.”
Deputy Chen smiled. Judging by the time Lin Jia entered Underwater Wold, he was still considered a “newcomer,” yet he was being held by someone new.
Lin Jia loosened his stance appropriately: “I’ll return the original to Deputy Chen. I hope you understand that I don’t want to make a big deal out of this. For all these years, Old Zhou held the evidence and never used it. You should also know that Old Zhou had no intention of making things big either. It’s better to coexist peacefully—it’s good for both you and me.”
Lin Jia pressured Deputy Chen until he had no choice but to agree. Deputy Chen said in a deep voice, “Fine.”
Then, he turned to Xu Ying. “Tell Yan Xu to release him.”
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