Oriental Leaf

Inside the black business car driving out of the airport, the atmosphere was a bit stifling.

A team member pinched his nose and gulped down a mouthful of jasmine tea with leaves, his face showing an expression as if he had swallowed a whole live frog.

"Boss, can we change to another brand? The taste of this stuff is simply declaring war on my taste buds."

"No." Dongfang Shuye didn't even lift his head. He unscrewed another bottle and sipped it slowly. "After having a mutton hot pot, drinking this helps relieve greasiness and is good for health. Understand?"

"But we didn't have a mutton hot pot just now."

Dongfang Shuye and a few others got into the car sent by Yanhuang Juexing to pick them up at the airport entrance.

Originally, although his name was special, it wasn't that bad.

Since a tea drink with the same name as his appeared on the market in 2011, his name had become a kind of symbol.

Most importantly, the reviews of this tea drink were not very good.

Surrounded by high - sugar drinks like iced black tea, "Leibi" (a fake brand similar to Pepsi), and "Kele" (a fake brand similar to Coke), in terms of taste, it could really make it onto the "worst - tasting drinks" list.

It's just that people didn't know at that time that in a few more years, this tea drink named "Shuye" would become the leader of healthy tea drinks.

Dongfang Shuye originally hated this brand too.

But after drinking it for a while, somehow, he started to think it was okay. After having a mutton hot pot, taking a sip of this tea was quite effective in relieving greasiness.

So he began to force his team members to drink this brand of tea too.

"You must drink it. I'll pay for the tea." Dongfang Shuye ended the topic in an uncompromising tone and casually handed an unopened bottle of tea to the team member beside him.

The team member silently took it, with "It's just an organizational task" written all over his face.

The car stopped steadily in front of an unremarkable building in Tianhe District.

The building was dull - colored, about twenty stories high, in the style of around the millennium. It stood there alone, exuding a sense of old - fashionedness that was out of place with the surrounding environment.

You know, this area had already become a prime CBD. Above the once - most - crowded station of the "Death Line 3", there were only fields back then, but now they had been replaced by towering skyscrapers.

Dongfang Shuye's gaze crossed the road. The new building across the street was over thirty stories high, with a full - glass curtain wall that sparkled in the sun.

In contrast, the Yanhuang Juexing branch building in front of him looked so shabby, like an outcast abandoned by the times.

"Humph, is this trying to play the victim?" Dongfang Shuye sneered softly, with a hint of imperceptible scrutiny.

"Boss Dongfang is overthinking. Let's go inside and talk."

A calm male voice came from the driver's seat.

Only then did Dongfang Shuye turn his attention to the driver who had been silently driving. The man was wearing a pair of gold - rimmed glasses, and his eyes behind the lenses were calm.

"So it's Director Dong. It's my fault for not recognizing you right away, Director Dong."

"Naturally, I have to come and pick up the special task force from Tianjing myself." Dong Lingjun turned off the engine, his tone calm, as if it was the most ordinary thing to be a driver himself.

The few of them got out of the car and walked into the rather old - fashioned building in front of them.

The lobby was old, but the elevators seemed to be well - maintained. There were only four elevators in total on both sides, and during the peak commuting hours, the transportation capacity might not be sufficient.

It was the off - peak time for the elevators now, and Dong Lingjun led Dongfang Shuye and the others into the elevator.

Then he pressed the button for the tenth floor.

The elevator ascended to the tenth floor.

Ding!

The elevator door opened, and a modern interior completely different from the simple appearance of the building was revealed to Dongfang Shuye and the others.

A cold current of air rushed towards them.

Two ordinary glass doors slid open to the sides. Inside was a pure - white hall full of a sense of the future. Soft light sources were embedded in the gaps between the ceiling and the walls, and the floor was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the slightly stunned figures of the few people.

Behind the front desk, a huge electronic screen was silently scrolling blue data streams.

This interior scene formed a sharp contrast with the simple exterior.

Dongfang Shuye's team members looked at each other, and the contempt in their eyes instantly turned into surprise.

"Boss Dongfang, we're not really trying to play the victim here. We just don't want to move."

Director Dong pushed his glasses, a faint smile curving his lips, and stepped aside to make a gesture of invitation.

"Please, Boss Dongfang. Welcome to the Yangcheng Branch."

Dong Lingjun led the few people directly into the temporary office converted from the large meeting room.

"I've already told everyone in the bureau to unconditionally cooperate with your requests, Boss Dongfang."

Dong Lingjun pointed to the folder on the table and then to himself.

"Including myself, I'll cooperate with you at any time."

Dong Lingjun looked at Dongfang Shuye, who seemed to be only about college - age, without any trace of contempt in his mind.

Yanhuang Juexing was not an ordinary officialdom. Without some real strength, you wouldn't be allowed to play, and no one would recognize you.

And Dongfang Shuye was the one with strength and recognition.

Dongfang Shuye didn't rush to look at those files. Instead, he spoke up first, "Director Dong, aren't you curious why we came to Yangcheng first instead of going straight to Shenzhen?"

Dong Lingjun shook his head, and there was even a faint smile on his lips.

"There's nothing to be curious about. Shenzhen is like a sieve now. As soon as the wind blows, sand leaks everywhere. All kinds of people are mixed up there. It's not worth wasting time in such a quagmire."

Dongfang Shuye raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect the director of the Yangcheng Branch to see things so clearly.

"Shenzhen has developed too fast, so inevitably, some rats and cockroaches have sneaked in. But it doesn't matter. We'll clean them all up this time.

I was told in Tianjing that after this matter is handled well, if you're still in this position, Director Dong, you might have to work a little harder."

Such an enticing promise was made.

But Dong Lingjun wasn't tempted. He just waved his hand. "Don't make such grand statements. Maybe Chen Lai is actually innocent and at most just negligent in management."

Dongfang Shuye laughed softly as if he had heard a joke.

"Director Dong, you can deceive us, but don't deceive yourself."

He didn't say any more. He casually picked up the top - most file and gently tapped his fingertips on the cover, making a dull sound.

He opened it and quickly scanned through it with his eyes, as if he was not reading but retrieving information.

After a moment, he looked up at Dong Lingjun. "We don't want to trouble you for now, Director Dong. We want to get to know the situation by ourselves first."

"Okay." Dong Lingjun nodded and waved to the outside. Two capable young men immediately entered in response and stood at attention.

"You can ask them to handle anything and they'll meet all your requirements."

Dongfang Shuye's gaze wandered around the office and finally landed on Dong Lingjun's face.

"I want me and my team members to have unobstructed access here."

"No problem." Dong Lingjun agreed without hesitation.

He glanced at the five people in the office.

Dongfang Shuye's team had a total of seven people, but only five of them got off the plane at the beginning. The other two were nowhere to be found.

However, he wouldn't inquire about it. All he had to do in this matter was to cooperate.