"We are police officers here to investigate a case. Could you please call your person in charge? We need to ask him a few questions."
"Of course, please wait a moment. I’ll make a call to inform him." Realizing the identity of the visitors, the receptionist immediately picked up the phone.
While meeting the company’s person in charge usually requires an appointment, police officers are an exception—they have that privilege.
Soon, the receptionist put down the phone, clearly having completed the communication.
"Please follow me, this way."
Led by the receptionist, the police officers arrived at the office of the company’s person in charge.
After knocking on the door, a deep, robust male voice came from inside.
"Come in."
The receptionist pushed the door open: "Boss Hu, they’re here."
"Alright, you can leave now." After saying this, Boss Hu patted the petite secretary beside him, who was wearing a tight skirt, black stockings, and red-bottomed stilettos: "You too, go out."
As he spoke, he stood up to greet the officers.
In this line of work, few have completely clean hands. Seeing the police was like a mouse seeing a cat—he had none of the usual airs of a boss.
"Please, have a seat. Officers, would you like some tea?"
"No, thank you. We’re just here to ask you a few questions." Han Fei got straight to the point: "Your company was in charge of the construction of Binjiang Bridge, correct?"
After a brief moment of thought, Boss Hu nodded.
"Yes, that’s right. Why do you ask?"
"Are the employees who worked on the bridge still with the company?"
This question stumped Boss Hu. While he had some memory of Binjiang Bridge—after all, it was a relatively large project the company had undertaken years ago—he had no recollection of the specific employees involved. It had been over twenty years, and as the head of the company, he had too many things to manage. Minor details like that were long forgotten.
"Ah, I’m not entirely sure, but I doubt many of those employees are still here. It’s been over twenty years, after all."
"Officers, may I ask why you’re looking for them?" Boss Hu couldn’t help but inquire.
Having the police show up was never a good sign, especially when they brought up a project from twenty years ago. This was even more concerning.
Boss Hu wasn’t sure if this bad omen would involve him, so he wanted to get some clarity.
But seeing that Han Fei had no intention of answering, Boss Hu quickly changed his tone.
"Just curious. If you can’t say, forget I asked. Let me have someone look into it for you."
"Thank you, Boss Hu." Han Fei nodded.
"Not at all. The police and the public are like family. No need to talk about trouble or inconvenience."
...
Soon, Boss Hu received feedback from his subordinates.
A few employees who had worked on the Binjiang Bridge project were still with the company, and one of them was someone he knew well—his brother-in-law.
He didn’t immediately relay this information to the police. Instead, he excused himself to the restroom.
Of course, he wasn’t really going to use the restroom. He needed to call his brother-in-law to give him a heads-up and ask about the situation.
As soon as the call connected, Boss Hu got straight to the point.
"Hey, I need to ask you something. Did anything happen during the Binjiang Bridge project twenty years ago that I don’t know about?"
"Binjiang... Binjiang Bridge? Why are you asking about that, brother-in-law? What’s going on?"
Hearing the heavy breathing on the other end of the line, Boss Hu’s face darkened.
It was obvious what his brother-in-law was up to.
"All you do is play around. Can’t you focus on something serious for once?"
"What are you talking about, brother-in-law? I’m... I’m just jogging."
"Jogging my foot. You’re going to die on some woman’s stomach one day... I’m not calling to lecture you. Did anything happen at the Binjiang Bridge construction site back then?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
Just as Boss Hu thought his unreliable brother-in-law was trying to recall whether anything had happened, he heard a relieved sigh.
"Uh... huff!"
Then, a click: "Sorry, brother-in-law, I was busy just now. What did you say?"
His brother-in-law’s words were slightly slurred, clearly having just lit a cigarette.
With his experience, Boss Hu knew immediately that his brother-in-law hadn’t been jogging.
Panting like that, then lighting a cigarette? That wasn’t jogging!
But he didn’t have the energy to scold him now. He repeated his question.
"The Binjiang Bridge project? I don’t really remember. I don’t think anything happened. Besides, it was bridge construction, not a demolition. What could’ve gone wrong? Why are you asking, brother-in-law? Is something going on?"
"I’m not sure either," Boss Hu replied. "Some police officers came by earlier asking about Binjiang Bridge, but they didn’t say why. If nothing happened, that’s good. Come to the company. They’ll probably want to see you."
After hanging up, Boss Hu let out a deep breath.
His brother-in-law had been involved in the project back then. If he couldn’t recall anything significant, it likely meant nothing major had happened—at least nothing life-threatening.
Before leaving the restroom, Boss Hu washed his hands and deliberately didn’t dry them, returning to the office with damp hands.
He even put on a show in front of the officers, pretending to make a call to hurry things along.
"Why is it taking so long to look this up? What do I even pay you for?"
"Enough excuses. I need this ASAP. You’ve got two minutes. If you can’t get it done, don’t bother coming in tomorrow."
After "scolding" his subordinate, Boss Hu turned to Han Fei with an apologetic expression.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. My people are too slow, but I’ve pushed them. We should have the results soon."
He didn’t want the officers to know that the results were already in, nor did he want them to find out he’d tipped off his brother-in-law.
But just as he finished speaking, Xu Mo smiled and said, "Boss Hu, you were holding your phone upside down earlier. The screen was facing us."
Boss Hu: "..."
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
