Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Cheng Wenru’s heart sank a little.
This situation was worse than she expected.
Internationally-recognized names like Matthew were too distant to Cheng Wenru. To her, they were almost like legends of the past she would never get to meet.
She was too far from Matthew’s league.
She felt as if her little heart had been hit.
Hearing that the Second Hall Master and the rest had gotten into trouble with people like Matthew, Cheng Wenru simply couldn’t keep her composure.
“Come on in first.” Cheng Shui led them inside calmly. “We don’t know the details yet. We’ll only find out when we meet First Hall Master.”
Outside the villa were dirt roads and cobblestone paths, and the whole area was extremely quiet.
Cheng Shui opened the main door and let them enter first. “Boss and the rest are out today. They’ll probably be back at night.”
Qin Ran hadn’t said much the entire journey, not even when she heard Matthew’s name.
She put her bag down and looked at Cheng Shui.
It was pretty obvious that Qin Ran wasn’t feeling her best. Cheng Shui took her to the second floor and said, “The bedroom beside the study on the second floor is yours. Come with me first, no need to change out of your shoes.”
There were no carpets or rugs inside, it was all marble flooring.
Although Qin Ran wasn’t here with him, Cheng Shui had left a room for her when he was preparing the place.
The main color theme was white and blue. Although her bedroom here wasn’t as big as the one in the manor, there was everything she needed, and the air-conditioner was set at 24 degrees Celsius.
Cheng Wenru did not bring up Matthew’s name again. “Ran Ran, take a rest first.”
“Mm.” Qin Ran gave her a polite nod before heading into the room.
Only after Qin Ran entered did Cheng Shui take Cheng Wenru to her room on the third floor.
Cheng Mu was carrying Cheng Wenru’s luggage behind them. It seemed so light when he carried it.
Cheng Wenru asked, “Cheng Mu, why did Ran Ran suddenly come to Continent M? She seems so busy.”
She practically hadn’t rested at all the whole way.
“I was the one who got Miss Qin here.” Cheng Shui responded right away. “With Boss’s situation here, I don’t feel too safe about it without Miss Qin around.”
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“What is it that you need Ran Ran specifically? Isn’t it better to give her peace and time to work on her own research?” Cheng Wenru hadn’t thought about why Cheng Shui got Qin Ran here. When she entered the room, she got more serious and got down to business proper. “Now that I’m in Continent M, Giant Crocodile will provide me with all the help and information.”
That was also why she came to Continent M.
Cheng Shui had always remained calm. But now, he seemed a little surprised. “Are you sure it’s Giant Crocodile?”
“Yes.” Cheng Wenru took her cell phone out and showed him the page.
Cheng Shui took it and saw Giant Crocodile’s logo right away. “It really is him. but I heard that with the new members in 129, the senior ones hardly step forward to take up orders anymore. Eldest Lady, how did you…”
“It’s a long story. I actually didn’t do anything.” Cheng Wenru thought for a bit and decided there was nothing to hide. “But I think it has something to do with Ran Ran.”
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“Miss Qin?” He looked at her. “129 has a lot of connections, especially Morning Bird and Lone Wolf. With Giant Crocodile’s help, at least we can rest assured that Matthew dares not do too much to us.”
1
Although he said this, Cheng Shui was still thinking about what had happened the last time…
Giant Crocodile was enemies with Cheng Huo…
Cheng Shui rubbed his temple.
Cheng Juan had offended too many people.
“Cheng Mu, is Mr. Gu still in Beijing?” Cheng Shui asked. “Matthew helped Gu Xichi a few times, they should know each other quite well. If we can get him to negotiate with Matthew, that’d be best.”
As for Cheng Juan, Cheng Shui had given up.
Cheng Mu nodded and took his cell phone out. “I can contact Mr. Gu.”
“Ask him briefly first.” Cheng Shui looked at the time. “We’ll discuss the details when Boss is back.”
**
On the second floor.
Qin Ran’s bedroom.
She didn’t rest right after Cheng Wenru and the rest went off. Instead, she took her laptop out of her bag and placed it on the table.
The laptop turned on on its own.
The document appeared on the screen.
Qin Ran did not continue looking at it. She simply got it off the screen, revealing only the plain sandy-colored home background.
Her laptop screen was either the warm but oppressing color of the sand or the vast ocean view. It depended on her mood.
After looking at the screen for a moment, Qin Ran took her cell phone out and scrolled it for a while.
Cheng Shui had decorated the room according to her likes. Qin Ran got a cup of water for herself and opened a coding sequence on her cell phone. She made a call with the code.
It took some time for the information to be translated and for the call to be made. Qin Ran sat back in her chair and put on her earphones, then turned on the voice-changer.
Then, the other party picked up the call.
It was a middle-aged voice, and the person sounded shocked. “You actually took the initiative to call me? Do you want to join our organization?”
Matthew was always the one who contacted the other party first. This was the first time the roles were flipped, coming as a shock to him.
Everyone in the triad knew that he had a loyal hacker who cracked cases for him quietly.
But only Matthew himself knew that he had never even met the hacker in person before.
He only knew that this hacker was known as Q, and Q was a rather renowned, albeit anonymous, figure in the hacking world.
He even invited the other party a few times to crack cases and arrest people with him.
After all, a good hacker was a good helper.
But that party rejected him more than once.
Qin Ran said, “… No.”
“Oh.” Matthew nodded, a little disheartened.
This was the first time the hacker was calling him, and he was hoping for some surprise.
“It’s something else.” Qin Ran rubbed her temple and asked while logging into the software, “Something big has happened in Continent M?”
“It hasn’t been too peaceful, indeed.” Matthew was looking at himself in the mirror and shaving his mustache while speaking on the phone. He narrowed his eyes and asked, “I haven’t found the evidence of a crime at the manor, and the Underground Alliance is back. Have you heard?”
He remembered that Q was very familiar with the Underground Alliance.
“No.” Qin Ran entered the account details and saw quite a bit of information about Scholar Liao and Brother Ye.
She sounded calm as usual.
“But the Underground Alliance is bringing in a new generation of people. The older members probably aren’t involved,” Matthew said as he put his shaver down.
Qin Ran raised a brow. “New generation?”
“Yes, they’re surely hoping not to get caught.” Matthew walked as he talked. “Even if you haven’t contacted me today, I’d be contacting you soon. Help me keep an eye on this person on the wanted list, I’ll send you the information later.”
There were so many hackers at that level of notoriety, and they were able to disguise themselves as different characters several times in a day.
Qin Ran acknowledged his request and then said, “Send me the name list of the people recently sent to prison on your side.”
“Sure.” Matthew didn’t ask her why. Having worked together for so many years, they had some chemistry.
Then, he hung up the call.
Two minutes later, Qin Ran received a file on her false account.
She opened it.
**
8 pm in Continent M.
Cheng Juan, Cheng Huo, and Leader Du returned.
Cheng Wenru, Cheng Shui, and the rest were talking about them at the meeting table on the first floor.
Cheng Juan saw Cheng Wenru in a red dress the moment he entered.
He didn’t seem too shocked, but raised a brow and asked, “Old Master let you come?”
“He was worried about you.” Cheng Wenru looked at the two people with him. She knew Cheng Huo, but the other one seemed a little fierce and unapproachable.
Cheng Wenru couldn’t help but feel a little taken aback by his presence.
Before arriving in Continent M, she really didn’t know that Cheng Juan had so many capable people aiding him.
“Eldest Lady.” Cheng Huo greeted her and introduced Leader Du to her.
Leader Du immediately greeted her politely when he heard that she was Cheng Juan’s elder sister.
Cheng Juan walked to the table.
Leader Du sat behind him, and Cheng Shui spoke first. “Boss, we can’t continue causing trouble with Matthew. If he controls the movement at the landing area…”
He was just about to mention contacting Gu Xichi and getting him to resolve this.
After all, Gu Xichi was on good terms with Matthew. If they could resolve it calmly and privately, that’d be best.
Otherwise…
But before he even finished speaking, Cheng Juan looked up the stairs and cut him off. “Let’s not talk about this first.”
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He got up and headed upstairs, leaving them downstairs.
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