88: Chapter 88 Shen Jianan's Call

In the main house of the Qin family's small courtyard in Qinjiawan Village, Qin Yi was gripping his phone, staring solemnly at the video recorded by the Miniature Bionic Tracker.

In the video, as soon as Chen Hu arrived at the location of the Underground Bank, he immediately had his subordinates clear out the entire place inside and out. Meanwhile, he entered a hidden office and, from a safe under the desk, took out the Underground Bank's ledger, dozens of gold bars, and stacks of cash all at once.

After that, Chen Hu drove to a rural house on the outskirts of Jingnan City and hid the ledger and the gold bars there.

“A wily rabbit really does have three burrows...” Qin Yi muttered softly as he watched the footage, his brow furrowed. At the same time, he was weighing in his mind whether he should report this situation to the police.

After careful consideration, Qin Yi shook his head. For Chen Hu to dominate Jingnan for so long, he definitely had someone backing him. Moreover, since he could be bailed out of the precinct so quickly, there might very well be a protective umbrella for Chen Hu within the Jingnan City Police Department. Coupled with his father Qin Jianye's previous experience, Qin Yi held a rather skeptical attitude toward the Jingnan police force. If he handed over the intelligence now, he might expose himself prematurely.

If that happened, he would lose the initiative when he tried to contend with that 'boss' behind the scenes later on.

At this thought, Qin Yi abandoned the idea of reporting to the Jingnan police.

However, now that he knew where Chen Hu had hidden the Underground Bank's ledger, he needed to teach him a lesson to prevent him from moving it again—letting him know what it meant for 'the mantis to stalk the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind'!

Just as he was thinking of a counter-strategy, the creak of the courtyard's large iron gate interrupted his thoughts.

Immediately after, his mother Wu Xiuhua's voice drifted over: “Son, son, come and help! Your dad's had too much to drink, come and give him a hand!”

Upon hearing this, Qin Yi immediately put down his phone and ran out of the main house.

Arriving at the courtyard gate, he saw his mother, Wu Xiuhua, supporting his father, Qin Jianye, with a smile on her face as he swayed against the wall. His father's steps were unsteady, and he was already nearly unconscious from drink.

Qin Yi hurried forward to support him, saying between laughter and tears, “Whoa, how much did Dad drink? How did he get this drunk? Mom, why didn't you stop him?”

Before Wu Xiuhua could respond, Qin Jianye waved his hand, stumbling as he tried to walk into the courtyard, mumbling incoherently as he went, “Who... who says I'm drunk! I... I'm not drunk! Drink... con-continue drinking!”

Qin Yi lifted Qin Jianye's arm, gently draped it over his own shoulder, and wrapped his other hand around his father's waist from behind to steady him. He then shook his head with a smile and teased, “Alright, you can't even speak straight and you're still talking about drinking...”

Supporting Qin Jianye from the other side, Wu Xiuhua said with a gentle smile, “Heh, your father is happy today, and the fellow villagers kept toasting him, so he had a few extra cups. It's fine; he'll be okay after he sleeps it off.”

Qin Yi helped Qin Jianye toward the east room, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at Wu Xiuhua and teased, “Mom, you're getting more and more tolerant now. If this were in the past, wouldn't you have nagged Dad for days?”

“Sigh,” Wu Xiuhua sighed with a smile, her eyes filled with deep emotion. “Your father has worked so hard and been so suppressed this past half-year. It's rare that you've become successful, son. Today, the debt issue was solved, and you won back face for your father in front of the villagers. Since he's happy, let him drink to his heart's content for once. Getting blind drunk is fine too! When he wakes up tomorrow, everything can start anew.”

Hearing this, a wave of warmth welled up in Qin Yi's heart. He didn't say anything more but silently helped his father into the east room and settled him onto the bed.

Wu Xiuhua looked at Qin Yi, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said with a concerned gaze, “Alright son, let him sleep for a bit; your father won't be waking up anytime soon. You didn't eat lunch, did you? I'll go make you a bowl of noodles.”

Strangely enough, since Qin Yi had taken the gene strengthening potion, his body's demand for food didn't seem as intense. Even when mealtime came, he didn't feel hungry. He would eat if he remembered, and if not, it didn't seem to make a difference.

So, Qin Yi quickly waved his hand in refusal: “No need, Mom, I'm really not hungry. I'll just wait and eat with you at dinner. You've been tired all day too, go lie down for a while.”

With that, Qin Yi gently pressed his mother down onto the bed. Just as he was about to turn and leave his parents' room, he heard his father, Qin Jianye, eyes closed, murmuring in his sleep: “Son, you truly are my, Qin Jianye's, son... Dad thanks you...”

His voice trailed off, finally disappearing into deep sleep. Qin Yi and his mother exchanged a look and both shared a knowing smile.

...

Returning to the main house, Qin Yi's gaze inadvertently swept across the table, and the flashing screen of his phone immediately caught his attention. Three missed calls from the same number, originating from Shanghai. This made him frown slightly, a hint of curiosity rising in his heart.

He picked up the phone and, without much thought, dialed back.

On the other end, the phone was picked up after only one ring. The other person's voice carried obvious anxiety, as if there were some urgent matter.

“Oh, Qin Yi, you finally picked up!” On the other end, Shen Jianan was sitting in her SUV, her tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction. Her fingers were unconsciously tapping the steering wheel, appearing somewhat impatient.

Hearing a woman's voice and knowing she knew his name, Qin Yi's frown deepened. He asked puzzledly, “Sorry, who is this? Do we know each other?”

“Oh my god, Qin Yi, you couldn't have forgotten me this quickly, right? It's me! Shen Jianan!” Shen Jianan was momentarily speechless, wondering to herself if this kid had thrown away the business card she gave him. Otherwise, how could he not know it was her calling? No wonder he had to have Xing Zhenkun pass a message in between.

“Shen Jianan?” Qin Yi repeated the name. After a brief moment of recollection, he immediately remembered. “Oh, so it's Captain Shen. Sorry, I didn't recognize your voice for a second. Is there something urgent for Captain Shen to call me in the midst of her busy schedule?”

“Pfft, stop acting! Didn't you ask Xing Zhenkun to ask me about the progress of the case?” Shen Jianan's lips curled involuntarily, her words carrying a hint of teasing and dissatisfaction.

Hearing this, Qin Yi laughed somewhat sheepishly and said apologetically, “Haha, sorry about that. I don't know where I put that business card you gave me that night, so I didn't save your number. Since I couldn't reach you, I thought I'd ask Brother Kun to help inquire. After all, Brother Kun is familiar with you police, so I asked him to pass a message.”

“Fine, I'll believe you this time.” Shen Jianan paused briefly before continuing, “I'm calling you because there's indeed some news regarding that case. Some new developments have come up. Those thugs you had the conflict with are the subordinates of someone in Shanghai called Brother Dao.”

Hearing this, Qin Yi's eyes narrowed slightly. He remembered the name Brother Dao clearly; it was the very person Chen Hu had mentioned in the hospital room! It seemed that the reason this Brother Dao had egged Chen Hu on to cause trouble for him was to seek revenge for his subordinates.

But in front of Shen Jianan, Qin Yi still pretended to know nothing. A flash of craftiness crossed his eyes as he followed up with feigned confusion, “Who is this Brother Dao? Why would he have people look for trouble with me?”

Shen Jianan keenly sensed that Qin Yi was playing dumb. A playful smile touched the corners of her mouth as she asked back, “Haven't you already guessed?”

Qin Yi raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of testing in his eyes as he asked with feigned doubt, “Are you saying it's because of Wang Hao?”

“Exactly.” Shen Jianan nodded and continued to explain, “That night, Wang Hao ran into you at the Sinan Feast. When he failed to humiliate you, he harbored a grudge. So, he contacted this Brother Dao. He thought you were just a weakling, but he didn't expect you to be a Martial Artist. As a result, not only did you take on six people, but you also sent Brother Dao's most capable subordinate to the hospital.”

What Shen Jianan said was basically consistent with what Qin Yi had thought.

He thought to himself: ‘If that's the case, then Wang Hao must also have a connection with this Brother Dao. I thought Wang Hao was just a useless playboy who only knew how to toy with women, but I didn't expect him to be involved with someone like Brother Dao. This is good; this way, I have even more leverage to deal with Hongtai Construction! After all, no matter where you are, what a businessman fears most is none other than two types of people. One is those with power, and the other is those on the streets. The former you can't offend; once you do, you have no place to voice your grievances and can only accept your bad luck. The latter you dare not offend; once you do, at best you'll be physically injured and lose money to avert disaster, and at worst, your family will be destroyed, and you won't even know how you died... Wang Hongtai really has a "good" son...’

“Heh,” thinking of this, Qin Yi chuckled twice. A confident smile played on his lips, and with a hint of disdain in his voice, he continued as if he didn't care at all, “Then this Brother Dao's strength doesn't seem like much either...”

Hearing this, Shen Jianan shook her head somewhat helplessly. A hint of worry showed in her eyes as she warned, “Don't underestimate the enemy. I heard that Brother Dao is already preparing to move against you again!”

Qin Yi smiled dismissively. “With the amateur skills of those thugs, do you think I'd be afraid of him?”

“That's true. Your skills are indeed good; ordinary people are no match for you!” Shen Jianan complimented him, recalling Qin Yi's moves from the surveillance footage. But then her expression turned serious again as she reminded him, “However, an open spear is easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow is hard to defend against. Those people won't play fair with you. You aren't afraid, but what about your family? Even if you can protect them for a moment, can you protect them for a lifetime? Can you ensure you're always by their side?”

Shen Jianan's words were like a heavy hammer, striking hard against Qin Yi's heart.

He fell silent, his eyes flickering with complex emotions. Shen Jianan was right. He had the System and had reached the Middle Stage of Ming Jin, so ordinary people could do nothing to him, but his parents were different, and he couldn't stay by their side forever.

If he hadn't happened to be home today, Chen Hu's gang would have definitely caused his parents a lot of suffering.

Thinking of this, Qin Yi frowned and asked, “Then, what suggestion does Captain Shen have?”

“Join forces with me. We'll take down Brother Dao's gang together and eliminate the threat once and for all!” Shen Jianan proposed.

“Haha,” hearing this, Qin Yi couldn't help but laugh twice. His words carried a hint of playfulness, clearly curious about Shen Jianan's proposal. He asked tentatively, “Captain Shen, I'm just an ordinary citizen, and you're the police. Since you already know this Brother Dao is committing crimes, why don't you just take people and arrest him? Why cooperate with me?”

“The police need evidence to make an arrest! Without evidence, even if we bring him in, we'll eventually have to let him go,” Shen Jianan explained.

“So? You want me to help you find evidence?” Qin Yi pressed.

“It's not just helping me; it's helping yourself,” Shen Jianan's tone became serious.

“That's quite interesting.” Shen Jianan was right; cooperating with her would benefit both sides. Qin Yi's attitude shifted, a playful smile curling his lips as he continued, “Alright then, Captain Shen, tell me, how are we going to join forces?”