This was akin to someone graduating from a prestigious university like Tsinghua, working for a rural brute, and remaining fiercely loyal!
Considering this university graduate was also a scion of a wealthy family, why would such a person behave this way, especially when they didn't lack money?
Li Chonglou couldn't fathom it, but their encounter was brief, and he ultimately filed it away as a mystery without giving it much further thought.
Seeing the principal figure appear, Lei Gong readily agreed and dispatched his men to bring Xiao Qiang over.
Xiao Qiang had only recently regained consciousness. The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by the Axe Gang, and despair began to creep into his heart.
It wasn't until he saw Li Chonglou that a glimmer of hope rekindled in his eyes.
"Big Brother!"
Xiao Qiang rushed forward, taking two steps at a time, and stood obediently behind Li Chonglou. This caused Lei Gong to frown. He had secretly ordered an investigation, but no overt connections between the two could be found.
Lei Gong would likely never imagine that although their relationship appeared close, they had actually only met less than half a day ago.
"I'll send the money over later,"
Li Chonglou left after uttering these words, taking Xiao Qiang with him.
This wasn't an act of generosity on his part. It was evident to anyone with a discerning eye that the Axe Gang's involvement in this capture was minimal.
However, Li Chonglou still decided to pay half the bounty, primarily due to A Duo.
While he didn't voice his internal questions, it didn't mean he wasn't intrigued. What if someone from the General Bureau could also join his company?
Yes, Li Chonglou's primary objective was to poach talent!
A Duo's strength was already considerable, and his loyalty was what Li Chonglou valued most. Such a capable individual, if utilized, would undoubtedly be a significant asset!
However, such matters couldn't be rushed. He didn't have the time to deal with it now, and more importantly, his company currently had sufficient staff. Li Chonglou planned to revisit this after completing his trip to the Lost Land.
As for Xiao Qiang, just as he had told Old Lin, he would first bring him to Hei Dao and explain the situation clearly.
"Brother Li, rest assured, as long as this kid is motivated, he'll be a hundred times better off here than being a street bum before!"
Li Chonglou had full confidence in Hei Dao. After leaving Xiao Qiang there, he departed with Ge Dong.
However, they didn't immediately return to the General Bureau. Instead, they went back to his company first.
"Damn, Brother Li, what are you up to now? You said you were going away for a while, and you've only been gone for how long?"
This wasn't the first time Li Chonglou had done this. It had been happening for days. Zhou Tong was almost starting to suspect that his announcement of leaving was just a joke.
Li Chonglou sighed helplessly, "I'll leave after completing one more mission. Have someone interrogate this fellow and see if there's anything valuable. I need to bring him back to the General Bureau to complete the mission in a couple of days."
Zhou Tong's eyes immediately lit up, "You caught another one so soon?"
Li Chonglou didn't mention the previous two captures because they were clearly benefits provided by the General Bureau, or rather, by Old Tie, and were off-limits. But Ge Dong was different; this was a mission selected by the "Dong" faction.
If he didn't extract some value before submitting it, wouldn't that be a waste?
"There should be one more in these two days. Hurry up, I'm leaving now."
After giving another set of instructions, Li Chonglou headed straight for his second mission, the one he valued most.
Wei Yin, the former captain of the Wu family's squadron, was wanted for suspected collusion with foreign forces. However, he had disappeared before the warrant was issued.
This time, he appeared on the screen because, according to the General Bureau's intelligence department's secret investigation, Wei Yin was still near the Wu family in the eastern part of Shangjing, thus reappearing in the public eye.
However, the mention of the Wu family in the mission details instilled fear in many, and this mission had been delayed until now. It was known that his location was perhaps the clearest of all current missions.
Yet, no one dared to touch it!
Unbeknownst to Li Chonglou, from the moment the gambling match was proposed, the "Dong" faction had its sights set on this mission. This was why they were so confident, even more proactive than him, and more afraid of him resorting to tricks or giving up.
Li Chonglou meticulously reviewed the information while on the move. The Wu family's headquarters were located in the easternmost part of Shangjing, where a port ranked second in the nation was situated. Its economic contribution accounted for almost half of Shangjing's total!
It could be considered Shangjing's treasury!
However, this port was not owned by the General Bureau but by the Wu family.
This status alone hinted at something!
Nevertheless, Li Chonglou was already mentally prepared for the Wu family's power. Otherwise, he wouldn't have refrained from investigating them openly since arriving in Shangjing.
Therefore, Li Chonglou's primary focus was now on Wei Yin's profile.
He hadn't examined the documents closely before. Now, reviewing them on his phone, he discovered that besides the Wu family as a hurdle, there was another significant challenge to this mission: the man was still only under suspicion!
This meant that if he wanted to complete the mission, he had to capture the person alive and hand them over to the General Bureau!
From the records, Wei Yin's last displayed strength was ten years ago, and even then, he had already reached the peak of the fourth level! How could someone who became the Wu family's squadron captain be lacking in talent?
This implied that the man's baseline strength was already at the fifth level, and possibly even higher!
At the thought of this, Li Chonglou couldn't help but grumble, "What is the General Bureau thinking, putting a mission like this in the main hall? Will anyone actually be able to complete it?"
Putting aside everything else, the mere name "Wu family" was enough to make eighty percent of people back down, and their strength directly caused ninety-nine percent of freelancers to give up!
With strength at the fifth or sixth level, individuals at their level had no need to risk offending the Wu family for such a meager bounty!
If Li Chonglou hadn't been looking for an opportunity, a legitimate chance to make contact and investigate, he wouldn't have accepted this mission.
Shangjing's five districts were quite clearly divided. The western district had more residential areas, the northern district was industrial, the southern district was technological, and the eastern district was the economic hub.
Although the central district was the city center, it was the administrative center and was relatively more conservative on the surface.
But the eastern district was completely different.
The moment Li Chonglou entered, he saw nearly sky-obscuring skyscrapers, all imbued with a sense of modern technology! From a distance, it gave one the feeling of traveling from the present to the future.
When the taxi ascended to the highest overpass, Li Chonglou could even see the port that was famous throughout Shangjing, the North Port.
The driver chimed in, "Young man, is this your first time in the eastern district? See that port? If you could manage to smuggle even one crate of goods from there in your lifetime, you'd be set for life!"