When Qin He first heard young master Bian’s account of his adventure, she found it preposterous.
After all, most quicksand wasn't found in deserts. The idea of him encountering a fierce storm, then quicksand, surviving, and then finding a glittering golden palace in a deep pit—
Now, thinking back, wasn't that the golden palace her master had spoken of?
Qin He abruptly stood up and looked at Gu Qichen, "Gu Qichen, I have a lead. Do you remember that young master Bian?"
Young Master Bian.
Gu Qichen narrowed his eyes and then recalled the young man Qin He had been staring at that day.
After a few moments of contemplation, he remembered the story the young man had told.
Di Shishi, who was eating after a tiring day, looked up at Qin He in surprise, "You still haven't forgotten about him?"
Her expression suggested she thought Qin He had taken a liking to the young man.
Meanwhile, Yu Jing, standing nearby, began to ponder.
Gu Qichen thought for a while, then looked up at Yu Jing, "Go and investigate if there's a Bian family in Shazhen. We'll pay them a visit."
The men at the same table as young master Bian that day had all surrounded him, indicating that his family at least held some influence in Shazhen.
Yu Jing immediately acknowledged the order.
After dinner, the group returned to the hotel. Yu Jing went out to inquire about the Bian family, while Di Shishi, still energetic and wanting to explore Shazhen, accompanied him.
Before they left, Qin He gave Di Shishi a teasing look.
At half-past eight in the evening, Yu Jing returned.
"The Bian family is easy to inquire about. The most representative enterprises in Shazhen are the Bian family's photovoltaic and wind power generation stations. Due to their proximity to the desert, both solar and wind energy are abundant. The Bian family received approval and provides half of Shazhen's public electricity."
After explaining, Yu Jing continued, "The Bian family resides in the villa district on Shazhen's central street. They say it's easy to find, it's the largest villa there."
Qin He chuckled, "Indeed, they are among the top in Shazhen."
Gu Qichen narrowed his eyes and gave her a dangerous glance.
Qin He stopped smiling, "We'll visit the Bian family tomorrow morning. If that young master Bian truly saw it and recounted the story so clearly, he should have some impression of the direction."
After discussing their plan, they each returned to their rooms to rest.
In the deep of night, in a villa in Duncheng, Qian Zimo was gathering scattered information.
Dungcheng was a fourth-tier city, and the number of people coming and going was much less than in Qingcheng, making investigations relatively easier.
However, it was difficult to track those who used public transportation versus those who drove private cars.
He called Xiao Liyan, "Is everything normal in Shazhen recently?"
"Everything is normal, but Gu Qichen's progress seems less than optimistic."
"As long as it's normal, we'll find it eventually," Qian Zimo's voice was grave. "But we've been out for almost ten days, Shen Yizong should have reacted by now."
What kind of fever or cold could last for ten days?
Shen Yizong's investigation had yielded useful information over three days.
Information one: Gu Qichen was not traveling daily between Gu Corporation and Senyuan in his car.
Information two: A discarded car was found in a small town near Qingcheng a few days prior.
Information three: The medicine in the Qin family's home doctor's medicine box had not decreased.
The three pieces of information corroborated Shen Yizong's suspicions. Before this confirmation, he had already sent Monkey to investigate Qin He's whereabouts, thus not wasting any time.
At midnight, Monkey rushed into Shen Yizong's study.
"Master Strategist, the investigation has progressed. Qin He and Gu Qichen have likely gone to Ruocheng!"
"Continue."
Monkey respectfully reported, "Ruocheng is a second-tier city. Gu Corporation has recently invested in Ruocheng. Based on the limited surveillance footage, their car was indeed last seen near Ruocheng."
"Ruocheng?" Shen Yizong walked to the side, pulled out a rolled-up map from a vase, and threw it onto the table.
The map was roughly unfurled, and Shen Yizong's finger pointed at Ruocheng.
Ultimately ending up here—
Ruocheng was already very far from Qingcheng.
However, Shen Yizong's gaze roamed over the map, finally settling on a very small city, Duncheng.
"Dungcheng—"
He squinted, looking at the desert area around Duncheng, and after a few seconds of thought, a smile spread across his lips.
"Aren't our people already in Ruocheng?"
"Yes!"
"Tell them to investigate Duncheng, especially the small towns near the desert. It should be easy to get information from strangers in places like this. I want results by tomorrow."
"Yes!"
The next day.
At half-past eight in the morning, Qin He and her group bought fruits and some gifts on the street in the center of Shazhen.
They went to pay a visit.
The Bian family was the wealthiest in Shazhen, and the doorman did not let the four of them in.
After waiting for a while at the gate, the butler came out. Seeing the ordinary commercial vehicle parked behind them and then looking at the fruit in Yu Jing's hand, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.
"Who are you looking for?"
Qin He smiled, "We're looking for young master Bian."
"Our young master is not at home, please come back another day."
At this early hour, how could he not be home? Qin He's gaze turned cold, "May I ask where young master Bian has gone?"
"Don't know."
Qin He took a deep breath. After all, they were asking for a favor.
She was about to suggest leaving a number when Gu Qichen called Yu Jing.
Yu Jing stepped forward, took out a business card from his pocket, and handed it through the gate.
"Please inform your master and young master that Gu Corporation from Qingcheng is here to visit."
Qingcheng Gu Corporation?
The butler was stunned. Gu Corporation was currently among the top hundred global corporations and had consistently ranked among the top three domestically.
Was it *that* Gu Corporation?
He looked at the business card, then at Gu Qichen, and met his cold, indifferent gaze. He quickly turned around, "Please wait a moment, sirs."
Qin He frowned at the butler's clear snobbery and turned to Gu Qichen, "Will our identities be exposed here?"
Gu Qichen reassured her, "Since we are already here, we are not afraid of exposure. News from Shazhen will not reach Qingcheng."
Besides, if they didn't state their identities, it seemed the butler wouldn't have let them in.
After a few minutes, a middle-aged man, accompanied by the butler, hurried out from within the gate.
The gate opened, and the middle-aged man approached respectfully, "Mr. Gu, it is truly you! Please come in, please come in!"
The group entered the Bian residence and sat down in the living room.
Mr. Bian called out loudly, "Go, unseal that tea cake I've been collecting! The one in the box on the top shelf in the study!"
Gu Qichen chatted with Mr. Bian for a while and soon got to the main topic.
"Mr. Bian, we are actually here today because of young master Bian."
"Ah, my son?!" Mr. Bian was also feeling unsettled. Although his small enterprise was top-notch in the town, it was insignificant in the county, let alone the city or province.
Faced with a world-class behemoth like Gu Corporation, he truly didn't know why they had come. After all, he usually only saw Gu Qichen on financial news channels.
"I'll go get him," Mr. Bian said with a smile, rising. He didn't ask a servant to fetch him and hurried upstairs.
He had to quickly go and ask his troublesome son what he had done to attract such a distinguished guest!