Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing took the menu, didn’t even flip through it, and directly handed it to the waiter beside him, laughing, ”Just bring what we ordered earlier!”

”Ah?” Zhao Chengshuang immediately widened his eyes and said, ”Damn, Ye Zi, you’re setting me up!”

”Just eat at ease.” Ye Qing laughed and said, ”This restaurant is owned by Boss Li, you can eat as much as you like, and after eating, we can get a ten percent discount. Even if you order a few more dishes, it won’t cost much!”

”What?” Zhao Chengshuang was stunned for a moment, then looked at Li Lianshan, who was grinning to himself.

”I’ve bought this place a long time ago!” Li Lianshan leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed, and said, ”I thought about it, and being in the nightclub business is not a long-term plan. So, I’ve decided to transition gradually, start exploring other industries. I find the restaurant business quite good, so I bought several big restaurants, including Louwailou, which now also belongs to me. However, Ye Zi also has a share in this, so how much of a discount we give is up to him, I can’t make that decision alone!”

”Then forget about any discount!” Zhao Chengshuang directly waved his hand and said to the waiter, ”Those dishes we ordered, double up on them. Get me a few bottles of ’82 wine to rinse my mouth with, a box of premium Maotai, and the most expensive dishes on the menu!”

”Cheng Shuang, take it easy,” Li Lianshan said. ”Ordering that much, even with a ten percent discount, it’s still a lot of money.”

”Forget about the damn discount!” Zhao Chengshuang glared and said, ”Your joint and you’re still talking discounts with me, just waive the whole check!”

”Ah?” Now it was Li Lianshan’s turn to be unsettled: ”Let’s eat something more down to earth, guys. That stuff doesn’t fill you up, and eating too much is bad for your health. Cheng Shuang, I’m just looking out for you!”

Zhao Chengshuang looked at Li Lianshan and crisply said, ”Roll over, Beef Baby!”

”What do you mean?” Li Lianshan asked, puzzled.

Zhao Chengshuang replied, ”I mean ’Scram, you calf’, shut up!”

”Darn!”

In the end, they still served the dishes Li Lianshan had ordered earlier. The expense was nothing to him, the two were just joking around. However, for Zhao Chengshuang, what was crucial was to take good care of King of Explosives next to them. Luckily, King of Explosives was quite easy-going, and after a few drinks, everyone became much closer.

After the third round of drinks, Zhao Chengshuang asked, ”Buddy, what are you working as now?”

”I’m not doing much,” King of Explosives honestly replied. ”Just idling at home.”

”With your talents, that’s such a waste just idling around.” Zhao Chengshuang eagerly said, ”Our department really lacks professionals like you. Why don’t you work with us? Rest assured, with matters like positions, I can take care of it for you, guaranteed to your satisfaction!”

”No... no need...” King of Explosives quickly shook his head and gestured, he used to be a Mercenary who killed without blinking an eye, and he’s committed many crimes in Shenchuan City. He’d run away at the sight of police, let alone actually joining them, how could he dare?

”Are you worried about your past as a Mercenary? No problem, no one will investigate those things.” Zhao Chengshuang consoled.

”If he doesn’t want to, let it be,” Ye Qing said. ”He has his own matters, and besides, after such a long time, he just wants to come back to rest. You can’t make him start working again, right?”

”Ah, my point is, it’s just too much of a waste for someone with his skills to be idle. You don’t know, throughout our entire Eastern Province, we’re really lacking experts in this area!” Zhao Chengshuang regretfully said. ”Plus, with recent instability and frequent explosions happening, I was thinking, if the department had an expert in this area, wouldn’t it be much more convenient?”

”If you need anything, just call me, I’ll come and help you out. But I’ve got used to being lazy, and I don’t want to work for the time being.” King of Explosives smiled at Zhao Chengshuang, saying, ”Thanks anyway.”

”Since you said so, I won’t push it any further,” Zhao Chengshuang said. ”From now on, we’re all one of us, you’re a friend of Ye Zi, which makes you my friend too. If you need anything, feel free to call me. If there’s any trouble on my end, I’ll definitely call you for help right away.”

”Haha, it’s nothing.” The King of Explosives couldn’t help but laugh, finding Zhao Chengshuang’s straightforward and direct way of speaking quite to his liking. Even though Zhao Chengshuang was a policeman, he had essentially come to regard him as a friend.

The group continued to chat leisurely, and Zhao Chengshuang asked the King of Explosives some questions about the Toxic Eel Mercenary Corps. To be honest, this was the first time Zhao Chengshuang had dealt with a Mercenary Corps. Even though he knew their identity, he still had no clue about how to solve the case. First off, locating these people was no easy feat. Secondly, even if you find them, could the police of Shenchuan City really capture them? And if they somehow did manage to grab them by sheer numbers, how many officers would be sacrificed in the process?

So even though he had a lot of information, Zhao Chengshuang felt even more anxious. Figuring out how to capture them had become his most headache-inducing issue.

Ye Qing was also considering this matter; after all, these people were out to kill him. But for Ye Qing, the biggest trouble was how to find this group—capturing them didn’t worry him that much. After all, Ye Qing himself was a former Special Forces soldier. To him, this mercenary squad was just a minor battle and not at all difficult.

”Eh?” Just as everyone was chatting, Li Lianshan, who was sitting at the innermost part, suddenly let out a soft exclamation, saying, ”Ye Zi, isn’t that your orphanage on the screen?”

”Where?” Ye Qing looked up and saw that the TV hanging on the wall was currently broadcasting Eastern Province news. The footage was indeed of Ye Qing’s orphanage, with a narrator detailing the orphanage’s situation, as well as Ye Qing’s independent funding to adopt so many children.

”Damn!” Zhao Chengshuang jumped up and said, ”Ye Zi, you... did you call the reporters?”

”It’s a friend of mine; she interviewed me yesterday...” Ye Qing was also startled as he watched the news, saying, ”How did... how did it get broadcast so quickly?”

Ye Qing remembered that Su Nuoyan had told him it would be broadcast at the latest in two days. It had only been one day and it was already aired—Su Nuoyan really worked efficiently.

”What the heck, you have such awesome reporter friends?” Zhao Chengshuang’s eyes widened even more, saying, ”How come I didn’t know about it? When did you meet her? That’s so incredible!”

”What’s the matter?” Ye Qing was baffled, not understanding why Zhao Chengshuang reacted so strongly.

”You don’t know what the matter is?” Zhao Chengshuang pointed at the TV and said, ”This is Eastern Province news, the most official news program in Eastern Province. Anything that gets aired has to be screened by the provincial TV station and the Propaganda Department. Every piece of news is about major public affairs, and also affairs the leaders care about a lot.”

”The matter of Ye Zi’s orphanage is also a major public affair,” Li Lianshan said. ”Isn’t the provincial leadership about to hold a meeting to discuss it? It shows that the provincial leadership takes this matter very seriously, so it’s normal for it to be broadcast.”

”That’s not the way to put it.” Zhao Chengshuang quickly waved his hand, saying, ”Indeed, Ye Zi’s incident has caused quite a stir, but the thing is, the news about your orphanage shouldn’t be reported. The municipal propaganda department issued an order forbidding the reporting of any news related to the orphanage incident.”

”Why not?” Ye Qing and Li Lianshan asked in unison, perplexed.

”Because the provincial leaders haven’t finalized whether your orphanage can be approved!” Zhao Chengshuang explained, ”The orphanage issue hasn’t been approved yet, and now that the news has been reported, what if the whole province knows about it? Normally, people who see the news will support Ye Zi. If public opinion is one-sided, all in support of Ye Zi, how would the provincial leaders decide on this matter? If they don’t approve the orphanage, wouldn’t that displease the public? Therefore, reporting the news early is like pressuring the palace, forcing the provincial leaders to decide.”

Ye Qing and Li Lianshan exchanged glances, understanding Zhao Chengshuang’s analysis. But now that the news had been aired, what did that imply?

”The city does not allow reporting on the orphanage issue. I guess it’s the same for the province; they also do not allow reporting on the orphanage’s matters!” Zhao Chengshuang clenched his fists and excitedly said to Ye Qing, ”The provincial meeting is about to be convened, and at this critical moment, this news has been released. Ye Zi, this could be a good sign!”

”How is that a good thing?” Ye Qing also became nervous, since he was very concerned about the orphanage matters.

”There are two reasons this news could be broadcast: the first is that key provincial leaders have already made a decision. Moreover, this decision is very likely in your favor, which is why they sent out this signal early. If it’s not for this reason, the only explanation is that the reporter who interviewed you is really capable, able to sway, or even influence the decisions of the provincial TV station and Propaganda Department, thus allowing this news to be aired.” Zhao Chengshuang swallowed his saliva, excitedly saying, ”Whether it’s the former or the latter, it’s absolutely good news for you. Once this news airs, public opinion will definitely support you. Even if the provincial leaders don’t want to take responsibility, they will at least have to look at the direction of public opinion, and can’t go too against the will of the people!”

It dawned on Ye Qing. Zhao Chengshuang, having wrestled in the political world for so many years, had a far more acute political sense than him and Li Lianshan. It really wasn’t easy to deduce so many indications from a single news report, in which Ye Qing and Li Lianshan, both completely clueless about such things, naturally couldn’t see the intricacies at play.

”I bet that the provincial leaders have already made up their minds!” Li Lianshan said, ”A reporter, no matter how capable, can’t possibly influence the provincial TV station and Propaganda Department. Ye Zi, I think your case is pretty much settled, you won’t have to worry about this anymore!”