Chapter 1426: Whereabouts

Chapter 1426: Chapter 1426: Whereabouts

Looking at Yue putting away this new Security Management Institute certificate. Chen Moxiang smiled and said, "Now you’re officially part of my team, you can’t escape my grasp in this lifetime."

Lin Tian rolled his eyes, "The way you say that, sounds so strange."

"Really? Haha, maybe a bit. But now that you’re a formal member, you’ll inevitably have to mingle with the brothers. We should set up a table and treat everyone to drinks, right?" Chen Moxiang said.

Lin Tian nodded, "That’s right, no problem. You decide the time and place, I’ll cover the bill when the time comes."

"Hey, I’m the team leader and now I’m running errands for you, fine, just don’t feel the pinch when you pay up."

"Don’t worry, I won’t." Lin Tian pondered for two seconds, and asked softly, "Can I know what you’ve been up to lately? Haven’t seen you for months."

Chen Moxiang laughed at this, raising an eyebrow, "What? Do you miss me that much?"

"I do worry quite a bit."

Chen Moxiang squinted with a smile, saying, "Alright then, since you’re my team member now, it shouldn’t matter to tell you. Plus, you might be particularly interested in this."

Lin Tian was already anxious, and her teasing only made him more so.

Chen Moxiang stubbornly refused to speak, playfully blinking, "Take a guess."

"..." Lin Tian tilted his head, thinking for a while, still at a loss. Knowing that Security Management Institute tasks are numerous and complex, how is he supposed to guess? Something he’s particularly interested in? That could be anything.

"Can’t guess."

Chen Moxiang glanced at Lin Tian and said, "Fine, I’ll give you a hint. Tianya Haijiao City."

Tianya Haijiao City?

Lin Tian’s eyes suddenly widened, "Are you talking about the Lu Ban lock?"

Chen Moxiang nodded, "If you couldn’t guess this, I’d have to question your intelligence. It’s about the Lu Ban lock, it’s an urgent task we received. Actually, someone was dispatched to Tianya Haijiao City half a year ago. You’d never guess, the one who set fire in the Patriarch’s study room at the card skill venue was our person."

If Chen Moxiang hadn’t told him, he really wouldn’t have thought of it.

"But how did the Lu Ban lock end up in the Wang Family?" Lin Tian raised another question.

"The cicada is captured by the mantis, unaware of the oriole behind. The Wang Family is like that oriole, they’ve trapped us into their calculations. We couldn’t find the Lu Ban lock at all afterward, took nearly a week of investigation before we had any clue."

"But the Lu Ban lock was lost for nearly half a year, and you only went on the task a few months ago. Did you go to Tianya Haijiao City?" Lin Tian asked.

"Of course not, I’ve been in Kanyue City all along. In the Wang Family ancestral residence, but I managed to stay undercover, never got discovered."

"How long were you inside?"

"Two months and fourteen days."

Chen Moxiang’s words once again shocked Lin Tian. Although Lin Tian had never been to the Wang Family ancestral residence, it was definitely fraught with danger. Chen Moxiang lurking inside for months meant the danger level was multiplied several times.

Previously, Jiang Huaisi had said her task wasn’t dangerous, but that was only relatively speaking. Compared to some overseas missions, this task was indeed much less risky.

"Did you find anything?" Lin Tian asked.

Chen Moxiang softly said, "I only saw the Lu Ban lock once, and that time, many experts from the Wang Family were present, I had no chance to make close contact. Since then, I haven’t seen it again but can confirm it’s still in the Wang Family ancestral residence. I’ve searched many places but found no clue except one location."

Lin Tian raised an eyebrow, "The underground palace?"

This time, Chen Moxiang’s expression turned surprised, "How did you know? That underground palace is extremely hidden, it took me nearly half a month to probe, but it’s bizarre inside, I’ve had no chance to enter."

Lin Tian chuckled, somewhat proudly, "I haven’t been there, but I’ve heard people mention it. By the way, since the Lu Ban lock hasn’t been found and you didn’t complete the task, how could you leave?"

Chen Moxiang took another sip of coffee and nodded lightly, "What’s difficult about leaving? Though it’s a task, implementation is up to me. I’ve found the entrance to the underground palace, just haven’t had the chance to go in. Plus, in two days the Wang Family ancestral residence will hold a wedding event, staying there will become more dangerous, better to pull back first, and then sneak in during the busy day."

"Hey." Chen Moxiang lightly nudged Lin Tian and said, "The underground palace is extremely dangerous, you wouldn’t abandon me, would you?"

Lin Tian rolled his eyes, feeling regretful. What happened to him today? How did he fall into Chen Moxiang’s trap only to realize now? She had been waiting for him all along with all this talk.

"What’s with the eye-rolling? You wouldn’t be so heartless to let me go to that perilous underground palace alone, right?" Chen Moxiang pulled a cutesy trick she seemingly picked up somewhere, looking pitifully at Lin Tian like if he didn’t agree, he’d be the biggest scoundrel!

Lin Tian sighed languidly, "Alright, guess I owe you from a past life. It’s just a trip to the underground palace, I’ll go with you."

"Hmph, don’t think I don’t know, you’re clearly interested in the Lu Ban lock too. You just agreed in passing. I also know your feud with the Wang Family runs deep, you won’t let this wedding proceed smoothly, am I right?"

Chen Moxiang played the ’see-through at a glance’ card, as if she utterly understood Lin Tian.

Lin Tian did not deny it; this young lady clearly took advantage and played coy.

"What do you think of that Davis?" Lin Tian asked.

Chen Moxiang chuckled, saying, "That person, haha, thinks he can retrieve the Lu Ban lock, what naivety. You know what impression he gives me?"

Lin Tian gently shook his head.

"A poor scapegoat."

Seeing the light in Chen Moxiang’s eyes, Lin Tian understood something. Suddenly, he felt a bit sorry for Davis, after all, he was still so young...

"By the way, aren’t you curious about what’s in the Lu Ban lock?" Chen Moxiang playfully blinked and asked.

"You know what’s inside?" Lin Tian instantly perked up, then thought it through, too—if they didn’t know what’s inside, why would Security Management Institute pursue it for half a year?

Yet, Chen Moxiang cunningly smiled and shook her head, "I really don’t know. We at Security Management Institute just handle executing tasks; as for what’s inside, we don’t have the right to inquire."