One person: Lu family bodyguard, who shattered Longhu Mountain with a single palm strike.

"You'll have to pay more."

As soon as the name Lin Mo was uttered, Xu Xiang on the other end of the screen remained silent for a full two seconds. The light shone on his ashen face, revealing clear red veins in his eyes; he looked as if he hadn't slept for several nights.

He stared at the camera, a vein throbbing on his forehead, before finally managing to suppress his anger.

"Lin Mo, don't take advantage of the situation."

Xu Xiang's voice was low and sounded relatively steady, but his anxiety was barely contained. After a moment, he rubbed his temples and exhaled as if resigned to his fate.

"Get to the price, no beating around the bush."

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo immediately picked up the carbon pen on the table and scribbled a few lines in his notebook.

"Mr. Xu is very agreeable."

He turned the notebook toward the camera, speaking in a serious tone.

"This isn't just ordinary fieldwork; it's like you guys have inside connections everywhere. If I'm wrong, I'll take the blame; if I'm right, I'll offend people. And if there's someone backing them, I might be held a grudge later."

Lin Mo tapped the numbers on the notebook with the tip of his pen.

"Therefore, this 50,000 is called a scapegoating risk fee. The fee is transparent, clearly marked, and fair to all, young and old."

Xu Xiang's eyelids twitched.

"Your name is quite professional."

"Your cooking skills." Lin Mo's expression was serious. "Also, if I need to use my hands during the arrest and accidentally damage your branch's load-bearing walls, surveillance equipment, office desks and chairs, or any other company property, who will be responsible?"

Xu Xiang took a deep breath, as if he was too lazy to argue anymore.

"It will be charged to the branch and reimbursed through the company's loss reimbursement process."

"Very good." Lin Mo lowered his head and continued taking notes. "Basic investigation: 30,000; confirming those involved: 50,000; capturing prisoners: 50,000; internal scapegoating risk fee: 50,000. If encountering Quanxing or other high-risk supernatural beings, the combat price will be calculated separately."

Xu Xiang finally couldn't help but slam his hand on the table.

"Fine! I'll accept it all! Now get over here right now."

"Not now."

Lin Mo refused decisively.

Xu Xiang was stunned for a moment, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Why?

Lin Mo glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the computer screen.

"It's 2:30 pm now, which is still within my working hours. According to the employment contract I just signed this morning with a base salary of 100,000, I cannot leave my employer's side."

He paused, his tone very serious.

"Professional reputation is very important."

Xu Xiang almost laughed out of anger.

"This is a top-secret leak from NaDuTong, and you're talking to me about professional reputation?"

"Precisely because it was an internal leak, I need to be even more trustworthy." Lin Mo shrugged. "If I stand up the Lu family for you today, wouldn't I stand you up for someone else tomorrow? Mr. Xu, when you hired me, you didn't expect me to be so unruly, did you?"

Xu Xiang was speechless for a moment after hearing that.

He really wanted to curse, but upon closer inspection, what the kid said actually made some sense.

Lin Mo continued, "If you're in a hurry, you can send me a package containing the anonymized version of the surveillance videos, personnel lists, access logs, and entry/exit records. I'll do remote analysis from Lu's house first."

"No way," Xu Xiang immediately rejected the idea. "Core data cannot leave the intranet. Even if we remove sensitive information, it will be a bigger problem if it is intercepted once it is transmitted over the external network."

Lin Mo thought for a moment and nodded.

"That makes sense."

He tapped the table with his pen.

"That night at 10 PM. I finish get off work at 5 PM, and I need time to clock in, eat, and prepare my equipment. You can also arrange temporary access during the shift change window so that fewer people can see it."

Xu Xiang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay. I'll have someone prepare a temporary identity for you. Once you arrive, don't go through the main entrance; I'll send you your location. I'm not sure how many eyes are watching inside right now."

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.

"So cautious? Let me double-check. If the mission location is at the North China branch, you must provide temporary outsourcing access. No one can use confidentiality clauses to trick me throughout the entire process, and I can't be made to take the blame for internal procedures afterwards."

"OK."

"Round-trip transportation expenses will be fully reimbursed. If it's past 1 a.m., there will be an overtime fee of 5,000 per hour. If you need me to stay up all night with you for the meeting, the meeting fee will be calculated separately."

Xu Xiang stared at the screen, his lips twitching slightly.

"You even charge for meetings?"

Lin Mo's tone was serious.

"Mr. Xu, meetings are the easiest form of work to be taken advantage of in the workplace."

Xu Xiang looked at him, remained silent for three seconds, and finally waved his hand resignedly.

"It's all free. I'll transfer a 60,000 yuan deposit to you first, and the rest will be settled according to the progress. Don't tell too many people about this."

"Customer privacy protection is a basic service." Lin Mo gave a standard professional smile. "See you tonight."

The video call was disconnected.

A few seconds later, Lin Mo's phone rang.

[60000 yuan received via WeChat.]

Lin Mo's eyes lit up when he saw the payment notification. Great, another sum added to his housing fund, bringing him one centimeter closer to his dream home in the city center.

He noted the amount down in his memo, pulled out a chair, and prepared to pour himself a glass of water.

Lin Mo stopped when he opened the door halfway.

In the corridor, Lu Linglong stood straight at the doorway, holding a plate of sliced ​​apples, pears, and grapes.

The two stared at each other, and the air was silent for two seconds.

Lu Linglong was clearly startled, her shoulders shrinking slightly. She glanced to the side and said, forcing a smile, "I was delivering fruit to Grandpa, it was just on my way."

Lin Mo glanced in the direction of the study, then at the fruit plate in her hand.

"Miss Lu, the study is at the other end of the corridor."

Lu Linglong's ears turned red instantly.

She definitely came on purpose.

She had originally intended to go to the living room, but when she reached Lin Mo's room, she overheard the words "student surnamed Zhang," "Tianjin," "internal leak," and "go there tonight" through the crack in the door.

Anyone with half a brain could guess that this guy had taken on another side job with All-Tong.

Stop changing the subject.

Seeing that she couldn't keep up the act any longer, Lu Linglong simply put on a cold face and shoved the fruit plate into Lin Mo's arms.

"Want some or not?"

"eat."

Lin Mo took the fruit plate, picked up a piece of apple, and took a bite.

"Hmm, it's quite sweet."

Lu Linglong took a deep breath and finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"You just got into a fight with the lunatics from Quanxing, and today you've taken on another job from Nadutong? And it's an internal leak case! Even they can't figure it out themselves, so they came to you as an outsourcer. Do you know how complicated this is?"

Lin Mo calmly finished chewing the apple and placed the fruit plate on the cabinet by the door. Then he turned and went back to his room, precisely taking out a copy of the new contract he had just signed that morning from the table.

Lu Linglong's temples twitched as soon as she saw him take the contract.

"What are you going to do now?"

"explain."

Lin Mo opened the contract, walked to the door, pointed to the additional clauses, and spoke as if giving a workplace report.

"Ms. Lu, let's review the contract details. First, I take on outsourcing work after my regular get off work hours, which will not affect my normal clocking in at the Lu family home at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

"Secondly, I will not sign a non-compete agreement. As long as I do not disclose the Lu family's secrets or harm the Lu family's interests, I am free to take on any orders."

"Third, if this mission poses a risk to the Lu family, I will terminate the cooperation in advance."

Lin Mo closed the contract and looked at her with a smile.

"Therefore, from a contractual perspective, I have not breached the contract. My actions are entirely in accordance with the spirit of the contract."

Lu Linglong was rendered speechless by his words.

Her chest heaved twice, and her hands clenched unconsciously. Was this person truly devoid of anything on their mind except contracts and money?

"Who cares if you break the contract!"

Lu Linglong abruptly turned her face away, her voice a little louder than before.

"I'm afraid you'll die out there! Then I'll have to hire a new bodyguard, conduct all the interviews again, and start all the adjustments again—it's such a hassle!"

Lin Mo couldn't help but laugh when he saw her looking like she was worried to death but still stubbornly refusing to admit it.

"I understand, recruitment costs are indeed very high."

He rolled the contract up, tapped it in his palm, and his expression softened.

"But don't worry, Ms. Lu. You spent five thousand yuan to buy my enhanced security package this noon, and I won't breach the contract for this service."

Lin Mo looked at her, his tone calm.

"So, I'll be fine. If something really happened to me and I couldn't protect you anymore, that would be a major breach of contract, and I couldn't afford the penalty."

Lu Linglong felt a warmth in her heart upon hearing the first half of his sentence, but when the second half came out, she almost wanted to smash the fruit plate in his face.

"That greedy, unscrupulous businessman!"

She cursed, then turned around and pulled her phone out of her sweatpants pocket, frantically tapping the screen with her finger.

Ding.

Lin Mo's phone beeped in his pocket.

[Alipay account received: 5000 yuan.]

Lin Mo's eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately took out his phone to check the bill.

"Ms. Lu, what is the charge for this temporary upgrade service?"

Lu Linglong's cheeks flushed red as she glared at him through gritted teeth.

"Supervision fee! Periodic safety notification service!"

She felt increasingly embarrassed as she spoke, so she raised her voice to bolster her courage.

"You are still my bodyguard. I have the right to know if you came back alive. Tonight, when you go out, report once you leave, once you arrive at your destination, once you start your mission, once you finish your mission, and once you return to the Lu family."

Lu Linglong stared at him and said, word by word, "If there's no movement after two hours, I'll take people directly to All Direct to ask for you."

Lin Mo immediately stood up straight and quickly made a note in his memo.

"Understood. Five safety notifications in total, each costing 1,000, is perfectly reasonable."

He flashed a top-notch customer service smile.

"A real-time reporting service for 5,000 yuan, your satisfaction guaranteed. Actually, I also have a real-time video call service for 8,000 yuan, would you like to...?"

"roll!"

Lu Linglong stomped her foot in anger and turned to walk downstairs.

Lin Mo watched her figure disappear at the top of the stairs, then smiled and added the five thousand yuan to his account.

Just as I was about to close the door, the butler walked over from the other end of the corridor.

"Mr. Lin, the master requests your presence in the study."

Lin Mo glanced at the time; it was still working hours. Lu Linglong was downstairs in the direction of the living room, no more than a hundred meters away—safe.

He nodded.

"lead the way."

A few minutes later, in the study at the deepest part of the second floor.

Lu Jin sat in a mahogany armchair, holding a cup of tea that had gone cold. Lu Lin stood beside her, her aura of the Reverse Rebirth Second Stage much more stable than the night before.

The housekeeper has just given Lu Jin a full account of what happened in the corridor, as well as the few keywords that came out.

Seeing Lin Mo push the door open and come in, Lu Jin raised her eyes.

"Xu Xiang is looking for you?"

Lin Mo was not surprised.

The Lu family is so large that such a matter could not be kept from the ears of this highly skilled elder.

"I've looked for it."

"Is this some kind of inside information from Nadu Tong?"

"Mr. Lu, this involves my client's privacy," Lin Mo said professionally. "But if you are worried that it will affect the Lu family, I can make it clear that it will not at present."

Lu Jin stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly laughed.

"You little rascal, you really know how to play by the rules once you've taken the money."

"Oh, you flatter me, Mr. Lu. It's just a matter of professional ethics."

Lu Jin waved his hand.

"I don't ask about the details, but I heard Linglong say a few words: Tianjin, a student surnamed Zhang, old files."

Lin Mo did not respond, his expression remained calm.

Lu Jin's gaze darkened, and he tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"Xu Xiang, that old fox, always leaves no stone unturned. Ordinary cases wouldn't warrant his urgency. The fact that he's willing to risk internal issues and spend a fortune to hire an outsider like you means this matter is more than just losing data."

Lu Lin stood by curiously.

"Grandpa, who is that student surnamed Zhang?"

Lu Jin did not answer immediately, but looked at Lin Mo.

Are you going out tonight?

"After get off work."

"Where to?"

"The client's location cannot be disclosed."

Lu Jin's lips twitched.

"I'm also considered your client."

"This order isn't from the Lu family now," Lin Mo replied flawlessly. "But don't worry, Mr. Lu, I won't bring any trouble back to the Lu family."

Lu Jin almost laughed out of anger. Lu Lin, who was next to him, couldn't help but cough and lower her head.

"I'm not trying to stop you," Lu Jin sneered. "With things like this happening everywhere, the Lu family will be affected sooner or later. It's good that you go; at least it will let me know where the wind is blowing from."

Lin Mo immediately said, "Elder Lu, if you need me to provide additional information, that would fall under the category of information consulting services."

"I didn't ask you to leak client secrets!"

Lu Jin glared at him, picked up her teacup and took a sip, only to find the tea was already cold.

His face darkened further, and he simply put the cup back.

This kid really only cares about contracts.

However, precisely because of this, he felt at ease.

Lu Jin turned to look at the butler.

"Make arrangements to get Lin Mo a top-level access pass for the Lu family's outskirts, and also grant him access to the main gate. From now on, he won't need to report to the authorities when entering or leaving the manor at night."

He added another sentence after saying that.

"Access control records are kept; no need to ask about the details."

The butler nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Also, send him off in a discreet car at 10 p.m.," Lu Jin said. "For a bodyguard with a monthly salary of 100,000 to go out and take a taxi in the middle of the night would be beneath the Lu family's dignity."

Lin Mo's eyes lit up slightly.

This thing is practical; it not only saves on taxi fares but also reduces procedural costs.

"Thank you, Mr. Lu." Lin Mo immediately expressed his loyalty, "Don't worry, Mr. Lu, Miss Lu has the highest priority during working hours. After get off work, if Miss Lu purchases emergency response services, she will also have priority in response."

Lu Jin's lips twitched.

"The money she just transferred to you, was it for that periodic safety notification service?"

Lu Lin finally couldn't hold back and raised her hand to her forehead.

"Linglong is spending way too much money..."

Lin Mo looked at Lu Lin with a sincere expression.

"If Young Master Lu needs it, I can provide it."

Lu Lin immediately took a half step back. "No, I don't need it!"

Looking at the two of them, Lu Jin's previously gloomy mood eased somewhat. But soon, his gaze darkened again.

"Lin Mo".

"Please speak, Mr. Lu."

"No matter what you find out tonight, protect yourself."

Lin Mo smiled upon hearing this, "Mr. Lu, I would be even more moved if this sentence were written into the contract."

Lu Jin was stunned for a moment, then laughed in exasperation.

"roll."

Lin Mo nodded very familiarly.

"Okay, Mr. Lu."

He turned and left the study, with the butler following behind, preparing to process the travel permit.

After the door closed, the study became quiet.

Lu Lin looked at Lu Jin and asked in a puzzled tone.

"Grandpa, why are you suddenly interested in this?"

Lu Jin leaned back in her chair and did not answer immediately.

He picked up the now-cold tea, but didn't drink it. Images of the bloodshed of the Jia Shen Rebellion flashed through his mind, along with the names of the Thirty-Six Bandits.

"It's nothing, I just thought of someone."

Lu Jin lowered her voice.

"Moreover, his surname, the timing of his appearance, and the reaction of Na Du Tong were all too coincidental."

Lu Lin didn't quite understand because he didn't know what had happened back then, and Lu Jin had never mentioned it.

All I knew was the name Wugensheng.

"Grandpa, could it be related to the Jia Shen Rebellion back then?" Lu Lin could only guess.

Lu Jin placed the teacup back on the table and tapped it lightly twice with her fingers.

"I don't know, but even if it's just a tiny bit related, it's enough to make a lot of people uneasy."

He looked out the window, his gaze darkening.

"After the Jia Shen year, many things were buried. Some people wanted to forget, some dared not mention them, and some kept searching for them."

Lu Lin understood, and after a moment his voice lowered.

"Should we get involved?"

Lu Jin shook her head.

"Now is not the time to intervene. Lin Mo may be greedy, but he's not stupid. The fact that Xu Xiang is looking for him means that there are already unsafe areas within Na Du Tong."

He stood up and walked to the large floor-to-ceiling window.

The sunlight outside the window was perfect, but Lu Jin's expression showed no sign of relaxation.

"All we can do now is wait."

Lu Lin watched his retreating figure.

"Just wait?"

"While waiting, you must also have eyes."

Lu Jin, with his hands behind his back, explained word by word.

"Don't practice your skills for the next few days. Tomorrow morning, we'll use our own intelligence network."

He paused for a moment, his voice becoming even deeper.

"Go to Tianjin. Don't disturb Nadutong, don't disturb anyone."

"Investigate that student surnamed Zhang they mentioned."

……