I write obituaries for the gods

She gently wiped away her tears, stood up, and bowed deeply to Lin Chen and Li Zhanyi.

"Section Chief Jiang talked to me about yesterday's events. He told me that you two are the heroes of this operation."

"It's not really true," Lin Chen quickly declined. "This operation was the result of the concerted efforts of everyone in the Investigation Bureau."

"It's my duty," Li Zhanyi waved his hand.

Looking at the two humble investigators, Shen Xuanyi smiled through her tears.

“Actually, someone from the Foundation contacted me last night,” Shen Xuanyi said softly. “Of course, anonymously, but I can guess it was them. They promised to give me the files, on the condition that United Concrete would have to act as the Foundation’s lackey…”

They kept the last file intact so they could extort money from it now... Lin Chen frowned slightly.

It seems the foundation's goal is to swallow up United Concrete Group rather than destroy it, and it has probably already prepared a whitewashing plan.

"What did you say?" Lin Chen asked.

“I rejected them,” Shen Xuanyi said with a faint smile, “and left a recording of the phone call.”

"Even if I die, I will still give them a piece of my flesh."

......

Chapter 62 The Next Target

It must be said that Shen Xuanyi is definitely not the kind of rich second-generation that Lin Chen stereotyped her to be.

She was very well-mannered, with a cool and aloof aura, yet surprisingly approachable.

But when she talks about the fate of her family, her gaze becomes as fierce as a hunter's.

This down-on-her-luck heiress seems quite different from the one in the short drama.

Give her a knife, and she might actually be able to tear two pieces of flesh off her enemy.

Then give it to her.

Lin Chen took out a hard drive and pushed it to Shen Xuanyi:

"There are some documents here, some images left by Captain England in the archives bunker."

"I think... we have enough cards to play."

Shen Xuanyi took the hard drive, connected it to her laptop, and glanced at its contents.

“He brought his own crew, which is a very damaging fact. The public instinctively likes well-structured stories but doesn’t want to see their flaws,” Shen Xuanyi murmured softly. “But I really didn’t expect… their director would be Zuo Xia…”

"Does Sister Xuanyi know that director?" Li Zhanyi asked curiously.

"Yes, our two families often visit each other, and my father and he are old friends."

Shen Xuanyi nodded:

"His films are basically backed by the foundation's operations, and he's also made a lot of films for the foundation's demigods. I just didn't expect... he'd be in charge of these dirty tricks..."

Lin Chen was somewhat surprised to learn that Shen Xuanyi knew Zuo Xia.

He glanced at the buzzing ceiling, then entered the "Mirage City" to confirm that there were no eavesdroppers or followers along the way, before speaking to Shen Xuanyi:

"Our next target is director Zuo Xia. Do you know how to get in touch with him?"

“He rarely participates in activities, claiming that he’s been in seclusion creating,” Shen Xuanyi shook her head. “Now it seems that this is because he’s always involved in the demigods’ actions, using his camera to record those heroic moments…”

Shen Xuanyi bit her lip slightly; clearly, her father's friend was deeply involved in this series of events.

How much does Zuo Xia know about the Iron Corner Bridge?

How much does this old friend know about the incident where United Concrete was framed?

“Since he appeared in the bunker, he probably already knew,” Shen Xuanyi chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Father and he have always had a good relationship. He really misjudged him.”

"Do you have any way of finding out his whereabouts?" Li Zhanyi asked.

"of course."

As if she had made up her mind, Shen Xuanyi stood up, walked to a corner of the encrypted room, and answered the phone.

About ten minutes later, Shen Xuanyi returned to the sofa and sat down.

She took out a piece of paper, wrote down an address, and pushed it to Lin Chen:

"Recently, almost all of Zuo Xia's schedules have been canceled. It seems that the foundation wants him to lay low. But even so, there is one banquet he insists on attending."

Lin Chen looked at the note, which had an address written on it:

The Waldorf Hotel in Iron Corner, 49th floor ballroom.

The time is three days later, at 8 PM.

“The Rain City Star Film Carnival,” Shen Xuanyi said softly, “Directors from all over the world will attend this grand event. According to the original plan, he was supposed to promote ‘Turning the Tide’ at the banquet, but Qingtian is dead. I don’t know what he’s going to do. Maybe he wants to promote Captain England’s movie.”

"I have a feeling that Captain England won't live much longer either..." Lin Chen felt a bit of dark humor in his voice.

“I’ve checked with people inside the company, and he is indeed on the invitation list and has confirmed that he will go, but it hasn’t been made public yet,” Shen Xuanyi gently stroked her earring. “If you’re planning to do something, this is a perfect opportunity.”

She seemed to have mustered up her courage when she said those words, and Lin Chen noticed that her fingertips were trembling as she touched her earring.

One can imagine the despair Shen Xuanyi felt when she discovered that her father's old friend was also a participant in this tragedy, which led her to decide to assist the investigation bureau.

Lin Chen read the note several times, then projected Jiang's lighter onto the screen, lit it, and threw it into the ashtray.

“Thank you for your assistance, Ms. Shen Xuanyi,” Lin Chen stood up. “This lead is very important. We have to go back to the Investigation Bureau immediately, so we may not be able to stay for dinner.”

“Lin Chen, there’s no rush,” Li Zhanyi tugged at his sleeve. “Section Chief Jiang is still sleeping. The meeting was originally scheduled for this afternoon.”

Lin Chen was pulled back to sit down, blinking somewhat awkwardly.

Upon seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Shen Xuanyi's cool and aloof face.

"Mr. Lin, don't you want to be friends with me at all?"

"How could that be?" Lin Chen quickly waved his hand. "The main thing is... the Investigation Bureau can't accept gifts..."

“You already received it last time,” Shen Xuanyi pointed out astutely, “from the weapons specialty store.”

Oh no... it seems they actually accepted it...

Seeing Lin Chen's completely hopeless expression, Shen Xuanyi gently came to his rescue:

"I have no intention of giving gifts; I am simply trying to help with your investigation in any way I can."

"As for lunch today, it was just a simple meal, without any expensive ingredients; I cooked it all myself."

"They meant well," Li Zhanyi poked Lin Chen's waist. "Are you getting shy again?"

What does "again" mean?

"Alright then." Lin Chen sighed helplessly.

He just felt that if he went back after dinner, his "rich kid experiencing life" persona would be firmly established within the police station...

......

Shen Xuanyi was indeed not lying. At noon, she cooked a few simple home-style dishes, and the three of them set up a small table in the living room.

During the meal, she thanked Lin Chen and Li Zhanyi again and promised to be available whenever needed if they required any help in the future.

After dinner, Shen Xuanyi offered to drive the two of them back to the Investigation Bureau.

Even though Lin Chen repeatedly declined, he couldn't resist Li Zhanyi's final decision:

"Taking a taxi costs money! Weren't you worried about the cost this morning? Let's go, let's go..."

"..."

Fortunately, when Lin Chen got out of the back seat of Ghost, the Investigation Bureau was on lunch break and there weren't many people around.

Even so, the gatekeeper was startled by Lin Chen:

"Hey young man, who are you? You even have a driver?"

"Sir, this is an informant..." Lin Chen said helplessly.

Seeing the old man's gossipy expression, Lin Chen knew that this gossip was unavoidable.

A rich young master who comes to experience life... a gigolo kept by a beautiful and wealthy woman... one's identity in the outside world is what one gives oneself.

On the bright side, this might make those who want to cause trouble think twice.

Perhaps...

"..."

As Lin Chen pushed open the door to the First Section Office, the first thing he heard was Section Chief Jiang's voice:

"Louis, do you have any leads?"

"It will take a little more time. Zuo Xia's schedule is hard to find; it's basically all encrypted by the foundation."

Looking around, Lucy was making drinks at the bar, Jiang Zhengge and a short, blond-haired, blue-eyed man were working by the clue board, and a mysterious man in a black robe and top hat stood in the shadows of the room.

Presumably, the two people meeting for the first time were Louis, who always stayed behind the scenes, and Oswald, who was always on field assignments.

"Hey, Xiaolin Zhanyi, you're back?" Jiang Zhengge waved towards the door.

"Why does it sound like a Japanese name?" Li Zhanyi complained.

Lin Chen, on the other hand, went straight to the point:

"We have finalized Zuo Xia's schedule. It's three days from now at the Yudu Star Film Carnival."

Upon hearing this, Louis, who had been typing on his computer, looked up, his eyes filled with surprise.

"What? How did you know?"

......

Chapter 63 Action Plan (First Update)

As a technician in Section One, Louis was responsible for collecting operational intelligence.

Generally speaking, he is responsible for preparing this preliminary intelligence, since the Foundation strictly controls most information channels in Rain City.

If you want to obtain information through these channels, some technical means become necessary.

Director Zuo Xia has been working for the foundation behind the scenes for so long, and it was only discovered yesterday. Logically, this means that his encryption level is very high.

Louis was prepared to stay up all night again, digging three feet into the ground to figure out his itinerary.

As a result, the newcomer arrived early in the morning with Zuo Xia's itinerary information.

Dude, are you moving this fast?

Lin Chen felt a little embarrassed by Louis's surprised gaze.

He briefly explained the handover process with Shen Xuanyi and clarified his source of information.

“So that’s how it is. Shen Xuanyi was actually willing to betray the circle,” Louis murmured. “I thought that even if their upper circle fell on hard times, they would never betray each other.”

“Even those at the top are just mortals,” Li Zhanyi blinked. “Besides, look how badly the United Concrete Group has been persecuted.”

"That's true, the Shen family has really had a rough time lately."

Louis adjusted his glasses and looked at Lin Chen.

"We've been working from home, so we haven't officially met yet."

Louis walked up to Lin Chen and extended his hand to him:

“I am Louis, a technician and intelligence specialist in Section 1.”

"I'm Lin Chen," Lin Chen shook hands with Louis, "By the way, can we work from home in Section 1? Do we not need to clock in?"

"Don't even mention it, I'm on sick leave and had no choice. I ate a takeout meal a while ago and have had stomach problems for a week now..."

Louis's face paled slightly, as if he were reliving the fear that originated from the depths of his soul.

"The food safety outside these days is really... I was so sick with diarrhea every day during that period, I'll only eat at the cafeteria from now on..."

"Food safety is really not good," Lin Chen sighed. "Try to eat out as little as possible."

“I dare not eat it. That boxed lunch is more effective than laxatives.” Louis clenched his fist fiercely.

Someone really does put laxatives in the lunchboxes... Lin Chen recalled the despicable things he had done.

He also needs to be careful not to eat random things outside in the future. If he gets an upset stomach like Louis, he won't be able to work from home.

“This is Oswald,” Jiang Zhengge pointed to the gloomy gentleman in the corner. “He doesn’t like to talk. In your terms, he’s a man.”