My childhood friend is in her mature, sophisticated form again today. - Chapter 59

“Um.”

“I haven’t seen you like this in a long time.”

Lin Jiqiu didn’t answer. He walked to the sofa, sat down, and took a sip of the warm water on the coffee table. Ahua jumped down from the windowsill, rubbed against his feet, and looked up at him as if confirming something. He bent down and scratched Ahua’s chin. Ahua made a gurgling sound, jumped onto the sofa, and curled up next to him.

Cheng Ran came downstairs, saw him, paused for a moment, then walked over and sat down opposite him. His expression didn’t change, but Lin Jiqiu noticed that his gaze lingered on her face for a second longer—not to confirm anything, but because it had been so long since they last met and he needed to readjust.

“Will you continue to accompany them today?” Lin Jiqiu asked.

“Yes. I found out the new route of that truck from yesterday. After leaving Fengyuan, it went straight onto the highway and drove north for about 150 kilometers. It got off the highway at a place called ‘Hekou’. There’s an industrial park there.”

“Another stronghold of the Northern Star Court?”

“Possibly. Many companies are registered in the Hekou Industrial Park, but most of them are shell companies. One of them is called ‘Yuanfeng Electronics,’ and its registered address is in the same building as Fengyuan Agriculture.”

“Yuanfeng Electronics. Fengyuan Agriculture. The names are almost identical.”

“It might be the same boss.”

Lin Jiqiu picked up the bowl of porridge and took a sip. It was congee with preserved egg and lean pork; the preserved egg and lean pork were both intact, and the chopped scallions were neatly sprinkled on top. “We’re going to the river mouth today.”

“Okay.” Cheng Ran looked at him. “You look different today than you did yesterday.”

“I don’t want to change,” Lin Jiqiu said, putting down her bowl of porridge. “It’s too much trouble.”

Cheng Ran didn’t say anything, but picked up his bowl of porridge and took a sip.

Ah Zuo walked out from behind the counter, holding the car keys in his hand. “Boss, the car is ready.”

“Walk.”

The three of them went outside. The sun was shining brightly on the street. The florist was watering the flowers. She glanced at Lin Jiqiu—in male form—a couple more times, as if to say, “Long time no see.” He nodded to her and got into the car.

The car pulled out of the street and headed towards the highway. Lin Jiqiu leaned back in his seat, looking out the window. The city receded, and farmland stretched out before him. He thought about why he had maintained his female form these past few days. It wasn’t for the mission, nor for the disguise; it was—habit. Habitual with that face, habitual with that height, habitual with the slight change in Cheng Ran’s eyes when he saw that face. But habit wasn’t a reason. He didn’t need a reason.

“Cheng Ran”.

“Um.”

“Where do you think the source of the Northern Star Court—those Originium Stones—came from?”

Cheng Ran thought for a moment. “The deep sea. The Qin Dynasty people found it in the deep sea. But the deep sea is so vast, how did they know it was there?”

“Maybe they didn’t find it themselves. Maybe someone else told them.”

“who?”

“have no idea.”

The car entered the highway. Lin Jiqiu closed his eyes, his mind filled with images of those Originium stones. The “Artifact of Destiny,” salvaged from the deep sea by Qin Dynasty alchemists, had been regarded by the Northern Star Court as the spark of civilization for two thousand years. Perhaps it truly was a spark. Perhaps it was merely a spark. It could illuminate, and it could burn.

The Hekou Industrial Park is located in a hilly area. The park isn’t large, with only a dozen or so factory buildings, their exteriors gray-white and their roofs blue. The main gate is made of iron railings; there are no security guards, the railings are simply raised, and anyone can enter. A-Zuo drove in and parked on the roadside opposite the Yuanfeng Electronics building. The building wasn’t tall, only three stories high, the windows were closed, and the curtains were drawn tightly. Several cars were parked at the entrance, one of which was the truck from yesterday.

Lin Jiqiu got out of the car, Cheng Ran followed behind. The two walked to the building; the door was closed, and there was a security access control. Lin Jiqiu took out a master card from his pocket and placed it on the sensor area. The red light flashed once, but it didn’t open. He tried again, but it still didn’t open.

“No. The access control system is different from before.” Lin Jiqiu put the master card away.

“Let’s go around to the back and take a look,” Cheng Ran said.

The two men went around to the side of the building. There was an iron gate there, closed, with no access control, only a padlock. Lin Jiqiu took a thin wire from his pocket, inserted it into the keyhole, turned it a few times, and with a click, the lock opened. The two men slipped inside and quietly closed the door.

Behind the door was the stairwell. It was dimly lit, with white paint on the walls, some parts of which were peeling. I went up the stairs to the second floor. Rooms lined both sides of the corridor, all doors closed. Through the glass windows, I could see offices inside, with computers and documents on the desks, but no one was there.

He went up to the third floor. The door at the end of the corridor was open, leading to a large room. Several rows of shelves were stacked with cardboard boxes. Lin Jiqiu approached a box, opened it, and inside were those chips—the same ones he’d seen in the Yuantong Freight warehouse. A palm-sized metal box with fine textured surfaces that reflected colorful light. He took out his phone and snapped a picture.

“Chengran, this might be their warehouse.”

Cheng Ran walked to another cardboard box, opened it, and found it also contained chips. He picked up a box and turned it over to look at the bottom. There was a label on the bottom with a string of numbers written on it—the format was the same as the serial numbers he had seen before.

“This is the finished product. Ready to be shipped.”

“Where to send it?”

“I don’t know. There’s no address on the box.”

Lin Jiqiu continued searching the room. In a filing cabinet against the wall was a folder containing shipping records. He opened it; it listed the date, quantity, and destination. There were three destinations—east of the city, south of the city, and a neighboring city. All were locations they had already investigated.

“These chips are produced by Fengyuan Agriculture, transported here for temporary storage, and then distributed to the receiving points below.”

Cheng Ran looked at the shipping record. “Fengyuan Agriculture is the production center, and this is the transit warehouse.”

“In Fengyuan Agriculture’s greenhouses, they don’t produce vegetables. They produce chips.”

“It could be. It could also be a component of the chip.”

Lin Jiqiu put the folder back in the filing cabinet and walked to the door. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Someone was coming upstairs. He took a few steps back and slipped behind the door. Cheng Ran followed. The footsteps grew closer. A person went up to the third floor, pushed open the door at the end of the corridor, and came in. It was the truck driver from yesterday. He walked to the shelf, picked up a cardboard box, opened it, looked inside, and then put it back. As he turned around, he saw Lin Jiqiu and Cheng Ran.

Who are you?

Lin Jiqiu remained silent. Cheng Ran also remained silent.

The driver’s hand slowly reached into his pocket. Lin Jiqiu saw his movement and took a step forward. “We’re from Yuantong. We’re here to confirm the shipment volume.”

The driver paused for a moment. “Yuantong? Which Yuantong?”

“Yuantong Freight. Liu Wei sent us.”

The driver looked at them, his gaze lingering on Lin Jiqiu’s face for a few seconds. Lin Jiqiu remained calm, his expression unchanged. He often did this—transforming into different people, telling different lies. Now, in male form, it wasn’t that black-haired mature woman, it wasn’t Lin Qiu, it was himself. No one recognized this face.

“Liu Wei? He didn’t say he was sending anyone yesterday.”

“It was arranged at the last minute. The shipment volume will double next week, and he asked us to confirm the inventory in advance.”

The driver hesitated for a moment. “We have enough stock. Next week’s shipment is already prepared.”

“Then we’ll just take a look and leave.” Lin Jiqiu walked to the shelf and pretended to count the number of cardboard boxes. The driver stood at the door, watching them, his hands still in his pockets.

Cheng Ran also walked to the shelf, picked up a cardboard box, looked at it, and put it back.

“Alright. The quantity is correct.” Lin Jiqiu turned to the driver and said, “We’re leaving.”

The driver didn’t speak, but stepped aside. The two walked out of the room and down the stairs. Once outside the iron gate, they relocked the padlock. They got into the car. A-Zuo started the car and drove out of the industrial park.

“He might report it,” Cheng Ran said.

“Yes. But he doesn’t know who we are. The name Yuantong is fake, but Liu Wei’s name is real. If he wants to investigate, he’ll ask Liu Wei. Liu Wei won’t admit to sending anyone because he didn’t send them. Then the driver will know that someone impersonated someone from Yuantong and infiltrated the area.”

“He will report it to his superiors.”

“echo.”

“Um.”

Lin Jiqiu leaned back in his seat, looking out the window. “Tomorrow, Fengyuan Agriculture will probably increase security. We won’t be able to get in.”

“Then we won’t go in. We already have enough information.”

Back at the office, Lin Jiqiu transferred the photos he’d taken that day to his tablet. Chips, cartons, labels, shipping records. All the evidence pointed in the same direction—Beichen Zhiting had a complete production-warehousing-logistics system in this city. Fengyuan Agriculture produced the chips, Yuanfeng Electronics handled warehousing, Yuantong Freight transported the goods, and receiving points in the southern part of the city and neighboring cities distributed them. Each link operated independently, using aliases, fake licenses, and falsified accounts to conceal themselves. But by following the goods, the entire chain could be connected.

“Chengran, start investigating Fengyuan Agriculture’s background tomorrow. Who owns the land? Who built the buildings? Who pays the electricity and water bills? We’ll find some clues eventually.”

“good.”

Ayou came out carrying a pot of tea and poured a cup for each of them. He looked at Lin Jiqiu—in male form—opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again.

“Ah You, what are you trying to say?”

“Boss, have you been working too hard lately?”

Lin Jiqiu picked up his teacup and took a sip. “It’s alright.”

“and you……”

“Um?”

“It’s nothing.” Ah You turned and went back to the kitchen.

That night, Lin Jiqiu lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. He had faced the driver in his male form that day. The driver didn’t recognize him and didn’t react at all. His male form was that of someone “untraceable.” He wouldn’t attract attention, wouldn’t let anyone give him a second glance. This was the best disguise.

He reached under the pillow and touched the photograph. His father’s face. “Did you use your own face back then?” he asked softly. No one answered.

He put the photo back and closed his eyes. The ball on his wrist vibrated slightly. Cheng Ran was still awake.

“Cheng Ran”.

“exist.”

“That driver from today might be reported to Echo. Echo will investigate us.”

Yes. But he can’t find it. You’re using your own face.

“My own face.”

“My own face.”

Lin Jiqiu’s lips curved slightly. “Good night.”

“Good night.”