After midnight

At 11 o'clock in the evening, the streets of Beicheng were already pitch black and it was impossible to tell the way out. The street lights all dimmed when they just entered the town. With the weak light from the flashlight, Lin Xuanfeng led Ah Jiu to continue walking towards the reserved inn.

After they walked for a while, Lin Xuanfeng said, "Come on up, I'll carry you."

Lin Xuanfeng squatted in front of Ajiu. Ajiu didn't say a word and obediently leaned over and hugged Lin Xuanfeng's neck.

Beiguan, Beizhong, and Beicheng are three small towns that are relatively close to each other, but compared to Beizhong, which only takes three or four hours to get to Beiguan, it takes twice as long to walk from Beizhong to Beicheng. Therefore, after they separated from Zhou Chen in Beizhong at around 1:00 p.m., they have only just entered Beicheng.

After walking for about 20 minutes, Lin Xuanfeng finally saw the inn with two red lanterns hanging on the eaves. Laixi Inn, that's it. The door of the inn was closed, Lin Xuanfeng pushed the door open, and he walked in.

"Lu Li?" Lin Xuanfeng asked softly when he saw a figure walking down.

"It was me. I saw lights downstairs from upstairs, and I guessed it was you."

After the lights were turned off throughout the city, only a candle was lit at the front desk on the first floor. Lu Li walked down from the corner of the stairs and took over the backpack that Ah Jiu had slung over his arm. He had already fallen asleep on Lin Xuanfeng's back, so Lu Li took it off easily. "Okay, it's too late, go to bed first. The room is ready for you."

"Okay, thanks." Lin Xuanfeng supported Ajiu's butt with both hands.

Led by Lu Li, Lin Xuanfeng carried Ajiu on his back and went up the stairs to the third floor, and then walked to the end of the right room. Lu Li opened the door of room 301 and asked Lin Xuanfeng to put Ajiu, who was sleeping on his shoulder, on the bed.

"Here are the keys to 301 and 302. I asked the landlady to prepare two rooms for you. Go to bed early. I'm going to sleep first." After saying that, Lu Li turned and walked into room 309 diagonally opposite.

There are a total of 10 rooms on the third floor. There is a staircase next to room 302, so only rooms 301, 302, 309 and 310 are located on the right side of the staircase. There is some open space directly opposite the staircase, which is used to place a set of tables and chairs. Standing next to the table and chairs and pushing open the window on the wall, you can see the street opposite Lai Xi Inn.

After thinking it over, Lin Xuanfeng decided to move into room 302. Early the next morning, Lin Xuanfeng pushed the door open and ran into Lin Nuan coming out of room 310.

“Good morning. Do you want to go downstairs for breakfast? Or, you can bring your breakfast up and eat there like Lu Li did.” Lin Nuan pointed to the set of chairs placed directly opposite the stairs.

"I'm going down to look for Lu Li. Lin Nuan, please help me wake up Jiu."

"no problem."

Lin Xuanfeng went downstairs, sighing in his heart, wondering why Lin Nuan was doing this.

After being pushed awake, Jiu blinked his eyes and saw a very beautiful sister leaning over and looking at him, so he hurriedly rubbed his eyes and struggled to sit up.

"Ajiu, are you awake?"

"Sister, who are you? Where is my master?"

"My name is Lin Nuan. Your master has gone downstairs to get breakfast. You should go wash your face and come out to have breakfast. I'm going to leave first."

Seeing that Ajiu got out of bed and went to the bathroom obediently, Lin Nuan went out first. When she was still in Xindu some time ago, she heard that in addition to Xiao Su, An Yan also had a child, and today she finally saw him.

When Jiu came out, breakfast for four people was already on the table. He walked over and sat down next to Lin Xuanfeng. Lin Nuan handed him the chopsticks and picked up a soft meat bun for Jiu.

"Thank you, Sister Lin Nuan."

"You're welcome." Lin Nuan handed Lu Li an egg before she started to drink the bowl of porridge in front of her. Lin Xuanfeng did nothing but lower his head and eat without saying a word.

"I've told the landlady not to arrange any other guests on the third floor, so don't worry, Lin Xuanfeng, it's very safe." Seeing that he seemed a little anxious, Lu Li said to Lin Xuanfeng.

"I understand." This is Lu's territory, so he naturally doesn't worry about these things, but he just doesn't like to waste time.

Ten minutes later, just as breakfast was almost over, a man appeared at the stairs.

"Let me introduce myself. My last name is Bai, just Ming. You can just call me Ah Ming. I am half the person in charge of the construction of the North City Xuanchuang Station." Ah Ming said and called out to them one by one, "Lin Xuanfeng, Lu Li, Lin Nuan... who is this?"

"Ajiu." Ajiu said with a tense face like a little adult.

"It seems that we are all from the same generation... Ladies and gentlemen, this is almost the first time we meet, but I am in a hurry, so I won't say so many pleasantries. As for Beicheng Station, I also just arrived, but the progress is indeed a lot behind, so I'll leave everything else to you. If you have anything or need me for any arrangements, please feel free to come to me. I'm usually in the control room, not far from here."

"Don't worry, A Ming." Lin Xuanfeng said.

Among this group of people, only Lin Xuanfeng and A Ming had met each other several times, while it was the first time for everyone else to meet.

"Okay, I'll go back first. I'll start working soon."

"it is good."

After Ah Ming came down the stairs, Lu Li spoke to Lin Nuan, "Ah Ming and Xu Xing in Beizhong are both personnel sent to the New World by Xindu."

"What's wrong?" Lin Nuan asked.

"Nothing, I just feel that the wave of the new era is indeed sweeping in."

During this gap, He cleaned up the garbage on the table, and Lin Xuanfeng had already walked around the fence on the third floor and went to the window opposite. From the window carved into the wall, he could clearly see the hanging window station being built outside. The scene was exactly the same as what Lin Xuanfeng saw from his room.

The wasteland of Lu's company in North City is not located on the edge like in North Central. On the contrary, it is in the urban area. Although it is not a bustling city, it is about three kilometers to the south to get out of the urban area. It was rumored that Lu's company was going to build a hotel here, but later gave up for some unknown reason, and the half-formed building has been left here.

"Back then, this place was not intended to be a hotel." Hearing this, Lin Xuanfeng turned around and stared at Lu Li's profile.

"North City is a small town. Merchants can start from here and continue to go north all the way to Beihai, so there are many inns and hotels. But what the Lu family wanted to build here was not a luxurious hotel but a warehouse."

"storehouse?"

"Yes, but then the business was snatched away midway, so it stopped."

"It's a pity. The location of this place is really good." Lin Xuanfeng then walked back to the corridor and pointed at the window opposite. "This is the way I came here. You only need to turn a corner to enter from the southwest gate on the west, but both roads are main roads." He pointed to the window on the other side, which is between rooms 301 and 310. "From here, you can see the south. The unobstructed three-kilometer road in the south will be directly opposite the main entrance of the Xuanchuang Station in the future."

"Yes."

"So, this inn is also under the Lu family's name."

"Yes, but it is just an inn. Its size and decoration are ordinary in the North City. At that time, it was just to provide accommodation for the workers who transported goods to the warehouse. Later, the warehouse was closed, but the inn was continued to be built and operated as an ordinary inn."

"I mean, they must be looking for a place to stay. Will they stay at the inn owned by the Song family? Is there one nearby?"

“There are some around here.”

“But I think it’s unlikely that they would stay in their own hotel. It would be too easy to be exposed.” Lin Nuan interrupted.

"We can't rule out this possibility. I'll ask the boss to check all the inns nearby." Lu Li said again.

Lin Xuanfeng nodded, agreeing. Ah Jiu didn't say a word, but he listened carefully to every word. After Lu Li went downstairs, Lin Nuan asked Lin Xuanfeng, "What should we do now?"

"Have you been to the Hanging Window Station?"

"Not yet. We just arrived last night."

"Why don't we go and take a look together? I don't think they will do anything big right now."

"Who do you think will come to the North City?"

Lin Xuanfeng shook his head. "I don't know who it is or who they are, but we are the only ones here. Let's go and take a look first."

As they talked, they went downstairs together. When they walked out of the door, the sky was clear and the sun was rising.

In Jiudu, Zhao Yunqi made an appointment with Shangguan Can. He knew that he would be one of the candidates going to Beicheng this time, so he informed him in advance. But unexpectedly, Shangguan Can was a little indignant.

"Song Yu asked you to go to Beicheng. It turned out to be Beicheng. Then who will go to Beizhong?"

"I don't know. Don't underestimate Beicheng. According to intelligence, Lu Li, Lin Nuan, and Lin Xuanfeng have already arrived."

"No matter how difficult they are, they will not be as difficult as the 'Son of God'. No matter what, Yunqi, we will fight side by side again this time." Shangguan Can showed his teeth proudly, and Zhao Yunqi responded to him with a smile, and there was an unspoken tacit understanding in his smile.

"But it's still strange. Does Song Yu have any other combat power available? Isn't he going there in person?"

"It's unlikely. After all, Song Yu's identity is no longer the same as before."

"Then Song Yu must be planning something."

"It's hard to say. He didn't tell me any information."

Zhao Yunqi gave vague answers to every question, which showed that he was really unsure. Shangguan Can began to worry. Does this mean that Song Yu was guarding against Zhao Yunqi to some extent?

"He should still be waiting for my answer. Obviously, if I don't choose the path he gives me, then my path will be difficult." Zhao Yunqi said, knowing what Shangguan Can was worried about. However, he thought about it and added, "Of course, that's what he thought."

"What do you mean? Why can't I understand?"

Zhao Yunqi looked straight into Shangguan Can's eyes.

"Oh my god! The reason you called me here today is not to discuss the North City matter, right?" Shangguan Can wanted to slam the table and jump up and down. He knew that Zhao Yunqi had been hiding something from him for some time.

"Don't get excited, just listen to me and I will tell you slowly." Then Zhao Yunqi told him everything Song Yuzeng had said to him and his future plans.

"Since you don't want to work in the Song Mansion anymore, why didn't you leave when Song Hongtian died?"

Zhao Yunqi shook his head and could only smile bitterly. Everyone was reminding him that it was the best time, and he knew it too.

"There's nothing I can do... I owe someone a favor." Besides, it's more than just a favor.

"What's the point of owing anything? Song Hongtian raised you, but you also worked for him for so many years. He's dead and still can't let you go?" Shangguan Can said indignantly.

Shangguan Can didn't understand anything, and Zhao Yunqi didn't plan to talk to him, so he changed the subject. "Actually, I haven't thought about my future plans yet, and I still have things to do. I told you this time just to let you know that I have such a plan so that someone can help me when it's critical."

"Don't worry, I will keep an eye on everything and find the right opportunity for you. If necessary, I will go through fire and water for you without hesitation."

Zhao Yunqi was amused by his generous and selfless attitude and said quickly: "You don't have to help me like this, but how come I only realized today that you are so knowledgeable."

"That's right." Shangguan Can showed his eight teeth proudly again.

"Well, North City is also a big hurdle, so be careful this time."

"If you ask me, that guy named Li Sheng is a fool. Asking him to test the waters caused trouble. Now it's impossible to catch everyone by surprise." Shangguan Can got angry when he mentioned this.

"Mr. Li's father is a businessman who works for the Song family. He used his connections to get his son into the security bureau. This time he was probably thinking he'd get a good job, but ended up like this. Mr. Li aside, his father is a capable man."

"Is there such a thing? Don't the Jiudu Security Bureau also have people from the Song family? Why do you always push me out when there is something going on?"

"That's useful. You have a clean background, a close relationship with me, and strong fighting ability. Besides, there are people from the Song family in the Security Bureau, and there will be people from other families as well. If all the people from the Song family are sent out, what will happen to Jiudu?" Zhao Yunqi shrugged.

"Okay, I was wondering why my missions are always related to the Song family? Damn it!"

Shangguan Can was depressed. Even the Security Bureau was caught in the political quagmire.

"Okay, we have to leave before dark. There will be no result if we discuss the North City now. Let's go first and meet outside the city in the evening."

"Got it. As long as we don't run into An Yan in this operation, it will be fine. He is simply inhuman!"

Shangguan Can was about to get up but still said indignantly. Zhao Yunqi smiled helplessly after hearing this. As long as he didn't run into An Yan? He really wanted to see her again, any way would be fine.

One kilometer outside the north gate of Jiudu, there is a crooked tree. After dark, they gathered there. At around 7:55, Zhao Yunqi and Shangguan Can arrived almost at the same time, but there was already a person standing there.

"Oh, an old acquaintance." Shangguan Can took a closer look and found that it was Zhang Dong.

"Hello." Zhang Dong greeted, sounding very happy.

"Is there anyone else?" This question was still asked by Zhang Dong.

"I don't know. There are still 5 minutes left before the gathering time. Let's wait and see."

Zhang Dong nodded and looked into the distance. He sat on a stone bench under the willow tree, feeling contented. With his narrowed eyes, he seemed to be able to see the splendor that belonged only to the night from the chaos.

"Zhang Dong must have encountered good things recently." Shangguan Can lowered his voice and said secretly to Zhao Yunqi.

"Really?"

"It couldn't be more obvious!"

Zhao Yunqi was not in the mood, so Shangguan Can stopped talking too. They waited in silence, and five minutes passed quickly.

"Let's go."

"Yeah." Zhang Dong still responded in that cheerful tone, causing Shangguan Can to look at him twice more. However, he quickly shifted his attention and followed Zhao Yunqi along the straight road all the way north.