"Just come in through here. I'll swipe my card to get inside, and you climb over that wall over there."
Rubbing his stomach, Bai Xiao watched as Ch'en vaulted over in a single motion and disappeared beyond the wall. He let out a sigh.
There was a lot to admire about this inspector, but her temper was just too explosive. If she did not want to agree, fine—but did she really have to hit him?
Of course, he truly was no match for her. The moment she moved, he had not even had time to react.
Looks like one Originium Art still isn't enough...
Still, clearing the game would let him keep earning rewards. Sooner or later, he would grow stronger.
Bai Xiao silently encouraged himself. At that moment, Ch'en climbed back over the wall and stood there glaring at him from the other side.
"What are you staring at? Get over here already!"
Ch'en took a deep breath. She knew the real business mattered more right now. This was not the time to lose her temper. So, gritting her teeth, she strode over.
"From this moment on, you're my girlfriend, got it? ...Don't glare at me. Give me your hand!"
Ignoring Ch'en's objections, Bai Xiao forcefully took her cool little hand in his. Ch'en immediately began struggling, but Bai Xiao held on tightly, not letting go.
"If you don't want to do this, the exit's right behind you. I'm not stopping you." Bai Xiao lowered his head and whispered into Ch'en's ear, "But if you stay, then do exactly as I say. We're already inside the dock now, and there are eyes everywhere. If you don't cooperate, you'll get me killed. Do you understand?"
Looking into Bai Xiao's serious eyes, Ch'en finally realized the situation she was in.
This was not a street in Lungmen. It was not Guard Department headquarters.
This was a dock in the slums.
She was here to investigate, not to quarrel with Bai Xiao.
Once she understood that, Ch'en stopped struggling and forced herself to accept the situation. But the warmth from Bai Xiao's palm, and the hot breath from when he had spoken into her ear just now, left her at a complete loss.
She was Ch'en.
In all of Lungmen, who would dare hold her hand? Who would dare lean close and speak into her ear like that?
And yet now, she felt as though Bai Xiao's body heat might burn her. Her ears especially felt as though they were on fire, and even her neck tingled.
It's fine. It's fine. This is just for the investigation.
Ch'en kept repeating that to herself inwardly, breathing deeply again and again. Only after quite some time did she finally manage to calm down and regain her composure.
Bai Xiao had already been waiting for her.
"Better now? Then come with me. I'll take you to the unloading area."
This was, after all, a dock in the slums. It could not compare in the slightest to Lungmen's official docks. There were no giant machines for moving freight here. Everything had to be carried off the ships by laborers, then loaded onto trucks by hand.
But for the slums, having this much was already something.
Bai Xiao casually stopped one of the dockworkers.
"Old Wang, what exactly are you moving here?"
The middle-aged man stopped, wiped the sweat from his face with the towel slung over his shoulder, and answered, "Mr. Bai, right now we're unloading cigarettes. You know—the kind people smoke."
Ch'en's eyes immediately widened.
In Lungmen, cigarettes and alcohol could only be sold with government-issued permits. If they were bringing them off ships like this, then it was obviously smuggling.
The moment Bai Xiao saw the look on her face, he knew exactly what she was thinking, so he waved the worker away and let him continue with the job.
"So? You were still calling them daily necessities just now. How do you explain this? Selling tobacco and alcohol without authorization is illegal!"
Bai Xiao sighed, then lightly squeezed Ch'en's little hand.
Her stern expression crumbled at once.
She had nearly forgotten Bai Xiao was still holding her hand.
But that was exactly the effect he wanted.
He could not let Ch'en get used to it.
This was his first tactic: to keep that sense of embarrassment gnawing at her at all times, wearing away the walls she had built around herself.
"Officer Ch'en, this is the slums. People here live in poverty. Cigarettes and alcohol are already the cheapest forms of pleasure they can get."
As he spoke, Bai Xiao let out another sigh and looked toward the laborers toiling through the night. Ch'en followed his gaze, and her expression shifted.
Some of them were carrying loads heavier than their own bodies. They had no time to rest. Sweat struck the ground drop by drop. All of it was for a meager wage to support their families...
Lungmen was one of the economic centers of this land.
But were the slums not also part of Lungmen?
Then why were these people living like this?
"There are cigarettes in Lungmen, sure. But they're burdened with heavy taxes. People in the city can afford them; people in the slums can't. The cigarettes on these ships come from Ursus. Over there, they take the leftover scraps from cigarette production, roll them up, and sell them to us... Honestly, they taste awful. But at least they can be smoked."
Seeing that Ch'en had fallen silent, Bai Xiao delivered the finishing blow.
"Of course, you're right. It is illegal. Tomorrow I'll shut this whole line down... No, forget tomorrow. I'll go say it right now."
Bai Xiao had taken only two steps forward before Ch'en yanked him back with such force that his arm hurt.
"Don't. Leave it like this. Don't say anything!"
"But this is illegal, isn't it? Officer Ch'en, surely you can't accept that." Bai Xiao pressed relentlessly.
"I... I told you not to say anything! Are you deaf?!"
The instant he saw her flare up, Bai Xiao obediently backed off.
But inwardly, he was laughing.
This was his second tactic: to use Ch'en's innate kindness against the rigid principles she held as an inspector, forcing her sense of duty and her compassion to grind against each other until she started consuming herself from within.
Bai Xiao's Little Lesson in Love:The best time to enter someone's heart is when they're vulnerable. Otherwise, when they're strong as a mountain, who could ever get in?
He had to make Ch'en begin to tear herself apart inside.
Although she had just snapped at him, Bai Xiao could tell from her expression alone that this method was working extremely well.
Because she was that upright.
And that kind.
On this land, there were not many people like her.
He found himself beginning to like this inspector from the Guard Department a little.
After that, Bai Xiao took Ch'en around the entire dock to inspect every area. Whenever anyone asked who she was, Bai Xiao openly introduced her as his girlfriend.
At first, Ch'en had been so embarrassed and angry she wanted to bury her face in her coat. She had grown up all these years without ever being anyone's girlfriend.
But after being asked too many times, she slowly went numb and forced herself not to think about it anymore.
Yet every time she started to feel she was adapting, Bai Xiao would mischievously squeeze her hand, as if deliberately reminding her that her hand was still trapped in his.
How hateful.
Bai Xiao had no idea he had already been labeled hateful. He was simply enjoying the feel of Ch'en's hand.
Her hand was not especially large, nor particularly soft. In fact, because of her martial training, her palm bore rough calluses.
But that only made sense.
Ch'en was not some pampered canary raised in a gilded cage.
She was a resolute warrior.
To be honest, Bai Xiao liked people like that.
At the thought, he could not help smiling a little.
If Vina found out he was currently holding another woman's hand, she would probably lose her mind on the spot—she might even declare war on Lungmen.
Even if this was only in the game, that still would not be acceptable.
To avoid anything like that happening, Bai Xiao decided he absolutely could not let anything about the game leak out...
Then again, there was no need to worry too much.
After all, it was just a game.
If he did not say anything, who could possibly know?
Nothing should happen... right?
Bai Xiao was not entirely sure, but he treated it as a passing illusion and did not dwell on it.
The two of them kept walking side by side, just like a young couple out on a stroll. Even Ch'en herself was beginning to accept the role.
But as they walked, some kind of disturbance appeared ahead. Ch'en's gaze sharpened immediately, and she instantly wondered whether something had happened.
Bai Xiao found it strange as well. Normally, everyone should have been busy unloading cargo at this hour—so why were they all gathered here?
"Why aren't you working? What are you all standing around for?!"
At the sound of Bai Xiao's voice, the crowd immediately parted.
A graceful young woman stood in the middle of them, looking Bai Xiao up and down with a scrutinizing gaze.
The moment Bai Xiao saw her purple hair and violet eyes, his heart went cold.
Even though he had never met her directly before, Bai Xiao had picked up enough bits of information over the past few days to recognize exactly who she was.
She was the underground emperor of Lungmen—
Mr. Lin's daughter.
Lin Yuhsia.
-------
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