Chapter 63.1

December 26th, Saturday, 6:45 p.m.

He Miaomiao parked her car nearby and waited until Jiang Zhihuo and the man in the suit finished dinner. Then she followed their car, keeping a steady distance, all the way to the clubhouse.

The moment she saw the name of the clubhouse, He Miaomiao immediately said to Yan Mu, “Something’s off about this place.”

This place had come up in work reports more than once.

Not even counting the fact that many big names came here to spend money, just the previous case of a missing trainee alone made it suspicious. Fu Xiuwang had been the biggest suspect, but no evidence was ever found.

And the owner of this clubhouse had definite ties to Fu Xiuwang.

That was all they could confirm through official channels.

So—why was Jiang Zhihuo getting close to Fu Xiuwang?

And why did Fu Xiuwang bring him here?

He Miaomiao parked and closely followed Fu Xiuwang through the entrance. Fu Xiuwang took Jiang Zhihuo into the staff elevator.

The elevator stopped on the second floor.

Yan Mu and He Miaomiao quietly made their way to the second floor without drawing attention. At this hour, the second floor was crowded with people coming and going, but there was no sign of Fu Xiuwang.

He Miaomiao looked around, then thoughtfully clicked her tongue and said to Yan Mu, “Let’s check the third floor.”

The third floor was a hotel. She walked around the hallway once; her expression gradually turned serious.

“Did you find something?” Yan Mu asked.

“A gut feeling.” He Miaomiao thought for a moment, then said, “Don’t you think this place feels… especially oppressive?”

Yan Mu looked up.

The most comfortable ceiling height was 2.9 meters; if it was any higher or lower, it tended to create a certain level of discomfort. Most people might not pay much attention to this kind of detail, but because of her profession, He Miaomiao was especially sensitive to her surroundings.

And the reason for the change in ceiling height must be due to some flaw in the building’s design itself.

Yan Mu immediately understood what He Miaomiao was implying and asked, “Is there a hidden floor?”

He Miaomiao gave a small nod.

As they were about to leave the third floor, the two passed by the emergency exit, only to find the door locked.

He Miaomiao immediately pulled out her credentials from her bag and handed Yan Mu one as well. “Fire inspection badge. Keep it on you.”

She walked up to the front desk and showed her credentials. “Hello, we’re here for a fire safety spot check.”

This kind of thing was common in public places, especially toward the end of the year when undercover inspections became more frequent. The front desk receptionist had seen it happen a few times before. Since the two inspectors had complete credentials, she didn’t suspect anything and led them to check the fire safety equipment one by one.

Yan Mu stopped in front of the emergency exit and asked, “Why is the emergency exit locked?”

The receptionist started explaining politely, “It’s rarely used, so we…”

He Miaomiao cut her off. “Open it.”

“Ah.” The girl was caught off guard by that simple question. Maintenance checks were usually handled by outsourced companies. People had come before, and all the connections were already in place. As long as the key areas, like the emergency sprinklers, panic buttons, and fire extinguishers, were shown. Everything else was simply for show.

The front desk receptionist was still unsure how to respond when He Miaomiao took a few steps back and snapped several photos. She casually tapped on a WeChat contact and sent a voice message, scolding sternly, “The emergency exit at XX Clubhouse, No. 18 Nanshan Road, is locked. What were the previous inspectors even doing?!”

“Wait, please wait!” Now the receptionist was convinced they were from the main bureau. She instantly stopped He Miaomiao and went to call the manager.

The manager arrived quickly, smiling apologetically. He pulled He Miaomiao aside and whispered, “We pay our maintenance fees every year. Didn’t the last inspector say this place was fine? We had a deal…”

Unlocking an emergency exit wasn’t exactly hard, yet he kept bringing up previous inspections as an excuse. Clearly, this manager was hiding something.

Yan Mu didn’t waste time on him. Only said two words, “Open it.”

The manager had no choice. A locked emergency exit was a violation. If this got reported, the club would face a huge fine. It just wasn’t worth it.

He unlocked the door and led the two ‘inspectors’ down the stairs.

Normally, nothing would go wrong. However, after the clubhouse was renovated, some of the walls had been made thinner. The thinner walls were located along the emergency exit, and from the outside, it was impossible to notice this change. Locking the door was entirely a precaution. If anything really happened, they’d still have enough time to unlock it.

Still, right at that moment, voices unexpectedly came from behind the wall of the emergency exit.

The sounds were muffled and difficult to make out. They were several male voices mixed with a girl’s cries of distress.

Yan Mu shot a cold glare at the manager.

Then another man said something, but it was hard to hear through the wall. Next came the voice of the girl who had been crying. Her tone was so shrill that it cut right through the wall and came out unusually clear.

“Fu Xiuwang, you maniac! You liar! You devil! You’re not even human!”

“You’ll die a horrible death! Go to hell! One day you’re going to be caught!!!”

Fu Xiuwang.

The manager’s face instantly changed.

He no longer cared about the inspection. His first instinct was to warn Fu Xiuwang to run. But before he could take out his phone, Yan Mu grabbed his shoulder and kicked his ankle, making him collapse.

The manager dropped to one knee. Yan Mu followed up by kicking his phone aside and pinning him against the handrail without making skin contact.

Due to the renovations, the wall was thinner. If sounds could come through from the other side, they could definitely hear from this side too.

Yan Mu bit the edge of his gloves and pulled them on, then covered the manager’s mouth, preventing even a sound.

They didn’t know how many people were on the other side. The girl was crying and screaming, but Fu Xiuwang remained completely indifferent.

“Don’t think you’re anything. Anyone who comes here isn’t a person anymore—they’re goods.”

“If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for being stupid.”

“This face? It’s nothing special.”

“You know what, though? I brought in a real gem today.”

Yan Mu’s chest tightened.

He Miaomiao looked at him.

The real gem that arrived today… it had to be Jiang Zhihuo.

He Miaomiao pulled out her ID and held it in front of the manager.

The moment the manager saw the words ‘Police ID,’ his eyes went wide. He stared at the young-looking woman before him in shock.

He Miaomiao lowered her voice. “I recorded the entire conversation just now. Fu Xiuwang is still a suspect in a missing person case. With this recording alone, the police have enough grounds to apply for a search warrant. So please cooperate, OK?”

The manager slowly raised both hands to show he understood the situation.

Yan Mu didn’t let go.

He Miaomiao stepped away from the thin wall and contacted the police.

But the person on the other end of the call told her, “Miaomiao-jie, a team has already been sent over.”

“Who?”

“Captain Li.” The one answering the call was a young officer who had just passed the exam this year and was still in his probation period. He had always looked up to Li Hao. “They actually found a way to crack the clubhouse’s internal network! I’m watching from the side, it’s already at 91%. A few more minutes and it’ll be done!”
“Got it.” He Miaomiao ended the call.

Those few sentences were enough for her to understand the situation.

The clubhouse hadn’t been investigated before simply because there was no solid evidence. Mere suspicion alone was insufficient to justify an official investigation; initiating one would not only alert them but also be illegal.

There were only a handful of ways to crack an internal network. But the fastest method and the only one that didn’t violate cybersecurity laws was just one.

Someone needed to bring in a signal device.

The only person she could think of capable of doing that was Jiang Zhihuo.

Fu Xiuwang hadn’t stayed long. He said a few mocking words and was about to leave.

During the conversation earlier, the young police had mentioned that the decryption wasn’t fully complete yet. If Fu Xiuwang were allowed to leave now and happened to realize what was going on, everything they’d worked for would go to waste.

He Miaomiao gave Yan Mu a look, then turned and left.

Yan Mu gripped the manager’s shoulder tightly and said in a threatening tone, “Take me to the hidden floor.”

December 26th, Saturday, 7:20 p.m.

Bang—!

A red sports car crashed into the ground floor lobby, and a woman with blood streaming from her head stepped out of the driver’s seat. She said to the staff rushing over to check on her, “Sorry, sorry, I’ll pay for the damages. Can you take a picture for me first?”

The staff was completely baffled by her reaction, and asked again, “Are you okay?”

Did she hit her head so hard it knocked her brain loose?

“Not okay.” The woman replied. “Take a photo for me first, then call 120. Thank you.”

Still confused, the staff member took her phone and snapped the photo.

Fu Xiuwang arrived downstairs and immediately saw the wreckage and the young female driver striking poses beside the broken glass and wrecked car. “……”

Even with blood running down her head, the woman was still directing the staff on camera angles. “No no, not like that. Try this way.”

Fu Xiuwang walked up to her and gave a small cough. “Miss, are you alright?”

He Miaomiao had seen Fu Xiuwang’s photo before. The moment she spotted him, she stopped taking pictures and grabbed his hand. “You’re the owner here? I’m so sorry, I just bought the car and the pedals feel a bit off. I step on the wrong one. I’ll cover all the damages, of course. But what’s the proper procedure? Should I call the police first, or contact insurance?”

Fu Xiuwang: “…..”

He Miaomiao: “Maybe I should call the police first. Do you think I’ll get arrested? I mean, it’s not that serious, right? I only mistook the brake for the gas pedal…Boss, hold on, let me check how many years I get for mixing up the brake and gas…I just got rich. I’m really not ready to go to jail yet, ugh…”

Fu Xiuwang: “……”

Fu Xiuwang had no choice but to stay in the lobby to deal with the mess. Fortunately, Wang You had been with him for many years, he could be trusted to handle Jiang Zhihuo.

He instructed the staff to disperse the crowd and separate the dining area from the crash site. They were told to explain the situation to the guests and have the kitchen send out extra dishes to ease tensions. By the time all that was handled, several minutes had passed. According to the usual process, Jiang Zhihuo should have already been drugged unconscious and tied up in a room.

Fu Xiuwang pulled up the remote surveillance feed, only to find the room completely empty. He felt something was wrong and tried calling Wang You through the internal line, but no one answered.

Fu Xiuwang immediately stood up, but He Miaomiao grabbed his arm. “Hey, you’re leaving already? The insurance people are still on their way! What am I supposed to tell them if you’re not here?”

“Let go!” Fu Xiuwang shook her off, completely shedding the polite, courteous manners he had shown earlier, and strode quickly toward the hidden floor.

December 26th, Saturday, 7:26 p.m.

Jiang Zhihuo pulled out the signal device, tied up Wang You, and stepped out of the room.

The chaos downstairs had only bought him a few minutes at most. To pull something like this off in a society governed by law, without any flaws until now, Fu Xiuwang was no fool. He had to be alert.

Judging by Fu Xiuwang’s personality, he’d be checking the surveillance by now. Seeing Jiang Zhihuo wasn’t in the expected room, he was definitely on his way upstairs.

Since exposure was inevitable, there was no point avoiding the cameras anymore. Jiang Zhihuo grabbed the keys from Wang You and headed straight out.

Based on the elevator’s travel time earlier, he guessed this floor was somewhere between the first and second floors. He had scoped the place out the day before, so he could roughly map the path. Go straight, turn left, and there’d be an emergency exit. That was his only way out.

The green emergency sign above the exit blinked faintly. The door had a latch that opened from both sides. One of the keys he got from Wang You matched the lock.

Just as he inserted the key and before he could turn it, Jiang Zhihuo heard footsteps coming from the hallway.

The hard soles of Fu Xiuwang’s leather shoes struck the steps with heavy thuds, as he climbed the stairs one step at a time. The deep sound echoed through the staircase—cold, eerie, and suffocating.

“Jiang Zhihuo, I know you’re here. You can hear me.”

“You wouldn’t take the elevator. The moment you step in, it’s all over. You’re not that stupid.”

“I underestimated you. Your acting skills are impressive, even the private detective didn’t see through it.”

“So, what did you find? Who sent you? I think we should have a proper talk, Jiang Zhihuo. Don’t you think so?”

As he walked, his phone streamed live surveillance footage.

There were sixteen cameras installed along the hallway.

Jiang Zhihuo had only appeared thirty seconds ago, heading toward the emergency exit.

By now, he had either escaped or was hiding in a blind spot, not moving at all.

He couldn’t have gotten out.

No one knew this place better than Fu Xiuwang. Near the emergency exit, there was only one place that could count as a true blind spot.

He opened a door and walked straight in. “You lied to me, Jiang Zhihuo.”