Chapter 1233 — A Bad Start

Whether Wei Zhao would ever come back down after going up this time, Feng Tianlong could not say.

Naturally, Feng Tianlong understood how deep Wei Zhao's feelings for Xiaoxiao ran. If his wife Xiao Susu had not given him a daughter in Xiaoxiao all those years ago, he too had once thought of walking hand in hand with Xiao Susu into the land of the dead.

Yet for all that Wei Zhao and Xiaoxiao had no child between them, the crux of the matter was that Xiaoxiao was not Wei Zhao's only girlfriend. There was still Tang Yun to weigh upon his heart. How could he die with Xiaoxiao? Would that not be a betrayal of Tang Yun?

Could it be ... that Wei Zhao truly held the certainty of victory? Feng Tianlong's gaze sharpened slightly. He knew what Wei Zhao was capable of; beyond all doubt, he could be called the pick of the entire Mysterious Investigation Bureau.

At that thought, hope kindled once more in Feng Tianlong's breast. Let Wei Zhao bring him a miracle.

He dialled Director Xia's number. Feng Tianlong had to report that Wei Zhao had gone up; whether or not he could have stopped it, the higher-ups had to be told what had happened.

"Tianlong?" Director Xia's voice sounded heavy ...

"It's me! Director Xia, what's wrong?" Hearing something amiss in the man's tone, Feng Tianlong's heart clenched and he asked quickly.

"Tianlong, I'm truly sorry. Everyone is against releasing Red Conch's second-in-command. The fallout from this is simply too great! We already notified Interpol that we had Red Conch's second-in-command in custody; if we let him go now, there is no way we can account for it ..." Director Xia said with a measure of helplessness. "I've said my piece, that I would rather resign in disgrace than keep the man locked up — but I am not the only voice in this Bureau. The other people in charge are all opposed."

"I understand your difficulty, sir. It's of no matter." Feng Tianlong had long since guessed the outcome. His private friendship with Director Xia was close, but that did not mean the others felt the same. The remaining principals of the Mysterious Investigation Bureau were all iron-faced and incorruptible; they would never sacrifice the collective interest for some private gain.

Had he learned this before Wei Zhao went up, Feng Tianlong might well have been cast into the depths of despair, for it would have amounted to a death sentence pronounced on Xiaoxiao. But now he had staked his hope on Wei Zhao, and whether Red Conch's second-in-command could be released or not had ceased to concern him.

"Tianlong, don't dwell on it. I'm dispatching a bomb-disposal expert to the scene as fast as he can to assist you ..." Director Xia spoke these words without much conviction. If the deathsworn had laid all his explosives inside his own room, then even the most gifted demolition man in the world would be useless — you could hardly walk into the fellow's flat and defuse them, could you? He would simply detonate them on the spot.

"It's all right, Director Xia. I have one more matter to report to you," Feng Tianlong said.

"Oh? What has happened on your end now?" Director Xia was taken aback.

"Wei Zhao has arrived — and Wei Zhao means to go up alone and face Red Conch's deathsworn," Feng Tianlong said.

"Wei Zhao? What?" Director Xia visibly froze at the name. "You know Wei Zhao?"

Within the Mysterious Investigation Bureau, only a handful of people knew Wei Zhao's true name. He was not on the Bureau's staff at all, but existed as an outside operative, a hired hand beyond the roster. His codename was "Eagle," and everyone else in the Bureau knew him only as "Eagle" — never his real name.

So the moment Feng Tianlong spoke the name Wei Zhao, Director Xia was stunned.

"Yes — Eagle, the same man from back then." Feng Tianlong confirmed it steadily. He knew what was puzzling the Director, but there was no need to hide it. When he had met Wei Zhao again recently, there had been no occasion to report it to Director Xia, and so he had simply not mentioned it — not because he had been deliberately concealing anything.

"You still keep in touch with him? You were the one who called him in this time?" Director Xia was shocked. He had never imagined that Feng Tianlong and Eagle maintained a private connection.

"He is my daughter's boyfriend ..." Feng Tianlong smiled ruefully. "Else why would he go up there at such a moment?"

"What?" Director Xia was shocked beyond measure. "He's Xiaoxiao's boyfriend? No wonder ... no wonder ... this world is truly too small ..."

"Yes. So when Wei Zhao insisted on going up, there was nothing I could do to stop him. After all, he isn't my subordinate — and I couldn't have bested him in a fight either." Feng Tianlong's smile was a bitter one.

"Ha ha! Old Feng, I'm not blaming you. Why explain so much? Still, with Wei Zhao mediating this time, our danger may yet turn into safety — who knows!" Director Xia said.

"May it be so," Feng Tianlong said, with no heart for banter, only earnest hope.

When the call with Director Xia had ended, Feng Tianlong turned to Li Yifeng. "Xiao Li, pass the order: everyone withdraws from the building and stands by beyond a safe distance, ready at a moment's notice!"

"Sir!" Li Yifeng nodded and spun away to relay the command.

Since Wei Zhao had gone up, Feng Tianlong had to trust him — and those personnel hovering around the building could only add to the burden Wei Zhao's choice placed upon him. Having chosen to believe in Wei Zhao, Feng Tianlong would cut that burden to the minimum, so the man could work with no cares left behind him.

There are times when more people are not better.

Wei Zhao did not scale the building; he took the elevator, riding it up to the eighteenth floor in perfectly open view.

The elevator halted at the eighteenth floor. Wei Zhao stepped out and studied carefully the two units facing the shaft. Through one door's peephole a faint light showed; the other was pitch dark.

He chose the lit unit without hesitation, drew a few small tools from his pocket, and had the security door open in utter silence and without the slightest effort.

A so-called security door could only keep out ordinary thieves. Meet a professional like Wei Zhao and it was, naturally, no obstacle at all — otherwise, if it were truly that secure, the locksmith companies would have no business left.

Careful as Wei Zhao was, the man inside was clearly alert too: the instant Wei Zhao had the door open and stepped across the threshold, the other spoke.

"Who is it?" The man turned his dark face toward the door — and saw Wei Zhao striding in at that very moment. The colour drained from his features at once. "Who are you? What do you want?"

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