Chapter 175 Part 1: Countess
Chapter 175 Part 1: Countess
Instance dungeon! A damnable instance dungeon! Of all times, it had to be now!
Unfortunately, Chen Xiaolian and Roddy could do nothing about it. Additionally, the both of them had been bracing themselves for it.
After all, roughly one month had passed since the Tokyo instance dungeon. Generally, the period between instance dungeons was only that long. For the instance dungeon selection to occur now was something that was beyond their control.
“24 hours,” Chen Xiaolian’s visage was ugly to behold. “We only have twenty four hours to find Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo.”
“Did the system send the information regarding the instance dungeon over?”
“Not yet, we will need to wait,” Chen Xiaolian shook his head. “According to the system, the details will only be issued out after 24 hours.”
At the same time, Lun Tai and Bei Tai had also received the prompt.
The two of them quickly called over. However, Lun Tai and Bei Tai also brought a piece of good news with them.
“I found a friend with connections with the police. They can get the surveillance videos,” Bei Tai said slowly. “However, we will need to pay quite a bit: 10,000 pounds.”
“Money is not an issue,” Chen Xiaolian quickly replied. “However, we are currently pressed for time.”
“The other party said that as long as we can produce the money, we can get the video tonight.”
…
One hour later, Chen Xiaolian and Roddy met up with the two brothers, Lun Tai and Bei Tai. There, they handed the 10,000 pounds in cash to Bei Tai.
Bei Tai walked ahead alone as he moved toward a chair in a plaza. Moments later, he made an exchange with an intermediary and came back with a portable hard disk.
“It seems you have quite the circle of friends,” Roddy said with an extremely envious look on his face.
Lun Tai laughed. “It’s only so-so in Europe. If we were to go to Afghanistan, he would be like fish in water. [1]”
Chen Xiaolian carefully regarded Bei Tai who responded by laughing out. “I actually hope I do not have to return there ever again.”
The four of them entered a hotel and used a computer to access the portable hard disk. Soon, the surveillance videos were copied out.
Lun Tai and Bei Tai were very careful with this matter. They were soon able to pinpoint the exact location that they wanted to see on the surveillance videos. They were soon looking at the street located between the phone booth and the pier. The time shown on the video was the exact time that Soo Soo had made the call to Chen Xiaolian.
Soon, what Chen Xiaolian was looking for appeared on the computer screen.
On the screen, he saw Soo Soo appear. Then, she ran toward the phone booth alone and made the call. After a brief conversation, she ended the call. At that point in time, several Asian looking people appeared on the screen.
Seeing these people coming over, Soo Soo showed good behaviour and did not resist as those people took her away. They took Soo Soo toward the pier by the River Thames.
The surveillance camera recorded everything that happened along the way.
“Six people,” Lun Tai who was looking at the video said. “Did you notice? Five of them are probably ordinary humans. As for the male walking behind, he is most likely an Awakened.”
“Why?” Roddy asked.
“Because he has the most relaxed expression,” The answer did not come from Lun Tai, but Chen Xiaolian. He stared at the screen. “The other five must be ordinary bodyguards. They appear very nervous but very professional. However, look at the male walking behind. Unlike the other bodyguards, when walking, he has his hands inside his pockets and he did not bother checking the surroundings. He appears reckless… also, look here.”
Chen Xiaolian pointed at the screen. “Look at his face, the way his mouth is moving… he seems to be whistling.”
Roddy narrowed his eyes.
The man who was whistling within the screen was not young. He appeared to be in his thirties with a medium build. He wore a casual blazer instead of the thick old-fashioned formal suit. His most striking aspect was his hair.
The fellow had long hair and he wore thick circular glasses. He appeared like someone who worked in the artistic field.
Several different surveillance videos were aligned together and they were quickly able to see the six of them leading Soo Soo toward the pier and into a yacht.
That concluded the video.
Chen Xiaolian stared at the last screen and he quickly said. “Reverse it a little.”
A few seconds later, Chen Xiaolian called out. “There, stop it!”
Roddy immediately hit the pause button.
The video was stopped. There, the yacht on the pier had already moved out slightly, exposing part of its body.
Upon the surface of the yacht were a business tag and the vessel’s number.
“Check out the yacht,” Chen Xiaolian’s eyes flashed.
In a business world where the flow of information had been greatly developed, checking the details regarding a business tag was not a difficult matter.
Soon, they were able to find what they were looking for.
“Found it, Terrence (tài lún) Brothers boat rental company,” Roddy looked at the information shown on the surface of the computer screen. “The yacht belongs to the company.”
It was currently in the middle of the night. Thus, they had to patiently wait for dawn to arrive.
At nine in the morning, Roddy and Chen Xiaolian went together to the Westminster Area of London to find that boat rental company.
Outwardly, the company did not appear to be too big. However, Roddy had checked it out yesterday. Through the internet, he found that this company was quite famous within this field. It could also be considered a veteran boat rental company. The reason why it did not appear big was because, in London or anywhere else in Europe, many well-known companies of their respective fields would not build a particularly ostentatious office, unlike what was happening in their country.
Entering the ‘Terrence Brothers’ rental company, Chen Xiaolian and Roddy gave the pretence that they wanted to rent a yacht. Soon, a dedicated staff member came over to introduce their ships. The two of them held back their feelings of impatience and put on an act of checking the ships out. It did not take much and they soon found the yacht that had appeared on the video in one of the pictures shown.
After inquiring about the yacht from the staff member, the fellow went to inquire about the yacht. The staff member then regrettably informed them that the yacht had already been rented out.
Chen Xiaolian exchanged looks with Roddy – it appeared that they have found what they were looking for!
The following was much easier.
Roddy stepped forward and used money to buy off the staff member. And thus, they were able to acquire the information regarding the customer who had rented the yacht.
They acquired an address and a telephone number.
“Kensington…” As he walked out from the boat rental company, Chen Xiaolian inspected the address they acquired.
It was one of the famous spots in London for the rich.
The four of them then drove toward the address.
After over an hour, the four of them stopped the car outside a club that was clearly meant for the rich.
“The address seems to indicate this place,” The four of them looked at the building situated before them. It appeared to be a newly constructed building. Its outer surface was able to successfully blend the appearance of both modern and classic styles together.
This club for the rich was generally similar to those organizations like jockey clubs. The club can offer many services, including accommodation services.
“Could Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo be held here by their father?” Roddy let off a whistle.
Chen Xiaolian glanced at the time.
It was presently eleven in the morning.
“Lun Tai, Bei Tai, stay in the car. Roddy and I will enter to check it out. Keep the walkie-talkies on. If anything happens, Lun Tai is to rush in to help. Bei Tai will stay in the car to keep it ready at all times,” Chen Xiaolian made up his mind. “Since the soft approach won’t do, we’ll have to go with the hard approach!”
Roddy laughed. “Are you sure about this? Are you not afraid of offending your future father-in-law?”
Chen Xiaolian glared at him.
The both of them got off the car and walked into the club. However, they encountered an obstacle when they were in the lobby.
Apparently, this place was for members only. A middle-aged man wearing suit with the aura of a British butler stopped them. After a simple inquiry, he found that the two of them were not members and he denied them entry.
Chen Xiaolian glanced at Roddy who produced a mobile phone and showed the pictures of Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo, attempting to get some information from the man.
However, the man politely but firmly refused to provide any information. Despite Roddy’s attempt to bribe him off, the British butler had firmly rejected him. After toughening his stance toward the two of them, he showed them out.
“Go walk around from the outside and see if there is any way to get inside.”
Chen Xiaolian pulled Roddy out from the lobby and out of the club. After they reached the outside area, they prepared to circle around the club to check out the layout of the area.
It was then that a black coloured Rolls Royce slowly reached the front door of the club. After the car came to a halt, the chauffeur moved down and walked to the back of the car to open the door.
A slender and tall figure emerged from inside the car.
She wore grey-coloured clothes with a black-coloured long skirt, which appeared traditional in style. However, due to the tight design of the long skirt, her beautiful figure became evident.
A grey-haired middle-aged butler followed by her side while maintaining a distance of half a step behind her.
An exquisite pair of eyes turned about unintentionally and they happened to fall upon Chen Xiaolian and Roddy’s backs. The pair of exquisite eyes immediately narrowed.
She frowned and the middle-aged butler quickly stepped forward. The woman then whispered into his ear while her eyes moved to indicate Chen Xiaolian and Roddy who was not too far away. The butler then nodded his head.
The woman walked into the club. The butler on the other hand, went to the person-in-charge of admitting entrance to the club and discussed something with him in hushed voices.
If Chen Xiaolian were to turn his head around at this time, he would immediately recognize the woman. She was…
Miao Yan [2]!
…
“The two of them came looking for information. They also tried bribing for it, but were rejected.”
A few minutes later, Miao Yan was seated within a lounge, holding onto a cup of red Ceylon tea with her slender fingers as she listened to the report by her middle-aged butler.
“Oh?”
Miao Yan’s eyes were calm. She gently placed down the cup of tea that she was holding. Slowly, a look of deliberation appeared on her face.
“They were looking for two Asian Chinese girls,” The middle-aged butler said in a low tone. “Mistress, should I contact the security personnel to take care of it?”
“Not at the moment,” Miao Yan said coolly. Thinking further into it, she continued. “I remember meeting him before in Tokyo. There, he had mistaken me for someone else. Hmm, it was at the elevator in the Tokyo’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel.”
“Then, what should I do?” The middle-aged butler slowly said.
Miao Yan considered the issue. Suddenly, a complicated expression flashed across her eyes. She took a deep breath and said. “Go out and invite those two gentlemen over. I wish to talk with them.”
The middle-aged butler hesitated for a moment. However, seeing the look of determination in the mistress’ eyes, he sighed. With a slight bow, he turned around and left.
1. ‘Like fish in water’ means getting to befriend people who have the same wavelength as you or being in a comfortable environment.
2. Miao Yan is the High-class Player who first appeared in Chapter 65.