Chapter 16: Suddenly Vanished
After having dinner with her grandfather and avoiding his constant nagging that she should move into the Zhao Main Mansion, instead of living alone in a condo on the other side of the city, Zhao Lifei finally went home.
Collapsing onto her bed, she was prepared to sleep, but then her phone rang. Tiredly, she reached for her purse. Without looking at the contact info, she picked up the phone.
"Hello...?" She tiredly mumbled, her eyes threatening to fall asleep.
"Feifei, are you up?" The quiet and hesitant voice of Yang Ruqin was enough to make Zhao Lifei sit up on her bed.
"Yes, what's up? Are you alright? Is your brother alright?" Zhao Lifei asked. She was no longer exhausted after hearing the worried voice of her friend.
"He's fine, but mom and dad are having trouble finding the assassin...Apparently, every camera footage was cut off during the scene of the crime, and none of the police could find anything." Yang Ruqin explained, sitting alone in her multi-million condo. She started out the window, her eyes were misty and tired.
"For him to nearly succeed and have the ability to wipe out all of the cameras within the vicinity prove he's not a simple man." Zhao Lifei frowned, getting up from her bed and turning on her computer.
"I-I know...Mom and dad were thinking of hiring some private hackers, but they're not sure who to trust. Yulong wanted to use his underground resources, but my parents severely rejected the idea because they're really paranoid about the media and Feng-ge's enemies finding out about this mess." Yang Ruqin heavily sighed at the situation at hand.
The Yang family, unlike the Zhao, was not built upon the foundation of having old roots in the city. Their connection was far beyond that. A few generations ago, they came from the dark underground world filled with violence and crimes.
They had a Mafia background ever since the beginning of their time, and it wasn't until recently did they resurface into the light by conquering the business world. Lead by the tyranny of the previous head of the Yang family, Yang Ruqin's grandfather, they became the strongest family this country had ever seen.
All of their Underground backgrounds were expertly hidden, and after a vow made by the current Head Monarch, they promised to become civil and peaceful members of society.
Many of the Yang family went against this decision, but one ruling from Yang Feng himself was enough to silence his entire clan.
And because Yang Ruqin's father was raised without the harshness of the Underground world, he didn't acquaint himself with the resources he had at hand. But his eldest son was different.
Instead of focusing solely on the Business world and keeping his hands clean from blood, like his father, Yang Feng walked into the Mafia world. Accompanying his grandfather at a very young age, Yang Feng learned both the trades of the Business world and Mafia life. And after seeing his older brother dive himself into the Underworld, Yang Yulong also became apart of it.
Now that Yang Feng had a company to manage and run, Yang Yulong became his second-in-command in order to prevent the Underworld from going rampant.
"It's been a while since I've last talked to him, but I will contact Lu Minhong and see if he can dig anything up." Zhao Lifei said after a long pause. She placed Ruqin on speaker and then texted him.
"Lu Minhong? Oh my goodness, why didn't I think of him?!" Yang Ruqin gasped, nearly forgetting her old friend.
She wasn't as close to him as Zhao Lifei was. Unlike Zhao Lifei, Yang Ruqin rarely reached out for his help.
"I haven't talked to him in ages, I wonder if he still remembers me." Yang Ruqin thoughtfully said as she reminisced about her high school days.
Together, Zhao Lifei, Yang Ruqin, and Lu Minhong were the ultimate trio of their high school. One was armed with the brain, the other was armed with beauty, and the latter had the power of technology. They were practically unbeatable in high school.
"Of course he remembers you. He'll remember anyone who smelled filthy rich." Zhao Lifei chuckled at the memory of when she first met Lu Minhong.
He was sleeping on an enormous tree branch and when she walked underneath it, he fell off the branch. He claimed it was because he was startled by the strong smell of wealth that eluded from Zhao Lifei. Not only that, but he also asked if she was born with a silver, gold, diamond, or platinum spoon. Ever since their strange encounter, the two had been great friends.
"He's not replying to my messages, which means he's probably playing a game right now. I'll call you back after I contact him." Zhao Lifei sighed at the delivered sign beneath the blue text bubble.
"Alright, I'll wait for your updates." Yang Ruqin said, ending the call.
Zhao Lifei called Lu Minhong who picked up on the third ring. The minute he did so, the sound of cursing and heavy keyboard pressing were heard.
Zhao Lifei chuckled. "Lu Minhong, did I disturbed you?" She asked her high school buddy and professional hacker.
Lu Minhong was currently one of the highest paid and fastest hacker that Zhao Lifei knew. Armed with a fountain of knowledge in computer science and engineering, he graduated at the top of his classes. Passing college with flying colors and endless achievements, she couldn't believe he entered the shady world of hacking, instead of putting his degree into good use.
Because of his strong love for money, he didn't care about a person's reputation. His client could've been the country's most wanted man and he wouldn't bat an eye to it. As long as the client was rich, Lu Minhong was willing to help him...
Some said he had no morals, but Zhao Lifei argued it was because he was simply too smart in this society ruled by money.
"Any phone call is always considered disturbing me." Lu Minhong chided. He was heavily focused on being the beta-tester of a new game that one of his buddies had invented, and right now, he was at the hardest level with the rumored, unbeatable boss.
Zhao Lifei laughed at his dry humor. "Oh please, you flatter me too much." She mused.
"I have a task for you. Are you free right now?" She asked.
Lu Minhong rolled his eyes. "Depends on how much you're paying for my time."
Zhao Lifei let out a burst of light laughter, the sound echoing in her empty condo. "You sound like a prostitute."
"And you sound like the perverted old-man buying from the prostitute." Lu Minhong rolled his eyes. A prostitute? How childish. I should be considered a high-class escort!
"I'm surprised you're out for blood again. How long has it been since you've last contacted me with an assignment? Two years ago?"
"Hm, I'm not sure."
"Two years ago, you mysteriously disappeared from the face of Earth! I'm still mad that not even I, the top hacker of this country, could track someone as puny as you down!" Lu Minhong purposely bragged about his status. But he was mainly angry at the memory of refunding his client, for the first time in his life.
When the entire world looked for Zhao Lifei, she suddenly vanished, and no one knew why...