Chapter 21: An Intelligence Deal

“Keep that can. Don't lose it,” Tian Yi said. “I think you've already found your answer to the first proposition. We'll be in touch again tomorrow.” With that, he hung up.

Three minutes later, HL's rescue team came charging onto the scene and carried Li Wei into an ambulance.

Li Wei wasn't seriously hurt. A crowd of elderly and infirm people, women, and children had merely swarmed him and beaten him furiously for several minutes, leaving him swollen enough to pass for a fat man. Fortunately, he had no broken bones or injuries to vital organs. With the medical care HL could provide, he'd be back on his feet and full of life in half a day. His battered face, of course, would take at least a week to return to normal. Whether the psychological scars would heal was another question...

That afternoon, a fully equipped bomb disposal team opened the can in a completely isolated laboratory. It contained neither unpalatable food nor the biological or chemical weapon they had imagined, just a mobile phone and a note, with plastic foam filling the remaining space.

The only fingerprints found on its surface belonged to Li Wei and the child who had thrown the can. The phone and note inside offered no clues that could help track down the culprit either.

The phone in Li Wei's pocket had been damaged while he lay on the ground covering his head as people kicked him. Tian Yi had clearly anticipated that possibility. The note read, “Next time, I'll contact you on this new phone. As you can see, the first proposition was like the tutorial level of a video game, mainly to familiarize you with the interface and controls. The hints were also very specific and detailed. The next few propositions, however, will require more initiative on your part. Tomorrow will be a long day.

“Finally, here is a piece of information for completing the first proposition—3│3，3，36”

...

Seven that evening, somewhere in Beijing.

A waiter showed Tian Yi to his seat, handed him a menu, and filled his glass with water.

Tian Yi looked over the menu for a while, then said, “Write this down... crabmeat salad, lobster soup, beef tongue, lamb chops, caviar, salmon rolls, Mediterranean seafood flatbread, fresh scallops with mango juice. That'll do for now.” He paused. “Oh, and you don't need to serve them one course at a time. Bring everything out as quickly as you can.”

“Certainly. Please bear with us,” the waiter said, and left.

Tian Yi rested his cheek on one hand and looked around.

It was a very upscale restaurant, with prices high enough to keep ordinary people firmly outside. The decor wasn't exactly lavish, but it showed the designer's taste and refinement. The lighting was dim, the tables were spaced far apart, and the guests spoke softly and ate very quietly.

Before long, the first dish arrived, and Tian Yi tucked in.

When almost all the food had arrived, someone suddenly appeared in the seat opposite Tian Yi.

No waiter had been seen showing him in, nor had the chair made a sound. Tian Yi had merely lowered his head to take a bite, and when he looked up, the man was sitting there.

“Did you turn up late on purpose to make yourself look important?” Tian Yi kept eating without a pause.

“You should feel honored that I've come to see a nobody who's appeared out of nowhere,” the man said. “Still, being able to find us and make contact shows you have some ability. Get on with it. If I think this ‘important intelligence’ of yours has any value, I'll naturally offer you a price you'll be happy with.”

Tian Yi looked at him for two seconds, sighed, then snapped his fingers and beckoned the waiter over.

The man opposite him looked unsettled. He couldn't make any sense of Tian Yi's behavior.

The waiter hurried over and bent forward slightly. “What can I do for you, sir?”

Tian Yi looked at him through half-closed eyes. “Could you possibly find a subordinate with an IQ in the normal range to talk to me?”

The waiter had been smiling. At those words, he froze for a second, then his smile turned cold. He straightened and told the man sitting opposite Tian Yi, “You may go.”

Without a word, the man shot Tian Yi a sidelong glare, then rose and left.

The waiter took his time walking halfway around the table, adjusted the chair, and sat bolt upright opposite Tian Yi.

“Where did I give myself away?” he asked.

“You did all right yourself,” Tian Yi said. He gestured around with his fork. “The problem is this lot. None of them made a point of turning to look at me, but they eat far too slowly. They eat slowly and barely talk. If a man and a woman sit together without talking, I can assume they're married. But there's no reason for several men to sit together in a fancy restaurant eating in near silence.”

The waiter took a deep breath and let it out. “Ah...” He turned and called, “Everyone out. Close the doors.”

At those words, every guest in the restaurant, along with the other waiters, floor managers, cleaners, and doormen, got up at once and quickly left the dining room, closing all the doors behind them as they passed through the various exits.

The waiter spoke again. “Even if you figured out that everyone in the restaurant was one of ours, how did you know I was in charge here?”

Tian Yi didn't answer. The reason was actually quite simple. He could sense that the man was the only Strong-rank ability user here. Given Xingtian's martial ethos, it was obvious that the strongest would be in charge. He hadn't exposed the setup as soon as he came in partly because he wanted to see how they would play it, and partly because he wanted a free meal.

“Instead of dwelling on that, let's discuss the deal at hand,” Tian Yi said, changing the subject.

The man understood what Tian Yi meant. Stop digging into that question. Ask again, and I still won't tell you.

So he said, “Very well. I have yet to ask how I should address you.”

“Tian Yi.”

“Heh... Easy to remember.” He smiled. “My name is Song Zhong.”

Tian Yi sprayed an entire mouthful of mango juice into Song Zhong's face, instantly freezing his smile.

Tian Yi, meanwhile, burst out laughing. “Your name's easy to remember too. Hahaha...”

With considerable composure, Song Zhong wiped his face with a napkin. “These are troubled times. You intercepted our carrier pigeon and sent word that you had valuable intelligence to trade. Our superiors have certainly taken the matter seriously. We have had the area under surveillance since this morning, and so far we have found no sign of Imperial troops arriving to lie in wait. You have come to this meeting alone, and you appear to be carrying neither concealed weapons nor listening devices.” Song Zhong watched Tian Yi's expression for the slightest change, but could read nothing in that listless face. “I trust you truly do have intelligence to sell. Otherwise, you are gambling with your life.”

Tian Yi understood the implication. Quite unconcerned, he said, “Not long ago, a friend of mine in Philadelphia got hold of some intelligence. He mailed it to me that very day, along with an outrageous asking price. After reading the intelligence, I paid it anyway. I thought it was worth it.” He paused, then said something that nearly made Song Zhong jump out of his seat. “In May, a shipment of ‘Hades's Divine Mist’ will be transported to Hell Island.”