Chapter 52 Acting

"Hmph! Come on up. I'd like to see what kind of advice you dogs with good noses have to offer this time upon visiting our Shanghai branch of the Chinese Express!"

With that, he turned and marched back into his office.

Wu Yu's handsome face instantly darkened, turning as black as charcoal. He cast a cold glance at the old man's retreating back upstairs, then strode up and entered the office as well.

"Hiss!"

The moment they left, the various mutants in the warehouse instantly buzzed with activity.

"Damn, our new department head is such a badass!"

"Good grief, he's not even giving the special investigator any face?"

"That face of his was darker than coal from the An family!"

"What do you guys think this guy is here for?"

"Need you ask? It's definitely because of *that* incident..."

At these words, everyone present fell silent.

Inside the office, Old Xu walked over to the window with a gloomy expression—ensuring the employees downstairs could clearly see his angry demeanor—and then slowly drew the curtains shut.

The second he turned around, the grim look vanished completely. He bustled over to Wu Yu with a fawning smile, massaging his shoulders and offering him tea.

"Ah, my good nephew, you've had a hard trip! Traveling thousands of miles to help a lonely old man like me put on an act—I am truly moved to tears!"

As he spoke, crocodile tears actually welled up in his eyes. Of course, there was also a genuine trace of gratitude mixed in.

Being newly arrived and parachuted in as the head of the Shanghai branch, he lacked the subordinates' loyalty. Coupled with the recent major upheaval, they held quite a bit of prejudice against him as the newcomer.

That was why Old Xu had hatched this plan and invited Wu Yu to stage a scene! After all, the notorious reputation of special investigators was common knowledge, so what did it matter if one came along and stepped on him a little more?

Wu Yu rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Spare me. Whenever you act like this, you're guaranteed to have some nasty trick waiting for me at the end!"

This old man had conned him into doing dirty work on more than one occasion. Coupled with his status as a special investigator, many things were far more convenient for him than for the temporary workers.

Wu Yu now only regretted ever meeting this old bastard in the first place. If he hadn't meddled back then, he should have just let the old man kick the bucket!

"Oh, my dear nephew, you can't just abandon old Xu like this!" With that, Old Xu hurriedly pulled half a bag of richly fragrant tea leaves from the safe and said pitifully, "I risked my very life to swipe this from Chairman Zhao! That old fogey staked out the front gate of my house for a full seven days because of it!"

"Word is this is top-tier supreme quality stuff, just bestowed upon him by the higher-ups because they saw how hard old Zhao has been working!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Wu Yu rolled his eyes again. "Department Head Xu, your skill at borrowing flowers to present to Buddha is really smooth. But when you boil it down, you didn't spend a single cent of your own, did you?"

"Putting that aside, what on earth do you want with me? I'm on leave right now, and I'm not participating in company missions. I've got family matters to take care of."

"What do you think I brought you here for?" Old Xu sighed. "Do you know why I was transferred to Shanghai?"

"No idea!" Wu Yu's curiosity was piqued. "Didn't Chairman Zhao agree to let you retire after you got out of the hospital last time? Even though your health has recovered nicely, you're no longer suited for high-intensity combat and work!"

"Let me tell you, if something else happens, it won't do any good even if you make Feng Baobao cry her eyes out! That Rebirth Fruit, which blooms once every millennium, I only had a single one!"

"The head of the Shanghai branch of the Chinese Express was assassinated!" Old Xu waved his hand, sitting down and speaking in a very solemn tone.

"Headquarters couldn't spare the manpower for the time being, so I was temporarily sent over to take charge as department head and stabilize Shanghai."

"The head of the Shanghai branch? Assassinated?" Hearing this news, Wu Yu was completely dumbfounded.

To become a regional department head of the Chinese Express might not require the most overwhelmingly powerful individual might, but their strength was definitely top-tier.

Aside from those nearing retirement like old Xu, most possessed terrifying combat capabilities while also being burdened with the responsibility of command and a strong macro-level perspective.

Assassination?

That was something that had quite literally never happened since the founding of the Chinese Express.

"Was it done by Quansheng?" Wu Yu raised an eyebrow. "Those folks don't seem crazy enough to do that. Pushing the company too far does them not an ounce of good."

"No, it wasn't those little punps from Quansheng!" Old Xu shook his head. "Those little fellows can't amount to a grand climate; they don't count for much."

Hearing this, Wu Yu rubbed his chin and arched an eyebrow. "You sought me out... does that mean this is related to me? Are you suspecting the Death Eaters from Eagle Nation, or the Onmyoji from Island Nation?"

"Neither!" Old Xu looked at Wu Yu and said, "What we suspect is the King of Assassins from Taiwan Province!"

"Not to mention that Department Head Fang was in his prime with formidable strength, his security clearance was also the highest. It would be utterly impossible for ordinary assassins to find trouble with him!"

"Truth be told, the organizations with the strength to orchestrate an assassination like this can be counted on one hand. Investigations are already underway into all of them, leaving only two..."

As he spoke, Old Xu's eyes locked firmly onto Wu Yu.

"Hey, hey, hey! Are you out of your mind?" Wu Yu retorted in irritation. "Even though I've settled down in Hangzhou, this is my very first time coming to Shanghai! Suspecting me? Did you catch Alzheimer's disease after I saved you last time?"

"Hmph!" Old Xu let out a cold snort, ignoring Wu Yu's remark. "You brat should consider yourself lucky. At that time, you were down in King Lu's palace grave-robbing; otherwise, you'd have been the very first suspect!"

Wu Yu rolled his eyes in annoyance upon hearing this, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. After all, Hangzhou was far too close to Shanghai. If he had done it, it would have been far too convenient, making him an inevitable suspect!

Fortunately, he had been in a state halfway between rest and work at the time, so he wasn't suspected. Plus, he had been carrying so many locators and scanners with him that he was naturally ruled out.

"Aside from you, that leaves only the King of Assassins from Taiwan Province, who is still in his prime despite having retired from the Jianghu for many years," Old Xu said seriously.

"Blade?" Wu Yu frowned. He didn't believe Blade would pull off something like this, but he couldn't just open his mouth and plead his case directly.

Because the moment he did so, even with just the slightest hint of bias, he wouldn't even need to walk out the doors of the Shanghai Chinese Express before receiving a notice of suspension.

"Wait, the higher-ups are agreeing to let me go over there?" Wu Yu looked at Old Xu with a hint of doubt.

In response, Old Xu pulled a file bag from his drawer and tossed it over. "Chairman Zhao said if you had any doubts, reading this would clear them up."

After saying that, he added with absolute disdain, "That old fogey is really something else these days. Is he actually worried that an old guy like me might leak state secrets? If you don't trust me, just say so instead of playing these games!"