Chapter 169: Indescribable

"You shouldn't be too optimistic either. This kind of issue tends to recur; it requires persistent and unremitting effort to keep it in check. Otherwise, before long, everything will slowly revert to how it was. It's a stubborn ailment!"

Lu Kun sat with his legs crossed, a look of mild skepticism on his face.

"True. Matters like this depend entirely on the state's resolve—whether it's just a passing campaign or a sustained crusade. Ordinary folks like us don't have the capacity to meddle blindly in such things," Liu Liping said, tapping her fingers and glancing at Lu Kun with a pointed look.

"Ahem," Lu Kun gave an awkward chuckle.

Liu Liping had probably figured something out.

Actually, it wasn't hard to guess. If Lu Kun and Stone hadn't been involved in this affair at all, how could Stone have ended up getting shot for no apparent reason?

......

"Hey, aren't you that fellow? Come on in and sit for a moment."

As soon as Liu Liping opened the door, she saw Bamboo Pole standing outside holding a black plastic bag, wearing a foolish grin.

Liu Liping found Bamboo Pole rather familiar, though she couldn't quite place his name, so she offered a polite, awkward smile and invited him in.

"Hello, Sister-in-law. I'm here to report to Brother Kun."

Bamboo Pole knew that saying too much increases the risk of a slip-up, so he didn't beat around the bush.

Who on earth was this guy again? Such a distinctive look.

Liu Liping hurriedly stepped aside to let him enter, secretly racking her brain to place him while keeping her expression completely neutral.

"You're here?"

Lu Kun stood up from the sofa, strode forward in two quick steps, and asked Bamboo Pole.

The moment Lu Kun saw Bamboo Pole walking in with a black plastic bag, he understood everything instantly.

This kid must have already gotten his hands on Chu Weiping's dirt!

"Brother Kun, my subordinates got what you wanted yesterday, but we didn't expect to run into that business with Brother Stone, which delayed things."

Bamboo Pole handed the bag to Lu Kun with an ingratiating smile.

"Right, come with me to the study," Lu Kun said, patting him on the shoulder.

There were some things Lu Kun didn't want Liu Liping and the kids to know too much about.

Inside the study.

"I'm logging this down as a major contribution for you. There'll be no shortage of rewards for you later. By the way, went everything smoothly with this operation?"

Lu Kun asked, looking at Bamboo Pole beside him.

"Yes."

Bamboo Pole nodded. "It went normally enough. Although that woman's counter-surveillance and anti-tailing skills aren't weak, the brothers under my command have undergone proper training. Plus, she wasn't particularly guarded; during the period we were tailing her, she even engaged in some unusual social activities with several individuals..."

"Huh?"

"Unusual social activities?"

"Pui! What a pair of scumbags," Lu Kun reacted after a brief pause, putting on an expression of righteous indignation and cursing out loud.

"......"

Bamboo Pole curled his lip. "That woman is thoroughly filthy. We've already figured out about seventy or eighty percent of the characters she's been hooking up with."

"Mm."

Lu Kun chuckled, then his expression suddenly stiffened.

"Huh?"

"You've watched the footage?"

Lu Kun raised an eyebrow, a knowing look on his face.

He remembered that just last night, Bamboo Pole's complexion hadn't been nearly as sallow and drained as it was now.

......

There was no need for any taboos. Lu Kun had Bamboo Pole take a videotape out of the black plastic bag and load it for playback.

Lu Kun's expectations weren't high. In this era, even edited tapes still had extremely crude picture quality.

Not to mention the videos recorded here; they were probably worse than adult film quality.

......

A dark and windy night.

A man and a woman were dining in a private restaurant room.

The man was bald and looked to be in his early sixties. Despite the blurry resolution, Lu Kun recognized him at a glance.

As for the woman, it was naturally Chu Weiping—the famously renowned lawyer Chu in the civilian circles!

"You jerk, why haven't you contacted me in so long?"

"My old tigress at home has been keeping a tight leash on me lately."

"Liar, none of you men are any good."

"How could that be? You've always been my little darling."

"Liar, liar, liar! You used to call me your little sweet pea; you must have someone else in your heart now!"

......

"Be a good girl, listen to me. The bedsheets at the hotel next door have been changed again; I'll take you there to check them out..."

"......"

"Done?"

Lu Kun's gaze was calm, as if nothing could ripple the surface of his heart.

"There's more video."

Bamboo Pole hurriedly took out the tape and swapped it for another.

The scenes in the video played out one by one.

The time was roughly around midnight.

The night grew even deeper.

......

"Are you leaving just like that? Waaah."

"It's not that I want to leave; I was just grounded by my old man. If I don't make it back before dawn, he'll beat me to death."

"Don't go, I can't bear to part with you!"

"Scram, old woman. The things I promised you—I'll convince the old man to step in."

"......"

"Pui!"

Two figures got into their respective cars and drove off in opposite directions.

......

"Which old fogey's junior is that pretty boy?"

It was too dark, so Lu Kun didn't recognize him. Of course, the main reason was that the camera focus had wandered off entirely from start to finish.

Instead of filming faces, why film other body parts?

A classic case of neglecting official duties! Clearly the work of an amateur.

"Haven't figured that out yet," Bamboo Pole twitched the corner of his mouth, wishing right then and there that he could beat the guy responsible for the filming to death.

"You couldn't recognize his face, but you couldn't write down his license plate number either?"

Lu Kun curled his lip. "That level of competence is way worse than those guys from the Information Department's external affiliates."

"I did write down the license plate! If you hadn't mentioned it, I almost forgot."

Bamboo Pole rummaged through the black plastic bag.

"Right here!"

Bamboo Pole excitedly handed a notebook to Lu Kun.

"Hmm? This license plate number looks sort of..."

Lu Kun stroked his chin in deep thought.

......

"Are there any other videos?"

"Yes, yes."

Bamboo Pole hurriedly flipped through the pages. "That woman has practically been making appointments with men almost every single moment over the past two days..."

"Nothing else?"

Lu Kun raised an eyebrow.

"Basically nothing else. It's all videos of that kind of activity."

Bamboo Pole nodded without hiding anything.

"In other words, in two days, Ms. Chu made appointments with a total of seven men?"

Lu Kun stroked his chin in contemplation, his eyebrows twitching several times in succession.

Bamboo Pole's mouth twitched, and then he nodded heavily.

"Fine then!"

Lu Kun let out a long breath. This time, by beating the grass, they had flushed out the rabbits as well, dragging all those fellows behind Chu Weiping out into the light.

"Overall, you did a pretty good job this time. Go back and get some rest first!"

Lu Kun said indifferently.

"Thanks, Brother Kun!"

Bamboo Pole bowed and turned to back out through the door.

"Oh, don't forget to take some nutritional supplements."

Lu Kun teased.

"Bang!"

Bamboo Pole stumbled, his forehead smacking directly against the door frame.

......

Figures.

"No wonder I always felt that woman reeked of cheapness that day. No wonder! Tsk tsk tsk, she's got quite a variety of tricks."

Lu Kun was momentarily at a loss for words.

After finishing the remaining videos and records, Lu Kun felt that everything suddenly seemed rather dull and uninteresting.

He carefully organized them, placed them inside the safe, and finally walked out of the study with a slightly stooped posture.

......