Chapter 119: The Black Silkworm Pupa—I Almost Saw It

Song Kai hurried toward Tengyun No. 1 Middle School. It was not far from the site of the battle, and the pungent scent of gunpowder still hung heavily in the air. Standing behind a pillar, Song Kai frowned deeply. This time, his side had suffered a crushing defeat. He had never expected Ding Zhe to possess such a massive amount of heavy firepower, nor that he would act with such ruthless decisiveness.

Before long, a Land Rover pulled up. Song Kai noticed the driver was Liu Yue; he figured only someone like Liu Yue, a legendary driver, could have evaded rocket fire under such circumstances. Song Kai hopped into the car, exchanged a brief hug with Dan Lina, and patted Liu Yue on the shoulder. "I'm sorry. It was because of me that you were exposed."

As Liu Yue drove toward their base, he bit his lip and said, "It's alright, Mr. Song. It’s not your fault, but this debt must be repaid. I will report this to the Commander. To act so brazenly on Chinese soil—it’s sheer arrogance!"

Dan Lina leaned back in the passenger seat, her head still throbbing. The shockwave from the explosion had been so sudden that she hadn't had a chance to react. If Liu Yue hadn't saved her, she would be dead. She reached out and brushed Song Kai's hair. "Don't blame yourself, Song Kai. It wasn't your fault. We were tracking Ding Zhe, and in truth, he had been looking for a chance to finish us off as well. We were just too greedy for the credit and too desperate to capture the Blood Night organization, which is why we failed so miserably."

Soon, the car arrived at the outskirts of their base. The site, formerly used for the training and operations of an international police task force, was now nothing but scorched earth. Liu Yue looked at the ruins and sighed.

"There's no hope left here. Let's go," Dan Lina said. "The rest of the squad is dead, and the data is destroyed. I have to return to headquarters."

The car turned and quickly vanished into the darkness of Tengyun City. Song Kai bid farewell to Dan Lina and Liu Yue, stepped out of the vehicle, and returned home. The house was empty; Wu Hongying was clearly working herself to the bone and wouldn't be back tonight.

Song Kai took a shower and sat cross-legged on his bed. He pulled out the black, cocoon-like object and held it in his palm, quickly drawing the spiritual energy from within. Whatever this strange thing was, it provided spiritual energy, and that was all that mattered. He channeled the energy through his Nine Thunders technique, converting it into threads of lightning-imbued internal energy that he stored within his body. After several hours of cultivation, feeling mentally exhausted, he lay down and drifted into a deep sleep.

He woke the next morning to bright sunshine. Stretching his limbs, he walked out of the bedroom. In the living room, Wu Hongying was fast asleep on the sofa, still wearing her nightgown. A plate of apples sat beside her, her right hand still frozen in the position of holding one. It was obvious she had come home late, exhausted and hungry, intending to have a snack after her shower, only to fall asleep mid-bite.

Song Kai walked over and picked up a small blanket from the edge of the sofa, intending to cover her. But soon, his eyes locked onto something else. Wu Hongying was wearing only a nightgown. By "only," he meant nothing else underneath. She must have assumed she would be heading straight to bed.

Song Kai hesitated, feeling conflicted. It was a golden opportunity. He hadn't managed to make the most of things with Liu Miaoyu last time. He could get an eyeful now, but would that be too shameless? As he struggled with his conscience, his eyes betrayed him. His hand reached out to gently lift the hem of her nightgown. The fabric was thin, yet it still obstructed his view. He decided a more direct approach would be better.

Just as he was about to delve deeper into his "investigation," his old, budget-brand mobile phone suddenly blared with a deafening, garish ringtone. It was loud enough to wake the dead. Startled, Song Kai jerked his hand back and quickly dropped the hem of her gown.

Wu Hongying’s eyes snapped open. Her right hand darted into the crevice of the sofa, pulling out a pistol and aiming it directly at him.

Song Kai immediately put on a smile. "It's me! It's me, Yingzi! I... damn this wretched phone, I'm buying a new one today." He hung up the call.

Wu Hongying frowned at him. "What are you doing?"

"I just came out and saw you sleeping on the sofa, looking so pitiful, so I wanted to cover you with a blanket... look, the blanket is still in my hand," Song Kai replied.

Wu Hongying scoffed, but then, suddenly remembering something, she glanced down at herself. The hem of her nightgown had shifted, revealing a glimpse of what lay beneath. She jumped up, pointing at him. "Did you just peek?"

"No, no! Absolutely not!" Song Kai said, backing away. "I was just about to cover you, and then the phone rang... I mean, I was just about to cover you, and the phone rang!"

Wu Hongying pointed at him, then frowned. "Oh, by the way, do you know anything about those explosions yesterday?"

Song Kai nodded. After a moment's thought, he said, "Yes, it was Ding Zhe. He was targeting the international police team. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Yingzi. A team of international police entered Tengyun City to capture Ding Zhe's dark-web mercenary group. They approached me, but since they were operating illegally without notifying your precinct, I didn't mention it to you."

Wu Hongying waved her hand. "Fine. As long as you're alive. This whole thing has caused quite a stir. My captain and I will likely be taking over the investigation. I'm going to get some sleep, and then I'll have you fill me in on the details." With a yawn, she headed toward her bedroom.

"Um... Yingzi, do you want me to give you a massage?" Song Kai asked, eyeing the curves visible through her nightgown and swallowing hard.

Wu Hongying spat in disgust and didn't even look back. "If you look again, I'll dig your eyes out."

Song Kai chuckled and picked up his phone to return the call. It had been Jia Dongming. Song Kai always felt a bit nervous when he saw Jia's name, terrified the man might have decided to end it all.

"Hello, President Song! You finally picked up!" Jia Dongming exclaimed on the other end.

Song Kai said, "Manager Jia, I told you, give me another month. Once the college entrance exams are over, I will definitely find business for the factory. I really don't have the time right now."

"What? President Song, what are you talking about? I'm not asking for orders. I wanted to ask if you have any more of those medicinal plasters. Oh, right, you don't know yet—President Song, I'm telling you, our factory is already making money! We don't have to worry about going bankrupt anymore!" Jia Dongming laughed heartily.

Song Kai paused. "Making money? How? Did the Kangxin Granules sell out?"

"No, no! It's your 'dog-skin' plasters. It's... well, why don't you come over yourself, President Song? I can show you the recent accounts."

Hearing that there was money to be made, Song Kai immediately said, "Fine! Wait for me; I'm heading over now."

He hung up, washed up quickly, and drove toward the Dongming Traditional Chinese Medicine Factory. On the way, he bought a new Huawei Mate 10 with the ten thousand yuan he’d earned from the Longquan Club. He had translated for some Russians who were looking for specific types of companions, and they had been so pleased they’d tipped him ten thousand yuan. It really paid to be multilingual.

When he arrived, the factory had changed dramatically. Large cauldrons were set up in the yard, chimneys were puffing smoke, and dog-skin patches were hanging out to dry in the open space.

"What the hell is going on here?" Song Kai stepped out of the car and found Jia Dongming.

Jia Dongming saw him and lunged, wrapping his arms around Song Kai’s waist in a tight embrace. Song Kai pushed him away. "Stop, stop! What the hell are you doing? Hugging is one thing, but do you have to grab my ass?"

Jia Dongming laughed, tears streaming down his face. Song Kai took a step back. "What are you crying for! Stop it! I'm begging you!"

Jia Dongming wiped his eyes, grinning. "President Song, we've made a name for ourselves! Really! We have countless patients with bone injuries calling us every day to order the plasters..."