novelraw Chapter 1220: Welcome to the Boss Room
Chapter 1220: Welcome to the Boss Room
In the martial world, when it comes to gathering information or finding someone, the best at it aren’t necessarily the police — it’s the local underworld figures.
Not because the police are incapable, but because when it comes to doing things quickly, those who make their living on the streets always have an advantage. They simply work in different realms.
Although Zhou Yusheng led the team with confidence, finding one or several unlicensed drivers after several months — and within just half a day — was not an easy task.
The steady drizzle only made things worse, raising the difficulty of their search.
Even getting food nearby was inconvenient. This wasn’t like the area outside a major train station. There were only a few scattered shacks and street vendors pushing tricycles, with very few places to take shelter from the rain.
Looking somewhat bedraggled, Zhou Yusheng ran back to his car. The rain had grown heavier, and the drivers had all vanished from sight.
Chen Mingming followed him into the car, taking the passenger seat. Zhou Yusheng handed him a few tissues. “Here, wipe off.”
Chen Mingming accepted them, feeling a faint twinge of emotion.
Parental concern — something he used to overlook. Zhou Yusheng’s gesture was instinctive, almost unconscious. Chen Mingming’s response — simple acceptance — was just as natural. A small, ordinary act, yet somehow it carried a quiet warmth.
Why hadn’t he ever noticed before, how much affection could be contained in a simple handover like that?“What are you doing?” Chen Mingming asked after a moment, realizing Zhou Yusheng was fiddling with something inside a paper bag of steamed buns.
They were still slightly warm — bought earlier from a vendor with a tricycle. Zhou Yusheng carefully tore off the soggy edges of a bun but didn’t eat it himself. Instead, he placed it back in the bag and handed it over.
“The parts that got wet don’t taste good,” Zhou Yusheng said with a small smile, his unshaven face creasing like a hedgehog curling up. “Here, eat while it’s hot. The rain shouldn’t last too long. You didn’t look too well this morning. Take a nap after you eat — we still have work this afternoon.”
Who else ever cared for you like this?
Who else worried about whether the bun they gave you would still taste good?
Who else wondered if you’d slept well or had enough energy for the afternoon?
Inside the car, it was quiet. Rain drummed softly on the roof. The air conditioner hummed, and the radio played an old classic — “Small Town Story.”
A song from Zhou Yusheng’s generation.
Chen Mingming closed his eyes, listening to the music and the rain. Inside that small, warm space, he felt a strange sense of peace.
For a moment, he wished this could go on forever. If this assessment could last indefinitely, wouldn’t that be nice?
…
He hadn’t been asleep long — maybe ten minutes at most — but he woke feeling noticeably refreshed.
Outside, the rain hadn’t stopped; it hadn’t even eased. He sat lazily in the passenger seat, wrapped in Zhou Yusheng’s jacket.
It was warm.
Chen Mingming had strong self-discipline. He took a deep breath and sat up straight.
Zhou Yusheng was staring at his phone. Hearing movement, he said casually, “Awake? Good timing. Old Ma just sent over some information. Let’s find these people this afternoon.”
“Officer Ma?” Chen Mingming blinked.
“Don’t underestimate him,” Zhou said with a small chuckle. “He might look like he just sits around playing Minesweeper all day, but when it comes to finding people, I can’t beat him. He’s got eyes everywhere. You should learn from him when you get the chance.”
Chen Mingming nodded slightly and took his own phone to check the data. Names, contact numbers — everything was there.
…
With Ma Houde’s intel, the afternoon search went much faster. Within just over an hour, they had located all the unlicensed drivers listed in the report.
There were three in total, all of whom had made trips between late November and December 1 of the previous year.
“Take a look,” Zhou said, showing them a photo. “Have any of you seen this man? We’re not here to bust anyone for illegal fares — we’re just asking questions.”
The three drivers relaxed noticeably at that. Life was tough, and running an illegal cab had its risks.
Two of them shook their heads after a long look, saying they’d never seen him.
But the third frowned, thinking hard, before finally saying, “Officer, I think I’ve driven this man before.”
“You’re sure?”
The expressions of Zhou Yusheng, Chen Mingming, and the others sharpened immediately. If this was true, Chen Mingming’s morning theory might actually be right!
The driver nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure. I remember him clearly — he paid in cash. Everyone else that day used mobile payment, but he insisted on cash. We argued a bit about it. I can’t remember the exact date, but it was definitely around that time.”
“You have a dashcam in your car?” Zhou asked.
“Yeah.”
“We’ll need to take it for analysis. Any objections?”
The driver hesitated but quickly nodded. Having the dashcam taken was nothing compared to being arrested — he was grateful enough.
…
The investigation made a major breakthrough thanks to Chen Mingming’s insight.
Back at the precinct, reviewing the dashcam footage confirmed it — Wang Liang appeared on video. The timestamp: November 23 of last year — the very night he returned from City X!
Wu Rong’s train ticket showed her return was on November 25.
That meant Wang Liang had likely killed Wu Rong before November 23, or at least knew she was dead — and had then disguised himself as Wu Rong on November 25, using the illusion that she was still alive.
“Captain Zhou!” a colleague rushed in. “Officer Ma just called — they found another unlicensed driver in City X. He confirmed he drove Wang Liang back here on the night of November 29!”
As expected!
Everyone’s spirits lifted.
Wu Rong had left this city on the morning of November 29. The train would’ve reached City X that evening — giving Wang Liang enough time to catch a black car and return overnight.
“It’s clear now! Wang Liang probably killed Wu Rong, stole her phone and accounts, and then covered his tracks. The evidence points to robbery and murder!”
“But then… who killed Wang Liang? And why stage his death to look so much like Wu Rong’s?”
Zhou Yusheng exhaled and patted the table. “Let’s strip it all down — start from the very beginning. We must’ve missed something! Everyone, push through a bit longer — we’re working late tonight!”
The team was already prepared for that. For criminal investigators, every case was a long, grueling battle.
Zhou leaned closer to Chen Mingming and said quietly, “Call your mom later, so she doesn’t worry.”
He really could do this well.
Suddenly, Chen Mingming understood — in both his work and his family, he could do well.
He let out a slow breath. When a colleague came around asking for dinner orders, Chen Mingming smiled. “Just get me a green pepper shredded pork rice.”
In the meeting room, the team was buzzing with energy, ready to tackle the long night ahead.
Chen Mingming suddenly thought of Zhao Le. He’d left a message for him earlier. He wondered how Zhao Le was doing now.
Chen Mingming picked up his phone and tried to find Zhao Le’s account on social media, but after searching for a while, he realized he had never actually added Zhao Le as a friend.
So, they weren’t friends after all…
In fact, he had very few contacts on his social media. Some he had added but never spoken to — not even once. Did he really never add Zhao Le as a friend?
He felt like he was forgetting something.
Chen Mingming subconsciously rubbed his temples, a faint sharp pain throbbing in his head.
Then he received a message from Tara — a casual greeting, saying that if he still couldn’t sleep well, she could “lend him her legs again” so he could rest properly.
— If there’s a chance, he replied.
…
No one was following her — at least, no one nearby.
Although her power was currently so weak it made Nan Xiaonan herself feel ashamed, her willpower was still much stronger than any ordinary person’s, enough to sense danger within a radius of ten meters.
As soon as she entered Ren Ziling’s house, Nan Xiaonan immediately felt an odd sense of security… a very peculiar comfort, as if she were completely safe.
It was almost absurd — she even had the ridiculous thought that even if a tenth-level forbidden spell fell on this place, the house would remain intact.
Of course, that was just her imagination, born from the sense of safety she felt. She didn’t actually believe that a concrete house could withstand a tenth-level super-forbidden spell.
That level of forbidden spell was how power was measured in her original sub-world. She didn’t yet know how this world measured strength.
Although she’d been “smuggled” here for a while, she hadn’t explored much — her powers hadn’t recovered, and she was still being hunted for reasons she couldn’t figure out.
“This room belongs to my son,” Ren Ziling said, carrying a pillow and blanket in her arms. “There’s another empty room, usually used for storage, but there’s a bed in it. You can sleep there for a few days.”
“Sure, Sister Ren,” Nan Xiaonan replied with a small smile.
“Alright… make yourself at home. I’ll go take a shower — this weather is sticky and uncomfortable.” Ren Ziling went straight into the bathroom, and soon the sound of running water could be heard.
Nan Xiaonan dropped her luggage and went to the balcony, pressing close to the window as she scanned the surroundings for potential threats.
Unfortunately, her perception was limited now. As for her True Sight ability, she didn’t have enough power left to activate it.
If only she hadn’t used that spell back at Wang Liang’s murder scene.
She’d used it to solve the case quickly and get reassigned — yet now she had no choice but to rely on Ren Ziling, this Child of the World, for protection.
Fate’s irony made even someone like her sigh in amazement.
“But… there seems to be something nice here,” she murmured.
She frowned slightly. That “something nice” — a gentle elemental fluctuation — was coming from Ren Ziling’s room.
When Ren Ziling didn’t emerge from the bathroom, curiosity got the better of Nan Xiaonan. She quietly opened the bedroom door and slipped inside.
A faint smell of cigarette smoke immediately filled her nose.
The room was a mess — the bed unmade, clothes everywhere. Nan Xiaonan couldn’t help feeling exasperated. The neat and tidy house outside and this chaotic bedroom looked like they belonged to two completely different people.
The energy she sensed was coming from under the bed.
She crouched down — didn’t find the source right away, but did find an ashtray hidden beneath the bed.
“Looks like this woman doesn’t live too well at home,” she muttered, shaking her head.
Then she found the real “good thing.”
It had been tucked into the mattress, resting between the padding and the bed frame — a smooth, cool piece of jade about half the size of her palm.
Her eyes lit up instantly.
It wasn’t high-grade by her former standards — it wouldn’t even qualify for her collection back home — but for her current weakened self, it was a treasure.
The jade contained absorbable power!
It could restore about one percent of her energy reserves!
“This thing just passively emits elemental energy. Ordinary people living near it might become healthier over time, but that’s all — they’ll just be strong and not get sick easily. What a waste!”
She was tempted to take it, but then hesitated.
Ren Ziling, though blessed by the world’s will, was still an ordinary person with no supernatural power.
And this jade had been hidden — not used. Even if Ren Ziling didn’t know how to harness it, she could have at least kept it on her person. Hiding it under the mattress made no sense.
So… someone must have secretly placed it there.
Who could that be?
Her son?
The thought immediately struck her. Ren Ziling’s “son” — that was who she meant. Instinctively, her gaze drifted toward the closed door of the other room.
Her heartbeat suddenly quickened. Something about that room… felt special.
Her intuition had always been reliable — it was what allowed her to survive among countless powerful transcendents in her original world and seize a chance to escape.
But along with the intuition came a deep, primal sense of danger.
Should she open that door or not?
It was just an ordinary door, yet the conflict in her heart was as intense as when she once fought one of the strongest beings of her world to the death.
Open… or not?
Drawn as if by magic, Nan Xiaonan unconsciously walked up to the door and slowly reached for the handle. She could even hear her own heartbeat.
Click—!
Just as her hand touched the handle, a faint sound startled her. Her heart gave a violent jolt — she recognized that sound at once. It was the click of an electric kettle switching off after boiling water.
Who had turned on the kettle? She didn’t remember Ren Ziling doing that when she came home.
Cold sweat beaded on Nan Xiaonan’s forehead. Step by step, she crept down the hall toward the living room.
The moment she stepped out, a figure entered her view.
A young man stood there sideways, pouring hot water from a kettle into a cup — his side profile clean and handsome.
“She can be a bit careless sometimes, probably forgot to tell you. Sorry about that,” Luo Qiu said with a gentle smile, turning to face her. “Please, have a seat.”
Nan Xiaonan’s mind went completely blank.
Her soul and will trembled violently — a raw, instinctive fear.
It felt like a beginner who had just left the novice village had stumbled straight into the final boss’s lair.
(End of Chapter)
Translator is here shamelessly posting his Ko-fi link. Any donation amount would be appreciated. Thank you!