“Hey, Xiao Lin, you actually called me? Are you planning to join the Processing Bureau? You’re welcome anytime.”
A mature-sounding female voice came from the connected phone.
“Long time no see, Jia Jia. Joining is out of the question. If you want to join my firm, I might consider it.”
“Only consider it? Your temper really hasn’t changed. Tell me, what do you need help with? As university classmates and club friends, I’ll agree to anything within my capabilities.” The tone on the other end sounded more lively, quite different from Lin Yilin’s.
Lin Yilin paused, then said, “I want to know the Shenlai Firm’s progress on handling the Kanneitong Family remnants.”
“...Ah, it’s you, as expected. Your information is still so well-informed. Are you also investigating related matters? But their operation last night seemed quite bad.”
“Yes, so I want to see the specific situation to control the extent of any subsequent actions we might take,” Lin Yilin said in her usual cool tone.
“Wait a moment~ I’m currently out on a business trip. I’ll go ask the person in charge there for you.”
“Okay, thank you for the trouble.”
With that, the call was temporarily disconnected.
Zheng Fan asked curiously, “Who was that?”
“My university classmate and club friend. She joined the Processing Bureau while still in school and serves as an external consultant for the Processing Bureau, a service role within the Processing Bureau specifically responsible for liaising with various firms.”
“Is that all?” Their conversation just now sounded anything but simple.
Could a minor consultant really just ask about the affairs of a major firm like that?
“She’s just more capable, after all, she’s my friend.”
“That’s certainly convincing then.”
If she could be friends with Lin Yilin, then Zheng Fan could only accept it.
She even mentioned they were club friends. That strange club that seemed to have caused some trouble.
Could it be that it was full of monsters?
Taking advantage of the lull, Lin Yilin called Zheng Fan over and showed him the data on her computer screen: “These are the details I organized last night about that nameless casino and several of the Kanneitong Family’s commonly used strongholds on Xixikeke Street.”
As she spoke, her mouse drew a large cross over one of them.
“This one was blown up last night.”
“So many? Does that mean losing one point doesn’t affect them much?” Zheng Fan asked.
“You can’t say it doesn’t affect them much, after all, what’s important isn’t the location but the people. And points established in a Closed Community are definitely more important,” Lin Yilin corrected.
“How do we investigate so many?”
“Originally, we just needed to wait for them to come to us. Knowing the locations, my intelligence network could monitor their activities. But with what Shenlai did, we have to exert more subjective initiative,” Lin Yilin sighed.
It was conceivable that after the Kanneitong Family remnants suffered this attack, all this intelligence would likely be obsolete.
They couldn’t possibly fight a major firm with a lucky mentality; they were probably already preparing, or had even begun, to relocate.
“With the situation stirred up like this, we can only try to get ahead of Shenlai,” Zheng Fan said. Based on Shenlai’s actions last night, they were swift and decisive, absolutely not holding back. Lind would certainly die if caught.
Lin Yilin picked up her phone and checked it. Around the same time, the phone rang, and she answered it instantly.
“Do you have news?”
“You scared me. Can you stop timing your calls so perfectly every time?” The voice on the other end complained.
“I just happened to be looking.”
“A little scary... Anyway, I got the information. I’ll send you a copy. Your usual email hasn’t changed, has it?”
“Okay, thank you, Jia Jia.”
“No problem. When I return to Xixikeke Street, I’ll find you. Remember to treat me to a meal.”
“Your appetite is so small, so feel free to eat as much as you want. Oh, by the way, Jia Jia, what are you doing on your business trip?”
“Nothing much, just tying up loose ends from the Jacob Family’s demise.”
“Is there still no conclusion to that matter?” Lin Yilin’s tone became slightly somber.
“Our official external conclusion is still internal strife, but the actual situation points to some questionable traces, and it can be connected to some things from a long time ago.” The voice on the other end of the phone also became slightly serious.
“It seems somewhat close to the possibility you mentioned before, Xiao Lin. Anyway, if there are any related results, I’ll let you know.”
“...Mm, thank you, stay safe.”
The call ended.
Lin Yilin spaced out for a while until Zheng Fan called her back to her senses.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing. There’s something I want to investigate, but my current status doesn’t give me a good entry point. I can only rely on Jia Jia to help me, and it’s not certain that everything is as I suspect,” Lin Yilin said, her voice low, almost murmuring to herself.
“The Jacob Family... that super large gang that didn’t fall before?”
Lin Yilin nodded gently.
“Alright, sounds very troublesome,” Zheng Fan looked out the window.
Putting her thoughts aside, Lin Yilin opened the intelligence report that had been sent to her email.
Zheng Fan watched with her.
Regarding the Kanneitong Family, which collapsed along with the demise of the Jacob Family, the Shenlai Firm on Xixikeke Street, entrusted by the Dadu authorities, had always dedicated a force to sweep up their remaining remnants.
Most of the remnants scattered when disaster struck, and the initial cleanup work proceeded relatively smoothly.
Until some time later, most of the remaining remnants disappeared without a trace, and their whereabouts became extremely difficult to track.
According to reliable sources, the remaining remnants regrouped their forces at an astonishing speed, restored internal order, and launched some kind of action, attempting to accumulate strength and make a comeback.
After several skirmishes with the remnant forces, it was basically confirmed that the remnants had allied with a certain Illusion.
That Illusion had apparently been cultivated to a considerable degree by them. During this period, the Shenlai Firm increased its focus on the task of sweeping up the Kanneitong remnants.
Therefore, they no longer acted casually but concentrated their forces for a decisive annihilation.
The above is the general overview of the Shenlai Firm’s handling of the Kanneitong remnants.
More specific action records were below.
Zheng Fan glanced at it a few times and quickly lost the desire to read. People really were becoming more and more afraid of reading, commonly known as “TL;DR.”
After reading for a while, Lin Yilin began to compare the Shenlai Firm’s intelligence with her own.
Zheng Fan pulled out his special item and went about his own business.
After a long time, Lin Yilin got up from her seat: “Almost there… Hmm? What’s wrong, Mr. Illusion?”
She was about to say something when she saw Zheng Fan frowning and looking at his palm, so she asked.
Zheng Fan shook his hand and looked over: “Lin Yilin, you’re very rich, right?”
“Far more than the average person in Dadu. High savings, savings interest rates, and I do a little financial management when I have nothing to do…” Lin Yilin answered directly despite her confusion.
“Does a property-type Illusion need to touch ‘physical cash’ to exert its abilities?” Zheng Fan asked.
“You can’t generalize, but mostly yes. Because Illusions are more likely to accept physical concepts when they invade reality.”
“Does stolen money count as your own?” Zheng Fan asked again.
“Stolen? Of course it counts. After all, regardless of its origin, money is money.” Lin Yilin tilted her head, then suddenly her eyes widened: “Mr. Illusion, are you…?”
“It’s nothing, just an attempt.” Zheng Fan grinned, shoved his hand back into his pocket, and said no more, turning to the main topic, “What did you just say? Should we act now?”
“Yes, comparing it with the Shenlai Firm’s intelligence, I believe that if Lind was indeed absorbed as an elite, he shouldn’t be at last night’s location.”
“How so?”
“Shenlai’s side investigated some shallow intelligence more thoroughly, but there was one important stronghold they seemed to have overlooked. So I investigated that overlooked stronghold in detail. I realized I had also overlooked it; that point wasn’t much noted in my intelligence. But now, it seems a bit off.”
Lin Yilin opened her phone: “This stronghold is not in the Closed Community, and it doesn’t accept those low-level sweepers. The people coming and going are suspected to be their ‘elites.’ Then, Shenlai’s intelligence on several recent transactions in the underground black market, suspicious orders related to the nameless casino, they didn’t have time to organize. I traced the source and finally found that some important ones all came from this point, and the transaction volume flowing out of this point was significantly higher than others.”
“Key stronghold,” Zheng Fan summarized.
Lin Yilin nodded, picked up her coat from the coat rack and put it on: “Shenlai’s side will not give up after last night’s failure, nor will they give the Kanneitong remnants more time to adjust. They will immediately gather their forces and launch a full-scale sweep. Although they haven’t noticed this point yet, it’s only a matter of time. We need to speed up.”
With that, she quickly rushed out of the firm.
Zheng Fan shrugged and slowly followed.