Morning quickly turned into afternoon for Imperial as Yue Ling and Lu Tian arrives at Uncle Zhi's shop.
Stepping out of the car, the couple dressed in casual wear since neither were going to work.
Yue Ling turn to the man and faintly smiles.
"The place is in a mess. Be careful where you step."
Lu Tian nod his head. However, it is not him who he is worried about, but her. He had tried to persuade her to stay home since the dust may harm her body, but she kept insisting on coming.
Walking through the hallway inside the rundown building, both individuals put on a mask as there was dust everywhere.
Approaching the main entrance, the once metal door that secured the shop was no longer standing in its place.
As Yue Ling enters the shop, she sighs in pity at the sight of it, while Lu Tian stopped at the door.
Yue Ling had already told the situation beforehand, but when he saw the inside of the shop, he was stunned to the ground.
He thought it was only the items that were destroyed, but not only were the shelves destroyed, even the concrete walls were smashes with a sledgehammer.
Whoever it was must have some kind of malicious feelings towards Uncle Zhi.
Lifting his leg, he takes a step forward. However, to his surprise, not only was Yue Ling's team already here, but even his assistant was here.
"Boss! You made it!"
Xu Long was also wearing a mask as he seemed to be lifting a piece of broken wood that was part of a shelf when he saw his boss enter.
He carried the piece of wood to a corner of the shop and drops it with the rest of the things gathered.
Walking over to Lu Tian, his eyes turned into an upside-down crescent as one can see that he is smiling despite the mask covering his mouth.
Staring at his assistant, Lu Tian did not return a smile. His natural cold eyes moves away from Xu Long then to the others moving all the broken things.
"How did it go?"
Just as Xu Long nears his boss, hearing the question, he sighs inside and shook his head.
"Liu Shan informed me this morning after you called. When I arrived, we tried to search for the culprit, but we were all led to a dead end. This person made sure that none of the camera's picked up their figure, let alone shadow."
Saying this, his brows furrow and he pout his lip. Leaning towards his boss, he whispers.
"Do you think this has something to do with Black Dragon?"
Lu Tian was analyzing the situation when he heard Xu Long's sudden questions. His brows slightly furrow for a quick second then he shook his head.
"Chu Qiang is not the type to pull something like this."
Looking in the direction of his wife, he ponders in thought.
He (Lu Tian) may have put Chu Li Xiang behind bars, but knowing how Chu Qiang is, the man will never steep so low as to vandalize a person's shop.
If he (Chu Qiang) was the one behind this, he would have done so face to face and not hide in dark.
Besides, many know that Chu Qiang and Chu Li Xiang may be brothers, but both are not on good terms. With the younger brother out of the picture, it give Chu Qiang more time to relax and deal with his own problems.
Thinking this, his eyes narrow into the unknown and his thoughts continue.
But who would do this to Uncle Zhi?
Chu Li Xiang is the only person who was after them. He is already put behind bars, so…
His eyes subconsciously lands on his wife who is talking to Uncle Zhi about something.
He couldn't help but wonder, could someone be after his wife?
This person must have known that Uncle Zhi is associated with her, thus leading them to vandalize his shop.
Could this be a warning?
His eyes shift away from his wife to the scene again.
"Check every person in Imperial. Find out if there are any suspicious activities."
Hearing the order, Xu Long tilt his head in confusion. Why would his boss want to check every person in Imperial?
However, he sighs inside. An order is an order.
"Alright, I will get to it."
Just as he turned away to go back to what he was doing he was suddenly stopped by Lu Tian's deep voice.
"Send our location to Wolf Team."
As Lu Tian's words fell, he removes his coat and set it aside with the rest of everyone's coats.
Walking in the direction of an area where no one has gotten to, he pulls up the sleeves of his sweater and picks up the broken pieces of woods.
Xu Long stood in his place and stares at his boss. He isn't surprise to see the man helping out since this is not a first.
Although Lu Tian is known for his cleanliness, he will lend a helping hand to those he knows.
Averting his eyes away, Xu Long continues in his steps to the area that he was working on. He didn't forget to take his phone out and sends their location to the members of Wolf Team.
The more people they have to help clean this place up, the sooner they can search for the culprit.
Oblivious to the discussion between boss and assistant, Yue Ling busied herself listening to what Uncle Zhi has to say.
As their conversation near its end, Uncle Zhi hands her a piece of paper. It was not a full sheet of paper but a small note paper.
"I found this in the backroom today. It was put where the confidential information were supposed to be."
Yue Ling looks down at the paper and she crease her brows. Taking it from Uncle Zhi, she reads what was written.
'0000'
Staring at the written zeros, she does not speak her mind but stares at the paper.
"What does it mean? Liu Shan and the rest are unable to identify it."
Uncle Zhi couldn't help but asks as he stares at Yue Ling's expression. He couldn't figure it out and neither did Liu Shan or Alpha Team. However, if it's her, he knows she has some kind of idea.
After a long minute, Yue Ling finally answers the man.
"Midnight."
Her voice was low, but it still echoes inside the shop for everyone to hear.
Each person stops what they were doing and turn in her direction with a confused expression.
When Uncle Zhi found the note, he had asked each one of them, but they were not too sure as to what it meant. Their only thought at the time was, why would someone leave a note with only four zeros?
However, hearing Yue Ling's words, everything made sense. The four zeros are written based on the 24-hour time.
Uncle Zhi furrow his brows and scratch his nape. He stares at the note paper and asks.
"What does this person mean by midnight?"
"They will be striking again at midnight."
This time, it was not Yue Ling who answered, but Lu Tian.
He had stopped what he was doing. His figure walks towards his wife and Uncle Zhi.
Reaching her side, he slowly takes the note paper from her and looks down at it.
"Everyone here will have to take precautions."
As Lu Tian's words fell, the expression on everyone's face drained of all colors. However, it was not themselves who they were worried about, but one person in particular.
Lian Ni Shang who stood in the closest distance to her boss walks toward the woman.
"Boss."
Her eyes held worry as she stops on the other side of Yue Ling.
Liu Shan had told them that she was pregnant, so they should not bother her too much or it will put a lot of stress on her. However...
Turning to look at the woman, Yue Ling sighs inside. She caught a glimpse of her team looking in her direction and sighs again.
"I'll be fine."
She smiles reassuringly to them and points to the man standing on her other side.
"I have him."
Looking at Yue Ling then to Lu Tian, everyone sighed in relief. How could they have forgotten that Lu Tian is not some useless being. With him by her side, no harm will happen to her.
However, thinking about the man's words, they cannot be too relaxed. The note clearly meant midnight, but it can be the midnight of any day.
Even if Yue Ling is not the person being target, she is with child and the one who will be put at a greater risk more than anyone else.
Lu Tian stares at his wife for a long minute then to the note in his hand. His eyes darken dangerously with no ounce of mercy in them.
He had told Xu Long to search for this unknown person, but now that it involves the safety of his wife and child, he will personally track down this person who is asking for death.