Chapter 252 - Catch The Other Bad Guy

Qing Lok had downloaded an app that would let him know if it detected a suspicious message and it wouldn't rest until he read the contents. He rushed home and was more than glad to have his brothers and Feng Xuan in the living room already with the IT team. 

"About damn time you got here," said Wuming from the couch. He looked like he had just gotten up with his hair sticking up in all directions and he was holding a steaming cup of coffee. "They're already decoding the message."

Qing Lok snatched the printed copy on the table. There were a lot of symbols in it, most had curves on the top and flat lines at the bottom.

"Why can't you just talk normally?" followed Wuming with an annoyed glance at everybody. "I mean, we're all going to read the letter anyway. What's the point of hiding it in codes?"

Qing Lok rolled his eyes. "Because we're intelligent people who liked to solve things and feel happy when we get the right answer. Does that satisfy you?"

"No," answered Wuming with a grin. "But your angry face did."

Qing Lok sat down and took one of the laptops to check what were the people working on. Seeing that they have little progress with the research, he started typing on his own.

On her seat, Feng Xuan could barely contain her excitement with what was happening. She could not believe it. She felt like a fangirl who got a reply from her idol. "He wrote back," she smiled to Qing Chen.

"Yeah." Qing Chen looked worriedly around the room. It had been half an hour and they have not detected a single letter. All the eyebrows were furrowed and everyone was furiously typing at their keys. "We received about a hundred pings on where the letters were sent and some of them are still in the system. Looks like The Zookeeper is really thinking."

Feng Xuan held Qing Chen's hand and squeezed comfortingly. "We should spar soon. It had been a while. It might be good for us to stretch some muscle."

Qing Chen tapped his feet on the floor. "How do you catch someone who works in the shadow?"

"You bring them in the light?"

"No… you have to steal the darkness."

Feng Xuan thought about it. "How do you do that?"

Now his finger taps on the armrest, his mind was running. They did not have a single clue on who The Zookeeper was. But apart from bringing the shadow-people in the light… how was he going to steal darkness?

Feng Xuan's eyes focused on Qing Chen's finger when it finally stopped. "What is it?"

"We're gonna have to expand the mafia."

"But I thought we're closing it down?"

"Yes, but not now." He got up from the seat and pointed to a person who was waiting by the doorway. "Get me Clown." He turned back to Feng Xuan. "I need my blood rushing. Can I take you up on that spar?"

Feng Xuan gladly got on her feet. When they were out of earshot, she whispered, trailing a teasing finger behind his ear, "You know sparring is not the only way to get your blood rushing."

Qing Chen squirmed away with a light smile. "Please, I need to focus."

"Yes, let's go catch the other bad guy."

**

An hour and a half later of waiting and sweating, there was finally word. The two were pulled out of their sparring and still covered in sweat.

"Go shower," Wuming frowned at them. "You both stink."

Feng Xuan wiped her wet forehead and flicked her fingers his way. "I bet you haven't even taken a bath."

"I still smell better than you."

Qing Lok was stretching his arms and his lower back. "The code is still loading."

"How does it look like?" Qing Chen asked.

"It looks long. He wrote you with real love today."

Qing Chen was no religious person but he was praying that something would pop out of the letter. Anything. Just even a simple clue.

The code loading was taking longer than usual so the couple showered first and while walking back to the living room in fresh clothes, Feng Xuan asked. "Do you think there is really something in that letter?"

Qing Chen silently groaned. "If there isn't anything. I would personally go through all the countries that we had pings on and comb through them until I find him."

Feng Xuan also looked tired. "Can't we just leave him be? Let's let him kidnap me then I'm going to kill him."

"That could work," he answered. It was not an idea he would like to entertain. He believed in Feng Xuan's skill but what could she do if she were to be tied or chained to a chair? How was she supposed to fight, then?

"Do you think he'd kill me instantly? For killing his brother?"

"I highly doubt that," Qing Chen said truthfully. "If you were caught, are you going to kill yourself?"

"I'll try to escape first, of course," she said and her jaw suddenly tightened. "But, you'll have to forgive me if I decide to just kill myself than go through torture and wait for you to come. Don't worry, I'll try to leave my face pretty. I'll take the first chance I get."

It was as if Qing Chen's stomach had been filled with acid. He could tell that Feng Xuan was not joking. She was really going to kill herself if she saw that all hope was lost.

They were both pulled out of their thoughts when Wuming found them. "The letter is translated," he said and he looked more awake than ever. "Come on, we're going to read."

The couple exchanged a look. Judging by the expression on Wuming's face, it was not good. When they got to the living room, Qing Lok was already holding a piece of paper.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Shoot," Feng Xuan answered.