The opposition had over twenty fully equipped elite fighters. The power disparity was absurdly vast.
Shen Qiuxun tightened his hold on the man in his arms and swallowed. He looked at the old man and spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, “The batch of drugs behind you is called Novinil Liquid. It’s a type of Pheromone Serum. The place of origin is Planet Sufil. Because it contains a small amount of F-Type Gene Extract, it has a pale blue appearance. Shopkeeper Jace, you should be familiar with it.”
The old man seemed to take some interest in this. He turned his head. A bodyguard respectfully handed him a glass tube. It looked like an ordinary tube of medication, nothing suspicious.
Jace didn’t know what Shen Qiuxun was playing at and could only stiffly nod. “Yes.”
Shen Qiuxun continued, “Because the nature of F-Type Gene Extract is unstable, its shelf life is only fifteen days. On the fifth day, a white powdery precipitate forms, and the drug’s potency begins to wane. After ten days, it forms white crystalline precipitate. By the fifteenth day, its potency is completely gone.”
“To preserve the drugs and extend storage time, the pharmacy specially ordered a Specialized Chamber. Inside the chamber, the shelf life of the drugs is extended tenfold. The shipment began transport on the morning of the 7th and arrived on the night of the 10th. Our pharmacy has a regulation: all drugs must complete inventory and be placed in storage before 1 AM of the same day.”
“That means the drugs would have been placed in the Specialized Chamber on the fourth day after production. Today, the 11th, they should not have produced any white powdery precipitate. If, as Shopkeeper Jace claims, Xu Zhiyuan stole them beforehand and they were left without the chamber’s protection, they would have produced white crystalline precipitate. You can carefully examine that tube of liquid in your hand.”
After such a long speech, Shen Qiuxun met the old man’s gaze steadily.
The old man lifted the glass tube. The pale blue liquid flowed inside the tube with his movement. A clean, clear blue, with no powdery precipitate whatsoever.
“It hasn’t precipitated. This proves that this batch of drugs could only have been taken out of the Specialized Chamber tonight at the earliest. So it was impossible for Xu Zhiyuan to have stolen them.”
The old man swirled the tube of medicine once before tossing it to the bodyguard beside him. The bodyguard caught it fearfully. The old man looked at Shen Qiuxun again, his gaze considerably more direct this time. He exhaled a smoke ring, his voice raspy. “Well argued. You are very smart.”
Stop praising me, just let me go! I can’t hold on anymore, I’m about to drop dead!
Daring not to voice his anger, Shen Qiuxun pulled a fake smile. “Also, after Xu Zhiyuan finished his mission last night, he was with me.”
“He was with you?” The old man tapped his cigar, ash falling away, and asked with apparent interest.
“Yes. He was in heat. We were doing… things you do during heat.” Shen Qiuxun unbuttoned his collar, revealing his smooth neck and shoulders. Several ambiguous red marks dotted his skin.
But before anyone could get a clear look, a hand suddenly came from behind him, pulled his collar up, and held it firmly shut. The man who’d been dazed and groggy all this time tugged his scarf down just slightly, revealing his eyes, and looked at the old man.
“…”
Shen Qiuxun fiercely twisted the man’s waist from behind again. Maintaining a straight face, he met the old man’s eyes. He knew this was the one with real say. “He had absolutely no time to steal the drugs.”
“However…” Jace tried to interject, but was cut off by the old man.
The old man’s voice was very much like a hoarse crow. He waved his hand. His pale yellow eyes looked past Shen Qiuxun at the man behind him. “That’s reasonable.”
Surprisingly easy to fool. Shen Qiuxun kept his expression stern and turned to Jace. “So then, Shopkeeper Jace, for harming an innocent man, shouldn’t there be an apology and compensation?”
“Young man, don’t push your luck.” The cigar stub was nearly burnt out, sparks flickering into gray ash. The old man was clearly displeased. To him, this was evidently an act of impertinence.
“It’s just an apology. Won’t cost him anything. Besides… he injured your capable subordinate to this state. Letting the true culprit off so lightly like this will truly chill the hearts of those beneath you.”
“Mm. Apologize.” Xu Zhiyuan spoke, his voice hoarse.
“You…”
“Jace.”
“Here.” Jace lowered his head, his expression hidden in shadow. But his rigid posture was enough to reveal his humiliation. He drew a deep breath. The words seemed forced from between his teeth. “I’m sorry.”
“And the compensation?”
Jace straightened up, hands clasped before his chest, eyes lowered. “Compensation of thirty…” He caught sight of the old man tapping his cigar ash. He swallowed and continued. “One dose of Suppressant.”
“Then can we leave now?” Shen Qiuxun knew when to quit while he was ahead. He turned to the old man.
The old man said nothing, but the bodyguards behind him neatly parted to form a path. Shen Qiuxun hoisted the man up. The two of them shuffled out, holding onto each other. Xu Zhiyuan was practically draped over him, but he wasn’t putting his full weight down, just making their walking posture very awkward. It didn’t matter—just get out, get out now.
[How did you know all that?]
‘When I was trapped in the warehouse before and Xu Zhiyuan was leading me out, I saw that Specialized Chamber. Got curious, took a look.’
[Just… one look?]
‘Do you not understand the caliber of a Provincial Top Scorer on the Country Z College Entrance Exam with 701 points?’
[.]
After the two left, the interrogation room fell silent.
After a long while, Jace mustered his courage and spoke. “Uncle…”
But just as he began, a slap landed heavily on his face. His cheek visibly swelled and reddened. Jace stood frozen in place, grinding his teeth almost to dust.
“Want to frame someone and can’t even do a clean job. You fool.”
The old man didn’t spare him another glance. He clenched the cigar between his teeth and closed his eyes. “I told you not to provoke him. Unless you are capable of replacing him.”
The bodyguards showed no reaction, acting like precise robots, dispersing to deal with the corpses on the ground.
“Such prime experimental material… Hmph.”
On the other side.
After Shen Qiuxun finally helped the man out of the pharmacy and into a spacious, sheltered alley nearby, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Using his last ounce of strength, he peeled the man off him.
The man faltered slightly, then slumped against the wall according to Shen Qiuxun’s push, his head hanging low and unmoving. Strands of silver hair fell over his face. For the first time, he looked truly wretched on this person.
“Faking an injury is a shameful scam.” Shen Qiuxun rotated his aching arm.
Xu Zhiyuan glanced at him, then used the wall to push himself to his feet. His steps were a little unsteady. He said lightly, “Got it. I’ll have them pay you back.” He paused a moment and looked over seriously. “Thank you.”
“If you’re lying to me, you’re dead meat.” Shen Qiuxun stepped forward and took his arm to support him.
In the silent, dark night, the two of them leaned close together and started the walk back to the rental house.
