Shameless Gangster

Chapter 20B

Title: Unshakeable determination

Translate: Sae

- Present -

At three o'clock in the morning, Jiang Xiaoning parked his car around the corner of the street, walked a few steps and pushed the door into a 24-hour convenience store.

He was going to walk over to the shelves, but the owner standing behind the counter said: "There's no need to look around, I'm the only one here."

Jiang Xiaoning casually grabbed a can of coffee and placed it on the counter: "A pack of cigarettes."

The owner was a thin man; he glanced at Jiang Xiaoning from behind his glasses, and while turning around to get a cigarette from the cabinet behind him, he said: "I called, why didn't you pick up?"

"Had work to deal with," Jiang Xiaoning simply said, then took out his phone and turned it on.

The owner threw the pack of cigarettes on the table and started to scan the barcode of the coffee can. He paused when Jiang Xiaoning answered that question like that, then wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air: "That's a fishy smell, blood?"

"It's not mine." Jiang Xiaoning stepped back a little, "How's the investigation that I entrusted you with going?"

"Sorry, I still haven't found anything on Yu Xiujun's whereabouts. These are some information from her relatives and friends. You must have seen them already from when you had taken the job before though you may not have been as meticulous. You can take a look first." The owner picked up the cigarette case and shook it gently to indicate that there was a flash drive inside before he then placed the cigarette and coffee in the bag, and pushed it over to him, "9.20 RMB."

Jiang Xiaoning handed over 10 RMB: "I'll transfer over the money to you later, your account hasn't changed, right?"

The owner took the money and lowered his head to find the change in the cash register: "It changed, but you don't have to ask. I want to repay your favor. You think I really want to swindle a few pennies from you, huh?"

He took a few coins from the register and unconsciously played with them in his hands before he spoke with a little hesitation: "There's something else... although it's not within the scope of my investigation, I think you need to know it." He looked up at Jiang Xiaoning, "I took a risky move to follow Xin Muran in order to find a clue to Yu Xiujun."

Jiang Xiaoning picked up the bag: "Did you get caught?"

"I'm not that useless yet." The owner sneered, "He hasn't accepted any jobs in quite some time, right? Well, I caught him sneakily tracking someone. I thought it had something to do with Yu Xiujun, so I kept an eye on him. But when it comes to tracking, he's more adept than I am. I didn't dare to follow him for too long. After determining where his target lives, I went over and waited around for any movement."

"He stayed?" Jiang Xiaoning instinctively felt that something was wrong, and immediately asked.

The owner nodded: "The person lives in a small hotel next to the station. Yesterday afternoon, Xin Muran drove his car over to find him. Do you understand what I mean? He went to see that person as 'Xin Muran.' This situation... is really strange. He's tracking others for his personal affairs this time. If this matter—"

He stopped. Jiang Xiaoning's expression changed for a moment, his eyes widened just the slightest, and his pupils shrank instantly. The owner used his rich experience in interpreting expressions to read him and noticed his changes that included, vigilance, anger, anxiety, and fear - all were manifestations of someone being attacked or preparing to attack.