Chapter 460: Interrogation
After a brief discussion with no conclusive results, Zhuang Mingxu decided to head over to the Guard Division’s holding area after dinner, bringing Lu Weiyi along.
“Big Daddy, Ai Yi wants to go out too,” said Zhuang Aiyi, who rarely made requests. Upon seeing them getting into the car, he immediately ran over.
The adults in the squad had all been busy lately. The two kids were either being left at the villa or watched by Lu Xiao. Outings were rare. Even though he knew it wasn’t appropriate, Zhuang Mingxu found it hard to say no.
“Little Daddy, Ai Yi will be good,” Zhuang Aiyi looked at Lu Weiyi with big pleading eyes.
“Taotao wants to go too,” Taotao added. After spending so much time in the household, he was no longer the cautious child he once was. Like any kid, he clung to Lu Weiyi’s arm with practiced ease, acting spoiled.
Zhuang Mingxu thought for a moment. “When I go in to question the victim, you take the kids to the nearby trading market for a stroll. How about that?”
“Sure,” Lu Weiyi replied, clearly glad to avoid dealing with the matter.
At heart, he didn’t care about all the gossip and nonsense people were spreading. He hadn’t done anything, and the people around him believed him. That was enough. The opinions of irrelevant people meant nothing to him—this indifference was exactly why he hadn’t taken the issue seriously at all.
Seeing how readily Lu Weiyi agreed, Zhuang Mingxu chuckled and ruffled his hair, deliberately messing up his neatly styled look before smoothing it out again.
Lu Weiyi didn’t move a muscle throughout the whole thing, letting Zhuang Mingxu fuss over him. The complete trust and quiet acceptance filled Zhuang Mingxu’s heart and calmed his previously boiling anger.
With the two kids in the back seat, Zhuang Mingxu drove the three of them toward the Guard Division. On the way, he casually brought up the underground passage agreement they’d signed earlier that day.
“The construction team has been extending westward lately, cutting across the old Daian Expressway. That route would let us branch directly from the main road and link to several nearby small bases. It’ll make future connections very convenient.”
“Didn’t Tang Bo from the Pingjin Base want to link up their base first?” On their first day here, Tang Bo had seen the newly completed passage between Half Moon Bay and the Capital Base and had immediately gone for a tour the next day. After returning, he declared on the spot that Pingjin Base wanted to hitch a ride on the project.
“That’s a matter of crystal cores. His own forces can’t fund such a large project. The others just want to enjoy the results without putting in any effort—how could it be that easy?” Zhuang Mingxu again sighed at the wisdom of their decision to build their own base. The early years had been tough, but now the benefits were obvious.
“When I ran into him this morning, he asked if they could use their own earth-type ability users to create a tunnel between Pingjin and Half Moon Bay. As for connecting to the Capital base, he said they’d just use our tunnel in the future.”
“And you agreed?”
“I said I’d consider it,” Zhuang Mingxu replied, still a bit hesitant. “We spent a fortune building the tunnel to Capital, so letting them use it for free feels unfair. But earth-type users are so powerful now that there’s no effective way to monitor their abilities. Just because Tang Bo was upfront about it doesn’t mean he couldn’t secretly manipulate things.”
“What do you mean?”
“In reality, each base could develop its own tunnel and discreetly connect it to our main road at some inconspicuous location. If they don’t want to be discovered, they could hide the connection point and only open it when in use. If we don’t inspect thoroughly, we’d never notice it.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Weiyi looked at Zhuang Mingxu with a sympathetic gaze. Before Zhuang could ask what was wrong, Lu reached over, disregarding driving rules, and tugged a white hair from the top of his head, placing it in front of his eyes.
“You’re getting old.”
Zhuang Mingxu stared wordlessly at the white hair Lu was holding, then looked back at Lu’s rejuvenated face—visibly younger after treatment—and was too annoyed to speak. Yet Lu, oblivious to the mood, added, “It’s from all the worrying.”
Zhuang let out a frustrated laugh, stopped the car at the entrance of the security team building, and crossed his arms while looking at Lu. “Fine. Then I won’t worry anymore. You go and ask Xing Lu why he asked to see us.”
Lu paused in his movement to get out of the car. “We really don’t need to care what he wants.”
Zhuang could tell he wasn’t joking and sighed. “That ‘the innocent have nothing to fear’ nonsense only works as self-comfort for those without a voice. Right now, you don’t just represent yourself, you represent the entire base. Your reputation affects ours directly. If we let someone smear us without a response, others will feel emboldened to stab us in the back later.”
Lu thought of the one million crystal cores he’d demanded in compensation and asked, “So you want to make an example of him?”
“We need to teach people a lesson,” Zhuang said coldly, his eyes sharp.
“Then I’ll take the kids out to have fun.” Lu quickly got out of the car, clearly afraid of being roped into anything, and took the two children by the hand, running off with them.
“Director Zhuang, shall we go in now?” the staff member asked.
Zhuang looked in the direction of the trio running off like they were being chased by dogs and gritted his teeth. Lu, already far away, turned around under the dim neon lights and made a heart gesture at him. Zhuang couldn’t help but smile.
Even though it wasn’t the first time Lu’s vitality had touched him, it still warmed Zhuang’s heart.
After watching them leave, Zhuang reined in his smile and walked toward the security team’s office building. As he entered, he glanced at the mirror on the wall and couldn’t help checking himself out a little.
*
There were no proper prisons anymore in the bases.
Severe crimes were met with death, minor ones received punishment and release.
Under normal circumstances, a case like Xing Lu’s—where no one died—would simply be mediated by the security team. But since it involved Lu Weiyi and the victim adamantly accused him, Zhao Qiang did Zhuang a favor by detaining Xing Lu under the guise of investigation.
Xing Lu was held in a private room, furnished simply like in pre-apocalypse times, with only a bed and a desk.
He lay on the bed in disheveled clothing, asleep. Upon hearing the door knock, he looked over warily.
Zhuang Mingxu sat down on a nearby stool and looked at him. “I heard you wanted to see me.”
“Young Master Lu didn’t come?” Xing Lu’s voice was hoarse.
“He took the kids out to play.” Zhuang recalled seeing him that morning standing beside Lu, brows slightly raised in conversation.
Xing Lu gave a knowing smile. “I used to think Young Master Lu was lucky. Now I think you’re pretty lucky too.”
Zhuang raised an eyebrow. “You know us?”
“Top-tier eligible bachelor in the domestic tech industry—everyone in the circle wanted to cozy up to you,” Xing Lu replied with a self-deprecating tone, though his eyes were sharp and cold. Seeing that Zhuang had no memory of him, he laughed bitterly.
Zhuang studied him seriously. Recalling that Lin Mo had mentioned he used to be an actor, and with what little he knew of the entertainment industry, he realized this was once a fairly popular screen tough guy.
The infamous “suit thug” of the trending charts. A reliable box office draw in the industry.
But now, his current appearance was a far cry from the image on screen.
Looking at Zhuang Mingxu, who hadn’t changed much, Xing Lu seemed to be reminiscing about the days of indulgent luxury. He had once been a well-known actor without any background, unwilling to be trampled underfoot, attending every bigwig banquet in hopes of finding a “backer.”
Zhuang Mingxu was the prey he had set his sights on—especially after learning the man had a longtime male lover he kept at home. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, he never managed to get close to Zhuang. Instead, he caught sight of the very lover being doted on.
That innocent young man had the clarity and allure of a dewdrop-covered white rose. Silent, yet captivating. The intimidating and powerful President Zhuang would gently feed him bites of food, speaking softly.
Xing Lu, filled with envy, gave up any intention of interfering—his appearance was so far removed from the youth’s that not even as a substitute could he compete.
Now, coming here with Ling Shengge, he’d once again hoped to find a new support system. Who knew the person Ling wanted him to attach himself to would turn out to be that very young man? Meanwhile, Zhuang—the man who, like him, had lost his powers and become an ordinary person—still ruled an entire base, now respectfully called Base Director Zhuang.
Fate is a cruel joke.
Xing Lu gave a mocking smile and spoke first. “I can prove that the person who drugged me wasn’t Director Lu.”
Zhuang Mingxu looked at him calmly, without replying. He hadn’t forgotten that Zhao Qiang had said the victim had personally accused Lu Weiyi.
“There’s no surveillance. Without my word, no one can prove Young Master Lu’s innocence,” Xing Lu said, raising his bargaining chips.
“What do you want?”
“I want to go with you to Half Moon Bay.”
“These days, it’s not so easy to get into Half Moon Bay. What valuable information can you offer?”
“I can name the person behind this.”
Zhuang made a gesture indicating he was listening. Xing Lu, realizing he wasn’t going to get a definite answer up front, was reluctant to reveal too much. But seeing Zhuang completely unfazed, he eventually gave in.
According to him, the entire scheme had been orchestrated by Ling Shengge.
Her so-called “boy toys” weren’t just for personal pleasure—they were tools to curry favor with various factions in the base. Some faction leaders had publicly powerful spouses they couldn’t leave, so their secret lovers became Ling Shengge’s bargaining chips. She’d raise them personally and use them as currency.
She used this method to gradually gain a foothold in the base. The reason she brought so many ordinary people with her to Capital this time was to repeat the same trick, and the best target was Lu Weiyi.
“At first, she intended to seduce him herself. Young Master Lu…” Xing Lu thought of the way Lu Weiyi had thoroughly wiped his hand after Ling Shengge touched it, completely ignoring appearances, and the way Ling Shengge had smiled through clenched teeth. The memory filled him with unspeakable satisfaction. “Since a woman didn’t work, she had Qiqi and me take the stage. Doing it in public was to ensure everyone saw it and to prepare for the afternoon’s plan.”
“Ling Shengge’s original plan was for Young Master Lu to act the part of a ‘hero saving a beauty’. But who would’ve thought Lu Weiyi would be so indifferent in private and just ignore it? By the time the stage had already been set, there was no room for mistakes. The show had to go on, so I had to step up and falsely accuse Lu Weiyi.”
