Star Gate

Chapter 124: The Qiaos (III)

“Whatever you say then!”

The elevator stopped at the top floor. There were only two large offices here—Qiao Peng and his father’s. Li Hao made a beeline for Qiao Senior’s office.

“That’s my father’s office.” Qiao Peng frowned. “He’s in a meeting right now. Don’t go too overboard, Li Hao...”

“Shut up!” the young man brayed with the arrogance of a small man intoxicated with success. He growled, “Qiao Peng, you and I originally had no grudge with each other, but you put a foot wrong when you harassed Sis Liu! I have nothing to say about her husband dying in your mines, but you set your sights on Sis Liu after killing her husband! We’ll see about that!”

Qiao Peng cursed inwardly again and frowned deeply. “You can’t go around saying stuff like that, Li Hao. Don’t you dirty me with that! It was an accident and the Inspectorate closed the books on it a long time ago!”

“Hmph!” Li Hao pushed open the door. An old man inside raised his head to look at his visitor, glancing questioningly at Qiao Peng.

The latter quickly stepped forward and whispered a few sentences. The elder rose to his feet with a chuckle.

“Hello, Commissioner Inspector Li! You have achieved so much in your youth! I am familiar with your teacher Professor Yuan. Who would’ve thought that I’d bump into the professor’s prized pupil here!”

“You are too kind!” Li Hao grunted and walked around with the probe, declining further pleasantries. Smiling benignly, the old man didn’t stop him. Waves of shock rose in the young man’s heart!

He didn’t detect anything outside, other than there were powerhouses at the Qiao Mining Industries. He’d realized that as soon as he set foot through the front doors. The supernatural was very bold as he stayed close to Qiao Peng. He was a Darkmoon and seemed to be a bit stronger than Wang Ming. He might be a Plenilune.

Even so, that wasn’t enough to push Li Hao into losing his composure. But now, he was having trouble keeping a straight face. Thankfully, he could mask it through grimacing as he walked around with the probe.

What he didn’t detect and startled him so much was the elderly man in front of him, Qiao Peng’s father! A legendary figure of Silver City’s merchant scene, Qiao Feilong was more than seventy years old and built his commercial empire from scratch.

Li Hao was in perfect control even before he pushed open the door, but cold sweat soaked his back when he saw the other. A bright ball of light!

Indeed, a ball of light that couldn’t be seen through the door. The young man was almost blinded when he opened the door.

Fucking hell!

The ball of light seemed slightly weaker than Divine Brokensky, but only just. A Solar? Or peak Sunflare?

Why hadn’t he sensed anything outside? One had to know that this ball of light wasn’t something that could be obstructed by matter. It was the seepage of energy that Li Hao could see through. But he hadn’t seen anything earlier!

What did this mean?

It meant that the elder in front of him could completely conceal the ripples of his energy. It wasn’t until Li Hao saw the man with his own eyes that he could see the manifestation of energy within the body. It was perfectly contained as well—a control and concealment of energy that’d reached the martial master level!

A martial master’s energy stemmed from personal training, so it was normal and expected that it was inconspicuous. However, a supernatural’s energy originated from outside sources. What was absorbed from other places could not be so perfectly concealed, unless it was obscured by an extremely potent supernatural item!

Qiao Feilong is a peak Sunflare or Solar powerhouse!

Incredible! Li Hao truly hadn’t considered this possibility. He’d thought that Qiao Feilong was just reaping wealth through any means possible since Qiao Mining Industries was a Yama fringe organization. But it would seem the truth was not as simple as it was depicted. Would a peak Sunflare or even Solar be a simple tool for fleecing money? And he’d hidden himself so masterfully!

Li Hao continued waving the supernatural probe around while debating himself, shocked at his findings.

There’s another Plenilune apart from Qiao Feilong. The three Starlight are their supernaturals on the surface, and this is just the headquarters. What about the other places?

The Qiaos were much stronger than they anticipated! Based on his previous speculations, it would already be out of the ordinary if they possessed a Darkmoon. That peak Plenilune might be their biggest trump card, but there was nothing he was afraid of because Yuan Shuo resided in Silver City.

“Are you done here, Commissioner Inspector Li?” Qiao Peng demanded impatiently. It would be too fake if he remained unmoved in the face of such provocation.

“What are you in a hurry for!” Li Hao huffed back and turned to Qiao Feilong. “President Qiao, I should not be this brazen as I am your junior, but I feel that such a legendary figure of Silver City might have been too busy with his business to oversee his children’s education!”

“What makes you say that?” Qiao Feilong smiled warmly. “Please feel free to speak frankly, commissioner inspector.”

“This Qiao Peng!” Li Hao jabbed his finger at his subject’s nose. “He’s got some nerve! Liu Yan is the team captain of the Night Watcher field mission team, a senior officer of the commissioner inspector grade! This Qiao Peng acted frivolously toward her on multiple occasions in broad daylight!

“Is there any honor to be had in bullying a widow?! The Night Watcher branch has indeed just been established, but it would take absolutely no effort to ruin the Qiaos! With the rise of the supernatural and the indiscreet style of your vast family and business, I feel that it’s only a matter of time before this person brings disaster to your house!”

Qiao Feilong calmly inclined his head after a while. “You speak truly! Qiao Peng has indeed been a bit overly pampered. So this is the matter at hand. Rest easy, Commissioner Inspector Li, he will not pester Vice Captain Liu anymore!”

“Dad!” Qiao Peng complained loudly.

“You’re more than thirty years old, yet have no sense of propriety! The commissioner inspector is young, but his words make extreme sense! You do not focus on how to cross over after the rise of the supernatural, but instigate endless trouble with women day in and day out!” Qiao Feilong turned to Li Hao. “There will be no end to enmity if it is not settled amicably. Qiao Peng lacked decorum in his actions and Vice Captain Liu may not be willing to see me. Please tell her I apologize on my son’s behalf. Additionally, I offer her a small token of my sentiments...”

“Forget it, that’s not needed!” Li Hao waved the man off.

“Please make a decision after you hear me out.” Qiao Feilong smiled. “The Qiaos are a local corporation, after all. The establishment of a Night Watcher branch in Silver City is another layer of protection for us locals! I know a detail or two about Vice Captain Liu’s matter. Her husband died in an accident, but he was still a member of the Qiao Mining Industries. I feel quite apologetic for his undeserved death.

“I know Vice Captain Liu has been seeking to break through and make the crossover. We do not know much about this domain and are deeply regretful that we cannot help her in this regard! But we collected ten cubes of mysterious power from White Moon City recently. I was going to give them to Qiao Peng in pursuit of the supernatural, but now I worry he’ll cause greater trouble after ascension due to his lack of restraint. Why don’t I make a gift out of them and present it to the vice captain? Please treat it as a token of my sentiments!”

Li Hao wanted to refuse him outright, but stopped awkwardly and huffed, “Ten cubes? Isn’t... isn’t that too precious?”

“A life is more important than the heavens themselves!” sighed Qiao Feilong. “This will also help me sleep better at night. It’s just what little I can do!”

“Well... Sis Liu might not want it...” Li Hao was conflicted.

“That’s alright. If Vice Captain Liu doesn’t want it... just throw them away!” Qiao Feilong sighed again. “The Qiaos can afford to gift or lose something like this. I only hope that the vice captain can be more at ease, in which I can look at myself in the mirror.”

Li Hao’s internal struggle was evident; Qiao Feilong gestured to his men. Someone quickly walked up with a box.

“This box is an energy storage box from the central region! It can hold mysterious power as ice crystals are embedded within its structure. All ten cubes are inside, but they’re all of the fire attribute. I’m not sure if they suit Captain Liu.”

Li Hao subconsciously accepted the box. It wasn’t heavy, but he still tightly clenched his arms around it.

“Then... I accept?” Reluctance warred with struggle. “I’ll... bring this back to you if Sis Liu doesn’t want it?”

“That’s alright, throw it away if she doesn’t want it!”

Li Hao grimaced with reluctance and concluded with embarrassment, “Then... then I’ll take this... and throw it away if she doesn’t want it...”

“Whatever you wish!”

“My apologies for the disturbance and breach of etiquette, President Qiao is truly my idol!” Liu Yan immediately broke out into smiles. “There will be many areas in which I’ll have to rely on the president as I carry out my duties in Silver City. As long as Qiao Peng no longer harasses Sis Liu, I will not make things difficult for the Qiaos. I hadn’t wanted to in the first place, but Qiao Peng was simply too out of line!”

Qiao Peng couldn’t stop cursing to himself. How was I out of line? You little bastard, you care for nothing but money! Look at all the excuses you’ve made for a woman! Now that you’ve received our token, you still act like I’m the one who stirred up trouble first. Holy fuck this sucks!

The young man was a deft hand at bureaucracy at a young age. As expected of a student from the Veteris Institute! Li Hao had a trove of slick responses that he could quickly trot out for any occasion.

Qiao Feilong murmured his agreement with a smile.

“Um... I do still have to make a round of the mines,” Li Hao continued awkwardly. “But rest assured, President Qiao, it’s just a formality. Qiao Peng will be with me, I’ll just take a look from the outside. I must carry out my orders to the letter! We can leave the supernatural probe, I’m sure that there will be no trouble.”

“But of course!” Qiao Feilong smiled. “Commissioner Inspector Li is a fine person. Please visit whenever you have time, you are always welcome!”

“Then I thank you for your hospitality!” Li Hao merrily walked toward the door. “Qiao Peng, you should learn more from your father. I’ll be waiting downstairs. Don’t lecture him too harshly, sir.”

“Hahaha, I hear you. I’ll give him a good talking to!” Qiao Feilong laughed heartily. His smile didn’t drop until the elevator doors closed on Li Hao and the Night Watcher started his descent. He furrowed his brow at his son. “You should keep your act to an appropriate level! You know that Li Hao has intentions toward Liu Yan, but you insist on getting involved! Isn’t that blatantly giving offense? Go on, accompany him to the mines, but remember not to let him walk around. The same goes for you too!”

“Understood!”

“Go on, then!”