Chapter 17 – Young, and Worth a Million
Lin Xi didn’t let her guard down. Her evasion was at max level as she dodged Shi Yu’s potato chip attack.
“You dare dodge?” Shi Yu’s second “projectile” was already chambered-she snatched up a bag of Bugles.
“You dare throw it?” Lin Xi didn’t choose to throw anything back. Instead, she tore open the packaging and started eating.
“Stop the infighting for a second,” Lin Xi called out. “There’s a breaking news report!”
Her words pulled Shi Yu’s attention back to the television screen.
On the TV, a reporter began broadcasting the latest update:
“Shuguang Technology, the parent company of Jinrui Bank, has expressed its strongest condemnation regarding this violent robbery and homicide!”
“They are calling upon all citizens of Z City to join the hunt for the culprits.”
“To anyone providing reliable leads, Shuguang Technology will reward that public-spirited citizen with a total of one million yuan!”
“And that is one million yuan after taxes!”
Lin Xi, who had been munching on potato chips, suddenly felt like they didn’t taste so good anymore.
“One million yuan… and it’s one million after taxes!”
Lin Xi had never even dreamed that at such a young age, she would already be worth a million!
“Shi Yu,” she said, turning her head toward her. “Can I discuss something with you?”
“No,” Shi Yu said, crunching on a Bugle.
Lin Xi said with a beaming smile, “How about I report you? Then you can find a way to escape later, and we’ll split the million fifty-fifty.”
Shi Yu gave a dry chuckle. “I have a similar proposal.”
Lin Xi shook her head. “You’re so powerful, you’ll definitely be able to break out. If I get caught, I’m a goner.”
Shi Yu didn’t reply. What answered Lin Xi was a bag of crispy noodles thrown her way.
“Tch,” Lin Xi curled her lip. “If you don’t agree, you don’t agree. Stop throwing the snacks around.”
“I’ll do what I want,” Shi Yu said. “I bought all these snacks anyway.”
Before coming home, Lin Xi had gone to the market for groceries, while Shi Yu had gone to the nearby supermarket and bought a large bag of snacks.
When Lin Xi asked Shi Yu to settle the bill for the groceries, Shi Yu gave her only two words:
No money!
“Eat fewer snacks before dinner.” Lin Xi finished the chips, put the bag of noodles she’d just caught into her pocket, and turned back to the kitchen to keep working.
Since she hadn’t left any traces at the crime scene, she didn’t have to worry about the people from the Countermeasures Bureau finding her.
“Perverted Witch, hurry it up,” Shi Yu urged. “I’m so hungry-“
“I’m so hungry-” Xia Xun thought to herself.
Even if she was so hungry her stomach was sticking to her spine, she still had to finish her overtime work seriously… like hell she did!
Xia Xun had already cursed inwardly a dozen times. It was clearly long past clock-out time, yet the Captain just had to drag her here for overtime.
To maintain her image as a powerful, professional, righteous, responsible, and adorably invincible super-perfect magical beauty girl, Xia Xun had no choice but to agree immediately and show up for overtime with feigned enthusiasm.
Furthermore, she couldn’t apply for overtime pay. Once she did, it would ruin the “righteous and responsible” part of her super-perfect magical beauty girl image.
So, if you’re hungry, just deal with it! Endure it! …Xia Xun told herself.
Actually, if something had happened anywhere else, the Captain might not have dragged her here.
Unfortunately, this Jinrui Bank was a private bank under Shuguang Technology.
Shuguang Technology was one of the high-level sponsors of the Countermeasures Bureau. When the sugar daddy’s house gets robbed, the Countermeasures Bureau has to be anxious even if they aren’t.
“Xun, have you found any traces of Dark Realm Creatures?”
A man wearing sunglasses and a black trench coat, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, leaned in toward Xia Xun.
He was Xia Xun’s Captain, the shot-caller of the Countermeasures Bureau’s Third Squad, Zhao Xing.
“Captain, you’re smoking at a crime scene?”
“If the reporters catch you, aren’t you afraid of being on the front page or the trending searches tomorrow?”
Xia Xun moved a bit further away from Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing chuckled. “That would be perfect. I don’t have the money to buy a trending spot anyway. If I can get on for free, nothing could be better.”
Despite his words, he still obediently put out the cigarette.
Xia Xun hated the smell of smoke, and he always tended to forget that.
“Captain,” Xia Xun said with a solemn expression, “I’ve checked the bank inside and out. I didn’t find any traces of power used by Dark Realm Creatures.”
“Those three should be ordinary humans.”
“Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that they simply didn’t use their powers.”
“After all, they had guns. They could control the situation inside the bank with firearms; there was no need to use powers and leave traces behind.”
After Xia Xun finished her analysis, Zhao Xing nodded. He asked her to join him in reviewing the bank’s surveillance footage once more.
From the captured images, they could only confirm that the three robbers were female. Because they wore hoods that covered them completely, their ages were impossible to discern from the footage.
“I actually hope they’re just normal humans,” Zhao Xing said. “If it’s not a Dark Realm Disaster, then it’s none of our business, and we can dump this headache on someone else.”
Xia Xun didn’t want to work overtime, and Zhao Xing wanted to even less. While Xia Xun had to keep quiet to maintain her image, Captain Zhao didn’t care about appearances; if he had something to complain about, he’d say it.
“The Bureau Chief is really something, specifically naming me to come and take a look.”
“At least he approved my request for overtime pay.”
“Xun, I applied for yours too.”
Xia Xun remained calm on the surface, but internally, she was over the moon. “Thank you, Captain!”
“Captain, does us chatting like this count as slacking off?”
“Haven’t we already finished the work?” Zhao Xing replied. “We found no traces of Dark Realm Creatures. We’ll just slack off a bit longer and then call it a day.”
The ‘slacking duo’-who looked professional but were actually just killing time watching surveillance videos-immediately turned serious when they saw a man in a suit enter the monitoring room.
The man who entered was the representative sent by Shuguang Technology to coordinate the case with the Countermeasures Bureau, a man named He Mingyuan.
“Director He-” Zhao Xing greeted him with a smile.
Xia Xun offered a polite greeting as well. “Director He.”
He Mingyuan waved his hand. “I don’t deserve the title. I’m just the commissioner sent by the higher-ups to coordinate the case. Captain Zhao, Miss Xia, you can just call me Commissioner He.”
“Alright, Commissioner He,” Zhao Xing said. “Xun, give the Commissioner a report on the situation.”
Xia Xun repeated the report she had just given to Zhao Xing.
“Thank you for your hard work,” He Mingyuan said. “I absolutely trust Miss Xia’s judgment.”
Xia Xun was one of the Three Great Magical Girls; if she said there were no traces of Dark Realm Creatures, then there certainly weren’t any.
“However, as Miss Xia mentioned, we cannot rule out the possibility that the three robbers are Dark Realm Creatures who simply didn’t use their powers.”
“Therefore, we need to stay in touch.”
“If you don’t mind, shall we exchange contact information?”
Both Zhao Xing and Xia Xun felt a bit of a headache. This ‘financial backer’ from Shuguang Technology was truly difficult to please. They had no choice but to exchange contact details with He Mingyuan.
Zhao Xing remarked, “Commissioner He, if only cash was stolen, then it was likely the work of ordinary humans.”
Zhao Xing said this because both he and Xia Xun felt that Commissioner He seemed to be hiding something. They had inspected the vault and, based on the marks left behind, determined that a safe should have been there as well. The safe hadn’t been carried off by the three robbers, so it could only have been moved by Shuguang Technology’s people.
If Shuguang Technology cared that much about it, the robbers might have cared too. Was it possible that the robbers’ true target was actually whatever was inside that safe?
Zhao Xing wanted to know what was in the safe. Knowing the contents might help determine whether the robbers were Dark Realm Creatures. But… he understood that He Mingyuan likely wouldn’t be transparent. Otherwise, why would they move the safe and tamper with the crime scene themselves?
It was these inconveniences that made Zhao Xing reluctant to take on the case.
“Actually, Captain Zhao, some Dark Realm Creatures are also very fond of money,” He Mingyuan was about to continue when a loud growl rang out.
Xia Xun’s stomach had growled.
She had reached her limit.
It’s over, Xia Xun thought. Her image as a magical beauty girl was about to take a massive hit.
He Mingyuan said, “My apologies, I haven’t arranged things well. It’s already dinner time. Let’s eat and talk.”
Zhao Xing was overjoyed at the prospect of a free meal. Xia Xun nodded awkwardly.
He Mingyuan added with a gentlemanly air, “Miss Xia, I didn’t hear a thing.”
Please give the book a rating and a review on NovelUpdates.
It helps the website and helps people find this novel!
Advance Chapters:
If you'd like to support our translations with a one-time donation, you can do so via Ko-fi. For early access to chapters, 10 days in advance, consider subscribing to our Patreon.
- Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/hoxionia
- Patreon: https://patreon.com/hoxionia
Discord:
Please give the book a rating and a review on NovelUpdates.
It helps the website and helps people find this novel!
Advance Chapters:
If you'd like to support our translations with a one-time donation, you can do so via Ko-fi. For early access to chapters, 10 days in advance, consider subscribing to our Patreon.
- Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/hoxionia
- Patreon: https://patreon.com/hoxionia
