Chapter 50: Chapter 50: 100,000 Bounty
In life, itās inevitable to experience moments of public embarrassment, but Su Qing never thought heād one day lose face like this.
Being caught by the police in a foot massage parlor, and even calling in acquaintancesāhow is this okay? He wished he could crawl into a hole, even if he was just getting a foot massage, but who would believe that?
He turned to look at Wang Xing beside him. At least he wasnāt alone; otherwise, he would be completely doomed.
Inside the private room, Li Zijun was glaring at the two of them, her chest heaving dramatically, looking as if she was both enraged and disappointed, ready to collapse at any moment.
"Wow, I never realized you knew how to enjoy yourself; you actually came to a foot massage parlor!"
"So, are the female masseuses pretty? Are their skills good, comfortable?"
Upon hearing this, Su Qing rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, the strength was indeed good enough to almost ruin me, but saying theyāre pretty is a bit too much.
Besides, Iāve been alive for over twenty years, working hard to make money since graduation, canāt I enjoy myself a bit?
But before he could explain, Du Qiang sitting next to him chuckled, "Sister Li, theyāre probably just here for a foot massage; they didnāt even go to the third floor, and when I came in, the masseuses were an old man and an old lady, so they shouldnāt have done anything!"
Hearing this, Su Qing immediately gave Du Qiang a grateful look. After all, it was about maintaining a manās dignity; he could not let people misunderstand.
After hearing this, Li Zijunās face softened a lot, then looked at Du Qiang, who nodded, indicating he wasnāt lying. She then turned to Su Qing and spat:
"This time, maybe not, but who knows about before!"
To this, Wang Xing immediately called out, "Sister Jun, I swear Iām innocent! I just got a foot massage. Oh, right, Qingzi brought me here. Itās my first time. Heās probably a regular!"
Su Qing: @#$#$%
Listen, is this how people talk? To save himself, he even sold out his buddy. First time? Maybe first time today!
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Sure enough, hearing this, Li Zijunās previously softened gaze turned sharp again, with eyes filled with suspicion, looking over: "Mr. Su is living quite the lifeāhaving meals with beauties one moment and enjoying yourself at foot massage parlors the next. So generous, why donāt you treat me too someday?"
This made Su Qing tremble with fear, quickly saying, "Sister Jun, look at what youāre saying, Iām just here for a soak, really didnāt do anything."
To this, Li Zijun sneered at Du Qiang nearby: "Check their spending records at the front desk later. If thereās any problem, we might as well take them in this time!"
"Alright!" With that, Du Qiang turned and left.
Seeing the two of them still standing there cluelessly, Li Zijun couldnāt help but laugh in exasperation: "What are you looking at? Waiting for New Yearās? Go change and come out!"
With that, she also turned and left.
In response, Su Qing and Wang Xing exchanged a bitter smile. How could they be so unlucky? Was today destined to be a bad day for them?
When the two of them were done changing and came down to the first floor, the lobby was bustling with people, but three distinct groups had formed.
One group was police officers in uniform, guns at their sides, mainly keeping watch at the entrance and maintaining order. Another group, like Su Qing and Wang Xing, were normal patrons from the second floor, standing on the left side of the hall, being searched for contraband before being let out one by one.
And the final group was interesting, on the other side of the hall, a row of people crouched down, mostly young women in disarray but some men, too.
Clearly, the special services offered by this foot massage parlor had been busted, and most were caught red-handed, inevitably having to be taken back to the station for questioning.
It wasnāt super serious, but definitely embarrassing; you could see those people all had their heads down, not daring to look up, feeling ashamed to face their own reflection.
"Qingzi, whatās going on, why does this feel off?" Wang Xing whispered beside him.
Generally, does an anti-vice operation have to be this grand? And theyāre even checking normal customers; most of the lobby is still made up of regular customers, yet theyāre all being checked.
To this, Su Qing was also puzzled, and then he saw Du Qiang and others coming down from upstairs, bringing down a few more disheveled men and women, prompting him to wave and whisper, "Brother Qiang, Brother Qiang?"
Hearing the call, Du Qiang turned around, initially not wanting to engage but remembering that this kid had dealt with his station a few times before, so he approached: "Whatās up, kid?"
"Whereās my sister?"
"Sister Li, oh, sheās on the third floor, sheāll be down shortly. Oh right, we know about you two, no need to check. Just leave with Sister Li when she comes down," Du Qiang said after thinking.
Since he personally checked their room earlier, not even sparing the clothes, and with everyone being acquaintances, they naturally trust them.
In response, Su Qing nodded, then looked at the armed police outside and asked, "Brother Qiang, this looks more than just a regular vice raid, doesnāt it?"
Hearing this, Du Qiang laughed a bit proudly and replied: "Of course, if it were just a small thing, would they need me?"
"Thanks to your help, we got some useful intel last time. Jiang Dabao is now wildly ratting out people in hopes of earning merits to save himself. We got intel about a small transaction here today, so the vice raid is just a cover."
With Wang Xing around, Du Qiang spoke somewhat cryptically, but he could share the general story with Su Qing, who would understand.
Hearing this, Su Qing finally understood; no wonder the operation was so extensive, even the general patrons on the second floor needed searching before being let off.
Meanwhile, on the third floor, a private room filled with police officers saw Captain Wang from the Anti-Narcotics Division looking over the goods, nodding with satisfaction, then turning back to smile at Li Zijun: "Mission accomplished, Iāll take the people and goods with me now. Little Li, tell old Zhao thanks for the intel from your side."
Plainclothes Li Zijun nodded with a smile, then expressed some regret: "Itās a shame we didnāt catch bigger fish. Once we find more on our side, weāll get in touch again."
Saying that, she turned to leave. When she got to the first floor, she immediately spotted Su Qing and Du Qiang whispering, "What are you two muttering about?"
"And you, Xiao Qiang, what are you chatting about? Arenāt you getting back to work?"
Hearing this, Su Qing and Du Qiang instantly straightened up, and Du Qiang quickly chuckled: "Right away, Sister Li, Iāll get to it!"
And without looking back, he headed up the stairs. Li Zijun approached, giving the two a glance, a mysterious pressure weighing down on them until she finally spoke: "Letās go!"
Upon hearing this, they both exhaled a sigh of relief.
With Li Zijun as their insider, the three easily walked out of the foot massage parlor, both silently swearing never to associate with gambling or drugs again.
But just then, Su Qing felt someone bump into him from behind, causing him to stagger, and he turned around to see a scholarly-looking middle-aged man with glasses.
"Sorry," the man quickly apologized.
Just as Su Qing was about to say it was fine, a familiar narrative popped into his mind:
[Qiao Yuanshan, 37 years old, B-level wanted criminal, related to the Jiang Dabao case, wanted by Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau on other provincesā requests, bounty 100,000]
Su Qing: $_$
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